pipersjo

*Geographic location: WV*Pay rate: a little over $25 base*In which area / specialty do you work? Radiology*What type of license do you have (RN or LPN)? RN*What type of degree and/or certification do you have? MSN, ACLS, BLS*How many years of experience do you have? : 7 years*Are you full-time, part-time, or casual / per diem / PRN status? FT*What shift do you work? days, 0730-1600*Do you receive any shift differential? If I would pick up shifts on the floor, yes I would. I can't stand the thought of working on the floors again though!*Are you a manager or supervisor? No way! Part of the reason I started back in the hospitals, was so I wouldn't have to be a manager or super anymore!

Thanks for the responses! They supposedly were ok prior to EHR, but I also think it was easier for things to be slipped under the rug if they couldn't get to it (I'm not saying that everyone did stuff like that, just to clarify, I just know that we found some stuff that wasn't done when it was paper charting). We are going on 3 months of EHR now and it seems to be getting worse rather than better. Nurses/MA's are getting extremely overwhelmed and I don't know how to help them get better! I have to admit that I am getting very frustrated as well because I want to be able to help them more than I am currently able.

Hi everyone, I recently started as the Clinical Nurse Educator at a busy Family Medicine clinic. The same week I started, we started EHR. The LPN's/MA's are having a really hard time getting everything done and I am trying to think of a way to help them but I'm drawing a blank. When asked, they all tell me that they did all of the same stuff before but did not have to stay over late every night like they are now. They room pts, take care of any patient needs that need done while the pt is here, they receive faxes for refills, MD consults, pt histories, you name it, and, of course, have phone calls to make about everything from reporting labs to prior auths. To me, it sounds like there's just too much for them too do in the amount of time allotted, but they assure me they did it before and got done. Any suggestions for how to help them get done???

I actually graduated with my ADN 3 years ago, my BSN 2 years ago, and I'm halfway through my MSN in Nursing Education (which, of course, means nothing to the Army lol). I am going in with the 8a identifier :)

I am not sure what unit-- all I know is that it is coraopolis, pa, right outside of Pittsburgh. It was the closest unit that could use me. I will have to ask my recruiter!

Thanks Carolina!! I thought it was an appropriate choice for the day :) I am going Reserves for now, jeckrn... I wanted to go active but their were more critical care spots for the Reserves so I just went for Reserves for now--- knida get my feet wet, ya know?!

Hello everyone, I was just wondering what to expect at my commissioning ceremony-- and what to expect after that! I will have my ceremony on June 14th (the Army's birthday/Flag Day). It has been a long, crazy road to get there but I am finally gonna do it!! I am having my ceremony at the hospital I work at so that the people I work with can be there since they are the 1's that helped me become the nurse I am today. What happens after I am official???

Thank you! I thought I was posting in the right forum

Thank you both so much! Unfortunately, I know all too well that most theories won't fit snuggly with my subject but it is part of the assignment and I was stuck! I had a theory class last semester that was the bane of my existance- good thing about that is that I have a good theory text!

I am starting my thesis on the use of FemoStops and manual pressure when removing femoral sheaths but the problem is I can't think of what theoretical framework to use! I was thinking about using Orlando's Theory of Nursing Process but that focuses more on communication and I don't know that it really fits. My instructor is absolutely no help with this.

I never had a problem getting a position with my ADN. Granted, I finished my ADN and went directly into my accelerated BSN, however, I did not have my BSN when applying for my second position, in a different state, and they wanted me due to my experiences rather than my degree.

Good luck! If you don't mind me asking, what companies did you look at?

Thank you! Sounds like I might be slightly screwed at this point since I only have done MS (we get a lot of MS stepdown) and tele. I am all for being open to anywhere I just don't want to be stuck anywhere! I will def look into more companies!

Hello everyone! So I am thinking about travelling however I am a little nervous about it right now because I keep hearing about contracts being cancelled, not being able to find contracts, etc. I have signed up with RN Network (and USNN but they were just kind of crappy) because I have only heard good things about them. I am single again after breaking up with my BF last year, I have a dog (pug) and 2 cats, and I rent an apartment(lease is up 8/1). I was thinking about storing my belongings in a storage facility and just taking off to New England for the summer if I can find a position. Since I do not own a home, I figured if I didn't have a permanent address, it wouldn't be a big deal with taxes. I kind of feel like I am in a rut here and just need to get out! Since I do have 3 animals, does anyone now how hard it is to get the travel company to provide housing? I, of course, don't mind paying the deposit but I know sometimes it is hard to find housing with that many critters. I really don't want to leave any of them behind because they are all kind of neurotic and don't seem to like when I leave them behind. The cats kind of like moving at this point since I do it so often, lol. I have almost 2 years tele/stepdown experience (this summer will be 2 years) and hopefully will be ACLS certified within the next month or 2. I left my current job 4/08 and worked in a hospital outside of Cincy on a tele unit until the end of July 08. I then restarted my current tele/stepdown job 8/08. Confusing, yes, i should have just travelled last summer! Anyway, anyone have any advice for me?

I was right where you are last year. Long story short, got back with an ex, moved to his state, hated my job, he broke up with me, and I moved back. It was a really bad time in my life because of other stuff too and I ended up breaking my lease and coming back here after 3 months. If you need to talk, pm me. :icon_hug:

I spoke with our new hire support coordinator again today and she is going to try and place me in a home hospice situation. I am excited and of course nervous, but can't wait. I have been sick since Monday and actually ended up leaving work early tonight and I can't help but wonder if it stress related. Hopefully, it is just stress related and I didn't pass a bug to my pt's.

I actually followed some nurses through Hospice already. Throughout my BSN program, I chose Hospice as my clinicals whenever i could. I like the fact that you have more autonomy, but I was never there when a pt died so i really don't know how I would handle it. I like going to their homes and feeling like they wanted my help and were glad to have me there. It's so different from bedside nursing and I think that it is something that I could learn to love.

Thank you for your insight. I called the new hire support person last week and I am going to try to be placed somewhere else. You are right that any job has it's pitfalls, but I think anything has to be better than bedside nursing (for me) at this point. I will definately tell her I want to give Hospice a shot. Thanks!

That's what everyone tells me and, to be honest, I am not exactly sure what it is that I hate. It could be the lawsuit threats (I was threatened with lawsuits twice in my first 6 months)or it could be the fact that it is very disheartening seeing the same people over and over, but I cannot stand much more of it. I actually had friends advise me to get out of the hospital setting altogether because it makes me so miserable, but I wanted to stick with what I knew when I moved out of state because everything else was going to be so different. Re: the lawsuit threats, neither of them were something that I did and the families told me that, but the families were upset that there was a bad outcome for each pt.

I think you answered it yourself- you won't be happy there. Yes, it is frowned on to leave a job during orientation, but you don't need to be miserable. I am actually in a similar position right now and I chose to contact our new hire liason to see if they could place me elsewhere. Don't be miserable. I made the mistake of letting myself be miserable for 10 months before I left that position and I won't do it again. I think, for me, it skewed my view of bedside nursing and I hate it now.

So here is my story. I have been a nurse for almost a year--11 months to be exact. I left my first position because I moved out of state and now that i have a new position doing the same kind of nursing, I find that i hate it- again. I have been working tele (well, my last position was SUPPOSED to be tele, but we got anything and everything)for the entirety of my short career and I HATE bedside nursing. I have contacted the new hire liason at my new hospital and told her exactly how I am feeling and she told me that she would try to help. Here's my dilemna. I need to find myself something that I want to do. There is a cath lab position open that I may be able to get, but not quite sure because of my lack of 1 year experience. There are hospice positions available and throughout my BSN (I origonally graduated with my ADN and pursued my BSN through an accelerated program), I did clinicals in Hospice whenever I could. I love Hospice but I am not sure about doing Home Hospice because of the gas prices and I don't know what working in a Hospice facility would be like (we have both) so i don't know if that would be a good fit. I need to find something else because i hate bedside nursing and I have considered leaving nursing altogether because of it. I know that this is really long but does anyone have any suggestions for me? I probably come off like a whiny baby but I hate going to work feeliong sick to my stomach because I hate it that much.

In my experience, it is unusual NOT to be ACLS certified on a tele floor. I have been working tele(my first nursing job) for about a year and I am not certified, but that is because I just switched jobs and my first job wanted us to wait awhile and learn to be a nurse before becoming ACLS certified. I do agree with dianah-- check with nurses and managers in your hospital for policies and all of that because every facility is different.

Really, there is nothing wrong with her calling the school and complain about the students-- if there is a reason. It's just nasty if there is no reason!

I had a patient that wanted help putting his member in the urinal and help moving his testicles-- nothing wrong with his hands or arms, he just wouldn't do it. I told him no, I will not move your testicles you can do it yourself. I will, however, get someone to help me pull you up in bed for the thousandth time and then you can rearrange the intimate parts of your body to your hearts content. All of this while my patient next door was basically dying because he needed dialysis but did not want to put himself through it.

I hated all of my clinicals except OB so I am trying to get a position on an OB floor in another hospital. I really do not enjoy taking care of patients, but I am trying to switch around a little to try to find my niche. I know that it is going to take me at least 2 years to get another degree so that is why I am trying to figure something else out now. I was a transporter and a Cardiac Monitor Tech before I was a nurse and I got bored with both of those very quickly. I never expected to find myself in health care dedicated to people (I wanted to be a vet when I was growing up) and now I just think that I made a mistake.