ttaraRN

i must say, quite a few times my cna's have caught something that i didn't. they generally (unfortunately) spend more time with the patients during clean up or just in passing than do i. don't get me wrong i would have re-tested a bs of 14, especially with an alert patient. i rarely feel that my cna's are stepping on my toes, they are a true asset. love my girls

i also agree! i've been fortunate enough to have begun my career in a hospital (at least a unit :) :) ) with wonderful nurses, who really love nursing. sure, everyone has their fair share of patient and/or doctor complaints, but when it comes down to it we all love what we do. when you have that patient that tells you, you're wonderful, or an angel, or just thanks you for a fresh pitcher of water, it makes it all worth the grumpy families and demanding doc's. nursing is not money!!! it's all heart! anyone going into nursing for money will not be happy and they won't go to work with good intentions.

:angryfire it drives me crazy!!! if a nurse smokes she/he gets to take breaks whenever they "need a smoke", the rest of us don't get little breaks every other hour. i work on a cardiac unit, many times we have to initiate a smoking cessation with a patient that just had an mi or a stroke, how can nurses that do smoke, honestly tell patients that they can't anymore!!! errrrr

personally, i love the hospitalists. we have many hospitalists and they are wonderful. very thorough, rarely agitated with nursing staff (though, like all doc's they have their moments). only downside i've experienced, they are always there!!! they write orders all day!! general practitioners come in before and/or after office hours and write orders then, and they rarely call with orders unless labs or something else is out of whack. but all in all, gotta love 'em!!

withdraw!!!!! [color=#00bfff]withdrawing is always better than the "f".

hi carrie...i agree with many that have replied to your post. i always wear a fitted tank under my scrub tops. i am rather short in stature and the v-necks (that most tops have) tend to dip a bit lower on my very short torso. wearing a tank eliminates the worry that i might move the wrong way and give someone a sneak peak :chuckle good luck with your clinicals

sunshine-i attended umass dartmouth, i'm not sure how similar the programs are, but i will tell you that the umass system in general did a fairly good job in preparing me for the real world. any new grad will tell you, that they don't feel prepared when they graduate, and as far as i'm concerned-it's true!!! the only thing that truly can make you feel ready to face the day as a full-fledged nurse, is being one! you will learn more in your first year as a nurse, then you will in nursing school. but i have much faith that the umass system will give you a great baseline of knowledge that you will use over and over again in the future. good luck to you!

Hi duck, my new-grad orientation began in july of last summer and ended halloween weekend. I had a wonderful orientation as well as a wonderful preceptor!! I started with about 3 patients if I remember correctly. My preceptor was always a wonderful resource to me, and my co-workers continue to be a wonderful resource. I'm never afraid to ask, "why," or "what should I do," or "HELP!!" A good work environment is essential to a successful start in nursing. Good luck!

i just graduated from nursing school in may with my bsn and i had had no prior healthcare experience before school. i agree with the others that one is born to be a nurse, and having cna experience isn't going to make or break you in the end. best of luck to you! :)