Naturalist

Lorraine, I’m sorry you’ve been met with so much hostility here. I also work Med-Onc and I am not vaccinated. I am appalled at the amount of ignorance and name-calling in this forum, especially from older nurses with 40-some years of experience. I just hear regurgitation of television pseudoscience rather than real bedside experience and common sense. And scientific articles, which I read a lot of. I would NEVER put any of my patients in danger and I’m sure you wouldn’t either. I’ve been taking care of Covid patients since March of last year, so, a year and a half. I have not gotten Covid nor has my family. I have three friends who got it and their spouses still slept with them and they never got it. OTOH my cousin’s 54-y/o wife died of Covid in July. She had an autoimmune disease and was always a pretty sickly person, but my point is I’m not a Covid denier. I know it’s real. I’ve had patients cough on me dozens of times. Many times pts on our clean floor, admitted for something totally unrelated to Covid, then it turns out… they have Covid! Well, I still didn’t get it. Nor my coworkers. My point is UNVACCINATED PEOPLE ARE NOT MORE LIKELY TO SPREAD COVID THAN THE VAXXED. This is asinine. If ANYBODY even read Pfizer’s statements (for example) the vaccine was designed to help lessen symptoms. THE VACCINE DOES NOT PREVENT CONTAGION. It is written in the manufacturer’s information on their website! From the very beginning. I have been trying to EDUCATE people that they can still get it and spread it! And guess what??? They are!! Do y’all currently work in a hospital? Well I do and I float to the Covid floor A LOT because I’m per diem and some genius in management said a few months ago “there’s hardly any CV right now so let’s go back to floating per diems first again.” Well numbers here in CA have been UP for well over a month and said geniuses forgot to put us back on a rotation up until just 2 days ago. Of my last 6 shifts I have worked the CV floor 5 shifts (in less than 10 days). ALMOST HALF OUR CV PTS ARE VACCINATED! We have just under 15 staff out with Covid right now, vaccinated! The vaxxed are the superspreaders! You walk around like you’re impervious but you’re not. At least we unvaxxed are more cautious, and NEWSFLASH: if I’m asymptomatic there’s a good chance I don’t have covid. I get tested TWICE a week! Do you vaxxed RNs get tested twice a week? What more do you want?

My check was cashed in November and I didn't get ATT until late February, took NCLEX mid March, then almost 3-week wait for results. Ugh! I figured by now the BRN had the kinks worked out.

How long have you been a nurse? Got RN license in April Are you working as an RN? Field Registered Nurse (Home Health. Hospital: impossible) How long did it take you to get your first RN job? Got the HH in July If you are not working, how long has it been since you graduated and earned your RN license? Graduated December 2013 ADN or BSN? ADN

HouTx, I am nothing if I am none of these things! How did you know?? I will do my best to work on ways to "showcase" these qualities. Thank you so much for your comforting words. I know it is not personal, but that's exactly how it feels. bcandygurl, thank you, and congrats on getting your license. I'm sorry you have not had an interview. It's early in the game for you so hang in there. Me, I'm starting to freak out that my one year mark is fast approaching! Update on the interview I thought I would get (bc the NM had emailed me): I got an email from HR saying after careful consideration they were concentrating on other candidates who better fit their needs I was ridiculously sad. Guess I needed a good cry. Honestly I hadn't really cried since my sister passed in '07! Anyway, I'm still feeling the sting- a lot- but I have to move on. Just not sure how.... Now I have a question, and maybe I should start a new thread, but if y'all are still reading I could use your advice: I have the option of volunteering at my favorite hospital, either ER or ICU, or wherever I choose, really, OR I could apply for an RN position at United Blood Services, where they are willing to train new grads. What do you think? The blood thing would give me great IV skills, but maybe the volunteer thing might just help me land a job in the hospital??? I'm not even sure they will be hiring, and it's a county hospital so they move real slow, but I feel like it will really help me get to know some people and vice versa.

Lev I understand the "good fit" thing, and in my ICU cover letters I emphasize that I am gentle and considerate, thorough and sensitive in my role as an educator of patients’ families, detail-oriented and work well under pressure, and I am collaborative team player. I know I've got all the right things in my heart and in my head. I just can't seem to let it flow when I'm interviewing! Many threads here on AN have helped me a lot, while others just add to my anxiety, but I still have a few days to center myself, and shake off past rejections. I will keep you posted.

As short and simple as your comment is, I find it very helpful. Thank you! I have read all three pages of your "How to answer..." article, with comments and found it very useful, too. My first instinct is always to be myself, but I feel it did not work for me this time. I know I just need to relax. There is just so much at stake I'm a nervous wreck, but thank you, Commuter, for your feedback. It is very helpful.

Hello there, fellow RNs, Hopefully this doesn't come out as too much of rant but I am so discouraged with the job hunt I've had 3 interviews and 2 rejections, and pretty sure #3 will be a no-go as well because I have not heard back. I have an interview next week for an ICU position and I am so anxious! I need to break this cycle quick, only I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. I really really want this ICU job. Honestly, I want ANY entry-level RN job!!! And I will embrace it, enjoy it and learn as much as I can from it! In past interviews I was told, afterward, "I didn't see your passion", "I couldn't get a good read" "I wanted to hear more about you"..... SERIOUSLY??? If I am sitting in your office allowing you to grill me, you better believe I want the job! I answer questions directly and logically. During one interview I got zero questions that gave me an opportunity to tell them about me. Should I ramble on about who I am, whether I was asked or not? I am not a pushy or obnoxious person, but I am learning that NMs actually need to here candidates say "I really want this job!", "I am passionate about ______!!!", "Pick me! Pick me!!". Am I wrong??? I've never had a problem interviewing. I am myself, and what I know I know, and what I don't I don't. I am very honest and I smile plenty, too. I've always been a smiley, friendly person. I don't know what it is about this field. I just don't quite understand what NMs want to see and hear. I have made it clear that, if hired, I intend to remain at this position indefinitely. I just want to grow as a new nurse. Here are a couple highlights of my interviews: Scripted questions: ugh! My first interview was nothing but! Especially nerve-wracking when the NM actually reads it word-for-word, so it comes out so contrived! And here's the deal, if I prepare for an ER interview I think to myself, "what qualities do I possess that make me a good candidate for this job?" and so on and so forth, so when I get a question about "why ER?" I will remember to mention my relevant qualities. It is all honest. I just tailor my answers to be more job-relevant. Another thing is that these questions can be taken out of context, or can be somewhat close-ended, so I'm not sure how to answer sometimes. It's just so hard to remember all of the important things I want to say. Sometimes the interview goes on like an enjoyable conversation, but that is NO indication of what the outcome will be. I do like it when things flow and questions come naturally, and not as these abrupt change-of-subject scripted questions. Now, if I get a situational question- "name a time when....."- and I honestly have no example to give (I'm a new grad for crying out loud), my first inclination would be to say "I've never been in that sort of position, but if I were then I would ____ _____ ______. I usually handle this kind of situation like blankity blankity blank". Good enough? I am sorry if I am aimlessly rambling here. Any and all advice would be most appreciated. I am down and depressed , and my self esteem has gone over a waterfall . This just isn't me. I feel I am caught in a vicious cycle and a catch 22. I need a job to be happy again, but I need to look like a happy, confident candidate in order to get that job! A little background: I graduated in December of last year (ADN), didn't get my ATT until Feb/March and then waited another 3 weeks for results/license (so April when all was said and done). Then of course the market was re-inundated with May's new grads, who got their licenses pretty quickly, as the BRN by this time had ironed out all its wrinkles. (Thanks a lot, BRN! ) The market is brutal here in So CA. Of three local hospitals one takes only RN-BSNs, which I am not, so I only have two options for hospital. Thank you so much for reading this!

What is your job title? Home Health (Caregiver) Where are you located? So CA What is your hourly wage? $25 Are you paid shift differentials? No What shift(s) do you usually work? 2000-0800 What is your current specialty? HH How many years of experience do you have? 0.5 What is your status (full-time, part-time, or casual / per diem / PRN)? One, maybe two nights/week Are you a pursuing a career as a nurse (RN or LPN)? Just finished ADN program. Awaiting ATT!

I think LearningByMistakes made that comment in defense of free-market healthcare, not single-payer Obamacare (tho that would be better than the present ACA...???). If I am wrong, then I stand alone. No biggie. Free-market healthcare is the way to go, IMO. It was a free market system that made Medicine in the U.S. superior to most. Heck, free-market Capitalism is what made our country the greatest in the world. Now, pls don't confuse true free-market Capitalism with Corporatism or Crony capitalism, which is what we have today. (And if you saw Michael Moore's Capitalism, a love story movie and liked it, don't even bother commenting). Yes, our system is badly flawed but Obamacare sure ain't the way to fix it. We're screwed!

Yes, it would be presumptuous of you to expect to give meds without your instructor as a first semester nursing student. A staff nurse will supervise you in order to establish competency, as your Preceptor, when you're in your final semester of school, never to babysit when you're in first semester. That's your instructor's job, and trust me, she wouldn't have it any other way. It's not politics. It's policy and procedure, and it should be clearly outlined in your Clinical Guidelines book. You should know it well. If you demonstrate the opposite, it may raise a red flag that you have the potential to be unsafe. Don't rush. Take your time, and enjoy the journey.

I see the seriousness of needing to give the correct dose, and orders for "x" mLs should not be acceptable without knowing the concentration (which you did: 100mg/5mL). So you just do the math, as Esme stated. What gets me is 50 mg of vitamin C is a joke. I have given my kids up to 1000 mg/day since they were 2 y/o. I myself take up to 10 g (10,000 mg) in one day if I need to fight something. I'd take more but those 1-g horse pills are a challenge. My mother, now 83, gets up to 20 g (20,000 mg) IV on a quarterly basis during her "tune-ups". My 2c. Sorry it's a bit off-topic. Maybe this should be posted in a thread titled "Natural remedies sadly underused".

Interesting debates here! Here's and excerpt from an article written by one of my favorite economists and businessmen, Peter Schiff: "...the ACA makes it illegal for insurance providers to deny coverage to anyone for any reason. This allows healthy people to drop insurance until they actually need it without incurring any risk. It's like allowing homeowners to buy fire insurance after their houses burn down. To counteract these new free-rider incentives, the law imposes "no insurance" penalties (also defined as taxes by the Supreme Court). The problem is that these "penaltaxes" (for lack of a better word) are insufficient to the task. In fact, Chief Justice John Roberts ruled the law constitutional precisely because the burdens were not high enough to compel behavior. (In other words, he thought the law was constitutional because it will be ineffective.) The numbers support his arguments." He goes on about how the "penaltaxes" work, and how the opt-outers won't have to pay them unless the IRS garnishes the funds from their federal income tax refund check. Apparently, this is the only way they can recover the "penaltax" from the people who refuse to pay it. You can read the whole thing here: Justice Roberts is Right: The Plan Won't Work | Euro Pacific Capital

Just to give the OP an idea of what kind of things we ADN students learn, this has been my experience so far: I just finished up 2nd semester last week. Out of 18 weeks we were in the hospital 16. Two days/wk, 5.5 hrs/day. I've been lucky to get a grand total of 2 foley cath insertions and one NG tube. Both with the instructor present. For meds we do our 7 rights (we do 7, not 5) with our instructor, she walks in with us to our pt's room, sees that we are safe id'ing our pt then she leaves and we give the meds. If we are giving injections the instructor is always present. I've lost count of how many insulin and lovenox shots I've given. Vaccines, too. I have dc'd a few IVs and maybe 2 foleys without supervision. The first 2 or 3 we MUST do with our instructor. This semster we hung IV bags- no meds- with our instructor present, and we also did tubing changes. Next semester it is my understanding we will buddy up with a fellow student to do the 7 rights of med admin and we are on our own giving meds. Still our instructor will be pulling meds for us. We'll be doing IV meds as well. That's about all I know about next semester which isn't much. Anyway, 4th semester students do their preceptorship the last 4 weeks I think- ICBW on the timeline- and if they have > an 80% avg they get to choose their specialty. Otherwise it's med-surg. This semester we had about 6hrs of lecture/week (after you subtract break time). So I've been told by the time we graduate we should be capable of carrying out all RN tasks except starting IVs, which we do learn and get tested on but will never actually do in clinical. Since 1st semester we have lost ~10 people, either bc their grades weren't good enough or they were forced to drop due to poor clinical performance. My school's NCLEX pass rate has been >97 or 98% for many many years. Finally, I would like to add that I would have loved to go for a BSN but I didn't for 2 big reasons: #1 Two extra years in school and #2 The cost is prohibitive (and getting worse!). I have a B.S. already so when I applied to the Nursing program my prereqs were already done! Best of luck to you!

Hey FutureSOCALRN, my 'stats' are all on p.4 of this thread Good luck to you!

Silverlight, how do your classmates get away with missing class in nursing school? At my CC the BRN monitors attendance closely. If we have to miss a class we must inform our instructor beforehand, and if we miss a certain number of classes (not sure if more than 2 or 3) we are asked to withdraw from the program if make-ups are not possible. To mttzakr, which Pearson do you have? I see a couple different ones on amazon. Thanks!