NenjaRN

Definitely a treasure chest of some sort with coloring books & crayons, stickers, bubbles (which are great for pneumonia/surgical kids that don't understand the concept of IS), etc that they can choose an item from when they come in and/or when they have a poke or something. Distraction is key! I third the treatment room if you can find space for it. Unfortunately, it is never used as much as it should be at my current hospital, but when I worked in peds at a community hospital all IV starts, lab draws, caths, LPs, etc were done in there. The lighting was better and they need to feel safe in their rooms. It will make your life easier when they don't scream every time you walk in the room. :) ASK mom and dad if they want to be present for procedures. Sometimes it's easier with them in the room soothing the child, other times it's awful with them watching over your shoulder and you're sweating bullets...but ask. Many don't know they have a choice. Also...if mom and dad say something isn't right with their child, it's not. Figure it out fast!

Congrats! See you soon!

I don't think he's said in huddle the last few days that they've hired so maybe they're still working on it. Have you heard anything more yet?

Plenty of bodily fluids have made their way to my shoes before and I think it's icky. The needle is probably not that likely, the icky is almost guaranteed. That being said, LOTS of my coworkers have those.

YES, but a different kind and level of stress. Although, I do think at the end of the day I feel I've made more of a difference than anything I've done in school. It's worth it. :)

Honestly, I think we could do this debate all day long! :) I have always worked nights (LTC, community hospital peds dept & now a large children's hospital) except for orientation has always been on days for a length of time. I'd definitely say the friendships and teamwork are stronger on nights - maybe attributed to the fact that we consistently have less resources at night so we really HAVE to work together. Staffing is always worse at night, so you will have a heavier load and as much "in your face" interdisciplinary staff and even just service staff (dietary, transport, etc) seems during the day, I'd loooove some of that help at night. I'm single and don't know that I could afford a paycheck without the shift diff. I also know some people work nights BECAUSE they have kids but when I have mine, I'll be switching to days. Depending how my shifts are scheduled, I'm fairly useless on my "days off" because I'm trying to catch up on sleep. I think I'd be major zombie and not so much the mommy I want to be.

A favorite is when I get the time to snuggle a baby to sleep. Unfortunately, it doesn't happen too often but I love rocking a baby in my arms and allowing the parents to get some rest they maybe haven't had in days. And once they start talking...oh my gosh, kids are FUNNY!

Is this, by chance, Levine Children's Hospital? If so, send me a message and I can give you the scoop. I'm a nurse on 10! It is WONDERFUL. Crazy busy, but I love it.

I don't know for sure...but I think when we had our day where they broken down applying for the NCLEX and licensure and all that...you can apply for licensure for both SC and TX right now, rather than waiting on SC and then waiting for endorsement. I think. I know you don't have to even get a SC license and you can still test in SC. If you're sure you want to move to TX, skip the SC license and just go for TX. That being said...I would not recommend relocating before you have a job. I just had a skype interview for an out of state position, that could be an option for you as well.

I need me one of those (fiance)! haha I'm not trusting enough for Craigslist...I have a friend that lives in Huntersville with her parents and there is a POSSIBILITY she could live with me if she is able to get a job in Charlotte, but I can't plan on it. And living 40 minutes away (plus traffic), when all is said and done with gas costs, I almost feel like I might as well pay the higher rent in Charlotte.

"i hate it at work when people are like "You're young. you can handle it" It doesn't matter how young or old you are, our bodies are built the same and react similarly to situations like this." YES! I want to smack a nurse when they say "BUT YOU DON'T HAVE KIDS! YOU'RE YOUNG, YOU CAN HANDLE IT!" Uh, no.

I do this too!! Haha

I know this is old but I'm bumping this for some feedback. When I decided a couple months ago that I wanted to pursue something different I applied to two positions, one 45 minutes away in Toledo OH and one at Levine Children's in Charlotte. Toledo has offered the position and pays $23 with $1 shift diff and you can get a decent apartment for $500-600 in easy commuting distance. Now, for Levine I was told $4 shift diff but base pay could be just $21. So really just a buck more than here and the cost of living seems astronomical. HOW do you get by making that much in Charlotte when $500-600 looks like you'll be living in the hood? I've worked for the last year while living at home so I have a good amount of savings and I do know that the opportunities in Charlotte are so much more than Toledo but holy moly.

Jumping on board...I'm not a current traveler but would like to in Peds. Any help would be great!

RNs wear navy, lab wears black, respiratory wears brown...I believe radiology wears red. I'm not sure about the rest.

A lot of people have major problems with our manager but day to day I really don't mind her. Maybe because I work nights and don't usually see her. :) What does bother me on occasion is when she sends nasty grams upset about something when she has no clue. She is a diploma nurse that worked OB briefly and then became the OB manager fairly quickly. It has been a very long time since she was a floor nurse. Peds has been thrown in her lap on top of it and she really doesn't want us because she doesn't know Peds. I try to understand that, but she has no idea what it is like to take care of patients that are not healthy and children that are terrified, feel yucky and do not want to be left alone in their rooms. I know that not ALL birthing moms are healthy and things can go wrong, but it isn't the norm. She doesn't understand that in Peds when you have one patient you at LEAST have two (mom/dad!). We also have parents that leave their infants and toddlers so we're also trying to balance babysitting and nursing. We might not get a chance to do the busy work she leaves us exactly when she wants us to even when census is low because inevitably, things happen. I know this is Peds and you're debating LTC but at the end of the day my advice remains, from the beginning be a "working manager". Don't lose your skills and knowledge of how working the floor really is. Even if you haven't worked LTC, get out there and figure it out - your staff will appreciate it! And don't neglect night shift...every now and then see if you can work a night too.

a) what was your first job and how long after graduating did you land it? An LTACH where I worked as an STNA while finishing up nursing school. I graduated in May 2010, passed NCLEX in August and then started a few weeks later as an RN. b) how long did you stay at the first job? I only stayed FT for about five months. When I got a different job (Peds) I stayed PRN. Total time there as an RN was about ten months. c) why did you leave and what did you do before going to the next? I knew I was going to hate it. I don't want to work with adults and the setting just wasn't for me, but none of my other applications were getting looked at. The patient load was horrible (often ten), especially for a new grad. I felt like I was just a task monkey and didn't actually get to care for my patients and understand what the heck was going on with them. Majority of the people I worked with were wonderful so I tried to grin and bear it thinking it was just new grad stress but even after I went PRN I eventually decided it wasn't worth it. I have plenty of opportunity to pick up OT at my FT job and I don't have anxiety just thinking of going to work!

My first RN job was an LTACH. I worked there as an STNA for a year first. I only lasted about six months as an RN full-time and stayed on contingent for another six but eventually just decided it wasn't worth it. It wasn't my cup of tea. Some LOVE it. The other responses summed it up well. The experience you would gain is wonderful, but I had many near panic attacks about work. My place was a mess though...I ended up with 8-10 patients most nights and staff turnover was horrendous. If you're going to do it, know the most common meds you'll give. Remember many will be on heart meds. Ask questions and be hands on. Study rhythms and take ACLS. Make good relationships with your LPNs and STNAs because you won't survive without them. Good luck!

I'm not in NY, but we are in a similar situation sometimes. I work in a small Peds unit and we too float when we have few (or no) kids. The unit used to be the way you describe, only one RN was even scheduled at a time but when I was hired in January I was told it was to change this to always have two RNs on for safety reasons. However, now if we have one or two patients, we both come in but often one nurse is required to float to another unit and their argument is another Peds nurse is in house. Safety is still a major concern! The time it takes for someone, anyone, to make it to our unit while I'm there alone (and I've only been a nurse for just over a year, Peds nurse less than) could make a major difference. And my own safety - family dynamics are a whole different world in Peds and we are a locked unit. I am a small person...if someone were to come at me (parent, visitor...even many of our teens are larger than me) what am I going to do? What if I can't make it to the button or the phone? Even if I can get out, I can't abandon my patients. Another issue was brought up recently that many of our parents do not stay and patients of any age are left alone. Say a teen concocts a story of some kind of abuse - who is there to defend you? It isn't unheard of. I don't have any advice...we plead our case and budgets are thrown in our face. I don't think any nurse, ever, should be left entirely alone with any number of patients. Good luck!

I work in a small, pediatric department and we are often low censused in the summer. We only staff two RNs and usually we both agree to each work six hours while the other is on-call in case of an admission. It is pretty fair this way and there usually isn't an issue deciding who will work the first half vs second half. Would that be an option?

I graduated with my BSN in Ohio in May 2010 - started college right after high school. I worked for about 6 months as an RN in an LTACH where I was an STNA for a year prior. Not my cup of tea, but it was a job. I was VERY lucky to notice there was an opening in the pediatric department at our community hospital...even more lucky to get the job. I truly love the job, the children and my coworkers. I have been there for about a year. It is a small general peds unit in our small town, the unit does sometimes close entirely for a few nights in the summer because we have no patients. I have always known Pediatrics was where I wanted to be and eventually Ped Hem/Onc. I am just not happy with adults. I do love my job but don't know that I want to be in this little town forever and for whatever reason I'm drawn to North Carolina. It's just me - no kids, no husband and I figure if I'm going to branch out, this would be the time. So...recommendations in North Carolina for this RN? This isn't something I would do tomorrow, but I am toying with the thought of it.