Zelda, RN

At my hospital it varies by unit. On my unit, we are required to sign up for four weekend days in a 6 week period. We self schedule, so this can be four Saturday's, four Sunday's, two Saturday-Sunday's, etc (night shift weekends are Friday night and ...

Unisom? That works really well for me. Also, Ambien isn't the only sleep med available. I took trazodone for a while and that worked well for me, without the drowsiness or burn-your-house-down risk.

A one hour commute after a 12 hour night shift is dangerous. I did it for 5 months. I would not recommend it. The number of times I nearly caused an accident falling asleep... Also, working nights your first day off is not a true "day off". You will ...

My rule of thumb is to take every position at face value. That means that even if they SAY they will be cross training you, they may not follow through. Assume you would be in the LTC building forever if you took that position. There is a chance they...

What about floating to medsurg units? I work in a children's hospital, and we get up to 23 year olds on my unit. Do you not see 18-20some year olds in your picu?

I am not a night shift fan. I miss my husband terribly and feel like I never see him. I'm waiting patiently(ish) for a day position to open. Now, if only they would quit hiring people into the day spots...

Hey all, So I work on a med/surg floor of a Children's Hospital. We get a fair amount of RSV/bronchiolitis/rhino/entero babies. Sometimes I struggle with knowing when to put oxygen on them. Obviously if baby is desatting and having trouble holding a ...

I do stairs at work - usually one swift jog down 6 flights & and I jog/walk back up. Wakes me up and I don't feel QUITE so bad if I don't get a workout in. We get hour long lunches on nights (one 15 min break & 45 min lunch on days), so half ...

Some baby docs I love, some baby docs I don't. If you answer my page, come see your patient without me having to ask 10 times, and if your answer to my reasonable request at 0200 ISN'T "well let's wait for the day team to get here" - then we will get...

It varies by state. I recently obtained a MO license along with my KS one (the hospital I work at requires both, as it has two campuses - the main one in MO, and a smaller one in KS). I received my temporary MO license within 3 weeks of applying, and...

It's not that people function fine on certain medications. It's that people function NORMALLY. Off these medications, they are much more of a liability than on them! I have a prescription for Xanax for anxiety. It's a tiny dose, I never take it withi...

I love peds. I work in a children's hospital, and our med/surg units are more specialized... My unit gets kidney (CKD, kidney transplants, etc), liver (disease and transplants), and rehab (much different from adult rehab, as our kids are usually brai...

I assume you mean high-flow nasal cannula. It is still very new at my hospital, at least on medsurg. We just started using it this past March, and I have yet to see it used in practice. Nurses aren't supposed to mess with it - only RT at this point. ...

I tested on a Friday, and my results were in by 1700 that day. Score.

I did child psych. 90% of what you need to know is learned on the job, more-so than most other specialties (in my opinion). Psych so much communication, and that can't be taught by a book. It takes a while (took me 3-4 months to feel comfortable). Yo...

Peds med/surg. 1:2 or 1:3. Occasionally 1:4, but that doesn't happen often.

Well, I identified with nearly every point on that questionnare/quiz. I've always known I struggled with sensory processing. Growing up with 9 younger siblings, I learned early on to manage it, though most days I had to come home from school and just...

I see you already found your shoes, but in case anyone else is looking - Skechers Go Walk with the memory foam are my #1. Feather light, squishy, and my feet never hurt. Slip-ons, but they don't slide right off your feet like Danskos (hated those - t...

As a nurse in a children's hospital, I LOVE my child life. They are wonderful angels who pull toys and iPads and comfort holds out and make any IV, NG, or any other procedure a thousand times easier. If I'd know child life was an option before I went...

Ok - my children's hospital is a magnet facility (just renewed for the 4th time) and it's the best. We don't have mandatory scrubs. We often have tshirt sales going on that we can wear with scrub pants. Our nurses are treated SO well - the best of th...

I went into nursing school knowing I loved peds. Throughout nursing school, I also came to love L&D (even with a professor that hated me). My first job ended up being child psych - and surprisingly, I enjoyed that. I then moved onto med/surg peds...

My unit lets us wear tshirts... Those are my jam. Hospital tshirts, of course, but also superhero and Disney princess... I need more cartoon scrubs though!

I suppose. I knew I wanted to work peds; I am working peds. Now, I still have yet to decide if I like med/surg or PICU best... I am working med/surg right now, though I think in a few years I want to try PICU. I am very book smart, and the intricacie...

First job was child psych. I love peds, I love psych, and I loved the job itself. I left 6 months in, however. We were constantly understaffed, administration cared more about their social workers (which they also kept losing) than their nursing staf...

I guess I'll go the other route - I dislike nights. It kills my body. I'm also not a morning person. My ideal shift would be 9a-9p (if I had to do 12s), or 10s would be even better for me. Good luck getting that, huh? I always get nauseous around 4-5...