sunshyne17

tysm flyersfan88! Your input has put so many of my fears at ease. I was surprised by the tuition reimbursement per year. There aren't many masters degree classes you can take in a year for 8K. I will be in school forever. FYI in case anyone was curious, penn state hershey reimburses 75% of nursing tuition if you go to penn state, less if you go else where. Thanks again!

'Allo! It should get better and one of the previous posters were right - even seasoned nurses have rough days. It depends on admissions, discharges, changes in a patient status, etc. I like to have a sheet/brain sheet where I can jot things down. But don't become heavily reliant on writing everything because you will be there for hours after your shift transcribing into the computer. My tips: - Chart as you go: Not many people on my floor seem to like this but I do. I feel like I accomplish more and in the event someone does go south, you have something "done" already. And you will realize your charting is much more accurate. - Be upfront: be honest with your pt.'s Let them know you have an emergent issue and you will be with them. Or you are waiting to hear from the doctor. Etc. - Remember you are ONE person: you can only be in one place at a time. Pick the most urgent issue and tackle that first. Hypoglycemia before pain. Change in LOC before epistaxis, etc. - Be polite but firm: with staff and patients. Delegate and follow up with techs/aides. Let that pt. know it is NOT ok to use profanity. Let that previous nurse know it is NOT ok to leave behind overdue meds or dressing changes because "they got busy" (the floats at my hospital are notorious for this). - Smile!: perhaps the most important one yet. YES work is busy and YES that one patient is a grouch. Grin and bear it. Everyone wants a nice nurse! :)

Whoa - sounds like you work at my job. Seriously tho - it sounds like you work in the lehigh valley area at my job. That being said, med-surge is hard. The acuity has increased and because there are nurses who don't intend to stay, move, quit, transfer, as soon as we get a good team, we are back to square one with being understaffed. IF you work where I work, you would know you have to be in a position for 6 months before you move anywhere (from nights to days from med-surge to PACU, etc). I hated my job when I first started (clicky mean girls atmosphere, no one answered my call bells and most nights I am the tech and the RN but miraculously it got easier. I knew where to find things, I could start an IV on a decent day, I could chart in a confused pt. room when I couldn't get that 1:1. It's all perspective. :) I did have the benefit though of working somewhere else where it was a team approach, the ratios were lower, the people were nicer it was paradise just too far of a commute. My advice? Hang in there, try to love the opportunity you have and make the best out of it. You can't worry about what other nurses don't do for you. Worry about what you do for you. Go in, get organized, find a system and make it work.

Hi JustcallmeNurse - thank you for responding and I am so sorry for the delay. Is the hospital welcoming to nurses new to the floor (based on your experience)? My current hospital is not. What is the average age of the nurses? (Do you notice there are lots of new young people or lots of senior nurses). Any knowledge on tuition reimbursement? (Are managers encouraging floor nurses to get certified or go back to school for their masters)? So far, I have worked in one LTC facility and 2 big hospitals (400+ beds). Each one has had a different outlook, ratio of new/veteran nurses, and even the atmosphere of each place was different. I want to work for Penn Medicine and before I do, I was hoping to find out somethings you can't read on the website. Thanks so much. sunshyne17

Hi! I currently reside in Allentown pa but am originally from Philly. I would love to work for University of Penn Medicine but I don't know anything about the culture, whether or not it is unionized etc. Anyone here available to shed light on the subject? You could in box me if you don't feel comfortable on a public board. Thanks in advance! sun

Speaking from the somewhat newbie at Nursing - I have been working Med Surg almost a year and still there are times I forget things. I second/third/fourth (not sure how many ppl recommended) some type of sheet to keep track of things to do, things done.I like to chart as I go at least as much as I can. If I don't finish before I get pulled into something else, it's ok. I jotted down on my sheet and at least I started. I am not a fan of charting after my shift is over - I want to go home! Hang in there, it is overwhelming at first. You are learning how to be a nurse and look up orders, and make sure your aides are providing care as ordered. It takes some getting used to. You will definitely need more time than a month!

At Penn State Hershey Medical, they seem to be hiring lots of qualified nurses. And they have a graduate nurse residency program

I worked in LTC for 4 months before going to acute care. I didn't hate it but I didn't love it. I work there now per diem. Working per diem in LTC is awesome! No admissions, no drama, you do your work,give report and leave. I work in med- surge now. Been doing this 8 months. My patient load is a lot like melizerd. Some times as chaotic other nights, very smooth and down right boring. If you want to keep your skills and at the very least, make your experience more diverse, I suggest getting acute care experience. The RN trainer at the LTC I worked suggested I get "hospital experience." He said when you say you are a nurse, you are expected to have a certain set of skills you won't get in LTC Hope that helps.

Thanks for the input everyone! Some places do have awesome PRN pay. My per diem pay is just all right

I second Kaplan. I went to the course,did practice questions and passed in 75 questions. Half of the exam is conquering your anxiety. They mentioned that during the Kaplan course. If you are panicking you aren't reading correctly, you are missing information etc. I don't know about HURST but I heard good things about it. Best wishes.

Just a quick poll - how long did you stay at your first job before looking to another facility? And was it long term care, rehab, acute care or critical care? What are the pros and cons of your facility? Me: I started my first RN job in Feb of this year on a med surge unit. I absolutely love it. The staff is great for the most part, the nurses here have a strong voice in how things are run and the benefits are great. The cons? I travel very far each day. I haven't grown tired of it yet but some days like construction or accidents that cause and extra 30m to an hour make me wonder. And I am in the minority - literally. The area is not diverse and because of that, neither is the facility. Which makes me hesitant to move. Just curious how others are making out. Sun

Unfortunately you were the scape goat. They got dinged and some one had to take the fall for it. I agree with the previous poster "NEVER sign off what you did not do." Sometimes you will have people who will tell you, threaten you to, guilt you to - doesn't matter. Click off what you did. Hand off to the next shift what you were not able to or didn't know how to. No one likes to do someone else's work. But you were new so it was a good reason. Definitely be upfront when asked. Be confident and explained to the interviewer exactly how you explained to us. GL

Hi. I work in LTC too. I swear when they say it will get better, it will. You will soon learn to walk in, look for edema and listen to breath sounds as you wait for residents to take their medicine. Pay attn to those wincing or out right complaining of pain. You can take care of those PRNs there or at the next med pass. Ask them if they have pain to avoid everyone asking you at different times. If someone has a 1700 and 1900, save them til last and give them both at 1800. ALWAYS STAY AHEAD. - this saves you from the dreaded charting for hours at the end of your shift and you save time to eat. I hope this helps. I have been in LTC for only 3 months and I feel much more comfortable. NOW a fall, sending out a resident or family issue will ALWAYS happen at the worse possible time! Which is why you always want to be ahead. OH and I do all my accuchecks first. I make a checklist of who needs to be checked then come back and prepare their insulins with their PO meds to give before supper (I work 3-11) instead of checking each person and going back and forth. HTH

I must admit it was long and I too, couldn't finish. But 2 things 1) everyone wants dayshift for the same reasons you do so it's always going to be tough to get. 2) It sounds like you are suffering from anxiety. Try to find a way to de-stress before going into work (yoga, etc). I blast music on my surround sound while I am getting ready and give myself plenty of time (rushing makes me anxious). You will do better. There are people who will complain about you no matter what shift you work or how great you are. People like to diminish others to make themselves feel better. Let it roll off your back. GL!!

Making mistakes makes us double, and triple check in the future, hoping to mitigate a repeat. Use that mistake as leverage to not get comfortable, not as an excuse to give up. BUT in the event you want to go into management or away from the bedside, you can go into staffing or become an RNAC at an LTC facility. HTH