CheesePotato

I would love to add to this with one of my tips. If the veins keep blowing, or you arrive to start the IV and are told the veins blow the moment they are punctured, try starting the IV without the tourniquet. Tourniquet on. Identify your vessel. Mark your spot. Release tourniquet. Puncture. Often times it's the back-pressure that can make those fragile veins (especially in the elderly or those with sclerotic veins) pop. Cheers! ~~CP~~

^^^^ This. Get your ADN. Less financial output, greater financial gain in the least amount of time. Once you have your RN license, start chipping your way through your additional schooling and career goals. Most APRN programs do not require the GRE, as a heads up. But, should you wish to have your GRE to open up your options, studying does not have to be an all encompassing affair and once you take the GRE it is a valid for five years. There are GRE Study programs with apps that are lovely and no, I won't name product names publicly but Google is your friend. ? Many of them break up your studying for you into small bites (fifteen minutes a day or so) depending on how far out your exam sit date is. Ultimately, this is a very personal decision that only you can make. Either way, congratulations on beginning your educational journey! ~~CP~~

I needed a job. No really. This isn't a calling or a "passion" for me. But I have been a nurse for about a decade and a half and I'm content with my career path. Motivations matter only to the person who holds them and having passion doesn't do diddly if you don't have grit. Was I scared to become a nurse? No. Not in the sense I believe you mean. But allow me clarify: I am afraid of hurting someone. Not in the "Big poke in 3-2-1" hurting but hurting someone. Never-ever-lose that fear. The moment you are no longer respectful of the idea of accidentally causing harm is the moment it's time to find another career. It seems, from reading your post, that you are letting your mind run away on you a bit. Let's reel them back in. Yes you may insert a needle wrong. Will your patient bleed to death? Dear lord, how big is that needle? Why are you using a harpoon?? Are you getting a running start from the door?? O.o Hurting a patient: See note above. Not knowing what to do: That's why you go to nursing school. ? Flunking out: It happens. Try again. Being a bad nurse: Don't do that. Takeaways: Start at the beginning. Ask yourself: Do you want to be a nurse? If the answer is "I don't know", that's okay. You have time to figure that out (some of us still are). If the answer is "No", that's okay. Nursing isn't for everyone. Being a nurse doesn't make you more and not being a nurse doesn't make you less. Medicine is made up of a ton of different jobs and careers--find the one that seems like a fit and makes you happy. If none of them do but the thought of making cupcakes brings a smile to your face and makes you excited for the future, then go make cupcakes! It's okay. It's just a job--ya know? School and academia are rife with perception--what is difficult to one is simple for another. Whether or not that should deter you is a completely personal choice. But I am confident you will find your way. Kindest regards, ~~CP~~

Step number one: Have your moment. It's okay to feel hurt by these comments and everyone has this moment at least once in their student life/nursing career. Step number two: Collect data. Shelve emotions because this can sting. When you meet with her, one on one<--very important, ask her if she could help you better understand how and what way you need to improve. Ask her for examples and ways you could have better handled/addressed the situation. Engage her in what she says and repeat back so you have a grasp of what she is looking for and she can rest assured you are going to take what she said to heart. I promise you that if you approach her openly and with the attitude of "Help me be better" versus "How could you say such rotten things to me?" she will be more than willing to help and turn this into a great teachable moment. Step number three: Incorporate feedback into practice. Mentally reheorifice the feedback you were given. Put feedback to work in live practice. Let's run the scenario of the feedback being, "You were too casual with the patient." Okay. It happens. How can we improve? "So when you took the patient's blood pressure, I noticed that you were using familiars/pet names like "honey"." This is valid. It happens to the best of us. Now, we need to incorporate that feedback into practice. We can do that in the comfort of our own home by mentally practicing that interaction and changing our wording. When we get out to hands-on, those mental rehearsals will actually help curb some of that behavior. Here is what I want you to take away from this entire experience: Growth hurts. Remember when you were a kidlet and you sprouted three feet in six months? Hurt like all hell, right? But look at you now! Diamonds are made under intense pressure. But first, a diamond was a lump of a coal. It takes time and pressure to evolve to something sparkly, "flawless", and tougher than nails. Feedback is a rare and precious gift. Don't waste it. We spend our lives with a perception of ourselves that is not accurate. To be given the view of how others see us can be pure gold! Seize the moment. Lastly and most importantly: You can absolutely do this. One bad day doesn't make you a bad person. A mistake doesn't make you less. Being a nurse is being human first. Be as the phoenix and rise once more from the ash. ~~CP~~

Good day, Lily8424, I wanted to build on this to help you as you are a newer nurse and I know the struggle can be real. So let's talk about pain and sleep. As we know, and you can readily find the literature to support, sleep is a critical part of healing. Also true of sleep, it can act as an escape mechanism-be it from physical or psychological pain--and can yet be disturbed by pain, even if the patient is sleeping. I'm not going to belabor you with points about the phases of sleep, but there are studies that talk about the effects of pain on the progression of sleep phases. To summarize: the phase movement is disturbed. In other words, the patient is sleeping....but they're not sleeping. Moving on, pain is complex. And although we may rail against the use of opioids and have stigma attached to them, they are still useful adjuncts in the battle against pain. I could ramble for hours about it--but let's not. Not on this day. What I wish to bring to you is the dialogue to have with your patient that will save you some headache. "So as I wish for you to get some good rest tonight, as sleep helps you heal, I want to talk to you about your pain medications. Would you like me to wake you for your pain medications if I come in and find you sleeping? Or would you like me to leave you sleep?" <--This three second dialogue does several things: Establish a clear plan of care for the patient, give them input into their care, and tell you want they would like in the realm of sleep. Most (conversational) patients will expand on this by talking about their sleep tendencies--if they are insomniacs or wake up easy, etc. Otherwise, I think you were fighting an uphill battle with this particular patient. I'm not going to nit-pick their behavior. People are people and we all have a story. But I more wanted to tell you that you did not fail this patient. Let it roll. I also wanted help you build your practice from this experience, because it has been my observation that stated plans and giving patients opportunities to participate in their plan and choices helps mitigate difficulty. Not all the time. But you know....people are people. Take care of yourself! ~~CP~~

I am not a student at your program but it all tends to be the same: 1. Accept your enrollment by plunking down your deposit, filling out paperwork, or whatever have you. 2. File your FAFSA! <-- this will get you started on setting up financial aid. 3. Start working on cobbling together all, and I mean all, your immunization records. You will need to show titers or dates for immunizations. 4. Make your appointment for your school physical (Go about a month out or so to allow for the paperwork to be sent to you, etc. from school so you know what you need to take with you to the appointment. 5. Read over the papers for what you need to do for the physical/immunizations. Many schools require certain types of TB testing. You don't want to have that be the sticking point for your in your admission. 6. Check your email twice a day. At some point in the very near future you will get your student ID, log in information, etc. 7. Fill out the application for financial aid through the school. They will then take this and reconcile it with your FAFSA to get your aid package. 8. Sort your living situation/financial situation/whatever have you so you are ready to rock. Fill out any necessary housing forms and submit them. 9. Breathe. No really. It's going to be okay. 10. Read "Make it stick". 11. Sort your tech/school tools. In other words, be sure you have a working computer, ipad, or what ever have you to make your life easier. You will hit the ground running once school starts. 12. Get your student ID. 13. Get your parking permit (If needed). 14. Do not hesitate to reach out the admissions councilors/financial aid folks for help. They will guide you as well and answer all the other questions this post doesn't (like how to get your texts, etc.) Congrats! Enjoy the journey! ~~CP~~

^^^ THIS.

Oh my little tater tot, give yourself a break! You are only 23. Be kind to yourself. This is a LOT to go through and feeling overwhelmed and lost when suddenly faced with all the harshness of reality and life is normal in a way. But I am telling you, as someone from the other side of the age bridge, it gets better. I am going to try to help unpack some of your reply to me, but I am going to preface this by saying I feel you would benefit from having a professional person to talk to. This is not me calling you crazy or anything nonsensical like that. This is me saying that having an objective third party to act a sounding board can be so beneficial in developing a better understanding of self, stress, and life. Really really. Let's tackle the stuff we can discuss with a broad brush about life in general. In the world of industry, and with little exception, we are all replaceable as employees. This is the nature of the beast. It sucks. But there it is. Now I worked in corporate America for nearly ten years before going into nursing and I can tell you that there is always a quota, an email, a policy.....something that will say to do more with less better, faster, stronger. The key, no matter what job you are in, is to develop knowledge of yourself, how to you cope with stressors, and positive ways to deal with that stress. (See the preface paragraph for details). You mention you legs and feet hurting you. I don't give the sweat off a kangaroo's backside what you do for a living, be sure you are wearing support socks and good shoes. You can get the socks from Amazon all the way up to a 6XL and many of them in freaking amazing patterns. If you are unsure what shoes will help you, see a podiatrist and they will happily guide you. The amount of physical work you do does not matter. Three days a week might as well be a month if you are psychologically and emotionally depleted. So there's that. Yes, June is quite a ways away. So let's break it into bites and mini goals. Let's just focus on getting to March 1. That's it. And here's where I have some homework for you: Every day, at the beginning of your day, list three things you are grateful for. They don't have to be big things or even serious things. Just three things that give you a sense of gratitude. You don't have to write them down or anything fancy. But make it a point to experience gratitude. Find a way to build in breathing into your life. You can do that by singing (great way to burn off stress and the controlled breathing works wonders with your PSNS) or focused breathing exercises. Be your own best support. You know that term: treat yo' self? Well....treat yo' self. Build a little retreat spot for yourself at home with soft, cozy things. Have a routine that promotes relaxation and recovery. List out what brings you joy. Find ways to build that back into your life. No seriously. Do you like knitting? Video games? Reading? Volunteering? It will help you feel more like you. Develop goals and rewards. Let's use the above "March 1" goal. What is something that you might wish to reward yourself with? Now do the same all the way out to June. And come June, plan a bigger goal reward. I call this the Reese's Pieces trail to success. Plug along, collect your yummy little rewards, and suddenly you find yourself at your goal. Lastly, consider adding a pet to your life. I know in an apartment that can be difficult and god knows a fish isn't exciting, but a fish needs you. They aren't half bad listeners as well (God knows Rocky, my beta, used to get an earful. He didn't ever seem to mind). And beta fish are very easy to care for and pretty to look at. Just...you know...don't try to pet them. They get all weird when you scoop 'em out of the water. Now, I'm not going to sit here and tell you something squishy like everything is going to be okay because I don't know that and I hate platitudes. But I will encourage you to empower yourself to turn this moment of doubt and pain and confusion into something that builds you up. ~~CP~~ In an show of solidarity, I have completed my own homework to share with you: Three things of gratitude: This Diet Coke is freaking amazing today! I have a roof over my head and four walls around me. I am grateful I have tacos waiting to made for dinner. Breathing: I just took a ten minute break from school shiz to shout sing "WAP" at the top of my lungs followed by "Back in Black". My neighbors love me. LOL Supportiveness: I got my heated blanket on high over here! Boom! No more cold toes! What brings me joy: Cuddling my dog, Kid. Playing Call of Duty (don't @ me). Cooking those tacos later.

I could write for hours and days about my mentor. I didn't go into nursing looking for a mentor or thinking I needed one. I am typically pretty aloof--like a cat. I mean, yeah, sure, I'll come around eventually, but otherwise I just hide under the bed and hiss and maybe, just maybe, if you really irk me, I'll crap in your shoes. My mentorship was something that formed of its own volition. I was, quite literally, taken under wing by a travel nurse that ended up signing on in the operating room I worked at. We'll call her OGPotato. She was and is an incredible person. I quite literally owe my entire nursing career to her. But what I remember of her then was she was intimidating AF. She was a powerhouse. And yet she was hilarious. We met and bonded over a discussion about cake decorating while hanging bags of blood in a heart gone south. She was the first person to ask how I was doing and actually mean it. The importance of this cannot be overstated--the OR is a notoriously oddly inhospitable place for newbies and even more so back then. New nurses had to earn their stripes before anyone would even so much as acknowledge their existence. Being seen made me want to keep showing up. Knowing that I would get to bump into her and maybe share in a story or a laugh with her gave me something to look forward to. Having someone to tell my stories and actually understand what in the hell I was talking about acknowledged my struggles, my triumphs, and my growth. She taught me so much in a way that made me laugh and never made me feel stupid. And yet there were actual moments she looked me dead in the eye and said, "Well that was stupid." I needed those moments. They let me learn and came from someone I respected and trusted. OG was the voice in my ear telling me "Yes, you can" in moments of crippling doubt. She showed me what great nurses are through her actions and integrity. One day, if I play my cards right, I may get to be half the nurse she is. ~~CP~~

Hello PinkDoves-- I want to start this out by saying I am worried about you. Your posts on this thread are filled with a sense of almost despair and it troubles me to know you are experiencing such a hard time with this. Much of what others have written is good, solid advice. I just wanted to pause to approach it from a different angle. First and foremost--it's okay to not like nursing. I could supplement this out by going on a long and lengthy rant on the rubbish nursing school system in this country that fails to prepare new grads for reality in any form....but I'll save that for another day. The short--yes to what you said about needing to do a lot of education post-graduation when new to the unit. Secondly, nursing has many opportunities and different "factions" if you will. There is home health, hospice, school, etc. Basically, as others have said, there is are tons of paths and opportunities (and sometimes you gotta kiss a few frogs to find your prince, ya know?) Personally, I ended up finding my home behind the great double doors of the operating room where yeah, there's a different sort of stress, but most of the time it's me, my crew, the patient, and some rockin' music. Is it all peaches and cream? Nah. But it doesn't have to be. Third-- and say it loud with me if you like: Nursing is a job. It isn't a calling (though some will say it is for them.....and that's cool and totally individual). But for me and many like me? It pays the bills. And before anyone comes for me: Yes--I provide top notch care for my patients. No--you can't tell that I got into this profession as a way to pay the bills. And lastly--kindly get off your high-horse. I got into nursing because I didn't know what in the hell else to do with my life and I needed a stable career. I wasn't a CNA first or an LPN. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Lmao. And a decade and a half later--here I am. Full disclosure though--this is my second career. And that is the last point I want to make to you--life is fluid and full of choices and opportunities. You are not "married" to nursing. If you decide to leave nursing and go hand out samples at Costco and it provides for you and yours and makes you happy? Then go be the best damn sample provider you can be! Be you. Make your own path and give yourself time to sort it all out. Dealing with your first career straight out of college is a lot. In the meanwhile, be sure you are taking care of yourself by finding positive ways to handle your stress. Be sure you are sleeping, eating, and stepping into sunshine. Get back in touch with things that bring joy such as hobbies you had or enjoyed and build them into your life. And please, please, please--if you are not able to break your sadness, find someone to talk to. There is no shame--none--in taking care of your mental health. You are more important than any job and we want you around, nurse or no, to show and tell us about all the great things you bring to the world. You got this. It might take some time to get it sorted, but you are a smart cookie--you can do this! Wishing you all the best, ~~CP~~ P.S. If there are grammar and spelling nightmares above, I got nothing. I have no time to edit on this good day.

Greetings, Pandora1212-- I have been browsing over everything that was written and where I agree with a lot of the frustration expressed by others on this thread regarding the conditions of healthcare, the change of healthcare to "just another business", the conditions of nursing employment, etc, I wanted to take a minute to chime in on some other points. Let's start with your questions above. Much of what changed in nursing education started when nursing education evolved from in person to online. Now, quick history lesson: once upon a time, nursing was a diploma/work study situation where lil' nurselets would essentially live in dormitories and work at the bedside to accomplish their education. These programs gave way to the more didactic approach of college coursework with clinical built in (ADN), and then further evolved to the BSN and beyond today. Please bear in mind...this is crazy watered down. But then the internet happened and suddenly folks did not have to do all of their classwork in an actual classroom. Suddenly the teachers some students were working with had never met their students face to face. And where that shouldn't matter--it does. Many programs have a cross-over of clinical and classroom instructors and losing that in an online program changes things. To complicate matters: the Covids. <--need I say more? What hasn't changed--I don't care where you go to school or what your clinical was like--a new grad has a lot to learn when they get to the bedside. But this is the way of medicine. The coursework essentially exists (along with licensure testing) to show you are a safe and competent provider on paper. That's it. But how could you know everything about everything? You can't! And that is 100% normal and expected. There is absolutely no way to expose a student to everything that medicine has to offer. And so residency programs and orientations came about as away to supplement what new grads were not able to get during school and help them build the rest of their organization skills as well as gain knowledge of policy and the like. Not to mention that it's just nice to have someone to bounce an idea off of. I digress. So what changed? Corporate healthcare. Increased ratios plus decreased staffing plus increased demand for orientees to be ready sooner = the bag of cats you have today. And sadly that means that preceptors have more work to do to get some new grads up and running but they also do not have the time, energy, or reimbursement to do so. See the problem? I do not want to make you afraid of being a nurse or nervous of it. But I want to give you the gift of reality. Nursing is first and foremost a job and it is rife with issues (Like others posted). And there are days you hate every waking minute of it and there are days that it is pretty darn awesome. Just like any other job. And as far as the "mean girl = nurses" meme--I have never laughed so hard in my life when I saw that on tiktok. I love it! Because yeah--I was called "mean" in school--because I took BS from no one. I didn't care what others thought of how I dressed or defined success or who I dated. I was opinionated and stubborn and knew what I wanted in life--you know--everything we as a society teach little girls not to be. So I was a "mean girl"....but my bills are paid and my family is provided for--so I think I'm doin' alright. As for the nurse who came up to you all......::sigh:: Somebody needed a !@#$ Snickers. I admit that I also talk to the nursing students about nursing in a way that may make them uncomfortable. But it is not to tell them not to be a nurse--it is to ask them "Why nursing?". Mostly it's curiosity. I always love finding out what draws people to do different things. The rest is to find out what they think nursing is. And I have to say, there is some truth to what you hear: it's XYZ ugly, but it's worth it. In a way that's the nursing version of the relationship status: It's complicated. Boy howdy is it complicated. For every story I can give you of some administrative nonsense or shouting doctor or "interesting" family or painful, traumatic event--I can give you a story of holding a scared first time mother's hand as she gives birth--of comforting the dying--of an ICU patient coming back to the unit looking to find their nursing team to say thank you--of singing a patient to sleep in the operating room--of an intubated patient remembering my voice and saying it made them feel safe (greatest complement ever btw). Nursing (medicine in general) gives us a front row seat to the theater of life, filled with drama and comedy. So few other jobs can be quite so polarizing all in the course of five minutes. Nursing is a ceaseless dichotomy: fueled by passion and monetary gain, triumph and loss, incredible highs and breathtaking lows. So I urge you: Find what you are passionate about. Forge your own path. Take care of yourself. And let everything else be water off a duck's back. Regards, ~~CP~~

No, not every school does. To keep this thread clear, I would be happy to discuss my journey to SRNA with you via PM. ?

Are there no patients on Tele? LOL. But yeah-I know what you mean. It's not quite the same, I can appreciate that whole heartedly. After all, reading about a balloon pump is very different from working with one . Sometimes when we have to make compromises, it's just finding a way to work in building ourselves up. Not to mention it is so much easier to apply knowledge you have already been exposed to--even in book form--then to just have to face it head on with no briefing. Either way, just some food for thought. And as I said, only you know what feels right and good for you to do. You'll find your way. You got this! ~~CP~~ Oh! You know, I just thought of this--you could work on your GRE! GRE scores are valid for five years--in this way you are also working toward your end goal of CRNA.

Knowledge is not something defined by or limited by the floor of your employ. Basically speaking, even should you decide to go to tele, you can always take a 12 lead class or pick up a copy of The ICU Book and read through it. Or you could grab a CCRN book and work your way through it. You are more than your job and your unit assignment. Do not limit yourself. ?

I feel like there are some things to unpack here from reading your posts. Now, granted, I have never met you and so I am going off of what I perceive from your posts, so please forgive me if I am wrong. First of all, there is the sentiments of your preceptor and the number of patients you are ready to handle. How far into your orientation are you? How much time are you alotted? Perhaps a bit more time might make you feel more secure in your tasks and management of time. And listen, there is nothing wrong with needing more time to get situated or struggling with time management. Because I don't give a flying Fig Newton on July Sunday if you have worked on the floor for years, going to the ICU or the ED or the OR or wherever is a completely different animal. And with that comes reworking how time is managed and tasks are organized. I say these things because I feel that stress of orientation mixed with a fair amount of pregnancy hormones may increase your general feeling of unease and contribute to your discomfort--because bodies are weird and sometimes say "ouch" when they really mean "Oh hey I'm anxious". And while we are on the topic of these pains, I am hoping you have chatted with your doc. If they are more normal--like from belly pull--I know there are these funky belt elastic thingies that are supposed to help. But in fairness, I have never given the births so I have no idea. I am not sure about the whole break situation, but identifying what necessitates the break and moving it to a more "convenient" time may behoove you (And I type this while shaking my head, because heaven knows there isn't a convenient time for anything in nursing). In other words, if it's your feet hurting--are you wearing the right shoes? If it's your calves--are you wearing support hose? If it's that you barf every single day at 10 like clockwork----I got nothing other than to say oh crap--I'm so sorry. Mothers are magical creatures and I don't know how y'all manage to get out of bed without punching a dolphin in the face let alone go to work. "On top of that, I need extra help with lifting and pulling patients." ^^^^ I don't care if you are pregnant or not. Do not ever EVER lift or pull a patient without help. You are not proving anything to anyone by doing this--all you're doing is wearing down your body and begging for an injury. Not to mention the risk to the patient with numerous lines/drains/vent. And if the expectation of this unit is you need to do these things without an extra pair of hands, then it is time to go. Tele is not a demotion. I know you didn't mean the word the way you used it. I know you meant that it feels like a demotion--like you are not progressing toward your goals or advancing your career. And so that brings me to my last point-- Goals and the progress towards them are not linear. Sometimes in order to get to experience something amazing, we have to change direction--kind of like seeing the world's largest ball of twine on a road trip or....I dunno...having a baby. Just because our career paths aren't this neat and clean A then B then C doesn't make them a waste of time or a failure or any of that. My career path is different then yours because mine was shaped by the influences of the situations I experienced. And everyone on this forum can say the same. And the beautiful thing about nursing? It is filled with multitudinous opportunities. But there is only one of you. You have to do what is best for you--body and heart--and only you know what that is. But I urge you--take care of you. Take care of your kidlet. And the rest will sort itself in time. I promise. Regards, ~~A Nurse That Took The Scenic Route~~ ^^^ This. All of this.