MEINstudent

At my very large level 1 trauma center, clinic nurses start at $5 less per hour than bedside/OR/ED nurses.

I moved to the OR and while it's very different from bedside nursing, it feels more exciting than stressful. Pre-op is a decent environment, especially in the same day surgery environment, where nurses take turns staying later in the evening when su...

I always bring a grapefruit to eat when I work at night. It takes a while to eat, is super hydrating, low calorie. I buy a big container of roasted, unsalted cashews, and keep a few small containers (those little Ziploc square plastic ones) in my ...

You are extremely lucky you did not harm her. It's good that this is staying with you. It will make you a safer nurse. You could let it get the better of you, but the adult thing to do is to remember it and move forward so that you are extra care...

I could see giving a muscle relaxant med ordered for TID PRN, closer together than 8 hours. Say, the patient takes one when he wakes up, but then likes an additional dose prior to physical therapy. But if a patient asked for a second dose less than...

I agree with above comments that it takes years to be comfortable and confident. I would say actually, about 10 years, personally. But... you should not be making med errors or any serious errors. That is carelessness and not paying close attent...

University of Connecticut. But there are other places that have a better program in my opinion. The way the UConn program was set up, you pass the NClex but you don’t actually learn a whole lot. It’s too much too fast. And I graduated with a very ...

No. I have a first degree in Liberal Arts - Literature. I went back and did a one year BSN program that was designed for people with degrees in prior fields, and intended for second career (i.e. older) people. There were about ten of us at the inf...

Are you on babycenter? They have an excellent "Family Finances" group that will help you figure this out. There is a budget template where you can figure out how much you need to make. A weekend Baylor shift, where you work 24 but get paid for 36, ...

It's only been 18 months since you left, right? Do you live in an area with a nursing shortage, or where there are plenty of applicants for every job? I don't think you are at a disadvantage; you haven't been out for years and years. You will likely...

In response to the highlighted portion above, your logic is flawed. If a healthcare worker is refusing to participate in an objectionable procedure of an LGBT person, it is not discrimination. They are objecting to the procedure, not the person. ...

So I did not read the entire 440 pages of this new rule, but I read a few synopses of it, and it seems like a lot of the hysteria is based on hypotheticals. A lot of "it could mean" or "it could allow". Clinton signed into law the original conscie...

You want to argue that abortion is something not easily chosen. And I have no doubt that it is a painful experience. But statistically, 45% of women who have had abortions, are having more than one. That statistic comes from the Guttmacher Institu...

My primary point was that almost all of the responses to OP were outrage over the very restricted access some states are seeking to make law, but in other states, laws are being presented that allow unrestricted access to abortion. So that hypotheti...

I am an OR nurse, and we regularly do abortions after 20 weeks, sometimes for no other reason than the woman changed her mind. Perfectly healthy baby. I exercise my right to refrain from participation, and in a huge OR, the truth is that there are ...

I would stick it out for a year, so that you don't burn bridges at your hospital. I started in med-surg and transferred to the OR at my hospital after 2 years on the med-surg floor (I didn't care for the culture either). Does the hospital you work i...

Did you even keep up your license? Do you honestly remember anything? Seven years is a very long time to be away for someone with even more years of experience. You forget meds, symptoms of serious illness, etc. I don't want to put down your dre...

You could just keep two extra scrub tops in a big Ziploc bag in your locker, so that if you have a c dif patient, you can plan to change your shirt. If the conference room has a microwave in it, you should pick up the medela steam bags. they are awe...

Honestly, I would talk to your manager about taking the full 12 weeks, especially if you have post partum anxiety. They could make an exception for you if they like you. Your wording is weird. You had the baby already? Does your hospital have a d...

I started in bedside nursing six years ago and got burnt out pretty quickly. three years ago I moved to the OR. More money, less stress. Fewer holidays. No nights or weekends (Baylor in place). Minimal call. I work the evening/trauma shift at a...

I would not go into $300k debt. I would explore all my options to avoid that. Can you move back in with your parents or another relative that is near a school? You are only in your 20s? How about looking to see if joining the national guard or ot...

Nursing is a second career for me. I spent thirteen years working in patent law, but grew tired of it. I did a volunteer trip to Calcutta, and thought nursing would offer me a better work life balance (working 3 days a week), and be more meaningful...

Bullying encompasses a lot of things. I would be curious to know how many people have heard (or done themselves) a nurse trash-talking a fellow nurse to their peers? That is bullying. I have been a nurse for 6 years, and never thought I would be t...

I also am a nurse as a second career, though I've been a nurse now for about six years. It takes 5-10 years to really get comfortable in nursing, but I think it is just a stressful career choice. I don't love it, but I appreciate the flexibility of ...

I am an OR nurse, and transferred from a med-surg unit several years ago, going through a perioperative training program. PACU is not really going to get you closer to the OR, especially at an OSC, which likely does not hire unexperienced OR nurses...