knittygrittyRN

Well have you looked into any of the programs close to you? Or have you decided what type of school you want to attend (ADN vs BSN)? BSN will give you the most options, job wise in most parts of the state. Look at schools and see what they want for prerequisites. If your motivated you can do anything!

I'm finishing my graduate degree this year, I can say it has opened more opportunities for myself but I agree that you'll have to examine your own needs. I worked in informatics and now simulation education because of my degree both of which are higher paying then a university would be. You might want to consider jobs that might be open to you as well instead of a 'traditional' nurse educator position.

Yes, so I transitioned into Informatics without a MSN in informatics. I do have a BSN, and I'm currently finishing my MSN in Nursing Education. I was a super user and did support/training for a few go-lives and then transitioned into a fulltime clinical informatics education position. The hardest part was the shift to daytime hours for myself (since I worked third shift previously; and feeling like I was ill-prepared for the role since I never really taught in a classroom before). Most entry level informatics positions I've seen, are educator/trainer, which don't really require a master's degree. From there you can transition into an analyst position and because you'll have work experience it's usually an easier transition. I'm not a member of HIMSS yet, although I do plan on eventually sitting for my RN-BC in Informatics and the CPHIMS in the next year.

Do you know if your area really demands a master's in informatics? Or do you want a graduate degree for yourself? I was asking myself the same question, because I figured a masters in informatics would put me a step ahead. I ended up talking to numerous people at my facility and found out that they really cared more about work experience not so much a degree. Often they felt the the degree was nice but didn't really prepare anyone for the role. They suggested volunteering and becoming a super-user so I had more experience with our applications. I went on to support our go lives and did a little education and training for all employees during our transition. I ultimately ended up interviewing at another facility and getting a full-time job as a clinical informatics education specialist; I basically teach all employees how to document in the system and create various types of educational materials. I am finishing my masters in nursing education simply because it opens more doors, and I wanted a higher degree for myself. As far as certifications go there's a couple you can go for but all of them require work/ education experience. There's the RN-BC in informatics which you could get if you meet the educational requirements. CPHIMS or CAHIMS which requires work experience. I would focus on getting experience to see if that's what you like, and try to get experience with various applications. While I'm a great clinical resource, its my IT skills that sold me and my experience with various programs (like Lectora, Camtasia, web design etc) since I create materials/web site maintenance using those programs.

Honestly the advice I got from my facility was to volunteer to be a superuser for my clinical application and support go-lives throughout the organization. I have my BSN, but they steered me away from getting a master's in informatics simply because they valued the work experience more. I ultimately did a few go lives for my organization and got hired as a full time clinical informatics educator which I love. I am finishing my master's in nursing education simply because a lot of informatics handles education, and I find it helpful to understand how to teach people, whether it's the end users or teaching analysts how to build various applications.

I'm a floor nurse that I literally just switched into informatics recently. Honestly my best advice is volunteer at your facility to work with your IT or informatics department. We were beginning to switch EMR systems so I became a super user and assisted in the classroom teaching my coworkers and did the go lives as elbow support for staff. Since my facility owns others I was able to gain more experience by working their go lives as well. I eventually applied for an informatics educator job which is what I'm doing now. I did ask others about whether a Master's in informatics would make me more competitive but many told me no. They felt it wasn't necessary and that I wouldn't have real world experience. That said I am doing a Masters in Nursing Education which is what gave me the leg up for my current position. I hope that helps some!

I currently work for HH however your question seems geared towards Rushford which I have no experience with. Speaking strictly about HH, I think its similar to other area hospitals in complaints to staffing ratios. The only real benefit is since its a large corporation you can go nearly anywhere in the state. Additionally if you further your education you can change roles or choose any specialty you want since Hartford has so many.

Honestly look into some of the other colleges in CT. I ultimately decided with University of Saint Joseph and it was great for me. There was a large cost but their financial aid department worked a lot with me; way more then some of the other colleges in the area. And everyone was accepted there was no competing for seats, you simply had to maintain your grades. I think you are more likely to be waitlisted at a community college since the number of applicants are greater when compared to a traditional school.

What about discussing this with a nurse educator? Obviously there seems to be a learning opportunity for these units. (My guess is since you're not having problems with the med-surg units, and it sounds like this particular unit I'm almost wondering if it's just a few bad eggs permeating this idea that patient's need to be picture perfect to arrive back and teaching other nurses this behavior. Or sounds like they want to avoid admissions!) If your manager isn't getting anywhere, they need to escalate this situation because it not only does a disservice to patients, but removes those higher acuity beds for patients that could actually use them. I once had a patient on my unit with a BP of around 190. We were giving her everything we could IV and nothing dropped her BP. I think if I recall only IV Fentanyl got her down to maybe 170. And even then this was just a med/surg unit, non tele- no one was concerned since it was just the patient's baseline. So for her it was 'healthy'.

I didn't go to Goodwin, although when I was looking at schools I did look into their program. Honestly in my opinion they charge a lot for their program. I did a majority of my prereqs at other schools and would have already started behind in their point system because of that. With that said I ended up going to a traditional route and getting my BSN. I went to University of Saint Joseph. It looks like a ton of money when you first look up their tuition, however their financial aid really worked with me so I didn't pay nearly that much. No worries about entrance exams (at least when I went not sure if that's changed), and they accept everyone, no fighting or competition for a spot!

I'm not sure if my facility has a specific post op HTN protocol. However we do have a policy regarding patients with known hypertension, namely that they can come to the floor with BP's up to 180. There would need to be something else going on medically for them to go to Step-Down/ICU or tele. I do post-op women's health, non tele so I can't give any BP meds IV unless the patient has been on some BP med at home. I'm limited to Lopressor and Hydralazine. That said if we know a patient has HTN, I wouldn't be that concerned especially if I got in report that their pre-op BP was that high. Also in my experience the first night they're getting IV pain meds anyway, and that usually drops them at least a little. I'm surprised they're so worried, my facility is more concerned with dropping them too quickly, so we would rather leave them high then anything else.

Here's my experience: I was hired after I graduated onto a med/surg floor (infectious disease), currently I work on women's health and I float to L&D and postpartum. I wouldn't trade my med/surg experience for anything. A lot of the nurses on my floor are unfamiliar with common medical issues simply because these types of patients never used to be admitted to our unit. I feel like I have a much more solid background to work with especially with patients coming in with numerous comorbidities. At my hospital, this path seems to be the most common way nurses get into L&D, they start elsewhere and then move in when there's an opening. Usually they'll try and take nurses from my unit since we have some experience already but its not necessary. L&D nurses are like critical care nurses, so think about cardiac experience, arrhythmia courses, ACLS, PALS, etc. You could also look into breastfeeding courses, becoming an LC/IBLCE to show that you're interested and possibly open up some other doors for you.

First off congrats on getting your license! I can't speak directly about Florida since I'm based in CT but here's what I've seen up here: most of my local hospitals have stopped hiring ADN nurses and will only hire BSN nurses. If you're interested in furthering your degree putting that on your resume could be a huge booster. Also in my experience new grads positions in labor and delivery are hard to come by. Most of the nurses on L&D started elsewhere in the hospital and applied when a position opened up. It doesn't hurt to know what you want, but keep your mind open and try a different area of nursing to get your foot in the door at a facility. It doesn't hurt to get what ever certifications you can since it shows you have initiative. Don't beat yourself up too much since landing that first job is difficult no matter what, but best of luck to you!

Honestly what Goodwin is charging is equivalent to what some BSN programs are charging for tuition. I have nearly the same amount of debt from student loans as another commenter here and I got my BSN in 3 years. I'd look around and talk to various schools, financial aid departments are awesome at finding loans and aid for students to cut down on costs.

I work in the Hartford area at a major hospital, our starting salary is 29.00 although for nurse ratios it completely is dependent on the floor and staffing. Managers will tell you the ratios are 5-6 but since there isn't mandated staffing levels, it can be whatever. I've worked on floors caring for 10+ patients at a time as a new grad.