starlane

I just had some questions about renal patients as i do not have a lot of experience, just wondering: -If a patients BUN and UREA is elevated what do doctors typically order? or do they just get dialysis? what happens if BUN and UREA is elevated in a non renal pt (or maybe they are now suspecting renal failure) but what type of orders would you be expecting? -Is it common for people w high BUN/UREA/renal failure to not have an appetite/decreased intake/output? -Also, Do you flush dialysis ports?

thanks everyone

Do you think it would be possible to just shadow a case manager to get more knowledge

Hi, I wanted to get some advice, I am a new grad, and have done bedside nursing for about 6 months, and i do enjoy it but i don't really picture myself being there forever. I would really rather go down more a business, ccac case manager, government type of job, but as a new grad i feel that it would be hard to get those positions. I am just wondering how i can achieve these goals, if i should go back to school for something? Does anyone have any similar experiences?

What I want to know if for heparin, pantaloc, high conc potassium are these all piggybacks to a ns bag?? or are you running these as primaries? I am just confused about how to set it up

Hi everyone, I just had a few questions about: 1. IV heparin 2.Pantaloc drip and 3. Blood Administration Just wondering if anyone has a good resource on how to set these up, not in terms of calculations, but just tubing/priming etc.,

I know this is a dumb question, but what is the difference between a myocardial infarction and a cardiac arrest?? I always thought these were the same thing

I think it depends where you work, someone once told me quote for quote that "nurses get jobs in the maternity unit when their ready to die"-meaning that it is slower paced ( I have never worked there though so I can't really vouch for that). I don't really think that all nurses are perpetually exhausted unless they do it to themselves, a lot of nurses i know are workaholics, most have two jobs-but if you take care of yourself, make time for yourself outside of work you will be fine :)

wow that is so sketchy, any place that asks you for money whether its to obtain the "job" or for "training" thats not right. I would rather work at a local fast food place until i find a proper job.

Hey, you don't need it to get hired but it obviously puts you ahead of others, i would just wait until you are hired but IF your unsuccessful/ having a hard time finding a job then just take the plunge and get those certificates! I recently applied for hemodialysis and i got called back with zero experience working in that field and no nephrology/hemodialysis courses, so that means they would be willing to train me and give me time to complete these courses- usually they say that if you are hired you need to finish certain certificates within one year of hire

Tormok did you end up finding a job?

It is very difficult to find a job as a new graduate but something to keep in mind is that sometimes you apply and they don't call back until 2-3 months later! that has happened to me a few times

Congrats, have you had your interview yet? I also have an interview coming up in the Toronto area (different hospital though). Interviews are so nerve wracking for me, especially because i am a new grad, the way i prepare is just to write down questions and answers so i will first do behaviour type of questions (what would you do if you walked into a room and found a pt on the floor, what would you do if your pt was having chest pain, your patient is diabetic and non communicative what do you do, Describe a time you went above and beyond.etc) Also divide your questions into categories ex. leadership, initiative, communication, respect, teamwork, critical thinking and find at least two examples of how you showed this skill-and if you really want to prepare also find one example of when you could have performed this skill better (if they ask you "describe a time your team work could have been better" - i have been asked this before) and finally then i would prepare for the typical questions like "why do you want to work here" why should we hire you? what do you know about our company? strengths/weaknesses? what is your greatest learning need? PRACTICE- let a friend or family member interview you! Here are some questions that are divided into categories: http://academicdepartments.musc.edu/hr/university/emp_corner/leaders/interviewtools/behavioralbased.pdf

If you are only shadowing, I don't think that you would be doing any skills anyways. I would personally wear scrubs since your actually on the floor, just be friendly smile "nice to meet you" all that jazz, people want to work with others who are friendly and positive. I don't know if this is much help but anyways good luck to you!!!!

First of all I want to say good luck to you, I know it can be hard to find a job as a new grad and also a very nerve racking time!! 1. "Tell me about a time a patient complimented you." I don't have a good story for this one. I know they're going for the all-important customer satisfaction here, but I just don't have anything beyond a patient telling my preceptor I've done well all shift. -Did a patient ever give you flowers, a card, did a patient ever tell you you were a great nurse, did you ever sit down and talk to a patient-was the patient thankful--try to think of specific experiences "Tell me what you think your greatest learning curve will be." I think this is the hateful 'greatest weakness' question reinvented. I went the route that I'm a new grad, no experience, but my old job gave me time management and (insert other stuff here) skills, but I need a better answer for this. -I had this question also recently and I used the same example, personally i think its a great answer because its a weakness you can't change, everyone was new at one point. Just be honest, say that because you are a new grad you still have a lot to learn BUT you are a fast learner and extremely passionate about nursing and ...etc "What are your long-term goals?" I mentioned becoming an NP, and that's it. After, I thought I should have mentioned getting a med-surge certification and becoming a charge nurse. What else can I say to show I want to grow? Maybe mention something about mentorship, you would like to preceptor students--thats a good one because it shows you work well in a leadership type of position and want to pass on knowledge :-)

Yes, definitely keep that on your resume, it shows your a hard worker and although maybe not health related there are still many great transferable skills :-)

I also applied to over 200 RN jobs and got 2 call backs out of all those applications. 1. Apply-everyday- to every position and look at different locations as well 2. visit a career center-where they can help you tweak your resume and help you to prepare for interviews 3. Connect with clinical instructors, nurses, anyone working in a healthcare related field that can help out 4. Consider moving 5. When you find a job that you are really interested in call HR, find out who the manager is, and email the manager directly 6. Volunteer- to gain experience and to give back to your community, try aiming for something health related of course 7. Positive thinking :-)

That is true, however if you are newly hired you do have to show some respect to the people working there and even if this job is not ideal, the person should be thankful they HAVE a job.

It would make sense to learn it so that your prepared for when you get a job!!!!

Thanks for all the replies, I think it depends where you went to school/which facility you were hired--I suppose they all are different. I am an RN and in all my four years in school we were not allowed to insert IV's at all, even in consolidation. At my school they always said that if we wanted to be able to insert IV's during our consolidation we would have to take this four day course (Which i never did). So when i recently got hired I just kind of had this mindset that a course was needed, but I will ask my educator

Just a question, in order to start IV's do you need to complete an IV course? (I am a new RN just hired)

You have gotten great advice so far--I also agree with some one the other people here, it does seem strange that you got fired for one medication error because truthfully I am sure all nurses at one point or another has made a minor med error...(with no adverse effects). Again, its really difficult to be positive and optimistic when your constantly dealt bad cards but your attitude and outlook makes such a huge impact, it impacts your own mindset and also impacts how people view you. Remember that popular book/movie "the secret".. the secret is if you want something you have to envision it and be positive. Keep applying! Go to a career centre where they can help you find suitable jobs AND help you with interviewing techniques. In the mean time get a non nursing related job--I was really struggling to get a job as a new graduate nurse and as an RN i was working at a fast food restaurant--it sucks but its better than sitting at home and being depressed...

Thank you, interviews are so nerve racking--I do not do well under stress/anxiety so I can definitely understand where you are coming from. Your interview sounds really hard though, i feel like if you apply for med/surg or units that do not require additional courses the interviews really are much easier (not saying that you should necessarily go that route just for that reason) but my interview was pretty basic, chest pain, your patient falls what do you do..I will keep my fingers crossed for you and even if you don't get this specific job at least its good practice and more questions for you to put in your interview question bank (:

Thank you everyone for responding! and good luck relaxing bath on your interview TOMORROW! my interview went well and i got the job :-) just basic questions really, weakness, strength, describe scope of practice difference btwn rn and rpn, basic scenarios chest pain, pt falling, SOB and prioritizing your care...in preparation i made que cards! --which helped. This is not under the new grad initiative but anyways hopefully all goes well!! Let us know how your interview went :-) good luck!!! another thing that helps is to pick categories ex. leadership, communication, organization, caring, critical thinking etc and for each category find an example of a time u showed this skill and despite the question you can use the multiple examples you brainstormed in a few questions so if u have an example for critical thinking that can be used for both the direct question "Describe a situation where you had to use critical thinking skills?" or "Describe a difficult/challenging situation? What steps did you take to solve this problem"

I have an interview tomorrow in the inpatient surgical department i am extremely nervous!!! because with anxiety i forget my answers and have a hard time wording what i want to say, any tips, any interview questions i should be focusing on the most?!!! Thanks