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If you're ok with the rate of pay, I would go for it. Working with a central line and TPN would look great on a resume and you would gain some pretty cool knowledge and skill

If you were to take nutrition during nursing school, first semester would be the time, as the program will only get more intense. However, if you're going to take a class in summer, online is a nice way to do it and still enjoy your summer As for nutrition being "hard," I think it depends on the instructor (mine was an easy 4.0).

That's how I document feedings, too: "120 mls peptamen with prebio at rate of 100 mls/hr via GT" or "100 mls H2O bolus via gravity to GT." All my clt.'s are NPO- it's stated in the plan of care- but I don't document that specifically, as I am charting the rate and route already.

I consider a lift to be the same things you stated, Beachy. However, it never occurred to me to document how I transfer my 3 yo, 35 lb SMA type 1 patient (no movement/tone at all except eyes). I always write, "pt. tolerated transfer from bed to stander" or whatever, never stating that it is a manual lift. My agency is the same- no lifting anything over 50 lbs. without mechanical assistance.

I read the topic line and thought you meant "Is it possible to work in a hospital as a new nurse??" (eliminating the word 'not'). In my area, it's super hard to get hired into a hospital as a new grad unless you know someone.

I would say definitely P/T- you are still working, getting paid, gaining experience, and (hopefully) you will still have time left over for yourself and your baby. There is always time to move into full time once you are comfortable with managing a family and a new job. Congratulations and good luck! :)

I have seen ads posted on Craig's List for private duty nurses.

I was just glad I got the math right before I looked at the answers! But I did use a paper and pencil...

That's funny, Cayenne- you're a good sport

Same as everyone else: amount (scant, moderate, copious), color (clear, white, opaque, tinged with red, creamy, yellow, green), consistency (semi- thick, thick, thin, sticky) and like SDALPN, I typically chart size of catheter and depth of suction (nasopharyngeal suction with 8F to 12 cm, inline trach suction with 8F to 11.5 cm, oral suction with 10F to 6cm, etc.). I also state how the pt. tolerated it ("tolerated well with no desats" or "s/s of discomfort AEB eyes watering and facial grimacing."). I like tenacious for sticky- will have to add that to the repertoire

I had to Google "molly," lol.

Yes, but you have to have at least 21 weeks of experience

"Most of the time, the parents are much more difficult than the kids." This! Poppycat speaks the truth. I find that the kids are troopers, but the parents are bonkers, I mean, challenging

Communication and patient/family teaching is huge in peds. Also, you say you can't apply your patience to misbehaving children who aren't complying with direction, but wait 'til you get the kid who keeps pulling out his IV line or climbing out of bed when he/she's not supposed to or keeps throwing their HME every 10 seconds or refuses to take his meds or insert just about anything here.... It's great that you love to make people smile and laugh. However, you also have to be "the bad guy" sometimes to get the job done. You will have to give that injection or do nasal suction or clean that wound or make that phone call as a mandated reporter... none of which the pt. likes and there isn't anything that you can do to make the kid smile or laugh about it. When choosing a school, look for one that offers an acute pediatric rotation to get a true sense o what you will be working with. Even if you work in a clinic or homecare, you will face a lot of the same issues. Great luck to you and welcome to your journey of becoming a nurse! :)

tyvin- hearing is the last sense to go...shame on those nurses! All my patients are nonverbal (I'm a PDN in pediatrics). One pt. is deaf and half blind as well. Facial expressions are big, and we have also developed our own sign language when communicating with him (certain signs for "are you ready?" "Let's walk" "Time for bath" etc.). My other pt. we use eye signals ("look up for yes" "look at pink if you want that one or blue if you want that one"). Body language is really important, too, as stated above. Not crossing your arms when talking to someone and maintaining eye contact are important. With children (and anyone, really), coming down to their eye level shifts the dynamic from that of a power position to one of more equality. As a nurse, working with nonverbal pts. has honed my assessment skills. I can look at my pts. and know something is going on simply by a facial tic or their affect or one side of the face is slightly puffy which means X. I can make determinations without them telling me :)