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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 :)

I took a phlebotomy course at my college last summer, got to practice on real people even, but the old adage "use it or lose it" comes in to play- I would not feel comfortable starting IVs now, even though I've taken a course. Practice practice practice!

On one hand, you acted appropriately in an emergency situation- you established an airway and prevented the patient from deteriorating further. On the other hand, how could there not be spare trachs (one same, one smaller) at the bedside? That, however, does not seem like it was your problem, since he wasn't your patient. The doc will get over it once all the facts come into light.

Yes, I come up with 8.625 mL, although I was thrown at first by the "400mg/5L."

" I never even heard it called PDN until I came here to Allnurses." Me neither! I fully understand the difference now, though.

I think the question was whether to an send email vs. snail mail, If I am reading it correctly. Personally, I don't think you can ever go wrong with a hand written thank you note. People love to get mail, and the interviewer probably gets a hundred emails a day, so a written thank you would probably stand out more. :) Edited to add: I think it would be ok to drop off to the dept. or hand over a written note to the person- doesn't necessarily have to have a stamp on it

You can also request an old syllabus from the potential instructor you plan on taking the course from. But like pp said, the content varies by type of chem. In nursing, you will likely take basic chemistry (similar to high school) and perhaps organic chem. Course descriptions are also available on university websites.

I would just apply, apply, apply, as it may not be until May 2015 that you get something! It's a tight market, probation or not, so I don't think it would behoove you to just wait it out. Try applying to positions where narcs aren't readily available, like PDN, as it may be easier to acquire a position in that kind of an environment versus a hospital, and build your reputation back up. Even doing stuff like flu shot clinics helps get you back in the working world and beefs up your resume, showing active employment and continuity. Good luck!

I'm ACLS certified, not PALS, but in general with these types of classes, they WANT you to pass, so rest easy knowing that. Also, there are plenty of online practice tests and resources, such as this one: Free ACLS & PALS Practice Test - ACLS/PALS Pretest And I always go through the AHA for my certifications- they're reputable and have classes/locations all over the US.

I agree with jamuuh that knowing someone is key. I have been trying to get into Seattle Children's Hospital for 3 months to no avail, so I finally found a connection through a mom at my kid's school who happens to be way up in HR there. Well, she got me an interview with a senior nurse recruiter (and it went really well!), who then forwarded my info to the recruiter on the medical unit, and now I am crossing my fingers that something opens up on that unit... However, as a PDN, I found that I needed to highlight my skills that would be useful in an acute care environment, and when I talked about what I did with my current patients, the HR person literally said "Clearly you should be working here (at SCH)." Now, part of it was me selling myself in person (great interpersonal skills, smiley, confident- check), but the other part was me selling my skills as a PDN. For instance, I have extensive vent and trach experience. One pt. requires intense resp. txs that involve a Cuirass machine and a cough assist machine, in addition to frequent nasal, oral and trach suction. I have handled emergency decannulations. I work with nonverbal pts. so my assessment skills have to be excellent. I transfer nonmobile pts. to standers and tumbleforms. And, perhaps one of the most important components to what I do, I SET and MAINTAIN professional boundaries with families! For this HR person, that was huge. Also, the open communication that needs to be maintained with families and patients is important. So my point is, highlight the skills that translate into an acute care environment and really highlight those on your resume. And find a way to make a connection with someone who can help get you an interview in some capacity with the hospital. I didn't know very well the connection I pursued, but it paid off- sometimes you just gotta put yourself out there.

Is it possible to get standing orders for some things, like antibiotic ointment? Especially if the pt. has received it in the past and there is no known allergic reaction. As for the gossip, I would deal with it head on. If you know who is gossiping, confront the person(s). You can approach it like, "I have heard from people that you question my nursing judgment. I am open to feedback and would like to know how you think I should go about X?" Be aware of body language and tone- you don't want to make someone defensive, as that would defeat the purpose. If you are adhering to facility policy, that person won't likely have much to say, but at least you've called them out and they might be less likely to gossip behind your back in the future. Also, can the nurse manager (or whoever's in charge), call a meeting to talk about open communication techniques and discourage gossip? Maybe if it's coming from the higher ups it could help induce change? Sometimes, though, the culture of a place is too rampant with this kind of stuff for any real change to happen. You could always start looking for another job with a less toxic environment, and in the meantime, keep being professional and not participate in the gossip.