VioletaRockos

Indeed has been my best friend in my search. "Remote registered nurse" in your state. That way your license is good.

I did ask her to explain the culture shock. She said the majority of short-term workers left due to feeling "isolated," not "directly caring for patients," and the "immense learning curve." As far as I see it, it's still patient care, I enjoy my husband's company (he works from home as well) and I have the most adorable puppy, and friends outside of work. The learning curve I'm completely prepared for and I'm great with new computer systems. This was the second interview (I believe out of 3) so I wasn't offered the job yet. I'll definitely check back in here if they do extend it to me.

Thanks for the insight! Did you specifically work for an insurance company? I was told that this was salary, and that sometimes I'd have to work evenings (12-8p) so they seem a little strict about hours. I should have asked, "Will I be able to walk away for a few or be able to go to a doctor's appt during the day?"

Hey all! So I'm considering a career change. I've been a floor nurse for quite a while, and recently suffered a foot injury that doesn't seem to be healing super well. I'm getting antsy not working, so I've been applying to insurance jobs in the hopes of using my RN and not wearing my body down quite so much. I had an interview for a remote RN case manager job today. The managers that interviewed me sounded excited at the prospect of hiring me. I'm computer savvy, am working on my Master's, and have the clinical background to support the job. They, however, kept emphasizing that many people don't like the "culture shock" of the job, and many leave quickly. I understand that work-from-home doesn't mean I'll have time to do other things around the house. I'll have set hours from 8-5. But I was wondering if anyone could provide any insight into this type of job, just from personal experience. I'm slightly worried about how productive they expect someone to be the point when they will monitor my computer activity. Will I end it putting way more than 8 hours a day just to catch up? Will I not be able to walk away from the computer to stretch for 10 minutes or take the dog out? Will it interfere with my home life? Thanks!

Time for you to grow a thicker skin, honey. You're going to be called a lot worse in your career. Just don't let it bother you and move on.

Weekly reports are a standard thing? Yeah, I need to get out of my hospital.

Alright. I have to say something. Because I was a preceptor a year in to my first job as a new nurse. I hope you see this comment out of the hundred or so you probably already have here, but you probably won't, so here it goes anyway. You sound like a very good nurse. Yes, patient care always without a doubt comes first. There have been days (I'm almost 4 years in now) where I don't start charting until my shift has ended. On a med-surg floor especially, the first things you should be doing are assessing your patient and getting the patient up and out of bed/walking/into the bathroom so they can have breakfast and you can pass your AM meds. This is priority number 1. For your 5-7 patients on dayshift. What you have to realize is that if you try to practice to the perfection that you are trying to aspire to, you will get fired or burn out within the first year. Because whether you like it or not (and trust me, no good nurse does like it), charts matter. The time you chart matters. If you don't give your meds in a timely fashion, that's a write up. If you don't have your charts at least started by a certain time, that's another write up. When that one patient gets sue happy about something that happened during their hospital stay and you're brought to court, charting times matter. Hospitals don't like when their employees are a liability. So they expect the impossible. They expect you to be the perfect nurse, the perfect customer service robot, and an asset to their company. Nurses take shortcuts. Like many comments before me have said, there is real world and nursing school world. That ideal vision needs to be removed from your head, and instead planted with the smart nurse who has the skills but knows how to get **** done. Dressing changes are never sterile on the floor, unless they are ordered as such. Change your gloves in between removing the old and applying the new. Make sure the patient isn't soiled. Go by your CNAs vitals. That's what they're there for. Unless you know that they did them purposely at a wrong time to better suit their needs. It's okay to scan 2 IVs at the same time. If something happens, you back chart and say not administered and this is why. Stop striving for perfect. Go for ideal. Nobody wants the perfect nurse when you're taking too much time doing something that doesn't need to be done, and your 4 other patients are ringing their buzzers. If you see something against policy or something unsafe that your preceptor is doing, you can report them. Otherwise, learn to adapt, but be comfortable and safe doing so, for your sake and your patients' sake.

That's how I feel! I work with nurses with 10-30 years experience, and feel like they should be oriented first (yes, some of them haven't). And here I am with my two, not knowing certain terms/diagnoses off the top of my head... Not knowing exactly what to do in certain situations. It's just so daunting.

Oh God, so much things to know! This is what gets me scared. I need a good system. Of knows and not so important information, because I know I can't remember everything. Thank you!

We do have certain doctors who only ask for the nurse taking care of the patient. And other nurses can make calls, but since each nurse is also responsible for all their baths, walks, med passing, OR/discharge paperwork, going to the charge nurse and saying "Hey, this is my problem with x patient. Can you call and make him aware?" Is easier with the total patient care workload of 5-6 patients, and then the charge nurse doesn't have a patient assignment. I call if it's something I can deal with on my own, but if it involves a lot of knowledge or something I'm not familiar with, then I ask the charge nurse.

Hello all! I wanted some feedback on something... In my very very short 2 year experience as an RN, I don't typically see charge nurses in hospitals (out of all the hospitals I did clinicals at and where I worked as a nursing assistance for 2 years during school). My hospital is one of the few that still has charge nurses on our Med-Surg floor. I'm been at the hospital for two years now, and got into the groove of things. Our contract says that after a year, we can be placed in the charge position. I was never really approached about it and I kept quiet about it. There are 4 nurses on days that rotate it and it's never really come up. I've been out of the past 3 months for a knee injury, and called my manager this afternoon to say "Iiiiiii'm baaaaack," and asked what he wanted to do about my schedule. "How about you come in tomorrow, and orient at the desk a little bit, and kind of help out, and see how you feel/ We can work on your schedule then." *gulp* I have anxiety about the desk, I'm not going to lie. I still have doctor anxiety and phone anxiety as stupid as it sounds. I've made my own calls before to doctors, when the charge nurse has been swamped and I needed something immediately, but something about picking up the phone and being interrogated by one doctor about one of the 30 patients on the floor is daunting. I guess I'm looking for advice, tips or tricks that nurses use to keep themselves organized when dealing with 30 patients in a relatively acute setting as a charge nurse. Thanks!

When I first applied for jobs, I swear I did a 100+ applications just in PA and only had about 5 reply back, so I think that's a country wide thing since companies are so reluctant to hire. So I guess I'm prepared for that. We have a nurse that sometimes comes in at 11am (I work first shift) and she'll help with discharges and admissions, so I guess the break nurse is kinda sorta a little bit like that. Thanks for all your feedback! Incidentally, he didn't get the job, but he's still looking at the west coast for jobs. Hopefully soon!

Having patient mandated ratios sounds like a fantastic thing. I'll have to look into whether or not I could get a job with one year of experience, though. Is that actually a thing? Good luck in Missouri! I'm sure you'll be fine =)

I have no idea what a break nurse is. Is that just someone who fills in for the charge when they're on break...? I've heard fantastic things about the mandated ratios, but I'm also being told I might not get a job in San Francisco based on my "only one year" of experience. How many years did you have under your belt before you moved?

Kinda seems like it's up in the air. I am very aware that even though California nurses get paid a lot more, the cost of living over there is insane. The job he's currently looking at is in Sacramento (dunno if that really makes a difference.) I've worked as a nurse in PA for a little over a year and I'm just... tired. Tired of being mandated, tired of 6-7 patient assignments, tired of not getting breaks when I should. Some people say this is a universal nursing thing as of right now, because of the national shortage. Very I'm just optimistic that the change of scenery might make me like nursing again. Or maybe it's time to try a different field *shrug*