BCooper77

I've been offered a position on the heart team. The perks/benefits are a raise of $5/hr, during the week if I'm working past 3:30pm then I'm making premium pay which is 2.5 times my hourly rate, on weekends I make time and half, a hourly rate for being on call for 24hrs at a time. In a 6 week schedule I'll take call 10-11 times (and expect to get called in), my beeper call must include one Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (they don't have to be together). Only heart team members can scrub the cases and there some people who can circulate it but are not on the team. There is a lot of burn out and it seems that employees quit the job altogether. I don't know if it's because management is just letting them leave (which seems like a terrible retention process) or the employee becomes so burnt out that they are willing to just walk away entirely. I am married and we don't have children. I've been learning in there and am enjoying the high acuity, adrenaline rushes, and thinking quickly on my feet. And I'm of the opinion if you can scrub or circ cardiac, you can do anything. My hesitation is can I hang with the hours required? Is an average of 60 hours a week going to kill me? I know only I can answer that but I wanted to see if the amount of commitment required was being apart of that team or the norm for the industry. But it does sound like it's normal. I'll have to ask more questions before I sign the contract. Thank you!

To all those nurses who are apart of a heart team, can you tell me average hours worked in a week, how many beeper calls a month, and many hours are you on beeper call for? i don't know what the norm is and am trying to get a gage on it. Thank you so much in advance.

We mostly use a Bovie and a suction Bovie. Settings are generally 25/25.

I am hitting a year in the OR and I'm experiencing the same things as you also. I always take notes on the newer things I learn so I can always refer to it the next time it comes up. I am made to feel like I'm stupid and instead of answering my question I get rude comments. How hard is it to answer my questions? I am not responsible for their behavior - only mine. Keep it classy.

I have been in the OR for almost 7 months now and I LOVE my job! I'm so grateful for the opportunity that my boss has given me. We are transitioning to a Level 1 trauma unit so there's a lot going on right now. I staff in ENT (what a confusing service), Plastics, Oral Surgery, and I'm learning in ortho-spine now. It's so much fun and challenging. Continued success to you all!

I do agree with what you say. However, he's seeing the trends in his company and he's seeing that they are consolidating lines of business into one and laying off employees. There have been a few discussions about the willingness to relocate to Seattle. He's concerned that if he refuses that he will be the next one to get laid off. I'll just have to wait to see the terms of the contract before making my final decision. He makes WAY more than I do and we could live off of savings for a little bit but it's a risk too. Makes me a little nervous.

Thank you! Actually, the hospital will be a Level 1 Trauma center at the end of the summer! Super excited! I now have a new question. I understand the cost associated with educating and training a new hire especially for Periop, however, a 2 year contract was mentioned. I will not be getting a sign on bonus of any sort so exactly what does that entail? My husband's job may request him to relocate and even though it's not in the immediate future, I can't say for sure it won't be for another 2 years. Advice? Any experience with these contracts and how binding they are? Thank you everyone!!

After my interview I go into the OR for a few hours to shadow a nurse so I'm super stoked about that! I've been reading up on Scrub and Circulating functions and responsibilities. I've started writing down questions already so I'm glad I did that. I just need to articulate better why I want OR over the other options. I like seeing quick results, I know I would terribly unhappy being on a Med/Surg floor, I love high acuity/stressful situations, I like to be kept on my toes, I never want to strive for normalcy. But for some reason it sounds bad in my head to say that bc I do not want to offend anyone who may want that or came from that. I could be over thinking this as well. I'm trying very hard to monitor my brain-mouth malfunction too. Thank you for your feedback too!!

My reply will be long so hang in there with me Let's say we have a NCLEX question like this: The nurse receives a change-of-shift report for a 76-year-old client who had a total hip replacement. The client is not oriented to time, place, or person and is attempting to get out of bed and pull out an I.V. line that's supplying hydration and antibiotics. The client has a vest restraint and bilateral soft wrist restraints. Which action by the nurse would be appropriate? So before I even look at my answer choice options, I wrote down the things that I know I would see/expect/anticipate. I know that the elderly may not respond well to anesthesia and pain meds, they can become disoriented and confused and a risk to themselves and others. I know the patient can be at risk for falls, DVT, possible infection at the incision site, etc. Then I read the question again to see if I need to simplify the wording better so I don't feel intimidated or anxious. Then I look at my answer choices: [TABLE] [TR] [TD=width: 12px, align: right] [/TD] [TD=width: 650px, align: left] [TABLE] [TR] [TD=width: 10px, align: center] 1. [/TD] [TD=align: left] Assess and document the behavior that requires continued use of restraints.[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] [/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] [TABLE] [TR] [TD=width: 15px, align: right][/TD] [TD=width: 12px, align: right] [/TD] [TD=width: 650px, align: left] [TABLE] [TR] [TD=width: 10px, align: center]2. [/TD] [TD=align: left] Tie the restraints in quick-release knots. [/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] [/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] [TABLE] [TR] [TD=width: 15px, align: right][/TD] [TD=width: 12px, align: right] [/TD] [TD=width: 650px, align: left] [TABLE] [TR] [TD=width: 10px, align: center]3. [/TD] [TD=align: left] Tie the restraints to the side rails of the bed.[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] [/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] [TABLE] [TR] [TD=width: 15px, align: right][/TD] [TD=width: 12px, align: right] [/TD] [TD=width: 650px, align: left] [TABLE] [TR] [TD=width: 10px, align: center]4. [/TD] [TD=align: left] Ask the client if he needs to go to the bathroom and provide range-of-motion exercises every 2 hours.[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] [/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] [TABLE] [TR] [TD=width: 15px, align: right][/TD] [TD=width: 12px, align: right] [/TD] [TD=width: 650px, align: left] [TABLE] [TR] [TD=width: 10px, align: center]5. [/TD] [TD=align: left]Position the vest restraints so that the straps are crossed in the back.[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] [/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] Now I eliminate all the wrong answers first!! This is SO VERY important. If you go looking for the right answers, in your head, you will rationalize until they are all right. VERY BIG NO NO! (This was my major issue) Answer choice 1 is a possibility bc I know that I may need to continually document why the pt needs the restraints. So I'm keeping that one for now. Answer choice 2 is a definite yes. I'm keeping it. Answer choice 3 is a no for me bc you can't tie the restraints to the side rails of the bed. I read this carefully and am eliminating it. Answer choice 4 is a yes bc it's important to take care of the pt's toileting needs and letting them move their limbs. I'm keeping this one. Answer choice 5 is a no for me bc I know that a vest restraint needs to be crossed over the front of the pt and not the back. Another reading it carefully and I'm eliminating this one as well. It can be time consuming but by writing out why I didn't chose an answer helped me to focus on what the question was asking. I didn't get distracted and make things up in my head. If I came to a question that I had no idea what it was talking about, I would research the topic to educate myself. I had the nursing knowledge but I needed the test taking skills to succeed. My system worked for me and hopefully someone else. I'm helping a friend right now and it's working for her too. Good luck you guys!!! Practice answering questions like your life depends on it. Don't give up!! (BTW-This question was taken from NCLEX RN 3500.)

I would never friend a boss. My FB consists of people I actually see outside of work, family, friends, etc. I think it's a very bad idea. You also need to consider that many employers are watching you and can use what you say on your social media against you. I knew a coworker who had stolen a bag of Clorox wipes from work and actually took a picture with it and posted it. She said something to the effect that she was keeping the flu bug away from her house. Someone showed that picture to the boss and she got fired. Monumentally stupid but she lost her job. Social media isn't to be played with.

I just wanted to update this post and say that it's been several months but I did pass the NCLEX the third time. I found what I was doing wrong and killed it in an hour and 20 minutes and 75 questions. Thank you!

Hi everyone!! I'm a new grad and am interviewing for the Perioperative Program tomorrow morning. I am so nervous and excited! I was told to review the scrub nurse and circulating nurse positions and what it entails. I was also told to prepare for those personality questions. I just wanted to know from you guys where should I go to research this information? I generally have a poor brain-mouth filter and want to be as reheorificed as possible. I have worked as a tech in the SICU for almost 5 years and then on a med/surg floor. I know I will be unhappy on a med/surg floor. I like to see quick results and I feel that the OR may help to fill that need (among others). Anything that you guys think that would help me would be great and thank you in advance!

Exactly! I've taken the test twice and failed. The first time I was so anxious and nervous I could hardly focus and keep it together. The second time I studied for hours, practiced questions, did study groups and went into the test feeling good and confident. And then left feeling good and confident and then was stunned I failed again! When I think back on the test the second time around I didn't know how to handle the harder questions when I got to them because I didn't have access to the more difficult ones. That's why I'm hoping to find another brand of questions that are considered hard. My thought process is that maybe the Pearson brand may be close to the test...who knows?

I was wondering if anyone has used the Pearson Review and Rationales book to study for the NCLEX? I have studied Lippincott's, Saunders, and have taken a review course and I'm not really feeling like I'm getting practice with the difficult questions. Does anyone know of a brand that would give me most practice with analysis and application? I practice questions with the other brands mentioned and pretty much fly through the questions. Thanks in advance!! :)

All 265 again. The first time I took it I got all 265 and used all 6 hours. This time it took me 4 hours to answer all 265.