chibiRN

Thanks for your input guys! Had I known it would per diem I probably would not have accepted the offer because I know how rare it is for benefits to be offered to per diem staff. The thing is though- they don't hire "part time" employees and they only offer full time status to office staff and case managers. NONE of our visit nurses are getting benefits! So here's my question now...Do you think it will look bad on a resume leaving my first job in nursing after only 4 or 5 months? And how do I address this in an interview without it seeming like I'm bad-mouthing my employer?

When I was in nursing school my dad's side of the family kept asking if med school were next. The finally got it now that I WANT to be a nurse! LOL but now that I'm thinking of going back for my MSN or PhD in nursing we're back to the drawing board. My Japanese grandma asked the other day "Doctor of Nursing? Why not doctor of doctor? Your cousin is doctor you know?" I totally get your pain!

NCLEX is not the end goal here people! You need to understand how the questions work (I would strongly suggest Mark Klimek!) but it's just a test to see if you will survive as a new nurse without killing all of your patients! I focused way too hard on passing that stupid test in nursing school. My best advice is to go to every class unless you are deathly ill, pay attention, ask questions even if they seem dumb (I bet someone else in the class has the same question but is afraid to ask!), but most of all try to apply what's being covered in lecture to your clinical work. After NCLEX, THAT'S what matters!

I can no longer watch medical dramas. I start yelling at the TV "A doc would NEVER do that! MD drawing his own labs?! And the nurse is just sitting there holding a clip board waiting for orders?!?"

I started in HH shortly after being licensed in Feb, so I'm still pretty darn new to this field. I feel like I'm being taken advantage of but maybe this is the norm in HH? When I was hired, my manager told me I would be working full time. Apparently what she meant was 30-40 hrs/week but technically per diem. I found out after hire that they only offer full time to office staff and case managers (who work 60hrs/week for a 40 hr salary!). I have no PTO, no option for health insurance and no holiday pay. They don't offer a company cell phone or any kind of reimbursement for the crazy number of minutes I blow through calling docs, pharmacies and other nurses. I'm an RN making $20/visit ($30 for the elusive oasis visit) after my first raise. Average starting rate for hospitals in my area is around $24. After finding out that I worked 10 hours on the 4th of July and will not be receiving holiday pay I'm so ready to throw in the towel. Honestly, I love my patients and most of my coworkers but I made almost as much and was treated better when I was waiting tables in college! Someone please tell me that it's just this company that treats its nurses like this and there is still hope for me out there!

I've recently obtained my CCW. Like you, some of the neighborhoods I have to go into are pretty sketchy and I work 2nd shift, which makes me a little nervous too. My HH company has a no weapons on company property policy, and I would never take it into a pts home, but I have been considering keeping my .38sp in the car. In my state, your vehicle is your property (just like your home) regardless of where it is, so for me at least this would be perfectly legal. You might want to really check out the laws in your area though, because it would be a shame to lose your job or license d/t not knowing the laws! Most of the girls I work with cary pepper spray and a few carry tazers. Just another thing to consider =)

I accepted the job. They are a national company and I will be with another RN for the first few weeks. I will also have an on call RN I can contact if I need help so I think I will be ok as far as training goes.

Odd but if you must wear scrubs, I would probably go with solid navy blue with white shoes. I use either peri cleaner or acetone and some cotton balls to clean mine and they come out very clean =) hope that helps

I felt the same way until my grandfather passed away. He had lung cancer and I spent a month or so caring for him and my grandmother before he passed. It was incredibly difficult for our family, but our hospice nurse was so sensitive and understanding. She really helped us through such a difficult time. I had always been afraid that I was too emotionally "soft" for nursing. I thought that I would panic in an emergency situation or that I wouldn't be able to handle it if one of my patients died, or that I would puke if I watched a surgery. But the experience with my grandfather made me realize that if I can handle all of that with my own family, then surely I can help someone that I don't even know! I decided to go for it, finished up a couple prereqs and applied to nursing school.They rejected me and I applied again. I got in the second time, made it though the program, graduated, passed boards, and guess what? I'm so glad I decided to pursue this career! It's difficult at times, but oh so rewarding. The more you experience, the thicker your skin gets. I lost my first patient during a clinical rotation. It was a bummer, and sad to deal with his family, but I made it and I feel good knowing that I did everything that I could to make him comfortable in his last few hours. You'll never know unless you try. I say go for it. If you hate it, at least you wont live the rest of your life wondering "what if".

I agree with the above posters. I wish I would have known all this before choosing a school too! I graduated in December and too boards at the beginning of the month. I passed with the min # of questions, but looking back in retrospect, I wish I would have been a bit more judicious in choosing a better nursing school. I saw that the school's NCLEX pass rate was 99% and thought that was great...My class started at about 75. the LPN to RN transition students joined us about half way through (probably 20-25 students) and 50something of us made it to graduation. So out of my class of 75 only 30ish of us made it. The program was entirely test score based with a curved grading scale (94%=A, 75%=failing). If you didn't make the grade, you had one more change to retake the class but if you fail again, you're out for good. We were graded for completion in the clinical setting. As long as you showed up on time, did all of your paper work and managed not to kill anyone, you were in the clear. I suppose what I'm saying here is that while book smarts is great, it not all that there is to know in this field. I felt that all my school wanted to do was prep us for NCLEX and send us on our way. I do not feel at all like I'm as prepared as I should be to enter the ground running as a staff nurse. Talk to the current students. Hang around campus and approach the people wearing their ugly clinical scrubs. Most of them will probably be happy to give you an opinion on the education they're getting.

Hey all! I'm a new grad RN. I have about a year's experience in home health as an STNA but no other healthcare experience (aside from clinical rotations, obviously). I have an interview this week for a home health RN job. Starting pay is $19/hour plus milage reimbursement, and I'm not sure that they even offer medical benefits for part time employees. I'm in central Ohio & I know starting pay for a staff RN in area hospitals is around $23-25, depending on the facility. With such a saturated job market, being a new grad and having pretty limited healthcare experience I know I cannot afford to be too picky, but I don't want to sell myself short either. Is $19/hr too low? Should I ask for more, and if so how? Thanks!

Whoops- just saw the Magna Cum Laude at the bottom! Great job by the way- not an easy accomplishment! Maybe move that up to the top under the education section to make it more noticeable?

I agree. I want to know less about your clinical rotations and more about your supervisor duties at the dry cleaners and your duties in the military. It sounds like you have a lot of experience managing people and this is important! How many people were you in charge of? What were you responsible for? How did you manage your time/resources? Expand on that military service- employers love military service! It means discipline and loyalty in their eyes. Also, any school achievements you can include?

The only posting available at the LTC facility I want to work at is for a Charge RN. I wasn't going to even apply because I'm a new grad but your post has inspired me to give it a shot. Thanks! And good job by the way- you sound like a nurse I would trust caring for my own family

Just got my acceptance letter to OSU's RN to BSN! Pretty excited, but still no job offers or even interviews Maybe I'll have better luck in the OSU med center now.