ErinRN2012

I knew I wanted to work at our local hospital when I graduated and passed boards, so I got hired as an aide just after I started my prereqs. I worked my tail off and made myself a valuable, well liked member of the healthcare team, and when I passed boards they gave me a position on my home floor without an interview. The rest is history.

I started working as an RN 4 years ago. I bought my first brand new car, a Hyundai Sonata, 2 years ago. I had wanted one for a long time. I pay bills, feed my family, and make sure my college student has everything she needs. I have a retirement fund going. My one "luxury" is travel, but I don't consider travel a luxury. For me it's a necessity. People think I'm crazy, but I generally take 2 trips a year, whether I can afford it or not.

I am an ortho/neuro nurse. I have dealt with more back surgery patients than I care to remember. My father-in-law had back surgery in January. Of course he was noncompliant with his care after discharge, and had to have a 2nd surgery. The entire time all this is going on he, or his wife, will not listen to anything I have to say on the subject. Their go to person for advice and information is my sister-in-law. She's a pharmacy tech at Wal-Mart

I'm on the fence about becoming an FNP. Mostly because I don't want to go back to school right now. I work with several NPs, and all but 1 are great to work with. The one that acts like she's above us never worked the floor as an RN. I think that makes a huge difference.

Thanks for the encouragement SnowyJ :) I try to live by the motto "you can't grow unless you step out of your comfort zone". Rather than shy away from new challenges and experiences I tend to meet them head on, and I hope I will be as determined to tackle this next adventure. Thank you again for the words of encouragement!

Thank you for the feedback. I have been pouring over everything I can get my hands on to try to get a good understanding of the job. I have more than a month before I start so I plan to spend most of that time getting familiar.

I am happy to see this comment. I am starting a CM position in August, and from what I can gather it is similar to yours. This makes me even more excited about this job! Thanks!!

I was offered a position in CM at the facility where I currently work. It is an hourly position, 40 hours/week, rotating holidays and every 5th weekend. They will pay $1.45 more per hour than my wage as a floor nurse. I work in Nebraska, though. Not New England.

Thank you for the information. It is a position in a hospital. Also, it sounds like the thick skin I've developed working the floor for the last few years will come in handy.

I am extremely excited about accepting a job offer in case management at the facility I've worked for for nearly 7 years. When I applied for the job I really didn't think I would even get an interview. Now I am looking forward to some new challenges and wearing something besides scrubs to work. 😊Here's my problem: I'm not really sure what an RN case manager at a hospital does. I was given a job description in the first interview, but it doesn't really go into detail. I have been assured that I will have as much orientation and support as I need while I learn, and that there is a 15 to 18 month learning curve to the job, so I am confident I can learn the ins and outs of case management. I am just curious what to expect going in. Any information and/or advice would be appreciated.

When I was in nursing school (4 years ago) I had an instructor that I just did not click with. We just never saw eye to eye, and I never felt like I was good enough for her. It didn't matter how hard I worked she always made me feel small and insignificant. Students from my school do their clinicals at the hospital where I work, and I love having them. I love teaching in the clinical setting. Two months ago my old instuctor had a group of first year students on my floor. She assigned one of them to me, which was flattering in itself, and asked me if the student could just follow me and observe how I go about my shift with a focus on head to toe assessment and time management. I happily said yes and off we went. I am a hands-on teacher so, when I did my assessments I instructed the student to listen to the heart and lungs, assess skin and so on, and had her verbalize her observations so we could compare, and did other things to allow the student to apply what she had learned so far in the classroom. When her time with me was over she thanked me and left. I didn't give it another thought. A few days later the instructor stopped me in the hall and told me the student had told her I was a wonderful teacher, that hands on learning was just what she needed to really understand head to toe assessment, and that I was the only nurse she had followed that had done a neuro check on every patient regardless of neurological status ( I work on an ortho/neuro floor). The instructor then went on to say she would like to add me to her cirriculum and asked me if I would be aggreeable to having a student for head to toe assessments for at least one shift a week during the school year! I was floored! Hands down the best thing an instructor has said to me! Knowing I have earned her respect, as a teacher and an RN is priceless!