Sippie

I think the OP should do what is in her heart as long as she is healthy. Maybe see her health care provider and get a thorough exam just to be on the safe side. Then, if she isn't in shape, try a walking program or join a gym, get enough sleep, and eat healthy and see if that doesn't help her with stress. Certain hobbies also can help with stress. Yoga is helpful for me as is gardening. I agree that she should either volunteer or work as a CNA/PCT first or while in school. It will help her network and also see what she is getting into. I volunteered in a really busy ER on the seedy side of town that got a lot of action. That led to a CNA job in that hospital which led to getting picked over thousands of applicants for a coveted Summer Nurse Extern Program which led to working as a nurse extern which led to job offers from that and many other hospitals before I even graduated. It also made me very very comfortable as a new grad. I ended up moving due to dh's job to the Midwest (from Phx) so even in a new environment where everything was different and the way they did nursing was different, I still had confidence that I never would have had, if I had not volunteered and worked before graduating. When I was in nursing school, there were 2 people who were "older" in my class. One was 55. Both were successful and got hospital jobs. There was also a student in the class ahead of me who was 65. She still got hired after graduation. This was a BSN program and the times were a little better for new grads getting jobs so that might have made a difference. Just another thought, the way many nurses are treated in America is similar to work conditions in some 3rd world countries. No bathroom breaks, food, drinks, way understaffed, working in unsafe conditions for nurses and patients. Then told to suck it up. Sounds like a sweat shop situation to me lol. We do get paid way better and have health insurance options. I guess that's the catch, but really, we need to band together and change this. Its really crazy if you think about it that nothing has been done already. I am guilty as anyone of going with the flow and saying, "Hey, I took care of 10 patients today! (Not counting the ones coming and going lol) and feeling proud of myself for making it through the shift and getting everything done on time somehow. How good was my care? These patients and the insurance companies are paying buku bucks to for a quality stay in a hospital ...way more than some super nice resort and all anyone cares about is how to give everything as cheap and as little as possible. Its shameful. OK end of rant lol.

Every new grad has feelings like this. It is normal :) Sometimes the thinking about it is much worse than the doing it. It is gonna be rough for the first six months to a year -at least, just realize that. Go to work everyday and think I am going to learn something new! You are a new grad and no one thinks you will be perfect. Sometimes we have super high expectations of ourselves even as new grads but you will not be perfect, you will make mistakes, and you will learn from them. You did the book work, passed your boards, but now you are going to learn to be a good nurse. I got my BSN RN in 1996 so I do know what I am talking about. It may even take you a year to be comfortable on the floor and no matter what area of nursing you go into you still have a huge learning curve that first year. One thing you can do once you get on the floor is to learn to prioritize and manage your time. Go slow at first and see what's what. Its kinda like typing, accuracy first then speed. Another thing is to keep a list and write down anything you have questions about, new meds, new treatments, procedures etc. Go home and look them up every night while it is fresh in your mind. Expect to 'study' a little when you are starting a new job. If you still have questions ask your preceptor.

If you do decide to report her to the board make sure to take a screenshot of her facebook page showing the RN after her name before you do the reporting. Submit this to the board if it is illegal in your state. If you don't have any proof then once you report her she will just change it on her facebook and you will look stupid.

When I first became a nurse (not in FL) we often had 10 patients on a super busy med surg floor. Half the time we only had one nurse's aid to help with 40 patients total, so basically all the aid could do was vitals and water twice a shift and we were left with total care of everything else. It was crazy and I believe, dangerous. Hospitals would tell you that the most you would ever have was 7 which was a total lie. I think 6 is a lot better, especially if one has a tech or aid to help out, but of course, less is always agreeable. The pay rate in FL is very low. Property is not too expensive especially if you want to live outside of town a ways. You can get several acres fairly cheap. If you want to live in one of the bigger cities in an apartment/condo or in a house in an HOA it is more expensive. A lot of the hospitals hardly pay extra for working any holidays. I think my dh's is down to paying only 2 now.

Its probably cheaper to offer these incentives than to hire more staff. There is no shortage of nurses in FL, they probably just don't want to pay to train new grad nurses. There could possibly be a slight shortage of EXPERIENCED nurses but it is probably still cheaper to just have your regular staff work extra during the busy season than to hire more staff.

It won't be easy and expect to work as a tech or something patient care related while you are in school. Also shoot for a BSN if you wanna come to FL because many to most hospitals now want Magnet Status here and this is the trend. So they are gonna only be hiring BSN. Some are already requiring ADNs to go back for a BSN if they want to keep their jobs. So its not gonna be fast either. It is competitive in FL but it is that way everywhere now. I know BSNs who worked while in school and are now going for Masters degrees because they still can't get jobs as a nurse here in FL. They did everything right but the market is slow. Gone are the days when the recruiters were calling your house asking when you were graduating and taking your boards because they needed a warm body to work pronto lol. There is no nursing shortage right now but there may be when/if the older nurses decide to retire. Many cannot due to the economy and losses of savings, spousal jobs, retirement plans, etc. and they don't have to because the law is on their side as long as they can work competently.

If you don't like your current position and it is not safe then by all means leave but don't give up nursing. I worked a job once that had 10-11 patients total care on a very busy med surg/ tele floor. I felt it was seriously unsafe. We were 'supposed' to have nurse's aids but they would quit all the time or not show up for work etc etc. If they didn't we were just stuck. It happened all the time. When I interviewed for the job they told me I would have 7 patients at the most. NOT!! That hospital had such a high RN turnover and even the RN travelers (which they used a ton of..surprise surprise) left before their contracts were over half the time. I stuck it out for a year only because we moved there from somewhere else and my dh also worked at this hospital and I had 3 kids. If I didn't have kids to support I prob would have gave my 2 weeks and left sooner.

I think this is the original research paper. It is on the JAMA website. Dig around a little and you can see that 87.1 % of ebola patients in this study presented with a fever. MMS: Error

I think if ebola really begins to spread in the U.S. we need to have free standing ebola clinics or even free standing emergency room/hospital ebola clinics that are not attached to the main hospitals. This would help keep pregnant women, babies, children, elderly and anyone with low immune systems etc from being so at risk. It seems that the pregnant women cases I have been reading about in Africa are really a sad affair. The mothers bleed to death after delivery, the babies are born early and dead etc. Especially horrifying. Ebola really needs to be in a whole separate building instead of inside the general hospitals.

I was thinking the same thing and have been wondering if the fiance of Duncan has come down with any symptoms yet? I haven't seen anything saying one way or another. It seems like she would have been most at risk because she was caring for him when he got symptoms and sleeping in the same house or possibly bed (?) and handling contaminated items. If she doesn't get ill then perhaps getting sick easier from the later stage or after death is true.

Sad about the nurse who is now ill. Prayers to her and her family. CDC is saying there was some apparent breach in the 'protocol'. It will be interesting to see what exactly happened. It does seem like a lot of healthcare workers are catching ebola even though they are wearing protective gear and taking precautions. In Africa, maybe they didn't have all the stuff they needed and had to clean and re use things quite a bit which I could see leading to accidents. Here in the U.S. they should have appropriate gear that was hopefully disposable and being incinerated.

In order to go to medical school you will need a Bachelors Degree and also to complete the specific pre req's for the specific medical school/s you are trying to get into. It doesn't seem to matter what your major is as long as you get really good grades. The pre req's are usually Biology 1 &2, Inorganic Chem 1 & 2 , Organic Chem 1 & 2, Physics 1 &2, Sometimes biochem. will be required. I have seen different math requirements- some want calculus 1 &2 and some have less math requirements. You also need to take MCAT. The specific pre req's are what prepare you for MCAT so take it soon after you complete your pre req's. You can go the MD or DO route. Lots of nurses become doctors and with the "non/not-nurse shortage" and many nurses getting their BSNs with bleak job outlooks, I am willing to bet that there will be many more BSNs applying to med school. I have seen many recent inquiries on RNs becoming doctors on the SDN and old premeds forums etc. Having actual patient care experience is a plus on med school applications. A lot of pre- med students have only volunteered in a ER or some become EMTs to get a little hands on care for their applications. A nurse has more responsibility and higher patient care skills. If you can get your RN and work a little bit it will benefit you as an applicant whether you go MD or nurse practitioner. If you already have a BSN and don't have the pre req's for med school it is harder to get financial aid to cover that so you should definitely work them into your original bachelor's degree if you can. If you are unsure about the path you want to choose, you can always try shadowing a MD or Do and a few Nurse Practitioners to see what their jobs really entail. As long as your Bachelors program is at an accredited US college/university the credits should transfer. Be sure to check with the Professional graduate program/s that you are planning to apply to. Some of the community colleges are now becoming state colleges offering 4 yr degrees etc. but their tuition is still lower than some of the traditional universities so they are a good place to do those extra pre med post bacc (pre req's) especially if you are having to pay for them without the help of financial aid etc.

You don't say how much experience you have so kinda hard to say for sure. Different hospitals pay a little differently as well. In general FL pays way less than Calif. However, Fl probably costs half as much to live here depending on where in CA you live... Fl is considered Poor Man's Paradise

I haven't seen the scribes in the ED but I swear there might have been one at my last eye doctor's appt lol. She followed the physician around and wrote down everything that happened and everything that was said. I should of asked lol. Do scribes ever work for regular doctors outside of the ED as well? I was aware of scribes due to the talk from the med students on SDN that have done it.

It sounds like you just had a bad case of nerves. It does seem like you have a good preceptor. You will do better as you gain confidence and get used to how things are done. Getting a job in ER right out of school means they must have seen something in you that told them you would make a great nurse. Just take it a day at a time and don't beat yourself up. Someday you will be an expert and have a student that is nervous and insecure and you can tell her about your experience.