MajorAl

Ok, I have just 3 Fridays left to work, 2 weekends and a total of 24 days until I am retired. My wife and I are buying a house in Nicaragua to be near her family when it isn't warm here (Wisconsin). I plan to spend the first 6 months cleaning and organizing the basement. After that little chore, I think we'll be doing some landscaping around the house and lots of camping in the US. I started planning for retirement when my dad retired. I started saving for retirement as soon as I could after I graduated with my BSN. (Mom and Dad retired before I graduated from Nursing school. Talk about planning ahead.) I have basically spent the last 30 years working to get to where I am today. Advice? Start that 401k,403b, 457 and/or IRA TODAY!!!! You won't ever have enough extra money to start one, and after a couple of paydays you won't miss the money you're putting into it. I'm serious, start it TODAY! I mean, could you spare 25 cents? 25 cents per hour times 80 hours per 2 weeks equals $520 per year. That's not enough to retire on, but it's a start. Then whenever you get a raise put most, if not all of it, into your retirement account. Put at least 80% into the stock market, more if you're under 40. If you have the temperment, consider joining the military as a reservist. I'm collecting nearly a grand every month from Uncle Sam due to my 22 years in the military and it helps. Sit down and do the math at 520 per year and 8% return on your money in the stock market. (8% is conservative) and then you'll run to start your account. Just remember, no one cares about your retirement as much as you do. As trite as it sounds, no one plans to fail, but many fail to plan. Student Nurses, yeah you 20 year olds, take this advice to heart and 37 years from now you can be writing this letter. Take care everyone. And if anyone has questions, just message me.

There's some strange mentality in Nursing that says we have to abuse our newbies. I have observed this for the 40 years I've been in Nursing. And I'll admit that I've probably done some of it too, but I think mine was more in the form of a friendly hazing, (sending the new guy for 3 feet of sterile fallopian tubing) rather than having the attitude "you're not as good as I am". Just hang in there and once your coworkers realize that you're as good as you say you are, you'll be accepted. And if they don't, threaten them with me. Take care and have a good career. Alan

Wisconsin is also one of the compact states. My license says multistate not Wisconsin. The understanding is that if I were to move to, say Texas, I would practice on this license until time to renew then renew in Texas. There's a total of 20 or 21 states in the compact. The only time I get a list though is when it's time to renew my license. Check to see if your state is in the compact and it'll make it easier to move. Alan

I agree with "Doc" Viking. I started my nursing career 40 years ago as a HM (8404) and ended up retiring from the USAR as a nurse. The best nurses in the world are serving in our military, of course I'm prejudiced but I don't care. Besides, do you want to end up with a BSN and 40K in student loans? I didn't think so. Go for it and good luck.

BKLPN: YOU have the hardest job in the military, a military wife. You, and the other military spouses, are real heroes. I admire you for what you're doing. I know whereof I talk, because MY wife got to stay home while I went to the first Gulf war. I can only say, keep your eyes on the prize. I know it sounds trite, but December will be here before we're ready for it. I know that you're going through literal hell right now, but what a Christmas present, RN and HUBBY at the same time. I wish I could do more for you but you are an incredibly strong woman. Remember, that which doesn't kill us only makes us stronger. Feel free to email me if you need more support, or have questions that maybe I can answer. (I hate to admit it, but I've been a RN longer than you've been breathing. And, I'm retired Army.) Bless you. Alan

1) Do you do any sort of evaluation on those nurses you precept, even if it's just a note to the supervisor? 2) I think that you should take the attitude with the new employee that YOU are there to help HER, not management. Do you have a union where you work? If so, there should be a union rep present also. I have also precepted many new nurses. Where I work, there are about 80 nurses and I have probably precepted, or helped precept, 30 of them. It is an expectation of the precepting nurse, here, that we communicate with the supervisor of the new nurse how s/he is doing. This is not to put us in a management position, but to give us a stronger nurse in the future. I, personally, would go and present what this nurse's strong points are and where she needs improvement. Good Luck. Alan

Okay, there are a LOT of negative threads on this site, but I bet if you were to go on a site dedicated to plumbers, or auto mechanics, or whatever you'd find the same amount of negativity (as a percentage) posted. I'm not a new nurse, as a matter of fact I'm retiring in August, so I know what I'm talking about. Maybe some of the negativity is because the majority of nurses are female and females tend to talk about their feelings more than us lowly males. Are there problems in nursing? You can bet your bottom dollar on that. But there are problems in any career field especially if you look for them. I've seen most of the problems and I can say that slowly but surely they are being addressed. Wages? Adjusted for inflation they are higher now than when I started as a RN in 1975. Working conditions are also better, but they are not perfect. (Nor will they ever be!) What we need to do is just make sure to take care of ourselves as well as we take care of our patients.

First, you need to learn there is no such thing as a silly (or dumb) question. The only way a question could be dumb would be if EVERYONE knew the answer. Second, you need to trust your boyfriend (unless he wants you to do something your daddy says no to, then say no :rotfl: ) he sounds like he knows you and your abilities. Third, are you willing to habla un pocito de espanol con un paciente? You know a little, try to learn a few nursing/medical related phrases and how to use them. You'll do fine.

As long as the school is accredited, should not be a problem. Most states don't care where you went to school, just how well you do on the boards.

$4.44 per hour in 1975, that equates to $16.64 in today's dollars. My brother in law was making (starting salary) $5.55 at the same time. His job? Working as a mechanic at a newspaper. The best part is I only have 160 working days left and then I'm retired. Take care and Happy New Year. Alan

Well, I am a RN with 35 years of experience and I agree. You have to take a break and take care of yourself. I have been a supervisor and I always insisted on my Nurses taking their breaks. If your coworkers won't cover for you, call your supervisor and demand help. Talk to your supervisor about a hostile work environment. Take care of yourself first to take care of your patients. When I was in the Army, the hardest thing I had to train new nurses to do was take care of themselves first so they would be ALIVE to take care of their patients. Sometimes tough love is the only way. Take care. Alan

Well the article is right. I would like to work a job that gives me every weekend off and no evenings/nights/holidays. But I'm not going to cut my pay by close to 50% to do it.

Okay, I'm an oooooold guy, 60 this year. IMHO calling a patient honey or sweetie when they are over 5 years old and don't live with you is demeaning. I can't remember names either, I've been in mental health nursing since 1970 and have learned to forget names when I walk out the door! I have found an alternative to calling someone honey or sweetie, I use the simple words "Sir" and "Ma'am". In over 30 years of nursing only 2 patients have complained about it. Both said basically the same thing: You're taking care of me and you're well educated. It doesn't feel right when you call me sir. Just my 2 cents worth. And if I might be so bold as to suggest it to anyone who has the habit of calling everyone honey or sweetie, try using Sir or Ma'am instead. Just seems more polite.

Okay, I'm going to show my age here. When I graduated with my BSN, business students expected their salary to match their age by the time they were 30. My salary matched my age 2 years ago for the first time. As I said earlier, you will never get rich being a nurse (well 99% of us won't) but you won't starve to death and you can fund a comfortable retirement and give your kids a fairly good education. (Nothing wrong with state schools, I graduated from University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh myself.)