NurseRose84

I stayed just over 7 months at my first job and transferred to a higher acuity unit in the same hospital system.

I graduated last May, so I reach my one year mark next month. I lasted five months on a telemetry/progressive(ish) unit before I started applying to other places. A little after 7 months in, I transferred to a medicine ICU in the same teaching hospital system, and absolutely love it! Granted, I transferred to the larger hospital. The floor I worked at originally was on the smaller "community" feeling hospital that did not have ear the same resources that the bigger hospital I'm now at does. Although I loved my coworkers on the tele floormany of our patients were way too sick for a 4:1 assignment, much less a 5 or 6:1 ratio that we were getting. Coincidentally, we were a fully staffed unit and had our nurses pulled to other units to fully staff them, which left us not fully staffed, even though our acuity was higher than the other floors. Best of luck to you all!

This definitely!!! Also open abdominal fistulas on a patient that just can't seem to grasp that NPO means absolutely nothing by mouth. No matter what we would do, her husband kept brining her 2 liter Sprites/Mt. Dews and Mexican food. Blech! The acid smell is just too much to take!!! [emoji107]🏻[emoji40]

I started out as a full-time nights PCT a semester before I started nursing school on a tele floor. It was wonderful, but the scheduling issues I had, trying to work around class was difficult. A year and a half later, I transferred to the PCT float pool in the same hospital, and it was a life changer! For our hospital, as float pool staff are only required to work 40 hours a month, and make our own schedule. I worked full-time all the way through nursing school, with my last year in school in the float pool. For me, the benefits of being a floater outweighed the hard parts. If you work on the floors long enough, the nurses and other techs get to know you and your work and it won't be bad. Plus, you'll get excellent references from nurses, and may have a job lined up before you graduate! I think you'll love it! It was a wonderful experience and helped me realize what aspects of nursing I enjoyed before I graduated.

There are a ton of good brain sheets on here. Just search for them in the search engine. [emoji3] That being said, congrats on the new job!! I was a new grad in May, so I totally understand not knowing what to bring. I think everything on your list should suffice. I would add Tylenol, ibuprofen, or Aleve, and a good water bottle. Also, there are some really good apps for up to date drug references (micromedex), and labs. I would get those so you don't have to cart the books around. Best of luck on your new job!!!

Please don't think going for your ADN is a waste of time! I graduated in May with my ADN, but had a job lined up at an excellent university hospital several months before I graduated. In fact, out of the roughly 80 people in my class that graduated, many of us had jobs lined up prior to graduation, and the rest have been hired on in the past couple months. One of my old roommates tried to tell me that getting my ADN was a waste of time as well, but at the hospital I work at, about half of the nurses hired are ADNs, we just have to get our BSN within 5 years. In fact, ALL of us that were hired as new grads starting this summer on my floor were ADN educated nurses! You'll do great, and be a wonderful nurse. Best of luck!

Wow! This is an entertaining thread! I feel the need to indulge in some buttery popcorn and Twizzlers! In regards to the OP...although I worked 36-48 hours a week all the way through nursing school, and managed to maintain a 3.8 GPA, I am well aware that many of my classmates couldn't handle working while in school and keep their grades up. I didn't work out of necessity; in fact we could have been comfortable with some budgetary cut backs had I not worked. For me it was more of an "I want to get experience in a hospital and learn how to interact with patients before I become a nurse," type thing. If you've never worked in a hospital or with patients prior to now, I would recommend trying to get even a per diem position as a tech, or a clerk, sitter, or anything that will allow you to get patient contact. Not working during school won't make you a bad nurse, but I feel like working with patients definitely made me a better one. OP, best of luck in whatever you decide to do during school!

Oh boy! Where to begin? Bad habits abound when I'm around! - super bad potty mouth. Let's just say my favorite word starts with an "F!" - I love beer, Irish whisky, and straight Kentucky Bourbon. My mom works at a distillery, so I grew up with the house smelling of bourbon mash. - the occasional cigarette; for some reason, I have no desire to smoke unless I'm going in to work or with my old nursing school pals. - refuse to wear a helmet when horseback riding. They block my peripheral vision, and I can't stand it. - I drive way too fast, with the music too loud. - and I love regular Pepsi...I just can't quit it...I would rather have a regular Pepsi than cookies, candy, cake, ice cream, or brownies!

OP, As MANY of the other posters have written, what the heck did you think you were going to be doing as a CNA/tech in a hospital?! Is it necessary to have CNA experience if you want to be a nurse? No, but it can make you a better nurse. Being a tech is far from glamorous, but you could definitely have learned skills that would have been invaluable in the future. As a new grad that just started as a RN on the floor I began my tech career at, I appreciate the skills gained while in the CNA role. "Tech work" is also nurse's work. Everything in a CNA's scope of practice is in a RN's scope of practice, but NOT vice versa! I hear the techs I work with bi$&@ing about how they can't get help from some nurses, and vowed that, when I became a nurse the only reason I wouldn't help the techs is if I truly didn't have time. While on orientation, I'm still getting used to the charting system, and the medication barcode scanning system, which is making me a little slower than I would like, but I still don't mind "wiping butts," on my patients. It part of the job, regardless of whether you're a CNA or RN. It's not my favorite thing to do, but it is far from below me to clean a patient. Everyone deserves to maintain what dignity they have left after being in the hospital! That includes not having to lay in stool and urine because you, the tech, felt like cleaning them was something you shouldn't have to do. I have to agree with so many of the previous posters when I say that I hope you find a nice, cushy office job. Because, if you do make it through nursing school, you're in for a rude awakening. You are going to make any friends with the attitude you had on your first post. My advice to you if you really, truly want to be a nurse, is to get over yourself and try to get another job as a tech in a different hospital. The experience gained can be invaluable to your nursing career, and you'll have a greater appreciation for the techs that work with you if you do become a nurse.

I took mine May 29 (Friday before last) at 14:00 and was able to access them on the 31st after 14:00. The wait was terrible! Hope everyone did well!

Lexington, KY Offered job on critical care/tele floor: March 20, 2015 Graduated May 9, 2015 Passed NCLEX May 29, 2015 Started orientation June 1! Congrats everyone for their new jobs!

The planner from Plum Paper is really similar to the Erin Condren planner, but about $20 cheaper. I REALLY wanted an Erin Condren planner, but when I ordered it, I couldn't pick the months I wanted in it! From what I've read about them though, they're worth every penny!

I use this on from Plum Paper on Etsy. It's a little pricy ($32) for 12 months, plus I extended it out to 18 months, and had stickers added so I could color code my classes, preceptorship, work, my kids appointments, interviews, etc. I tried a bunch of other planners throughout nursing school and this one is by far my favorite. One caveat, because it is personalized, it takes 3-4 weeks to ship. I promise you it is well worth it. I would always buy planners, or put my class schedules in my apple calendar with the intention of using them, and never would. I don't know if it's because this one is so pretty, or because I paid so much for it, but I use it all the time!

Thanks for the advice you all! I'm just so upset because I had previously talked with the manager about a position there, and was really hoping to get it. I think part of what really threw me off was that my school had us do mock interviews the week I had my actual interview, so I was answering questions how my instructor said to answer them, and they just felt stiff coming out of my mouth. They didn't sound like me at all! Oh well, I've got an interview on the unit I first started teching on this week, so hopefully it won't go as horribly as that one did!!! I can always reapply once I get experience on the floor and know how I want to answer the questions. Thanks again for the advice! I really appreciate it! 😃

Hey ladies/gents! First off, I guess I should say that I am a soon to be new grad RN/ADN (May, 2015) that currently works as a float pool tech at a large teaching hospital. Last Wednesday, I had my first interview with a Level 1 Trauma ICU in this hospital. I LOVE working there as a tech, and would love to work there as a RN once I graduate. So, at my interview, I was super excited... Which unfortunately led to extreme performance anxiety. I was stuttering over my words, not answering the questions the ways wanted to... It was extremely embarrassing, especially given that I can normally carry on perfectly normal conversations with the manager and assistant manager when I work on the unit. I spoke with the manager today, and was told that she was worried that I would experience the same sort of debilitating stress/anxiety that I did at the interview on the floor when I first started out. I agree with her completely. I end up being so worried that I'm going to screw things up that I do screw things up! On a good note, she did say she definitely wanted me on her team, so hopefully I'll be able to get one of the new grad positions, or a position in her progressive care units. 😄 My question to you all is, do you have any advice on how to chill out before an interview? This was my first nursing interview, and I really don't want to screw anymore up! Thanks in advance!