RegMurse12

So I've been working nights for a while now. In the beginning, I would wake up, eat a big "breakfast," pack a healthy lunch, then come home and eat a light "dinner" and go to bed. I've always been the type to lose weight when I don't work out (I know. ..poor me...) but that part of my life hasn't changed. What has changed is my eating habits. I wake up, eat a good "breakfast" then pack my healthy lunch, but find myself not really eating it at work. ..so I tried to add more protein/high energy foods. When I come home, sometimes I want to eat and sometimes I just run with my dogs and go straight to bed. The reason I'm concerned now is because I've been at my new job for 3 months now and people say I look a lot skinnier than the photos of when I first started there. I've lost about 8-10 lbs, which I can't afford to lose... Have any of you had a sudden loss of appetite after years of night shift (without depression, changes in meds, and all of the othet 'obvious' reasons)?

I had an interesting experience with this a couple years ago when I was in all of your shoes (except for the summer cohort, not spring). I applied there, but they were dragging their feet with that summer's cohort. By the time they called me for my first interview in April, I was within 2 weeks of having to reply to an offer 1500 miles away. I went through with the interviews, but accepted the other job a couple days later. I got a call from MDA in July (2.5 months after my interview and a couple weeks into my new job) saying that they were interested in hiring me. It all worked out in the end for me, but MDA really dragged their feet that year. I don't blame them though, there is A LOT to coordinate for all of those units and a bunch of newbie nurses. My head would explode from trying to organize all of it. Maybe I'll come back to TX and work at MDA some day and see that each and every one of you got the jobs you were hoping and praying for.

I generally interview very well because of a lot of practice. I have never been turned down after an interview (of course the hardest part is getting to this interview stage because I have to pester HR until I get one). Also, I'm a relatively new nurse, which is why I bring this to you guys. I had a very "awkward" experience. I was recently contacted by a recruiter who acted really excited about bringing me in to interview at their NICU. I don't have a formal NICU background, but my previous nursing experience was in a PICU which took on the cardiac kidos and the ones the NICU didn't have room for. I didn't act any different than I did in any other interview, but after the interview I just had a feeling in my gut that something was off about the whole thing. Part of me thinks they were skeptical that a male was interested in a NICU job? I know it isn't unheard of...I've read the AN threads about male NICU nurses. I gave them what I thought were legitimate reasons for wanting to switch fields. They showed interest in my resume and personality, but something still just felt off. When thinking about it in retrospect, the interviewers didn't really "sell the job". They mentioned more than once that it is a level III NICU, but they don't get very high acuity patients and I won't be "on my toes" as much as I may expect. Maybe it's my selective memory trying to make sense of a confusing situation...maybe it's my gut telling me something. They told me to expect to hear back "some time next week" (which is this week). If I was offered the job, I don't feel like it would be "right" to accept it. At the same time, it would be "wrong" to turn down a job because of how excruciatingly difficult it is for us to get one right now, especially in a field you're passionate about. Anyways...the main question: Have any of you had an awkward feeling after an interview? If you took the job, were you right about your gut instinct? If you didn't, are you kicking yourself right now? Sorry that was so long...this just seemed like a "healthy" therapeutic outlet for my anxiety. Alcohol, drugs, and punching kittens just didn't work the way they usually do

"After this guy I'm switching to pediatrics...they're less whiny"

"He"...RegMurse. haha But thank you for sticking up for me there. Yes I do feel bad that others don't have the same opportunities as me, but I won't apologize for how hard I've worked to get here (not to say that others haven't worked just as hard). If I have the chance to choose which job I want, I'm going to take the one that makes me happy because I earned that choice. Anyways, I talked to the two recruiters for each of the hospitals. They were not bothered in the least. In fact, one even told me, "I'm glad you're taking opportunities to interview for other hospitals in the system...we want our employees to be happy (and so on and so forth)" I think the woman from HR who called me just got confused when she was putting things in the computer and was too quick to pick up the phone... I'll be interviewing for a couple jobs next week, so fingers crossed!

Thank you for the advice. I actually have applied to hospitals from coast to coast. Unfortunately, these are the only two who have showed any interest in me. I am tempted to pass on both, but I'm afraid something else won't come along in a timely manner. I'm currently unemployed and relying on the money that I had in my savings account, which was originally meant for graduate school. I am, however, inflexible about moving to adults because of a back injury (herniated disc). Every time I was in the adult side during nursing school and during other employment, I was treated like a human forklift because I was a guy (even though they knew about my back problems). I will move to the adult world once I can strengthen/fix my back...just not right now...

Hi everyone, As of now, I have about 6 months of PICU experience. I absolutely loved it in the PICU, but unfortunately I have to move to another area for my family. I'm trying to get another PICU job, but it seems that the only ones that are sending me offers are a Pediatric ED and a NICU. The ED is not a level I trauma center and the NICU is a level III, but does not perform the really high acuity stuff like ECMO (they get transfered to another hospital). Right now, I'm not 100% sure that I want to be a CRNA, but I want to keep that option open for myself. I'm very interested in the ED because I have a lot of pre-hospital experience and I am equally interested in the NICU because I loved being in an ICU setting. I am also being very limiting to staying with a Which one would be better for getting me closer to CRNA school? Or is this a "6 of one, half dozen of the other" situation? Thanks!

Thanks Meriwhen. I was thinking about the interview I had with Hospital A and I remembered telling the manager that I did have an interview coming up with Hospital B, but I guess it may have just been mentioned in passing and it was forgotten. In any case, I'm really torn between the two hospitals because I don't know which area of nursing I want to jump into next...

I recently got an offer for a job at one hospital (Hospital A) and I'm also scheduled to interview for another position within the same hospital system (Hospital B). I told the Hospital A that I'd like to come in and tour the unit and scheduled an interview/tour for Hospital B. Neither hospital knew about my involvement with the other. I got a call from someone at the main office who realized that I am juggling these two and I was told that I should have been more open with the recruiters for the respective hospitals. Now I may be at risk for losing Hospital A's offer. Both hospitals are have positions in 2 very different units, but both are very appealing to me. I just can't decide which one I want more. I didn't think it mattered if I told the recruiters. I treated them as two totally different entities...and I would not tell one employer about another interview I am about to have... Am I in the wrong?

Wow...that sent chills down my spine. Do you work with me? I feel like you saw exactly what happened to me.

Thanks for replying everyone. I went to the emslife forum and posted the question. They referred me to the TX EMS board and then started a battle among themselves about why nurses shouldn't be paramedics and vice-versa. Anyways, I emailed them the TX board and I'm waiting for a reply. Thanks again!

Hi everyone, I'm a PICU nurse and volunteer EMT-B in PA and I'm in the process of getting my Prehospital RN here. I'm currently looking at other PICU/NICU/Pedi ED jobs in PA and TX. If I end up moving to Texas, do you know if I would be able to get my PHRN certification transferred to a paramedic license in Texas. I have an EMT-B license in Texas right now. I don't want all that time/work going into the PHRN exam to go to waste. I'm really just trying to use my license to do more volunteer work at an ALS level. Thanks!

Hi everyone, I'm new to the forum, but I've been reading it since my first year of nursing school. I completed my orienation and worked in a PICU for 6 months. Now I'm looking to move out-of-state and get some experience elsewhere. I have already left my job to help out my family at home, but now the job hunt is starting up. I have been looking for full-time PICU positions at various pediatric hospitals, but I have always been attracted to the idea of travel nursing. When looking at job requirements, most travel agencies ask for 1-2 years experience or more. I understand that I'm very new to nursing. I'm not a cocky individual whatsoever, I accept criticism and love to learn new things. Would I be in over my head if I were to go into traveling?