CC918

licensed psych techs in California are under the same board as LVNs: Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians at my unit, the LPTs does pretty much exactly the same thing as RNs, except there's this one part in our documentation where it is about assessments, and the RN has to do it. Otherwise, they can pass meds, they have their own load of patients.

I'm in a locked psych unit, so the unit is constantly buzzing and loud. I find my couple of minutes of peace by going into the kitchen that is staff only, and take a sip of tea and just stare into space. Those couple minutes helps my brain and muscles to loosen up.

I like the Dickie's ones, I find most of the pants perfect length for me and I'm about your size. Although every so often I find a pair just a tad too long so I'd hem them up. And they have nice cutting, gives you a bit of shape so it's not just a straight line down. :)

I am a new grad nurse and just started working on an acute psychiatric inpatient unit 3 months ago. The patients are not bed bound and are up and about on the unit. I had a patient who has fingersticks TID before meals and is on sliding scale. I was finishing up an admission and realized it was already 11:45 and lunch gets served at 11:30. I went to find my patient but she was already done eating her lunch. I asked another nurse what I should do regarding her 11:30 fingerstick and the nurse told me to skip that one since the patient knows she's supposed to get fingerstick before lunch and she didn't wait or ask for it. But as the day went on, I am rethinking what I should have done. I just want someone else's opinion and rationale behind what should have been done. I will probably find out if there is some official policy regarding missed FS the next time I'm back at work. TIA!

i agree. i work for the city also and holiday pay is on the 5th. although the union argued so that regular benefited staff gets an extra day off if they have to work on the 4th, which falls on a sunday. but i am per diem, so that does not apply to me. im just working for regular pay this weekend.

mashed potatoes and gravy!

When I was student and rotated to the OR to observe for the day, the nurses there made sure I saw a bunionectomy...because many nurses will need one, apparently.

as a new grad, im learning now that most everything i learn on the floor! lol. school was just the tip of the iceberg!

it's the cold winter, people snuggle up at night in december/january...and couple months later in late summer/early fall....babies come! :) congrats on your pregnancy!

i kind of feel the opposite of you. im a new grad nurse in my mid-20s. im on an acute psych unit where i'd say 80% of the staff are my parents age and they haven't hired any new grads in a good few years. so the youngest people i've met are over 30. i feel like i don't fit in on my unit sometimes, in terms of conversations, common interests, and just the fact im the only new person there.

I am also one month into my job in acute psych. i am per diem so i float between 4 units. i feel exactly the way you do. the anxiety i get before work each night and morning is enough for me to start thinking about finding a different job. but at the end of each shift, i feel a sense of accomplishment, that i know more than i did that morning. so each time i start feeling anxious and nervous, i try to think about that sense of accomplishment feeling and remind myself why i love nursing and why i chose this specialty. as surferbettycrocker says, it'll take time and experience. so in the mean time, buckle up and just keep learning each day. i can't wait until that one day when i realize...hey...i can do this! and that the butterflies in my stomach will subside...

are you sure it's not just the reality shock and transition of being a student to a "real nurse"? I am a new grad, one month into my job and at times I find myself questioning why I got into nursing, why I got into psych nursing, why I chose the hospital I'm at...all because I'm new, it's stressful, I'm anxious, etc etc. However, at the end of each shift, I feel accomplished and I know I learned many new things. It might just take some time to get over the new grad phase and realizing you do love nursing. and as the other posters have said, if it's med-surg part you don't like (which I knew I don't like, thus I didn't go into it), find another specialty or other area of nursing. Don't waste your BSN and the time and effort you have put into nursing already. You couldn't have went through 4 years of school if there wasn't something attracting you to the profession! Good luck!

I'm also a 20something y.o. per diem in SF and I have health insurance through Kaiser Permanente. It's my 3rd year purchasing individual health insurance from them so the cost has gone up significantly since my first year. Just go to kp.org and hit prospective member for quotes and such.

that's what I thought originally but in multiple areas of the website, they referred it as "otho". and when I google it, the only thing that comes up is various jobs that are geriatric/otho or otho-neuro. Thanks anyhow!

I'm reading up about an acute rehab facility and the website mentions "otho" patients. What exactly is an "otho patient"? Thanks in advance!

The hesi book. Especially the tips boxes. Also, don't read too much into the question. I find a lot of people who failed are the ones who over-studied. Just read the question as what it is...and using hesi test strategies, figure out what answer they want you to choose. Many people bring in too much extraneous information with "what ifs?".

Make connections along the way. It seems all my classmates who have gotten jobs got it through preceptors or people they know. I hate to think I meet someone for the purpose of using that connection in the future, but I guess that's how the world works, especially in this economy.

I emailed one of the nurse recruiters a few days ago and she says my application (which is "in review" online) is in the hands of the manager(s) and it's up to them to contact the candidates they want to interview. And she told me to let her know if anyone called me within the next week. So I don't know if they are still in the process or done by now.

Anything new anyone? Status changes, e-mails, interviews? Mine still says "in review" and I dont know how accurate that online app status is anymore. Or if they just forgot to send me my rejection email.

thanks for the info, kkbakes. at least now we know there's still individual interviews next week. and good luck!!

I feel the same way you do. Haven't heard anything. Just wish they'd let us know!

My status date changed again to today's date and still "in review"....

wonder if they are already conducting one on one interviews this week...i wish they'd just let me know if im in or out.

anyone else got status or date changes? emails? phone calls?

havent heard anything. but i just checked the website and my status is still "application in review" but the date changed from the phone interview date to today. *shrugs*