FallingInPlace

As a North Carolina nurse, this does not give me comfort, although it sounds as if this decision was made about a case where a nurse veered far off from the standard of care. Time to consider other employment options.

I'm 60, started in nursing st 50, so I feel ya! As you get more comfortable in the job, your confidence will show, and it's likely your relationship with your colleagues will change as well. Units like yours usually have high turnover, so you will quickly become the go-to for new nurses if you develop a friendly rapport with new hires. As others have noted, some of my worst job experiences have been with older nurses, especially when I was new on the job. So hang in there, things should get better, and if not, the job market is ?.

Thanks for all of your thoughtful comments!

When my unit was a COVID unit, everyone wore one, even the guys, but a lot fewer are wearing them now. I find them much more comfortable when putting on and taking off N95s--I hate pulling my hair out.

Looking for some feedback from my fellow nurses on being paid hourly vs being paid salary (based on 40 hours per week). Pros and cons? The position under consideration is a hospital position, M-F, no weekends. I have my own thoughts on salaried positions in healthcare, but would love to hear from people who have worked both in hourly and salaried positions.

Anonymity is very important to those of us who work in at-will employment states. I try to be judicious in my comments, but my employer could let me go for any reason, or no reason at all, if they believed I was referring to them in a post. And sometimes, you just gotta vent!

That's interesting. Do you happen to have a source for that? I have met a couple of employees while administering vaccines who had some truly legit concerns over the vaccine, and I'd like to look into this further. I tend to think employers are staring down an impending staffing shortage and are suddenly reconsidering vaccine mandates.

I've met some loony, poorly-educated nurses, but this is really scary.

I'm located in the Southeast. Our organization's deadline was last Wednesday, and there were a lot of grumbling, foot-dragging people who came in for a J&J on the 14th or 15th to be in compliance with the vaccine mandate. The good news is a large majority of employees are now vaccinated. I would be happier if we had a 100% vaccination rate, but have not heard if the administration will actually follow through with terminations for those who did not get a vaccine. We do have a rather large number who were granted religious exemptions, but I am completely unable to understand on what grounds they were given.

Your company sounds horrible, honestly. If you want to stay in hospice, look for a company with dedicated admissions staff, overnight/weekend call staff and more than one physician (they exist, honestly!). Also look for companies that are not-for-profit. I'm not surprised you're burned out, the workload you described is unsustainable. Hospice can be a wonderful career with the right company.

It very much depends on what the employer is offering as benefits for PRN status. When I was PRN, I had no benefits at all, including 403b. My health insurance was through my husband's job. I left after a year and a bit because they were unwilling to change me to part-time even though I was working a minimum of two days per week.

My first references were nursing instructors, can you get a couple that way? Also, the southeast is hiring, but you won't get anywhere close to $45/hour. Best of luck in your job search!

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None of our new grads are coming in with clinical experience due to COVID. Just apply. Everyone needs nurses right now with a good work ethic and some compassion.

I've been working COVID vaccine clinics this Spring, and they are drying up, at least where I live. I have been called off every shift for the last 3 weeks. I'd be worried that you would be unemployed pretty quickly if you took a vaccinator job. I would look for a job with a better fit when you hit your one year mark.

As a very wise teacher pointed out to me at one time, the only thing a child owns is his or her name. It's fundamental to our identity, and identity is still forming through our young years. Given the rate of suicide and attempted suicide among transgender youth, it's not an insignificant issue. I agree it's complicated, but good care begins with respecting the identity of your client.

This has been a pet peeve of mine at my facility. We have unit receptionists who have been making assignments for a while. I don't think it's safe or legal, since only RNs can delegate to RNs, but I'm fighting a long tradition of letting unlicensed personnel make the assignment. When I'm charge, I make the assignments, but my assignment is made by a night shift unit receptionist. We are staffed primarily with travel RNs, and they just come to work and go home, so it's just me making any waves about it. The result has been some pretty crazy assignments like those others have mentioned.

That stinks, PTO should be yours to use as you wish. Check your manual and see if the hospital explicitly states that. If so, I would suddenly develop migraines... Even though we're short-staffed and management is not approving any planned PTO currently, when people call out at my workplace, it's not usually questioned as long as it's not excessive. Cars break down, kids get sick, employees get sick. Might make your tenure on this unit a little more palatable to occasionally take advantage of it.

No guilt here. I've spent almost a year on the frontlines with no extra pay, no special paid leave policies if I get sick, and no compliance in social distancing and mask wearing from the general public. We need this vaccine, and I'm contributing to herd immunity by getting a vaccine.

I went to nursing school at 48 and finished at 50. Some days I regret my decision more than others. Although I find I enjoy my work most days, I don't always enjoy the circumstances under which I work. I would do it again only if I were convinced I had a true passion for nursing and a good understanding of job conditions. I thought I knew what nursing would be like, but it's more difficult and I have far less autonomy than I thought I would. I would also not go into much debt for nursing school at 45, because of the need to save for retirement. I was able to get an associate's degree from a hospital system that repaid my debt as I worked for them as a new grad, which was a great deal for me financially. If I had been just a little bit younger, I probably would have gone on to a FNP program, but decided that the costs far exceeded the benefits at my age. My last piece of advice is to research the subspecialties that will allow you to advance in your career most easily. A background in critical care (ED, ICU) will boost your options more than others, in my opinion. Have you considered another role in healthcare, such as becoming a radiology technician? That field definitely allows you to advance to more lucrative jobs with more responsibility, such as being a dosimetrist. Best of luck in your decision!

My employer just announced a COVID bonus to be paid in March. I'll be curious to see how much it is since it's going to everybody, even employees who've never taken care of a COVID patient. I think those of use who were coerced to work the COVID units should get a substantial bonus, but that's not going to happen.

I always wear Brooks Adrenaline, but everyone's feet are different.

I'm thinking about my colleague who ran into help a patient in respiratory distress, called a rapid response, and got COVID as a result a week later. We were working on a COVID unit, and she didn't have time to grab PPE. I've personally run in to grab a confused patient before they fell, but have been lucky to not have gotten sick. I can guarantee nurses are getting it at work, and would quit if my employer said otherwise.

My experience as a nurse on a COVID med-surg unit is that our patients get sick incredibly fast, and newer nurses struggle with identifying that. You develop your 6th sense after your first year of nursing, and learn what to do about it. The first year is so incredibly difficult and important for developing your nursing skills. I cannot emphasize enough that they would be putting you in a very difficult position, and it just shows their desperation and lack of commitment to patient safety and staff development. Like everyone else has said, no way! Find a place that is willing to invest in YOU.

Change your FB settings! And best of luck on your decision. I think there is a lot to learn in med-surg in your second year, and taking on added responsibilities with your unit looks great on your resume.