Candidnt

I am, at present, making plans to retire from nursing within two years, assuming other options come forth. My "career" has been an absolute disappointment, and going from an LPN to being an RN with a BSN didn't help me in the end. I have become largely disillusioned with nursing and my experiences with it. I don't know for sure what I'll be doing, but after trying to resurrect my "career" last year, and getting one door after the next slammed in my face, and despite being in the process of reading a book about managing a nursing career, I have one foot out the door, and the other is itching to join it. Were the economy not so bad at present, I'd be out the door sooner.

oops, I looked at the last reply date before mine, and looked at it wrong...hasn't been a year after all...scuse me!

Wow, nobody has posted in here in over a year...it's been two years since I posted in this particular thread, and probably about that long since I posted on the site at all... I have since moved out of the hospital where I worked in the neuroscience IMCU, turned out it was bad for my health (I did learn a lesson from it: Never accept a job offer made immediately during your interview). I have since returned to active status with the private duty home health agency that I have worked with off and on since 2001, before and between trouble ridden stints in hospitals) and waiting for the current hiring freeze situation to end, in hope to return to a hospital setting again (and hopefully the right one, if the third time is a charm). That or I'll go work at Walmart.

Anybody work in either place? What are they like?

currently neuroscience intermediate care...meanng neuro, plus some trauma/ortho and dumpover from the surgical intermediate care unit...plus people who start going downhill on the neuro/ortho floor or some other floor, but they're either not ready for ICU or one of the other intermediate care units have no room in their inns.

I once (way back in 1998) bought some items with the S.C.R.U.B.S. brand name. NEVER again. They all started falling apart and/or developed holes during washing and drying. I usually get my scrubs from Lydia's...Tafford is another good source. If your problem is finding too many places that sell female scrubs, you can't beat going online, as long as you know your size. I knew of a local store when I lived in North Carolina where I also bought scrubs, and one here in PA, but sometimes my size would have to be special ordered (I have a midriff). If you look for the unisex scrubs from Landau, you can't go wrong. And I used to have the URL for a scrubs seller that sold all kinds of colorful prints for men as well as women, plus animal scrubs (and not teddy bear type animals, but the real thing). If I come across that URL, I'll post it in here.

Did you ever take the job at Williamsport Hospital? What's the word there on their planned expansion? What are they planning, what new services? Any new units or beds being added? Just curious. Places that grow/expand always interest me.

Wow... I haven't been here probably since I made that post, over two years ago. I didn't go to Hamot...I didn't even finish the application process. I did leave my old job at Pinnacle Hell er Health, even left PA for a while and returned to private duty for a bit. Now I'm back in PA, and I work at Penn State Hershey Med. I've been there for three months so far, and I'm surviving, and it has possibilities. Will I stay there the rest of my life? I dunno. I could consider Hamot again, if I were inclined to move to Erie, though if I moved, I'd likely go elsewhere. It looks like a nice place from the web site (then again so did Pinnacle, well their old site anyway), though I thought it was bigger than it is, and also thought it would be a level I trauma center and major teaching hospital (and don't know if it's headed in that direction). But there's still supposedly a lot going on there and a lot to get into. Who knows.

I've got tons to tell, having been in nursing since 1990. As of late, I'd have to say the most recent most gross, yucky, disgusting nursing experience I have had, was being hurled on from head to toe while inserting an NG tube in somebody who had an ileus. Thankfully it was at change of shift, the day nurse who I was supposed to give report to, ran in to take over while I ran to the bathroom to undress and douse myself with water (needless to say, I couldn't wait to get home and take a shower; but I did at least get a free pair of scrubs out of the ordeal).

Hamot responded to my resume submission. I'm looking for people who work/have worked there, who can tell me in their own words how things are there, etc. I'm going to return the call from the recruiter tomorrow, so in the meantime, and until I agree to drive there from Harrisburg for an interview, I'd like to learn the nitty gritty, not the hype and hyperbole that comes from a webpage. Any input?

I went into the hospital setting as a nursing assistant (this was back before certification was a requirement) several months after I finished the program, with no practical work experience as a nursing assistant up to that point. In fact, I worked in a 16-bed medical ICU (the same unit in which I would later do my nursing internship in my final semester in nursing school, years later). So yes, you can work just about anywhere as a new CNA. They'll teach you the things you need to know that are specific to your unit. Otherwise, just ask them what you need to know, and if you haven't learned the skill, then they need to teach you. Actually the hospital is a good setting for a CNA, especially if they're going to go to nursing school later on; it better prepares them for the realities of nursing school and health care (as it did me). Good luck.

it sounds like an LTAC (long-term acute care) facility that specializes in pediatric care. I know of critical care nurses who go to work in places like that (and they do appreciate getting nurses with critical care backgrounds) but you don't really need it to work in that type of facility, though it is helpful.

I empathize...I've been dealing with migranes since 1997 (the year I took a break from nursing, incidentally). That first migrane was a godawful experience; I basically had a headache for a whole week, that wasn't relieved by anything. I was also sleep deprived as a result, which worsened them. Finally, I went to a doctor, and after a two week trial on Sedapap (which killed the migrane, and also put me right to sleep; fortunately he told me to stay out of work that first day), I started taking Midrin for migranes. I find that helpful if I take it right away (especially if I first have an aura), but unfortunately that's not always possible. Since it has sedative effects, I can't take it on the job. So then, I usually have to suffer until I get home. Of course if I can't get it under control, and I end up losing sleep, I don't go to work. Better safe than sorry (for patients, job, and self). When I was going from one medine to the other for my blood pressure, my doctor put me on a beta blocker, hoping that would give me additional help with the migranes (it didn't). I have in recent months been on Xanax for anxiety and mood problems, and I have found that that helps too; unfortunately I can't take that at work either (or I'd be a very happy calm nurse. That or I'd be unhappy but I wouldn't care). You just have to find out what works for you. I was always told to look for triggers (I noticed you identified some); aside from stress, and noticing I had a higher propensity to develop migranes with sinus headaches, I never really quite found any identifiable dietary triggers (unless I've missed something); oh yeah, St. John's Wort triggered them. Anyway, don't let them stop you. It's just something you have to manage the best you can, once you find what works for you. Fortunately most of my employers since then have been understanding about the situation. I'm betting you'll find that your future employers will be too, for the most part. Stick with nursing school. We need more nurses. :)

It varies for me...I graduated from 100 mg Benadryl to Ambien....that helped some, but after two back injuries, I graduated to Valium. So that, with a little Xanax on board, helps me get some sleep, but it varies, I can get as little as 5 hours, and as many as 9...if I've had a stressful night at work, I still can't get to sleep right away, even after medication...and I do have a lot of stressful nights...if the cats wake me up, that doesn't help. I've learned to shut off the ringer on the phone. AOL call alert now picks up on all that. Somebody also told me it was age related...and that's probably true. I find I have more trouble sleeping as I get older. Fellow coworkers told me they slept like babies when they were young, but as they got older they were more up and down during their sleep hours...and I guess I see that in the older population that I care for; I've noticed it in my mom...weird thing is sometimes when i do manage to get 8 or 9 hours, i still don't feel like I've gotten enough, and I wake up thinking, "oh god, do I really have to go in?"

I did my time as an LPN, in North Carolina. From what I remember, though the larger facilities said the state board determined what an LPN could or could not do (and that was true only in a few specific things) it was actually the hospital or facility itself that made that determination. The larger hospitals, and of course the teaching hospitals, didn't allow LPN's do perform many tasks (we were basically glorified nursing assistants that could pass meds, if they used LPN's at all); the smaller community hospitals allowed the LPN's to do much more. I never needed an RN to cosign my orders in a small community hospital (or at least not the ones I worked in, anyway). And from what I recall, LPN's in SNF's didn't have to, either. In the hospital setting, a former head nurse explained to me that what the state board wanted, was that a formal policy that said an LPN could perform the procedure, that the procedure (whatever it was) was outlined in a step by step fashion with rationale, etc, and that there had to be documentation of the LPN having been precepted in that particular skill. Since larger places were more geared toward "professionals", LPN's tended to do much better in the smaller community hospital settings. Now that was in NC, and that was back when...I haven't practiced in NC as an LPN since 2002, so I don't know what's going on down there now. Now that I'm back in PA, the h ospital I work at, uses LPN's as PCT's (Patient Care Technicians) who do dressing changes, IV/line dressing changes, ostomy changes, assist docs with line placements, etc...and that's in the ICU; I'll ask what they do on the floor. I don't see why they can't carry patient loads on the floor, god knows the floors need the staffing. I don't know what other hospitals here are li.ke (not yet anyway)

If you're a new grad, go with Hershey. It's a Level I trauma center for the region, growing like cancer, and a good place to see things and learn. I've heard good and bad things about it, but overall most of what I hear seems to be good. If I decide to stay in the area, I might consider Hershey. I did originally apply there, but since I wasn't new enough, I couldn't get in their internship program for critical care, and I was going to get thrown on the floor. I'd done enough of that as an LPN. Eventually, after looking at options elsewhere and still deciding I wanted to come back to PA to live, I ended up working for a local "competetitor". I got promises, then I got the shaft. I was offered a critical care class; instead I got the ECCO class (the AACN online class) and a practical orientation about which I could give mixed reviews. I was given an opportunity later to sit in on a few of the actual critical care classes (when they decided to offer them) but the classes weren't what I expected they would be. After all, to pull people in, there's a lot of hype and hyperbole strewn about in the hiring world. My contract is up in January; should I decide to stay in the area, I might consider applying to Hershey, unless I decide to take a year or two off from nursing (this recent experience has burned me out). But I say, go with Hershey if you can.

Right now, I'm kind of trying to avoid all of the above...I'm burning out in a big way. This current job has really taken it out of me. Maybe in a year or two I can go back, fresher, and I can get a (BETTER) critical care class and orientation than I got with this deal (my contract is up in January) and start over again...but right now, my feet are itching to get out. Even walmart (god help me) is starting to look good. I look at what has gone on with some of my former classmates and they're doing well; I look at my career trajectory since graduation, and even with years of LPN experience before the RN/BSN, my caree r trajectory seems to resemble that of a failed rocket. So right now, I don't know what I'm going to do.

Granted, I'm biased; I was an LPN for 12 years. I think they're a valuable part of the health care team, and depending on the institution, can do just about anything. They don't require "babysitting" or the close monitoring that some RN's seem to insist that they do, and the majority are quite capable and knowledgeable about their patients and their care, some even more so than RN's (that was one of several things that made me move on; I've worked with a lot of really um, screwball RN's, and I thought to myself, "If they could become RN's, I KNOW I can). I know the hospital that I work at now, uses them only as PCT's (Patient Care Technicians). Basically they're used pretty much like treatment nurses in LTC facilities, with the addition of doing other tasks such as assisting docs with line placements and complex wound dressings, etc. I think they're used the same way on the floor at my hospital, as well (though I don't see why they can't just carry patient assignments, God knows we need the staffing). I worked at places that phased out LPN's; I interviewed at one place, and they didn't make that fact known to me until after I got my foot in the door. I ended up working in a "transitional care unit" for 2 1/2 years (thankfully only part time), which i honestly think was nothing more than a place to dump med surg patients and classify the facility as a LTC to justifiy the horrible staffing. The unit was since closed down (just desserts). But anyway, any other LPN"s have similar horror tales?

LPN from 1990-2002 (took year off in 1997) was RN/BSN student from 1999-2002 been working as an RN since. Glad I did it, I'm sure my pay would have been close to maxing out by now had I remained an LPN. I wanted more opportunities, and in some places it seems the future of LPN/LVN's is precarious to say the least. I wanted to guarantee myself some longevity in nursing and keep the wages going up. I'm not sure what direction I'm going to take now.

I'm looking to take a year or two away from clinical nursing. Back when I was an LPN I found options were far and few, so when I took time off then, I ended up in a convenience store (with a huge pay cut, might I add). After becoming an RN, having spent a year and a half in home health, then getting a crappy critical care class and working a lousy job (and now since I'm considered an experienced nurse, I can't get a class elsewhere), I'm ready to get out, at least for a little bit. What else can you do with a BSN? Any ideas?

I have found that things differ somewhat from place to place...I worked in places as either an aide or an LPN while moving on up...some places would reimburse you tuition at the end of your semester, provided you sent them a transcript and filled out the necessary paperwork, etc...others did the scholarship loan thing where you either worked for x amount of time, or you paid them back if you decided to not work for them. The place I'm at now, threw me a curve; I was told in interviews, etc that there was a tuition reimbursement program. Once I got inside, and had access to the HR policies, I found out that they reimburse you only for so much money, and if what you study is pertinent to your position (ruled out that PhD in Rocket Science), and THEN, you had to work so many months (I can't remember how many, it was either 3 or 6) for each credit hour reimbursed (so a 48 credit MSN program could put me in for more than 12 years of servitude, give or take, that or I pay back what I was reimbursed). When you go from place to place to interview, ask them specificially what kinds of programs they offer, how they're offered, and the stipulations involved. I know nothing about how things work in California; I can speak only of my experiences in PA and NC. I did interview for jobs in TX and DC, but I can't recall what their policies on educational expenses/reiimbursement was.

I had problems similar to yours when I was in nursing school. First time around in my LPN training, I was the only male student in the class (it was the first class of students for this school, and there were only 20 of us). I was never included in anything. People would talk to me, and be civil, etc, but I was never invited out to the gang lunches, etc...until the last day of school, finally I got an invitation. One girl sitting next to me said "you're fun, why haven't you joined us in the past?" My reply was "because nobody ever invited me." For a few seconds, you could have heard a pin drop, but then the ice broke and the last lunch continued. I'm not sure why that was; if it was because I was male, or a yankee in the rural south (that may have played a part), or whatever...but that's just how it was. I got through it. Later on (much later, in fact) when I went back to get both the RN and BSN in one swoop (as a nontraditional student living on campus, no less). I was frequently an outsider. The majority of students were at or near traditional college age, but there were some older students. There were two fellow LGBT students that I did interact with somewhat more frequently than with the other students (they were both closer to my age, and I guess I was less threatening to them than I was to the str8 male students), but other than that, except for required projects where I was paired with somebody, and clinical partners (I had the same partner for two semesters; I came out knowing more about her monthly cycles than I cared to know), I was pretty much on my own. One friend I had, not only changed majors, but changed colleges (he went from UNCG to NCSU), so that really isolated me. But again, I got through it. The best advice I can offer you is to just be yourself. If people want to like you and get involved, they will; if not, it's their loss. Concentrate on what matters most-yourself and your future (including your studies). And, don't forget your "ME" time...you know, the time that you put aside that nursing book and do something other than nursing homework...like going to the movies, getting involved in clubs or organizations on campus or school (sometimes that's a good way to meet people), finding a neat coffeehouse or hangout that you can become a regular at (that's what helped me get by). Take care of yourself. Best of luck to you with your studies, I'm sure you'll do well.

Another thing to consider might be something like Covermark or Coverblend, if you don't mind using cosmetics to cover things up. Harder for men to get away with, especially if their arms are hairy, but worth a try. Forget Dermablend, it's not as waterproof as it claims to be. If you didn't want to wear long sleeves all the time, it is an option to consider...

I've probably done tons of stupid things in my career. If I sat and thought long and hard (and tonight, I'm off, but on call...so I just might, I pray, get that chance), I'd have a gold mine of stupid nursing tricks to go dig from. I remember way way way back in Christmas season of 1991, we were in the process of decorating the unit. We had one of those circular chart racks that obviously you spin to the chart you want and pull it out. Somebody (it wasn't me) wanted to mount a Christmas decked-up teddy bear on top of the chart rack. Didn't sound like a bad thing, so the nurse who conceptualized the idea, put the teddy bear up on top, centered it, and well, anchored it down by putting tape on its butt. Somebody else expressed the concern that the teddy bear might fall over or off, if and when somebody should spin the rack to get a chart. That was when I had my "BRIGHT" idea. I suggested we do a practical experiment, spin the rack, and see if the bear fell, etc. Well, as if I had been on the Wheel of Fortune, I spin the rack. Fast. Every chart on the rack (and just about all the charts for the unit were on the rack) FLEW off of the rack, strewn about the nurses station; several even made it past the nurses station. Many of them flew open and spewed their contents. Several nurses had to pick up the charts. Everybody was laughing about it, but I was paralyzed with laughter. I literally could not move, let alone function. Looking back, I probably should have anticipated that, and we probably should have secured the charts somehow. But, the bear didn't move at all. Since then I have made efforts to avoid circular chart racks; at that particular hospital, the subsequent units I worked on didn't have any, so I managed to not repeat that mistake. The next hospital I worked at did have them on their med surg and tele units, so then I couldn't avoid them; I let other people do the testing.

I work in a health system that gobbled up several hospitals over the past eight years. Basically, the one hospital in the city (nonunion) gobbled up the competetor (union), destroyed the union, and became the premier hospital (in fact, the only hospital) within the city limits, making the other an outpatient/mental health/rehab facility in part, with state offices, etc, taking up the rest of the campus of the other hospital. Of the other hospitals gobbled up, one is across the river and in the next county and is a nursing home, the other one is a small community hospital which technically sits outside the city limits. I wish we had a union in there, I think nurses would have a more effective voice in the organization than they do now. I myself would like to know more about how the unions work, how they get started, etc...