trueschatzi

we have a guy that keeps coming in for swallowing a hand full of nails...and he has come in more than three time for the same thing! another time he came in because he swallowed a bent metal spoon. we all just wanna punch him when he walks in the door.

trust me EVERYONE goes through those feelings! i was an LPN in a nursing home for 2 years, then after getting my RN started in a ER... felt totally clueless. so don't feel bad at all, you'll get better!

we use scribes in our ER too, they are sooo much help to our doctors. they dont bother us nurses at all actually, like some other people have said. plus some of our doctors are a little slower than others, so they help to keep them on tract and see pts faster.

I graduated from my LPN program in June 2003, (it was a 11 month program) and am in my last three months of RN school. After graduating LPN school, I started work at a nursing home and was very surprised how differernt real world nursing practice was compared to what they teach you in school. And I think its important to keep that in mind. Nursing school is the foundation for what you will really learn once you start working. School can be difficult, but not impossible to finish. There is also a lot of stuff to know, but remember to take a deep breath and remember that your not going to know everything there is to know once you start your first job. I felt like I knew NOTHING my first day, I felt lost and like I was out of my league. But over time you develope those skills, and also be open to learning at all times. Join nursing journals and organizations that you interested in a learn all you can (like if you maybe go into ER nursing, join the Emergency Nurses Association). This is a little soon to tell you I suppose since your just starting school, but just keep that in mind for when you finish. good luck!! -Annie :)

Aww, i feel ya sweet pea. I just started night shift last week as a ER tech. And like you, after my first shift I slept maaaybe 3 hours before going back in. I felt ok, but around 1am it was DEAD in the ER and I had nothing to do. I felt like I could fall alsleep standing up. But after my shift was over, I went home and slept for 11 hours straight! Thats how exhausted I felt. Now since I've done a bunch more shifts its a piece of cake. Like others have said, its not for everyone, only problem now is that when I'm off from work, I'm wide awake at night when the rest of my family is sleeping . Dont worry though! Give it a try for a while and see how it works. It'll be tough for a little bit but its amazing how you can adapt to new surroundings and even sleep cycles. -Annie

I just started working as a ER tech, and I've already seen them doing things that make me worry. I've seen tech's insert IV's (who ARE NOT IV certified) and even insert NG tubes. But all the nurses pretty much turn their heads to that sorta thing, they sign off that they did it but allow the techs to do it when they want. (but it makes me reeeally uncomfortable) Our ER at isn't as big as some of the other hospitals around us; we have 17 acute beds and maybe 10 room's for express care, but only 1 tech is assigned to each side, so you'll have 4 or 5 nurses trying to grab you at once to do things for them. But I work night shift there, so it gets pretty much dead around 2am (not always though ); lots of people are discharged or sent up stairs, and no patients really come in until day break. My hospital is also right near Disney World in Florida, so almost every patient we get is from out of town who hurt themselves at the theme parks or something. A friend of mine who works as a paramedic at Universal Studios had a women go on the Back to the Future ride after just having open heart surgury a month before hand! She claims to not see the huge neon warning signs about not riding the ride if you have heart problems. She ended up getting checked out at a local hospital, but geez! Anyways, I only have to be a tech for another three months, then I graduate RN school. ER is definitely where I want to be. -Annie