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I can totally relate! However I also believe that hospital staffing policies and acuity issues also contribute to the problem. Days when I am pulled in too many directions I make more mistakes. I am just trying to keep float and I know that I am not the only one to blame. Nurses need time to think when we are handling medications, treatments, chart checks, etc. It is for the pt safety. We are human we make mistakes, therefore in such a profession as nursing where we have peoples well being and lives in our hands why are we ALWAYS so rushed? I feel like I have to get running at the beginning of my shift to stay afloat for the day and if that morning routine gets interrupted (which is most of the time) I easily drown and become stressed and rushed. It's scary sometimes... That's the profession, you are not alone, hang in there and you will get through. I pray everyday that God would protect my patients while they are under my care and the care of the hospital. I believe patients are very vulnerable while they are in the hospital. Be thankful when your mistakes are not life threatening or causing much harm and learn from them. And when you need to take a break from work to regroup and unwind, it's for your good and your patients' good too!

Ok silly question in re: to this discussion. Say the trach comes out, you grab the obturator, are you reinsrting the one that just came out or a new sterile one? Then if that size doesn't work you grab the smaller size and attempt to reinsert that sterile one.

is there another area of nursing you could do that you would like better? out of the hospital, and maybe out of bedside nursing? Just a thought

HA! starting pay where I live for RN is 40,000! Where do you live?

I may be one of the few, but I would prefer a different schedule. I love my days off, but usually I end up having all my days off by myself with my husband and I on opposite schedules. I also don't prefer that my schedule is always changing. We have a great system of self scheduling, but there are weekend requirements (every 3rd) as well as Monday requirements (2 every 6 weeks) and Friday requirements (2 every 6 weeks). Since I like to schedule my days together it is difficult to keep any set evenings free for a class or bible study or sports league. I think I would prefer 4 10 hour shifts a week where I get off at 5 pm and can still have an evening. With 12 hour shifts I am lucky to get home before 8 pm, hungry tired and needing to get to bed to get up and do it again. And of course I would love no weekends or less weekends, like one a month or two weekend days every 6 weeks, spread out not having to take a whole weekend away at once. Those are my gripes although everyone else seems to only have positive things to say about them. I guess it is all in perspective and personal situations.

I've always learned NTE 4 g of acetominaphen in 24 hours, no matter what med it is mixed with

I am interested in hearing from some FNP's and the various roles and settings in which they work. I am considering getting and FNP, but am more interested in a specialty clinic (i.e. cardiology) or possibly a role in acute care. I am not certain what is possible to do with an FNP, I know that it can vary from area to area. If some NP's could post their education/experience background and the roles they work in it would be a help. There is a lot of confusion about what you can or can't do with a certain NP degree. I just don't want to get a degree then find out that what I want to do requires something completely different!

I think that is a great idea! I would love it. I probably would like to use it on my days off though, after work I am usually a bit toasted, but I would be interested to see if working out after work would actually be better for me than a hot bath and bed. It may be a better stress reliever and I could walk out of the hospital a bit more refreshed.

Thank you for feedback. I have actually been offered a full time position on the day shift and "tentatively" accepted it, pending a meeting with the new nurse manager in July. I will work on a back up job in case I decide that this ICU is not the place for me, but I hope that it is. We'll see. The website was very helpful!

I am looking for some advice related to interviewing unit managers. I am getting ready to graduate in August and have been offerred a position that I have really been wanting, but this unit has had some management challenges over the past few months that concern me. The hospital has just hired a new nurse manager this week who is suposedly terrific. My plan is to wait until I get a chance to meet her to decide if this is the place for me to work or not. I really pray that she is the one that may bring some stability that this unit needs. Anyone have some advice about what I should ask and find out before deciding to accept this position? In particular what do you look for in a good nurse manager and how can I best determine this from a meeting? By the way this is an ICU unit if that matters at all. Thanks!

Only you can make the decision, but it sounds like you have had a lot of experience and that you know what you want to do. I am in the middle of ICU clinicals and I ask every nurse if they started there, what they like about ICU and such. I actually have been encouraged by my clinical teacher that I could start in the ICU and be a well rounded and grounded nurse. She usually does not recommend new grads, but there are exceptions and it sounds like you could handle it with your goals and background. I have talked to the clinical managers in our ICU and they want me to do my senior capstone there and then decide for sure, but they all say that I could do it. I want to get a masters in Acute Care NP and need the ICU experience not to mention that I love the ICU. I have had two years experience as a PCT/CNA in the hospital and know that ICU would be a good fit for me. So good luck to you and talk to the actual managers of potential ICU's or clinical instructors who are familiar with your abilities and goals.

I just agree that you cannot find your meaning in nursing and if you are doing it for satisfaction in yourself you will probably come up short. We are human and will fail. I went into nursing because I love medicine and I love to help people, but not because it makes me feel good. There seems to be much more going on in your life, I will pray for your situation (not that I feel sorry for you). I believe that hard times will give understanding and meaning in the end. I hope this can be a learning time for you in your life. Good luck.

Last year our hospital scheduled a MANDATORY meeting for all employees. Our nurse manager split us up and assigned us to go to specific meeting times and I was told 1 week or less in advance that I had to be there on my day off. So, luckily it didn't interrupt my schedule, but other employees that didn't make that meeting were fired! I was shocked, considering they gave us very little notice and signed us up rather than letting us choose a time that best fit with our schedule. That seems very wrong to me???

I can't tell you for certain, but I do know that University of Colorado at Pueblo has a NP program that combines FNP and ACNP, so I would guess it must be somewhat useful. You might find some information on their website. Also question for you. What additional requirements are there after you get your FNP to also get your ACNP? I work at a hospital that is affiliated with a nursing school that only has a FNP program and can get tuition at one third of the cost, but I really want to do ACNP. If I can get my FNP and then finishe with an ACNP easily without going through a whole other program I would like to, I just don't know how and if that is possible. And feedback would be helpful. Thanks

I am looking for some information about the ways to go about specializing as a nurse practitioner. I really want to do the Acute Care NP program, but I work for a hospital that is involved with a school and IF I go to that school I can basically go for a third of the cost to me. The problem is they only have a Family NP program. Can I get a FNP and then speicalize in Acute Care someway? Does anyone know how that would be done without going through another program? Are there certain certifications I could get to sit for the ACNP exam too? I am trying to figure out if I can do what I want to do with a FNP or somehow tailor it... any info would be helpful. Thanks.

I know that it is not required, but if you can I would. It is really helpful when you get into clinicals. I sort of look at it this way... if you are at least familiar witht the routines, environment and procedures in the hospital setting you are ahead of the game and can spend your time in clinicals focusing on the new nursing stuff. You have so much info thrown at you at once that you cannot possibly absorb it all and if you are already familiar with the environment then you will absorb more of the info. I am very glad that I chose to get my CNA and think that my experience has been invaluable. I am currently in school with eight months left. Good luck!

So far for me it has been what we call Health Management 1. It had some med-surg, community, and lots of odds and ends that don't fit anywhere else. It really sucked! And now matter how hard I tried I could not get an A. I am curious though at other nursing schools how does the grading scale work? Ours is: 100-95 A 94-93 A- 93-90 B+ 89-87 B 87-85 B- So to get an A you really have to work your butt off, personally by the time I graduate I probably won't have one anymore, (wishful thinking). I woud like to know though if other schools have a similar grading scale?

I know this can become a very heated debate, but I just want to say that I don't care what your background is. It really doesn't matter and when it comes down to it you will prove yourself by how hard you work, how much you really care about your job, including putting the effort to make sure you know as much as you can and need to know to provide the best possible care to your patients. An RN, BSN, part time or fast tracked it is about your personal drive, desire and commitment to your role as a nurse that will tell who is the "better" nurse. I am in a 12 month program. We had pathopysiology and all other pre reqs finished before beginning and so far I am doing okay. I take as many experiences as I can and try to soak up as much information as I can.

congrats and good luck with the NCLEX! I will be in your shoes in August, can't wait...

I guess I am lucky to have a very supportive family and support system. My parents are the ones who helped me to see the nursing profession for what it is rather than the blurred inaccurate vision of many people. So there is some hope!!

I was once one of those people who didn't understand nursing and thought that I would be selling myself short to go to nursing school when I was more than likely capable of medical school. I spent time checking out every healthcare field besides nursing, music therapy, physical, occupational, speech, dietician you name it I researched it. And over time I realized that what I wanted to do incorporated all of these things. I wanted to take care of the whole patient, understand their condition and all the interrelating factors. Nursing is where I ended up and as I learned more about the field I realized that I would much rather be a nurse than a doctor. Nurses look at the whole person and are with them each step of the way, we get to know the patient and their needs and understand the treatments. I am in school still, but have worked as a tech and know that nursing is where I am supossed to be. I love to take care of people and do a good job and use my critical thinking skills to do it. It is not a pud job. Some people really don't know what nurses do, they see them in the doctors office and see them simply take a blood pressure or jot down notes and thats what they think nursing is. It is time for people to better understand nursing and I would say that it is our job to caringly help them to understand the nurses role in healthcare. I don't know that much about the history of nursing but what I do know inspires me. As a profession I think there is a growing respect for the profession and there have been steps made to recognize nurses as professionals, but society will take time to catch up and see nursing for what it is.

Your question is NOT silly at all! I have been doing some basic shoe research myself for a year now and am still at a loss. But from what I have learned, good support is important and what type of support you need is based on your own foot. I went to a foot store where they scanned my feet, showed me my pressure points, watched my gait closely to see if I roll my feet inward or outward, and posture is all affected by your feet too. What I would recommend is to learn a little about your feet and invest in a orthotic that works for your foot type. It can be a little pricey $60 or so, but worth it if it will save your feet and body in the long run. Orthotics are different than Dr. Scholl's. From what I have learned Dr. Scholl's actually just increases cushion for your foot, which seems nice at first, but really isn't very good for your feet. Your feet and body need more support. Then I would use an orthotic along with a good athletic or nursing shoe that has worked in the past, they may last a lot longer for you (My shoes seem to break down after a month or so.) and give you the support you need. Now if you are willing and able to spend more money you can ge custom made orthotics for your feet. They last longer and will work the best. Then the shoe you would want is one for support and what will promote good posture and comfort. Now one more thing I have to say, CROCS, really aren't that good for your feet if you are going to be on hard floors for twelve hour shifts. They are actually really bad. Once again the super cushion feels good, but is really bad for your feet and will not give support your body really needs. I have a pair of crocs and love them to wear around town and such, but when I get to work I really haven't found them to be that great. Sorry for the avid Croc lovers out there, When I am wearing them at work I notice that I really have less momentum in my step and have no support in my arches. Cushion may feel nice, but it is decieving. Okay that's my opinion on shoes. Like you, I have been working on my own research to take care of my feet and body! :)

Very exciting and interesting. Thanks for the info. Is this available in the UK only? I have never heard of it before in the states.

Congratulations, but silly me am uneducated what is a BSc degree specialist community practitioners course?? I am curious. :uhoh21:

One more thing to add. Yesterday I was at work and was talking to a nursing student who is finishing her last few weeks of school and she kept telling me how great it is that I am getting experience as a tech. I talked to her about her clinicals and she has yet to put a foley in or an NG tube in. The tech's at our hospital can put foley's in, not NG's, but this student hasn't even watched an NG being put in! I am not saying she was incompetent at all, I am sure she will be a great nurse, I am just trying to say that you see a lot as a tech and when you are in clinicals you just can't see and do everything. I 've seen a good five NG tubes and helped with them too. So I was very thankful for my experience.