DebbieP

I know I have been thrown to the wolves as well many times.There are good places to work and bad places.....good nurses and bad nurses...I can't believe that your first night working as an RN she said you're in charge...that is just crazy.Charge nurses have experience on top of their RN status.Good for you for getting through the night without killing anyone.I know it's scary at times.What is SNF?Where do you live?Most of our facilities are pretty good with being supporting new nurses.They are mostly training hospitals so they are used to lots of newbies.Right now I am trying to figure out where I want to do the clinical component of my nursing refresher course.I don't want to be thrown to the wolves lol ever again so I'm really studying and researching the areas I might be interested in so that when I start my refresher I will be one step ahead and even further ahead when I apply for that job.Where are you working now and how are things going for you?

Wow...ltc is different here in Van Canada.I have worked in a few ltc facilities here and the situation was 70 patients,lots of po meds,catheterizations,enemas....just basic stuff so it's the perfect place for a new grad that wants to start off slowly.The downfall is you lose a lot of your skills.G tubes,trachs,IV's you'll find on our respiratory,med/surg wards not in long term care,very rare anyhow.I think you just need to take a look at all the different career opportunities in the nursing field and research the qualifications,what a typical day is like etc...this way you will have a better idea of where you may be best suited.I made the mistake of graduating from the Rn program,working for 2 years getting stressed and freaked out and then quitting.Now i have been out of practice for 9 years and am going to take the refresher program.Am i freaked out YOU BET,but now I am looking and researching different areas so that I can find my niche in nursing.I know it's what I need to be doing....I just don't know where.All the best to you in your future endeavors.

Thanks for all your help and encouragement! Debbie

Thanks for your reply Leslie.I have another question for you.I hope you can help.I have been out of nursing for a number of years now and will be taking the nursing refresher soon.I am hoping to do my clinival in pallaitive care.I'm just wondering what advice you could give me to prepare for work as a pallaitive nurse.Or anything I can do that could help me get my foot in the door?Any feedback would be helpful

I agree...that was a great post.The question I have after reading that though is When you asked the family to leave and come back in the am and your pt passed 15min after they left.Wouldn't the family be angry at you thinking they could have been there for him if you didn't ask them to leave?If that was the case how would you handle that? Debbie

Hello all My name is Debbie.I have been out of nursing for 9 years now and wish to get back into it.I am looking into the nursing refresher program at this time and hope to start soon.In the past I had difficulty finding my niche in nursing so I gave it up without exploring the practice more.I am looking into going into pallaitive care.I'm just wondering if anyone can offer some info on what treatments/procedures pallaitive nurses usually encounter as well as any other helpful advice you all may have. Thanks a bunch