royr

Telephonic Nurse positions are requiring 3 years med surge experience these days. I do not have that. The home health Agencys here in florida all require you to be able to lift a min of 100 pounds and ambulate patients around their home to prevent complications. They also require 1 year of FLORIDA home health care experience in this area. They are being very selective in the experience demands. My experience is 2 years in Community Health as a District Wide School RN Nurse. The schools are now demanding 3 years min experience. I am strongly considering letting my licence go dormant to aviod throwing good $ after bad - as it is very expensive to maintain a NY and a Florida RN at the same time. My unemployment is running out in a few weeks and I have seen no reason to be hopeful.

My disability is following spinal surgery on my neck to decompress my flattened spinal cord in 2010 - I am unable to safely lift more than 10 pounds. I can't stay in any one position for more than 15 min - got to keep moving around to find comfortable positions. Have weened myself off the narcotic drugs - and function at a constant pain level (5-6) which I keep busy to distract me from focus on. I want to be useful as that is my training. I am not the type of person who can sit and do nothing for a check. I am still very able to do things of use and help people. My mind is active and my training is up to date. There must be something I can do to remain in Nursing as an RN ?

I have put in for many nursing home positions here in the sarasota area - and not a single interview. I think it is because I do not meet there requirements - Most are demanding a min of 1 year in a nursing home or med surge - and I went straight to the community health area of nursing.

I keep trying - although I supect as do many others - that most of the job postings are not connected to real jobs - they are there for screening purpose - to see what the available help looks like - so they can feel comfortable firing employees they already have. Many times I see an add - apply - and a few weeks later - read in the local news paper that the same place is doing layoffs or pushing senior employees to retire.

I am a Male Nurse - second career - Graduated near the top of my class in 2007 - I have exhausted all the local health care facilities, schools and doctors offices in the Sarasota Florida area within driving distance of our home. Now I have been calling around nationally to Nursing agency for travel nurse positions looking for a job placement that does not require heavy lifting. It seems that in this current market - My 2 years experience working with the children and young adults of the Binghamton City School district in NY until my on the job injury - does not amount to the exact type of experience the present health care market requires. Even other school districts are requiring at least 3 years experience to get a foot in the door for an RN position. Nursing was a second career for me - and unfortunate as it is - truth be told I got hurt before I was doing it long enough. As i went straight to my Community Nursing job from graduation - I did not get the years of experience in a hospital setting that so many of the current job listing demand - and the hospitals do not hire nurses that are not able to lift a patient - at least not at my current level of experience. I am flat out stuck unless the job market changes - or an employer picks me over the thousands of more qualified people in the field who have all these special experiences on their resumes that I lack. Does anyone have a suggestion as to where I should go from here - or is my RN Nursoing career over?

I am also a school nurse. It is my first job fresh out of nursing school and I care for all the children in the school district from pre kindergarden to 12 grade. My job is a roving full time position where I go to any school in the district that has a need on any given day. Usually I am alone, but at the high school I am usually with at least 1 other nurse because of the large student population - over 1700 active at the high school on the average day. Although the pay leaves much to be desired - it is quite low compared to what many of my graduating class report making - there are in fact other rewards. For example - I have been caring for a child since the start of the school year that has been able to overcome many issues with the help of health related counceling involving her diet, excersise, and stress management issues. She reported to me today that after all her hard work - and in spite of her freinds trying to talk her out of trying - she has made 1st string on the high school cheer leading squad. Our long talks about never giving up on her hopes and dreams were in fact taken to heart as she overcame her anxiety and began to believe in herself, care about what she ate, and do the hard work needed to make the final cut. She faced her fears with the support of her school heath care professionals. She was just soo happy this day. She also said that when she grows up - she wants to be a nurse! How cool is that? And you just can't buy that with a Mastercard!

Thanks Tweety - I put my vote in as "other" - so far I really enjoy school nursing - standing up for the children that fall thru the cracks in the system seems to be my new "specialty". The pay is very low for an RN position - but the hope and joy that can be seen in the faces of the kids is simply priceless!

Hey guys - why is there no school nurse catigory for me to vote in this poll? Am I the ONLY male school nurse in the world these days? What's up with that?

Best I have found is New Balance 926 walking shoes. Only ones that seem to last and support my 200 pound body without my back hurting. They come in wide sizes for us guys (and gals) with big feet.

All I ever made with my MBA degree as a CEO of a international computer company was MONEY. I came out of my retirement to make a difference in peoples lives who are suffering. If I wanted to work like I was working - I would probably have more job offers than I could respond to - simply based on past success and business contacts. I want to do something different - I want to be the RN Nurse I am very well trained to be. All I ask is a chance - I am not afraid to get my hands dirty. Just tired of hearing about how everyone else is "better qualified" to be a nurse than I am. Funny - we all took the same classes - why do they have jobs and I don't? I have my licence already - and most of my class has yet to take the NCLEX. This seems to make NO DIFFERENCE! My wife is really getting upset about the whole situation - I had convinced her to sell our beach house over 2 years ago - and move to a place that does not have a shore in driving distance so I could persue my dream - Becoming a professional nurse and making a difference in the lives of my patients. Now I am in an area that does not need my nursing skills - and a housing market that makes selling problematic. I am concerned that if I can't get this new career rolling soon - it will cause marital issues - or worse.

I will put it this way - the good folks at the local post office know my daughter and I by our first names - that is how often we are in to buy stamps and mail resumes. Never cultivated a "mentor" relationship with any of my teachers. Most were interested in the female students less than half my age - and either ignored me - or questioned why I was in the traditional student's program in the first place. The "are you lost - sir - this is a NURSING class?" got rather tiring after 2 years. Because of this I learned to be impeccable in my technique and politically correct in all my exchanges - written or verbal. I would be happy to relocate - but in the present housing market - it will probably take several years to sell our home in order to free up the funds to buy another. The buyer trafic is just not here at present. In the mean time I need to work to provide for my family. Any ideas?

Interviews all went well - left off with "we will let you know". I have followed up with apropriate thank you letters to all involved. Other than the one "we will keep your resume on file for up to 2 years" the other 3 positins are still being advertised in the local newspaper as looking for graduate nurses - with sign on bonus - education incentives, ect. I started the job search 6 weeks prior to graduation - Back in March 2007. Last interview was August 7th. Have kept in touch with each contact on a bi-weekly basis. Many classmates have been hired - I have been told positins have been filled by "more qualified" candidates. All my clinical teachers wrote flattering reviews of my nursing skills - never made any errors in 2 years of clinicals. I just don't understand why I have been passed over. Now my student loan payments are comming due - and my student health insurance has run out. I NEED a job to support my wife and daughter.

Hey everyone - I need some advice on where to find my first nursing job. I have been putting out applications and resumes since I graduated from nursing school with my BSN and passed my NCLEX exam. I was in the top 10% of my class, made the Dean's list, and have already had one of my essays published and recieved a cash award for the article - it won a NY state wide contest. I am the 5th member of my graduating class to pass the NCLEX (1st try - 75 questions). I have had only 3 calls for interviews so far - and NO JOB OFFERS. I have been honest in that I am willing to take any position - any shift - any facility. I just want to practice my nursing. Salary is not an issue for me - just want full time work with benefits for my family - in or out of the hospital. I dress well, am clean and well groomed and hold an MBA degree with many years of professional success in my background. I have excellent references, no drug or alcohol issues, and am a hard worker and play well with others. WHY IS NO ONE INTERESTED IN ME? Please help!!

I know what you mean. I passed my NCLEX-RN on July 5 - it felt like the weight was taken off my shoulders. Now I just need to find a job!

Poor quality food is false economy. Tell him what it will cost in vet bills to fix the pups insides.

Hello allnurses family! Well it is finally official. I have passed my NCLEX license exam and am now officially a RN nurse. I have learned a great deal from my adventure n changing my work role in our society so late in my life - and look foward to finding employment in a place where I can make a positive difference in people's lives with my new skills. Thanks to family and freinds supporting me along the way and the grace of God I have arrived at this new career. Thanks for all the support! Royr

Hi Allnurses family! Every once in a while something special happens in our lives where we get the opportunity to share with others the good that is in this world and the difference folks can make when they do the right things for the right reasons. I just wanted to share the following link http://www.cnyahec.org/links.asp Look at the special anouncement - and click on the bottom right corner where is says - "This is what Roy has to say" I am hoping that this will help young people especially see the hope in the future and the good that can be done through a career in nursing.

Whew - May 20th is my graduation day. My 44th birthday present to myself is a BS in Nursing - and my Daughter and wife are so happy! Thanks to everyone on this board who have been so helpful. I would not have been able to achieve this without the support from God, my family and all of you wonderful folks that offered advice and encouragement along the way. Thanks!

I don't know about other parts of the world - but where I used to live in North Carolina I was told that there was "no place" for me in a well known schools nursing program that I applied to because they had no clinical placements available for a "male" student. I had to sell my house and move my family in order to attend a school that would accept me. I had no problem with my accedemic credentials gaining a place in my current school even though they turned down thousands of other applicants that did not meet their very high GPA standards. Unfortunately sexual bias still exists - and it is up to good folks EVERYWHERE to help put an end to discrimination of ALL TYPES.

My sentiments exactly - folks don't stay where problems are. Low turnover means good conditions for staff. People vote with their feet in heath care durring a labor shortage - and you are a rare commodity. Not many new grads in my graduating class interested in L&D. Most are looking toward other areas.

Please NEVER let anything discourage you from your hopes and dreams. Many have tried to keep me from my RN - and God willing I will Graduate for my 44th birthday with my BS in nursing and this summer sit for the NCLEX and get my RN licence. If a "tired old man" as one of my teachers called me can do this - so can you! I wish you much success!

[quote= I think it sucks that so many doctors think it's okay to treat nurses that way. If a nurse treated a doctor like that, I'm sure the judgment and punishment would be swift and decisive. Not so for doctors, and I'm not quite sure why. I think I will be finding out how this situation is handled at the hospital where I am doing my clinical. We had a situation where my patient started to loose large amounts of blood very suddenly, with a BP drop of 40 points in less than 5 min. The Dr was called, and our pt was moved to the OR for emergency surgury. After the procedure the pt became tachicardic and the Dr ordered a move to ICU rather than back to our med surg floor. As this was my pt and I am a student nurse in my senior rotation, my preceptor followed along with me and my pt every step of the way. This was due to my pt insistance that I needed to be by her side as she feared that if I left her side she would die. She felt that by holding my hand she was holding on to life - which was OK for me because I have not yet lost a pt and did not want to start with one I was so attached to. She had been in my care with the same preceptor care for 2 weeks, and we had become close. OK - so we enter the ICU with our pt - and the ICU nurse said - what are you expecting me to do with this pt - my workload is to high and she can't have my last bed. She looked at me and said - and where is her NURSE. (My preceptor was standing right beside me at the time with her ID tag clearly visible). Then she questions my preceptors judgement as to why this pt needs to be there in ICU - as well as the Dr judgement. The Dr was called, and when he arrived, the ICU nurse started yelling at Him. He did not yell back although she was quite abusive and was swearing at him profoundly. He remained the gentleman that he always is and never raised his voice or returned the choice launguage. I am waiting to see if this is going to result in a diciplinary action against the ICU nurse by the Dr and what will become of the issue. I am staying out of this as I am not a hospital employee - just a "worthless student nurse" - according to the ICU nurse around who this issue revolves.

I find the problem to be one of large ego in small hospital unit (this applies no matter how any beds your unit is in the hospital). I have one Doctor that has been in my face since the start of my senior rotation. Our teacher made 2 hard and fast rules for the rotation. NO IV push, and NO taking doctors orders. When I explained this to one doctor who was insisting on giving me orders, she gave me a very hard time. I smiled at her, fished a hershey kiss out of my pocket and offered it to her in the palm of my outstreached hand without saying another word. I was trying to say "Here is something I can do for you - even though I am not allowed to do other things". Now I have an issue - every time she sees me - she calls me "teachers pet" and tells me she can't wait until I graduate because she has some "orders" for me involving "pushing". I suppose this is simply a matter of "forbiden fruit" and her trying to excersise power over a subordinate that is presently out of her reach. I know it is more than freindly banter because of the frequency and level of persistance on her part. Last wed she noticed I was losing my voice and kindly invited me down to her office for some "special medicine" - mentioned some medicinal throat cream that only she had available. I politley declined the generous offer for "special treatment". I guess power corrupts - but I will continue to hold my ground and follow the rules - they are for my safety. I am very aware that I am at the bottom of the food chain as a nursing student and just want to make it through to get my degree. Trouble I don't need.

I got mine for free attending a pulmanary awareness seminar. The pulmicort drug rep was giving them out for free, along with free expiration meters to test lung capacity. I got a nice pen as well. Students like me realy apreciate this type of stuff.

And a Merry Christmass to all - 9:41 here in upstate NY - The roof is washed - gutters are clean - big water dish on the roof for those tired Reindeer. Cookies and Milk out for Santa along with the thank you letter. FINALLY got my 6 year old into bed - she wanted to inspect the roof - even made me remove the chimney cap so Santa could get down. I am sooo tired! Can't wait to see what the big guy brings!!!:) :) :)