cp2012

Thanks for your input! I turned down a med/surg nights position right out of school bc I was extremely sick during my pregnancy. I just feel like if I keep turning things down because of bad timing that eventually I will stop receiving offers. My job right now isn't M-F; it's PRN about two shifts a week. I know it sounds perfect for a new Mom, and it might be...But again, I'm afraid I'm losing skill and knowledge. Question...would your response be different if I said I had an offer from a Med/Surg floor? I just got an email today saying that a different hospital would be setting up an interview with me for a nights med/surg position "here soon". Would that make a difference or are you saying you think it's bad timing to be starting a new job period? Thanks so much for you advice.

Hello, everyone! I would just like some input on my situation... I'm a newer nurse; I graduated almost a year ago and started working in occupational health about 8 months ago. Since this job is very low key and requires very little brain work, I feel like I'm losing all of my nursing skills...I'll be honest, I wasn't the top of my class. Some days I feel like I passed nursing school by skin of my teeth. There are times where I have felt super inadequate and nowhere near as smart as my fellow classmates. I feel like it's harder for me to retain info and that I don't think as quick on my feet. I know that bedside nursing isn't what I want to do forever, but I think it's something that I need to try at least once and gain some experience. I'm mostly interested in Women's Health, which is hard to get into without experience anyways....The job market is hard where I live (as it is everywhere apparently). There's not a lot of room to be picky. With that said, I had been applying for jobs when my friend mentioned they have an opening on her floor. While it definitely isn't my number one pick, I applied because I felt obligated to at least try for every opportunity to get my foot in the door. I have an interview coming up and I am freaking out about my decision to apply...The job is for a night position in a community hospital's ICU (they have 155 beds total at the hospital, but I'm not sure about the number of beds on this unit). Again, I am a very new nurse with a history of not being as smart as my friends and who has been [practically] out of the game for the past 8 months. I am also a new Mom (my baby is only 6 weeks old) & I've never worked a night shift. In a perfect world I wouldn't go back to work for another year so that I can stay at home with our baby, but I feel like the longer I do the job I'm in right now the more I'm going to forget...And I also feel like if I don't get a position before May it will be very hard to find something when I'm competing with all of the other new grads. SO...if I'm offered the job, do I take it when I'm not entirely confident in myself? I mean, it is a community hospital so I'm sure the acuity won't be as high as it would be in a metro hospital, but I am seriously sick over the thought that I might not be smart enough for this. And as a new grad we are told to take anything we can get because there might not be another offer for several months...What am I supposed to do? When I think of an ICU nurse I think of someone that is confident, quick thinker...someone that is running codes and thinking critically...I just have a hard time imagining that I will ever get that good. Help.

I would apply somewhere else...

So I am a new graduate nurse that works alone in a clinic where employees can come in with injuries and illnesses. Well, today I had a wound that needed to be steri stripped. I've never used steri strips before on a real patient and my manager was standing over me the entire time watching...Basically, I was nervous. Looking back, I think I messed up the steri strips by... A. Putting too many on-I didn't leave any space between the steri strips and used several. B. It looks really sloppy...I was so nervous that there's more steri strip on one side than the other-looks uneven... Idk why I froze up, but I am working tomorrow and wonder if I should take off the steri strips and reapply when the patient comes to see me? Or should I at least take off a few so the wound can breathe? I'm afraid the other nurse will come in on Monday and think I am an absolute idiot...Ps the wound is about 1 in, deep, and on the shin.

Hello! Let me just start out by saying that nursing school kicked my butt. It was never my cup of tea and by the time I realized it I was too far in to quit. I found that some areas of nursing were more enjoyable than others (i.e. Women's Health, L&D, etc), but I always felt like I was behind, not good enough, or simply not interested...While most of my other friends literally seemed "called" to nursing. Anyhow, I went to a very rigorous school and passed the NCLEX the first time. My plan was to graduate, start working in an area that I could tolerate, and then start my MBA. I've always been extremely business oriented so my intentions were to use both my BSN and MBA to find a job in healthcare management. Quickly after the NCLEX I found out that I was pregnant...So my whole world has kinda changed. I turned down a full-time medsurg position because it was nights and found a job in occupational health nursing where I get paid several dollars more an hour than I would working in a hospital as a new grad. My job is extremely boring and uneventful...I usually sit here and watch tv and post things online (like I'm doing now). I'm learning nothing, but making almost $30 an hr to sit...which I guess is good for now with me being pregnant. Anyways, I'm so bored at work that I really need to start my masters. Does anyone have any experience in getting their MBA after they got their BSN?? I do think getting some hospital experience (just so I can say I tried) would be good for me at some point...However, I've always been seen as the type of person that would be working in an office with other corporate employees. Have any of you had success in this transition from bedside to office? Finally, I've started second guessing my choice of getting the MBA since I found out I was having a baby...Nursing schedules are extremely desirable (when you can land 12 hr shifts on days). Going from bedside to office would definitely send me straight to M-F, which might not be something I want to do until later on. Maybe I should stay in nursing and go the NP route? Not sure...All I know is that I want to start my masters NOW and I want to make good money sooner rather than later....I know this is a lot of random thoughts, but does anyone have any insight?

1. TN 2. New Grad 3. Occupational Health 4. $28/hr 5. None 5. No

Thanks everyone! The interview went really well today so I'll post if I get the job. If it's offered I think I'm going to take it! It's 12 hr shifts, but it's days...And that's a complete blessing.

Hey everyone! I would like a little insight on my situation...I graduated in May with my BSN and passed my NCLEX in June. I had started applying for jobs before the NCLEX, but hadn't heard anything from anyone. Well, right after the NCLEX I found out that my husband and I are having a baby. HUGE SHOCK. And definitely the worst timing ever! I have been miserably sick with this being my first child. Throwing up multiple times a day, constantly nauseated, easily winded...Exhausted. I've been so sick that I stopped applying for jobs and had pretty much decided to work for the family business until after the baby is born and then start looking for nursing jobs...Well, just when I thought I had a plan, a local hospital called me for an interview this week. The position is in med surg (and of course I'm a little bummed about that), but it is a DAY SHIFT...In my city that's unheard of for new grads. So I'm going to the interview tomorrow, but I'm just so unsure of everything this entails... 1. I'm nervous about working as a new graduate in med surg while being pregnant...I'm a high risk pregnancy patient because I have to be on Lovenox the entire time (blood clotting disorder)...Which is new to me. So much information that has come along with being pregnant and now to add in taking care of patients in the most broad area of nursing makes me anxious. 2. I'm nervous that I'll be too sick to take care of patients. Will the distraction help or make it worse? 3. I won't be telling the employer until a while after being hired that I'm pregnant and I'm not sure how that will play out. Any advice or personal testimony would be greatly appreciated. While I don't have the job yet, I would really like to have an answer in my head if it were offered to me...I've considered not taking it because my husband's job makes enough money for us to live, but I wonder if I will regret that in 9-10 months when I start applying for jobs...Will I remember how to be a nurse if I wait that long after school to get a job?? Will I regret not taking a day shift when all I can find is nights later on? HELP?!?