lisa618

I graduated in December 2015, then was hired at a small rural hospital in February 2016 for 2nd shift on a surgical/observation unit, at 7 months pregnant. (We needed the income and benefits, otherwise I probably would have waited til after baby.) Orientation for new grads at this hospital is 5-6 weeks, which I initially thought was plenty. I am now 37 weeks pregnant and have been off of orientation for a week and a half. When I am on my home unit, the patient load is totally doable and I feel more and more confident about the care that I provide thanks in large part to the great staff on my floor, who are very helpful and supportive. However, I've also been floated to the medical unit twice, which is notorious for higher patient/staff ratios and higher acuity patients. Both times I've been floated, I have completely fallen apart! I was drowning and the staff there could not care less. I am unable to sleep after working on that floor, because as I lay in bed, I remember all of the tasks and charting that I forgot to do while I was there. On top of it all - the last time I floated, I was assigned more patients than I've ever had before, so I was completely overwhelmed, didn't get a single break, and was experiencing serious "real" contractions with nausea by the end of the night because of all the stress. Would it look bad if I asked my manager to either be put back on orientation or let me stay on my home floor until I come back from maternity leave? She is a pretty tough nut to crack and I can't really get a read on her personality, so I'm not sure how she'll take it. I never wanted to play the "pregnancy card," but I feel like I need more help and support when I float because right now it seems unsafe for both the patients and myself for me to be put in that situation.

I GOT IN!!! My acceptance letter was lost in the mail, and they called me today to ask if I had gotten it. PHEW! I'm in!

My friend and I who live in the same small town both applied to the Spring 2014 RN program at a nearby community college - we both did awesome on the TEASV and have good GPAs. She got her letter of acceptance into the program yesterday and I still haven't received ANYTHING! I'm going a little nuts. Does anyone know anything about the acceptance letter process or why one person might get theirs before another person? Or should I just expect a rejection letter instead? I have a Plan B for if I didn't get in this time around, so I'll be fine. The not knowing is what's killing me!