mstigerlily

First time I was 34 weeks pg and a young single mom, backache on and off all day. At 5pm my waterbag exploded at the tail end of my Dev Psych class. I sat there till the bell rang then hobbled to the bathroom, then to the Student Health, which was just closing. By some act of God a retired OB was there who told me I'd never make it home, sent me to a local hospital where I met my "new" doctor. New doc placed me in Trendelenberg position, cathed me so I "didn't have to get up to pee", promised he'd be back and if I were to deliver anyway, I'd get my epidural, then left to do an emergency c-section. An hour later I was crowning (sans epidural) so I flew down the hall, shook hands (between my legs) with yet another doctor who delivered my daughter. Never really had much pain until the last 30 minutes or so. They kept telling me I was contracting and I kept saying, "I am?" The FOB was not involved and my mom barely made it for the birth as she had to drive 2 hrs in rush hour to get there. She was born at 8:30pm, weighing 5 lbs 6 oz. They gave me a small episiotomy which I probably didn't need. This was 15 years ago and they insisted on keeping an IV running for 12 hrs and nagged me about having a BM. When I told them I'd already had one, they looked at me very suspiciously as if were lying, lol. Second time, I was so confident I'd do it without the epidural, my husband who had three with his ex (who got her epidurals practically in the parking lot) was not so sure. We went to childbirth class to review and to ease his mind. At 37 wks, my waterbag popped at 3am as I got up to pee, leading to sudden contractions. Hubby stopped at 7-11 on the way "to get a few things" and I was dying in the car. On admission he was settling in for a long ride when the nurse announced I was 6cm and leaking blood streaked fluid everywhere and moved me to a bed. He flew out of his chair panickstricken and never let go of my hand for the remainder of the labor. I whined a bit for the epidural at 10cm but the midwife told me I was almost there and hang in, so I did. My second daughter was born at 6:30am sans epidural weighing 7 lbs 9 oz. She was turned funny which meant she cracked her clavicle a bit coming out and I had hideous back labor which felt like a drill to my tailbone. After the birth though, I got up after the delivery of the placenta to pee, I felt great. I tore a tiny bit, maybe two stitches. Third time, again I was so confident not only that I'd deliver early but that I'd have a fast labor. No, my son hung in till 40 weeks, in fact I had an induction scheduled next week. My doctor stripped my membranes to get things going and I was miserable all day/night with on/off contractions. Finally at 6am I left for the hospital and had lame puny contractions all day stalling at 4cm. Doc refused to break my water, giving me lectures about intervening, blah blah so I finally got the epidural. After the room spinning around and going black and feeling nauseous I decided to let that wear off. Did not like it one bit, I guess it was the fentanyl bolus? Anyway, just when I was starting to feel more "normal", anesthesia came back to see if I "needed a bolus". I yelled "NO THANKS!" Finally at 3:30, I nagged the doc into breaking my water. Immediately I had horrid contractions (which I expected since I had let the epidural wear off) mainly on the left hip/thigh for some reason like a hideous little spasm of pain with each contraction. Nevertheless once that waterbag was broken, I progressed from 4cm to baby out in about 3-4 hours, just like the last two times. My son was born at 7pm, weighing 9 lbs. Thanks to it being my 3rd baby and a nice labor nurse who did some perineal stretching I was intact. I felt a lot more sore because of the longer labor and my back was sore and bruised due to the epidural. All in all, I've had pretty good labors, can't complain.

I've had patients of all ages and personalites but I see women like you've described quite often, we have patients like this every day on our floor. My hospital induces and c-sections every day for convenience and for social reasons. In fact, it's so uncommon to have a primip go into labor on her own and deliver and 40 wks, I can't remember the last time I had a patient who fit that description. If you think you have a hard time dealing with this patient, visit the postpartum nurses that have cared for her 2-4 long days (or nights) in a row after the long labor or c-section she'll probably be getting!

I lost a son at 16 wks in 1998, had backache, water broke, dilated, he came out in the ER feetfirst. Saw him on ultrasound two days prior swimming around sucking his thumb. I had been spotting for a week though, thus the ultrasound, maybe a small abruption? We never figured out why. I wasn't a nurse then but I had a hard time, everyone does. I never forgot him and I never will. It got better with time passing and babies that came after but I still think about him often. You may need quite a bit of time off, or even a change of work environment, you'll just have to see how it goes. Please see if you can find some support groups either online or IRL, it really helps to talk with others who have lost their babies too. I'm so sorry to hear about your loss.

I was lucky to have a husband who had a flexible schedule and a retired mom five minutes away who had plenty of time. Couldn't have done it without them. I start my kids at two full days of preschool at age three, and three full days of preschool at age four, then kindergarten at five of course. I used the preschool at my school which was not only convenient but an EXCELLENT school. They literally potty trained my 3 yr old for me, plus taught her patience, waiting, no whining, waiting in line, "nap time" although she lay down quietly instead of napped since she stopped napping at age 2. I'm kind of relaxed about stuff here at home so preschool really gave them some structure and lots of modeling and good influence from peers. I'd change their days at school each semester according to my schedule. I gave birth to my second at the beginning of prereqs and my mom or husband watched her when I was gone but I scheduled all my classes on Tues/Thurs so it was easy. I breastfed her till she was 18 months and my husband would bring her to school for me plus I'd pump in the car on breaks. In nursing school, she was 3 by then and old enough to start the preschool. I gave birth to my third child after 3rd semester so took a semester off plus had the summer so when I returned he was nearly 6 months old. My classes were short enough generally by then he wouldn't have to miss a feeding except on Wednesdays my husband would bring him and I'd feed him in the car and we'd all have lunch then I'd return to class for a few hrs and then go home. In clinicals twice a week I'd try to pump once and sometimes that was a challenge. I started working when he was 11 months old and when I worked days my husband would try to bring him by for lunch and a feed. He nursed till he was over two but of course mostly at bedtime. Oh, plus I worked part time on my days off but I used to be a massage therapist so it was very sporadic, a massage here or there every now and then just for extra money, very flexible. My husband and I didn't go out very often, however my oldest was 8 when her sister was born and 12 when her brother was born so by the time he was a year I considered her old enough to babysit and now at 15, she does it all the time, which is NICE. Now I'm chipping away at my BSN online (almost done) and plan on doing my IBCLC and RN-C exam next year or so so I'll find the time to study for and take those tests but I'm very organized and self-motivated when it comes to thing like that, I'm a long range planner and spend lots of time thinking about the future. I never have been, or never wanted to be a SAHM, I need variety in my day and adult stimulation, the first six months at home are enough for me, when you're nesting, bonding and breastfeeding, but beyond that a gradual phase-in of work and/or school is needed. I'd lose my mind at home for years and years, I don't know how people do it. I did most of my homework late at night when breastfeeding or while sitting around breastfeeding, or while they were napping. I'm very computer literate and enjoy the flexibility of online learning so that situation is ideal for me.

If money were no object I would have done a private college with a 4 yr BSN RN program. If money were an object (which it was) I would do a community college ADN RN program and get the BSN later. If I had a bit of money (but not much) I'd wait for a 4 yr BSN RN at a state university. Money or no money, I'd bypass the LVN option entirely.

I really have a problem with this. In our hospital we are required to wear badges and I actually find myself looking at them a lot when standing in elevators or waiting in line, etc. wondering, "Oh who is that nicely dressed person or what dept does that person work in? I find out they are lab techs, housekeeping, pharmacy techs, social services, dietary, radiology, OR teach, tele techs, administration (ok they are usually wearing suits). Why does everyone who works in a medical setting get to wear scrubs? It's still office work but all our unit secretaries, or any non-admins who sit at a desk most of the day - they wear scrubs. The entire doctor's office including the women who answer phones and make appts all day - scrubs. Housekeeping? Scrubs. In the doctors office or outpatient setting no one is wearing nametags, not even the doctors. In our hospital a lot of the MDs wear white lab coats with their name Dr. Blahblah, MD, Cardiology, embroidered on it and I think it's nice. In the office, no, but obviously you probably know who you're there to see. But no one else is wearing them. Who calls my name and ushers me in, who takes my insurance info? Who is the person taking my kid's vital signs, weighing them, who is taking my history and asking what meds I'm taking? Who is administering my child's vaccinations or breathing treatments? Who is telling me how to administer his medication and what to look for? I want to know who these people are. The name would be a good start but I never even get that. I've quit describing myself as a nurse or asking if others are a nurse. I say "I'm an RN" and "Are you an RN?" That is the only answer that seems to be specific enough.

Depends on the hospital and unit, management, policies and the nurse herself, but at my hospital the duties are as follows: Admit, assess, discharge up to four couplets at a time. Some of these may include overflow gyn surgeries, low risk antepartum patients or moms whose babies are in LII nursery. Refer to lactation, social services, dietary as necessary. Check MAR, administer meds, hang IVs, chart checks. Not very often but we can start or bolus mag and push other cardiac meds, more often we maintain and discontinue mag patients if they are transferred that way. We also hang blood if they need it. Lots of IV antibiotics and IV push meds. Vital signs q4h first 24 hrs for mom and baby and q8h after that. Empty catheters, change pads, assist to bathroom, all personal needs. Order and review labs for moms/babies as needed. PKU tests, hearing tests and other lab draws for mom and baby may be your responsibility as well. Weigh babies nightly, record I&O for moms, sometimes for babies. Teach and assist parents to care for themselves and for babies: diapering, sore nipple management, pumping, breastfeeding, nipple shields, supplemental feeding systems, burping, swaddling, breastfeeding, discharge teaching. Rent pumps, discharge teaching and paperwork for discharge. Call housekeeping, security and maintenance to address any patient concerns with their rooms. Many psychosocial issues, lots of teaching. In my opinion it would be best for a very hands-on type of nurse who is comfortable with babies, is comfortable with lots of family members being around all the time, and is tactful, professional, kind, friendly but firm. Sometimes we float to L&D to recover patients which includes assisting with cleaning, sending and/or disposing of instruments and sharps, placenta, cord blood, transitioning, bathing baby with vital signs on both mom and baby. Giving the vit K injection, sometimes Hep B injections, the eye ointment. Assisting doctor with any repair, cleaning up mom and getting her ready to move to postpartum room. Sometimes nurses take turns in the well baby nursery where they care for up to 8 babies who may be on phototherapy and staying in, all new c-section admissions, baths, transitions and care, plus babysitting and doing vitals for for any babies staying for awhile while mom rests. Assist with circumcisions, care for circs afterwards. In some postpartum units in my area (not mine), nurses will maintain and hang antibiotics for the babies, care for "feeders and growers" who need to just remain on an IV or monitor for a bit before discharge, give gavage feeds. Since we have four couplets that's 8 charts so LOTS of charting, supplemental care plans, PPOCs, referrals, nursing assessment forms, computer charting. There may be a huge difference in responsibilities at different hospitals in my area, there may be techs, CNAs and LVNs to assist with care. At our hospital lab does the PKU and all other lab draws on moms and babies but at many hospitals this is the RN's responsibility.

To the OP: Our hospital has an excellent new grad program, for 12 weeks we had class once a week from 8-5. We had a different system to study each week and while our quizzes weren't graded, we were expected to pay attention to the films, guest speakers and participate in activities. For this we were paid our regular new grad hourly rate PLUS they fed us a nice catered breakfast and hot lunch for free. So say if new grads are making $30/hr, one 8 hr day once a week for 12 weeks means you earn yourself $2880 before taxes and get 24 free meals. Plus along the way you got to learn things, ask questions and meet the mentors, managers and ancillary staff who work in each department. I didn't see the behavior you witnessed, all my classmates were very professional and attentive, however I did hear some groans, see the occasional eye rolls and nearly everyone said they were glad those classes were over. However, I was so grateful for this opportunity and "class day" was my favorite day of the week and I was a little sad when it was over. Getting paid to learn things plus free food sounds good to me.

San Diego area, new grad RNs are starting at around $26-$30/hr. My specific hospital has a $4/hr NOC differential, at least one hospital I know of has a weekend diff of $2/hr. Also my hospital pays $2/hr more for charge (no patients) and 2% more for BSN, 5% more for MSN, also bonuses for specialty certifications.

I wouldn't pay that much for an LVN program, here in Southern California there is an ROP program with not too much of a wait that is free. LVNs have limited job prospects compared to RNs so it wouldn't seem worth that kind of money to me. However, if you're talking a four year degree at a university, certainly there are many people who spend that kind of money to get their bachelor's in all sorts of things and don't have the job security and opportunities that an RN has. If you have a BA/BS in another field, you're not going to have job offers and sign on bonuses waiting for you like a BSN-RN will, so in that case I think the $38k seems worth it. Even still, I did have to wait a year but my ADN cost me nothing at a community college so it's nice to not have that kind of debt.

None of my kids have ever had a nurse there, they have something called a "health tech" whatever that is. Well, I guess they do have a visiting RN that visits schools in the districts to do hearing screens and I don't know what else... This is why I no longer refer to myself as a "nurse", whenever I am asked what I do, or about my job, I describe myself as an RN or Registered Nurse. I find that just saying "nurse" could be just about anything nowadays.

Me, I'm here too! I work for Scripps and I like all their hospitals, esp La Jolla, Encinitas (but they are union) and Mercy. Not sure about Chula Vista and Green. Palomar/Pomerado are ok but I was disappointed in the pay/benefits given they are union. Sharp is good too, I hear Mary Birch, Memorial and Grossmont are nice hospitals, not sure about the others. Pay and benefits seem to be not too far apart at all three of these hospitals Children's is good, of course and last I checked they had a weekend differential which is nice. UCSD and Kaiser are supposed to be two of the highest paying and UCSD is supposed to have awesome benefits but they make you pay for parking ($90/month or something?). VA is good but they only hire BSNs and LVNs, no ADNs but of course being government they have good benefits. Don't know much about Tri-City, heard mixed info. Don't know about Alvarado, Paradise Valley or any others I've missed. Scripps & Sharp are probably the biggest around and will offer the most choices, consistent benefits and pay. Cost of living: I'm used to it since I was born here and luckily I bought my house ten years ago. Moving here I wouldn't be able to afford it though.

Lots of jobs for LVNs in LTC but I assume you don't want that. Also clinics/doctors offices. I do know that Sharp hires LVNs, try there. Also the VA hires them, also Children's. Scripps and Palomar/Pomerado seem to be phasing them out. Other options: home health & home care. My neighbor has been an LVN for 20+ years, she was the last one on her floor, they've now moved her to a long term care floor unless she wants to work nights so she switched back to nights and is going back to school for her RN. Most of the LVNs I know are doing likewise due to limited job opportunities.

I think everyone hated nursing school, or at least found it tedious and difficult. I used to get A's easily, I struggled to get B's there. I hated care plans, they got longer and longer every semester. I hated getting up at 4:30 to get to clinicals on time and fighting to get the "best" patient and running around trying to get my skills done. I HATED "skill tests" where we tested skills in front of our stone faced instructors. You will get through it, don't give up. I had a baby during prereqs, breastfed her 16 mos (no bottles), took a semester off between 3rd and 4th to have another one, breastfed him 2 yrs (occasional bottles). Imagine what a huge PITA that was! Luckily I had a (flexible schedule) husband and a (retired) mom nearby to meet me somewhere to nurse the baby or bring him by during my breaks. That was probably the most difficult part, I always had to "get home" after school or clinicals, never had time to go to the library for an impromptu study session, I did all my best studying at 3am when I was up nursing the baby anyway and the house was quiet.

different schools have different requirements, you can find out about them before you started. i assume you knew you were supposed to take the hesi and pass before graduation so you've known about this for awhile, right? if you knew about this and agreed to these conditions when you applied for the program you may not have a case, not sure. i don't agree with forcing you to pass hesi to sit for the boards necessarily but our whole class took and passed it so i don't think it's an unreasonable request. in fact, i worked my first two night shifts ever, went to sleep at 9am, then got up at 1pm, rushed over to take the test, finished it up in about 2 hrs and scored over 1000 i think don't remember exactly but it was over what i needed. i found it fairly straightforward and simple. then again i passed the nclex the first time too, 75 questions, took me a little over an hour, i found it fairly simple too, certainly not as challenging as some of our tests in school. however, i started planning ahead and found out all i could about everything way ahead of time, interviewed former students, new nurses, bought books, study guides, you have had all this time to study for hesi - have to done the same or did it just sneak up on you?

If you already have a BS and graduate courses in sciences, an ADN would be simple for you. I'd do a direct entry MSN program if I were you, or at least teh BSN. I found the big difference between BSN/ADN classes was the BSN had a lot more about nursing theory, nursing research, and a lot more reading of both of those things and also paper writing. I was surprised at how few papers we wrote in the ADN program and when we did they had little seminars and study guides for us, as if writing an academic college level paper woudl be something new or challenging for us. In the BSN program, they seemed to take for granted we already knew how to do this.

I do believe RNs should have a bachelor's degree, specifically in nursing, however if they have one in another field, an ADN is adequate until they can complete the BSN degree, but I believe they should have to eventually complete that too. We already have a level for "practical" or "technical" or "vocational" nurses and that is the LVN/LPN which is also a nurse, and a perfectly reasonable option for those who can't afford or can't complete a bachelor's level program.

One hospital I interviewed at does not have a differential (and this is a union hospital). The other two did have a differential, it was 2% more for a BSN and I believe 5% more for an MSN. I think this is pretty typical, at least for my area.

I have a BA in Psychology from a U.C. school, comparatively I felt that degree was a piece of cake. I have an ADN from a community college, that I found considerably more challenging mainly because I am not a "science person" I am a good writer, reader, debater, researcher. I had to take all the prereqs because I didn't need much science for the Psych degree and what I did take weren't the classes I needed for nursing. However, you say your major was sciences so if you are a very methodical, organized, math oriented person, you will probably find nursing school easy. However, you seem to find nursing a bit beneath you - why did you link to a medical/dental school site? Why not go to medical school instead or consider an advanced nursing degree or PA program? Maybe that would make you feel better about repeating all that school. What I did during the interim: worked as a CNA, also husband worked, also had two babies. Now I am chipping away on my BSN, need three more classes to finish. I am using a combination of tuition reimbursement, loan forgiveness and scholarships at work to pay back my BSN fees which are very reasonable (online classes). So far this is my score: BA - my mom paid for so cost to me = $0, ADN - I was low income so fees were waived + some scholarships for books, cost = $0, BSN = about $5k that is reimbursable, cost to me = $0 It took a lot of work and a lot of copying documents, filling out and filing forms, writing essays and waiting to get all this paid for, but 'm good at that sort of thing.

Yes, nursing school was challenging and time consuming but it's not like medical school or law school which IMO is more difficult. If you are not working and don't have custody of your kids you will probably have much more time than at least half of your classmates.

Huh, that's not been my experience at all. Most of the hospitals around here have 12 hr shifts only and all the nurses I know on my unit have kids, especially the night shift, some of them even 4+ kids.

I have to agree. Our nursing program was rigorous, a friend of mine had taken several semesters twice and they flunked her for two points right before graduation. Was it harsh? Yes. Was she a great nurse? Yes. But she had high anxiety and had a lot of personal issues which led to her fluctuating grades on tests. Although I'm sorry she is not a nurse today, I think these standards are in place for a reason. I agree with whatever standards nursing schools want to place, after all nursing programs are expensive things to run and there is a lot of competition for spots. I too would like to see a high standard for RNs, including the necessity for a BSN degree, either upon entry or at some point afterwards. I would also like to see a maximum you can take the NCLEX. I mean, we're not talking about the bar exam that takes reams of written paper and days to complete, we're talking about a computerized test that takes an hour or two.

We seem to have way more pregnant nurses on postpartum and L&D than there are elsewhere. Someone is always out on leave. However, I was done having my three before I became a nurse, my last was 11 mos when I started working. I was sure I was done and I'm still sure. I have never had a moment's regret, I get to hold, cuddle, bathe and smell new babies all the time so that gives me all the contact I need with newborns. But if I didn't have kids and really wanted them? Then yeah, working there would make we want one - bad!

See if you can get this magazine sent to you: http://nursing.advanceweb.com/main.aspx The one for Southern California obviously. There are some ridiculously good offers in there, one that comes to mind was Children's Hospital in LA, a $10 or $20k sign on bonus, a $5k relocation bonus AND they paid you a housing allowance for 6 months! Hourly rate was good too. I've seen some others that look very appealing, a lot of relocation, signon bonuses, free medical insurance for you and your family, weekend differentials, night differentials, paid training for depts like ICU, ED and L&D. I would start calling recruiters now just to see what kind of programs they might be offering. I imagine a lot of new grad programs are probably going to start around Jan/Feb or July/August though since those are traditionally when school gets out.

I've been on nights over 2 years now, I did my orientation on days and hated it, it seemed I was always exhausted! Tips: 1. give yourself a three months adjustment period, at first you will feel hungover, nauseous and crappy but this should pass in time 2. keep lights dimmed, air cool and quiet, even at night at the hospital. This is a natural state for the body at that hour, besides warmth will make you zzzzz at 2am. 3. play with your schedule. Personally, I found that working 2 nights in a row and having 3 off worked better for me than working 3 nights and having four nights off. I do sometimes do a three night stretch, but it is hard. 4. You really have to make an investment in your sleep. Try white noise machines, blackout curtains, eyemasks, all sorts of earplugs, keeping room cool (or warm), turn phone off, lock your door, shower before bed, put on jammies, take a bath, lavender pillows or lotion, melatonin before bed, light snack sometimes helps you sleep better (like toast or a boiled egg) but not too much and not too much to drink or you'll be up needing to pee. If all else fails break our your old med-surg, pharm or physio textbooks and read them by nightlight. That will put you RIGHT out! 5. some nurses take sleep aids but I've never taken anything other than melatonin. some swear by benedryl or cold medicines. 5. if you wake up in the middle of your "night" - say 1pm - to go to the bathroom or something, resist the urge to go see what your kids are doing, make a phone call, get a snack. Once you do that it will be impossible to get back to sleep 6. on the day of your first night back to work, do NOT go out all day and run around. maybe a quick jaunt in the morning, but take it easy at home most of the day. Lie down to take a 2 hr nap in the afternoon, use the sleep tips above (except no medications). Even if you can't fall asleep, lie there horizontal and relax for two hours in the dim light, listen to classical music, take deep breaths, relax. naptime is naptime! 7. if you can go to bed late-ish on your nights off and wake up late-ish too. I get to bed around midnight and wake up around eight because my husband is able to take the kids to school.