unbalanced

Job 1 $45/hour 45 minutes to 1 hour commute. Three 12 hour shifts per week for a total of 34.5 paid hours. Every other weekend and alternating major holidays. Very high acuity. Job 2 $38/hour 10-15 minute commute. Three 12 hour shifts per week plus Every other weekend with shorter hours (total of 40 paid working hours) and no major holidays. Less high acuity. I have 2 young children who would need an additional day of childcare with job #2.

I am a triage nurse at a busy inner city community health center. The way the job works is: a patient calls the practice and a secretary takes a message and forwards the message to the nurse to be addressed. Based on acuity of the situation the nurse calls the messages back. If it is a true emergency (airway, breathing, circulation, chest pain etc.) the secretary will come and get the triage nurse directly. Sometimes I call a patient back but they do not answer. I typically leave a message and move on. Naturally, they call right back but I am already on another call. Instead of taking a message the secretary will stand either in the doorway trying to get my attention or they will watch me and wait until I am done with my phone call before telling me the patient I just called is on the phone. I find this very distracting. Also, at the end of my call I need to thoroughly document the conversation and advise given and I cannot take another call until I have done so. I do not think it is good nursing practice to keep more than one triage/chart open at the same time. I would rather finish the write up and then call the other person back. I have voiced my opinions just as I have above, "I am finishing my documentation and I can call them back when I am finished." I just feel like the secretaries get annoyed when I say this. I hear them sigh and make comments amongst themselves about not taking the call right away when the patient called back. I wish they knew what was involved in making telephone triage calls. I am not looking at the patient. I cannot see what is going on and critical thinking skills and undivided attention are imperative. I have thought about going to my supervisor about my concerns. I don't want to get anyone in trouble but I need to be able to do my job safely. In all honesty, I cannot tell if this is hindering my work or if I am just plane annoyed that they do this! I don't like to make hasty decisions either. Please let me know what you think?

This might be silly but I haven't received my license in the mail yet. Is there a spot to sign it so that it is valid or is it just good as is ?

The summer position was for a camp as an RN and officially starts in July. The training starts mid June (getting oriented, staff bonding and whatnot since I would be living there and its a couple hours away from home). I have been at the hospital I am at for the past six years as a tech. I thought the summer would give me some experience. I was just concerned that if a full-time position came along I would have to leave but at the same time not taking the summer job because I'm 'waiting' for another call could cause me to miss out on an opportunity.

Hi everyone! I finally made it through nursing school! yay! I take my NCLEX next week. I am not trying to get ahead of myself but I did go on an interview for a summer position that starts next week. I currently have a job at a hospital that does not hire new nurses (as a PCT) that I would have to leave. I am nervous about quitting a full time position for a summer job but I am desperate for experience. I also would be applying to many other facilities and to graduate nurse programs. If I was hired elsewhere I would hate to leave the "summer position" that I committed to. But at the same time gaining even a little bit of experience could help me find a position in the long run. What would you do? Im trying to weigh all my options but this decision is difficult for me. Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks so much, Tina

Yup one year of pre-reqs and two years of clinicals, books and other expenses.

Hello!!! I am in my last semester of school and also work as a PCT! You will be so happy you did. You have so much more experience already that you don't even realize!!! My best advice would be to get organized. During your first week, take a step back, collect all of the information thrown at you and organize it. Another piece of advice would be to not get too hung up on one thing. Sometimes when I study or have work to do I try to focus on one thing until it gets done, even if it takes hours! I found that taking breaks helps a lot. Instead of working on care plans for three hours straight I would take 15 minute breaks to study meds. If you are doing something you are not wasting time :). One last thing would be to get in a good study group. Find people who you mesh with. Don't be afraid to ask people if you can study with them. You might find that you work better with a different group of people. I know some people who did extremely well studying solo. Maybe the biggest piece of advice I can give is that when it comes to tests focus on bedside care. What would you do if you were the nurse at the bedside? Lots of people failed because they were so used to focusing on the physiology of things rather than decision making. I wish you nothing but the best! I am excited for you!!!! You will do great!

Classmates, coffee and determination

So, I will be graduating with my ADN in May. I am super excited and want to immediately continue on with an RN to BSN degree. My problem is the cost. I am trying to weigh out my options as far as online vs. university. I love being able to go to a campus and talk with someone personally if need be but all of the schools in my area that offer a BSN degree are private or extremely expensive (in my opinion). Is it worth it to go to a $24,000 a year school and be able to travel there and actually talk to other students and faculty face to face? Or do you think a more reasonable online program would be better? I already have $20,000 in loans from my ADN. What are your opinions? Thanks so much!!!

Yes, you are definitely correct....I am just at my breaking point....I guess I have to choose the stress of living here over the stress of paying for a new place.....the lesser of two evils lol

Hello! I hope I can help! When you get to your clinical, immediately go and introduce yourself to your patient and make sure they are breathing (thats what my teacher says). Then go to the patients nurse and ask for report. Write that down and then look in the chart for any additional details you may need. Go back to your patient and do your assessment and such. Try to just get comfortable touching the patient. Eventually you will get a routine down and be more comfortable and confident!

So, I had been living on my own for years but decided to move back in with my mother when I started nursing school. It has been three and a half years and I think the time has come for us to part ways. We are fighting like crazy and we live in a very small apartment with not a lot of privacy. I have had a boyfriend for over a year now and we are thinking about getting an apartment together but I am nervous about doing this before my last semester. This means I would have to work one more shift each week, which is not that bad considering my classes are just M,T,W. I have four months left of nursing school and then I will be able to work full time until I take my NCLEX and get a nursing job. Should I stick it out and be stressed at home? Should I move out and just suck it up for a few months? I am torn, what should I do???

Thank you guys so much for the encouragement! I am going to stick it out! One of my major downfalls is not having confidence. Maybe if I show that I have a little more confidence in myself she will cut me some slack.

The past two semesters clinical was great. My instructors were encouraging and truly seemed to care about us all learning. This semester my teacher is intimidating! She asks me more questions before I can think of the answer to the first and says things like 'you should know this' and just looks at me like 'well, come on, lets go.' I am a very organized person. I like everything to be written down and done correctly. I am not slow, I get good grades and I like learning. I also like to think before I answer. The way she approaches and speaks to me makes me feel uncomfortable. She evaluates me so I don't want to make a big deal about it. How can I find a happy balance between being quick and being thorough? Do you have any advice?