bear94

I am someone who wears both a small and medium in a lot of things. I have only ever worn grey's anatomy scrubs, and a small is ALMOST too small, but a medium is huge. I have heard Jaanuu takes forever to ship, so I don't want to order the wrong size. I am 5'3, 145 lbs. I was thinking a medium, but I would like them to be form fitting. Any feedback or reviews are appreciated!

That's what I thought, I just know that lawyers can be unforgiving and I wanted to make sure I knew my rights and how to protect myself.

A close friend of mine is in a custody battle with his ex. She is extremely unstable and unfortunately suffers from a multitude of psychiatric issues. Recently, she kidnapped their child and the child was found in filthy conditions. She is safe now with her father. In June of 2016, before I was technically a nurse (I was taking NCLEX around this time), I brought the woman in subject to the emergency department I now work at (I was not an employee at the time). She was psychiatrically evaluated, and was admitted to a psychiatric facility for a week afterwards. After that event, she abandoned her child for months with hardly any contact with the father or child. The father (my friend) has asked me to provide a statement for court about the time I brought her to the emergency department to be evaluated. I want to help him, but I am nervous about this being a HIPAA violation since I am a nurse now.

I agree with you that sign on bonuses can appear as red flags, especially when not every unit offers them. But how can employers better go about getting staff?

The unit I am speaking about isn't my own, it's an ICU step down unit in the hospital I work at (I am an ER nurse and our department is actually over staffed. The only over staffed unit in the hospital, actually ). I give this floor more patients than any other floor in the hospital. It's actually a combination of two floors, both floor 3 and floor 4. I feel awful for these nurses. They typically have a team of 7 patients. I have heard at times they've had no choice but to take 9 patient teams. Sometimes I transport them some really sick people who I personally think should have been ICU patients. It is well known how badly this floor struggles, and I do think administration has been working on it. There are several job postings for this unit on our hospital's website and $5,000 sign on bonuses are being offered. Where I am from though, there is a shortage of working nurses. I think this floor could function properly if it was staffed correctly... So my question is, have any other nurses worked on units going through a similar situation, and come out of it? What is something you think administration could do in the mean time to fix this? The first thing that popped in my mind would be to close one of the two floors until the unit is properly staffed, but I am sure administration would laugh at that. As we all know, hospitals are businesses too . Plus, I am not sure of the technicalities and legalities behind doing such a thing.

For the past 4 years I have been commuting an hour one way and it's been awful, but especially for the past 7 months I've been doing 12's. Can't take it anymore. It's going to be very weird getting home right away from work. Ive never had that "luxury." 😂

Your calculations make me feel a bit better about taking a pay cut! I am hoping the 90 extra minutes I get back from not commuting will make a difference in my life.

I am in the process of leaving my job that requires me to drive an hour away for a job that is only 15 minutes away from my house. I took a pay cut. Sort of. Current job: day shift has a starting wage of $22.50/hr, and working nights earns you $24.75/hr. Since starting, I've received a raise and make $25.50/hr working nights. If I were to work days I would make $23.19/hr New job: day shift has a starting wage of $24.75/hr, and working nights earns you $27.22/hr. I will be working days making $24.75/hr. So, I will be making .75 cents less than I am used to, which equates to $27 less dollars in my pocket per week before taxes. The way I see it, I will be breaking even because I won't have to fill up my gas tank twice a week like I do now. I'll probably be filling it up twice a month with my new job. I don't think I could ever take a paycut of more than $1 unless I was desperate. I have accustomed to the lifestyle that comes with the wages I receive, which is decent for where I live.

I am a newer nurse. I will say that nursing school is difficult, but not nearly as hard as being a nurse for the first year, give or take a couple months. Remember that when you graduate and start working. Everyone is in it for something different. I personally like this career because I feel it is an honor to be trusted enough to perform life saving measures on people. The patients and families who look at me in awe when I am educating them make my flipping day. It sounds selfish, and it kind of is, but I enjoy the respect I receive from people when I say I am a nurse, and feel even happier when I transport a patient to the floor from the ER and the patient and family thank me profusely for the care they received. I will not lie and say I love my job every day, because there are a fair share of times I hate my job and wonder what the hell I was thinking when I chose to become a nurse. But then I think of the little retail jobs I had here and there during high school and college. I was itching to go home from boredom all the time and I had 0 sense of fulfillment. All the little tasks I had to do served no real purpose. Every task I fulfill now has a purpose, and that is really wonderful.

@houtex your comment was extremely inspirational and helped me gain a better understanding of what I will be in for. Thank you!

I made a post similar to this, simply asking for advice on making the switch from being a nurse at a level one trauma center to being a nurse/clinical supervisor at an eight bed, rural ER. I didn't really get many replies to my original post. I think my question stated above in the title may produce more answers I am looking for. I start my new job in a couple of weeks. I will be the only RN present, on top of being in charge of scheduling, disciplinary action, and hiring processes. I will have two LPN's who get to utilize their full scope of practice (the only things they are not permitted to do is push IV medication, give narcotics, and initiate blood products), and a tech who also registers people at the front desk. I will also have RT in house. The manager is currently trying to move toward an all RN staff, but he still wants the LPN's to have a purpose. I understand as a rural RN, I will wear many hats and learn to do different things on my own with limited resources. What I want to know is there anyone out there who works in an environment similar to the one I have described, and what is it like for you on a daily basis? Do you have your own separate "team" of patients, or do you all kind of work together to get things done for patients, not really assigning yourself to any one patient in particular? If you've gone from working in a big hospital to working in a smaller one, or even if you've always worked in a rural hospital, do you feel like you get to spend more time with your patients? I know sometimes it will be very busy and time will be limited for getting to know patients, but that is one thing I really have missed out on working in a big ER.

I do not have children, so I can't speak about the influence your baby may be having on you... But the way I see it, is you have had a couple of months to let your feelings stew and release their real aroma. So, your mind is probably made up. I think you should go back to work, see how you feel, and if you still feel the same after a monthish, maybe you should move on to something different? Trust me, I know how it feels waiting to find out whether or not the grass is really greener on the other side- it's pretty nerve racking. Also, you stated you've worked in different areas; surely you haven't forgotten the stress that came along with working in higher acuity facilities. Keep that in mind too! Good luck to you! And I hope you can make the right decision for yourself. :)

Rose_Queen, I feel like a lot of the posts I see on here about new grads having difficulties with job hunting are based out east!

Currently pending a job change from an ER nurse at a level one trauma center, to an ER Clinical Supervisor/RN at a rural, 8 bed ER. Will keep you in mind and let you know how this transition goes for me. I won't go into great detail about why I am making the switch, but to sum it up, I enjoy high acuity, but do not enjoy a non-stop, frightening flow of people I have to take under my wing. I don't like being so busy that I am neglecting other people's needs- it puts me and the patient in a bad situation. I am sure there will be days where I drown at this new, tiny, rural ER, but I am doubtful it will be every single day. I had three interviews before getting the job and every time I went in, there wasn't a single patient present (my interviews were always between 2-4, which are some of the busiest hours where I still currently work). The thing that really sent me over the edge to apply for this job at the rural hospital, and accept the position, is when I nearly died from falling asleep at the wheel on my way home from the hospital I currently work at. The hospital I currently work at is an hour away from my home, and the rural hospital is only a 15 minute drive. Good luck to you.

I am from central Illinois. Around here, most new graduates have jobs lined up about 5 months before graduation in non-medsurg areas (i.e. only 4 people from my graduating class of 54 took jobs on a medsurg floor. The rest took jobs in ICU, ER, OB, Peds, OR, and a few were sprinkled into CCU, CRU, and NICU- all across 3 different area hospitals). When I first started flipping through topics on this website, I was shocked to find that there are new grads out there who cannot land a job for up to a year after graduating. I would love to see everyone's thoughts shared on this thread. Share your general region, if you're comfortable with doing so, and your experience with job hunting!

I am so envious of people who get to wear scrubs of all colors with little accessories (i.e. Jaanuu's zip up scrubs, and their beautiful floral prints). I have to wear navy blue and cannot have any extra bells or whistles. I too feel better at work when I look good (strictly for myself, and no one else). I have found that Grey's Anatomy scrubs are the perfect mix of form fitting, professional, and crazy comfortable. I remember when I first started nursing school, you only had two options- the most basic set of Cherokee scrubs, and the most basic set of Grey's Anatomy scrubs. I tried on the Grey's Anatomy ones first. They were remarkably soft and I thought they fit fine... Then I tried on the Cherokee scrubs and was scrambling to fling them off me. They were so boxy and itchy. I didn't realize how flattering the Grey's Anatomy scrubs were until I tried on the Cherokee scrubs. I've been a GA girl ever since! I haven't tried on the Cherokee Infinity scrubs people are talking about on here though! As for wearing them on my day off... SOMETIMES when I need to run errands and I don't have any comfy, presentable clothes clean I will throw on a pair of scrubs . If I ever find myself in a position where I get to where whatever scrubs I want, I would probably always stick to solid colors or what I believe is a more professional, tasteful print (like I stated above, Jaanuu has a BEAUTIFUL floral print that I am envious of --> The Peplum Top in Garden Party - Medical Scrubs by Jaanuu). I think no differently of a nurse no matter what he or she may be wearing print-wise, but some people do find prints unprofessional.

Not sure if you've ever had to drive an hour one way to work before, but I have and it gets old VERY quickly. I just left my job at a 32 bed, level one trauma center ER (an hour drive from my house), to work at an 8 bed, rural ER 15 minutes away from my home. I took a marginal pay cut (75 cents less) just to be close to home and have lower stress.

Thank you for the suggestion! I tried doing that also. I found material, but it was a little hard to fully understand. Also, I'm aware facility policy can greatly vary! At the big hospital I have worked at, LPN's were classified no differently than CNA's.

I'm leaving my job at a big ER to work at a smaller one close to home. The staffing on a daily basis where I am going to work is 1 RN, 2 LPN's, and a tech (float RN and house supervisor RN available when help is needed). I'm curious to know what kind of patients LPN's usually take care of on their own, as the ER I worked in previously didn't have any LPN's. I tried to look up comparison lists of an RN's scope of practice and an LPN's scope, but came up short. What I have gathered from research on here is that LPN's cannot start IV's, administer IV medication, or hang blood products. Is that all that LPN's are not permitted to do? Or are the things I listed even correct? I live in Illinois if that makes a difference.

Meh. No different to me than "documented" patients who still meet the same criteria, "basically live in the hospital because their families can't take care of them." "can't go to a facility because *no one will take them for some bs reason." I treat everyone the same and spend more or less time with people based on priority.

Also in the midwest, started in a medium sized city making $24.75. It was quite the commute for me so I started working at one of the local, rural hospitals and they pay the same starting wages ($24.75)

This is extremely true. Especially, for me, the last part where she states "there is the process of facing the reality that graduation did not automatically fix everything in your life that you would like to change." I will forever have the memory etched into my brain from when I visited my doctor during nursing school. I felt I was depressed because nursing school was so stressful and it had sucked all life out of me. I said something to him like, "I think things will just be a lot better for me once I am done with school." He said to me, without missing a beat, "life will not get any better once you graduate. You will find yourself miserable if you keep telling yourself that life will get better after this and life will get better after that. Life only gets harder from here. You can make changes now and live in the present, or live life constantly waiting to jump through the next hoop." And he was absolutely right. Not sure if any of what I just said resonates with you at all, but if it does, I hope you can figure out what changes you need to make in your life to find happiness. Best of luck to you! Know that it is normal to feel some type of funky way after graduation. You are not alone.

I can't stand people who compete in the misery olympics, so "bragging" about how much I had to handle at my last job definitely isn't on my agenda lol! However, I definitely would not be lying if I chose to talk about how much I have hated not being able to spend time with my patients. I am really hoping I will get to spend more time with my patients at this smaller hospital. Guess I'll find out once I start!

I am actually getting paid the same as I was at my old job at the big hospital. Where I live, rural hospitals tend to pay just as much or more as the "big hospitals" around here. Thank you for your input!

It's finally official. I am leaving my first job as an emergency department RN, and starting a job much closer to where I live. Commuting an hour one way while working nights just about killed me. Literally. I fell asleep at the wheel more than twice and had to pull over on an interstate exit to take a 20 minute nap before I could continue to drive home. It was not unusual for the 32 bed ER I worked at to zip through 180 patients in one day. I am used to 3-5 patient teams (I usually take on 4), sweating through my scrubs, and having little help at times. The hospital I am going to start working at is an 8 bed ER, and sees an average of 5,000 patients per year... So about 14 patients per day. It is clear to me already that I will be wearing many different hats as an RN in a rural ER. I would like to hear from others who have left large hospitals to work at small ones, and even RNs who have always worked in rural hospitals.