kmclark

It is normal to be a little anxious. Do your homework. Know your dxs and meds. Know what your plan of care is and have yourself ready to care for the patient. Always get there early to not create more stress on yourself. Good luck it is still early and the more you get under your belt the better you will feel.

When you work these weekends haven't you noticed that there are fewer people to deal with over the 24 hrs? I don't know why, but there seems to be a huge disconnect with the weekend staff. I always thought the communication should be great on the weekends due to you have to reporst to fewer people. Less doctors, less PT, OT, etc. I used to work Mon- Thurs nights. I would report to the weekend nurses and get the same problems I passed along on Friday mornings most Monday nights when I got back. Lots of places have no one holding the weekend staff accountable and they think they can do or not do whatever they want. Of course, there all always the nuses that you give report to that you know will follow up with what the patient needs. Some people are here for the paycheck and I am sure you have figured out whom they are by now. Stick with the nurses that have your back and you make sure you have theirs. If I leave a IV bag almost empty you can bet your butt it was a day from hell. I used to alway stock my cart and come back to an empty one. I would tell the person, please refill the cart. Usually once you feel comfortable calling behaviors things will start falling into place. Don't try to be the super nurse. Treat the patients like you would want a nurse to treat your family. If you have to get management involved that is ok too.

I was hired at 13.60/hr. I was a single Mom of 2, driving a piece of crap car and barely making ends meet. Many child support issues I won't go into. I told the kids we could go shopping and get some new clothes as they to had sacrificed during nursing school. Bought a new car so I would always have that payment included in my new budget for whatever we needed. Now both my kids are nurses. One making probably 23-24 dollars and the other working SNP making about almost double that. They both were hired in at about 20 dollars in 2008 and 2009. They were fortunate enough to get in under the wire of when the retirement plan was still offered. Of course, we are told all the time this is not a guarentee. I hope to retire in 3 yrs. I digress. My son's comment with his first check was what the hell? I had no idea so much sh** was taken out of your check. My daughter who it didn't take long to figure out the week end option pay, SNP pay is making about what I make after over 20 yrs of service. Anytime her family needs are high she will pick up more shifts. I am proud of us all for our accommplishments. We earn every penny we make, while some I see are so lazy I wonder how they keep their jobs. It is a wonderful career if you go into nursing for the compassion, excitement, daily learning and helping those in need etc. If you are here for the money you have been misinformed. If you went into nursing for job security, well I am sure by now your eyes have been opened. I see so many that should not be in nursing and it is sad. They want to play with their phones and sit on their butts while drawing a decent check with no concern that they are playing with other people's lives. Ok, sorry I strayed off. I am satisfied with my pay, I love my job and I love being a nurse.

Let your family know that you are spending all the time you can now with them and try to spend quality time. Explain how when school starts things will be different. Go over your schedules class and clinicals so they will know what to expect. Good luck.

This is not bad for your first test. You sound like me. I studied so hard and I never got the grades I thought I would get on the test. I would suggest you get Lippincott or Saunder NCLEX. There you will find test questions that will be asked in more of the format for nursing school. Plus it is a great tool for studying the different systems. You hang in there and don't you dare give up. My kids were 8 and 10 when I went to school. You can do it, but you have to dedicate your life to school until you get out.

I interviewed a very competent nurse one day. After the interview I flat out told her the only advise I could pass along her way would be to smile more. She had a beautiful smile but was very stingy with it. She said "oh my, thank you so much I wasn't aware of that." She came across as almost ****** the way she looked at you so hard sometimes. She said when she was really concentrating she seemed to get into a zone, but she would certainly keep that in mind. We hired her and everytime I saw her in the hall she always gave me that million dollar smile. She is a great nurse and has done well.

It amazes me how fast nursing is changing. I hope to retire within the next 5 yrs and I can't imagine how I will feel. Thinking about volunteering in a nursing home as the elderly has always been my interest. Thank you for your top 10 and best of luck to you. thanks for sharing.

We were told up front that we could not miss clinical for any reason. I missed my grandmothers funeral. I went to clinical in tears with a raging ear infection. They did not let me go to the ENT and have it looked after until I almost passed out. Now this was in 1992. I am now in education and working at a teaching hospital and the rules are less stringent. They have had student nurses in some schools that have missed days and their graduation was postponed until they could make up the day or two they missed. Things happen that are outside of our control. The best advice is to make sure you know the policy and procedure. This is always true. After reading if you are right, then talk face to face with DON. If no luck you go up the ladder the next step. If you are wrong, the best idea would be to get the others to go with you and try the lawyer bit. I hate to do that, but they can make life easier at times. Also, remember it is not always what you know(straight A's) but who you know, manners and how you care yourself in this very political world of healthcare. Please if things do work out for you, always stand strong on policy and procedure and you will always be fine.