marshmallownurse

Have you applied to all the LTCs and SNFs in your area? What about home health? Private Nursing? I am so sorry this is happening to you. There is a tumblr blog that signal boosts people in need of a place to stay, if it does come to that. I can PM you that URL if you need it. I also support the suggestions about applying to other positions. If you're so inclined, the Military might be an option? Sending positive thoughts your way.

It's not a game. Like RunBabyRun said, it's a challenge. Expect that when you graduate and enter the professional nursing world, a good percentage of the people you will work with and/or take care of will act exactly the same way. So yes, even the instructor's attitude is good training for you. Use it to your advantage until the panic attacks are a thing of the past. Good luck! :)

Oooh, I'm orienting for a new job right now. We're doing the classroom stuff, so I'm experiencing the real-life version of these threads. That heady mix of naivete and air of superiority makes me wanna help and/or strangle people. Thank god it's Friday!

Oh my gosh, I could've sworn I posted a long thank-you response to this a while back, but it seems I might have imagined that. So sorry, Ruby, that was rude of me. Thank you so much for responding. I've had a chance to spend some time in the hospital I will be working at and, I have to say, I am a little intimidated. I have always worked community hospitals, which I see now has limited my exposure to a lot of things. Still, this new hospital will be putting me through a transition program, and I am very excited to actually get started. I specially appreciate the advice about watching preceptors and not teaching them. I remember how easy it was to spout "how we did it over there.." comments when I precepted in the past. Oh how I'm cringing at the memory now, lol! Thank you for the reminder. I'll also make sure I really study at home. Man, this is going to be quite the nursing adventure.

..Before I start a new chapter in my nursing career. I've accepted a Neurosurgical and Neurotrauma ICU position in a massive teaching hospital. Despite my background in progressive care, I know I will be in a completely new world where my experience will probably count for nothing, so I'm looking to the wonderful members of allnurses for some guidance on how to prepare and how to approach this new position. My biggest worries are: 1. I have been out of school for years. I don't even know how to assess my own knowledge of pathophysiology, and neurology was one of my weakest subjects to begin with. Joanne Hickey's Clinical Practice of Neurological and Neurosurgical Nursing is on its way via Amazon. I don't think I'll be able to adequately study its contents in two weeks, but I thought it might be a good place to start. Am I right, or is this a pointless endeavor? I feel like I need to get an Assessment book while I'm at it, but I don't know if it will be a waste of money. 2. I haven't precepted under someone in a long time, at least not in a position where I need to learn a different way of nursing altogether. I know I'll need to reshape my thinking while relearning disease processes in depths that I was never required to study to function in my job on the floor. What pitfalls should I watch out for? When you precept someone, what are your expectations? How do I maximize the benefits of preceptorship in order to prepare for my future role? Would it be appropriate to ask my preceptor to teach me like I'm a new grad? Because I certainly feel like one right now. I know I'm gonna have to overcome my own habits and instincts, but I'm so excited! I'll be dealing with fresh injuries and surgeries.. These are situations I haven't dealt with, nor had to study, since nursing school. I don't remember the nuances of the sick and injured brain, but I do remember that there are lots of them. That's kind of intimidating and scary. The rules will be different. It will probably be one of the greatest challenges of my nursing career, and I cannot wait to start. I would really appreciate any feedback anyone can provide. Thank you in advance!

As for what you'll be studying: That varies, depending on which school you choose to go to. Nursing Programs are highly competitive, with waiting lists of up to two years in some states. You'll likely start with Pre-Nursing, which consists of prerequisite classes in the Physical Sciences, Humanities, Mathematics, etcetera. Then, once you've completed the prerequisites and get into the Nursing Program, you'll study nursing proper, which will be a good mix of theory, skills lab and clinical practice spanning the many patient populations/specialties you'll be encountering. It's an exciting, exhausting major!

Responding to the bolded part. While this might be true of some places, there are schools who might give you residency status if (1) you're a dependent of your father and (2) your father has Permanent Residence or is a citizen who has been living in your chosen state for the required amount of time. As for university prices: consider public colleges. They can be upto 1/3 of the price of universities. There are countless scholarships and federal loans that you might be eligible for. It's just a matter of being resourceful. You can also work as a student worker in your chosen college, which could offset some of the cost. Also, like JustBeachyNurse said, some schools waive SAT/ACT requirements. You'll just need to test for placement for some core classes. :)

Med-Tele is a great unit to start out at as a new grad. It has a good mix of challenge and routine which can really teach you a lot. Congratulations on this new opportunity! Here's my advice: 1. Confidence: this requires a lot of practice and faking. Whatever you're not confident about, find every opportunity to practice that skill. By faking, I don't mean pretending you know things that you obviously don't. That's dangerous. What I mean is fake confidence. Smile. Stand tall. Say, "Oh, I haven't seen this before, can you help me out with it?" You're a nurse now, and you have a team of other nurses and healthcare professionals around you. You got this. 2. Talking to Doctors: This also requires practice. Use the SBAR format. Use it ALWAYS until it's the only method you know of reporting to doctors. Always have labs and the chart handy before dialing that phone, specially during night shift. Someone will get cranky. This can't be helped. While you shouldn't let them disrespect you, try to shrug their hostility off when you can. They, too, have something to teach you if you can sift through the BS to find the little gems of education in the experience of dealing with them. 3. If you have a patient/status that you're unsure of, ASK QUESTIONS. Call on your charge, your fellow nurses, whoever, to come assess that patient with you. Learn from them. Practice! (Seeing a pattern here? lol) 4. When precepting, remember that you are not a student anymore. You need to learn the process of how your unit does things more than you need to master skills right now (because it is impossible to master all nursing skills in the few weeks you will be under your preceptor's wings anyway). Instead learn the process, the protocols, etc. You will need this knowledge. Remember that you can't learn how to be a good nurse in the few short weeks you will be precepting. That comes with time. Months. Years. 5. Get Basic EKG Certification. It's important to have in a Tele unit. 6. Nevermind the few times your preceptor makes you feel stupid. As long as she addresses whatever question you asked, you've got what you came for anyway, right? The first few months will be difficult, I won't lie. I will even go so far as saying the first year will be a challenge. Nursing is hard work. No one will nurture you like you probably deserve. But you'll come through, I promise. It will get better. As for your last questions, I started faking confidence three months into being a new graduate. It took me eight months to feel comfortable and to actually have some confidence. Good luck!

Also, if you haven't already, try asking HR instead of the hiring/nursing manager who is usually not too involved in the technicalities of hiring after the interview/selection anyway. HR should be the one to give you the offer. I remember working for a Rehab who did not provide me a written offer. It worked out okay, but the offer was given to me over the phone and the conversation started with, "My name is W. from HR of ABC Rehab. I wanted to officially offer you the position of...blah, blah, blah. The position is for day shift, with base pay being blah-blah-blah." Negotiation starts, etcetera. Also, this is when you negotiate your start date, at which point you can say, "My prefered start date is in two weeks on 01/02/03." If this conversation hasn't happened yet then, technically, there is no offer. At least that's from my experience. Good luck!

Hi Sarah. Do you have a high school diploma? As long as you have one, you can enroll in a public college, which should be your first step. Make sure that you have an official transcript and your diploma on hand. As a matter of convenience, obtain as many official copies of your transcript as you can while you're in London. Keep them in sealed envelopes. Once you get here, go to the registrar's/admissions of the college/university you want to go to. That's where you start. The next step will be establishing residency, but that's an entire issue in itself. Send me a message if you want more information, k? Good luck!

Here's a question: it's pretty damn hard to fake documentation time with electronic documentation softwares. It's so close to impossible that I've been assuming that I don't need to point out that I'm doing a late entry. Pulling up the medical record will show two things: (1) the time I documented an intervention; and (2) the time I'm saying I actually did the intervention. I assume that my intent, ie. retrospective documentation, is pretty obvious and I am not hiding anything. Have I been doing things incorrectly this whole time?