Enright

I only asked about the ethnic make-up of the group because there are many fine Greek organizations which are exclusive to African Americans. I thought this might be one. It wasn't clear from the web site.

I'm a member of Sigma Theta Tau which has done quite a bit to enhance my nursing career. I'm proud of the affiliation. I'd never heard of Chi Eta Phi so I looked at their web site. Although it isn't mentioned, is this a nursing society exclusively for nurses of color? That would be helpful to know.

Yes, CRRN is the cert for rehabilitation. It ends up being a love hate thing in your life....lots of care and feeding (CEUs) but it can bear fruit. I don't know if this is true for other specialties but rehab went through a crisis of membership within the last few years. They were set to require a BSN and then dropped that. They have also broadened the definition, I suspect to be inclusive of case managers and some occ health people who don't want the even bigger hassle of the COHN (Occ Health) certification!

I'm a CRRN and have been for 11 years. The test was not easy and the requirements to document CEUs can be a pain. BUT, the CRRN has opened a lot of doors for me and has given me an employment edge at several jobs. At my most current job, I was hired out of a large pool of applicants...and I was told that certification was a main reason I was chosen. It does show employers you have taken your profession seriously and have gone beyond the minimum standard.

I've always found this question frightening, and I am hearing it more and more. (I believe it was asked sincerely, tho, so no flames). It is as if there is a mindset amongst the direct-to-NP crowd that registered nursing is beneath them. I find it bizarre that someone would want an advanced degree in this profession but have no interest in learning the rudimentary skills. I can tell you that there is a glut of NPs in many parts of the country and many of my NP friends have gone back to hospital staff nurse positions to make a decent wage. If they had never had that experience I wonder what they would do..... In my role as a consultant , I no longer do anything remotely like my former hospital role. But I use that clinical experience every day. And I think an NP would be much poorer for not having it.

I was a night shifter for all my hospital years...doing a desk RN job now. My experience was a lot different than other posters...at my central city pediatric hospital, visitors didn't start showing up until 7 pm and came and went all night. At night we had no support so the RN did all respiratory treatments (sometimes 20 or 30 aerosols a night per RN....albuterol anyone??!!). Per RN assignment is a lot higher. And we got virtually all of our admits on nights. Definitely look at the unit and its patient flow. Nights can be as fast paced as days depending on the population.

Thanks, ACNORN...I was beginning to think I was alone in my outrage. I always found it hard enough, flat out running, when a patient or a parent would say "oh, did I wake you up?" when I answered a light. But other nurses indicating this is sort of ok.... I ,too, am embarrassed for the profession. I never worked a unit or a facility that didn't have something I could be doing 24/7. I was once the solo nurse on a small rehab unit....there were nights we had 1 patient who slept. I created a manual for new employees to use for our computer system. They still use it 10 years later! But sleep? Unacceptable.

I was a full time night nurse for 12 years, 11p to 7:30 a. I am horrified to hear that this goes on still. I always took it as a personal and professional reponsibility to get enough sleep to do my job. When I was a night manager, I fired people I found sleeping. Its a job, not an adventure. Prime problems were substance abusers, young partyers and nurse moms trying to do it all on no sleep. No excuses. Firing due to sleeping was one of the easiest employment actions to uphold. I guess what corks me off the most is that I was so busy as a night RN/charge, I had no time to pee, let alone take an hour or two for sleep. Sleepers and units that allow this give night nurses a tarnish they do not deserve. When I left clinical nursing I had a nightly patient load of 15 very sick children to medicate, do aerosols (no R/T), assess and cater to their up all night parents. I believe any RN who sleeps on his/her shift should be fired.

This is such a huge issue in nursing. I am a second career nurse and was appalled at the terrible retirement programs hospitals offered nurses. I once asked a benefits manager why and he said "23 year old women just don't care about retirement. It doesn't help with recruitment and they never read the fine print". When my last employer cheapened the retirement package, I took my current job with a state government. A real pension plan in addition to deferred compensation (like a 401K). I'll also be able to roll my accumulated sick time into post retirement health benefits. Do I make the most $ per hour that I could? No, I sure don't . But the retirement benefits are my #1 priority.

I just had to start a thread on this because the CRRN exam and renewal procedures are always a hot topic when 2 or more rehab nurses are in the same room! I've been a CRRN since 1991. I am proud of it but the maintenance has been a lot of work. You need to be a zealous record keeper. I once was refused renewal by points and had to take the @#$%$#@ test again (passed...but it isn't easy ever). How about it out there...what were your test experiences? The first time I took it it was only offered once a year. Then in 97/98 you could take it any time you wanted. Now they are back to limited offerings. Its been quite a ride.

When I looked into this, you had to have so many hours of Occ Health in AND your CEUs in BEFORE you took the test. My other certification (CRRN) requires the CEUs after you pass and that is a PIA enough. I'm still interested but have enough hoops to jump through with the Rehab people.

I think books like Babywise are an outgrowth of a pendulum swing of childrearing. We Boomers were raised by the clock and schedule. Over 90% of us were toilet trained by 24 months. Look around now...I routinely see 4 and 5 year olds in diapers. My own niece and nephew were 4 and in full time diapers...I asked my BIL and SIL why and they told me "oh, we were told to let them train themselves". Well, that never happened. When they went to enroll the kids for kindergarten, they were told the kids would need to be toilet trained. In one 48 hour period, both kids finally got the attention and focus from their parents in order to accomplish toilet training. I think Ezzo is tapping into the feeling some parents and grandparents have for order in their lives. I don't agree with him but I think it is a sign of desperation that people latch on to books like his.

I am a second career nurse, having left a criminal justice career at 31 to get my BSN. I had weighed going on to a MA/PhD in CJ but then decided to change to nursing. I have very few regrets. Nursing has been portable with a lot of varied opportunities. I would warn you that the most plentiful opportunities come with schedule headaches...nights, weekends, Christmas...if you work from your home now you may not fully appreciate how scheduling may affect your life. Competition for nursing roles with normal hours can be intense....50 RNs applied for my job as a state RN consultant. Floor/hospital nursing can be very taxing physically. I could only do it for 10 years. Always keep in the back of your mind what you might want to do in nursing if you can no longer physically do the hard stuff. Too many nurses never give that a thought and then their back goes, or their knees. Have a Plan B.

I really hated latecomers when I did shift work. One job, I was the night charge and we did face-to-face shift change (no overlap). The day nurse was always 15-30 minutes late. The manager told me she'd rather pay me overtime than "upset the applecart". I actually quit over this. It bothered me too much to not be able to do anything about it. I have always had to commute a fair distance, generally further than all of my co-workers. It always made me laugh when I would drive 50 miles through snow and make it on time only to see someone who lives a few blocks away straggle in late. It is inconsiderate and rude.

I have tried all of the suggested treatment for my recalcitrant dermatitis that began when I changed careers into nursing. Essentially what worked for me was 1. a perscription grade steroid cream to halt the progressive creep 2. a 24/7 awareness of my hands, carrying a tube of something with me at all times to moisturize after each wash. 3. Washing with cold water (I was told this was not an infection control problem) 4. Avoiding powdered gloves I really want to point out that your care may well be covered under Worker's Compensation. Do not hesitate to file an incident report with your employer. Depending on the laws of your state, if the hand problem prevented you from working, you could be entitled to salary compensation. I did case management for years and we had many RNs on total compensation because of skin problems attributed to work. I share this because I wish I had known it when my hand problems began!

When I was a Work Comp case manager, I'd see Oxycontin given for sprains and strains. I had surgery in 2000 for a uterine polyp and was asked if I wanted a script for Oxycontin. Post op I felt better than I had pre-op! Didn't want anything! This medication has been sadly over written and it is appropriate that MDs are taking a closer look at its fit in their practice.

I've been an RN for 15 years, married during nursing school. We have no kids but rode out the night shifts, holiday work and no "dependable" time off (always getting called in). I then became an RN manager and found this meant working 7 days a week for no extra pay. DH is an easy going soul but I'd had it. Like many previous posts, I made more than he did so I felt guilty about looking for a lesser paying low stress job. When I found my dream job, it was amazing how negligible the pay difference really was from old job to new. Now I work as a government nurse consultant, M-R, 10 hour days, no nights ,holidays or weekends. I'm in a great pension plan AND we can take 3 day weekends off 52 times a year. It is the best thing I ever did for my mental health and for our family life.

Didn't get a cap or cape but I do have a snazzy pin...it says "God Send Grace" on it ( a plea I uttered more than once) and BSN. It is like a shield with wings while unfortunately bent after being dropped a few dozen times. I treasure it and do wear it on my suit to events where I am doing public speaking. Nursing pins have an astonishingly high recognition factor. The suggestion to go to a pawn shop near the school is a good one. You can also contact your school (if it is still around...easier for the university crowd than the diploma grads).

Hi Laura: Contact the Epilepsy Foundation in your community or the nearest city. Or their web site. I was a huge skeptic about the ketogenic diet but I have seen it work. No one is sure why but it has been around for ages.

1)RN 2)14 years 3)Upper Midwest 4) Pay could be better 5)Benefits great, fabulous pension 6)M-R 6 am to 4:30 pm 7)Sup is a non-nurse but very fair and respectful 8)My employer is the state; they do treat me well 9)I AM the nursing education dept. :) 10)I love being a community health nurse. 11)No OT 12)I am self paced, self schduling. 13)work schedule of my choice, Fridays and W/E off 14) All holidays off in this job-- 15)I am required to be in the union. It is expensive but valuable 16)I'd support the union. 17)I checked out of hospital nursing the night I had a patient dying in one room and an MD asking me to scrub in and assist with hand surgery in another. I'd encourage all nurses to find a nursing job they love. There is an incredible variety out there.

Re: the union thing. In my non-union hospital jobs, we were all paid differently e.g. what they could get away with. Benefit programs disappeared overnight. I once actually had hours cut. Policies change on a whim. I am now in my first ever union RN job. One day, a top official in my agency asked me to take on a huge load of new job duties. I sat down with him and explained these roles were not in my job description and I'd need increased compensation. He refused. I talked to my union and the rep arranged a meeting. A very pale agency official (same one) apologized profusely stating "I am so sorry. I didn't know you were in a union. I thought you were an at will employee. Please accept my apology". That's pretty much all I needed to know about unions!

I am an RN and a sign interpreter. I THOUGHT that this would be a great tool for getting work as a school nurse, work as a nurse interpreter, etc. It has not turned out to be as useful as I thought. In 15 years I have had maybe a handful of deaf patients and have been able to assist with perhaps 10-15 deaf hospital visitors. If I had known Spanish it would have been useful every day. Study sign if it pleases you but Spanish will definitely be a plus clinically.

I am a graduate of an accelerated program and I'd love to comment. First off, my program was 12 months long to BSN and was open only to those who already had a 4 year degree in another subject. I also had an additional 40 credits in science that I took in night school in preparation (Bio, Chem, A&P, etc). My program was at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. I received an excellent education. Unlike a lot of my peers from other schools, I had a full clinical rotation in every major specialty. The program was very grueling, expensive but worth it. I only had to lose a year of income. I believe it was designed mostly for career changers. I would not recommend it for everybody but for a highly motivated mature student it is an excellent option. I found my clinical knowledge equal to that of other nurses. This was 14 years ago and I never felt wanting because of an educational lack. I feel I need to add that I had worked as a nursing assistant for many years putting myself through college the first time and that probably did more than anything to make me a good nurse. I'd like to put a positive spin on accelerated programs because nursing education can be very inaccessible for those who want to change careers. It certainly isn't a solution for everyone OR for the nursing shortage. A very small number of people are right for these programs. [This message has been edited by Enright (edited March 08, 2001).]

I think the RN with a second language skill needs to hammer out the conflicts before they happen. I happen to be a sign language interpreter. I sat down with my manager when I was hired and we agreed that I'd take all deaf patients and that I would be available to other floors/ER only if they could send a replacement RN for the time I was gone. I also worked very hard to anticipate problems before hand (what to do about deaf visitors who may need help, families that need extensive patient teaching, my availability off shift, how I would be paid if I came in extra to interpret etc). A second language is an asset to the hospital and the patients. Try and advocate for compensation for this.

When I was a new grad (1987) I wanted cash and a strong orientation program. That would have been # 1. Now at 45, my priorities are very different. My # 1 priority with my current job was getting the best possible pension plan. That is something that really didn't even occur to me as a new nurse at 32. So I guess I am saying it depends on where you are in life. [This message has been edited by Enright (edited February 28, 2001).]