WhoniverseNurse

The whole DNP (Doctorate of Nursing Practice) requirement for NP's is not a requirement. The ANA was hoping to make it such, but due to a large NP and RN shortage, as well as a shortage of APRN's qualified to teach at that level, it is now simply a recommendation. At this point, MSN prepared NP's are still widely utilized and respected. I do not foresee this changing at all in the next 10-20 years. Depending on the state you live in, NP's can practice under the direct supervision of a MD/DO, work in collaboration with a MD/DO (like having one reachable by phone), or work completely independent of a MD/DO (a growing number of states already do this). Look into what state you plan on practicing in. In addition, if you are not sure, look into bridge programs. Try NP/PA out, and then there are bridge programs to MD/DO that usually take about 2 years after obtaining your NP/PA. In the facility I currently work (I work ER), NP/PA's work in collaboration and often take serious cases (the main exceptions being large traumas). I work in Wisconsin, which is a "collaboration" state. Good luck in any case, and wish you well!

Boom! Good for you! We need more Murses (Male nurses). I do work in a rural ER. They do like guys... mostly for the crazed combative people. Psych also love guys too! Actually, really any field in nursing loves to see at least a few male nurses. I've worked med surg, nursing home, psych, and ER. It's a great field, and you will never, ever get bored. Good luck!

Love it! But can't vote... poll is closed.

I've been a nurse for almost 2 years and now and work (as of this past October) in an ER of a critical access hospital (CAH). Best job. Ever. A little bit of this. A little bit of that. Stabilize and ship is indeed the name of the game. CAH's can do A LOT more than you might think, but the really big stuff gets shipped out via air or ground to the nearest "big house". It is true sometimes if transport is grounded that you can get "stuck" with a patient whose needs exceed the equipment of a CAH. One time, we coded a hypothermic 2 year old for 3 hours waiting for transport to another hospital because the weather was bad and 2 hospitals that were closer were on diversion. Then there is the flip side. Nothing to do, slow, and a lot of time to spend... well, let your minds wander. But if you are willing to stick it out and you find a good facility, go for it. It will be challenging, but I feel I have already learned more in the 6ish months I've worked here than in the entire 4 years of nursing school and my 1st year of being an RN.

It all depends on your facility and nursing school. I personally have never had an issue with this. My university allowed men to grow facial hair while in the nursing program, and some of my classmates had pretty intense beards (though not quite as intense as in your photo). My workplace doesn't mind either. The N95 respirator does require a clean shaven face, but our infection control department simply makes PAPR's readily available to those men who do have facial hair. I currently have a (relatively) groomed and trimmed, short beard, but over last November, myself, one of our pharmacists, and a few lab / x-ray / etc. participated in "No shave November". No one from administration said anything... soo....

HANG IN THERE! IT WILL GET BETTER! I know from experience. A similar thing happened to me just out of school. I was a 22 year old new graduate from a (locally) prestigious private university with a BSN and "Cum Laude" honors. I applied at the local Trauma II hospital where I was employed at the time as a CNA with years of experience in med-surg and acute care psych. I was immediately accepted. I started with an in house nurse residency program for new grads and did well. I was given 6 different preceptors at the same time, and a whirlwind of activity later, I was on extended orientation for "Not improving enough". This then spiraled into being terminated and being "banned from the premise of this facility except in the case of medical emergency for 1 year" due to being, "unprofessional and unsafe". I was devastated. I couldn't understand. 5 of my 6 preceptors stated that I was ready to come off orientation. What went wrong?? Was I that bad of a nurse?? Would I ever get hired again? How could I ever see my classmates and explain why I was not working at the job I told them I was at? How would I provide for my family? Was I a terrible husband to my new wife? Was I a loser? Would I ever be able to do anything with my career? All these questions and more poured through my head. Thankfully, I had stocked up on PTO / vacation hours throughout 4 years of nursing school, which supported my wife and I for about 4 weeks of unemployment before that ran dry. My wife was very supportive and understanding. I looked around for any kind of work I could get ahold of with the help of another nurse friend of mine. I landed an entry level staff RN position at a local nursing home on the dementia unit. "There, there, it's all better now" everyone told me. No, it wasn't! How could they not understand??!! Everyone who walked by me knew I was FIRED! The horror! What a terrible nurse and person! Well, I was thrown onto the floor on my own with 2 weeks orientation and floundered and fought my way into stability at my new job. A massive paycut, a loss of prestige... but a job nonetheless. I eventually caught the eye of the charge nurse and even the DON, who moved me into other roles around the nursing home. Within 5 months, I was a charge / supervisor RN. I felt good about myself - maybe I'm not a complete loser and failure. Well, fate had other plans once again... My wife and I were going to have a baby! Exciting news, but we needed more income. So, just because I had nothing else to do on my down time, I began throwing my newly redecorated resume around at local hospitals. Shot down several times, occasionally didn't even receive a return call. Then, out of the blue, my wife began clinicals (radiation technologist) at a rural hospital about 40 miles away. I decided to look at their website. There was a part time ER position open. Required years of experience, etc., etc. Well, I had time on my hands so I emailed my resume and reference list, as well as a fancy cover letter. within a week I had an interview, and a job offer 4 days later. Emergency nursing was a dream job of mine! I couldn't believe it. I'm now almost done with orientation (only a couple weeks to go) and everything is going amazing! I'm working full time hours even, with a significant pay raise from even my initial job! The baby is due in 4 weeks and I just turned 25. Time flies! My point with this long, drawn out, obnoxious story of mine, is that, it really all works out. In talking with many, many nurses from multiple states, I have found out the following: - Hospitals and care facilities will hire RN's with terminations on their records. Most of the time it is because of a "less than ideal fit" between the facility and the RN or interpersonal conflict (which turned out to be the case with my first job, I later found out. And let's just say karma has been served. For the sake of professionalism and ethics, I won't name the facility / persons involved or what I later found out led to my termination). - RN's are people too. No one is good at everything. Find your niche. Keep looking. You WILL find something you love. You may be bad at one kind of nursing, but then turn around and find an area you ABSOLUTELY LOVE!! - Never give up. Just keep swimming, swimming... ... You'll eventually find Nemo. - Tasky things (starting IV's, catheter care, etc) can be taught easily. A good bedside manner and a professional attitude shows the minute you open your mouth and extend your hand to a potential employer. THIS is harder to find than you think, and is invaluable! - Network! Make as many friends that are RN's as you can! They will help you later - and you can help them! - Stand up for yourself. As an RN, you are an advocate for your patient. How can you properly advocate for your patients if you are unable or unwilling to advocate for yourself? If you are aware of something / someone that is compromising your ability to provide the best care for your patients. End it. Now. Take the person aside, address the issue with leadership, find another job. And do it ASAP. You will suffer if you don't. Harsh life lesson, but it's true. - Working at a nursing home is not the end of the world. Having said that, make sure you at least tour the facility before accepting any job offers. There are stellar nursing homes I would be honored to work for... and then there are others. I lucked out and found the former. A few months of nursing home experience (at a good facility) will give you SOO MUCH experience and may help you gain back some confidence. You work with and learn the same patients day in and day out. You get a routine down, you learn to look for the little things while managing the big picture (much bigger than at a hospital), you learn how to delegate and discipline staff - well. If you do want to get back into acute care, make your stay in LTC about a year. A whole lot longer than that may make you look less pleasing to an acute care facility. - Offer a helping hand to anyone who has been terminated. It doesn't have to be huge (and no money - it's awkward for both parties). Offer to help with the resume, job search, babysitting, or even just hang out and talk. Let me tell you, as a male (I'm sure this is true for you gals, too) bowling and a beer with a friend and talking everything out helped more than anything else. - Nursing (and healthcare in general) is a cutthroat field. Stay strong and tough out the first year. After that, you'll love your job! End of my rant. I could go on forever, but I wont. The whole experience has made me a better, more humble nurse and human being. I love helping out people who have run into this misfortune. It sounds awfully cheesy now, but, OP, it WILL work out for the better. You may not see it now, but it will. I really wish you all the best in finding the perfect job. I unfortunately do not have the life experience to give advice on the marital issues, but I wish you the best of luck and God's wisdom in knowing what to do.

Yup. TNCC is just like ACLS, PALS, ENPC, etc. It is a training course, not an educational credential.

Love having Paramedics in our ED. They can essentially do everything in the ED that they can do in the field with a couple somewhat annoying exceptions: they can't officially assess, only gather data; they can't initiate drips (except NS / LR); they don't have access to our Pyxis medication machine (but can push most meds).

Knock on wood... from what I've seen at my hospital, ED and floor nurses get along pretty well. Sometimes the floor nurses will even come up to chat if they are slow, and visa versa (though that is very rare occurrence, indeed). I have had to give report during Med-surg's shift change d/t the ED being full, 3 patients in waiting, and 2 ambulances incoming. I got a dirty look, but not much else. I think we talk pretty well and the communication is pretty good :)

Hunter Green for all RN's; Navy for LPN's; Gray for Techs, CNA's, EMT's, Paramedics; Maroon for Lab; Purple for Respiratory; Black for X-Ray. I don't mind, I guess. Eliminates the need to decide, "What am I going to where today?"

I've done the IV decadron PO mixed with some apple juice. I looked at the PA a little funny, and then he explained it to me. Worked great! As far as the IV Zofran... we generally just use the ODT. Never heard of giving the IV Vanco PO, though, that's interesting!

I'm taking TNCC soon... maybe next month or the month after? Are there any tips or follow up to this post?

New to an 11 bed Trauma IV rural Emergency / Urgent Care Department (2 beds we share with OR). I'm still on my orientation (about 5 months long, have 2 months to go). I really love it - all the experiences, the faster pace, the odd cases, the codes. We see anywhere from 35-55 patients per day. We generally are staffed for 1:3 unless patient acuity is heavier (code, trauma, STEMI, etc). We also have minimum staffing requirements - which is super nice. We usually have at least 3 RNs, an EMT or Paramedic, an MD, and a mid-level provider. At night, we drop to 2 RNs, an EMT, and an MD. I don't really have anything to compare this setup with, but especially from reading some of your ratios, I'm really liking my job even more (if that's even possible).