mimigins

They all receive meds - they're prepackaged by pharmacy to help, but it lowers the ability to double-check them before distribution because of the number of them. I think all but 3 people get meds. You basically memorize treatments for everyone because there's no time to check MARS before so-and-so gets their 8AM meds, ventolin, flovent, etc. It's a pretty memory-heavy job. I'm so tired.

Thank you for the reassurance that I'm not just shirking responsibility or something. It's super overwhelming as a new grad. I'm keeping my head above water so far but it's wearing on me and my anxiety levels are through the roof lately. I'm hoping this spring will see a lot of jobs I can hopefully get interviewed for, because I should be well prepared for crazy time management at this point. Maybe anything after this will come easily to me?? (fingers crossed)

So I guess I need to vent a little bit. I graduated from the LPN program in May 2014, and got my first nursing job at a Retirement home in July 2014. Pretty good turnaround, and I was ecstatic since I hadn't even received a callback from the other 50~ jobs I'd applied to in that span. So now I'm 6 months in and most days this week I've fantasized about going into a corner and crying. Granted, I've caught the flu from my residents, but I'm not sure that's the whole issue. My job involves providing meds and nursing care to all 90 residents in 8-hour shifts. There is one charge nurse in the building at a time (me) along with a handful of care workers. That's it. Most of my residents are fairly independent or a 1-person assist, but there's a good chunk of them that are total care and require feeding. So it's more of a retirement slash LTC home without the pay to go with it. Now - it's flu season. So far I'm the only nurse to get sick, and I'm the newest, so I've been trying my best to work my scheduled shifts but I ended up having to call in sick Wednesday (fever + cough + bad time), to the great annoyance of my supervisor as she ended up having to cover for me on her week off. I only have about 3 possible people that could cover me at a time - for the most part we have 2 day nurses, 2 evening nurses, and 2 night nurses and half of them aren't familiar with the other shifts. I went in to work today, but I'm still coughing a lot with an elevated temp so I got someone to cover my shift tomorrow so I can try to get some rest and recover. I don't know - is it me? My boyfriend keeps trying to reassure me that I'm in a highly stressful environment and that taking care of 90 residents per shift is unreasonable. I'm exhausted. I don't sleep very well - I dream about going to work half the time. I'm just so frustrated because I don't feel confident in my skills and I'm pretty much independently working and trying to do my best. I just feel like a total failure because I'm still making mistakes or poor judgement calls - like going to work today at all while I'm still sick and risking spreading it to my residents. And yet when I tried to make a different call I was given a hard time by management about getting someone to cover me. It just feels like the odds aren't stacked in my favor at all. Maybe I need a new job?

So I guess I need to vent a little bit. I graduated from the LPN program in May 2014, and got my first nursing job at a Retirement home in July 2014. Pretty good turnaround, and I was ecstatic since I hadn't even received a callback from the other 50~ jobs I'd applied to in that span. So now I'm 6 months in and most days this week I've fantasized about going into a corner and crying. Granted, I've caught the flu from my residents, but I'm not sure that's the whole issue. My job involves providing meds and nursing care to all 90 residents in 8-hour shifts. There is one charge nurse in the building at a time (me) along with a handful of care workers. That's it. Most of my residents are fairly independent or a 1-person assist, but there's a good chunk of them that are total care and require feeding. So it's more of a retirement slash LTC home without the pay to go with it. Now - it's flu season. So far I'm the only nurse to get sick, and I'm the newest, so I've been trying my best to work my scheduled shifts but I ended up having to call in sick Wednesday (fever + cough + bad time), to the great annoyance of my supervisor as she ended up having to cover for me on her week off. I only have about 3 possible people that could cover me at a time - for the most part we have 2 day nurses, 2 evening nurses, and 2 night nurses and half of them aren't familiar with the other shifts. I went in to work today, but I'm still coughing a lot with an elevated temp so I got someone to cover my shift tomorrow so I can try to get some rest and recover. I don't know - is it me? My boyfriend keeps trying to reassure me that I'm in a highly stressful environment and that taking care of 90 residents per shift is unreasonable. I'm exhausted. I don't sleep very well - I dream about going to work half the time. I'm just so frustrated because I don't feel confident in my skills and I'm pretty much independently working and trying to do my best. I just feel like a total failure because I'm still making mistakes or poor judgement calls - like going to work today at all while I'm still sick and risking spreading it to my residents. And yet when I tried to make a different call I was given a hard time by management about getting someone to cover me. It just feels like the odds aren't stacked in my favor at all. Maybe I need a new job?

The website allheart.com allows you to select an engraving when you're ordering, which is pretty cool! That's what I did with mine.

Wow what a great story. Thanks for sharing!

Alright... I've been reading over many of the posts here and trying to edit my resume according to feedback from others. I've attached some pictures - feedback would be greatly appreciated. I trimmed the fat on my resume (I thought details as to duties I'd performed in each individual clinical rotation were important, but the census appears to be "delete that ****" so it's gone.) My resume is now one page long. It makes me nervous seeing that there's not a whole lot for me to say about myself now. Oh well Thanks to anybody who reads this.

Hi there, I'm due to write my RPN (LPN) examinations in May/14, but I'm currently applying to jobs. Unfortunately most jobs ask for experience (and a completed exam), but I'm taking a shot in the dark anyway. My question is this: Should I put that I'm a RPN Candidate in my first line, or should I stick it somewhere lower in my cover letter so they actually read what I've written rather than just throwing it out at the first sentence? I'm applying to a Family Health clinic that has administrative sides to it as well as RPN skills/knowledge. Here's my CL: I am a caring and compassionate Registered Practical Nurse candidate, due to write my examinations in May, 2014. I have recently completed my Practical Nursing program and am eligible for a Temporary License from the College of Nurses. I am eager to enter the workforce and establish myself as a competent, professional, and accountable nurse. My experience in providing care to a wide variety of patients makes me an excellent contender for a position as a Registered Practical Nurse. I chose to pursue nursing to help people and make a positive difference in the lives of others. I left a technical background to focus on health and wellness, and have thoroughly enjoyed the opportunities my clinical placements have provided. I have clinical experience in departments such as medicine, surgery, mental health, obstetrics, and long term care and have worked with patients in complex continuing, rehabilitative, and palliative care. I am passionate about family health and community health promotion. My previous experience as a computer technician provided me with excellent administrative skills such as ordering supplies, completing documentation, and servicing clientele. I am highly efficient, detail-oriented, and thrive in a fast-paced environment. The values of confidentiality, trust, accountability, and leadership are vital to my practice. I have a final paragraph stating courses I hope to take upon becoming registered plus phone number and full availability. I'd love some feedback if my CL is awful - but mostly I'm wondering if I should leave the first sentence be or move it. Thank you!