pyct39

I've already asked and I have to do two years on my current unit before I can transfer. I'm just stuck. I'm trying to hang in this last year, but I don't know if I can make it. Thank you for your response.

I have looked for per diem or prn jobs, but I haven't found anything yet. I was actually hired by a staffing agency, but nothing has come out of that either. My contract is for full-time and we're so short-staffed, I don't think they would even let me go down to part-time. I do like your suggestion as far as the per-diem work. I think it would be great to learn new skills in a different setting. Thanks for your post.

Hello, I know my title is cliche, but I need help. I am a fairly new nurse with one year of experience. I wanted to get a variety of experience after nursing school, so I was applied for and was offered a residency position on a med-surg unit. It is wearing me down mentally and physically. I feel like the job is so much harder than it has to be. We're constantly understaffed, so that doesn't help either. Another area of concern is that I don't feel like I'm learning as much as I should. I rarely get to perform technical skills such as inserting foleys and inserting iv's as our patients usually already have them when I get them. I have tried to address the learning/skills issue with my superiors, and they usually just say, "You're still a new nurse." I planned to work the two years of my contract, so I could build a solid foundation. Then I planned to do travel nursing. I don't feel like I will be prepared to do travel nursing with two years of experience at the rate I'm going. I'm pretty miserable, but I'm only halfway through my contract. If I leave, I will have to pay my employer back. Any suggestions?

I am about to start my second year of an ADN program. I've never been too sure what area of nursing I want to go into, so I planned to work in Med/Surg for a couple of years and then move on to a specialty. After doing a clinical in the NICU, I cannot get it out of my head. I would like to do an internship in the NICU so I could work there, but I really want a solid foundation for my nursing career. What should I do?

I'm a bit discouraged, but I can't and won't give up. I've worked too hard to get to this point. Thank you!

Hello, I'm in my second semester of a four semester ADN program, and I am supposed to graduate in May 2015. Nursing will be a second career for me, but I have eight years of healthcare (physical therapy tech) experience but no hospital experience. I have interviewed for two nurse tech positions with no luck. I also applied for a nurse internship, but I did not get that either. I am getting really frantic because I need patient care experience, or I will be in a world of hurt when I graduate. I'm the type of person that needs hands on experience, and who is going to hire a nursing graduate with no experience? There is no way I could go into an interview for a nursing position with confidence. I plan on volunteering at a hospital, but it's not the same. It's all I can do right now. Did anyone else have this problem? What did you do to get experience?

I'll definitely contact HR departments to find out if they hire nurses with ADNs.

Thanks for the info! I'm really worried about getting my first job with an associate's degree, but I'm almost done with my first year and have to stay the course.

I plan on starting my RN to BSN as soon as I can. I already have a bachelor's and master's degree in something else. I just couldn't afford to pay for a BSN right now. I couldn't justify paying more than twice the cost to get paid the same.

He's moving back to be close to his family. I'm still in nursing school working on my associate degree in nursing. I don't graduate until next year.

I think it is in Central Iowa near Ames.

Hello, I would like to know if nurses in Iowa can actually make a good living and have job opportunities there. I know they don't get paid well, but I figured the cost of living is lower than other places. I think of Iowa as more of a rural state, so I'm worried about finding a hospital job. My boyfriend is moving there, and I could end up moving there. I would like to know what I'm going into. Thanks.