RNbubu

Instead of “how did the patient do last night?” Ask a specific question, maybe a question about something that you are concerned about or that you need to understand better. That will show the nurse that you did do your research on the patient before showing up. ICU nurses have a lot of knowledge, use them as a resource. Also, try asking the nurse: what in particular are you concerned about? And: what do you think this patient needs next? Also, know that when you show up in the morning, very likely another medical student or an intern or a resident have already stopped by and asked the nurse the same questions. The night shift nurse might be busy trying to finish tasks or charting, or the day shift nurse might be busy getting report and doing an initial assessment. Be respectful if they look busy. Oh, and introduce yourself. Who are you, what’s your position, what team you are working with. That way I can answer your questions more appropriately.

Give it more time.

I’ve taken both and there’s a lot of similarities. If you know CCRN stuff you will definitely pass PCCN. CCRN includes all that was tested in PCCN plus titratable drips, vents, ICP monitoring, invasive hemodynamic monitoring. PCCN was easier in my opinion. Do the option that will pay you more definitely!

Northern California (not Bay Area though). $70/hour. Other hospitals in the area pay up to $90/hour for same level of experience but don’t have the same benefits.

Yes you have been calling in sick too much.

I live and work in Sacramento. I make roughly $63-66/hour depending the shift differencial I'm making that day. Just bought a 1600sq ft home for $375K. If you have money for the down payment you can do it. I am a single mom and was able to do it. But as others have said, prices and wages vary a lot. California is a big state. another important factor to consider: taxes are really high around here. Plus, depending on where you live you have to pay extra real estate taxes (Mello roos) which aren't common in other areas. We Get paid well but pretty much 50% goes to taxes.

It seems to me you don't have a good understanding about the roles of an RN. You need to know all of this. Knowing pathophysiology is a must. Knowing how to do nursing skills is only one part of the job. Everyday physicians are asking for my input when developing the plan of care. I always ask myself, why are they ordering this (whether it is med, a new treatment, or a diagnostic lab) and is this appropriate for my patient. And countless times I questioned orders that were inappropriate. Countless times I also questioned orders and the MDs helped me understand the reasoning behind it. It is a partnership between nurses, MDs, RTs, PTs, and everyone else. The more you know the better - better outcomes for your patient too.

I'm so jealous to hear a lot of people get to pick the days they work! I have to work whenever they tell me I do get my schedule at least 2 weeks in advance but I never know which days I will work.

Transfer to a different unit before you decide giving up on being a bedside RN.

invest your time in becoming an RN. Don't think only about the next 3 years, think long term, it will be well worth it.

In my unit, new grads get 12 weeks of orientation and nurses with experience in med-surg or tele transferring to ICU get 6 weeks. 14 weeks seems a reasonable amount of time. With that being said... try and do your best not to leave so soon. It will be hard to explain in need interview why you left after only 3 months and before being even out of orientation. It will look like you are blaming others.

Wow that is a lot of studying. Good for you for the effort, it paid off. I took my NCLEX years ago. I did no studying the weeks before the test, passed with 75 questions too. I feel we all know the information - we all spent at least 2 years in nursing school learning. It is good to know what works for you individially. But remember that what works for one doesn't necessarily work for another.

Why the patient is here; what has happened so far; what is the plan. Then important orders or things that need to be clarified. And any significant assessment findings. Then I answer any questions they might have and I do refer them to the pt's chart. I myself arrive early so I can check my pt's chart and be prepared when I get report. I appreciate when the oncoming nurses do the same so we can focus on the important things. I had 12 hours to learn all about this patient and so will the oncoming nurse. During hand off I want to focus on what is most important. We need to get/give report on multiple patients. Finally: it is super normal to feel the way you feel. It will get better.

Yes it is doable. As long as you have some flexibility with your work schedule because you won't have with your nursing classes and clinical s. They will pick the days/times you need to be in the classroom and hospital and you need to work out everything else around it.

Nursing management that needs to be implemented: ask for a CBC, a lactic acid, BMP. Those are important pieces to the puzzle that will help figure out what is going on, otherwise you are pretty much just guessing around. Do something about that low BP and address the low UO quick (and yes, always check for kinks on the foley first, you'd be surprised;also: Do a bladder scan to determine whether the pt is not producing urine or if it is the foley that is not draining. besides a kink in the foley, another thing that could happen is a blood clot occluding the foley - who knows if there's any bleeding in the bladder, specially considering it was a hysterectomy). I'd be on the phone asking for orders and implementing them as quickly as possible.