dmg213

My feet have always hurt due to them being flat. The only nursing shoe that works for me are Klogs. The soles are so cushiony and even when I'm running around on the floor all night my feet may hurt only a little. I had no luck with sneakers AT ALL. Dansko's are too hard. I don't know how people can wear those but they say Dansko's are good for the back. I really don't have problems with my back only my feet. Each pair of Klogs I've ever purchased are the same, soft & cushiony. I even have a pair I wear around the house.

I work as a home health nurse & have to call Dr's offices to get orders. Lots of times the "nurse" is the one getting the order from the doc & calling me back or okaying orders. Once I had a pt. on coumadin & I was trying to get orders to do lab draws but the doc wasn't calling back. Finally, after about 5 days the doc called back, furious. I told her I talked to her "nurse" who said such & such (can't remember the specifics). Come to find out that "nurse" isn't a nurse but a "patient coordinator" whatever that is. In the end I ended up doing my part & documented all my calls. The doc was only mad because she messed up & had to try to blame somebody else. Well, now when I talk to the doc's staff I make sure I ask if they're a licensed RN or LVN.

Going back to get my BSN soon too & I'm in CA. I need 3 more gen. ed classes I'll take @ the City College level. Will apply for admission to BSN program next year. Thought about doing it online but I need to see, hear, do what I'm learning. Plus I do better interacting. In other words I'm not that disciplined to do online. I heard that one of the local community colleges has an articulation agreement with Indiana State. Anyway, stick with it. You can do it!!!

At one hospital they paid time and 1/2 after 8 hours. They paid a straight pay which was the 8 hours pay plus the 4 hours time & 1/2 divided by 12 hours. Example: $22 per hour for 8 hours=$176. $33 per hour (time & 1/2) for last 4 hours=$132. $176 + $132 divided by 12 hours =$25.67. So basically pay would be $25.67 an hour and any time over 12 hours was considered double time. At another facility the base pay was $27.57 but they adjusted the rate to 14.29% of the base rate subtracted from base so the pay was $23.63 and overtime was time & 1/2. I don't get it either but it's just another way to cut corners when it comes to paying their nurses.

Definitely do your homework when it comes to hospitals that will pay back student loans. This one hospital will pay back a loan up to $4000 for a 2 year committment. if you decide to leave before the 2 years are up they stop paying for your loan. Also, sign on bonuses are tricky too. Some contracts state that if you quit before the 2 year committment time (or however long it is) then you are responsible to pay back everything they gave you. In otherwords, if they give you half the sign on bonus in the first 6 months and you get the other half after 2 years, if you quit after only a year, you're required to pay back the amt they did give you. In my contract it states that the money is to be paid back within 6 days of leaving. Look out for those hospitals that offer to pay big sign on bonuses. You have to wonder why they have to attract people with lots of money. Why is the facility so in need of people? Is the turnover rate high? If so is it because the facility is that bad?

Thanks for the info & encouragement, jahra. I've been told by traveling nurses that agency work will give me more control of my schedule & if I don't like a facility I'm assigned to I can just request to not go back. Also, I will be able to see what other facilities are like. I'm trying to stay positive. It's been a rough first year especially since working @ that place was not what I expected nursing to be like. I just thought with the shortage of nurses & all people would be more willing to help out & do whatever they could to keep me. Now I see it's not necessarily true. Anyway, I'm hoping to eventually find some place I can really be happy at regardless of how much they pay.

The agency I'm going to start working for is in another town so I won't be assigned to the old facility. I'm thinking that you are right & that talking to the supv. won't change much. I should've just quit altogether in the first place. At least I wasn't talked into staying. I'm working med/surg & don't want to stay @ that facility at all. I'm hoping by working with the agency I can see what other facilities are out there. I guess not having any support through my first year of nursing has really discouraged me. I'm hoping that by hearing from other RN's on this site will help boost my confidence. Thanks for your reply.

I'm so happy for you! I only pray (and pray) that I can find a "home" like that. I'm really not wanting to work in a hospital anymore but if I could find a unit that has open arms like yours then I would be there in a heartbeat. Congrats! :balloons:

I'm a nurse with almost a year of experience. I recently went from FT to per diem & signed up with a local agency. Worked @ the same hospital all this time but got burned out FAST! Right after I was finished with my 4 week new grad orientation my patient load was unbelievably difficult. Then I was always getting the first admit or was given pt's that should've gone to somebody else but since they refused to take them & I was standing there the charge nurse would give them to me. I was losing my mind trying to get everything done on time with no help. Permanent staff expected me to pick up all the slack they were too overburdened to carry especially since we have mostly travelers working on our floor. I finally said something to my supervisor who was very understanding but nothing seemed to change. I eventually figured out that the charge nurse making the assignment was also a fairly new @ making assignments & didn't take into consideration my inexperience. Honestly, I thought somebody was testing me or they were setting me up for failure with the patient load I was assigned. So after talking to this charge nurse about my assignments it became more bearable but by that point I was so fed up with the floor. It's very unorganized, lack of teamwork, no consistency, etc. Also, they aren't very flexible with their schedule at least not with me. I find that temporary staff get the schedules they want but I always have to deal with what I have & find someone to switch days with. My question is this. Should I just give them my notice & cut the ties all together? Or should I speak to my supv. about this & give them yet another chance? I feel as though I'm ready to cut all ties but I want to get a good reference from them if I do. At this point I'm really tired of nursing & want to do something else. Some of my friends who are also nurses say I shouldn't let this one facility influence how I see nursing because it's not a very good facility in the first place. They also tell me that I should try somewhere else but I'm afraid to start at a new facility only to find that I don't like that place either. Should I just stay working with an agency? I really don't want to do hospital nursing at all but what else is there for someone with barely a year of experience? I've looked in all the papers and online. Most places want someone with a BSN & 2years or more of exp. Any suggestions, advice from more experienced nurses would be greatly appreciated.

Wow, hunny_pye. Your post sounds as if I wrote it. I'm a new nurse with just one month of experience. I understand about going home and worrying & wondering if I did this or that or if I'll get back to work to find that I didn't do something for a patient that I should have or vice versa. It's taking it's toll on me. I feel like quitting all the time. The only thing that keeps me there is that I need to pay off my student loan. That and the fact that I want to get my 1-2 years of experience so I can move on into a more desireable position. In talking with a lot of other new nurses the feelings are mutual. Just find somebody you can talk to about everything. Allnurses.com is a very good site to vent. I have found a couple of nurses on my floor that are great resources. keep asking questions if you are unsure and have confidence in the fact that you made it this far. One thing I like to keep reminding myself of is that EVERY NURSE has been a new grad at one time or another. They weren't born with great nursing skills so don't let anybody intimidate you. I'm fortunate to work in a hospital with a "Codeof Conduct" so if somebody tries to belittle me or my abilities I can remind them of this code. Hang in there. You are definitely not alone.

Congratulations, Jen. I work in neuro also on nights (7p-7a) and have two more weeks of orientation. I can't believe you have 8 pt's. Here in CA we have 5 pt.'s max. It works out great. I couldn't imagine having 8 patients! Anyway, I really hope it gets easier. I'm feeling so much stress I think I'm getting an ulcer. Just when I feel like everything is going smoothly and I feel somewhat confident, somebody does or says something to me (from day shift) that makes me leaving the hospital with a deflated sense of confidence. I almost feel like they're watching me to see if I make a mistake. Not all the nurses just those few miserable so-in-so's. Anyway, I'm sure it gets easier like you said. Keep working toward your dream of L&D nurse. You can do it!!! :)

I feel for you daytonite. I don't understand why the experienced nurses are so negative to the new nurses. I think what she should've done was told you what she expected from you and what you needed to work on. Just know that you are not alone. Hang in there.

Here in S. Cal where I work as a new nurse my base pay is 21.45. With a 12 hour shift I get time and a half for the last 4 hours. They add it together and come up with a standard rate of pay of 26.45 an hour. Plus for nights its an extra $4.00. So for 7p-7a I make $30.45 an hour.

i always felt like i would never make it through nursing school. it took me a year longer than i had planned but i did it. i just learned to take it one day at a time. at my school we had to pass with 80% or better. if we failed an exam we had one more try at it. if we failed it a second time we were out of the program. if we failed 3 exams in each semester we were out of the program. of course if we were kicked out we had the option to ask to be let back in for another try but we only had one more try at it. most of the time i felt like i would never make it out of school but i finally did. and believe me, if i can do it you can too. you just have to have faith. keep a positive state of mind and know that you aren't the only one with the same feelings. i recently took the licensing exam and passed and am going to start my first rn job on monday! i thought i'd never get to this point but it's finally happened because i kept believing in myself and my abilities. so believe in yourself. you can do it. i think everybody that ever went through nursing school has felt the same way. i hope this has helped. best wishes to you! denise "i can do all thing through christ who strengthens me." phil 4:13

I found Saunders to be a good book to study from. The study questions were helpful.