MidnightTang

I do agree about not creating friendships outside of work. We have one, very motherly, older nurse who is facebook friends with several former patients. This has always struck me as crossing a line.

I don't know what the rules are, but I can think of two cases when we did big things for a couple patients on my neurology floor, who were long term residents (1 month or more) due to insurance/finances/lack of support. A couple techs were recognized with a hospital award for throwing a birthday party for a patient, food and presents included. The same patient had a collection taken for baby items. Another patient had horrible taped together glasses and we collected money and took him to the eye clinic to get new ones. I feel good knowing we were able to help, regardless of the rules. I do often by little things, like candy and newspapers for patients.

I do still feel pretty stongly that I will do my np. I just can't see myself away from the bedside forever. I'm just unsure about how feasible it is with my work schedule.

I agree with others that the sidelying position is best with severe contractures. Easier to keep a sterile field and it's much more comfortable than trying to pry open legs.

I'm tentatively about to start a new job (just finalizing some details) that requires me to start a Master's program. The job is in the realm of patient education, not direct patient care. I have been doing bedside nursing for the past 7 years. I had been planning to enter an NP program when this opportunity became available to me. While an MSN in administration or education might be more appropriate to this new position, I am more interested in being an NP. Two questions come to mind. Do np programs require you to be involved in bedside nursing? Is there an online NP program that will allow me to go very slow? Now that I am going to work 5-8 hour days instead of 3-12 hour days, I'm worried about time for studying. I want to start out slow. Affordability is also a concern, but not as great a concern, since I'm going to take it slow. I want to make sure it's a quality program

Just want to say that being a teamster doesn't guarantee anything. My husband has been a teamster machinist for ten years and I have been a nurse for seven and he makes a couple bucks less than me. His insurance is comparable and his pension was dismantled and changed to a 401k in the last contract. Oh, and none of these things compare to the fact that he is in his second layoff of the year. He was off 6 weeks the first time and then he left a temp to permanent job to return to his union job. The company brought him back on mandatory overtime for 6 weeks and immediately laid him off after the work was done. Nothing to dispute. It's all legal in the contract. Sorry to go off subject, but being in a union is not a cure all in any profession. A union is only as good as it's contract.

Thanks for the reply. I hope there aren't so few seats/so many applicants! I have good grades, but that competition is stressful. I'm going to probably apply at a couple more places, too, just to cover all my bases. I think I can still handle it if all my classes are in a classroom. I was just hoping to get a little flexibility.

I'm in consideration of applying to the FNP program at SIUE and am having a hard time finding any info out about it. I have seen several topics about the CRNA, but not the FNP. Can anyone give me some info about this program? Are there any negatives about the program I should know? How competitive is entry into the program? Can you work full time and manage the part time course load? What makes me interested in this program is that it is local to me, so I could attend some in person classes and would have real live support if I need it, but it appears that the majority of the classes are offered online as well and I love the online format. Can anyone tell me if they felt like the online courses were good? I would love any help/opinions that you can provide. Thanks :)

Well, 2 interviews down and I think I have a shot. Your post really helped me to be prepared. Thanks.

Thank you, that is so helpful.

I have an interview for a position as a staff nurse educator next week. I'm curious what qualities are valued in that position. I would also love to know if anyone has interviewed for this sort of position recently. What kind of questions should I expect?

That's why I'm having such a hard time with this decision. I want to find a good school for a reasonable price. I have such a hard time figuring out what schools will provide a good education and are well-respected by employers. I would love it if the cheapest school also provided the best education, but I'm sure that's not true. I need to find the perfect synthesis, a school that I can afford that provides a quality education. What school did you end up deciding on?

There are many similar threads on this subject, but I cannot seem to find enough info to make my decision. Or maybe I'm just indecisive. I live in southern Illinois and work in St. Louis, Missouri. I want to find a program that is online, but I am willing to make a couple trips to campus for a week at a time. If the program is local, I could do several live classes, but I would like a majority online. Cost is a factor. It doesn't need to be the cheapest, but not terribly expensive. I looked at St. Louis University, but the $1000/hour was daunting. I want a program that is respected by employers. I don't want to feel embarrased about my degree. I want it to be challenging and I want to know my stuff when I'm done. I am about to finish my RN-BSN at UTA and I have had a good experience with online education. I did not do a lot of research before starting this degree and chose based mainly on cost and ease, but I want to be pickier about my NP. Can anyone help me or give some suggestions? Thanks, Anne

Truthfully, I have been practicing for a while, 6 years, and if I were to pick the career I truly want I would probably choose nurse practitioner, but due to the fact that I need to work full time and I have a young daughter and I don't want to lose time with her I just don't think it's in the cards for me. An NP program just requires more clinical time than I am willing to sacrifice. I know I want to continue in an acute care setting, not an academic setting (at least not right now), but I do have interest in education (patient education or staff development). I would like to keep the option open for a move to management down the line. I'm just trying to decide which pathway will be the most flexible. I want to be marketable and I don't really want to be pigeonholed into one career.

I'm glad you've both had good experiences with online nursing schools. It makes me feel a little more confident knowing that a Master's from a strictly online school is respected by those doing the hiring. I understand the need to do the MSN right after the BSN. I was going to take a year off, but I started to have doubts that I would go back. I've looked at Western Governors University before, but I have 2 concerns about it. First, I just don't know how I feel about the pass/fail aspect of the classes. I'm motivated to study partially because of my desire to maintain my A average. I'm worried I would lose some of that in a pass/fail situation and in an online learning situation, motivation is everything. My other concern is that, while I love the pricing, I'm worried that I would overstretch myself trying to get as much done as I could in a short time, since it isn't priced by hour, but in 6 month increments. Do you find yourself having that problem with that?

I'm having a hard time finding any info about online MSN programs. There seems to be a lot of info on the RN-BSN programs, but the graduate degrees are a mystery. Anyone have any recommendations?

I'm an RN who is completing her BSN in March for University of Texas-Arlington. I want to start on my MSN within a year after graduating. I am deciding between and education or an administration degree. I think NP is out of the questions, because I don't think I can do all the clinical hours while working and spending time with my family. What I am looking for is a degree program that is online, can be done part time, is affordable, provides a quality education and (most importantly) is respected by employers. I have found a number of affordable programs that can be done part time (Fort Hayes State University for one), but I'm having a hard time ascertaining whether the programs are effective and well-respected. Money is a concern, but I would rather pay more to receive a good education and get a job after graduation. Any suggestions, either school suggestions or help figuring out what constitutes a good program?

Well, I applied and was called to schedule a phone interview 3 days later! I thought I'd be waiting forever to find anything out. I'm super excited and super nervous about the interview. I figure I'll ask about the schedule if I get a little further through the interview process. I don't want anyone to think I'm unwilling to work hard and get my job done. I just have to pick my daughter up from daycare before they close and, preferrably, before she falls asleep.

I have been a neurology nurse for 5 years and am considering a career change. There is an L&D position open that I am considering applying to, but I am concerned that the hours might not work for me. It's a 7 to 7 day shift, which is what I do now, but I need to know what happens if the shift ends and your patient is in the delivery room. Do you still report off to the next shift or do you stay until the end? I can feasibly stay over an hour if necessary, but I have a 2 year old and a husband who works evening shift, so I can't stay at work indefinitely. I would love to apply for this position, but I don't want to get to far into the process and discover that it's not compatible with schedule. Can anyone give my the skinny on how the L&D schedule works? Thanks, Anne

I don't know what the Nursing board is doing, but the hospital I work for in MO has changed the requirements. They are only hiring CNA and Student Nurses.

I work at Barnes and I can tell you that there are job openings available, but the vacancy rates are near zero. From what I hear from nursing student preceptees, it is getting much harder to find a job. Your lack of experience shouldn't hinder you, though.

Yep, it's around $20 an hour.

I'm a new nurse as well. I have only one more precepted shift left. What I have always done, as an RN and as a CNA, is to start my day off with a "breathing check". I introduce myself, assess the need for PRNs and just make sure they're not in distress. This way, you know if something needs to be attended to immediately. I usually pass meds next and then do a full assessment a little later. I work on a neuro floor and there are a lot of meds that have to be given on a consistent time schedule, particularly seizure and Parkinson's meds, so I have to make my med pass on time. The full assessment can usually wait a bit.

I am a CNA who is in nursing school currently. Recently my hospital did away with all restraints and instead has instituted one on one sitters at the nurses discretion. Yesterday I had an older, confused, nearly deaf man with an unsteady gait. He was impossible to reorient at times he had a history of psychosis and dementia. I checked on him frequently and in the first hour had to get him back to bed 3 times. He would get up, get tangled in his IV trying to get to the bathroom and urinate on the floor. On top of this he was determined to pull out his IV. On each of these occassions I went to my nurse and told her. When I explained the difficulties I was having and my very real concern that he would fall she said, "Oh, he's able to follow commands. He's really pretty sharp." He clearly was not. I suggested she might want to call for a sitter before shift change. She disagreed. I mentioned the problem to my Charge nurse and she said it was up to his nurses discretion. By the time my shift ended, he had removed his IV and nearly fallen multiple times. My other patients suffered because I had to give this man priority. HOW CAN I GET THEM TO LISTEN TO ME!!!! Sorry for the rant. I just wanted to complain.

The $20,000 bonus is given over 2 years in $5000 increments with the first 5000 at three months and the last at 24 months.