turtle0206

from my experience, the top questions i've been asked: -why do you want to work in this department -do you work well in a fast paced setting -** give me an example of a hardship you faced and how you overcame *** this question has been asked to me so many times from retail in high school all the way to nursing lol. -for the bad quality question i've always answered "sometimes i care too much" and follow it up with "but it makes me a better nurse and i've been better at setting boundries and leaving work at work" -where do you see yourself in five years (this is another question that always comes up) The main thing is to stay positive. practice in the mirror if you need to. dress appropriately, keep eye contact, and smile. goodluck! just getting an interview is a good sign, some people don't make it past the recruiter

i agree with the poster above, homecare would be great. i did visiting nursing as my first job out of nursing school, i don't believe its appropriate for a nurse in the beginning of her career but certainly towards the end. the schedule is so flexible and most companies do not put personal care in the job requirements (that's done by the PC/HHA worker). so when i did VNA work i next to never did any heavy lifting. i tell myself i'll go back to VNA when i'm ready to retire lol

i do feel this is true. i've said it once i'll say it a thousand times- I hate being a patient! lol but i love caring for them

hey there this is a great question. i worked in a nursing home for 2 years doing activities while i was in nursing school (am now an RN). I too, at the beginning, felt guilty but it isn't cruel if used correctly. for example we used to have patient's constantly trying to get out saying stuff like "i'm calling a cab, i'm leaving." we used to say things like "we called the cab for you, lets go wait for the ride in the dining room." Once in the dining room we could start an activity- cards, coloring, etc. after a few moments doing the activity they usually forgot about wanting to leave. if you are able to assist the patient in becoming happy again then that is a good thing

i agree with the poster above- check out your local community colleges

mistakes happen, you are new i'll say it again... yes mistakes will happen! When my nursing career started i told myself "any mistakes i make, i will remember them so that they won't happen again." Just think during your next admission you won't forget to check every inch of skin! lol seriously don't beat yourself up, new grads are watched over because little mistakes such as this one are expected. learn from your mistakes and you'll be great! :) good luck

I'm incredibly frustrated by posters who literally answer homework questions for first-time posters (those who join Allnurses.com in order to obtain easy answers to homework questions). Those who freely give answers to basic anatomy, pharmacy & nursing questions are doing so much harm to the student who is seeking the easy way out. Those who seek & receive easy answers to their questions are learning nothing in the process and are literally being set up for failure in the future. how do you know this is a student? Maybe this is a person who already knows the answer and just wants someone to validate their thoughts? You don't know and either do I. "so much harm" bolded and underlined ugh give me a break.. being able to verbalize an answer is totally different then being able to act it out. last time I checked nursing school is written work and CLINICAL..you can fake your way through the written stuff but not clinical lol who knows maybe you're right and I do agree with your thoughts.. next time I won't answer these questions without more information from OP.

Make cookies and bring them to the break room, us nurses love sweets! And maybe bring a bowl of fruit for the picky eaters. Or another option bring a box of joe, bagels and muffins :) Write out a nice card about how your experience there helped you grow as a nurse and person. You appreciated their immense support and advice which is so critical for a new nurse starting out. Then end it with you are moving on to pursue your goal which would not have been possible without them. You get the idea lol

Getting "attached" is a tough situation, on one hand it shows your human and compassion is what will make you a GREAT CNA.. On the other hand it can affect your professional responsibilities. I find the best thing is to let yourself have a good cry or mentally talk things out to yourself in the car on the way home BUT as soon as you walk through the door drop it. Think to yourself that you are home now and you have your own personal problems, your own family, and your own health. At the end of the day you need to think that you did all that you could and be happy in knowing that you did. :)

Hey Ashley! I graduated last year and when I began my job search I was as discouraged as you. I'm in MA and nursing here is so competitive its ridiculous. I ended up being hired with a homecare agency as a skilled visiting nurse. They originally were not looking for a new grad but hired me anyways. I can truly say that this job is not for everyone. After my supervisors saw how great I did they went on to hire another new grad who ended up quitting only after a couple months. What saved me was my supportive mentor and fellow co-workers. My agency has a great staff and everyone was extremely helpful starting out. If you do choose to work for homecare look into the company itself and see what kind of reputation they have. Try to get a feel on how accepting the fellow nurses are because I can assure you will need their help and advice. If I could do it over again though I may not have gone with this job.. I say this because now I am spoiled lol I work Monday through Friday no weekends or evening, this is unheard of for a new grad!! lol I also feel I lost some skills I had in the hospital setting ALTHOUGH now I have a specialty in community nursing. Homecare is much more independent you think on your feet and your assessment skills must be on point. I know a few homecare nurses who went on to work in the ICU, they were able to do this because they had great assessment skills. To answer the other part of your question: Most of my fellow students from nursing school ended up in nursing homes and rehabs. The only person I knew who got into a hospital was hired because she had been a CNA there for a couple years. I would suggest trying nursing homes, rehabs, ALF and community clinics. Homecare is excellent and I love it. I have more one on one time with patients, I work at my own pace and make my own schedule. Visiting nursing has strengthened my assessment skills and I am expected to preform some things that nurses in the hospitals don't such as blood draws. (Phlebotomy is now a specialty in hospitals around here) Homecare nursing is great but for the right kind of person, so make sure you do your research :)

assess! vital signs, description of pain, alleviating or worsening factors. The next step then depends on the setting. in the hospital: page MD, get EKG, is the patient prescribed nitro? At home: is the patient prescribed asa or nitro? then determine if 911 should be called or call PCPs office immediately ask for clinician on call who can help asap. the steps after assess really depend on the setting and situation (such as are there other signs of acute distress? are u on telemetry floor, in the ED, in the OR or are you in pt's home?). also look into your agency's protocol. Hope this helps a little.

I work in a smaller homecare agency and being on-call stinks because one single nurse will be responsible for the entire agency even unrelated nursing things such as when is my PC worker coming? I don't want PT to visit tomorrow. And then of course referrals. It can become a ton of work and is only 2/hr

LOL thanks for the laugh this was genius

Thank God I work in Homecare! In Homecare PT, OT, PC and nursing all work as a team. I use PT, OT, and HHAs to my full advantage and they can be extremely helpful as long as communication is left open :) When I did work in the hospital setting you're right the situation is a lot different! Usually I just responded with a short and sweet "OK thank you for notifying me. I'll take care of it as soon as I can." Then maybe write the room number or pt initials down real quick so they see you are serious and listened to them.. then they'll walk away lol

Hey! I feel your pain I am also a new grad visiting nurse. I see anywhere from 6 to 12 patients a day and am finding similar struggles as you. First off find a couple experienced nurses you can rely on. I am so lucky to have a supportive team and without them I'd be lost! lol As far as your Anna situation I also had a similar issue. Be careful because if you report something to her that is intended strictly for family then you are held legally accountable. There are a few things you could do (mind you, your agency may operate differently than mine and maybe some other nurses on here would disagree but these are my personal suggestions...): 1) talk with PCPs office ask if they know anything about this Anna character 2) call the family (proxy or PCG) and ask them to clarify what Anna's role is. obviously do this when she is not around. 3) talk with pt's caseworker. if the pt doesn't have a caseworker maybe you can refer the pt to an elder service support group. Or maybe your agency already has assigned caseworkers. 4) have an outright discussion with Anna. Clearly outline exactly what your responsibilities are as the visiting nurse. I think asking you to do these "check offs" on the clipboard is a little ridiculous and I don't think you would be wrong telling her that you were not ORDERED to do this by the doctor or your agency. (maybe give your agency a heads-up before having this talk lol) 5) if all else fails, talk to your supervisor about the situation. Tell her/him about "Anna" and see if they have any suggestions for you. Whatever you do, get some answers! As someone else stated, we as nurses are mandated reporters and if you see an issue it needs to be reported to elder abuse. This environment must be very uncomfortable for you, I hope I was able to give you some ideas. :) good luck! Edit: I just saw a more recent post you put where the PCPs office isn't telling you of changes. This is unfortunately a very common struggle in homecare. rarely do I learn of a med change, upcoming appointment or test unless the patient themselves tell me. But in this situation maybe you could talk to a nurse at the PCPs office. Tell them that Anna and the family are unreliable in reporting changes and you would really appreciate if they could keep you notified of any. provide them with your number and agency fax number. I've had to make these requests before sometimes they listen and sometimes they don't lol but it's worth a try