MassED

and Congratulations!

Just relax, go with the flow. Keep your eyes and ears open. Keep a note pad and take notes. Write down those things that you need to look up later when you go home. Nursing is not really that hard. Be safe, learn what you can and ask questions.

you can ask. I did and was told "I'm not privy to that information." But asking never hurts.

I just took a job as a house sup for a level 1. Not at that pay range, but near - Northeast region.

your routine, family life and off time are the most important. I'd say stay per diem in the hospital and go to the school nurse job, work per diem on weekends or holidays to pick up some time here and there. You can always go back to the hospital after the kids are older.

suicidal patients cannot leave, you are bound by law to protect them until evaluated. So, no, they cannot leave. IF they do, we call the police to go after them.

you are defensive. You don't seem like a seasoned nurse of 20 years, you seem to reject everything that posters write in response to you. Your posts suggest you are a young nurse with little experience who focuses on the wrong things as a nurse.

but you've been an RN for 20 years?? Something sounds fishy....

your blase attitude regarding a med error is startling. Your being flippant regarding this is just scary.

reporting a med error to the MD is first and foremost. You file an incident reports and you tell your charge immediately. You don't delay. This should be done before going on break. You also write "your second break" - that is a luxury MOST facilities do not have, so you might be living a bit the life of luxury. You lack of reporting in a timely fashion leads me to question you. I do agree if you're busy and others are sitting around socializing, that there is zero excuse and they should be helping. This is an issue to bring up, but I find this lack of work ethic is often something you cannot change in a person. People are either team players or they are not.

is Science your thing? Are you interesting in nursing? I'd look into what you want to do with your life and less interviewing what EMT's and medics or firefighters think you should do about nursing/medic. Are you doing pre-req's for nursing? I would choose one route or the other, personally. Each would require its own path and focus.

broken ribs happen with good compressions, especially on elderly with weaker ribs ie osteoporosis. You did a good job, don't worry. You did what you had to do. I always think that broken ribs are a sign you pushed hard and fast.

what?? 2 hours? Are you kidding?

?!?!!?oh my god, you get TWO breaks??!?!! I barely get 10 minutes in a 12 hour shift, and even then it is sitting at the nurse's station shoving food down my face.

it'll get better over time. Codes are hard to handle and as you gain experience, they will be less scary. You have others to lean on and learn from. Good luck and hang in there. Try to decompress, learn from each interaction and code. Write down notes and look up stuff. i