Bluespruce

Pays is decent & you can work 'off' hours which is a good thing for some people (especially if you don't yet have a family of your own). People will appreciate you occasionally & that really feels nice. After a days work you know you really did something & contributed to help people. You get more familiar with some human raw emotions which can maybe make you a better reader of human nature. You get to learn some really neat stuff - isn't the body fascinating? It is a job where your experience & education builds on itself. When you stay in the profession for a long time you typically get paid better. I do have to add that I never found the right position in nursing even though I got my RN. I'm not totally sad about this because I go to a desk job everyday & never have to worry about life/death situations. I can leave my job at work most days too, unlike in nursing, where lots of luggage comes home with you. You can get a job almost anywhere in the US, which is a great sense of financial security. I imagine if I ended up moving to some nowhere town it might be the only decent job I could find & I'd need to reenter.

Hi, You sound like you're really at a crossroads. Keep in mind that some of your husband's behavior may also be because of your behavior. I know you said you praise your husband when he's in a good mood. Do you also do that when he's in a so so mood? I've heard, & think it makes sense, that men typically need to feel like the 'winners' & the best judge of that in their ego-sensical way is to feel like a 'winner' in the eyes of their wives. Do you love & adore qualities about him? If so highlight them & encourage them to him. Also, it's not just your husband that drives you crazy I'm suspecting. Are you driving yourself a little crazy too? It's easy to blame the person that you live with but part of the reason may also be that you're blaming the easiest target - him. Could you ever have a talk w/your husband when you're both at least in an ok mood & talk about the difficulties of watching the kid & studying? Maybe set a time with him to 'stick to' where he is the only person responsible for watching your son between like 7-8pm. When he does watch your son do you let him do it 'his way?'...or do you tell him the 'right' (your way) to handle things. Letting him do some not-so-dangerous things his way will help to make him feel better about watching your son, I'd guess. Anyways, I just figured i'd throw some random thoughts out there. Maybe they will/won't help. In any case, I'm sure you'll find your way. Good luck & be strong for your boy!

Yeah, I can really understand where you're coming from - feeling overwhelmed so consistently. I'm still a pretty new nurse & remember in nursing school one of my teachers telling me that one effective way of voting was with your feet. I did do that w/my 1st job & don't regret it. I have found something that is a much better fit for me since then. It was no cakewalk, but nothing that is really worth it is. Staying isn't a cakewalk either.

I have my BA in psych & had non-related psych positions for about 5 yrs before deciding to get my RN (did an ADN). I think it could help you in getting into a psych RN job quicker (possibly) & also in pursuing an advanced degree in nursing (you could skip the whole BSN part).

Florence Nightingale also stated something to the effect that women shouldn't become doctors either. Although she did some great things, we live in a totally different world.

I think there is often times a tradeoff (quality of life-wise) when getting the best-paying job. Usually those jobs, like a clinical monitor, are way stressful and you may be away from where you live much of the time with 50% travel. Living in motels/hotels 1/2 the time can get old really quick. In any case, we need people to fill those shoes,

Hi Amy, I just took the NCLEX in July & percentages from the nclex review books aren't always terribly accurate predictors. I know I took a Kaplan review course & worked a lot with their computer CD & that really did simulate pretty well the types of questions that I got on the real exam. I think just doing tons & tons of the questions & learning from the rationales will help. On the kaplan nclex CD I got roughly 60 & 70% on a lot of the practice tests, but so did my peers who were studying with me (& we studied a lot). We all 3 took the exam & passed in 75 questions, so I figure we did something right. Good luck & study hard!

I would never tolerate that behavior in the US - I'm thankful that I'm an RN here & not elswhere for a myriad of reasons! The aformentioned post being one of those reasons...training just isn't as regulated. Have you ever worked or lived overseas? It'll make you appreciate what rights we do have here compared to some other places.

Just one more thing...the initial shock of nursing school w/buttwiping and some aweful smells sights may scare you away, but I tell you the more you get exposed to it the more desensitized you'll become because most likely you'll have to go through this in becoming an RN initially.

Yeah, that sounds sort of similar to where I was as an aide. I did vitals at times on all 30 pts, but during that time I really couldn't be answering lights as well.(when I was only aide) Sort of a tough balancing act. Those sound like decent ratios though for the nurses so that they aren't stretched as thin as some with say 8-14 pts.

Yeah it sounds like the aide wasn't empathetic to you at all - that doesn't help the pts any.

Wow! I can't believe these ratios...I was hoping that was more or less a thing of the past, but I guess not. In the metro area where I live I haven't heard of more than 7 pts per nurse other than at the VA hospital. Was this at a more rural hospital? Being a new RN & having just done aide work for a while though, let me tell you doing vitals on 32 pts is virtually impossible.(especially if it's q4 & your're supposed to answer all the lights - it can't be done really) They'll be asked for several different things & not just the vitals upon visits to each pt room to do the vitals. Anyways, I don't think their job is necessarily easier (but of course I'm not there). To me it sounds like you're all working your xxsses off & risking your licenses at the same time. Of course the aide gets paid substantially less too...I don't think I could ever be an aide long-term (for more than a few years). They really work hard, don't get the respect they deserve by many & have a super physical & important job.

Thanks for all your responses...I guess as a new nurse if I'm put in any of these situations I'll just have to fill out incident reports (before I think something really bad might happen) & then of course chart what I notified physicians about that could turn into potential issues. It's nice to have the seasoned nurse's perspective & advice! I don't get what you mean though by "The letter is beat, puts the responsibility for the fall or worse on the facility where it belongs." ...what is the letter you're referring to? I just want to make sure I understand. Thanks!

Also, I have a question for you in re: to this situation being that I'm a new nurse. In general, should you chart that you've requested such & such because of your reasonable fear that pt could fall out of bed & injure him/herself? I wonder if charting that is ok & I wonder if it'd help your license. Of course, from the hospital's liability standpoint they may not like u to chart this kind of stuff. What are your thoughts on the matter? It seems one way you're looking after your own license & the other way you're just looking after the hospital's liability.

I wonder if you worked for a VA hospital? I've noticed the worst ratios & circumstances for patients there on med/surg floors.

I'm a new RN, but I had a great teacher who was a psych NP. She also had years of experience as a regular RN on psych floors. She did, it seemed, from her stories do counseling & med managment. This is in WA state where I believe NPs have quite a bit of autonomy. I think here in WA state they don't even have to work under a doctor as they do in many other states.

I start work on tele unit in early Sept at a large metropolitan hospital. I believe I get a week long ECG class as well as an orientation class (maybe almost a week) & then I think I have a preceptorship, which might be a few months or so. I believe that this is fairly standard in my area. If you're working at a smaller hospital this may not be the case for you. I'm sure it'll be scary & hard, but chances are you're not the first to have to start out this way. I'd make sure to ask all the questions you think you need to & basically you'll have to do a lot of learning on the job, which I think they'd have to expect from a new grad cuz you don't get it all down pat in 4 days. Maybe if you asked your supervisor if it was ok to have a 'go to' nurse who'd sort of have a lighter load & be there for u to ask questions of would be a good idea. Granted this person would almost be like a preceptor but you'd be a little more autonomous at the time. Also, they shouldn't start u out too soon with a completely full pt load because of the learning curve - I'd guess. At least that's what my hospital told me they'd do with me.

Hi, I'm going to be in your same situation now in about a month. I'm dreading & am fearful of working nights, but I know I need the experience & do like cardiac stuff. On a positive side I know nights aren't as busy & there is likely more time (as a new RN like myself) to look up meds etc. on the night shift. Also with 3 12s at least it's only 3 days/week. A close friend of mine who has been a nurse for about 4 years now started on nights & just recently moved to days. She likes days just because it's busier & there are more doctors around & she learns a lot from the doctors, but she also says it's more hectic, the nursing team doesn't get to know each other as well & of course there is less pay during days. I'm trying to look at nights in a positive light now cuz I'm going to be working nights for at least a year. Another positive of nights where I'll be working is that I won't have to pay for parking. If you're not in a metro area I guess that's sort of a moot point. Good luck & feel free to give me pointers once you have em. :-)

I agree with your statements...although I'm female, I'm coming from an IT desktop support backround where I mostly worked with males. It was refreshing...if we had a spat we got over it & got on & worked very well together. With women, they're more passive agressive & can't just be open & get on with any issues they have. Granted there are many women that aren't like this, but unfortunately women tend to be better at the passive aggressive form of coping. I think men in nursing are cool & I hope we get more of em. Granted - I don't think ALL men in nursing are cool. Most of them are though. :-)

Thanks for the info! After thinking a lot about it with a pros & cons list I've decided to start out in Telemetry - even though it's 12hr night shifts. I figure from there I could always later on choose to go into OR & then wouldn't be needing to learn the basics in addition to all the new stuff associated specifically with the OR. I hadn't realized that smaller hospital ORs would probably have you on call more often, but that makes sense. The hospital I chose is closer to where I live & is one of the largest in the area.

Yeah, I'm very aware that OR is also on-call, which naturally entails any time of day. Do you work in OR? How do you like it? How often are you on call? Did you start out in OR? Thanks for any more info!

You have to accept that you're human - that's how you can get passed it. Also, just learning from your mistake is another way to get passed it.

I don't know how the NA's tone was when she told you this, but the heart of the matter was that basically you probably shouldn't have done this. It is pretty common at the large facility I work at that shaving w/non-electric razor is a no-no for a pt on a blood thinner. Anyways though, it doesn't sound like it was a big boo boo & I'd just move on & know better for next time. Also, give yourself a break - you're a newbie and you shouldn't be too surprised with yourself if you make a few mistakes. Also, I think it's good to keep in mind that you & the NA are a team(just as u & the doctor are) - I wouldn't emphasize anyone's chain of command status too much. It's really important for the patients & for your sake that you & the NA can work harmoniously & helpfully with each other. I agree, a lot can be learned from experienced NAs but everything should be communicated respectfully.

It's all good to expect the standard training you get in the USA, but I'm sure it's different & expectations & training is different in the Phillipines. Not all nurses are unionized and can expect certain training minimums.

Hi, I'm a new nurse & am trying to decide between getting into telemetry @ a local hospital or into the OR at a hospital that is maybe 35min away from my house. I want to hear from possibly OR nurses to find out how well they seem to like what they do & what they'd tell someone like me. I really like the fact that OR nursing is day shift & mostly no holidays. I also like seeing operations etc. but without a clinical in the OR it's hard for me to know whether or not I'd like it. From my observations in the OR sometimes it seems to me that it may in fact get boring once in a while. What are your thoughts on the matter OR nurses? How stressful is this job for you compared to what maybe a telemetry nurse does? Does OR fit into your family life if you have kids? Thanks for any pointers! I really need them. Bluespruce new RN