ORSmurf

I appreciate all the good information here. I'll be taking the OCN exam in Nov. and am pretty nervous!

Hello. 3 1/2 years RN in CA, just over 39/hr. Work outpatient, hospital based, part time, weekdays, no nights, weekends, holidays.

We offer our patients a xylociane injection. I'd say it's half and half as far as how many prefer it. We don't have the spray or emla cream options.

That's awesome! Do you work in-patient or out-patient?

I live in Northern California and work in an outpatient specialty clinic with no nights, weekends or holidays. I'm an ADN RN with 3 years experience and make 37.35/hr.

Hi Jen, Wow - congratulations on everything you've accomplished. What a good story. I think you'll love working with oncology patients. I work in an outpatient cancer center giving chemotherapy. I am a highly emotional person and was afraid I wouldn't be able to handle that aspect of it. I love the patients and have the most wonderful co-workers and there's a lot of laughter every day. There are sad times and I cry sometimes, but it's been very rewarding. Good luck in your journey and God bless you, Christine

Northern Calif., small hospital, 2.5 years exp., ADN RN, 36+/hr.

I was put on the wait list the first time I applied to the LVN to RN step up program. I didn't get in that year, but did get in the next year I applied. It was pretty frustrating to have to wait that extra year.

Big hugs to you Mystic Fish. I am so sorry to hear about your situation. You are in good company, my friend. Good for you for recognizing when enough is enough. God bless you and much luck in your next endeavor. I hope you can take some time off - you deserve a nice long vacation! I hope your next employer appreciates all you bring to the job. Take good care, Christine

I would suggest calling your Human Resources person to ask all those questions. It might vary depending on your hospital/employer. Where I work, you get a yearly "step" raise, and usually a cost of living increase also (keeping in mind, both are usually pretty small, only about 3% or so). We get paid OT for over 10hrs in a day or over 40hrs in a week (I work 10hr shifts).

You're right that this will vary depending on the institution. I work at a pretty small hospital and they promote "tuition reimbursement" as one of the employee benefits, but they will only cover up to $1,000 a year and there are some stipulations that go along with it - you must earn at least a B in the class and if you are awarded any reimbursement and leave within a year, you have to pay it back. Every little bit helps though... very little bit!

Congratulations Soneshine!! I started at an outpatient cancer center about 4 months ago. I've also only been an RN for a little over 2 years (8 years as an LVN) and most of my career has been in the OR. It was a huge change, to say the least. You already got what I think is the best advice - take your time and look up meds! It's easy to feel rushed and it's so important to know what you're giving. I hate to make people wait, but I'm sure they'd rather wait than to have a mistake made. It's toxic stuff we're working with. Don't cut corners - protect yourself and your patient. It's such an honor to work with this population - I love the patients and am blessed with the most supportive co-workers. I hope you are as well. Best of luck to you! Christine

I work at an outpatient cancer center and we always check the chemo, with 2 chemo RN's, for each patient all at once when the phamramcy delivers it. We also double check the pump settings each time a new chemo is hung.

I've worked in the OR for about 10 years - 8 years as an LVN/Scrub, then 2 years as an RN/Circulator. I love the OR, but was feeling restless and in need of a change. I left the hospital OR for an outpatient OR job to escape the call (I HATED being on call). I still felt the need for more of change, and 2 months ago I took a job back at the hospital in an outpatient cancer center. I administer chemotherapy (I had to take a class, of course), work 10 hour shifts, no nights, no weekends or holidays and no call. The heaviest thing I carry is an IV bag. In the OR, there were days I felt beat up by the end of the day from carrying and moving heavy equipment, etc.. It was a very difficult transition for me, but I'm glad I stuck it out because I love it now. Some days I miss the OR very much and wonder if I've made the right choice. Most days I'm really happy with the decision - I love the patients and was lucky to find a very supportive group of people to work with.

Congratulations and best of luck to you!!

You could call the HR department where you want to work and ask them what their pay scale is for per diem and for FT FN's. Then you could sort of figure out what they might offer you. Good luck!

I just started working at an outpatient cancer center. There are 10 chairs - one infusion nurse for non-chemo treatments get 2 chairs, and 2 chemo nurses get the rest. It seems to be very busy most of the time. So, I guess for the chemo nurses it's 4:1. I'm still so new it's really scary to me because it feels sort of chaotic all day. I'm still deciding if it's the place for me. I feel way too paniced and rushed all day. This is not something I want to ever make an error with! I have the rest of this week and next week of orientation, then I'll have to decide if it's something I can handle or not. I hope I can learn a lot in the next week, because I'd really love for this to work out - I love the patients!

Thanks! I ended up calling with the intention of quiting, but after speaking to the director, I felt much better. It was never meant for me to do as much as I did that day - just a communication breakdown. I just decided I wouldn't give up so quickly and just needed them to be very clear about what is expected of me in the future. I'm really glad I gave it another chance. This week was so much better. It's still very scary, but I think it's a good change for me.

You're welcome!

I just got a job at an outpatient cancer center. I have only worked 2 days so far, but my second day on the job was a complete nightmare. There seemed to be too many people scheduled to begin with (more people than infusion chairs), and so I was told that they couldn't really take time to orient me that day, but just to help with vitals and such. I thought that would be fine, but it turned out to be a very stressful and overwhelming experience. Since I'm not chemo certified yet, I obviously couldn't help with that, but they had me doing injections, IV starts and then they showed me ONCE how to do a port-a-cath access/flush and then thought I'd be okay to do more on my own (after having someone watch me one time). I felt so lost all day - I didn't know where things were, didn't really know the paperwork part of it all or the computer stuff either. I'm afraid that if it's like that on my second day that I've got much worse to look forward to. I didn't have a chance to look up policy and procedure information before doing things. I came from the OR and so this is such a different type of nursing that I feel I need better orientation. I wanted to make this change for some time now and am so disheartened that it's not what I'd hoped. I honestly feel like calling tomorrow and telling them that I'm never coming back. I felt so "thrown to the wolves" and unsafe. I don't know what to do. If I quit so soon, I'm sure I'll burn my bridge to ever going back there... then again, why would I ever want to go back there?

I was fortunate to get hired into the OR and they trained me to scrub. I had been working at that hospital for a couple of years already within the "surgical services" department, so I just transfered into the OR after graduating from the LVN program. You could check with the hospital where you want to work and find out if they would do something like that for you. I knew I wanted to eventually go on for the RN, so that's why I chose the LVN route. It's up to you and your future goals in chosing the route best for you. Good luck :)

I was a LVN/Scrub for about 8 years and can tell you how it was at the facility where I worked: 1. I always went pee immediately before the case began (sort of like on a road trip as a kid). This was always a tough one for me. Hold it as long as you can, but if you absolutely can't wait, sometimes you can get someone to scrub you out - it all depends on the time of day and if there is anyone else around. 2. You got this one right. Try to stifle the sneeze so you don't have to live with the germs in your mask. If you do sneeze, of course you can change masks at the first possible moment. 3. Many basic trays have multiples (kelly's, mayo's, etc.), but some things are done up separately, too. If you need another of whatever was dropped, you can ask you circulator to get one if it's up separately, or they may have to wash and flash the item if it's the only one (such as a special inst. from a total tray). 4. If you become contaminated or break a glove, whatever, speak up immediately! They can wait for you to re-glove or whatever. If an insturment is contamited, get it off the field right away. If it's a critical moment, try to use the one hand that is still sterile to hold the retractor or whatever you are doing, then change gloves as soon as possible. 5. I think they told me it would take 1-2 years to really learn everything. Each time I learned a specialty, I thought I was set and knew it all, then I went to another specialty and had to start all over again. Learing everything did take over a year, I think. General, ortho, gyn, eyes, ENT, etc.... they each are so different! It may not take you nearly as long though, that was just me. Even when you've been there several years, it seems the learning never ends. There's always new equipment, new procedures to learn. That's what keeps it interresting too. Congratulations and best of luck. Be good to yourself - it is a lot to learn, and it sounds like you'll be great. Christine

Congratulations! A good team makes all the difference, for sure.

It will get better with time. Be kind to yourself - learn all you can in your 8 week orientation. I think most people feel this way when they start a new job, not to mention starting your 1st nursing job! Congratulations on your tremendous accomplishments. Christine

Thanks to everyone for the feedback. I guess I just needed to vent a little bit. I understand that not everyone feels that way. I just let a couple of the bad apples get to me that day.