MegGusta

I am a charge on a busy cardiac/tele/stroke unit that can see up to 11-12 admissions at night when I am on shift. I always have a full assignment and have to do all the charge duties. It is absolutely unsafe and unfair to my patients to have a charge RN as their primary nurse. I am usually the most experienced RN on the floor as charge and I spend a considerable amount of time supporting my newer nurses, who do great! I am also fighting battles with house supervisors and on-call NPs/PAs to get PCU/ICU orders for crashing people... "We don't have a bed"- sorry, but I'm not keeping a critical monitored bed on my unit when I have 8 bed alarms going off and admits flying in. I hate feeling like my license is a dangling carrot for a lawsuit bunny to chomp at.

Hey, everybody! I am an RN working on a cardiac/tele unit and I originally trained on post-op. A little over a year of experience. I applied for the Adult-gero/occupational health concurrent MS program pretty close to the deadline because I was waiting on a letter of rec. I got my recommendation on April 18th. I had already met the director of the program in person last year and she remembered me so I got away with a phone interview. I am so excited to meet everyone and get into it! Congrats to everyone :)

It's definitely a tumultuous love/hate relationship. But I in no way regret it and we've all grown so much! I never thought I would come this far this fast and I cannot wait for preceptorship :) Medsurg was challenging in the best way and I feel ready for pediatrics and OB. Time management is everything and I've learned how to find time to study, work, and destress in an ever changing balance.

Let me just say that some professors change your life and make you a better nurse, while others widdle you down and add unnecessary stress to your life. It's a mixed bag, but overall you get good people. Clinicals are the best part in my opinion! That's where we truly learn and get to see our textbooks come to life. We are empowered in the hospital and it makes you feel like "yeah, I can be a good nurse. I will be a great nurse." Lab is sometimes too short to actually learn the skills well enough. Besides the skills they do checkoffs for, you get one day in the lab for like an hour to practice a skill and then you're supposed to do it in the hospital. My first IV stick was botched because I had only poked a dummy arm with very obvious veins and red water for blood like twice. On a PT that needs an IV, they are usually dehydrated, overweight, have bad veins, or some other factor that makes it very challenging to stick. So that's just one example of how fast lab is. There will be times you want to rip your hair out. Not because the content is too hard, you ladies and gents applying a very capable of finishing this program, but because it is like juggling chainsaws and then the professors add more chainsaws to the mix. We have 22 credit hours right now. 3 clinical days, we had lab in the beginning with med pass checkoffs which was seriously stressful, we're cramming med surg 1 and 2 into one semester, and we have PAT packets, ATI exams etc. I know you're aware this program is crazy, I know you want this and I do too. I'm not complaining as much as I am trying to give you a heads up.

Some insight for you: this program is a kick in the pants! It is pretty frustrating at times due to a lack of organization and very high expectations without enough guidance. With that being said, it is possible to thrive if you cohere with team members and lean on one another. I've made some very good lifelong friends in this program. It's a very fast track and you would surprised how much you learn and how skilled you become.

Tay, MEDIC is right! The only aspect of your application that you can control is your essay and it shows the judges who you are and whether or not you are motivated enough to endure the program. My personal advice is to not only share what experiences you have that set you apart, but also what you gained from them and how it applies to making you a better nurse. Remain objective and don't fluff, if that makes sense. I started in the Fall and so far it has been great. Very challenging, but so worth it. Coping with stress is a great skill to have throughout this program, because check offs are a bear! Best of luck :)

My unit at Tampa General has hired people with no experience. I have been a CNA for three years but no hospital experience and they hired me. Check out their job listings for anything on 5A (cardiac observation/telemetry). I work an 5A2 and it is pretty awesome.

Okay, besides Reanna, who is everyone and what are you clinical teams? I'm in St. Joe's with Reanna :)

Same boat. I had to take it twice, so I went through Hades two times

Congrats!!! That outfit sounds good. I will be in a pencil skirt, a ruffled top, and heels. So excited!

So excited for Friday!

Congrats, Mika! Looking forward to meeting you as well :)

Welcome, Tardersauce! So excited to meet you. We can have each other's backs! You can do it!

"Don't you look at me like that, Joe. You know that I am covered in MRSA and my feet hurt!"

Welcome Reanna ! Hope to meet you at orientation!