toERortonot

this can be true... however; when you give your entire assignment to a veteran nurse, she goes straight to the charge and has a hissy-fit about her patient load. demands an exchange. and i know when i have gotten a "gem" when i give report to the oncoming shift. they're furious when receiving this handoff. um... --- ask the doctor why this pt has q2 pain medication scheduled... oh wait you're too busy cleaning diarrhea every other hour off another patient w/c-diff. where's my aide? my director needs another 100k car so we're running without a CNA, today, tomorrow, and the next. i have to cover (2) patients when an LVN is on the floor. 1:7 patients in CA? just my typical day. time management/prioritization? i am rarely on overtime. this is the reason i receive these patients. i am almost at my 1 year mark.

nothing works... the closest success was the bed alarm... even then,when a bed alarm goes off, nobody answers it if UNLESS THEIR own pt has a bed alarm. teamwork (sarcasm). 1:1 is the only way to go.

southern california checking in. you will almost have no problems finding a job as an EXPERIENCED RN... i emphasize experience 1+ year(s). your experience will triumph almost any degree/certification. get your BSN WHILE employed. the assistance depends on how much your hospital has to budget. i have a 1:5 pt ratio. i have no CNA or LVN. i work constantly/consistently for the entire 12 hours i am on the floor. some RNs have a CNA, LVN, an IV team, a q2 turn team, diaper changing team, even an "answer my call light for me" team.

OP... you'll learn. try 2 sticks and then tell your charge. i put in 4 successful lines in the past 3 days. i need to find an adequately staffed hospital. IV team...? i don't even have a CNA~!

i second this... at my current facility, i can put in at least 72 hours a week (if i wanted to do so) because of staffing issues.

8 weeks is enough for you to manage low to mild acuity patient load. also, keep in mind you WILL NOT learn everything during orientation. it's not possible. there are parameters in place to keep you from making mistakes. however, they WILL happen. use your charge nurse as a resource. patient care/safety is priority... not customer service. REMEMBER this well. cover your ass when your gut tells you to. PERSONAL NOTES don't worry about time management... it will come with experience. you'll learn how to cut corners that will not get you fired or kill your patient.

prioritize patient CARE/SAFETY and you'll be ok. although they say "if you didn't chart it, you didn't do it." i wouldn't worry about that UNLESS the organization is out to can you. there are nurses on my floor who NEVER chart until the end of the shift... and they're still kicking 10+ years later. i am a new graduate and the only mistakes i have made were because i was in a hurry/rushing. i have (1) CNA for 30+ patients, also. depending on which CNA is on duty, that person might as well stay their lazy-ass home. my charge nurse isn't too helpful, either. i hope i don't kill anybody.

hospital i work at just hired 3 new graduates without any experience. seems to me there are just as many if not more nursing jobs than there are any other type profession.

We just hired (3) brand NEW graduates with NO experience. FYi... I was on the floor the other day with 75% of my staff being non-experienced (less than 1 year) Registered Nurses. My location is Southern California/Los Angeles. You need to know where and how to look.

where so...? i might plan to move out there.

this is seems to be the norm nowadays.

before you move, i would try to make a direct connection with facilities (not just hospitals) you are interested in. i got a job in So. Cal with no experience (ASN new graduate) within a week after passing boards. sitting on your ass and sending out resumes isn't going to get you far... this only works for EXPERIENCED RNs. don't relocate until you exhausted ALL of your options. there are jobs...

i was offered an 8k relocation package to Louisiana (IIRC)... but i decided to work at this understaffed/underpaid (in comparison to other facilities in the region) hospital in southern california, instead. lol...

that sucks... i got a job in 1 (if not the most) saturated job markets in the US because i volunteered. somebody at another hospital made a phone call for me and 1 week after the NCLEX, i was employed. though i wish i had applied to a hospital with an actual NEW GRADUATE program. i am working at a facility that forces new graduates upon nurses for precepting. they DID NOT volunteer to be preceptors. high acuity, FULL pt load, no CNA/LVN, and having to teach. = angry / overworked / bad perceptors. it costs $$$ to properly train a new graduate... i emphasize properly. this is probably the reason it is so difficult to find a job. i find it ironic, to see over 100+ job postings for all things RN BUT with catch phrase "no new graduate".

just know basic/high level stuff, emphasizing life/death here... i didn't have a pharmacology class or even practiced questions, period. i had a couple of drugs on my exam and i had no idea what they were. i still passed in 75 on try #1. get a solid content review and focus on those meds. these questions show up over and over again. some hospitals have drug guides on the unit and even go as far incorporating this into the charting/computer system. you're not going to remember all of it.