e-nurse

I'm a fifteen minute walk through a very nice neighborhood to work. 1 mile each way. It's great! Even on days I don't make it to the gym I've still managed to get a half hour of cardio in (i use this as an excuse alot NOT to go to the gym).

I've been in similar situations and @ first I would make a stink about it. It took me a while but I realized that if I made a stink then these sicko's dumping on me would just do it more, and it made me miserable thinking that I was being dumped on. Then I decided to look @ it in terms of- they're giving me these high acuity assignments b/c they know I can handle it. It may not have been true, but it made me feel better, they weren't getting their rocks off seeing what I would complain about next, and eventually I noticed my acuities getting easier.

"Meet the Parents" w/ Ben Stilller playing the nurse opposite Bob Deniro as the father of the girlfriend is both good and bad. It's good in my opinion b/c millions of people saw this movie in which the lead male role played a nurse. It's bad b/c it does not portray this nurse in a good light @ all (all the stereotypical "male" nurse type stuff) I really liked Phillip Seymor Hoffman as the private home nurse to Jason Robards dying of CA in "Magnolia". I like him as an actor and again millions of people see a man playing a nurse. I guess I can be your reference for males as nurses in the movies.

We have crisis pay ($50/4 hours), and double crisis pay ($100/4 hours(usually w/e's only)). Both are determined and offered by the nursing supervisor. Plus if you're full time then you get time and 1/2 on top of that. I've worked an OT Saturday night shift (8*) c/ double crisis pay a couple of times that turned out to be over $600 before taxes c/ night and w/e differentials. Pretty sweet shift to pick up!

ShawnRN, or anyone else, what are some good large hospitals to work @ in Boston besides Mass General?

Does anyone work / has anyone worked @ Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston? I'm thinking of moving to the area and was interested in how this institution treats it's nurses. Any information would be helpful. Thank you. BTW I have 1 years experience in surgical cardio-thoracic step down, and am interested in the same or CCU.

I had my first one just last week @ 11:49 on Tuesday 9-11! Yeah. Talk about your bad days! It was called @ 12:25. It was awful. Buildings were collapsing on the TV, the world was ending, and even right there in front of me my patient was dying. I actually think it was a good day for it b/c I was already numb from the mornings events, and it almost seemed like it could be normal to be having a code. Sure, why not? You know? Turns it it was a bilateral PE. Sudden like you would'nt beleive. She had just gotten back from Cardio Echo. I guess it just happens.

Be prepared to answer what you consider to be your strengths and weaknesses. They may ask you to describe a situation you've been in that shows that you have leadership qualities. I think the interveiw is more for you to be asking questions of the employer, especially nowadays w/ the shortage. You asking tons of pertinent questions shows them just as much competence as they'd find out by asking you questions. Ask about everything about the job /x pay (find this out from nurse recruiter or HR). Ask about pt to nurse ratios, what exactly is expected of you, ask if the manager/ assistent manager is going to be there to back you up in a pinch. If they don't do it automatically ask them to give you a tour of the unit and watch real closely how people are behaving towards each other and toward the manager. You want to see things being run smoothly. If things appear chaotic and people seem to kind of be @ each others throats then those are red flags to stay away. Ask about auxillary staff (nurses aids) and what tasks they are responsible for, how many of them are on each shift, ect. Just be calm, lots of eye contact. I think w/ the shortage, as long as you are a fundamentally competent nurse who can hone skills over an orientation period, the interview is really just a little formality.

Do you only have to take the two classes? What school are you going to for this? What schools do you know of have these biotech courses? Thanks for planting the seed.

Why isn't the topic set forth being discussed?

You need to intervene, preferably in a non-threatening and confedential manner. You could try to approach him/her on your own before going to management /c it. These are really tough situations to be in but the bottom line is that the nurse can't be on drugs while at work, period. I don't know what kind of facility you work in, but most hospitals have an EAP ( employee assistant program ) to deal /c situations like these. Management could get him/her counseling, or maybe rehab through this program, and there would be the possibility that the person could resume work if they have success /c counseling/rehab. I went to school /c a person who used heroin and I watched him try to get clean on his own several times. I finally got sick of seeing him polluting himself like that so I went to a professor that he was real close with and told her confedientially. I don't know exactly how she handled it, but he ended up graduating on time and on methadone (something he was trying to avoid). The thing that got me to intervene was that I thought to myself- if I were already a nurse would I feel comfortable/safe working side by side with a known heroin user, and then it was a no brainer. Good luck to you and to your collegue. I hope you both make the right decisions.

NO TOXIC POSTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh my good god. If I knew your middle names I'd call you all by all three of your names very sternly and send you all on time out so you could think about what it is you've been doing. I might even send you to bed early /s any stories.

Y'all gotta chill. Take a step back and a deep breath before you go flying off the handle. Suzy K showed no maliciousness in her post, she was simply asking a question

Being a new grad myself I find myself still asking tons of questions two months into my new job, and thankfully the collegues who I ask for help aren't crochity old bags who are unwilling to lend a hand. Your attitude sickens me and I hope to God that I always remember being the new grad/nsg student who was feeling overwhelmed, needed help, and wasn't afraid to ASK.

IPASSEDIPASSEDIPASSEDIPASSEDIPASSEDIPASSED IPASSEDIPASSEDIPASSED

I just graduated in dec., and also just took my boards on 2-22. I'm still waiting for results in the mail. But a professor of ours told us something that put things in perspective a little. She said that as long as you're still answering questions you haven't yet failed. I don't know if that helps or not, but it helped me at the time. Good luck.

I just graduated in dec., and also just took my boards on 2-22. I'm still waiting for results in the mail. But a professor of ours told us something that put things in perspective a little. She said that as long as you're still answering questions you haven't yet failed. I don't know if that helps or not, but it helped me at the time. Good luck.

Hi. I'm a new grad, yesterday was my last day of orientation on a busy surgical floor, I start on my own tomorrow, and I'm looking for some reassurance. I had great preceptors, and six weeks of orientation, but I'm still not completely confident ( especially on days when there is so much going on ), and I didn't get experience w/ everything that I'll need to know about. I don't think I'm going to be completely abandoned now that orientation is over, but I'm still real nervous. Anybody have any stories to share to ease my mind a little? I'd appreciate it.

Hi. I'm a new grad, yesterday was my last day of orientation on a busy surgical floor, I start on my own tomorrow, and I'm looking for some reassurance. I had great preceptors, and six weeks of orientation, but I'm still not completely confident ( especially on days when there is so much going on ), and I didn't get experience w/ everything that I'll need to know about. I don't think I'm going to be completely abandoned now that orientation is over, but I'm still real nervous. Anybody have any stories to share to ease my mind a little? I'd appreciate it.

Thanks again for all the replies. I still haven't heard about any results and this is me . I'm turning purple and I'm constipated c/ fear and will be until I hear. That's just me though, plus I've relocated and have taken on added expenses that go along c/ that and need to continue to earn a nurses salary or I don't know what i'd do. So I've tried calling for the results and the guy wouldn't give me the info, and tried checking on-line but had no luck there. I guess I just have to wait in fear until I get the thing in the mail.

Thanks for all the encouraging postings. I'm feeling a little better about the situation. I'm a worrier as it is, so until I get that licence in my hand I'm gonna be a little bit of a wreck. Everyone I talked to @ work the next day seemed to think it was a good sign that it shut down @ the minimum. My question still stands though. I need all the reassurance I can get /c this!

I just took the boards and it seemed that q question had 2 possible answers.I prepared for the test by taking a reveiw course and by doing 100 reveiw questions/day for 6 weeks, and yet p/ having taken the test I don't feel certain whether I passed or failed and the computer turned off @ the minimum of 75 questions. My question is this: Is it usually a good thing or a bad thing when the computer turns off @ the minimum? Does anyone know?