DU15

What are you thinking about going to school for? Just curious :)

Hello! I'm a new grad who's been working on a m/s floor for around 5 months now. I've been doing pretty okay so far, however, I can't help but feel exhausted from the strain that they put on me at work. Some of the issues I've noticed are: 1) No experienced nurses. Of course that's a given on this type of floor because everyone leaves. However, I truly believe that if they changed a few things, people wouldn't want to leave as bad. The floor isn't horrible. I love most of my patients, and I actually enjoy what I do. I just wish that I actually had time to do it, and think about what I'm doing! Giving us 6 patients every shift is exhausting, not to mention dangerous! I only say this because of the following problem I've noticed. 2) Sending patients that are WAY too sick, to a medsurg floor. I have actually received an admission, and had the critical care team come up to the floor to evaluate and say to me to "my number is XYZ" if they start to go south. Ummm...? We're not even monitored on tele? If you expect for something to happen, why are they on a floor where I have 5 other patients to attend to and they're not on a monitor? Drives me nuts! Way too many times have I had very very sick patients that end up being sent to ICU, whilst having 5 other patients. Or even better, 4, and an admission while my sick patient is going south. It is exhausting and terrifying. I worry every day. 3) Fresh grads as charge nurses. This is more of an annoyance, but come on. I've only been off orientation for barely 2 months and I'm charge? WHAT? I could go on and on but I know people probably won't keep reading haha. Any advice from fellow m/s nurses? I need the support. I feel like I'm drowning, and I can't transfer to another unit until I've been there for a year. Is this really what a typical medsurg floor is like?

I feel the same way. I work on a medsurg floor and definitely do not feel like it's my calling. I do okay, and my patients love me, but mostly because of my personality. I still feel as though my skills are lacking A LOT. But that comes with time and practice. We aren't expected to know everything and be perfect from the gate. As long as I can make it to the 12th month, I will be fine. That's what I keep telling myself. And as I said, the grass isn't always greener on the other side. But at least it'll be a change, and I can try to figure out where I feel like I belong. But I'd like to stay at this hospital, and just move to another floor, rather than leave the entire hospital. If you don't think you'd ever want to go back to that hospital, then by all means, go to another one. But if you think that you might want to come back, stay the year at least.

Hi there! It's hard for us to help, when you haven't really expressed what the actual problem is. You've expressed how "miserable" you feel and how you cry and stress about work, but what exactly is causing this? You like your coworkers and manager. What exactly is the problem? The acuity of the patients? The patients themselves? Family members? Doctors? What exactly is it that's bothering you so much that you want to quit? The first year will be rough no matter where you go, I am in the same boat as you. But I do believe that if you at least like the people you work with, you should stick with it for at least a year, then move. Either way, it'll be a risk. You could move to another floor and love the job but hate the people you work with. Or worse, hate both. You can also land a dream job with amazing staff. You never know. Either way, it's best to stick with it and not burn any bridges this soon. Especially if you'd want to come back to this hospital, even on different unit. But even before considering moving, you have to figure out what it is that's bothering you exactly. Feel free to DM me if you'd like, as I am also a new grad who has only been working for 5 months. We're all stressed. Some of us more than others, but it's normal. It sucks, but it'll pass. Chin up, dear!

I was literally just about to post a question about this! I was wondering how long I should work before getting a per diem job on the side. Not to kills myself, 2-3 shifts a month just to help me out with my bills. If anyone does reply to this, I have another question as well. Since I work in med/surg, should I not try to work per diem on a different floor? Do I have do do m/s too because that's all I have experience with?

1. NJ 2. Acute care hospital, med/surg floor. Unionized hospital. BSN RN, brand spankin' new (graduated in June). $32.71 base, 10% diff for evening (3-11p) and 15% diff for night (11-7a). No weekend diff. 3. My apartment is 950sq ft and its $1,030/mo. It can go either higher or lower depending on how nice the apartment complex is. I've seen some nicer ones with renovations that are upwards of $1,300-$1,400/mo. So yeah, not very cheap to live here unfortunately. Taxes are also ridiculous. I was looking at buying a house and property taxes are upwards of $7,000-9,000.

I had a somewhat similar experience. However, mine was a lot worse. I don't have any family support, so when he broke up with me, I felt completely alone. I went into severe depression and was even suicidal for a while. I'd skip class and clinical and fail classes without caring. My GPA went down below the cutoff for my full tuition scholarship, it was bad. I ended up in a hospital, then sent to a psych institution for safety. It was the worst experience I've ever had. I doubt that you'd need the immense amount of support that I did, since I was sinking much deeper than you seem to be. But talking to someone always helps. For me, I got through because I went to therapy for over a year. It took a really long time for me to feel normal again, and even enjoy the things that I used to. Going to the gym definitely helped. I'd spend hours there, just to release my anger and frustration. I'd also just suggest that you meet new people. This is just the beginning of your nursing experience, so I'd try to make some new friends at school. Going out and being around other people really helps to keep your mind off of the other things. Try to keep an open mind. This is a new journey for you, it should be exciting. It'll take some time, it always does, but you'll be fine eventually. Just try to do things here and there to help get you through. Good luck [emoji173]️

Just a heads up, Drexel is a PITA when it comes to accepting credits from previous classes you've taken. I'd actually call them and ask about what they'll take first, just so that you're aware of how much you'll actually be able to transfer.

Graduated June 13th, got my ATT June 19th, took NCLEX June 20th. Passed with 75 questions.

20 minutes. All highway though, so whenever there's an accident or just horrible traffic, it can be 40+ minutes :/

Lol am I the only one that noticed that this was posted under the category "nurse humor/jokes"?

Hello! I went to Drexel and I had spring/summer co-ops. I strongly suggest doing the same. Trying to commute to work in the winter is awful, and you can't call out. Whereas Drexel sometimes closes for a snow day. I also suggest spring/summer because if you were to work fall/winter, then go to class spring/summer, after your last co-op, you'll be in school spring/summer, then fall/winter/spring until you graduate. That's 5 terms in a row! With no breaks in between! I don't think i would be able to get through that and keep my sanity haha. As far as pay, for my first co-op I only made like $8/hr but it depends on which co-op you get. Some are even volunteer type positions which are unpaid. So don't expect much! Some can go up to the $10s but it's all depending on where you work. Feel free to PM me if you need help or have any other questions. I did the 5 year 3 co-op option and just graduated in June. It's a really good school. Good luck!

Thank you. I really appreciate this! I am also a new grad on my 5th week of orientation on a medsurg floor. And I'm also worried about not being able to remember everything about all of my 6 patients! It scares me to think that a doctor might walk up to me and ask me something about my pt and that I won't know the answer But it makes me feel better to hear that it's somewhat normal.

I passed my exit first try with 1036. My suggestion is to not overdo it. I think that studying from all types of books, apps, & review videos just makes it too much to take in and it hurts you in the end. Pick a study tool or two and stick to it. I only used the Hesi book that was already suggested on here, and the Hurst review videos only. I picked the topics that I was really bad at (mental health), and reviewed the basics, mostly fundamentals. Other than that, stay calm, and take as long as you need. It took me like 4 hours to take my exit. And it was because I made sure that I was reading and re-reading the question. Breaking it down, asking myself what is it really asking? Then trying my best to select the best possible answer. If you get too anxious and rush through, it'll hurt you in the end. Other than that, you know more than you think you know. Follow your instincts! But please make sure to take your time. It's really what saved me and helped me get such a good score (we needed a 950 to pass). Good luck!

I just said I wanted to know the status of my application. That's really it. I brought my things but no one asked to see them. They just had me fill out a form and then they said my license number was posted online. Good luck!

Hello! I recently graduated from nursing school in June and will begin orientation on a medical/telemetry/step-down floor on Monday. I am very excited but also very nervous! It has been two months since I graduated, so I feel like I need to review some things before I start working. Is there anything in particular that some of you might recommend? I want to do everything that I can to avoid being a burden to the nurse/nurses who will be precept me. Other than to not act like a "know-it-all", which is not my personality, are there any other suggestions for me on how to be a good orientee? I know the transition won't be as smooth as I wish it could be, but I want to do everything I can to make sure it's not painful for everyone involved. I really want to be successful. Any advice would be very much appreciated. Thank you!

Hi! I sent you a PM about this topic since you were successful with this. I am planning on driving up there tomorrow morning, but I really don't want to come back empty handed. I live in south jersey so it's almost a 2 hour drive to go to Newark. I would be devastated if I had to drive for 4 hours (to and from) for nothing. Were they polite? What exactly did you say when you first walked in? I just want to make sure I say/do the right things so that I can get that license tomorrow. I start orientation on Monday so I really have no time to wait. I started my application in June so it's not like I'm asking too much of them. If you can, either reply here or send me a PM. I would really, really appreciate it. Thanks!

Thank you. I was avoiding making a comment, but I truly appreciate this statement. It is quite frustrating to see the mistreatment of nurses, both old and new. I completely understand, from the bottom of my heart, how students can be a burden. I truly do. With so many hospitals being short staffed, nurses working with no CNAs, ratios of 1:6-7-8, 1:3-4 in the ICU. It is almost naive to not expect these nurses to feel burdened by students. However, when you are this student, and there are 8 students in your clinical group with only one instructor, you have to assume that they cannot be with all 8 of you at once. You're lucky if you even get 45 minutes with them. So, what do you do for the rest of your 7 hours there? I understand that the students are in the way, and that they might me more useful to you if they do the non-nursey things (get pt water, etc.). But when are they given the opportunity to truly learn and practice skills other than at lab? It's sad because once these same students get hired as new grads, (some) experienced nurses will then complain about their lack of skill knowledge and a steep learning curve. But as we all know, reading about something isn't enough. Practicing a skill in lab isn't the same as it is with a real person, either. I am not saying that we should expect nurses to do so much extra work. I just wish that the circumstances were a bit more ideal for nurses and students to be able to work together. In a perfect world, nurses would have perfect ratios and ample time to teach the students. Maybe even get a % raise for each day they are with a student. But sadly this just isn't the case. I truly do understand both sides, but it is a lose-lose situation. I hope I didn't offend anyone with my comments. I sincerely appreciate all of my fellow nurses and the work that they do. Nurses are so under-appreciated and it is truly devastating.

Congratulations!

Congrats!

Thank you so much for your advice. As far as acuity goes, the floor that I got hired is very high acuity and a very heavy load for nurses. I was told this straight up during my interview to be prepared. I was told that orientation can be extended up to 10 weeks depending on how I'm doing. Hopefully 10 weeks will be enough. I know that it'll take time for me to feel like I can take a whole assignment by myself, but I at least want to get to a point where I'm not chaotically disorganized and frantic the entire shift haha.

Thank you, Pearl83! I haven't actually received the job offer yet. This was all information that was shared with me during the interview process. I am still waiting to hear back from them, hopefully it won't be much longer. If I do receive an offer, I will definitely accept it. I was only concerned due to being a new grad and not wanting to put my license or my patients in danger. I have worked previously as a nursing assistant for about a year. Although that does help to a certain extent, I still feel that being an RN is entirely different. Perhaps I am just doubting myself too much! Either way, I am crossing my fingers and hoping to have supportive staff that will be willing to help me learn and get better at my job. I don't want to be rushed to take my own assignment because of low staffing, especially if I haven't had enough training. But I guess that could be a possibility at any hospital, the way things are going. Still, I am willing to do whatever it takes to succeed. I won't let myself down! -ends rant- sorry :)

Thank you so much! I didn't really see it that way. I should be grateful to even have the opportunity. I just don't want to disappoint. Thank you all for your kind replies :)

Thank you both for your responses. I was told that the floor is a "medical" floor, but it also has a INCU section that I will also be working in. They said that they take anything from a stubbed toe to trauma patients (gun shot wounds, etc). I will need to be telemetry and ACLS certified as well. That's really what made me nervous. It's not JUST a med/surg floor. It's much more than that. I'm just hoping that I can be allowed some extra time IF I were to need it..

To me it sounds like you're going to do great! If I were you, I'd take your last day off and just relax. It will help to clear your mind from all of the studying that you've been doing, and make you feel more refreshed when you go take the test. Good luck! (Not that you'll need it )