rnurse2b

I went from PICU to cath lab. I love it! Yes, the lead aprons can and do get very heavy. I take mine off as soon as the case ends and put it back on when the physician arrives (I usually give the sedation, then put on lead while the physician scrubs). I have always been fascinated by the cath lab (I had a close family member with a heart transplant, and loved my clinicals in the cath lab). Yes, the call can be very tiring and frustrating with some physicians. But the pay is wonderful. I also like the 4-10 hour shifts. In my opinion, that is soooooo much better than the floor hours. I like having weekends off with my family (on call every 5th weekend), but still not stuck at work like working the floors. I like having evenings off, I'm normally home between 4-6, depending on the case load, sometimes, I'm home by 1-2, which is sweet. You will never stop learning in the cath lab. The heart is amazing. The procedures are way cool. The adrenaline rush is there, not all the time, but enough. Let us know what you think, if you accept. I do love my job. Most cath lab nurses are type A, at least in my facility. So don't wear your feelings on your sleeve, they will get stomped on. Be assertive, don't let them walk all over you, but also, relax, be willing to listen and LEARN! Good luck

I had worked peds, PICU, NICU before transitioning to the cathlab. It is challenging changing from little ones to adults, but I LOVE it! You will be learning a lot very quickly (at least I did). Be sure of your orientation time, of how quickly they expect you to start taking call etc, and you will fly! I started out in the circulating position and that is the position that I prefer working, although I do enjoy monitoring and scrubbing. Good luck and keep us posted on what you decide and how you are progressing.

I agree with the previous posters. While in school, I always wanted to be in NICU. I did work pediatrics, PICU, NICU eventually. I started out in critical care, worked house pool, wound up in peds, PICU and NICU, worked there for several years. Now I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE working in the cath lab. It takes a while, enjoy your clinicals, keep an open mind. See what really gets you going in clinicals, what you can't tear yourself away from.

Pharmacy tech, bookkeeper, LVN to RN. Interested in the replies........

I do stop and take care of myself regularly. I go for full body massages, get my hair done (like it matters since I have to wear a surgical cap) and since it is just me and DH at home, I get at least one day a week by myself while he is at work. Good luck in finding what works for you, everyone is different. My enjoyment is shopping, fishing and I love to cook. I guess I'm pretty spoiled, I get to do pretty much whatever, whenever I want.

I bought Lippincott, Saunders, Kaplan, and two others that I can't remember the name of. They all helped. The Saunders had everything sectioned out and I used it to study what we were studying in class at that time. I don't know which is the best, I used them all. I did 50-100 test questions everyday, rotating the CDs that came with the books. I passed NCLEX-RN the first time with 75 questions. I loaned my books to a friend of mine after I passed and haven't seen them since. When she took her NCLEX-RN, she failed the first time with 265 and passed the second time with 265 questions. GOOD LUCK, study smart and hang in there!

I was a LVN before becoming an RN. I see both side to this. I also work with a LVN who told me "I do everything a RN does except push two meds". WHAT?!?!? I explained to her the things that a RN does that she is not capable of doing within the scope of her practice. At the same time I told her I was a LVN before RN also and understood her frustration. She just started her pre-reqs for going for her RN. Her attitude is really getting old with me, but I'm trying to be patient with her.

I'm so sorry to hear your pain. You and your family are in my thoughts and prayers. God Bless You!!!

Congratulations!

Hello everyone! I'm so excited to see the CathLab portion added. I recently started in the cath lab after thinking about it for a couple of years and now I wish I hadn't waited. I absolutely love it! Yes, the nurses I work with are type A personalities, we have a good mix of men also. We do pretty much the same as the previous posters, we have 3 cath labs in our unit. Hope to see more from the cath lab

I agree with the above posters, it seems evertime we turn around, we have to agree to a background check and fingerprints. While in LVN school we had to undergo background checks for each of the hospitals, state facilities as well for the school itself. Then while in RN school the same thing, then fingerprinting for NCLEX, then the hospital I worked for decided to require fingerprinting as well. Oh well, just another thing for nurses to do.

The previous poster said what I was going to. Good Luck

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year to all my allnurses.com buddies.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone!!!!!!!!!!!

None, I was one of those few lucky ones. Accepted 1st time for LVN, then again 1st time for RN. Although, I did apply to our local three colleges each time. Turned the other two down each time for the one I wanted. Most of my classmates had to apply three or four times each time. I passed boards with minimum questions each time. I have a good friend that is an AWESOME nurse, she had to apply three different times, failed boards first time before success. Just because you aren't accepted the 1st time, just try again, it doesn't mean that you won't be a good nurse. In the long term, all that matters is that you were successful and you have a license. GOOD LUCK