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Doing spin 'crits, collected using glass capillary tubes directly onto a finger stick or heel stick. Docs and critical care nurses pacing the hall on the last day of the ACLS course, nervously awaiting their turn running the mega code. (ACLS courses used to be hardcore and very scary, but that changed sometime in the 90s). Ativan taped to the headboards of seizure patients (yes, really!)

Edgar1 - I just wanted to say major, major respect for what you have experienced. Seriously, thank you for sharing this.

Oh, for crying out loud.....You asked a question on a widely read board, and you got an answer. You don't get to dictate the nature of the responses. If you truly are concerned about the consequences of your medication error, a better approach would be to actually read the appropriate clinical literature. If you make a mistake, educate yourself. Instead, you are here seeking some sort of validation that your error was harmless. Here is an answer for you: You made a mistake; it wasn't the worst one in the history of nursing; learn from it, change the behavior that lead to the error, and move on.

Oh, the p-word.... I wonder if the OP's instructor is 'passionate' about her own work, or if this instructor is employing this over-used buzzword because that was what she was taught to say herself. Part of the whole socialization into the role stuff. I'm sure she means well.Apologies for for the cynical rant - but there is a heaving sea of passion out there on Linked-in, and every random stranger who cold-call emails me, wanting my help with something academic ( non-nursing ), is also so, so passionate about [fill in the blank]. Yuck. I make an exception for EDNurses's experiences - that kind of intense, high stakes, hellacious experience (and the bonding that goes with it) - which I have nothing but respect and admiration for. Thank you for taking care of our troops.

Hi sm001, Your ER scribe experience is very, very valuable and I would be playing that up in my applications. That job requires great attention to detail, knowledge of medical terminology, and smarts. I wish I had some specific schools to recommend but I don't - I do recommend that you hit up the ER nurses and other RNs in the hospital for their recommendations on schools. It is a small world sometimes and you never know who might have a friend or relative that is faculty somewhere. Also, if I was in your shoes, I'd make a list of the schools that I wanted to go to and whose minimum requirements I met, then try to get interviews with someone in the various NSG departments to ask their advice about getting. Be your friendly, confidant but humble self if you do get a chance to chat with someone -when it comes down to choices between candidates with equal academics, if the faculty are in a position to do so, they will go with that person they saw face-to-face and liked. Regardless of whether or not you can get interviews, make your statement of purpose (or whatever the letter is called) stand out. That letter needs to shine - have a few people you respect read it for you and take their comments seriously. Best set of luck to you, pdq

Hey there, I don't have any specific recommendations for hospitals that would be looking to hire but can tell you be prepared for a long rush hour commute into DC proper from the Ft Belvoir area. People do it, though. Early AM and late evening will be okay but the rest of the time - not so much. Washington Hospital Center is the biggest player in trauma, gets the medivac patients. GW ED is also level 1 trauma. Neither will have you doing much with kids, since Children's Hospital is on the same campus as WHC and GW has no in-patient peds dept. Georgetown is a smaller but very good ER, has lower level acuity for trauma (but not for regular ER). Howard does not have the greatest reputation. In Northern VA, Virginia Hospital Center and various Inova facilities would be good options. There also is a VA on the same campus as WHC and Children's if you by any chance get spouse or former military preference. This link is for the Metro system. You can plug in your locations and get an idea of travel times. Metro can be great, but also can be very unpredictable in the AM especially due to delays for breakdowns, sick passengers etc. Metro - Home page Best of luck in your search, and welcome to the DC area! It's a great place to live.

Interesting. Your preceptor sounds a bit immature, but despite the poorly handled delivery of her message, she raises a very valid point and you need to pick up the pace. From reading your message, it sounds to me that while she is complaining about you not keeping up physically, she is conflating that with your overall performance and perhaps that you don't seem to be getting it. It's a busy med-surg unit, yes? Then quite frankly you should be running your butt off. Don't compare her or yourself to seasoned RNs in their 50s/60s - they probably know how to delegate better and also are probably much, much better than either of you at multitasking this work that they have been doing for decades. Bottom line here is that your preceptor likely wants you to show a sense of urgency because 1) that demonstrates that you get it - there is a lot to do and it matters that it get done expediently, accurately and well; and 2) she is responsible for her patients and your perceived dawdling is interfering with their care. You are older and presumably more mature and wiser than this hardworking young woman, so take the high road: understand that she is still early career and has lots to learn about time management herself; pick up your pace, thank her, learn from her, and finish your two weeks with some grace. BTW, I say this as someone who is no spring chicken and with a bum hip.

Hail Hails617, You have led an interesting life! Short answer: no, in your shoes I would not take the NCLEX. Get a loan to fund whichever terminal degree program you are most interested in, and enjoy your life. I say this for two reasons: 1) sounds like you have no interest in nursing at all. It is a hard, at times soul-sucking job - picture yourself working on your dissertation and dealing with vanishing advisors, unruly committees members, data gone awry….while trying to function at an exhausting job for which you admit you have no affinity; 2) you may have a very hard time finding an RN job. You will be competing against new grads with their fresh knowledge and recent hospital experience….New grads are having a tough time finding jobs as it is in many areas of the country. You'll need to take an RN refresher course at a minimum (usual cost in the ballpark of $1500 - 2000). If you decide to stay with grad school, check into graduate assistantships (teaching, research etc). They can vary in amount, but many pay full boat plus give you a stipend that, depending on where you live and your level of frugality, may be enough to squeak by with. Another option - if you want to stick with psych and work a part-time job, look into CNA (nursing assistant) programs and see about getting a job on an inpatient psych ward or other psych facility to help fund yourself while in school. I don't know much about CNA programs except that they are short, so if that is a route you are interested in, check out the CNA boards here. Good luck to you! I'd really like to hear what you end up deciding to do so please post an update!

Yeah, those first few weeks back after a gap in work can really stink - been there a few times myself. You'll get back up to speed and the smirking nurses will be eating your dust very soon :) One suggestion: if the computer system they have is bedeviling you, can you get hold of a user's manual to review at home? That way you can concentrate on what you need to learn and not have to ask help with it on the fly.

Hi Angelstrings, Just a note to give you my two cents and some encouragement. I get where you are coming from. I've had a similar relationship to nursing for several decades now, lots of ambiguity starting with my BSN program, wondering "what am I doing, why am I here…" In my case, I have gone back and forth between nursing (many areas) and another field in which I have advanced degrees. It works for me, makes me happy and makes me appreciate both fields all the more. I do not recommend, however, that you pursue grad school or a BS in another field unless it is something you truly love, due to the usual hardships associated with reduced income and potential for reduced employment prospects. So to answer "is 5 years long enough?" - to me, yes, if you really cannot picture yourself ever being being reasonably happy with any nursing job, and IF you are sure that none of the myriad types of nursing jobs out there would be a good fit, then go ahead and give yourself permission to move on. If you do follow another path, keep your license active or at least pay to make it officially inactive - do not let it lapse! Those RN credentials can come in handy in the outside world and if you want to return to nursing, you won't want to jump through the hoops to get your license back. But - if you want to stay, switching to different specialties is fine - that is one of the perks of nursing. The impression I get from reading your post is that you like a certain amount of structure, a collegial atmosphere, and are not too keen on critical situations. Maybe outpatient procedures lab or ambulatory care (adolescent medicine?). How about juvenile case management? If you like the type of work you are doing now in the juvenile facility (not sure if you mean a children's hospital or correctional/psychiatric facility), if it was me, I'd look for a new but similar job. If you are making mistakes and the factors contributing to those mistakes are outside of your control and not being corrected, I would definitely move on... Best of luck to you, sounds like you are very insightful and will land on your feet!

The Louisiana BoN website has a list of approved out-of-state graduate programs. Scroll down close to the bottom of the page to find them: http://www.lsbn.state.la.us/Portals/1/Documents/Forms/Schools.pdf I haven't looked through for specific NP program offerings, but this will all at least help pare the schools out there down for you. Best of luck.

I don't have a specific school for you, but taking a look through the programs in the USNews rankings of online MSN programs may help. Those rankings, with links, are free-access online. Most, but not all, of the included schools have NP programs. I recall that some mentioned allowing non-degree students into core courses. Some of these schools offer in-state tuition to out-of-state students as well. I think the bigger hurdle may be finding a school that teaches path and/or pharm over the summer. Best of luck, hope you find something that works for you!