JulieRN07

I totally understand where you are coming from. I spent 3 years as an LPN in med/surg. I really do think that what you described is a typical day on any med/surg floor. As you experiance more, and unfortunately through mistakes you make, you do learn and you do get better! I am a firm believer that you can never get to the point where you think you have it all down, and there isnt much you don't know- Nursing changes constantly! There are always new disease processes and treatments that you may have never heard of before that come through the door. My best advice is to ALWAYS ask questions if you are not sure. And if you don't feel that you can ask and trust the people you work with, then I would go somewhere else. Being able to rely on the more experianced nurses for help and advice is HUGE! I wish you all the luck in the world, it sounds like you are a great nurse with a cool head on shoulders! Don't give up!! Julie

Thank you all for your advice! I have a job offer for a med/surg postion in a hospital that has a family birthplace upstairs, and a job offer for phone triage in a OB/GYN office. Should I consiter one of these?

I am actually down towards Cincinnati. We do have large hospitals here, but I have yet to find one that doesn't want experiance. I do have 3 years in med/surg as an LPN, even though I know its not exactly the same as being an RN. I don't know how I am supposed to get experiance if no one is willing to train me.

Hello all! I am new RN grad and have been trying to get into L&D for months. Every place I talk to wants previous experience. Does anyone have any advice as to how I can get my foot in the door or know of any hospitals in Ohio that hire new grads? Thank you so much!

If you are disciplined enough to do an online program- that would be great. As an experianced LPN, I feel like you are at an advantage because the second year RN program just dives deeper into the things you have already learned in your LPN program and in your clinical experiance in that role. That makes things click a little easier, I thought. I am one of those people who has to be in a classroom with others and a teacher to learn- to have someone hold me accountable. But that is just the way I learn. Good luck in whatever you decide!

I find that very disheartening that there are nurses out there taking care of my loved ones "don't give a crap" about them. And to keep this trend from continuing- I would tell anyone that if you don't have a heart for people, and don't want to help them get better in one way or another- please choose another career.

I know it doesn't seem like it now, and it won't apply to every experiance that you have with your clinicals, but you are getting a foundation of knowledge from those very tedious rotations. Being a student is your opportunity to just say, " I don't know, please show me" because that is what is expected of you. Don't give up hope just yet! When you get done, and are able to choose your own area of nursing to work in, one you enjoy and feel good about, it will be a totally different ball game. It sounds like you will make a great nurse-Hang in there!!

Gotta love starting IV's! (Just don't start one on me!)

There is nothing to get bent out of shape about, Marie. I was only suggesting an overall love for people and caring for them-sick and all- as a basis for going into a nursing field. I mean, what other reason is there to become a nurse?

I would definitely advise you to only go into nursing if you truely love taking care of people. In all areas of bedside nursing you will be responsible for taking on all different sorts of patients- and as the others have said, you will have to get through your different clinical rotations dealing with sick people-but the good thing about clinicals is that you may find your niche in another area of nursing- so always keep an open mind so you don't miss out on awesome opportunities to learn! Whatever you decide, the best of luck to you!

I agree! 5 c-sections? Wow- I might be more afraid of that then a VBAC.

How wonderful!! Congratulations to you! :balloons:

I was hoping to get your input on how common it is that a VBAC ends up causing uterine rupture?- Is this something that you've seen?-and how does it turn out when it does happen? Thanks!

I didn't have any of those kinds of questions on my NCLEX-or in my practice questions. You calculate a heartrate on an EKG strip using calipers-or the quick way is to count the tops of the QRS by 10's. Sorry I can't be more help!

Nursing is definitely not for everyone- that is a given. But just because an IV insertion made you uncomfortable- doesn't mean you weren't cut out to be a nurse. Yes, you do have to have a fairly strong stomach, but you also are required to have a love for people and making them feel better on all levels. Don't be discouraged by feeling uncomfortable, there are still a lot of things in nursing that make me uncomforable. But it can't hurt to step back and examine how you feel in your heart and make your decision based on that.