medic1969

So I'm an RN with 2 years Cardiac Experience. I've been admitted into Vanderbilt's Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner program to start this coming fall 2018. I've got about 5 months to prepare. What would you recommend by way of preparation?

$72k after taxes as an RN is some serious cabbage.

I know that I'm late to the dance on this post, but it seems like $71k/year is pre-tax. How much is your actual take-home pay? Seems like $40k/year tax-free would be awfully close, especially if you can also qualify for food stamps, etc.

Question for those of you who are MSN Psych Nurses. To what degree do you have to deal with psych patients who are also dealing with LGBTQI issues? - compared to the general US population? Especially, how common are transgender patients? When I was in nursing school doing my psych rotation at a state in-patient facility, it seemed as if every patient was dealing with issues of sexual mental health.

Yeah, but those with the 2 year degree aren't in specialties making 90k/year. Did you mean to conflate the two, or am I reading this incorrectly?

What possible reason might you have to do that? I can't imagine under what circumstances you'd wanna push nicardipine? Please offer more details.

The less sick a patient is, the more needy they become in my experience.

I am but a little donkey, tied to a large cart It is my master's job to whip me as much as possible, that I may bring out more and more ore from the mine. It doesn't matter how much I did yesterday (working a triple in a CVICU with an RRT call and 2 other vent patients with multiple vasoactive drips and hourly insulin checks). I'm in trouble when I black out and have to go to the ER.

I'm nearly finished with my first year as a nurse. I've seen a revolving door in my ICU. People leave for different reasons, school, better jobs, etc. Me personally, I can't stand my nurse manager. She's a sneaky weasel who plays favorites big time. I've worked every weekend, random shifts, no consistency. I'll sign up for shifts only to have them changed with no notice. I just get an email saying that I have a shift tomorrow. I'll work a 8 night shifts in a 10-day stretch. Then I'll get called off 2x in the same week, while the favorites work overtime. I see very, very poor leadership at our hospital. My manager is an outstanding nurse who knows everything about the particulars of our unit, but her social skills suck. She berates people publically without naming names. I'm not a highly skilled cardiac ICU nurse whose a valuable member of the team. I'm a little donkey tied to a cart. My job is to pull as much load as possible while being clubbed and whipped for not doing more.

Critical Care Nurse and Paramedic here. I work in a cardiac ICU and see death on a regular basis. As a medic, I am on scene for the most horrible tragedies. Believe me, it's the kids that stick with you. I've worked drownings of children, so I know the frantic scene of which you speak. I always remind myself of three things: First, "This isn't my emergency. I am the backup unit." Second, I always remind myself, "I am not God. I don't get to pick who lives and dies." Third, "It is a holy moment as people are passing in an out of this world. I have the honor of being there as infants are born and I have the honor of holding their hands as they draw their last breath." You can do everything perfectly and people still die. One of my fellow paramedics was killed last year on the scene. It happens. Hold your kids and loved ones a little closer. Reconnect with faith. Be more generous with your time and money. Take an extra moment to connect with your patients. Show the difficult ones an extra measure of grace. Hang in there and remember all the good you've done.

I wouldn't mention the other program. I would simply say, "I'm trying to line up my finances and I need firm numbers so I can plan ahead."

I'm a second career nurse, mid 40s. Infantry Officer, 12 years pastor, 3 years paramedic, ACLS and PALS certified for 4 years now, finishing my RN. I've just been offered my first job. I start in a Cardio-Thoracic-Vascular ICU in 2 months. What can I do in the next 2 months to prepare? I assume that I'll be tried and tested immediately to see what I'm made of. I can handle pressure. I just want to be prepared. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

This is an awesome idea. Can you post a sample version of this?

What would you consider the top tier schools to be for graduate nursing education? I'm looking at CRNA schools.

Thank you so much for your thoughtful reply. It means so much to me. Let me see if I can summarize your advice. Get BSN completion at nearest state university. Get Grad degree at top tier school for top notch education and contacts. Worth the extra money. Is that it?