kemansha1

As an update to this post (since I am still getting some feedback) I would say that I am happy that I made the transition. I worked nights on a med surge floor and made just shy of $55K. I am grateful to have a steady job with benefits that allows me some flexibility with regards to schedule. I would like, of course, to make more money but I am putting plans in motion to get certified in a few different areas and look for my next job which will hopefully be a step up. Thanks to all for your feedback and since I was looking for encouragement a year ago, I would say to anyone feeling the way I was that yes, it does get better. Try not to let all of the disillusioned and bitter people that will tell you how awful nursing is get to you. There are those people in every profession. Most of my colleagues are good, hard-working and generally optimistic. If you find yourself in a place that this is not true, hold one for a year and look for something else. You can do anything for a year. With a year's experience you will no longer be a new grad.

https://www.bd.com/posiflush/flash/s..._pressure.html Keep in mind that the PICC internal lumen can contain 1-2mL of fluid. If you inject 1mL slowly all you are doing is priming the PICC. The brisk flush of saline will bolus the medication...I assume you have been very popular with your patients? Yes. Good point.

Yes. Good point.

Thank you! This video is exactly the explanation I was looking for. I was thinking that the pressure would be determined by the change from one diameter to the other ie: if you hook up a garden hose to a fire hose, the pressure caused by the change from high volume to lower volume capacity would raise the pressure. And really I thought that higher pressure was what we were aiming for since there is always the possibility of occlusion. Also since the length of the PICC line is longer than a PIV I figured there is more need to flush more fluid and at higher pressure.

I am a new grad working about 7 months on a med-surge floor and last night I found out that I have been using a carpuject incorrectly on PICC lines. If I need to deliver 1 ml of a medication I thought it was ok to use the carpuject and then flush with a 10ml syringe. (I always use a 10 ml syringe to flush before and after the medication first to ensure patency and then to ensure the medication is delivered.) My understanding of this was that a tiny 1 ml syringe would deliver the medication at pretty low pressure basically into the lumen of the catheter and then the 10 ml syringe would raise the pressure by raising the volume and flush the medication through the line and into patient's blood vessel. But then I was told last night that this is wrong and that the carpuject RAISES the intralumenal pressure too high putting the patient at risk. I checked the policy and sure enough it does say never to use any syringe smaller than a 10 ml syringe and I guess that also includes the carpuject vials. I feel terrible that I have been doing this incorrectly all this time but I also just don't understand the physics of this. I have been trying to visualize the mechanics of this all morning and I can't understand how a carpuject can possibly be a higher pressure mechanism than the 10 ml syringe because the small volume of medication is being delivered from a small vial into the catheter via the same tubing that 10 ml volume is being delivered into. Can anybody shed some light on this subject for me?

I am so glad that somebody else noticed how shrill this board can sometimes be. In my real life so far as a precept I have not had anyone be as mean as I have read on this board. Just because a person is confident in their abilities does not make them a cocky dangerous narcissist. Good on you OP for feeling like you made a good decision to be a nurse and then being good at your job. Don't let the haters bring you down.

I graduated from NEU in August. I did the Direct Entry Hybrid program and I am happy with the education I got. There were definitely some things about the program that were not clear when I started and came as a surprise to me and some others in my cohort. Here's what I know: 1 - once you are accepted into the BSN program you are not guaranteed a track in the specialty of your choice which means that if you are in a popular specialty (in my case it was peds and FNP) many of those people did not get tracked. So you get your BSN then go find a job and come back and reapply. I have no idea if that next application results in a "guaranteed spot" since I have not been out long enough to know about that. 2 - you cannot go straight through the way you can at MGH an Simmons (at Simmons you are required to - you can't get out with a BSN) and maybe some other schools. You must graduate, get a job and then come back. The process will not be expedited. I found that disappointing but have come to think that experience as an RN is probably a good thing. 3 - NEU was the program that got me to the BSN faster than any other program. They are 4 semesters that run continuously and you are "done" in 15 months. Then you study for a month (on average) for the NCLEX, pass it (they do have excellent stats on pass rates for that exam), get a job - again could take several months, work for a year and then decide what to do. 4 - I would think seriously about finishing the NP at NEU because they are $$$$. I decided the BSN was worth it because it got me through and into the workforce the fastest. There are a lot of state schools that offer the advanced degree for much less money (you may need more experience which you get while earning money). Be concerned about money! Jobs are not easy to get, especially in Boston, and salaries are not great starting out. You'll probably start between $25 and $30 an hour depending on shift differential and chances are good that you'll have $25K in loan debt (more or less depending on your own situation). 5 - I have not made up my mind whether or not I will pursue the advanced degree with them or somewhere else or not at all. 6 - I am glad that NEU is a degree with some "prestige" and that I do have the BSN. It is getting to be impossible to get a job in a hospital with out the bachelors. I have lots of other facts and opinions about that program and would be happy to answer questions to the best of my ability.

I don't know what they pay although I have heard rumors that they do pay well. I am working at the moment in Newport although I have an interview for a job at Rhode Island that I applied for months ago. I will feel pretty badly about leaving them in the lurch but the externalities of the situation might mean I end up being sort of the bad guy in the situation. We'll see. I have heard some numbers from some rehab hospitals in Braintree that have starting rate in the low $30s. But I am not really willing to travel that far.

I'm about to start a job working 3 nights a week too. If you could do 6 nights on and 8 off would you do it? Has anyone?

I think you are right to some extent about the gender thing. I have heard a lot about nurse bullying and how nurses "eat their young" especially with less experienced colleagues. It does seem a little like middle school mean girls. I have now read this forum a lot and there do seem to be many people who are deeply disgruntled and have met my question with "yeah, it's a tough job with terrible hours and crappy wages" as a response. And then they suggest that I just opt out right now if I don't like the way it is. But then they seem really angry that I suggest that it should be different. I'm fine with it being a tough job. I know what I am getting into as far as work/life balance goes. I think that if everyone is so collectively unhappy that we can change the norm.

I am actually thinking that this "soft launch" approach is the way to go. Maybe I can find a gig working nights (probably a 24 week stacked strategically) leaving me time to still do carpentry/contracting. It is unfortunate though because, despite all the shade people have thrown at me for worrying about money, I am excited to start my new career. I am interested in taking care of people and not just taking home a paycheck. The vitriol with which people have suggested that I find a new career before I have even started this one has been eye opening.

Thanks. I do plan on hanging in there. Your story was really helpful. I think I just need to know that my financial situation is temporary. With the cost of things and student loans etc. I do need to keep a close eye on the goal. If I could feel like I am where I want to be in 3 years (despite the hard work that everyone keeps reminding me of) I will be thrilled.

Thank you. It sounds like you had a similar experience to my own. I am not above doing the work - I am a hard worker and I don't feel nearly as cavalier and arrogant as some have suggested. I want satisfying work that is fulfilling in it's own right, AND I want to get paid. I don't think anyone in our society works for free (much). I am glad to know from some of you that it does equalize - that we do end up getting paid well even if it is not what we are "worth."

Thank you Rocknurse. This advice is actually helpful. Believe me I have enough of the inner critic, that most of the rest of this thread have piled on to, that I'm wishing I had never reached out for encouragement. I am still only a month out from getting my license and all of the unknowns are doing a number on me. Please keep your fingers crossed for me that I find a job soon so I can put the monkeys in my head to rest. LOL

I really haven't gotten any empathy on this thread anyway, even though I really was just hoping for people to tell me something along the lines of "it gets better." Yes I did do research but perhaps I was a little too gullible about the propaganda that this profession offers good pay and lots of opportunity for growth both personal and professional. Does anybody out there remember feeling the way I am feeling?