thesimplenurse

Keep applying and working on your grades. I know many colleagues of mine who waited anywhere between 1-3 years just to get in. That is, if you're willing to stay patient and persevere. There's also nutritionists, dietitians, social work, respiratory therapists, physiotherapists, community health worker jobs if you're interested in exploring the diverse health care field.

References were completed three business days ago. Got a call for an interview nearly three weeks ago, a day after I applied. Panel interview went smoothly, no technical questions, just behavioral/personality questions. References were requested the same day. I was excited! Then, the waiting game... I took the matter to my own hands and did some investigating (actually called the reference check company and they told me they accidentally had an incorrect email address for a reference and the other one was on vacation). Finally, I scrambled to get all of my references in place. It's been officially three business days since my references were contacted/paperwork completed. I've always got my nursing jobs the same day during the interview so this process is new to me - how long do you wait before contacting the recruiters or should I wait until the end of the week? Worried that I missed the window of opportunity as there was a massive hire and they were hiring as they go, not from a pool of candidates. Thank you!

They're seasoned and experienced nurses, worked in ER/ICU for decades. Mostly why I did not question it. Now I am just reflecting on my actions. Blood sugar, suction, pulse ox etc were all taken during/after my compressions.

I am also on an acute care unit.

My CPR course I was taught to begin chest compression if you are in doubt, even if there is a weak pulse.

Decreased LOC, unresponsive when I shook her shoulders and name albeit it appeared to be a seizure that lasted a few seconds. Couldn't hear her breathing and weak pulse. Also partly due to my nursing supervisor telling me to start a code. We have an ICU nurse outreach team.

Hi everyone, new grad here on my own after my first month orientation. I have not experienced a code blue before but went through a basic mock CPR during orientation. Details: Came back from break, was doing my nursing rounds when one of my patients who was ‘stable' all morning suddenly began seizing so I quickly ran for the pt. My supervisor happened to be around and was by the bedside as well and said "pt is seizing call a code!". Pt eyes began rolling backwards, unresponsive to name and touch as she was seizing and decreased LOC. I checked for breathing and radial pulse (should've done a carotid pulse) and only felt a weak pulse. I initiated a code and began chest compressions and pt woke up after a couple of them and began vomiting blood etc. Pt never had an epileptic episode before and pt began stabilizing after medical intervention. I am just reflecting on my nursing practice and judgment.. My question is whether we are supposed to call code blue for seizures? No one questioned my actions of calling a code and even said I did a great job. Thoughts?

I will be a home shift nurse as it turns out. You are spot on in terms of the scope of practices of a shift care nurse vs home health nurse and we have a strikingly similar workplace. I do advise starting as a shift care worker to get the feel of it. I just finished my orientation and I really enjoyed the 1:1 with clients and families. Do you work with a certain client population? My long term goal is to be a case manager in the community but since I don't have any recent and relevant medical background, I decided to work on a medical unit as well (recently got hired). I hope to keep both jobs to get my foot in the door both in the community and medical setting. I was also worried with my lack of experience and limited critical thinking/nursing judgement once I am a case manager, so I know I had to get back on the medical floor. I'm going to tough it out even though I get apprehensive at the thought of being back on a medical unit... I don't know where you're from but I am part of a New Graduate program and I'm excited that I will have additional training/orientation and buddy shifts on the medical unit. I encourage you to do it too and take advantage of your New Graduate status (if available in your area).

Hi everyone, I graduated in June, passed my NCLEX the same month, and been job hunting since. I got a formal job offer three days ago (August), for an independent home care agency (affiliated with a reputable hospital) with a strong focus on palliative care. During the interview, they mentioned that there is paid two orientation workshops and during my initial shifts, another experienced nurse will be with me for at least two hours. No benefits as a casual, but the pay is great, no need to work STAT holidays, flexibility with schedules, and overall it seemed like a very supportive environment (mentioned they can sponsor new graduates for workshops/courses they are interested in specific to home care/palliative). They said for HH they don't typically hire new grads but there's been an influx of senior nurses retiring/less hospital beds/more acute patients needing the hospital beds etc so they need to utilize the nurses that they have and seem to want to invest in us. The Supervisor said not to worry and I won't feel "alone" when I mentioned that I've never worked independently before and told them my limitations (technical skills etc). I also overheard them on the phone refusing to let one of their staff nurse go into one of the patient's homes due to home not being close to a subway train as they do not drive (which indicated to me they actually care about their staff!) However...safety, to me, is the utmost importance. It almost sounds to good to be true - being a new grad and my dream job has always been to work in the community as an RN case manager and this seems like a great opportunity to see whether I'll enjoy working with patients and their families in their homes. I was told it would be 1:1 patient care and that the shifts would range from 10-12 hours, including evenings if I wanted to work. Can someone give me some advice on 1:1 community nursing is like? Pros/cons?

Thank you. I do wish to explore other areas but I just have no interest in going to an ICU/ER/Burns/Transplant/Neuro etc type of unit. I love being able to interview and assess patients, educating and advocating for people. I feel MH allows me to do all these things without worrying about completing "skills". I want to specialize in older adults with MH one day, or a relevant field that requires teaching specific to chronic disorders and living healthier and functional lifestyles.

Thank you for your feedback. I am aware of the typical role/duties of an LTC nurse but was worried that the skills are not transferable to such units, such as a trauma ED. I guess the push to go "all medical" from everyone is getting to me.

Hi all, I passed my NCLEX and am now an RN. It has been a month since I've began job hunting and had few interviews which I turned down because it was in LTC and I want to ground my nursing skills in a medical or acute area. However, I am an external applicant so the hiring process typically takes awhile. I am passionate about mental health and my whole year and a half experience has been in mental health (inpatient, outpatient, community) but almost all the recruiters I've talked to, clinical instructors and preceptors have recommended me to get my foot inside a medical, surgical or any unit to brush up on my skills and open up more doors in the future (I admit, I have not done IVs or any foley etc!) Part of me feels extremely discouraged because I am the least qualified candidate to even get a position in a medical-surgical field or even subacute, orthopedics, or a rehab/transitional area. Been applying for over a month now. Any advice fellow nurses?

Love this! Thanks for the summary.

How did you guys do?

I swear by UWorld. If you're understanding the rationales, you're good to go. I heard Kaplan and NCLEX questions are like.