ChildPsych

Hospitals paying their ADN RN's to go back and get their BSN's, I haven't seen that really happening the past few years. But it may depend on certain areas of the country. Here in the Midwest there's an overabundance of RN's. I have my BSN. But that was a personal choice for me and I'm looking at NP schools right now. I also knew *myself* that if I got my ADN I'd lose motivation and not go back lol. That's just me though. Since your young though I would encourage you to get your BSN, if your able to, just to get it all over and done with. When I graduated from nursing school a nurse was a nurse and no one really cared what degree you had. But now, at least where I live, there are so many nurses and not enough spots that they are hiring the BSN grads over the ADN. Stupid I think, but it is what it is. Either way. You need to decide what works for *you* and go from there. And no, a community college is not 'less than' a university. I took a lot of my pre-reqs at a CC and enjoyed it. BUT once I transferred over to the university it was more rigorous in general with all my classes. But there is absolutely nothing wrong whatsoever with whatever choice you make.

I'm a type B all the way. I worked in the ICU for 2 years. For me night shift was a better fit for us type B's. Not sure why exactly, but I was much more comfortable. Yes ICU is very much about the details, I'm more of the big picture thinker do it was a challenge to me. For instance, I could go to help another RN, walk into the room and see the big picture immediately and from that deduce what the problem was....the detail that she was good at but I saw the bigger picture. I hope that makes sense? I did really well on codes or rapid response because I could walk in and see the big picture and jump right in. I think the ICU needs both type A and type B personalities. We both bring our own special skills. I had to learn from others to slow down and look at the details, that was a learning process for me. In return I was able to teach how I saw the big picture. Unfortunately though in real life. Type A and B personalities can really clash and some ppl just are not going to try learn from each other. I think in ICU environments it's more apparent than in other specialties. That's just my observation though. I left after a couple years and am now in a nursing speciality that works better for me. You sound like your doing a great job. And ICU experience, whether 6 months or 6 years, is a great backbone to have.

Do not feel alone and do get help. I was scared to death to make an appt with a psychiatrist but I'm so so thankful I did, and you will to! I spent way to many years almost constantly suicidal, panic attacks on a daily basis. It really held me back and prevented me from doing so many things in my life. I feel I lost a lot of years because I was too scared to seek help. I was ashamed and embarrassed. I have Bipolar, Panic disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, "mild" PTSD, and ADD. I'm on great meds and am doing great. No one would ever think I had a mental illness. I've had other nurses and techs open up to me about their issues and I feel blessed to be able to empathize and help. You'd be very surprised at how many nurses have various mental illnesses. And that's OK. And it's absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. I've been an RN for 8 years now. It has never effected my license or job in any way.

I work on an acute unit (our pt's come from ED) and then we "downgrade" them to RTC after awhile. I'm saying this because our staffing is based on how many acute pt's we have (which is ridiculous). Our unit is 18 beds. 5yrs-12yr olds. We always have at least 3 staff...usually 1 RN and 2 techs. I don't feel unsafe because 1st, we have excellent staff which makes the biggest difference. We also can call a Code if needed. Plus we have a seriously awesome Dr, so when I call to tell him exactly what I need I get it. What's hard is when your dealing with a crisis in the unit and have admits coming. Ugh. It's just very busy. I rely on my techs to run the miliue, without good techs then ya, I would be pretty stressed. As a new RN I would not feel comfortable with this at all. And no new RN should feel comfortable with that. The more experience I have plus great co-workers that I TRUST I feel comfortable. With psych you all have to be on the same page and have excellent teamwork. I've been in psych now for 7 years.

Working with pt's with BPD is definitely a weakness of mine. My sister was dx BPD and with therapy she was able to recover. So I *get* it, but working on a unit with personality disorders is difficult. I've read everything I can about them but they literally wear me out. It's like they are always one step ahead of me with their thinking. So I'm no help here unfortunately.