2BS Nurse

Thanks for sharing goodnightopus4. We work in a high stress environment where PTSD is not recognized or treated. The work is piled on until we reach our breaking point. A patient dies and we internalize our feelings and take them home with us. I'm so glad you sought out and received help. I have chosen to remain in the outpatient setting because it allows self care and a good work/life balance. As nurses, we are taught to feel guilty about caring for ourselves. I have learned to set boundaries and say "no" to picking up extra hours.

"Ditto" Oldmanhubbard! Exactly what keeps me away from inpatient!!!

Clinic UC nurse here... yes that sounds like a typical day! And for the "new grad" comment, the clinics are constantly short-staffed just like the hospitals. Moving to the clinic requires a salary decrease, no overtime and no holiday pay. Sometimes they have to take the staff they can get. The shortage is only going to get worse. We need to get past the "new grad" prejudice and figure out how to get them up to speed! We are undervalued and almost everything we do is behind closed doors. Administration doesn't have a clue.

Beautifully written! "Organichombre", how lucky this student is to have you as an instructor! A nursing instructor who takes a walk with her student and encourages her to express her feelings? Going through nursing school boot camp, I felt that I needed to constantly show how strong I was (physically and emotionally) to pass my clinicals.

There are plenty of RN jobs out there. Like "morbidlycurious" mentioned, your first job may not be your job of choice. In my area, signing bonuses and recruiting abound for new grads. You will save TONS of $ by completing the ADN then finishing your BSN while working (employer paid tuition). All facilities here require BSN completion within 5 years of employment. There are way too many job vacancies and competition between hospitals to only hire BSN grads. Maybe your friend works in a small hospital? A lot of experienced nurses state that new grads are not "properly trained". My opinion is that new employee training programs are sub par. Floor nurses are overwhelmed and are expected to train new grads on top of caring for their own patients. If this is a possible career change for you, keep in mind that nursing is an extremely stressful career. Don't do it just for the $ or job prospects. You will be exhausted at the end of your shift and most likely won't get out on time. You will probably be working every other weekend and half of the holidays. If this family time is important to you, think hard about this profession.

I believe you do have to be employed at least 20 hrs/week but their requirements may have changed since I finished the program. I would call them and discuss!

Does anyone else notice the lack of process when making changes at your facility? A change is made, chaos ensues and staff is frustrated. No meetings are held to address said change. Is it because health care is a "service profession" where process is not a priority?

I never thought about working as a nursing sub. Is this something available through your state's employment website?

The nursing profession does not require you to be a straight A student. My instructors used to say "C's get degrees!". I was amazed at the lack of intelligence of some of my classmates, and now my coworkers. They were more concerned that you had worked as a CNA than how well you scored on an exam. If you are a perfectionist and work in nursing, you will go crazy. Health care is far from perfect and you'll have to constantly prioritize and let many things go by the wayside. Just focus on doing your best job and don't worry about those around you. There are a lot of crazy people working in health care. Get used to it and figure out how you will handle it.

I went into nursing for the same reasons... I loved the science, I'm compassionate and good with people. It was not a calling for me. Unfortunately, the profession is so task oriented that I feel as if I don't have the time to truly focus on the science. A nurse once told me "nursing is grunt work". That basically sums it up. I feel as if I learned so much that I don't even have the chance to apply. Just go into the profession with your eyes wide open.

We are not required to check pulse ox in Urgent Care unless the patient is exhibiting signs of respiratory distress, cough, etc. The nurses check it anyway. Technically, we are supposed to enter a charge, but we don't.

Practice NCLEX question after NCLEX question after NCLEX question. Use a book like this to study for every exam: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0323358519/ref=dp_ob_neva_mobile Pick out the content that is relative to what you are studying.

Katr27, Have you considered outpatient nursing? I went to nursing school specifically to work outpatient. Most outpatient RN jobs are phone triage, but Urgent care is the the exception. We get the lower level ED patients (URIs, coughs, UTIs, STDs, fractures, lacerations, asthma exacerbations, abdominal pain, chest pain, dehydration,etc) without the trauma. The $ is not as good, but the hours are better. There are so many opportunities out there. Can you make it to your one year anniversary? After that, you will be able to transfer.

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Unfortunately, accepting verbal medication orders in the outpatient setting is very wishy-washy. As LLG posted, it's against policy and procedure (except for emergency situations) and the supervisors know this. They don't want to create waves with providers so they do not enforce the policy. If RNs in the clinic refused to enter verbal orders, they would be out of a job. As far as I know, TJC doesn't set foot in our clinic.