ElectricCabbage

I can't comment on people taking time off to care for family, nor did I in my previous post. I would disagree with your initial statement though- I think that many, many women do like taking time off to raise families. And I'll say it again- that's great. There is nothing wrong with that. However, I do think that it's that cut and dry- if you take time off to raise a family, your wage will be lower than your peers who did not take time off. I can't speak to the States, but I know that in Canada childcare options do exist for the middle class, and it is up to a woman whether or not she will utilize them.

As the saying goes, you can't have your cake and eat it too. Women who would like to take time off for their families- that's fantastic. Good for you. But don't come back to work and complain that you're making less money than the nurses (male or female) who have continued to actively progress in their fields while you've been gone.

Hi all.. a quick question for my more experienced colleagues. I started working 14 months ago in long term care and after 8 months transferred into public health. Both positions are for the same employer (the municipal government). I have now been in public health for 6 months. Is it too soon to move into another posting for the same employer? I don't want to be seen as flighty, or for my moves to raise red flags for future employers. But I also don't feel as if I've found my niche yet, and there are lots of positions offered by my employer that I am qualified for. What do you guys think? Would 3 different positions for the same employer in 14 months be a red flag to you? Thanks!!

Ontario, Canada Public Health $38 and hour, plus benefits and M-F 8:30-4 COL: My husband and I own a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom home, our mortgage is $1500/month

Nursing is a career. Medicine, is a lifestyle. I am happy to have a a great career, that lets me have the lifestyle I want!

I've been following this forum for quite some time now, and what strikes me the most is how different nursing seems to be in the the States than it is here in Canada. The biggest things I've heard talked about a lot that I've never heard of in Canada are: 1. drug tests for nurses and nursing students. I have NEVER heard of a nurse or nursing student being asked to complete a mandatory drug test. It wasn't a part of my education, and I haven't heard of it in my workplace or any of my friends work places. 2. Customer satisfaction surveys. I have never heard of a hospital in Canada having customer satisfaction surveys, or really ever referring to clients as customers. I would imagine that this is a result of the private vs. public sector. In my experience, nurses in Canada are still over worked, but there is no fear of clients reflecting poorly on their 'experience' 3. In Canada, everyone is guaranteed 'free' medical care, which for the most part seems that everyone is guaranteed equal access to mediocre health care. In the States, it seems that there is a big divide between the wealthy and the middle class. 4. Job market. While I understand that there are different job markets for nurses within countries, there seems to be a stark difference between new grads ability to get jobs in Canada vs. the States. Literally everyone that I graduated with a year ago is employed full time, most in their area of preference. What are some of the biggest differences that you guys have noticed?

While on orientation for my full time LTC job as a new grad (my area of choice, by the way) the battle axe of an RN I was working with that day looked me eye and said "I always feel so sad when I see new grads working in long term care. What a waste". Gee... thanks...

I passed the NCLEX with 75 questions, and the only questions I got were SATA and MC (I'd 40+ SATA). As the PP said, however, there are all types of questions both above and below the passing standard. The best way that it was described to me prior to writing the NCLEX-RN was to picture a line written on a blank sheet of graph paper. The line is 'passing'. Every time you get a question wrong, you move down one box on the graph. Every time you get a question right, you move up a box on the graph. The higher above 'passing' you get, the harder the questions will be, and vice versa. The test formulates itself so that it predicts you have a 50% chance of correctly answering each question it asks you. Hope that helps!

I began working in LTC 9 months ago as a new grad RN, which means that after 2 months of orientation I am now often the charge nurse- responsible for 130 residents, 25+ staff, and the building itself, including when management is not in the building. The best piece of advice that I have for as, as a new grad myself, is that you are responsible and accountable for your own actions now. This wasn't the case as a student, or even as a consolidating nursing student, but now it is. For me, that means if the off going RN says that "the doctor needs to be called right now about Mrs. X's whatever problem", I still need to actually go and personally assess Mrs. X before calling. In your case, it would have meant understanding that leaving something that was your responsibility for another nurse is still YOUR fault, even though you had deferred it to the next nurse. It's a hard lesson! One that I myself also learned the hard way. But, it's a good lesson! And I think that the earlier us new grads learn it, the better :) All the best!

In hospitals that I've worked at blood products are always set up with Y tubing so that saline is available in case of a transfusion reaction and to sit in the drip chamber over the filter to prevent lysis of the blood products. The tubing and drip chamber are primed with normal saline, but it is clamped off while the blood runs.

I appreciate everything about the union I belong to except for seniority in hiring. I think that it is short sighted to have to give internal job postings to individuals who have been with the organization longer, even if they have fewer qualifications for a position than a newer nurse.

Flush with saline and just slide the little clamp across tubing. Easy peasy :)

I have been working as an RN for 6 months now. Enough time to rub the innocence and naivety off of anyone I think. My position is in a long term care, and seems to be equal helpings of caring for the geriatric population and providing support for families with loved ones in our home. In the last half a year, I have walked with 25 people as they complete life's final transition- dying. I have talked to dozens of families about what to expect at end of life, what's normal, and what are uncomfortable symptoms that we can control with medication and other interventions. Every family that I have worked with as we support their loved one is different. All are dealing with something new- losing their loved one- and most are experiencing very acute grief. Most families are excellent, and are in agreement with our general philosophy of care, to promote comfort at end of life. But some aren't. And that is really the crux of this post. Some families don't want pain medication, because they want their loved one to be alert. Some families want to keep feeding their loved one, even though they are not alert enough to protect their airways. Some families want their loved one up in the chair all day, despite excruciating pain. It is about these families that I hear my coworkers say "I would never treat my father/mother/friend that way" or "they are just totally out of touch". And it is about these families that perhaps I still wear my rose-coloured-new-nurse-glasses. Because I truly don't see myself as having a right to have an opinion, outside of my professional explanations and recommendations for care. I don't see that I have the right to harshly compare what my decisions for my loved ones would be against the decisions made by others. And to be honest, I don't see how my personal opinions are relevant at all to the care that I provide. Truthfully, I see my role as both complex and simple: to provide concise and easy to understand information, to provide support, to present options, and to execute the decisions that families make based on the options that are presented. In my line of work, I don't claim the right to have any opinion outside of my professional assessment of a situation. How about you?

I am a recent graduate from a BScN program in Canada (I finished in December 2015) and I got a permanent full time days/ evenings posting in long term care. I was a good candidate because I am interested in working in LTC long term, which seems difficult to find in RNs in my area. In my resume I was also able to show a history of working with single organizations over long periods of time, and growing and evolving with those organizations. It's all about marketing yourself and organizing your resume specifically for each job that you apply to. Good luck!

I am a recent graduate from a BScN program in Canada (not sure what the American equivalent would be...). Where I am in Alberta full time jobs are scarce for RNs, but I was extremely fortunate as a new grad to get a permanent, full time job in long term care. As a grad, I was hoping to get part time work in long term care (my area of interest) and part time in the hospital (to gain skills and be well rounded), however when as a new grad a PERMANENT and FULL TIME position was offered to me, it was impossible to turn down. Even better, it turns out to actually be almost full time days, and the people I work with are fabulous. So what's the problem then? Since starting, with all my friends getting jobs in the ER or surgical floors, I've started to really wish that I could have the opportunity to work in the hospital as well. I just feel like after working in long term care for a while, it will be really hard to ever enter that environment, because at least now I am semi prepared for hospital work from my time as a student. However, because I am working full time hours doing 8 hour shifts, it would be almost impossible to work 12 hour shifts part time in the hospital on the side. What do you guys think? Am I being silly, just thinking the grass is greener on the other side, and that I should be thrilled that as a new grad I was offered a full time, permanent, days position? Or is it legitimate to be wishing things had worked out differently so that I could be doing both long term care and hospital work right now... I feel extremely conflicted about it!