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Hi everyone, has anyone applied to Marymount's BSN-DNP this year? Have you heard anything back? If you're already in the program, how did the admissions process go for you and how are the classes now? Thank you!

So true, thank you for sharing, it's not the easiest job but even on the worst days, I love this specialty. We're privileged to be a participant in the miracle of life every day and even to support mothers and families in the tragedies that accompany life.

Thank you Nurse Beth for the advice, it is greatly appreciated. I think I will benefit from more experience so I can handle anything thrown at me when I do eventually undertake traveling, but I don't think I have a stable environment at my current workplace. The new place I interviewed at sounded great, I am leery, especially now that you mentioned a sign on bonus could also indicate high turnover but I think it might be worth the risk then to continue at my current place of employment and to risk traveling and ending up in a difficult assignment.

Thank you, I think I can use at least another year of experience so I can hit the ground running better as a traveler.

Hi everyone, I'm a nurse in L&D. I started as a new grad and have close to a year's experience now. I work in a unit with high turnover in both staff nurses and leadership. There's a lot of instability, we are frequently understaffed yet there is a lot of favoritism at play by the charges and ANMs, nurses with experience soon leave due to the environment. There is little support and due to a contract I signed as a new hire, I have learned to just roll with the punches. However, they recently demanded of me to change shifts from day to nights with near little notice due to shortage in staff, I had no say in the matter. I was called the day before a scheduled shift and told not to come in the next day but to come in that very night instead to work. I hate working nights, the assignments given are even worse, there is even less support and the leadership is even poorer. I've begun to look for other positions and have considered travel nursing. I spoke to a recruiter who said it was possible to find contracts with one year of experience. I have some hesitancy about it as I know I'll have to be more flexible in where I go due to my little experience. But traveling is more money and if I'm already getting terrible assignments in a work environment like this, I think I can handle a 13 week contract literally anywhere. I was recently offered a staff position in a different state however. They have higher acuity patients and at the interview, I felt confident that I will not have any of the problems I deal with now in my current unit. I'm not sure what to do though. Should I take another permanent position and gain more experience or do travel nursing now? I have a year left on my contract at my current job. Part of me is reluctant to sign another contract with this new hospital but they are offering me a sign on bonus and relocation assistance. I want to make more money as well and travel nursing will pay more and give me flexibility, I've always wanted to do it... But I'm not sure if I'm ready for it or just worried of the unknown. What's best for my career? Anyone else began traveling with just one year of experience?

Hi everyone, I'm a nurse in L&D. I started as a new grad and have close to a year's experience now. I work in a unit with high turnover in both staff nurses and leadership. There's a lot of instability, we are frequently understaffed yet there is a lot of favoritism at play by the charges and ANMs, nurses with experience soon leave due to the environment. There is little support and due to a contract I signed as a new hire, I have learned to just roll with the punches. However, they recently demanded of me to change shifts from day to nights with near little notice due to shortage in staff, I had no say in the matter. I was called the day before a scheduled shift and told not to come in the next day but to come in that very night instead to work. I hate working nights, the assignments given are even worse, there is even less support and the leadership is even poorer. I've begun to look for other positions and have considered travel nursing. I spoke to a recruiter who said it was possible to find contracts with one year of experience. I have some hesitancy about it. But traveling is more money and if I'm already getting terrible assignments in a work environment like this, I think I can handle a 13 week contract literally anywhere. I was recently offered a staff position in a different state however. They have higher acuity patients and at the interview, I felt confident that I will not have any of the problems I deal with now in my current unit. I'm not sure what to do though. Should I take another permanent position and gain more experience or do travel nursing now? I have a year left on my contract at my current job. Part of me is reluctant to sign another contract with this new hospital but they are offering me a sign on bonus and relocation assistance. I want to make more money as well and travel nursing will pay more and give me flexibility... But I'm not sure if I'm ready for it or just worried of the unknown. What's best for my career?

Hey everyone, thank you for sharing about your experiences! I ultimately chose a position and I'm in Labor and Delivery. I've been off of orientation now for a couple of weeks but I don't know. It's crazy to say this but I honestly hate it, like completely and utterly.... Midway through my orientation I just started to feel like I really didn't want to do this anymore, I hate circulating in the OR and C-sections, I get so much anxiety on the unit in general, I feel like I'm always running around because we're constantly short staffed and under supplied and I'm still so new I also doubt my abilities and decisions. I've had some great experiences with the patients and the families and I love the babies, I had an unattended delivery and that was amazing and almost made me change my mind but by the next day the feeling just set in again, I just dread going to work every day. I feel fed up most of the time. Is this just a normal phase that will go away soon? Did anyone experience this too after starting?

Hi, I still haven't decided. I thought I had my mind made up more or less but I have to make an official decision by next week. I toured the ICU yesterday and spoke more with the manager, it's a huge unit and they receive trauma patients as well. It's very busy and I could have 2-3 patients and during night shift, there'll also be no transport, secretary or PCAs (which I didn't think they had regardless in the ICU). I think it would be brutal but I'm up for a challenge. I also spoke the manager for the other position as well and I would be very busy too, I'll be cross trained for L&D, Mother-Baby and OR which is a lot more appealing to me but I'm still undecided.

Thank you @Nurse87EM You really gave me a lot to think about and I appreciate how you broke the differences down. I'm definitely picking apart both units to try and decide. I think what I love about critical care is learning the pathophysiology and having to understand how everything is related and being affected and just being on your toes the entire time and I also love the greater autonomy that there is but I also think it would be really sweet to be with new mother's and newborns because I enjoy teaching as well.

Thank you everyone for your responses, I really appreciate it. I've decided to accept a Mother-Baby position where I'll also be crosstrained in labor and delivery :)

Hi! I'm a new grad who's been offered 2 positions, one in Mother-Baby and one in an ICU. My goal throughout nursing school was to be a labor and delivery nurse one day but I've been debating getting experience first such as in critical care before pursuing it. Has anyone gone straight into L&D/Mother-Baby/OB after graduating, do you have any regrets about it?

Hi! I had the same problem as you a few years ago. I was in the saaaaame situation, torn between the same options, and ultimately I decided to do the RN program over the LPN and honestly, I don't regret it for a moment! It was difficult, I had to take loans, I applied for every scholarship I could, cut and reduced my costs everywhere I could (I lived off of coffee and cereal and milk for plenty of meals ?), I had to use credit cards but it was worth it. It's only an extra year. You'll make more as a RN after graduation, you'll have more opportunities for employment and more growth and you have everything done as you said already to begin! I say you do it and you don't look back. It's going to be one hell of a sacrifice but you'll reap a big reward, I promise you. Good luck and hang in there!

Hey everyone, So I'm a new graduate who has been offered two positions. One is in the ICU and one in Mother-Baby where I'll also be cross trained in L&D and OR. I went to nursing school wanting to do L&D, I've had that dream for such a long time but after my clinicals, I graduated a little less sure about it, I realized I really love being on a critical care unit as well so now I have these two offers and I'm not sure which to go with. I'm torn. I've heard over and over again ICU isn't for new grads but I got the offer and I know it would be a great opportunity. Any advice?

Hi everyone! I don't want to be long winded but a quick background before I ask my question; I'm entering my final semester of nursing school in a few days. I'm excited to be graduating soon but now that I'm so close I'm thinking more about the reality of what it will be like as a working nurse. I have scoliosis and had a spinal fusion with Harrington rods at the age of 17, from T3-L5 I'm fused. I have back pain but only take OTCs occasionally, clinicals are tiring and I try my best to be aware of body mechanics but moving patients with a bad back and petitie on top of that, is difficult. I leave with my back aching at the end of the day. All my professors and older nurses emphasize taking care of your back, but my back is already a mess. So I'm just wondering, if I'm at the end of the game before even starting it. This is a physically demanding career and I love everything about it but I don't want it to be short lived. I can't imagine how I'd be able to work though with adult patients especially those with mobility issues. I'd really like to pursue a career in labor and delivery but I don't know if that would involve a lot of bending over and moving laboring mothers. Maybe eventually even pursuing being a midwife. So my question is; what is it like for those of you who have back problems working? What areas do you work in? What do you recommend? Any advice would be appreciated.

Yay I just got my letter too! Best of luck to everyone and hang in there!