Question for a experienced RN

HI, I am a night shift nurse; I have been working for seven months .....I work on a crazy med-surg floor .........and I love it! I complain about the same as any other med-surg nurse but I really do love the job. I participate on the hospital's Committee and I have received chemotherapy certification and will have acls by the end of the month. I have great coworkers and my boss is really receptive to different ideas. I want to go to the next level with my learning, now that I can get everyone together in a timely manner, I feel like i can concentrate on more critical thinking. I have started reading charts on my downtime ....I am trying to come up with a new five year plan now.. I have a BSN but not interested in being a NP and not really sure I want to go back to school for a while. Any suggestions from a more seasoned nurse?Thanks in advance

I would suggest waiting until your have a complete year behind you before you even begin a 5 year plan. You are still in the first year growth period. After that time in you probably will have a better picture of where you would like to grow next. Research the pathways open to you There is seemingly an endly variety of clinical arenas, you may want to follow the Education area,,ask your Boss if you can teach a class on something of interest on your floor or look into teaching CPR. You may decide that leadership is your niche, if so talk to your Boss how to move forward with something in that area then there is alot of talk about Nursing informatics. You may find your niche in that arena but I still believe that your first year on your floor gives you a better foundation for your future. I hope this advice is helpful. Good luck.

TuTonka

I agree with getting the full year of experience behind you, then how about working towards med/surg certification with an emphasis on staff and patient teaching. I am an older nurse who is still so surprised at the number of newer nurses who do not do I & O properly, importance of C,T,DB after a procedure with use of an IS, and asking about bowel and bladder function on admit so the patient can avoid unnecessary problems . Good luck on your career, you sound like a dedicated nurse.

"importance of C,T,DB after a procedure with use of an IS" What is all this? Sorry, I stink at abbreviations, thanks ahead of time for your answer.

"importance of C,T,DB after a procedure with use of an IS" What is all this? Sorry, I stink at abbreviations, thanks ahead of time for your answer.

C= cough

T= Turn

DB= Deep breathing

IS= Incentive spirometer

Especially good for post operative patients

Years ago we were taught in school every day spent in bed was a day off you're life, I guess that is why I tend to attempt to get my patients moving in bed, then setting up in bed, then out of bed asap. I love working with a experienced CNA who has the mind set of "get it done." We often get throught our assignment with a smile and can do a little extra for the patient, like oral care, back care, skin sweeps, med assessments, and care plan evals quickly, working together, assisting one another, asking properly for assistance, and giving assistance when needed makes a shift go quickly and productively. Please and Thank You when included into conversation with workmates goes a long way too. Blessings.

Thanks for addressing these issues, baefootlady i wish everyone had that mentality.

Well, what is your area of interest? Are you interested in management? You have to determine what area you are interested and then build your goals around that area. For example, when I first went to the ED, I wanted to be the charge nurse on my shift. I got my acls, TNCC, CEN and let it be known that I wanted to job. Getting the promotion was easy and it was my start to my final position as director of emergency and pediatric services. I took a number of management courses. I knew early on that being the director of the department was were I wanted to go. The former director asked me once what I wanted to do. I told her I wanted her job.

I appreciate the feedback, Diane I am interested in management Our hospital has its first female executive director and that is definetly a goal i would love to go for(my manager always says don't forget her lol ). It will be a year in September maybe in 2010 I wil look into management courses. I understand I just started in Nursing but I just want to be in a steady progression towards my goals. Everyone had great ideas.Thanks so much!

First of all, congrats on becoming a nurse and enjoying your med/surg job. I love M/S myself.

Second, a masters degree does not mean NP. You can get many different masters degrees.

Third, take time to get your job completely down - go through many difficult patients (whether medically or personally difficult) and grow through this. Then see what interests you the most. I thought when I graduated I would be a wound nurse - no matter what - that was all I wanted. Then I learned how much I loved M/S, and how much I loved working with the new grads. Now I'm one of the ones they know as their go to nurse for help, even when they leave our facility they remember me and have told me later how I helped them (warm fuzzies anyone?). Now I am looking towards diabetic education - considering how I found I had an aptitude for it and a background for it.

Don't feel you need to decide now - there's a lot more in nursing than expected - things will come along to draw your interest - then follow them.