What to expect?

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So I've not yet worked as a nurse of any sort. I'm sure I can't really know what it's like until I do, but I'll ask anyway - what's it like being an RN?

Granted, there are tons of different areas of nursing, and so many variables, I'd like to hear your descriptions of what the job generally entails. Twelve hours a day is a long day. Those shifts have to be filled with tons of obligations.

Anyone care to give a run down of what a typical day as a nurse consists of?

Also, just a quick side question - the typical 3 days, 12 hours - are they done back to back? Like Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday? Or spread apart? Can you request to work three in a row, so you have four days off in a row every week?

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Specializes in ob/gyn med /surg.

i love being a nurse.. despite my bad days that i have meltdowns.. i love my patients baby and adults.. i work med/ surgical and also OB , nursery, post and antepartum. i love to teach the new moms how to breast feed and give baths , and i love holding the babies.. when i work w/ adults i love the elderly people. they like to talk about when they were young and it's fun to listen to. i now work fri , sat and sunday 12 hour shifts ( 3 days in a row kill me) but i have to because i have kids at home and hubby works during the week. so this is my schedule for awhile.. i am trying to figure out a way to break up my schedule.. so i work 2 get one off then work one .. but i haven't been able to do that yet. at work we have the baylor program where we work 36 and get paid for 40. it is a rewarding job .. and i do my best for my patients.. most days i don't get a lunch or break so i work the full 12 1/2 hours on my feet .. but i am there for the patients and i really do love them. i encourge you to look into nursing. i am a RN , but LPN's are nurses and they are wonderful. please keep us updated. :balloons:

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i love being a nurse.. despite my bad days that i have meltdowns.. i love my patients baby and adults.. i work med/ surgical and also OB , nursery, post and antepartum. i love to teach the new moms how to breast feed and give baths , and i love holding the babies.. when i work w/ adults i love the elderly people. they like to talk about when they were young and it's fun to listen to. i now work fri , sat and sunday 12 hour shifts ( 3 days in a row kill me) but i have to because i have kids at home and hubby works during the week. so this is my schedule for awhile.. i am trying to figure out a way to break up my schedule.. so i work 2 get one off then work one .. but i haven't been able to do that yet. at work we have the baylor program where we work 36 and get paid for 40. it is a rewarding job .. and i do my best for my patients.. most days i don't get a lunch or break so i work the full 12 1/2 hours on my feet .. but i am there for the patients and i really do love them. i encourge you to look into nursing. i am a RN , but LPN's are nurses and they are wonderful. please keep us updated. :balloons:

Do you have time to munch on something? I figure I'd eat a few protein bars or shakes as my day went on. Need to keep sustained somehow.

You work 36, get paid for 40? And it's hourly, not salary, right? That sounds nice to me. Do you get OT after 40, if you cross that border?

I like the idea of being close with patients. Do you get a lot of abuse from them? Or are most, if not all, kind and sweet, and talkative? I imagine you get the hard ass once in a while, who decides to pester you about everything.

How about the doctors or administration? Catch a lot of flak from them, or is it actually mellow?

I have this vision of nurses being yelled at, constantly running, never catching a breath, having so many demands on them, with a lot of bitterness in the environment.

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Specializes in Cardiology, Oncology, Medsurge.

nursing is like juggling. you juggle priorities in your mind, "should i treat the pain on patient x or the need to assist to the restroom on patient y?" you juggle families, so much so they don't know weather you're coming or going! they may suspect you're crazy. but don't let that get to you, you're a nurse and nursing is juggling everything two to five feet over your head and promise me you'll never let anything fall! and please pay attention to where you're going, we don't want you to run into anyone, heaven forbid you cause a code! sometimes i've heard it rumored nurses juggle boyfriends, but that's just a rumor.

actors only rumor that on tv shows because they're jealous as to how well we juggle!

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i do back to back schedules usually with my 12s. however this week i have two on and one off and one on...that's nice cause sometimes after night 2 i'm a little tuckered.

nursing is like juggling. you juggle priorities in your mind, "should i treat the pain on patient x or the need to assist to the restroom on patient y?" you juggle families, so much so they don't know weather you're coming or going! they may suspect you're crazy. but don't let that get to you, you're a nurse and nursing is juggling everything two to five feet over your head and promise me you'll never let anything fall! and please pay attention to where you're going, we don't want you to run into anyone, heaven forbid you cause a code! sometimes i've heard it rumored nurses juggle boyfriends, but that's just a rumor.

actors only rumor that on tv shows because they're jealous as to how well we juggle!

lol good, i'll be good at it then. i juggle a lot of things at my current job. the experience will be good. i can make decisions on the fly and prioritize rather well.

do you ever get into a bit of a schedule, or is nursing too dynamic for that? do you do daily paperwork and stuff, or is it mainly running from patient to patient?

do the days tend to go by quickly?

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

Even though this thread was aimed for RNs, I'm an LVN who can answer the portion of your question that relates to scheduling.

I work two 16 hour shifts per week, one on Saturday and one on Sunday. Thereafter, I have 5 days off in a row. I work 32 hours and receive pay for a 40 hour work week. This works out, because I only need to deal with the stressors of bedside nursing for 2 long days per week.

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Even though this thread was aimed for RNs, I'm an LVN who can answer the portion of your question that relates to scheduling.

I work two 16 hour shifts per week, one on Saturday and one on Sunday. Thereafter, I have 5 days off in a row. I work 32 hours and receive pay for a 40 hour work week. This works out, because I only need to deal with the stressors of bedside nursing for 2 long days per week.

Does LVN = LPN?

Wow, two days a week only? Insanity. Can RNs get that too? I'm guessing it depends where you work, right?

Do you get paid by the hour, or are you eligible for OT as well?

Do a lot of places do that, where you work 3x12 but get paid for 40 hours, or do they not do that for hourlys?

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Specializes in Emergency & Trauma/Adult ICU.

The vast majority of nurses who work in a hospital are hourly, though there are some positions (education, staff development, infection control, etc.) that may be salaried.

The 3 12s schedule is common though by no means universal. In my area it does not mean getting paid for 40 hours, but still being eligible for the same benefits as a 40-hour, full-time employee.

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Specializes in ob/gyn med /surg.

for the majority my pt's are very nice. i do bring yougart to eat when i have 5 minutes. i don't get screamed at very often, i've had my moments where a family member gets inpatient waiting for the dr... for some reasons pt's families think the nurses can control when the dr's arrive at the hospital... or they ask is the dr in the hospital? i tell them i have no idea .. it's a very big hospital .. and i can only tell which dr's are here on the floor. i think people just have no idea what goes on a hospital. yes i work 36 and get paid for 40 and it is a hourly wage. we also get paid a few dollars extra an hour if we work the weekend.ye si get paid over time if i work over 40 hours a week. we chart by computer and really have very little paper work. all our paper work is now computer work..lol.. we are going to be a paperless hospital soon .. we do have many demands on us .. but it's wonderful to see people get better , when they came so sick. there are aways a dr or two that is a rude. but i just do my job , say what i have to say and don't talk to them .. if i don't have to. please keep us updated on your nursing plans.. if you have any more questions .. feel free to ask.. take care

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for the majority my pt's are very nice. i do bring yougart to eat when i have 5 minutes. i don't get screamed at very often, i've had my moments where a family member gets inpatient waiting for the dr... for some reasons pt's families think the nurses can control when the dr's arrive at the hospital... or they ask is the dr in the hospital? i tell them i have no idea .. it's a very big hospital .. and i can only tell which dr's are here on the floor. i think people just have no idea what goes on a hospital. yes i work 36 and get paid for 40 and it is a hourly wage. we also get paid a few dollars extra an hour if we work the weekend.ye si get paid over time if i work over 40 hours a week. we chart by computer and really have very little paper work. all our paper work is now computer work..lol.. we are going to be a paperless hospital soon .. we do have many demands on us .. but it's wonderful to see people get better , when they came so sick. there are aways a dr or two that is a rude. but i just do my job , say what i have to say and don't talk to them .. if i don't have to. please keep us updated on your nursing plans.. if you have any more questions .. feel free to ask.. take care

Are all of you here in unions? I spoke to another friend who is a nurse, and he had told me he would never work in a non-unionized hospital. He said the hospital administrators are somewhere between "ambulance chasing personal injury attorneys and Persian used car salesmen," as he so delicately put it.

Are unions common for nurses around the country, or do many hospitals function without them?

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
Does LVN = LPN?

Wow, two days a week only? Insanity. Can RNs get that too? I'm guessing it depends where you work, right?

Do you get paid by the hour, or are you eligible for OT as well?

Do a lot of places do that, where you work 3x12 but get paid for 40 hours, or do they not do that for hourlys?

Yes, LPN = LVN. California and Texas refer to their basic nurses as LVNs, whereas the other 48 states refer to their basic nurses as LPNs.

I get paid by the hour, and am eligible for overtime when I pick up extra shifts during the week.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
Are unions common for nurses around the country, or do many hospitals function without them?
In general, the Southeastern states have a definite preference for avoiding the unionization of their hospitals, because most Southern states tend to be 'right-to-work' states. The Northern and Western states tend to be more open toward unions. Here is a link to a map of the 'right-to-work' states. All of the yellow states favor unions, and all of the blue states are against unions.

http://www.nrtw.org/rtws.htm

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