I'm writing for ixchel this week-I enthusiastically volunteered, and I wanted to keep with the continuity; sometimes I become a creature of habit with routine and habits, and I surely didn't want to disappoint members.
I actually am off this week from work, but not without interesting WILTW tidbits, even on my days off; I am currently waiting to send a co-worker, who is a NP off in fashion; she's leaving to go to Texas, where she is going to have a blast-I'm going to miss her, but we will be in touch; she is a great clinician , and a wonderful person who helps my personal procrastination-such as my wedding plans-move forward.
So, without any more introduction:
I learned that negotiating the balance beam between union activities and engaging in management is very interesting to say the least; management has become more transparent since a prior WILTW experience-the sweaty flu-riddled meeting where I enthusiastically volunteered to help with morale to end the meeting and teleport to my bed-and although they are trying to "get things done", the union is making in roads for a process, whether they like it or not.
Soft skills can work...I have learned to talk down very challenging parents, more often because even though volume has been down, the acuity of pts are still there-parents want to be reassured, whether they desire to curse someone out or question what we do at every turn, especially when said parents had a very unpleasant experience with said hospital; at least turning around impressions goes a long way with good holistic psychosocial nursing care-at least this time.
Having three traumas with spinal precautions makes for an interesting night:
L5 injuries can produce back pain and nerve injuries, especially to the sciatic nerve, even if there is no spinal cord damage.
C7 injuries can produce referred shoulder pain, even though there is no spinal cord damage.
Spinal shock can still occur, where it's important for pts to follow-up after discharge.
Miami J collars are my favorite collars-they are more comfortable for the pt-ahh memories working at an acute rehab hospital...
Being a go to person of advocacy for seasoned peers and newbies is a great feeling; I'm never the person who is a "cheerleader" type, but more of an "activist cheerleader" is something I can be comfortable with-being positive, realistic, and being empowered as a nurse can be interesting to say the least.
Kraken, I usually start with a "Professional Profile" and take a few lines to sell myself. e.g. my time in pharmacy was "Five years experience in a fast-paced healthcare setting" because I had no hospital/CNA experience to my name. What do you get praised for in performance evals and instructor feedback? You can include that as your opener.
Emphasize your skills in leadership, teaching (training new servers), and individualized care (you're still working for tips now, they're just called HCAHPS) from your years of serving.
Initially, after the Professional Profile I went to Education because it was most recent and most relevant. I included the names of hospitals that I had clinical rotations with. People would ask "Oh, you were at St. Mungo's for a semester? You're familiar with x, then."
Taylor each application: add key words from the job description to get your resume through bots.
There's lots of stuff you can find about "action words" too, but honestly I think the most important thing is to have a format that isn't crowded and difficult to read, use the same language style throughout, and avoid grammatical and punctuation errors.
That must have been what they did with me when I had my gallbladder out (known asthmatic).
The only thing I didn't like was that while I was waking up, I dreamed that I was at the bottom of a VERY deep lake, and was swimming to the surface as fast as I could before I had to take a breath. Just a bit disconcerting lol.
It works well though. I don't like to see patients with the airway in usually, but most of the time I'm able to get it out without having to also do a chin lift or jaw thrust to assist with airway maintenance.
Caring, compassionate, dedicated, and team-oriented professional experienced in time management with superior organization skills. Able to prioritize and handle multiple tasks successfully. Proven expertise in customer service skills. Adaptable to new situations.
· BLS certified by AHA
· Home Health Aide certified by Indiana State Department of Health
· Familiar with Cerner charting system
· Proficient in Microsoft Word and PowerPoint
· Conversational in Korean
EDUCATION
Associate of Science in Nursing, May 2016
Hobbit College, Shire, Hobbiton
On blah blah committee, participated in such-and-such volunteer activity
Completed 528 hours of clinical rotation in the following settings: Long-Term Acute Care, Oncology, Medical-Surgical, Pediatric, Postpartum, NICU, Psychiatric
Bachelor of Science in Movement and Sports Science, May 2013
Minor in Psychology
Mt. Doom University, Mt. Doom, Mordor
Dean's and President's List
WORK EXPERIENCE
xxxxxxxxxxxxx, Middle-earth
Certified Home Health Aide, May 2015-Nov. 2015
· Responsibilities included activities of daily living (this is the buzzword phrase), light housekeeping, and (insert specific support tasks - the rest sounds like BS padding)
· Observed, recorded, and reported all changes in patient's health status to supervisory nurse
· Responsibilities included development of customer relations, anticipation of customers' needs, personalized customer service, and service recovery
· Focused on overall customer experience, development of repeat business, and retention of existing customers
· Received such-and-such award or received such-and-such compliment from manager
xxxxxxxxxxxx, Middle-earth
Server, Aug. 2011-Aug. 2013
· Responsibilities included development of customer relations, anticipation of customers' needs, personalized customer service, service recovery, training and developing new employees
· Focused on prioritization and handling multiple tasks successfully
· Received such-and-such award or received such-and-such compliment from manager
Just work on your interview answers and you've got this in the bag!
I learned to count my rooms! 47 patients, 3 nurses and I had 19 of them because I'm a dingbat and walked in and got report on my usual group. 1 empty bed in my 20, were a 60 bed rehab unit. Didn't notice until we were almost done with hs meds... By that point I was like whatever I'll keep them. We don't tend to shift groups unless someone's got a huge amount of empty beds... And I didn't even notice the empty rooms I walked by coming in...
I also learned that tsh elevation is common in hypothyroidism... Never made the connection until now! It was an aha! Moment, followed by a dang I feel dumb it took this long to figure that one out. Somehow I missed that bit until now.
i learned what someone looks like after they fall in the shower at home and have an INR of 10+ Upon arriving in hospital. A human should not be that purple... I am shocked someone can have that much blood lost by bruising and be ok. Doc said she's lucky she didn't die. Even had bleeding in her joints.
I learned I can make our night doc laugh hysterically by offering him some of "our finest ice water" complimentary, of course. Fresh off my cart. Docs get slap happy by 2230. They laugh at everything.
I finally met met our in house physiatrist! And he's awesome! He hung around at report time and cracked jokes at our desk with us. He's written a book, has huge clinics, and loves being social with all of us. I love docs that are human.
I got offered a PRN job today at my sons elementary school. I've been chatting up the nurse for the last year. Today she asked if I'd be interested in being her sub for the next school year.
I still plan to apply at the hospital I did my capstone in but I like the idea of subbing too. I'm hoping I can do both.
Ahhhh, yes. L5 and C7. My L5 was graciously half removed 4+ weeks ago. I've never been so glad to announce something so gruesome. Injury or irritation at L5 can cause pain through the legs into the feet, loss of feeling, tingling, loss of movement completely, loss of bowel &/or bladder control and pain, pain, pain. Always with the pain.
C7 and I became besties awhile back when the muscle spasm surrounding my L5 injury traveled up my back and into my neck. My arms were in terrible pain. It was horrible. Got and XRay that looked scary, then got an MRI that was after the spasm was relieved and it was totally normal. It was at that time I realized I'll be using muscle relaxers probably forever.
I can talk spinal injuries all day long. I wish that were bragging. It's a terrible club to be in. It's a club that even after surgery, most people never leave. I'm crossing everything that I'm one of the lucky ones.
My husband is part of that club, and he's only 30 🙈Although his spinal fusion this past September has done wonders for his pain level, it will never be 100% gone. Which makes me grateful that medical marijuana extracts have finally been approved in my state, because the amount of meds he had to take to function before the surgery were scaring me.
I just made an appointment to register my daughter for kindergarten and I was so shocked/nostalgic by doing so that I forgot to ask where to go! Then it hit me that I'll be going to school while also dealing with someone else going to school! Then I had a mild panic attack and checked when her first day was against my school schedule next semester. *wipes brow* lab starts at 1030 am. I think my husband might have killed me if I had to miss her first day of school.
I feel kinda shell shocked to be finished with my first year. Grades were up today, another B+, and I keep waiting for the sky to fall because I don't have to wake up by 5 or be up until 2 AM working on care plans or reading or studying.
I'm going to try really hard to soak up this last summer with my kids. I have a list of places I want to go, and I'm terrified I'm going to blink and it will be over and I have to be back at school.
My 2.5 year old refuses to even attempt to poop in the potty. I'm simultaneously annoyed but could care less, in her due time I guess.
I volunteered to attend orientation for the incoming nursing students this Thursday. Trying to find a balance between scaring them, being honest (oh how I wish I could tell them what a witch the clinical instructor who is HOSTING orientation is, she is one of the 2 worst we have, but the school keeps her despite multiple valid complaints from students and STAFF at clinical sites) and being inspirational.
Finally! I think this father's day I can get my husband something he wants and might be surprised at (new car radio because he prefers listening to his phone for music and the car he has does not have a tape deck for adapter or USB connection or wired connection )
I'm going to have a tough time leaving my current work from home job. If she gives me another raise I'll practically be at a new nurse salary, so I'm already scheming on how to keep it while working as a new nurse and my online RN to BSN.
Ixchel, my husband has his L5 and S1 fused. The pain never left but a pain pump has really helped tremendously. He just had his third one put in. They last about 5 years. I don't think we would still be married if he didn't have one.
That I really like talking with the doctor in our immediate care. She gives us tidbits of information about medications and is happy to answer questions that we (the NP and I) have.
That those with mono may end up with a rash if given amoxicillin. Very cool.
Mono takes about a week to have a positive result.
Patient have to be off proton pump inhibitors for two weeks before they have the breath H. Pylori test done or it won't be accurate. Ouch.
ANd the best one from today:
Sometimes you have to inform a grown man on why he should probably always wear a condom while having unprotected sex in the...ahem...."exit only." And sometimes you have to explain this to him for a good 10 minutes before he understands.
It's a terrible club to be in. It's a club that even after surgery, most people never leave. I'm crossing everything that I'm one of the lucky ones.
cracklingkraken, ASN, RN
1,855 Posts
Thanks, cani. I'll PM it to you!
ETA: Nvm, your PM isn't working. I left out my heading, since that's not where my issue lies.
EDUCATION
Associate of Science in Nursing, May 2016
Hobbit College, Shire, Hobbiton
3.415/4.00 GPA
Bachelor of Science in Movement and Sports Science, May 2013
Minor: Psychology
Mt. Doom University, Mt. Doom, Mordor
3.24/4.00 GPA
CERTIFICATIONS
Basic Life Support (BLS) certified by American Heart Association.
Home Health Aide certified by Indiana State Department of Health.
WORK EXPERIENCE
xxxxxxxxxxxxx, Middle-earth
Certified Home Health Aide, May 2015-Nov. 2015
· Provided personal hygiene care, healthcare tasks, light housekeeping, and other support services as directed by the supervisory nurse
· Observed, recorded, and reported all changes to supervisory nurse
xxxxxxxxxxx, Middle-earth Server, Feb. 2014-Jul. 2015
· Extensive development of client relations and anticipation of clients' needs
· Focused on client experience and retention
· Promoted restaurant reputation by demonstrating quality customer service through greeting, waiting, and maintaining overall restaurant cleanliness
xxxxxxxxxxxx, Middle-earth
Server, Aug. 2011-Aug. 2013
· Honed the ability to multitask and prioritize under pressure in a fast-paced environment
· Trained new servers according to restaurant's procedures, culture, and practice
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
· Familiar with Cerner charting system
· Proficient in Microsoft Word and PowerPoint
· Conversational in Korean
Completed 528 hours of clinical rotation in the following settings: Long-Term Acute Care, Oncology, Med-Surg, Pediatric, Postpartum, NICU, Psychiatric