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Popping in here to say hello. I am a nurse and I work in a large hospital in Northern Minnesota. We have a level II trauma center, a level II NICU, a burn center, and a a slew of cardiac care. We treat the entire northeast section of Minnesota and northwest part of Wisconsin. I have my RN, BSN. I am on float staff for floor nursing, and I work only float schedules. I am a 0.8 so I never know where I will end up when I start work, I really like it. The units I work on are oncology, hospice, the acute mental health ward, neurology, orthopedic surgery, medical/surgical, OB/urology surgical, and inpatient rehabilitation. Mostly I am floated between the psych ward and the med/surg floors. Our birthing center is undergoing renovation/new management, but I hope to cross-train to them as soon as I'm able. I love being a float, you get to see and experience new things every day, no patient will ever be the same. Also you don't get sucked in to floor drama with the other nurses. Sometimes you get really bad assignments because the core nurses dump them on you, but usually it's pretty good. The staffing office has done pretty well for trying to schedule us a few days at a time on one unit for patient care continuity, but usually I'm floated around quite often. Anyway, that's my story. If you're a nursing student and have questions about working on a particular unit, I can try to help you out.
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Oct 17, 2011 06:28
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I'm due to start my pre-nursing classes in January (SO excited), and I have a question about shifts once you've graduated as a new RN. What's the usual shifts you can hope for? I see a lot of new RN grads stuck doing night shift or worse, rotating day/night shifts. That just sounds so awful. Can you do the 8 hour/5 day week shifts right from the get go, or is that mostly for senior nurses?
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Oct 17, 2011 21:46
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Lava Lamp posted:Can you do the 8 hour/5 day week shifts right from the get go, or is that mostly for senior nurses? What's the usual shifts you can hope for? I see a lot of new RN grads stuck doing night shift or worse, rotating day/night shifts. That just sounds so awful. If you are a floor nurse, you won't be doing 8 hour/5 day a week shifts no matter how much experience you have. Only departments in my hospital that do such shifts are the OR and recovery. Three 12 hour shifts a week is pretty commonplace. As a new grad RN, you are going to take whatever shifts you can get and like it. I'd get used to the idea of working nights if I were you. Really, it isn't so bad.
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Oct 18, 2011 00:10
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I was just informed that I was accepted early into an accelerated BSN program that begins in January. I already have a BS in molecular biology. My wife is a nurse that couldn't find a graduate nurse job in Boston, so we moved back to Orlando, FL where she was hired as an RN. She got hired in March with an ADN and the big hospital system she works for is now only hiring RNs with a BSN. I told her she was lucky to get in when she did. I'm looking forward to starting the program, but not looking forward to the job search. We plan on getting me some experience and then hitting the road as a travel nurse couple, maybe solve some mysteries and play in some groovy bands along the way.
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Oct 18, 2011 02:40
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Lava Lamp posted:Can you do the 8 hour/5 day week shifts right from the get go, or is that mostly for senior nurses? For my first job, I was hired at 0.8 (four days a week) day/evening rotating schedule. However, I picked up enough shifts so that I could work full time. At the hospital I work at, 12 hour shifts are for nurses who work in the ER or the ICUs, and 8 hour shifts are for floor nurses. We have some 8 hour critical care nurses and some 12 hour floor nurses, but it's a lot more common for CCUs to be 12s and floors to be 8s. It all depends on the hospital you get hired at, and what they need. Usually you will get stuck doing night shifts, but like another person said, they really aren't bad at all. I have picked up a few night shifts here and there and I definitely feel like you get better new-grad experience working a day or evening shift, but if night is the only position you can get, you better take it.
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Oct 18, 2011 03:04
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Lava Lamp posted:Can you do the 8 hour/5 day week shifts right from the get go, or is that mostly for senior nurses? I am doing 8 hour shifts now as a new grad, but I wish I was working 3 12 hour shifts.
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Oct 23, 2011 01:55
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I wanted to ask a broad question about possibly getting into the medical field as an entry level assistant or tech, but I didn't want to make a new thread so I thought I would just ask here. If this isn't okay, just let me know. I'm working in IT now and I absolutely hate my job. The workload is laughably small, my coworkers bitch all day about how they hate their jobs and I spend 9 hours of my time each day browsing SA and the net. I honestly don't want to do this for the rest of my life and always wanted to work in a hospital. With no experience or education in the medical field, how feasible would it be to get an entry level job as an ER Technician or a Medical Assistant at a big hospital? I've looked on my county hospital job page and some of these jobs require only a high school education and on the job training. Is this accurate for most hospitals? Would they really let someone with no background in medicine do blood tests and IVs on patients or is there extensive on the job training offered before even being considered? If this is not the case, where would be a good place to start? Another 4 years of college( and honestly even 2 years) is out of the question. Are there some hospital sponsored certifications and classes that one could take to increase their odds?
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Oct 25, 2011 15:43
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New LVN grad here, looking for employment. Besides Craigslist, what other websites are good to browse to find nursing jobs?
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Oct 25, 2011 18:29
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Cardboard Fox posted:I wanted to ask a broad question about possibly getting into the medical field as an entry level assistant or tech, but I didn't want to make a new thread so I thought I would just ask here. If this isn't okay, just let me know. Where do you live?
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Oct 25, 2011 20:38
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Oxford Comma posted:New LVN grad here, looking for employment. Besides Craigslist, what other websites are good to browse to find nursing jobs?
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Oct 26, 2011 11:01
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Oxford Comma posted:New LVN grad here, looking for employment. Besides Craigslist, what other websites are good to browse to find nursing jobs? Yeah, I would avoid craigslist. Just look up the website of local hospitals- they should all have a job section where you can look up what they have. Or if they don't, call them up and ask. Has anyone ever heard of the National Health Service Corps? (http://nhsc.hrsa.gov/) Is it any good? Looks like a good deal for grad school if you already have your BSN.
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Oct 26, 2011 12:16
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Nurse Fanny posted:Where do you live? Broward County, FL.
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Oct 26, 2011 15:16
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Cardboard Fox posted:Broward County, FL. Cool. I'd get yourself a Certified Nursing Assistant cert or the equivalent of that. You'll be doing the healthcare entry level type stuff that you've always wanted to do, plus you'll really know if you like health care by the end of your training. The training is pretty quick, flexible, and relatively cheap. Or you could try getting an EMT cert. You could land a tech job after that.
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Oct 27, 2011 04:46
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Cardboard Fox posted:Would they really let someone with no background in medicine do blood tests and IVs on patients Short answer: No. Blood tests are for lab techs, and they usually have an associate's degree at minimum. Registered Nurses start IVs, which obviously takes schooling as well. Basically, if you want to have interaction with patients outside of a volunteer setting, you're going to have to get some kind of training/education. Like someone else suggested, you could try being a nursing assistant. That's pretty much the quickest way to get to be able to care for patients. The course is, I believe, sixish weeks long. If you can handle wiping poop, emptying catheter bags, heavy lifting, taking blood pressures, and giving bed baths all day long, maybe you should look into it. Have you considered being an IT person for the hospital? All hospitals need IT people. There are also Health Unit Coordinators (HUCs). HUCs work a lot with patient charts, processing doctor orders, making phone calls, things like that. They're basically unit secretaries. You need to have a bit of training to do the HUC job (like taking medical terminology, for example) but I'm not sure how much you would need. Look at hospital websites, see what positions they have open, and see what kind of requirements they have. For example, this hospital is hiring an IT person, and it's in Broward County. https://sh.webhire.com/servlet/av/jd?ai=782&ji=2581421&sn=I Oxford Comma posted:New LVN grad here, looking for employment. Besides Craigslist, what other websites are good to browse to find nursing jobs? Yeah... the first place you need to look is on hospital websites.
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Oct 28, 2011 05:59
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Just finished my first Nursing Clinical Placement at a Nursing Home! It was great fun. Lots of basic personal care, a bit of medication rounds, BSLs and subcuts (insulin - though a vast majority of the residents aka patients had no diabetes, though being through WWII, concentration camps and rations will shape habit) and all round excellent current residents living there. Had a ball, and hopefully I'll have a job there soon. The basic care is the best care, so far. (Though I very likely will say that about every new placement I get.) Highly recommend the 'start at the bottom approach', though still slightly miffed that I didn't get acute or rehab as my first.
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Oct 28, 2011 10:58
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Can anyone recommend a book / program / etc to help study for the TEAS test? Also I have my elective coming up, would it be more beneficial on my transcript to take another science class or maybe a language like Spanish?
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Nov 3, 2011 16:33
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Etrips posted:Can anyone recommend a book / program / etc to help study for the TEAS test? Also I have my elective coming up, would it be more beneficial on my transcript to take another science class or maybe a language like Spanish? The TEAS is retard easy. It's probably about the same toughness as a GED.
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Nov 4, 2011 13:53
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Etrips posted:Can anyone recommend a book / program / etc to help study for the TEAS test? Also I have my elective coming up, would it be more beneficial on my transcript to take another science class or maybe a language like Spanish? Everyone I've ever talked to recommends physical assesment if it's offered at your school.
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Nov 4, 2011 16:24
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Bum the Sad posted:The TEAS is retard easy. It's probably about the same toughness as a GED. They sell a bullshit study book on their website.
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Nov 4, 2011 23:08
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I am looking at possibly emigrating to Canada, rather than Norway now. Does anyone know if the UK adult nursing degree would fall short in the hours for mental health and paediatrics required to register as a nurse in Ontario? the CNO weren't very helpful when I e-mailed them.
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Nov 5, 2011 16:42
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I tried to get registration in Canada from Australia a few years ago so here's 300 dollars worth of advice: you need 3 months full time maternity experience or the equivalent study to qualify for the registration exams. Since maternity's not part of the undergrad degree here I had to do a bridging course if I wanted to keep going with it.
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Nov 5, 2011 17:58
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Cardboard Fox posted:With no experience or education in the medical field, how feasible would it be to get an entry level job as an ER Technician or a Medical Assistant at a big hospital? I've looked on my county hospital job page and some of these jobs require only a high school education and on the job training. Is this accurate for most hospitals? Tech jobs may or may not require a certification. I have an EMT-Basic certification working as a tech and I get paid more because of it. We hire people with just a high-school diploma too but they get paid less and they're required to go through this tech training academy thing. I'm pretty sure that a medical assistant job will require some kind of certification but I have no idea how long that takes. Cardboard Fox posted:Would they really let someone with no background in medicine do blood tests and IVs on patients or is there extensive on the job training offered before even being considered? Nope. I work on a critical care floor and techs aren't allowed to touch IVs. If I worked in the ER though I would be able to start them after being trained and signed off by a nurse. I'm allowed to do some more advanced stuff though because I've had on-the-job training for it, stuff like pulling sheaths and inserting foleys (always fun). But as a tech 90% of your job will be taking vital signs and wiping asses. Cardboard Fox posted:If this is not the case, where would be a good place to start? Another 4 years of college( and honestly even 2 years) is out of the question. Are there some hospital sponsored certifications and classes that one could take to increase their odds? The hospital I work at is partnered with the local community college and offers tech training. You can also look into CNA classes or take the route I did and get an EMT certification from a CC (usually a one-semester class). If you want to be an ER Technician definitely go the EMT route as that's preferred over a CNA.
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Nov 8, 2011 01:04
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I'm off orientation and loving my job. Strange that all that stress in nursing school was worth it. 
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Nov 8, 2011 06:45
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roboshit posted:The hospital I work at is partnered with the local community college and offers tech training. You can also look into CNA classes or take the route I did and get an EMT certification from a CC (usually a one-semester class). If you want to be an ER Technician definitely go the EMT route as that's preferred over a CNA. Thanks for the info. I had another question about general hours and shifts for Techs. What are they like? Some of the info provided on the jobs page suggested that techs have 3 shifts a week. Does that mean they can work 3 shifts doing a shift per day and then get 4 days off? Are you put on call most of the time? And if so what is that like. How many hours a week do you generally work and is there overtime? roboshit posted:I'm allowed to do some more advanced stuff though because I've had on-the-job training for it, stuff like pulling sheaths and inserting foleys (always fun). But as a tech 90% of your job will be taking vital signs and wiping asses. Let's say you come into the job knowing EKG and Phlebotomy, would that allow you to skip the menial tasks and head straight into those? Would it be a good idea to take EKG/Blood courses along with EMT-B in order to have a better chance to get into a job that is more technical. Or would it be better to just come in and have the hospital teach you these procedures. Sorry for all the dumb questions, let me know if I'm being annoying. Cardboard Fox fucked around with this message at 17:24 on Nov 8, 2011 |
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Nov 8, 2011 17:05
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Cardboard Fox posted:Thanks for the info. Yes. I work the night shift and a lot of the techs and nurses like to do three 12's in a row and then enjoy their four days off. Cardboard Fox posted:Are you put on call most of the time? And if so what is that like. I dunno about other places but we're never put on call. Cardboard Fox posted:How many hours a week do you generally work and is there overtime? 36 hours is standard and most of the time yes you can work extra if you want (this will vary from unit to unit, of course). During the summer I was working 48 a week. Cardboard Fox posted:Let's say you come into the job knowing EKG and Phlebotomy, would that allow you to skip the menial tasks and head straight into those? Would it be a good idea to take EKG/Blood courses along with EMT-B in order to have a better chance to get into a job that is more technical. Or would it be better to just come in and have the hospital teach you these procedures. Not sure what you mean by skipping the menial tasks but yes the more knowledge you have the better. Where I work, techs can do 12-lead EKGs in the ER after some training, but I'm not sure about drawing blood, that's usually left to the phlebotomists.
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Nov 8, 2011 17:49
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Silentgoldfish posted:I tried to get registration in Canada from Australia a few years ago so here's 300 dollars worth of advice: you need 3 months full time maternity experience or the equivalent study to qualify for the registration exams. Since maternity's not part of the undergrad degree here I had to do a bridging course if I wanted to keep going with it. A bridging course in Australia, or in Canada? What a pain in the arse.
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Nov 8, 2011 18:26
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roboshit posted:Yes. I work the night shift and a lot of the techs and nurses like to do three 12's in a row and then enjoy their four days off. Thank you again for the great info, roboshit.
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Nov 9, 2011 16:16
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This is going to sound strange, but any recommendations on a watch that will withstand the test of time working in the field?
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Nov 9, 2011 17:29
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Etrips posted:This is going to sound strange, but any recommendations on a watch that will withstand the test of time working in the field? I have this one. It's a drat fine watch that can handle any bodily fluids you throw at it. It also syncs with an atomic clock every day at midnight which is nice.
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Nov 9, 2011 17:36
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Jeez that looks a tad excessive. Why not just get a simple water-resistant Timex with a sweeping second hand? Plus you get Indiglo for working at night.
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Nov 10, 2011 03:24
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Etrips posted:This is going to sound strange, but any recommendations on a watch that will withstand the test of time working in the field? I have never spent more than $10 on a watch for work, and I used the watch for a couple of months before I realized I didn't actually need one. You really only need it for the seconds hand, and there are clocks in all patient's rooms anyway. Also, wearing a watch means you can't wash that part of your wrist, and that is gross. Keeping a watch after there's been body fluids on it is unsanitary no matter how well you think you clean it. Watches have all kinds of tiny spaces where germs can hide. If you're careful enough you shouldn't be getting stuff on your watch, but accidents happen, and you can pick up germs from any patient even if you think they are clean. E: Now that I think about it, hardly any of the nurses I work with wear watches. Koivunen fucked around with this message at 19:36 on Nov 10, 2011 |
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Nov 10, 2011 07:06
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roboshit posted:I have this one.
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Nov 10, 2011 10:00
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I just got one of those infection control fob watches. They pin onto your scrubs and you can read the watch without touching it if you turn the timepiece upside down. I hate wrist watches so this is way better for me. They're super cheap on ebay.
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Nov 10, 2011 21:29
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So I've got my Block 1 HESI exit exam coming up next Tuesday. Any suggestions on how to prepare/study for it?
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Nov 16, 2011 01:02
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Yarbald posted:So I've got my Block 1 HESI exit exam coming up next Tuesday. Any suggestions on how to prepare/study for it? Don't? Isn't that the point?
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Nov 17, 2011 06:17
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Baby_Hippo posted:Don't? Isn't that the point? Why wouldn't I? It counts towards my overall grade and I'd like to do well.
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Nov 17, 2011 07:58
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Finally turned in my nursing school applications for UIC and ISU. My counselor has assured me that I'm all but certain to get accepted but I'm still worried as all hell. Gonna be a fun 5 months of waiting.
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Nov 18, 2011 01:04
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Yarbald posted:Why wouldn't I? It counts towards my overall grade and I'd like to do well. Oooh sorry...it didn't count toward our final grade in my program. It was just used to see how we'd do on the NCLEX and what areas to study.
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Nov 19, 2011 18:45
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I applied to do a post-graduate diploma in mental health nursing starting this past September but only managed to get a place for the course starting in September 2012. If I end up going ahead with it and doing the course I'll be a registered mental health nurse (RMN). I'd love to live in Canada in the future and I understand that only the western provinces (Alberta, Manitoba, BC, Saskatchewan) recognise RMNs and that my qualification would lack the required hours and experience in paediatrics and obstetrics for me to practice in the other provinces. Since ideally I'd like to live on Prince Edward Island, or Nova Scotia or Ontario, I'd have to do some additional courses and all sorts of faff. I'm just wondering if anyone knows anything about the other provinces considering recognising the RMN qualification in the future? I'd like to live in the province of my choice, but I'd also like to work in the specialism of my choice and training rather than as a general nurse.
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Nov 24, 2011 14:27
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Anyone else in school getting ready to take the ATI? We're taking ours next week (part of the course grade).
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Nov 24, 2011 20:31
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