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White Chocolate posted:I still don't see why you can't just become a nurse and just go straight into whatever field you want and get some experience. Yeah that's more or less what I'm going to do. I had been concerned about getting off the rig, I really enjoy working on units, but talking to some of the flight medics and flight nurses at work today, I realized that I can get that in a while. Until then I can do nursing and then try to get an ICU or ED job which should provide enough challenge to keep me busy until I can get on a transport team. And it's not like I have to surrender my EMT card to become a nurse, so I can get my EMS/transport rocks off volunteering.
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May 5, 2014 02:35
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Paramemetic posted:All your input has been really helpful, folks. Koivunen, you're right. By Fire/EMS standards I am pretty old, but I'll have plenty of time to grow and develop in that field and I have a lot of working time ahead of me. Honestly don't even consider medic class, just go straight for nursing school! I know they've messed around with the curriculum quite a bit since I went through, but my NR-DOT class was 2800 hours total (2000 classroom, 800 clinical). That's more than my BS. Also since you like the field, your state may allow PHRNs. Here in PA AFAIK the only difference in a PHRN and medic's scope is really the interfacility drug list. On the other hand it's quite stupid that they only take a written and not a practical test. Oh you've never ever done an intubation?? That's ok you can do it now!
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May 6, 2014 06:35
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I just finished up my Clinical Calculations class, and the closing comments of some of the other students are really making me worry. They're talking about how hard and confusing it all was, even though it's nothing more than basic algebra. I hope most of these people don't make it to the point of administering medication to anyone, because they're going to get someone killed.  (Just to be clear, having a hard time during the class would be fine as long as they understand it by the end... but I think a lot of them still don't.)
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May 6, 2014 18:18
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Guy Forget posted:They're talking about how hard and confusing it all was, even though it's nothing more than basic algebra. I had to teach a few people how to do this stuff and it is really just an aha moment for them and everything else clicks into place. If your professor didn't have them understanding the basics within two lectures they are a bad professor. It is just basic stoichiometry in my mind.
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May 6, 2014 18:25
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As a part of my radiographer studies I have a compulsory training period in a geriatric ward. After day four I can affirm that blood and feces are definitely not my thing. At least I will appreciate the work nurses do a lot more. Today this one guy ripped off his 30ml balloon catheter...
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May 8, 2014 20:57
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Ihmemies posted:As a part of my radiographer studies I have a compulsory training period in a geriatric ward. After day four I can affirm that blood and feces are definitely not my thing. At least I will appreciate the work nurses do a lot more. Hahaha holy poo poo. What does an inside out penis look like? Most people don't even know those exist. We have a few in our bins and I show them to doctors and new nurses all the time and they cringe. I call it the "punishment foley" it's not only a 30cc ribbed balloon(I have no idea why it's ribbed other than for your pleasure) but it's loving 30 french It's as big around as a drat sharpie. Bum the Sad fucked around with this message at 21:13 on May 8, 2014 |
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May 8, 2014 21:07
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Bum the Sad posted:Hahaha holy poo poo. What does an inside out penis look like? brb, microwaving a hot dog...
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May 9, 2014 00:05
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I was recently accepted into a program and start in the Fall!  Now, to take the summer off or get a couple of BSN requirements out of the way? Decisions, decisions..
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May 11, 2014 14:46
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somnolence posted:I was recently accepted into a program and start in the Fall! My suggestion is to do whatever you can to make your workload lighter during nursing school. If you have other classes you need for your degree, you should get them out of the way now.
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May 11, 2014 15:51
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Interview tomorrow for the nursing residency at my local hospital. I'm interviewing with pediatrics and critic care but I'm hankering for neonatal ICU, I already work there and they know I want it. Interview tips?!? I've never actually been nervous for an interview before ohmygod...
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May 12, 2014 05:04
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Miranda posted:Interview tomorrow for the nursing residency at my local hospital. I'm interviewing with pediatrics and critic care but I'm hankering for neonatal ICU, I already work there and they know I want it. Interview tips?!? I've never actually been nervous for an interview before ohmygod... It seems like a lot of hospitals are moving towards the "STAR" interview format (Situation/Task, Action, Result), where they ask what you did in a certain situation and what the outcome was. That whole "past responses predict future behavior" thing. You should think of a couple good examples that show how you've advocated for patients, solved a complex problem, gotten assistance when you were stretched too thin, etc. And don't forget to stay cool. If you've worked for this hospital before, then they already know you and (hopefully?) a lot of the people you've worked with can vouch for you. That puts you miles ahead of other applicants that would be working for the hospital for the first time.
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May 12, 2014 16:53
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I have an interview tomorrow for a Clinical Informatics Analyst position at new hospital.  If that doesn't pan out, people in my unit want me to go for our assistant manager position. Maybe they secretly hate me. Our unit is in complete disarray. We have zero management. We need a manager, assistant manager, educator plus we then have 9 staff nurse positions open between MICU and SICU.
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May 12, 2014 17:33
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Epic Doctor Fetus posted:It seems like a lot of hospitals are moving towards the "STAR" interview format (Situation/Task, Action, Result), where they ask what you did in a certain situation and what the outcome was. That whole "past responses predict future behavior" thing. You should think of a couple good examples that show how you've advocated for patients, solved a complex problem, gotten assistance when you were stretched too thin, etc. I got a little Rambly McRambleson but I was able to reign it in, I think it went well. Seeing as I work there, how do I go about sending thank you emails? From my personal email to their work emails? I emailed with the nurse manager of peds and neo/PICU - I know their names. But there was 7 people on the panel for the critical care interview so I dunno how to go about emailing them!
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May 12, 2014 21:57
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Miranda posted:I got a little Rambly McRambleson but I was able to reign it in, I think it went well. Thank those fuckers after they give you the job.
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May 13, 2014 01:34
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Miranda posted:I got a little Rambly McRambleson but I was able to reign it in, I think it went well. I would send it through your work email.
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May 13, 2014 02:24
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Just accepted a verbal offer for a Clinical Informatics Analyst position!
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May 16, 2014 23:08
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I found out my local community college has an RN program with an affiliated BSN completion. Since I have my BA already, I only need to take two A&P courses and microbiology (possibly sociology, going to argue that social psych and social work should count for that) before I can try to get into the clinical courses. It also has an LPN "completion" at the midpoint after one year (two year clinical program), which I might take just because I'm a sucker for locking in midpoint incentives. I'm also hoping that in terms of getting into SCT, I might be able to do that with the company I currently work for as an EMT at some point down the line. So basically, thanks thread for the guidance so far.
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May 17, 2014 00:06
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I've had a black cloud following me around this past week. Lots of death, lots of ETOHers, and lots of inadequate staffing with pts who should really be 1:1s (one RN to one pt) but aren't d/t staffing. Today I came home and started talking about my day to my boyfriend and suddenly broke down in tears. I never ever cry... The mental go-go-go sometimes doesn't hit you until you get home and can actually take a breath (and pee). When I have kids I don't want them to go into nursing. Have any of you ever sent flowers to a funeral?
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May 20, 2014 00:37
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Koivunen posted:I've had a black cloud following me around this past week. Lots of death, lots of ETOHers, and lots of inadequate staffing with pts who should really be 1:1s (one RN to one pt) but aren't d/t staffing. Today I came home and started talking about my day to my boyfriend and suddenly broke down in tears. I never ever cry... The mental go-go-go sometimes doesn't hit you until you get home and can actually take a breath (and pee). Sex and then booze fixes the stress. Seriously.
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May 20, 2014 00:45
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Koivunen posted:lots of inadequate staffing with pts who should really be 1:1s (one RN to one pt) but aren't d/t staffing. It's always so strange for me reading about how the US health system is, as I never had any experience with it before moving to Australia. We don't have a nursing hierarchy like in the US (we do occasionally have 'enrolled' nurses, which, depending on education, can function exactly like a registered nurse). That means we're doing all care for our patients directly, but our staffing on an acute surgical/trauma ward is strictly 4:1 (or 8:2, if our in-charges decide to team areas). We don't get poo poo for calling in sick: we get 3/year without needing a certificate, and I think several weeks if we supply a certificate/stat dec. If we don't have staffing to cover a shift with the strict ratios (+1 for the in-charge), our hospital has a pool of nurses that fill gaps, a bank of nurses that can be called in ad hoc, or if all else fails they will get agency to cover the shift, but we have so many of the bank/pool nurses that this is rare. If we have patients on the ward that need more care, depending on the reason, they're either: given a psych nurse to look after them + they're in the numbers of one of our regular staff (so they have the psych nurse and a general nurse looking after them), they're given a sitter if they're just unsettled and high risk of obstructing their care, or they're escalated to our high observation area (4:2 ratio) or off to ICU if they have acute medical issues that need more intensive nursing care. We do still have very unwell patients that would certainly benefit from a greater level of care, and our culture is such that if this happens, nurses with less acute patients go out of their way to assist those with more acute patients. It still gets extremely busy and stressful, and we start leaving late, and get a bit burned out, but from reading this and the health care stories thread, it's nowhere near the level of crazy that seems to happen in the US. Asclepius fucked around with this message at 09:33 on May 20, 2014 |
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May 20, 2014 09:31
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It does seem some U.S. hospitals are trying to do more with less staffing. My wife routinely has five patients and some really need a sitter. She's an RN in a post-op cardiac unit that's a step down from ICU. The unit rarely has a tech and frequently has patients who are not "with it" for a variety of reasons. There's patients who hit, pull out IVs and everything else, "runners" and the like. Occasionally they get a sitter for the really disturbed patients. As for crying, expect to do more of that. My wife has done plenty of tat and even nurses who have worked 10 years plus will break down and cry. The patients can be assholes, some of your fellow co-workers are not that helpful and administration expects you to do more with less. My wife's supervisor threatened the nurses that they'll be fired if they took a sick day.
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May 20, 2014 11:01
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I'm seriously considering going back to school to get a second Bachelors in Nursing, but it feels sort of crazy to go back to school for something I'm not 100% positive I'll enjoy doing for a career. For all of you who were in the same boat at one point, what did you do to decide if it was right for you? Thanks guys!
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May 20, 2014 11:30
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Jimmeeee posted:I'm seriously considering going back to school to get a second Bachelors in Nursing, but it feels sort of crazy to go back to school for something I'm not 100% positive I'll enjoy doing for a career. For all of you who were in the same boat at one point, what did you do to decide if it was right for you? Thanks guys!
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May 20, 2014 13:55
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Roki B posted:Sex and then booze fixes the stress. Seriously. Yeah, I'm a big fan of wine (and vodka if it gets bad enough). Also sex too I guess. Asclepius posted:level of crazy that seems to happen in the US. It's pretty terrible nation-wide. Hospitals are always thinking about the budget and are very vocal about it when they're losing money. Our census dropped over the winter and the hospital has really cracked down on ridiculous things. For one example, we have to email our manager every time we punch out more than seven minutes late to explain why we're getting overtime. We get emails every month saying how many total hours of overtime accrued and how much money it's costing them (like it's our problem). We are frequently understaffed and told there's not money in the budget to hire another FTE, for a few months there was a hospital-wide hiring freeze. We get texts 6/7 days a week asking if we will come in, and that's just for the ICU. The hospital I work at is actually one of the better ones! Yesterday was crazy. I had a neuro trauma, a transfer out, and a direct admit sepsis/resp failure before 0900. Both my pts were rapidly declining and required more attention than one nurse could possibly give, but management wouldn't call in the on-call RN. By the next shift both my patients were 1:1, one RN to one pt. It's a horrible, frustrating, helpless feeling when someone's life literally depends on your care and you are drowning. Liquid Chicken posted:As for crying, expect to do more of that. Yeah, I've only cried at work once before and that's when we withdrew on a 30 year old cancer patient with little kids. We got to know them pretty well before they took a turn for the worse, that was pretty rough. A while ago my coworkers and I laughed about how weird our job can be the day after we had a mega code. In the afternoon we had cracked someone's chest in the room and were squeezing their heart until we finally called it, and that night we went to a basketball game. Jimmeeee posted:I'm seriously considering going back to school to get a second Bachelors in Nursing, but it feels sort of crazy to go back to school for something I'm not 100% positive I'll enjoy doing for a career. Do not become a nurse unless you are 100% positive that you want to do it. Being a nursing assistant where you think you would like to work as a nurse (hospital, nursing/group home, etc) will give you a good idea. Nursing is something that is a lot more than just a job, and you need to want to do it. Even though I just wrote an essay on how much my last week sucked, I still love being a nurse and wouldn't give it up for anything. You need to be able to not hate your life when the job gets (really) tough, because it's a tough career to go into.
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May 21, 2014 00:17
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I wonder if that's how private hospitals are here. I know for a fact their acuity is much reduced, since really unwell patients will invariably be transferred to a major public hospital, but I suspect their ratios are less strict, despite the strong unionisation we have here.
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May 21, 2014 12:46
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I'm glad I don't work on the med-surg floor anymore. Their staffing is horrible. I went off on their director one morning because the OB nurse and I ran all night helping med-surg. They had 19 patients and staffing called for 4 nurses. That's 3 med nurses with 6 patients each and the charge nurse with 1 patient. No tech. There were at least 2 dementia patients who were up all night and 3 that were faking chest pain for IV morphine. That's not a judgement, 2 of them admitted that. We are constantly being told that patient satisfaction is important and then they make it impossible to give good patient care. One of the nurses almost walked out, but didn't because she didn't want to screw everyone else over more. No one likes the new director. She asked if one of the nurses had a good night, and before she could hear her answer "No", she walked away. I was fed up and called her out on it. I did apologize for my tone the next day, but when my director heard about the whole thing she laughed and thanked me for standing up to her. It's frustrating sometimes working at a tiny hospital.
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May 21, 2014 15:12
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So I've finally graduated and have my RN from Drexel University. I'm looking for a job at a hospital in or near New York City. I have preferences on the kind of hospital/unit I'd like to work on but I'll also take what I can get as a first job. That said, it seems like most jobs are part time or per diem or require experience. Any ideas?
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May 21, 2014 17:26
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Hopefully you've been networking during your time in school, and in clinicals. Networking is the king in landing jobs. It outweighs experience, education etc... I can't emphasize it enough for everyone currently in nursing school. Its hard out there for a new graduate. There are typically multiple colleges in each area pumping out new RN graduates every semester, and they are all competing for the same limited amount of positions. That said, if you haven't done any networking or none of your contacts can help you, I suggest you go knocking on doors. Do a little research, find out who the hiring manager or floor manager is for hospitals you want to work at, and go introduce yourself. You need something to give yourself a leg up on the slew of other new grad applicants.
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May 21, 2014 18:27
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Hughmoris posted:Hopefully you've been networking during your time in school, and in clinicals. Networking is the king in landing jobs. It outweighs experience, education etc... I can't emphasize it enough for everyone currently in nursing school. Its hard out there for a new graduate. There are typically multiple colleges in each area pumping out new RN graduates every semester, and they are all competing for the same limited amount of positions. This is seriously the most important thing in this thread regarding getting a job. I networked my rear end off, volunteered during summer/winter breaks, and got to know the staff on the floor I wanted to work on. I got my job offer letter the day before my last final exam and I will start working before most of my classmates have sobered up from their grad parties. Get out there and hustle!
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May 21, 2014 19:50
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Avian Pneumonia posted:So I've finally graduated and have my RN from Drexel University. I'm looking for a job at a hospital in or near New York City. I have preferences on the kind of hospital/unit I'd like to work on but I'll also take what I can get as a first job. According to ~rumors~ NYC is Hard Mode Job Hunt, like Cali. To be honest, I started my new grad job hunt in February, going in person to managers and introducing myself. I also attended job fairs and talked directly to recruiters to find out what they wanted (i.e. what my cover letter should say) - every recruiter, even the LASIK/botox clinics, even ones from Nowhere, SK. New grad is a rough time and a lot of my classmates found the hunt harder than we were told to expect.
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May 21, 2014 20:04
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Avian Pneumonia posted:So I've finally graduated and have my RN from Drexel University. I'm looking for a job at a hospital in or near New York City. I have preferences on the kind of hospital/unit I'd like to work on but I'll also take what I can get as a first job. Most have to come to upstate New York - Poughkeepsie to Albany to get their experience first and then try to get a job in NYC.
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May 22, 2014 14:57
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Yes it's looking more and more like unless any of my personal connections come through in a big way that I'll have to commute out to long island or maybe even Connecticut/New Jersey. Also: What's the deal with ACLS certification? Some places offer fully online courses but I've also been told that an in-person skills check is required. Is it worth getting and where should I get it from? It seems like it couldn't hurt but I've also been told that many hospitals will pay for you to take the course and/or even make you re-take it as a part of orientation even if you already have it.
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May 22, 2014 16:40
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Avian Pneumonia posted:Yes it's looking more and more like unless any of my personal connections come through in a big way that I'll have to commute out to long island or maybe even Connecticut/New Jersey. Get it through your hospital.
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May 23, 2014 01:28
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I'm starting NP school in the fall and I need to get some supplies before I start. Does anyone have a stethoscope they prefer and where did they buy it? They suggest one in my orientation packet that is $160 but I was hoping I could get a less expensive one. Is there an appreciable difference between a $100 and $160 one? I don’t want to skimp on it if it will cause me to be unable to hear what I need to hear.
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May 23, 2014 15:24
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Erysipelothrix posted:I'm starting NP school in the fall and I need to get some supplies before I start. Does anyone have a stethoscope they prefer and where did they buy it? They suggest one in my orientation packet that is $160 but I was hoping I could get a less expensive one. Is there an appreciable difference between a $100 and $160 one? I don’t want to skimp on it if it will cause me to be unable to hear what I need to hear. How are you starting NP but don't know about stethoscopes
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May 24, 2014 09:55
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Just steal a plastic yellow one off an isolation cart.
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May 24, 2014 10:21
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Roki B posted:How are you starting NP but don't know about stethoscopes It's a direct entry program for people with non nursing bachelors degrees. I will receive my BSN the first year and continue for the MSN the next 2 years.
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May 24, 2014 13:20
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That sounds weird to me. Other schools require rn exp before applying to np school, and I kind of wonder how safe it is to have pcp with not as much clinical experience.
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May 24, 2014 14:29
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Lava Lamp posted:That sounds weird to me. Other schools require rn exp before applying to np school, and I kind of wonder how safe it is to have pcp with not as much clinical experience.
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May 24, 2014 16:43
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White Chocolate posted:Isn't there a required amount of experience during clinicals of a couple hundred hours or so? Also they will be a nurse for 2 years before they become and NP so I imagine they would work as a nurse before becoming an NP. From my school's associates, you need 500 clinical hours before sitting for your boards.
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May 24, 2014 16:45
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