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Nice and hot piss posted:Welp, I'm in a bit of a predicament here. This kind of sums up to me the variety in work that you only really get in nursing. This kind of depends on your own circumstances - I've got kids and dropped all the antisocial hours to go 9-5 5 days a week as an advanced practitioner and it has been amazing.
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Sep 24, 2022 06:28
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Yeah I get that. I have no kids but a wife who's a nurse, I'm semi antisocial anyways so doing stuff outside while everyone works 9-5 is kind of the dream for me. Plus having 3-6 days off without the hassle of using PTO makes nursing difficult to drop entirely for an office job. I'm gonna submit my resignation come this Wednesday, and see if the boss is fine with me going PRN. Then cross my fingers that a flight gig decides to open up for me. Fortunately we're in a position that we can survive on one income so even if i can't manage full time hours we'll be okay. Although I laugh at the concept of not getting full time hours between ICU and ED work since the needs list is a mile long for both departments.
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Oct 3, 2022 08:25
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Half the reason I'm glad i finally got my first job is so i dont have to hear friends and family exclaim "but i thought everyone was desperate for nurses" when I talk about the slog to find a job
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Oct 3, 2022 23:00
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OMGVBFLOL posted:Half the reason I'm glad i finally got my first job is so i dont have to hear friends and family exclaim "but i thought everyone was desperate for nurses" when I talk about the slog to find a job No kidding. There's a poo poo TON of RN positions open, but I have no desire to do inpatient floor level nursing. The good jobs are being held on with a clenched fist and at any opportunity they're snatched up immediately Like that poo poo is rough, I have a massive respect for the nurses here who are getting hosed with 5-6 patients and limited CNA staff. No wonder our Ortho department is chronically short 4 nurses each night and gobbles up our float pool
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Oct 4, 2022 08:43
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Nice and hot piss posted:Like that poo poo is rough, I have a massive respect for the nurses here who are getting hosed with 5-6 patients and limited CNA staff. No wonder our Ortho department is chronically short 4 nurses each night and gobbles up our float pool Ortho/trauma and med/surg general are always a mess everywhere I go. The patients are hella sick, need a lot of hands on care, surgeons are a pain int he rear end to deal with, and there's always a big push for movement.
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Oct 10, 2022 02:59
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Yeah thats pretty much how it goes. I work ortho for long enough to feel the staffing squeeze. Super frustrating when the management doesn't really appreciate that patients with broken bones (almost) all need 2x assist for turns and adls.
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Oct 11, 2022 19:24
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I'm needing to move cities. Currently in Columbus, Ohio and it isn't really working out for me city-wise, though professionally it is ok. Anyone worked in Maine, specifically Portland area? Mostly I'm looking for a smaller city that is nevertheless cool, which means I'm every young-ish professional flocking to every city in the country and gentrifying everything.
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Oct 11, 2022 21:24
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Ravenfood posted:I'm needing to move cities. Currently in Columbus, Ohio and it isn't really working out for me city-wise, though professionally it is ok. Anyone worked in Maine, specifically Portland area? Mostly I'm looking for a smaller city that is nevertheless cool, which means I'm every young-ish professional flocking to every city in the country and gentrifying everything. Ever considered Minneapolis/St. Paul, or MN in general?
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Oct 14, 2022 15:36
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Koivunen posted:Ever considered Minneapolis/St. Paul, or MN in general? Actually yes!
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Oct 15, 2022 16:53
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the MLPS/STP thread in LAN was a great resource when I visited.
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Oct 18, 2022 00:05
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Welp, it's official. Goodbye cardiac ICU, hello flight nursing! I feel happy once again
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Oct 20, 2022 10:36
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Koivunen posted:Ever considered Minneapolis/St. Paul, or MN in general? Minneapolis and Saint Paul rule for a lot of reasons and the nursing climate is pretty awesome. There's a strong union so even non union places don't get up to too much bullshit. Do: Work at Methodist. Maybe work in the East Bank U of M. Maybe work at the VA. Can't tell you much about the Alina system or most of the rest of Fairview. Do not: Work at U of M Riverside in any capacity (psych or peds are actually okay). Do not work in the ED at the U of M East Bank in any capacity. Edit: I saw you're ICU or at least were. U of M East Bank and Methodist ICU I can both vouch for. Double edit: Riverside has an "ICU". Do not work there. Ohthehugemanatee fucked around with this message at 19:08 on Oct 22, 2022 |
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Oct 22, 2022 18:59
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Ohthehugemanatee posted:
Can you explain more about why not to work at Riverside or its ICU, or not East Bank ED?
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Nov 15, 2022 21:11
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Kung Fu Candy posted:Can you explain more about why not to work at Riverside or its ICU, or not East Bank ED? Riverside is a cool community hospital that does a great job with L&D, ortho and psych. Unfortunately, it's next to the East Bank U of M which is an academic medical center that does transplants and neurosurg and all of that. For years they were allowed to sort of be their own thing and everyone understood that you never let a sick patient get within a mile of Riverside and that was fine and good. It's the kind of place where the ICU is equivalent to IMC or even med surg at most academic medical centers. But it's also a problem, because "chill place where nothing happens" attracts a certain type of medical provider and a certain kind of nurse, and it drives away people who don't want that. When things really go bad on Riverside, it's terrifying because there just aren't many people around who regularly deal with horrible things. The other wrinkle is that admin is trying to get Riverside to up their game and offload some of East Bank's population, so they're sending sicker and sicker patients over the protests of basically everyone who works there. I'd specifically avoid their ICU because anything remotely interesting is getting transferred out and you'd be missing out on what makes ICU fun. East Bank ED is just a really rough place for nurses for reasons I do not know, but it has been a problem for years. The department absolutely burns through nursing staff. I don't even try to learn anyone's names because they'll be gone before I can get it right. When RNs I know transfer down there I can rest assured I'll never see them again after a month. Oddly enough the docs are perfectly happy. But even before the pandemic and everything going to hell they couldn't keep nurses around for anything. Ohthehugemanatee fucked around with this message at 05:35 on Nov 19, 2022 |
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Nov 19, 2022 04:37
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 gently caress yes.
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Jan 16, 2023 04:24
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Zipperelli. posted:
You got this!
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Jan 16, 2023 04:58
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Zipperelli. posted:
Based on some irresponsible emotionally-charged oathmaking on my part I think I'm still obligated to name my next child UWorld. For what it's worth.
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Jan 16, 2023 05:24
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Good luck! I've also booked my nclex. I'm also giving uworld a go.
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Jan 16, 2023 19:39
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DeadMansSuspenders posted:Good luck! I've also booked my nclex. I'm also giving uworld a go. UWorld is what everyone is telling me to use, so UWorld it is...
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Jan 18, 2023 03:18
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Hughmoris posted:I just scheduled my NCLEX for the 20th! I already have a job lined up at the hospital I'm currently a tech at. I'll have my RN orientation on July 2nd, and start on July 8th! Yeesh. A little over 10 years ago I posted in this thread about scheduling for my NCLEX. Time is flying and I grow old. Best of luck to all of you on the exam and to the start of your careers!
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Jan 18, 2023 04:08
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Hughmoris posted:Yeesh. A little over 10 years ago I posted in this thread about scheduling for my NCLEX. Time is flying and I grow old
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Jan 22, 2023 17:42
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 I did it!
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Feb 11, 2023 04:39
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Zipperelli. posted:
Congratulations!!
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Feb 11, 2023 04:47
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is there any information anywhere on the internet about RN-to-Paramedic bridges or is it just entirely people with no personal experience speculating and guessing e: is there anyone who has actually done one here? Cactus Ghost fucked around with this message at 06:37 on Feb 11, 2023 |
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Feb 11, 2023 06:35
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OMGVBFLOL posted:is there any information anywhere on the internet about RN-to-Paramedic bridges or is it just entirely people with no personal experience speculating and guessing Creighton university has an RN to paramedic program, I think Its in the summer, and it's roughly two weeks long? I went through it back in 2017 and I thought it was good. I'll edit this post and place a link here in a couple minutes when I have the ability to
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Feb 11, 2023 16:25
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Zipperelli. posted:
Had no doubt! Well done and congratulations.
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Feb 11, 2023 18:55
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Any tips for a new grad re: time management, getting stuff done properly and feeling less crap about being a newbie? I’m a few weeks in as an RN on a specialised paediatric unit. I’ll be here for a year in a graduate transition program. I’m currently being “preceptored” but will be flying solo from next week. I know impostor syndrome is a thing, that I need to ask for help, and that I’ll get the hang of things in time, but I find I’ll get my head around one part of things and realise I’ve forgotten something else. I don’t want to rush things and I want to make sure I understand what’s happening and it makes me quite slow. Yesterday it was doing meds on time; today it was writing my notes. Felt really poo poo leaving 45 mins after my shift ended but I wanted to make sure my notes were thorough  I do use a shift planner and try to cluster my cares but I still always feel like the tasks are never ending. I’m sure some of this will settle when I’m more familiar on my ward but if anybody has any tips, advice or just kind words, it’d be appreciated right now. I got really good feedback during my clinical placements and I worked as an Assistant in Nursing (Aus equivalent of a CNA) during my studies but I feel like they haven’t prepared me for a drat thing 
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Feb 23, 2023 14:02
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combee posted:Any tips for a new grad re: time management, getting stuff done properly and feeling less crap about being a newbie? I think you're being completely reasonable and spot on with your assessment. It's just the nature of these things, there is no magic solution to it. You're going to feel a little overwhelmed for a while but you will eventually find your groove. Put patient safety first, above everything. Focus on being a good teammate to others, and ask for help when you need it. In time, you'll start to recognize how to prioritize and group tasks more efficiently. Comfort and familiarity will bring speed and time savings. I don't know how Australia handles things but Charting will likely be the biggest opportunity to claw time back. Not everything documented needs to be a detailed novel. Hit the highlights and move on. Find a capable nurse on your unit and peek at their charting. Steal their good techniques for your own. You got this!
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Feb 23, 2023 20:04
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combee posted:Any tips for a new grad re: time management, getting stuff done properly and feeling less crap about being a newbie? I've been a Band 6 / Clinical Leader / charge nurse (not sure how this translates out of the UK) for a good few years and I've never worked with a good newly qualified rn who isn't anxious about this. My main advice is that experience is the best means of managing your time as you learn what aspects of the job to prioritise and what push down your list. I prefer for a junior to keep me updated on where they are up to rather than drowning on their own. Don't get complacent (sounds like you aren't) Work with the rest of the team - if you have to ask someone to put up an IV or something like that, offer to do something in exchange - if even you cant do much Keep your senior colleagues informed Make the most of being able to ask everyone questions (colleagues / patients / doctors/ cleaners / porters) - this was the best part of being newly qualified for me. I've got my prescribing OSCE tomorrow, getting close to achieving one of my big career goals, but also back to being a novice again!
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Feb 26, 2023 11:42
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For me as a new nurse the hardest part about prioritizing my time was figuring out "am i feeling overwhelmed because i'm still new at this, or am i feeling overwhelmed because there's legit too much happening at once and even an experienced nurse would need help right now". And honestly the only thing that helped that was 1) stop trying to suss that out and just ask for help and 2) getting familiar enough with the unit and my workflow that i wasn't losing time to stuff like standing in the supply room trying to find some thing or the other
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Feb 27, 2023 06:22
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I took care of the Vic Rattlehead, the Megadeth mascot. This dipshit smoked too much? meth and failed to negotiate his motor vehicle out of the path of a tree. Killed his passenger and got his face smashed in, an eyeball sewn poo poo and his entire face bolted together. Got a trach as a bonus. rear end in a top hat was so agitated and lovely when delirious he bent the hardware in his forearm repair, and gets to go back for a revision later.  And then a guy who used a .38. Proof that its a low power garbage round.  This particular little piggy went vent vent vent all the way to organ procurement. I had him for three days wherein I did exactly zero work while the procurement organization did somethingoranother with placing his organs. He had a rectal tube, foley, and obviously was vented. Not a fluid I had to clean or a drip I had to titrate. Literal autopilot. Easiest money I think I've ever made while still technically having a patient. I'll probably be leading our units transition to ICU program for non critical care and new grads program later this summer which means potentially work from home one day a week, leading sim labs, lectures, etc. I've precepted nearly every new nurse on my unit for the last five years so I may as well. Its still totally union non-management which is the only reason I've considered it. And its still trauma surgical icu bedside two days a week which honestly, I loving love.
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Feb 28, 2023 02:02
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Hughmoris posted:Yeesh. A little over 10 years ago I posted in this thread about scheduling for my NCLEX. Time is flying and I grow old. Teaching the newbies has made it a very sustainable career for me. Its rewarding to watch them grow into competence and confidence.
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Feb 28, 2023 02:06
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Thanks all. I’ve now done a week of solo work as an RN and it’s been full of ups and downs. Some days are pretty manageable, I get by and don’t feel terrible at the end. I’ve learned to make peace with the fact that I can’t do 100% of everything I would ideally do each shift, and that’s ok. However, I have been thrown into a couple of situations here and there where I think “gently caress, I have no idea”. I ask for help and I do my best but I still come out frazzled and feel like I’m not good enough to be here. The last thing that made me feel that way was a transfer from ICU; they were stable but had a few things being monitored that don’t usually come up on my ward. I was so focused on juggling my patient load and the patient was presenting as stable, and I missed something that came up on one of the things we were monitoring. Thankfully a more experienced and relaxed RN noticed this and escalated it for me, and the clinical review didn’t result in any interventions (doctor just noted what had been seen and increased frequency of obs) but gently caress me if I don’t feel like poo poo. This all happened at the end of my shift too and I felt like a real piece of poo poo, handing off this mess to the next nurse. I know this experience will help me to remember not to be so task orientated that I miss the bigger picture but what else can I learn from this? I know you learn from experience but I still feel poo poo and dumb as gently caress.
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Mar 3, 2023 13:36
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You are going to feel dumb for at least the first year of your own. That’s a good thing, because it means you’ll ask questions and get help when you need it. The people to watch out for are the new nurses who think they know it all. Try not to be so hard on yourself. Every nurse was brand new at one point, and if they’re not a complete rear end in a top hat they will understand and show some grace. The good thing about mistakes is that if you’re sufficiently embarrassed or irritated with yourself, you’ll never make that mistake again.
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Mar 3, 2023 22:36
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i fuckin hate taking ICU step-downs when the hospital's full, cause half the time it feels like they're kicking someone down to make room, not because they're ready to go or can be safely monitored on the floor e: in funnier news, poo poo i said with a straight face this week included "No, [patient] we can't boof your gabapentin." Cactus Ghost fucked around with this message at 08:45 on Mar 4, 2023 |
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Mar 4, 2023 08:10
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combee posted:Thanks all. I’ve now done a week of solo work as an RN and it’s been full of ups and downs. You won't ever miss whatever it was again, and it is a bit lovely giving an ICU Stepdown to a newly qualified RN. And to me stable isn't really compatible with a few unusual things needing monitored. I've had a mind-blowing week working with the most senior Gastro cons. dealing with a couple of really unusual cases that I've had to read up so much on.
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Mar 4, 2023 16:11
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combee posted:Thanks all. I’ve now done a week of solo work as an RN and it’s been full of ups and downs. I went from nearly 10 years of ICU work to a relatively relaxed ER about a year ago and I’ve just started to feel comfortable. It’s mostly about time. The fact you’re beating yourself up over it means at least you’ve got introspection to set you up for growth.
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Mar 4, 2023 19:40
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Thanks for the reassurance y'all  Looking back on the last post I made in this thread, just a month ago - I can look back now and see that the thing that I "missed" had very little impact on the bigger picture for this patient, and the kid was discharged almost a week later, stable and happy. Not to say that I'll be complacent, because I certainly don't intend on doing that, but that some things I beat myself up about are not as important as making sure that my patients are stable and well overall. I've been journaling after my shifts just to get my stress and anxiety out, and to keep a record of what happened during my shift (nothing detailed, but stuff like "today I did X solo for the first time" or "today I saw XYZ condition in a toddler") and I think it helps. There's also a Nurse and Midwife Support service in Australia, where nurses can call and shoot the poo poo with other, more experienced nurses - I called them just to unload, and that helped too. It also helps hearing from all of you in this thread that some things are just universal (like needing a shitload of time to adjust and learn in a new environment and/or role). One thing I have struggled with is lack of feedback. I've changed careers from more desk/corporate type roles where there are generally regular personal development meetings and/or contact with a manager - a token "you're doing well" every now and then made me feel like I was on the right track with my work. I don't really get a lot of that in this role or environment, but after speaking to the support service mentioned above, it seems like I need to adjust my expectations to "you'll only get feedback if you do something particularly catastrophic - assume you're OK otherwise". Do you guys feel like that's the case generally in nursing? I still haven't even had any time alone with my manager - they're too busy and all we've done is exchange a few hellos and emails.
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Apr 2, 2023 11:39
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combee posted:I don't really get a lot of that in this role or environment, but after speaking to the support service mentioned above, it seems like I need to adjust my expectations to "you'll only get feedback if you do something particularly catastrophic - assume you're OK otherwise". Do you guys feel like that's the case generally in nursing? I still haven't even had any time alone with my manager - they're too busy and all we've done is exchange a few hellos and emails. YES. Nursing is a weird job in that you work as a team with others on that shift, but the care that you deliver, how you manage your time, every decision you make, and how you perform your job is entirely solo. Managers are too busy doing meetings and emails and budget stuff, they’re never on the floor, and if they are it’s not involved enough to evaluate your performance. Any time you have to meet with your manager in the office, outside of required “performance review” meetings, it’s not a good thing. The best way to know if you’re doing okay is if your nurse coworkers think you’re doing okay. If you really want feedback, the best people to ask are the nurses you work with the most.
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Apr 3, 2023 03:20
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And lots of self reflection, which you don't seem to lack. Caring about the quality of your practice is 95% of the battle.
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Apr 3, 2023 16:13
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