Instant Gratification

Indulge me for a moment. Back in the day, nothing was instant but coffee. There was a waiting game for almost every aspect of life. It set people up to have a number of anticipatory feelings. Anticipation is a unusual concept today. Instant answers, instant results, instant communication all lead to question--as a multi-generational team, can nurses really merge the older and younger generations to make things run smoothly? Read More

How to switch to hospital nursing?

Now that I have built up confidence after working in "the real world" for several years, I would like to pursue my goals (working in NICU). I know that I would need to go back to school for my BSN. I also realize that being certified as a NICU nurse requires an additional exam and so many hours of working in an acute care setting. 

My issue with getting started is this: it's been so long since I've had direct hands-on experience that 1. I don't know if any hospital would actually even call for an interview and 2. I'd like to have a refresher course if possible to brush up on my clinical skills.

I feel like starting in L&D would be helpful and relevant, but am I crazy to think this is even an option considering my lack of recent acute care experience? Read More

What type of shoes do you buy?

We go through shoes really fast don't we? How many shoes do you go through per year? What brand do you purchase?  Read More

How to be a successful New Grad in ICU

I was recently offered an ICU position (hopefully it works out. I've been verbally hired before and then later been called back and told that they wanted someone with experience so I don't trust that I have a job anymore until I'm actually working!) and I'm so nervous. I've been out of school for over a year and I'd like advice on how to be successful. For any ICU nurses that have helped trained new grads or new grads currently in ICU: 

• What separated successful new grads from the ones that were unsuccessful?
• What reference books would be best for me to buy since I've been out of school for so long? Read More

Depression and anxiety in the NICU

I have been in the NICU for a little over 1 year and I am thinking about a career change. I love the NICU and it can be so rewarding, but the things we see... IVH, IDMs with their blood sugar in the dirt for 12 hours, all kinds of NEC with 3 perforations in my 1 year, an infant born with leukemia, PIE, preemies who thrive in the nicu just to be readmitted to the PICU with shaken baby syndrome, sweet NAS babies who go home with parents who can't even wake up to feed them when they are screaming their heads off... it is becoming too much for me. When I take care of an unstable baby, my levels of anxiety are much higher than the helpful level. I regularly have dreams that all my babies are dying at the same time and I can't help them all. Has anyone else dealt with this without having to move to another area of nursing? Read More

Should we reveal our vulnerability as nurses

I have decided to start sharing more of what has been going on in my head... and heart for the last few years. As a nurse, I thought that being vulnerable was unacceptable. Just like a father to a family, a doctor to a patient, and a husband to a wife, a nurse is supposed to be this strong and supportive beam of a superhuman that can carry all of her patient's burdens on her wings and be able to multitask in attending to at least 6 patients' needs...yeah, right!? Well I think that I have reached a point in my nursing career that if I were to continue believing that, I would just have a meltdown! 

This coming year, I am committing myself to what may be professional suicide. I will be revealing a lot of issues that actually make a nurse every bit as human as the rest of the world. A nurse is not just the angel that pins were designed for. A nurse actually makes mistakes, experiences times of incomplete empathy, and unknowingly engages in unsupportive relationships with each other. In a nutshell, my purpose is to agitate the nursing professionals to: 

1) acknowledge the reality of a pervasive attitude of a lack of commitment to professional development; 
2) a lack of engagement with practice; and 
3) a lack of identification to explicit roles as a professional member of the healthcare team... Read More

New grads being rushed into "nursing maturity"

Based on several threads that I've read on here, and on my own personal experiences as a new nurse beginning my 4th month of experience, I'm seeing a general trend towards rushing new nurses into experiences, roles or responsibilities that traditionally are more "appropriate" for nurses with a little more experience. This coincides with hearing several stories by new nurses who were pushed off of orientation early, given a shortened or unstructured orientation, or no orientation whatsoever. 

I would ask why the big rush to have new nurses function on the same level as nurses with years of experience, but I already know the answer - finances. They're paying you to work as a functional team member, and expect you to preform according to your payscale. Fine - I get that - but at what point do we cross the line where the costs outweigh the "cost benefits?" Pushing new nurses too quickly leads to problems on the patient side, and on the nurse side. Patient safety is put on the line by overtaxing a new nurse with extra patients, longer hours, or more responsibilities. Nurses are "burning out" quicker or quitting before they hit the 6 month mark. Read More...

Everyone is so secretive about pay? New nurse and I have no idea the average pay

Had 3 job interviews this week all of which are promising, and I have already done the drug test at 2 of them. At all three, when asked the salary, they told me that they do not divulge that for specific reasons until I am offered the job. I get that but I have no idea what I may make at either. One is home health, the others at a hospital in acute care and SNF.

I worked as a PCT in the hospital the last 3 years in nursing school and never would any of them tell me what they made, and I know its rude to ask, but googling gets me nowhere because it varies. I am left wondering does home health RNs make as much as bedside, or would it be better to take on 3 12's with the possibility of overtime because there is no opportunity in HH? I am in West Texas BTW. I have a feeling the hospital makes around $20.00 starting off, but then again, I am not sure since nobody will tell me anything. Is it normal for companies to not give you the salary?  Read More

Am I the only one who hates 12 hour shifts?

Based on some things I've read on this website, I know that I'm not, but I just cannot STAND how 12 hour work days consume my life! There is no time to do anything besides work on those days and prepare for the next work day. I would be so much happier if I could switch to 8s or 10s or even some combo of 8 and 12s... I need to be able to exercise and take care of myself in order to be happy at work! Read More!

Best advice for when a patient insists on asking you personal/awkward questions?

One of the family members kept asking me about my political affiliation and who I voted for. I smiled and gently rebuffed her by saying that my political are deeply personal to me and that my vote and my beliefs are kept private. But she wasn't satisfied with my answers and kept asking me about it, over and over.

Who did you vote for? Who are you gonna vote for?
How do you feel about so-and-so? Who did you vote for?

I don't even know why it was so important to them to find out, anyway. We don't have matching opinions about the subject of debate (I am a conservative, while the family held democratic beliefs), which was why I was so insistent about sidestepping the conversation...  Read More

New grad RN, freaking out, is this normal?

I am a new grad with no previous medical experience. I am starting my first RN job tomorrow morning at a Rehab/LTC and I am so nervous. I don't know anything about the facility other than what I read online. I accepted the position because I need a job. My husband keeps telling me it isn't going to be as bad as I expect, but reading all the horror stories on here about new grads with the same experience is freaking me out. I don't want to put my patients or my license in jeopardy.

I'm going to try it out, make it through orientation and see how I feel on my own. I will not hesitate on quitting immediately if I feel like I am in a bad situation, or putting my patients in a bad situation... Any advice? Read More

Human Patient Simulators

What is your opinion of the human patient simulator labs replacing some of the clinical time? My school is considering changing the model up to using the HPS labs more and more. Like instead of 16 weeks of clinical time, some of that clinical time would be spent in the HPS lab like 6 weeks of HPS time. 

They are also considering allowing people to decide if they want to do both peds and OB clinicals and instead doing just one or the other. They would still cover the content. 

It's about 5 years out. Our state board does allow HPS hours to count towards clinical hours. 

I am mixed. Interacting with patients is good, but you also sometimes don't get that exciting clinicals. However it does show what nursing is and it's up to the instructor to make it better. Like 2nd semester we tried team nursing and it sucked. Then we tried not researching our patients and doing it like the nurses do where we get report for a day.  Read More