January/February Nurses and Student Nurses - Page 4

[sugareemoma]

Hello everyone. I am not yet a nursing student but I hope to be starting the ADN/RN program at my community college next fall. I was a bartender and made a lot of money off of tips but when I was pregnant the smell of alcohol made me nauseous so I had to quit. I spent a year working on basic pre-requisite courses online and got a lot of good bonding time in with my DD but now I am a full time student. I will be completing all of the required courses and submitting my application this summer. I can't wait to become an 'official' member of this thread:

[canuckgal]

Hey, lots of nurses here!

Glad to meet you all! I have been an RN for 15 yrs. I am diploma trained (3 yr hospital based program). Worked a number of years in a do everything small hospital...emerg, minor surgery, peds, you name it. 1 year in an absolutely insane med surg ward. Then 9 years in Labor/Delivery/postpartum and level II nursery....love this area! Now work in a small 80 bed hospital on a combined surgery (well, pretty minor...our most complicated thing we do is bowel resections, plus also admit all the ab pain NYD, post MVA type stuff) and labor/delivery recovery/postpartum unit that does about a baby a day, and I also rotate through those areas plus an outpatient IV therapy/dressing change type unit.

Like marilynmama I too homeschool and am pretty relaxed with it. Dh is a health care aide and security guard, and takes work on days I don't so we manage to get it all done somehow. Work wise I am part time (half time) with 10 twelve hour shifts per 6 weeks that I rotate through. Hate nights though! Coffee and those energy shots are my friends LOL!

I notice many of you work in the States. Seems like such a different environment. Here in Canada it is almost unheard of in the hospital to work a position where you don't have to rotate shifts. Also, unless you live in a big city and work for a small private homecare company or something, you are unionized. (separate from our provincial professional/liscencing association though). As such contract rules really affect our rotations, such as everyone being required to work every other weekend and needing "x" number of hours off between shifts. No jobs where you can work just the weekend and things like that.

Nice to meet you all.

[geekgolightly]

I am an ADN-RN. I have worked a neurotrauma floor, a neuroscience floor, stroke research, progressive care, telemetry, orthotrauma/medsurg, got my CMSRN and then moved to to the northeast and began MICU.

I enjoy learning new things, and if I were a single girl or without children, I would revel in MICU, and actually, I do revel in it when I have the sickest of the sick. I love it while I am there working my tail off just to keep someone alive. I thrive on that. But then I come home and am exhausted. I have nothing left for my family. I am kaput!

Working with people who are only a little sick or on the road to recovery is boring for me, but it's tolerable work. The job I felt I was able to best balance family and work was the orthotrauma/medsurg floor. Very friendly nurses, fun times, and fairly easy patients (hips, knees, cellulitits etc). I never got those great wonderful highs I get in MICU though. I am an adrenaline junkie with no energy level to sustain it.

I am currently trying to figure out how to best work my situation. I was considering just quitting alltogether, but I really don't want to do that. I am going to try MICU one day a week. And if that doesn't work, after i give birth, I will transfer to the neuro floor.

[MisaGoat]

Originally Posted by marilynmama

Sounds like you did great on the NCLEX!

Good luck with finding a job you want I'm sure you will get something you like here soon. They should be able to still hire you. I started working right after I graduated from NS before I even sat or had a date for NCLEX, I could do everything except give meds so it was great.

Don't be afraid to call and talk with the nursing manager on the unit you want to work on. That way they will remember your name and know you are interested and are not just another name in the application pile.

Oh and welcome

I passed! : I logged in this morning and the results were up!

In NJ I can't work until I have a license. I will call on Monday about those positions and let them know I passed so I should have a license soon.

[marilynmama]

Originally Posted by geekgolightly

I enjoy learning new things, and if I were a single girl or without children, I would revel in MICU, and actually, I do revel in it when I have the sickest of the sick. I love it while I am there working my tail off just to keep someone alive. I thrive on that. But then I come home and am exhausted. I have nothing left for my family. I am kaput!

I understand. I worked in a large level 1 trauma center PICU for almost 2 years (as a tech and an RN) and though I loved it and learned soooo much, but I came home completely worn out and basically went straight to bed and then got up again the next day and the next, and if I got called in another day and it took me another day to recover! LOL! I noticed most of my coworkers who thrived in that stress were single.

I miss my coworkers a lot, but that job was a LOT of stress and I got tired and worn out mentally and it was affecting me physically from the stress alone (higher BP). I was also tired of the hospital and I don't plan to go back to the hospital--it's just not for me.

So I got a new job in psych working 8 hr shifts (the unit I am on now is much more relaxed than the PICU ever was, lol--just a different type of nursing, sometimes it's boring) and I'm enjoying it and my family is enjoying me not being so tired all the time and stressed out.

I don't miss being floated and I don't miss being on call! LOL!

[marilynmama]

Originally Posted by MisaGoat

I passed! : .

Congrats!

[hopefulfaith]

Originally Posted by not now

I know most MDC moms are in women's health/L&D but I have a question for the critical care nurses. Have any of you taken the CCRN exam? I'm studying for it yet still debating if I'll actually take the plunge. I keep hearing that it's "the hardest test you'll ever take as a nurse..." but I really want it just for personal satisfaction.

I've only done CEN; I haven't taken CCRN yet, and now that I'm only working part-time, I don't satisfy the hours-per-year requirement anymore. However, I'm looking at preparing for CTRN/CFRN with the CCRN texts since those are critical-care heavy, and I talked with one of my gfs who's taken it. She mentioned that it is tough, but doable - also that it was easier for people who had done general sorts of critical care, not just specialized in one narrow sort of critical care unit without exposure to the other types since, for example, the adult exam was about all types of adult CC, not just neuro or medical or trauma, etc., like our units are sometimes divided. HTH.

[marilynmama]

I'm planning on buying a laptop to take to work at night with me (my job gets slow at times when the patients are sleeping).

I will be using it for internet and just fun stuff like that... I'm sure my family will use it when I'm at home (internet and games, music, reading, things like that).

What kind of laptop do you have?? I've never bought one before.

[catlvr976]

I'm in my last semester of my RN program (associate's degree). I can't wait for it to be over.

Anyway, I was hoping some of you experienced nurses could give me some starter tips on how interpret EKG's. That was our first lab, and while I seem to be able to id vtach and vfib, the other ones kind of throw me.

What's a good place to start when looking at en EKG? And you know how you can get the rhythm from counting the R's in a six second strip then multiplying by 10? Can you get the atrial rate by counting the p waves? Do you count it the same way, by the top of the p wave? Do I even make sense with what I'm asking?

I need some good tips!!

Thanks in advance!

[catlvr976]

Oh, and Marilyn, I just bought a laptop, since my computer died. I got a Dell studio. I really like it so far. I really like it b/c it has a number keypad on the right hand side. I can't live without that!! LOL!

[geekgolightly]

Originally Posted by catlvr976

I'm in my last semester of my RN program (associate's degree). I can't wait for it to be over.

Anyway, I was hoping some of you experienced nurses could give me some starter tips on how interpret EKG's. That was our first lab, and while I seem to be able to id vtach and vfib, the other ones kind of throw me.

What's a good place to start when looking at en EKG? And you know how you can get the rhythm from counting the R's in a six second strip then multiplying by 10? Can you get the atrial rate by counting the p waves? Do you count it the same way, by the top of the p wave? Do I even make sense with what I'm asking?

I need some good tips!!

Thanks in advance!

It's a system. I highly recommend the Orange EKG book. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/091...cm_rdp_product

It also goes over 12 lead, but use it to learn strips.

You use the 6 seconds x10, but it's not very accurate. I prefer the 1500 method. Count the boxes one R and the next. then divide 1500 by that number.

Yes you can get the atrial rate by counting the p waves, but there is a system

is the rate regular?
does each qrs have a p?
what is the p-r interval
what is the qrs?
what is the r-r
what is the q-t


this should essentially help you diagnose each rhythm.

[ollineeba]

Hey everyone. I'm a student nurse. I will be graduating next May (just over a year left, woo-hoo!)
I just wanted to vent about the MOST frustrating day yesterday. First, I knew it was going to be aggravating, because we are just starting OB and Monday and Tuesday were labor/delivery and Tues. afternoon was breastfeeding.

So.. we're talking about breastfeeding and this woman comes out with "Ha! Yeah.. La Leche League. What a bunch of whackjobs!" and goes on to talk about how they are all militant and there was a 5 year old there reading a kid's book about breastfeeding (I actually interrupted and said "and what's the matter with that?" but nobody acknowledged my comment). So after she's done ranting and raving, I raised my hand.
Seriously- my heart was pounding. I was livid. And I also really hate talking in front of everyone, but I was spun up.

So our instructor called on me and I said "I just wanted to say that I've gone to LLL for years now.. and I've never once met someone who I would consider to be a whackjob. I don't want to discount your experience (talking to the woman now) but I think they are a fantastic resource for new breastfeeding moms and I don't want our peers to hesitate to recommend them as a resource to a new mother because of your comments."

Someone added something here in support of what I was saying, then I continued with "And these women at LLL are volunteers. They are very knowledgeable and give so much of their time just to help women who are looking for assistance."
Our instructor (who refers to herself as "The Similac Queen"- I kid you not) nodded in support of me (I think she just knew that I was spun up) and changed her tone a bit to be more supportive of breastfeeding for the remaining 10-15 mins we talked about it.
After I talked, there were some other students who chimed in with excellent breastfeeding advice, so I didn't feel so alone.. but MAN. Was that frustrating.

I turned to the girl next to me and smiled.. I said "Now, did I just sound like a whackjob?" kidding around with her, and she goes, "Well, I can see both sides." WHAT?! So I said to her- "My point was that you can't judge an entire organization based upon one or two people. Just like you wouldn't judge an entire race based upon one or two people of that descent."

Oh, and during our next break, that first woman came up to me and said "Gee, I hope I didn't offend you with what I said.." (Hello?? Yeah- you pretty much called me a whackjob!)

And I said "Well, that was your experience. I just wanted people to know that not all chapters/LLL members are like the people you encountered. And as for the little girl- well, my 4 year old breastfeeds her dolls. It's what she sees at home, it's natural to her. She's pretending to be a little mommy."

She went on to tell me that she breastfed her daughter, and that her daughter had nothing but breastmilk (okay- why are you telling me this??) but just was harassed by LLL when she started giving her daughter solids and that they recommended whipping your boob out anytime baby started crying (the AUDACITY! *eyeroll*).

I thought it was nice that she apologized, but man..
I felt like I was in the Twilight Zone or something. Is breastfeeding really that radical?

And.. I feel that I've alienated everyone.
I took a year off from nursing school when my youngest was born. I miss the people in my first class. They were awesome. I feel so alone in this class that I've joined now.
I guess I'm the resident whackjob now.

[ollineeba]

Originally Posted by MisaGoat

I passed! : I logged in this morning and the results were up!

In NJ I can't work until I have a license. I will call on Monday about those positions and let them know I passed so I should have a license soon.

Congratulations!

[lorijds]

Jessica--

http://www.skillstat.com/learn.htm

Go to the ECG simulator. I find this to be a great resource, and I try to hit that site once a week. We don't do a lot of EKG interpretation on our floor, so I try to keep my skills up by practicing there.

[Turkish Kate]

Originally Posted by ollineeba

I guess I'm the resident whackjob now.

Congrats, it's a fun place to be, isn't it? I was the resident babywearing, cosleeping, cloth diapering, baby food making, homebirthing, midwife wannabe whackjob in my class. It sure makes for a tough OB rotation. Just remember, it's not reality, it's nursing school.

[hopefulfaith]

Originally Posted by Turkish Kate

Just remember, it's not reality, it's nursing school.

So true!

[hopefulfaith]

Originally Posted by geekgolightly

It's a system. I highly recommend the Orange EKG book. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/091...cm_rdp_product

The orange book is great.

Also, don't make the mistake I made starting out - looking at the strip as a whole and intuitively going "A fib" or whatever *without* going through each of the steps listed: rate regular...look for the p waves first...etc. You'll be right some of the time, but with a careful systematic check, you'll be right all the time. I guess I can't definitively say 'all', but most. It took me a long time to break that habit.

[catlvr976]

I'll check out that book and that website.

So this is the system then....

is the rate regular?
does each qrs have a p?
what is the p-r interval
what is the qrs?
what is the r-r
what is the q-t

My instructor warned us not to just eyeball it! We're not getting into 12 leads or anything like that, mostly just basic stuff. I was just wondering what are the steps. So I'm guess that you look for each part and look for the abnormalities? I've always been intrigued by EKG's, so it's neat now to be learning a little about it.

[Karry]

Joining your thread.

I'm an RN, BSN. I graduated in '97 worked at a Children's hospital for about a year and a half and then had my first baby. I was a SAHM for 8 years. I decided I wanted to go back to nursing during the summer of '06. I took an RN refresher course and have now been employed for a year and a half.

I work on a pediatric floor of a community hospital. We get general pediatric stuff, and I love my job. I work part time, three shifts a pay period. I work 7a-7p. We self schedule and I am now only working either Fridays or Saturdays.

I don't use childcare. I have 2 kids in public school, and one in preschool. Dh drops the kids off at school, and MIL picks them up on the day I work. I also was working lots of weekends so dh was home with the kids.

Congrats to all the new grads who passed NCLEX.

[ollineeba]

Originally Posted by Turkish Kate

Congrats, it's a fun place to be, isn't it? I was the resident babywearing, cosleeping, cloth diapering, baby food making, homebirthing, midwife wannabe whackjob in my class. It sure makes for a tough OB rotation. Just remember, it's not reality, it's nursing school.

Thanks. It was just so discouraging.. our instructor kept referring to bf'ing as "that choice" and it would be like "so if moms decide to make that choice- and it is a choice.. blah blah blah"

I knew it was going to be like this when I heard her say that babies will do just as well on formula as they will on breastmilk, that there is really no difference. (Really? I mean, really? What happened to evidence-based practice here?)

This woman has never had children, so I don't get the huge issue that she has with breastfeeding, but whatever.
I just need to get through it and bite my tongue. It's just sad to think that the other people in my class who have no parenting experience are taking her word as the written truth.
Oh, and she told us to tell our patients to cut up Kotex to put in their bras- because nursing pads have plastic backing. I use Lansinoh disposables and they don't have plastic at all--

There was one awesome woman in my class from last year- she also homebirthed, breastfed forever (lol), homeschooled, etc. But I had to take that year off, so I'm with a new class now.

Okay, I'll shut up now. But thanks, guys. It helps to know that you've experienced similar situations.
I think I'm really just going to try to keep my mouth shut for the rest of the semester.