Crunchy Nurses '08 - Page 2

[K&JsMaMa]

Oh, I'm glad I found this thread.

I've been a nurse for 2.5 yrs. I first worked on telemetry but it didn't take me long to realized floor nursing is not for me. I've been down in the ER for 1.5 yrs now and LOVE it. I was planning on either going the flight nurse route or go back to school to become a mid-level practitioner. I had planned on making that decision when my youngest was done with elementary school in 2 yrs. But....now that i'm almost 15 weeks pregnant, plans have changed a bit.

So for now, I'm going to stay in ER. I love emergency nursing and learn so much every day.

[columbusmomma]

So glad I found this tribe!! And I thought the only home for me was the belly dancing tribe: I've been an RN for 13 years. During my senior year of school when we chose the clinical we want as a focus of a probably future career I chose to work with a nurse who did prenatal consults with the emphasis on nutrition, breastfeeding, and basic education. I wanted to then pursue midwifery. Alas, totally different path, lol! I did teach lamaze and did maternal-child health with our health dept. But I ended up then doing a lot of home care, both adult and pediatric. Now I work as a school nurse for a large urban district and love, love it! It's my 9th year and I rotate between 4 schools. I enjoy having my own little clinic and helping kids and families. It's a great job with a family and I love my holidays and summers off Researching the vax subject is a fun hobby of mine and it is more eye opening then the few minutes you learn in nursing school, lol! Just wanted to say hi and look forward to chatting with like-minded nurses!!

[Love my 2]

I'm also glad to find this tribe. I work in a nurse midwife clinic at a hospital that is in the process of going Baby-Friendly, so I'm luckier than many. I've had the joy of supporting tandem nursing mamas, teaching childbirth classes with an emphasis on trusting your body , positive parenting, and infant attachment and breastfeeding support.
I see a lot of mainstream mamas cringe at the idea of breastfeeding, let alone breastfeeding to at least a year. I do my best to educate them to the benefits and I've seen thought processes change in a lot of women, so it's very rewarding for me. My goal is to eventually become a midwife.

[feminist~mama]

I'm a new nurse, working in L&D with a definite crunch to my way of thinking. I've actually done all the births and prenatals needed to take the NARM, but I really don't think I'd be able to make enough $$ as a homebirth midwife to support my family (and pay back my student loans!).

So I'm working as a nurse for now, with a guaranteed paycheck. Plus, I'm not on-call, not dealing with insurance or trying to drum up clients, etc. I have thought that maybe someday I'd do the CNM thing, but the CNMs that I work with now are so "managed" by the OBs that it's sick and frustrating and hard to watch. Nurses who give report to the OB behind the CNM's back, the OB coming in and AROMing a CNM patient, etc., etc.

I really do love my job though- even though it's not perfect. I'm hoping that I'll be able to get into teaching our childbirth ed classes soon. It would make me feel like I was doing more to educate and empower before it's too late and they are on the unit at 39 weeks to be induced with no medical reason...

[eden/averymum]

another crunchy nnurse :

I have worked part-time in acute care neurosciences for five years now. wow! five years flies by!

[Serenyd]

Originally Posted by feminist~mama

I'm a new nurse, working in L&D with a definite crunch to my way of thinking. I've actually done all the births and prenatals needed to take the NARM, but I really don't think I'd be able to make enough $$ as a homebirth midwife to support my family (and pay back my student loans!).

So I'm working as a nurse for now, with a guaranteed paycheck. Plus, I'm not on-call, not dealing with insurance or trying to drum up clients, etc. I have thought that maybe someday I'd do the CNM thing, but the CNMs that I work with now are so "managed" by the OBs that it's sick and frustrating and hard to watch. Nurses who give report to the OB behind the CNM's back, the OB coming in and AROMing a CNM patient, etc., etc.

I really do love my job though- even though it's not perfect. I'm hoping that I'll be able to get into teaching our childbirth ed classes soon. It would make me feel like I was doing more to educate and empower before it's too late and they are on the unit at 39 weeks to be induced with no medical reason...

I feel you. That really is awful the way the CNM's get treated. I'd hate to go through all that school and get stuck working in an environment like that. I'm interested in midwifery too, but to tell the truth I don't know if I could handle the unpredictable schedule/pay either. Glad to hear you are trying to give a different perspective to the new parents. I remember the L&D nurse who taught my first class told me I *would* need an epidural...

[mytwogirls]

Originally Posted by clovergirl33

How long have you been doing this? I'm just wondering if it gets easier over time... I just started about 3 months ago and really struggle on a daily basis. I just feel like there's a better way out there, and I wish I could be a part of it....

Hi there. I am an Ob/Gyn RN for my Ob (husband and wife private practice) and I work Fridays and Saturdays for them. They "rescued" me from the hospital L&D department. I LOVE working for them. Yes they are Obs but they are so crunchy. She runs a LLL and they offer breast feeding classes, breast feeding packages to all moms, no formula hand outs, and childbirth classes from their clinic. It is so much fun working for them. I get to be a SAHM during the week and then a working mom twice a week, I love the balance. I am also a paramedic as well, but not working as much in that dept. lately. It was a struggle working L/D because I did not agree with a lot of the physicians, except mine. And I never have to make an appt for my annual exam, I just schedule myself in during my lunch break..ha ha!

[benegesserit]

I'm a public health nurse and find that i'm able to insert my "crunchy" ways into education most of the time, and the clients really appreciate it! But I'm torn because I'm currently 10 weeks along with my first little bean and since I'm the primary breadwinner of the house I still need to work. I'd love to stay home more when the baby comes instead of going to work the same 40 hour week that I'm doing now. Should I go back to the hospital where I can do per diem and/or nights to be with my LO?

[not now]

I was an LVN for two years working long term care. I loved what I did. I love geriatrics and the insanity/love that comes from dementia patients. There was a routine to the day and you became that resident's family. I'd get hug, kisses, hand holding, laughs and lots of love from them. I also got lots of kicks, slaps, spitting and screaming but I always knew it was the disease process which made me care more. I love end of life care, being there to provide comfort in any way possible as nature takes it course. What I hated was family that prolonged the inevitable making their loved one's full codes or having feeding tubes placed because the resident stopped eating (it's natures way of letting go for some people).

I've been an RN now for a little over a year. I started out in med/surg but my co-workers were snarky, mean and out to sabotage others to make them look good in front of our manager who herself was evil. I transferred over to step down ICU and love it. The staff is wonderful, we all work together, I'm constantly kept thinking due to the acuity of the patients. I also like the mix of patients that will talk to me and sedated, vented patients.

It's hard to see people who have spent their whole lives destroying their bodies. They expect the docs and myself to fix it all.

[mamamia10]

Originally Posted by Serenyd

So nice to meet some other crunchy nurses! I think we're in a unique position to influence others because our patients and members of our communities look up to us and ask us questions. We have the chance to open their minds to alternative, more natural healthcare options, but we still have to be cautious because of our jobs. We get stuck promoting medical intervention we don't agree with. I work med/surg/ortho and have since I graduated 3 yrs ago. I'm in school to be a family nurse practitioner, which has been my goal all along. I'm also studying midwifery on the side ... which is another story. I'd love to explore holistic nursing more, perhaps I can be a holistic fnp I live in the deep south and for some reason people seem to be more resistant to crunchy ideas here and more likely to go along with whatever their doctors recommend without question. Part of it is an education issue and part of it is cultural, I believe. I have to offer the flu and pneumo vax on discharge, and it seems that fewer of my patients are consenting now that I just offer and don't promote. I wonder if they can sense my opinion? I try to be objective though. I have mentioned to a few that I had my last baby at home. Most people, even my colleagues, seem to take this in stride. It's the breastfeeding they don't seem to understand. My coworkers can't believe I'm still pumping for an 8 3/4 mo old baby! They can't believe my body is still producing milk! Lmao .. they usually shut up when I tell them I bf my oldest until he was 3. I haven't tried to work in L&D because I do'nt think I could stand to be a part of the manipulation and deceit that goes on there! I love that some of you are trying to make it a little better for crunchy families! So great to meet all of you. Snuffles, I hope you did well on your test! Keep trying, it gets better once you learn how to take those kinds of tests.

I am an APRN and practice holisitcally--- and have been for 4 yrs. it IS nice to be able to integrate holisitc & conventional care
totally satisfying work
baby awake--more later

[alisonh916]

Originally Posted by benegesserit

I'm a public health nurse and find that i'm able to insert my "crunchy" ways into education most of the time, and the clients really appreciate it! But I'm torn because I'm currently 10 weeks along with my first little bean and since I'm the primary breadwinner of the house I still need to work. I'd love to stay home more when the baby comes instead of going to work the same 40 hour week that I'm doing now. Should I go back to the hospital where I can do per diem and/or nights to be with my LO?

Hello fellow public health nurse! I chose not to go back to the hospital when I had my LO because at least at my health dept, I can take off time when I need it without hassle, I am less stressed in the evenings because I don't worry about work at home. I personally hated the hospital, public health fits me much better. Like you I am able to insert some crunchiness into my education. But I can see how you'd be torn, especially if you don't mind the hospital.

[benegesserit]

Originally Posted by alisonh916

Hello fellow public health nurse! I chose not to go back to the hospital when I had my LO because at least at my health dept, I can take off time when I need it without hassle, I am less stressed in the evenings because I don't worry about work at home. I personally hated the hospital, public health fits me much better. Like you I am able to insert some crunchiness into my education. But I can see how you'd be torn, especially if you don't mind the hospital.

Hey there! Yeah, I do enjoy my work as a PHN, but it seems that it might be easier to work hospitals because of the flexible shifts. Our dept here is a little more rigid, i think, than most PH areas unfortunately - they're real sticklers about being around from 8am to 5pm exactly. I should talk to some of the other PHNs here who have children to find out how they did it.

[hopefulfaith]

Fun thread!

I'm an ER nurse (10 years! Gah!) , but I recently started at a new facility that is teeny enough (11 inpt beds/6 ED beds) that the staff is combined....which means after ten years of doing nothing but emergency/critical care/trauma, I am learning to be an inpatient med/surg nurse a few times a month. It is so different. I have always been convinced that no one specialty is "harder" or "easier" than another; they each have their challenges/benefits....my favorite thing about the ED is the rapid, intense nature of the encounter - see you/treat you/send you on your way to the cath lab or wherever you may go - and now that I am taking care of one set of patients for eight. straight. hours., I think I may go mad.

Anyway.... I think I earned my "crunchy nurse" badge this week. I am reorganizing the crash carts for our hospital, and I include a precipitous delivery cart in my ED resuscitation equipment, as I'm all about NRP/STABLE skills for emergency nurses. If you can believe it, this hospital actually had Similac on their precipitous delivery checklist. With bottles and nipples.

I made the autonomous decision to remove them. They are now in the nourishment room, in a cupboard. Far, far away from anyone who believes that the first thing a newborn needs is a bottle. : It was actually right next to the bulb syringe and feeding tubes. I could hardly believe it. The checklist has been refined, shall we say.


Nice to "meet" you all!

[mytwogirls]

Originally Posted by hopefulfaith

Fun thread!

I'm an ER nurse (10 years! Gah!) , but I recently started at a new facility that is teeny enough (11 inpt beds/6 ED beds) that the staff is combined....which means after ten years of doing nothing but emergency/critical care/trauma, I am learning to be an inpatient med/surg nurse a few times a month. It is so different. I have always been convinced that no one specialty is "harder" or "easier" than another; they each have their challenges/benefits....my favorite thing about the ED is the rapid, intense nature of the encounter - see you/treat you/send you on your way to the cath lab or wherever you may go - and now that I am taking care of one set of patients for eight. straight. hours., I think I may go mad.

Anyway.... I think I earned my "crunchy nurse" badge this week. I am reorganizing the crash carts for our hospital, and I include a precipitous delivery cart in my ED resuscitation equipment, as I'm all about NRP/STABLE skills for emergency nurses. If you can believe it, this hospital actually had Similac on their precipitous delivery checklist. With bottles and nipples.

I made the autonomous decision to remove them. They are now in the nourishment room, in a cupboard. Far, far away from anyone who believes that the first thing a newborn needs is a bottle. : It was actually right next to the bulb syringe and feeding tubes. I could hardly believe it. The checklist has been refined, shall we say.


Nice to "meet" you all!

YEAH FOR YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so excited to hear that!!!!!

[columbusmomma]

Good for you hopefulfaith!!

[charleysmama23]

More chewy than crunchy

I'm a new mama (baby girl is only 3 months old) and a pediatric nurse for the last 4 years. I've worked on the floor, in an outpatient clinic that treated kids with immune disorders and HIV/AIDS and now I'm a desk jockey nurse in a neuro clinic. I don't find too many conflicts in my work and my mom beliefs, like I'm pro-vax (although I'm also pro CHOICE about that), but when I had my daughter I was so outraged by the "policies" at the hospital that I will NEVER give birth in a hospital again.
I've thought about moving to L&D since I had Charley, I'm not so keen on being around acutely and chronically ill children anymore, and would love to help women bring their babies into the world the natural way....but after my hospital birth I'm doubting the possibility of that in a hospital! I'd like to get into L&D nursing in order to be a force for change.
Also! I wanted to encourage some of you Moms who are talking about not being sure about becoming a nurse because of the crappy part of western medicine: do it anyway!! You can be a GREAT influence for alternative and natural therapies in our medical culture, we need more nurses like that!
Glad to have found other RN mamas out there!!

[BugMacGee]

Hi! I'm certainly not the crunchiest nurse I've ever met but I guess I fit the bill more than many.

I work in a NICU in a community hospital that serves a very culturally diverse population. I've learned a lot about the birth, newborn customs of different cultures. Pretty cool.

They like to assign me the babies of "crunchy" mommies. We tend to get along well. I'm good @ breastfeeding support (still nursing my 2.5 year old). Anti circ.

I'm crunchier IRL than @ work however.



So anyway, hey there!

[mamacatsbaby]

Alright, cool! Found this thread while searching for another thread (something like Nurses, Prereq Takers, Come On In) that was thousands of pages long . Ready to jump in on this one at the start!

Need to get ready for work though so BBL to read this thread in it's entirety and come forth with a little about me.

[by-the-lake]

Hello- I have been an RN for 7 years now, some in NICU, the rest in L&D. Many of our nurses are somewhat laid back about stuff, but consider me 'crunchy'. I can stretch the 'norm' a bit. Case in point..I have a cold baby in bed with mom right now..the only way to keep up temps... after the doctor told me to fill up gloves with hot water or microwave diapers to warm baby up...(Huh?) I despise all of the unnessecary intervention and violation of these poor moms who think these interventions are 'normal'. It makes me sad when moms ask permission to do stuff in labor (can I wear my own stuff, can I drink, get out of bed, use the bathroom.. whatever.) I tell them they should do what feels right, if all is going well. Just my rant..lets not get into circs or hep vaccines... But I love my job and hope my 'crunchy' ways rub off a bit

[mamacatsbaby]

Originally Posted by lauriem33

Plus I'd want to do a birth center or homebirth practice, not a CNM in a hospital so what's the point of getting my nursing degree anyway?

Nursing skills will always, always, always be a necessity. Personally, I want to have the set of skills that I would be able to obtain from nursing school. I think they would always prove beneficial to me.

Soooo, a little about me . I'm in an MA program right now and will be working in a physician's office at the end of it. By the spring, summer at the latest, I plan on being in nursing school. I plan to study under one of the amazing MWs we have here and will become a CNM with my main focus being on homebirth, holistic health, etc.

I'm extremely frustrated and disheartened about the vax issue. I am vehemently opposed to routine and mass vaccination and have no desire whatsoever to be vaccinated with anything they got. Also I am still healing the gut of myself and my 2.5 YO who's still nursing. So that's really gonna jack some things up bodywise with me.

But, I gotta do what I gotta do. I know that I won't be able to use my RE (and I mean we are spiritually, religiously, and otherwise against this isht, yes, isht ) but I will be researching what the minimum requirement will be.

See, for me, becoming a nurse is something that I am being propelled towards, almost like I have no choice in the matter lol. It took me so long to figure out what direction I wanted/needed to go in.

So whatever I will be coming up against, and I know it will be, just madness, confusion, all kinds of things, I feel like it just is what it is. And in order to be what I want to be I will just have to get through the machine as best I can.

Anyway, nice to meet you all!

So, what can I expect as far as prereq's go, in the US? I have yet to go to a couple of the schools I've looked at thus far to see what I'm going to need to do.