Related: Fear, ICU, New Nurse, Precepting

I am in my last semester of nursing school and will be graduating in may 2010. I chose ICU for my speciality rotation and I will be precepting in Ortho/ Neuro for the rest of the semester. I may be mistaken when I say that most of the nurses in ICU are very stressed out and not as accepting and nice as other nurses on [...]

Related: Job Search, New Nurse, Nursing Jobs, Student Nurse

I am new here and I want to become a nurse. I'm in my mid 30s and I hope I'm not too old for it. Anyway, my question is can student nurses, what I mean by that is, students still in school not yet licensed/certified as RN be able to work at a clinic or doctor's office? Do doctor's even hire them even if they're [...]

Related: Boundaries, Conflict, New Nurse, Nurse Support, Stress, Support

Hey everybody, I was wondering if you can help me out with something. I'm in my final quarter of nursing school and a discussion was brought up. here's the topic:

Talk with at least 2 nursing graduates who have been working as nurses for anywhere from 3 months to 3 years. Ask them about their socialization to nursing after graduation. Did either of them experience reality [...]

Related: Charting, Mistake, New Nurse, Orientee

We have recently had to stop student nurses from charting their assessments on the computer. There was discussion about whether or not the student's charting could be used against an RN in a court of law if the assessments did not agree. There was also discussion about the RN who signed off on the student's charting be liable for that assessment when we [...]

Related: Career, Failure, New Nurse, New Nurse Tips, Preceptor

I'm a new grad (May 09).

Our initial orientation was supposed to be 8 weeks, but I was thrown out on my own a little sooner than I would have liked. I started at my hospital June 1st doing orientation and by the fifteenth they had me on my unit with a peceptor. I did that for two days and by my third day I [...]

Related: Balance, Caregiving, Compassion Fatigue, Critical Care Nursing, Energy, Healthy Living, New Nurse, Night Shift, Nursing Shortage, Stress, Support

I am a nurse on a cardiovascular floor. I have been there for a couple of years and can't help but notice the increasing acuity of the patients.

Our nurse/patient ratio is 1:5/6. I know that doesn't sound like a lot to some people, but most of the patients we take care of have a list 20 miles long of medical conditions, which only adds to [...]

Related: Attitude, Career, Expectations, Job Search, Learning, NCLEX, New Grad, New Nurse, New Nurse Tips, Night Shift, Nursing Jobs, Resume

You've worked hard.  Stayed up night after night studying.  Suffered through exhausting clinicals.  Missed out on time with friends and family.  Shoved thousands of facts into a weary brain.  Now all you want is to put all your new-found knowledge to work.  Get out there into the workplace and do your thing.  You're confident.  You're prepared.  You're ready.

You start pounding the pavement.  Sending out resumes.  [...]

Related: Confidence, NCLEX, New Grad, New Nurse, Nurse Resident Programs, Preceptor, Residency

Have you participated in a nurse residency program? Where at? How intense was the competition? And would you recommend it?

Nurse residency programs-geared to ease the transition from new nurse to competent nurse-are increasing in number and popularity. When you take a look at the benefits, you can see why the competition for a spot is fierce.

According to Jean Roberson, MS, RN, BC, who coordinated a [...]

Related: Attitude, Caring, Charting, Learning, Mindset, New Nurse, Patient Advocate, Seasoned Nurses, Success

Nursing is all about learning.  If you think it's all about the patient, then you're missing the big picture.

I remember one of my clinical instructors praising me for a care plan I had written; it received the highest grade that particular week.  Her caveat: listen and learn during clinical so I could improve.

Laziness prevailed.

The next week, I wrote essentially the same care plan. This time [...]

Related: Boundaries, Management, New Grad, New Nurse, Nursing Jobs

I'm a new grad working in a nursing home/rehab. I've been there 4 months and I feel like everyday they seem to forget that this is all new to me.

I've been scolded for practically everything I do or don't do. They've told me, in not so direct terms, that I should take on the nursing supervisors job if need be simply becuase I'm [...]