Are you an RN? What kind of nursing? Experiences??

[Enerchi]

I thought it would be intriguing to see what types of nursing careers we PS RN's have chosen, in light of the thread Autumnovember posted regarding her state exams (hope to hear good news on Friday, AN!)

I've been an RN for 30 years (as of June '12) and started in Labour and Delivery, PT, scrounging for extra shifts to pay bills - man, how I hated night shifts and that intense 'cold' feeling you get around 3/4am... and you can barely keep your eyes open... and that's when a fetal heart monitor dips, or a prolapse cord happens, or heavy meconium staining.... resulting in an emergency C section. ah - good times, good times! At that time, a friend had just started working in a public health department and said they were looking for staff - it was full time, benefits, regular Mon - Fri day time hours... uh... yah! I'm in!

I spent 5 years there - general area public health duties (school nurse, well baby visits, mental health, seniors, lice checks, etc. ) before returning after my 1st mat leave to work on the Sexual Health Outreach Team (may have long since changed its name...) for 2 more years in thatcity. That position focused on education/program development aimed at grs 7 - 13 as well as "train the trainer" for educators. This job lead me into clinical work - pelvic exams for males and females coming thru the clinic for birthcontrol or STD screening.

The next 18.5 years were spent PT in a new city, new health department, but only clinical work, still in the sexual health realm. Still focused on BC, STD, pregnancy management, abortion counselling, Hep B/C, HPV, HSV, HIV.... and tons and tons of physical exams. Loved the job! (hated the politics, but the job was AMAZING!) and then things changed....

I have now been in my FT job working with vulnerable populations for 3 years. Mental health is usually the key component but lots of seniors as well. Main issues seem to be around housing loss and eviction risk caused by hoarding and infestations. We work as a team with many other city departments and its a collaborative effort to keep the client safely housed and healthy. Public health sure offers a huge range of options!!!

So, RN's, please share your nursing career stories - we all come from such interesting experiences!

 

[steelmagnolia]

My very first job straight out of school as a GN while waiting to take my boards was as a charge nurse at a long term care facility attached to a hospital in a teeny tiny rural town. I worked "part time" 3-11 shift, but it was such a scattering of shifts that it never really felt PT. My plan was to move to the hospital side as soon as I got my licensure, but then I got pregnant and it was a really nice job to have while pregnant/nursing, so I stayed a bit longer than I planned before moving over. Once I did, the nurses did *everything* over on the acute care side: ER, L&D/newborn nursery, med/surg, occasional PACU. We may have been small but we got everything that came through the doors to handle before we could think of stabilizing and then transferring elsewhere, so I got some great experience. The shifts were also divine, as I'm a night owl by nature: we worked 3 12's on and then 5 days off. Always.

After 3 yrs, I went to the bigger town an hour away and spent a year and a half with my one true love: NICU. Oh, how I adored it. We were a Level III facility and I was just in my place and I knew it. But the commute was very difficult in the winters and eventually I returned to my rural facility and remained PRN at the NICU to keep my skills up. Then a job working straight days, M-F, nary a weekend or holiday or night shift in sight opened up at the base hospital where I lived (Air Force spouse), as a nurse for Tricare. This was when Tricare was brand spanking new. I would be reviewing charts for inpatient hospitalizations both for military and civilian hospitals. I did that for a year and a half and then my husband's career took us other places.

I then did nearly two years in critical care: Step Down ICU, ICU, then Cardiac Critical Care. We already had two children but decided to have one more and I finally got to do the one thing I'd wanted to try forever, which was be a stay at a home mom. The plan was for me to do this for two years and then return to work. Life had other plans and I had 3 babies in 4.5 yrs - definitely NOT in our plans LOL - and I finally returned to nursing 6 yrs later...

As a prison nurse! *That* was an eye opening experience! Totally far removed from anything I'd ever done - they hired me for "utilization review" and that was really not the case, it was daily clinical nursing at the small outpatient clinic in the women's facility. I found that I really loved it, though. However, a position opened for an insurance company doing true UR/Case Management, so I took that for the huge increase in pay, safety, and great hours. I did that for 4 more years and then due to some major health issues and the need to be back home with my family, I became a stay at home mom once again.

The one thing I truly loved about nursing was the ability to find your niche without having to leave your field. There really is a place for everyone, and you eventually find it. I am a bit older school and do believe its somewhat important to get that solid med/surg base to build a clinical foundation upon depending on where you're going in your career. That rural hospital experience where I did everything helped me with my career in ways I never fathomed initially, and I often felt a bit of a job hopper at times, but when I was doing UR/CM, I was able to put all those tools to great use.

 

[Resonance.Of.Life]

I graduated last year with my BSN and my PH cert and unfortunately for me and many other new grads, we aren't in positions at hospitals. Currently I'm a charge nurse at one of the Nation's largest providers for the country's blood supply. It's not patient care, although I do get patients from time to time, but I can't complain. It pays the school loans and is decent in wages... it's just 5-8 hr shifts and I miss having patients to take care of. It's looking rather bleak for my chances of finding an acute care job, so I plan on going back to school next fall for my MSN with NP.

 

[Skippy123]

I am not a nurse but this past year we had a nurse come to our home often and I am so grateful to have her come to us when we needed her. I just want to say a big THANK YOU to you wonderful nurses!!!

 

[Autumnovember]

Enerchi - thanks so much for starting this thread!

I hope that when I start working I have a mentor that's kind like you. Congratulations on 30 years!! Pretty amazing. You must be full of knowledge. I can't wait till I don't feel stupid anymore

How did you like L&D? When I first started my rotation on the L&D floor I was more nervous than I was on any previous rotation. I thought it was really interesting and seeing a vaginal delivery was one of the most amazing experiences. I found there were an unusual amount of mean nurses on that floor for some reason. If anything, I would have thought it would be the opposite.

I decided I wanted to be a nurse when I was taking a mental health class my senior year of undergrad that was taught by an RN. She had us do an assignment that involved us doing something good for another person. We were allowed to do anything. At the time, I had a bad fear of death and decided I wanted to go volunteer on a geriatric unit at a local hospital for my assignment. It was after that experience that I decided I wanted to go into nursing. I loved how much I was able to bring positivity into the lives of the people I was helping and I loved how it made me feel. So I graduated with my psych degree and 2 weeks later began taking prereq's for an accelerated BSN program. I was accepted into UMDNJ in Newark, NJ and began that in Jan. 2011. The accelerated program was 15 miserable months of pure hell and I thankfully graduated in May.

Originally, I wanted to go into psychiatric nursing since my passion was also psychology. I thought it would be awesome to be able to combine both. My heart was set on it and I couldn't wait for my psych rotations. I was even contemplating working in a maximum security prison.

The time came for my psych rotations and unfortunately, the clinical site just did not give me the kind of insight I was hoping to get. It was a very small unit that was voluntary so everything we did and saw was extremely limited. I would love to be able to shadow a psych nurse on an involuntary unit or a large psychiatric hospital. Regardless of the limited experience, I did love it. The only thing I DON'T love about it is the way the system works. It really bothers me that it is so heavily based on medicating people for their problems. It also really bothered me the way that in-house doctore behaved towards patients. When we would sit in on the meetings between the patients and doctor/social worker/med student/art therapist it was almost as if it was all one big joke. I could go into more detail but everything about it rubbed me the wrong way. I will say though, the nurses there were fantastic and one particular nurse absolutely loved his job. My clinical professor for that rotation is a per diem nurse on that unit as well so I'm thinking maybe I'll do that per diem at some point if I don't get into it full time.

I was also on a neurology unit for 3 semesters (just turned out that way) and I really loved it. I enjoy anything that involves the brain mainly because there is still so much that is unknown about it. It fascinates the shit outta me. Ha!

Pediatrics was interesting but I'm not sure thats for me either. Although I may be getting a job working with children so I better figure it out.

I was able to see some amazing surgeries (triple bypass, got to stand right above the womans head and watch it all) and very seriously thought about becoming an RNFA. Unfortunately, I hear its extremely difficult to get into. Anytime I observed a surgery all the scrub nurses/surgeons and anyone else involved in the care of the pt, would try to convince me not to go into bedside care and to do something with surgery, haha. Always thought it was funny.

My plans are to work for a year or two and hopefully figure out what I love and then go to grad school to become a nurse practitioner. That's my ultimate goal besides being happy and loving my job!


What I'm most nervous about is how in the world I'm going to adjust to being a nurse the first 6 months - 1 year after starting a job. I really know absolutely NOTHING. I also pray to God that the people I'll be working with at my first job don't eat me alive.

 

[Autumnovember]

I graduated last year with my BSN and my PH cert and unfortunately for me and many other new grads, we aren't in positions at hospitals. Currently I'm a charge nurse at one of the Nation's largest providers for the country's blood supply. It's not patient care, although I do get patients from time to time, but I can't complain. It pays the school loans and is decent in wages... it's just 5-8 hr shifts and I miss having patients to take care of. It's looking rather bleak for my chances of finding an acute care job, so I plan on going back to school next fall for my MSN with NP.

I hear you. Job market is so damn bad right now. Sucks for me cause I live in a major city where the job market is non existent. Good luck to me finding a job, even with a BSN.

 

[Autumnovember]

My very first job straight out of school as a GN while waiting to take my boards was as a charge nurse at a long term care facility attached to a hospital in a teeny tiny rural town. I worked "part time" 3-11 shift, but it was such a scattering of shifts that it never really felt PT. My plan was to move to the hospital side as soon as I got my licensure, but then I got pregnant and it was a really nice job to have while pregnant/nursing, so I stayed a bit longer than I planned before moving over. Once I did, the nurses did *everything* over on the acute care side: ER, L&D/newborn nursery, med/surg, occasional PACU. We may have been small but we got everything that came through the doors to handle before we could think of stabilizing and then transferring elsewhere, so I got some great experience. The shifts were also divine, as I'm a night owl by nature: we worked 3 12's on and then 5 days off. Always.

After 3 yrs, I went to the bigger town an hour away and spent a year and a half with my one true love: NICU. Oh, how I adored it. We were a Level III facility and I was just in my place and I knew it. But the commute was very difficult in the winters and eventually I returned to my rural facility and remained PRN at the NICU to keep my skills up. Then a job working straight days, M-F, nary a weekend or holiday or night shift in sight opened up at the base hospital where I lived (Air Force spouse), as a nurse for Tricare. This was when Tricare was brand spanking new. I would be reviewing charts for inpatient hospitalizations both for military and civilian hospitals. I did that for a year and a half and then my husband's career took us other places.

I then did nearly two years in critical care: Step Down ICU, ICU, then Cardiac Critical Care. We already had two children but decided to have one more and I finally got to do the one thing I'd wanted to try forever, which was be a stay at a home mom. The plan was for me to do this for two years and then return to work. Life had other plans and I had 3 babies in 4.5 yrs - definitely NOT in our plans LOL - and I finally returned to nursing 6 yrs later...

As a prison nurse! *That* was an eye opening experience! Totally far removed from anything I'd ever done - they hired me for "utilization review" and that was really not the case, it was daily clinical nursing at the small outpatient clinic in the women's facility. I found that I really loved it, though. However, a position opened for an insurance company doing true UR/Case Management, so I took that for the huge increase in pay, safety, and great hours. I did that for 4 more years and then due to some major health issues and the need to be back home with my family, I became a stay at home mom once again.

The one thing I truly loved about nursing was the ability to find your niche without having to leave your field. There really is a place for everyone, and you eventually find it. I am a bit older school and do believe its somewhat important to get that solid med/surg base to build a clinical foundation upon depending on where you're going in your career. That rural hospital experience where I did everything helped me with my career in ways I never fathomed initially, and I often felt a bit of a job hopper at times, but when I was doing UR/CM, I was able to put all those tools to great use.

A lot of people seem to want to work for large hospital's but my dream job is working at this particular hospital by my house that's small. I love small hospitals!! Sounds like you really did get some incredible experience. I'm also a night owl so although everyone says the night shift is awful, I'm thinking I may like it! Did you ever feel burnt out working in an ICU? I shadowed an ICU nurse and WOW. It seems very nonstop from the moment you come into work till you leave.

Oh funny, I just responded to Enerchi about possibly being a prison nurse! Could you tell me some more about prison nursing? A lot of my professors were less than thrilled to hear that I wanted to go into it. They said I need to grow a few inches (I'm 4'11) and lose my boobs (they're big, hahaha) before I go into that.

You know, I pray that I find my niche. I have confidence that I will because of the endless opportunities in nursing but there is always that "what if this isn't really for me?" question that sometimes pops into my head.

 

[Okie_girl]

I'm not a nurse, but my adorable niece is. That kid worked her butt off in nursing school! It was really tough. But, she did it, and now she is an RN in a step-down NICU. So far, she loves her job. I am so incredibly proud of her. Thank you to all of you nurses who are so tenderhearted and caring!

 

[HopeDream]

DH is an operating room RN - He just started last year and loves it. He's amazing - I'm so proud of him.

 

[artdecogirl]

I have been a nurse since 1996, my first job was at our local nursing home where I had worked as a nursing assistant while in school and I have to say that is my favorite population to work with, it is like a family but it was so frustrating, we worked our tails off for crappy pay and the paperwork, ugh! but I have never been so appreciated by my patients since then. The next job was at our local small town hospital on a med surg / peds floor, liked the med surg ok but did not like peds and for some reason they thought I should always be given those patients, arrrgh! I have been at my current job about 6-7 years and I still like it, I work at a midsized Ltach in the icu, I have learned here more then anyplace I have been and do not think I could ever go back to general hospital populations. I work nights 12 hour shifts, 3 days a week, does not get any better then that.

Autumnovember, I have to say I still feel stupid often, nursing is so broad that you can never know everything, I am confident in my field but get me out of it, yikes! I went to the dr. the other day and she was talking to me about immunizations, I have not given a immunization since the nursing home when we did the flu shot, she noticed my blank look and started laughing (she knows where I work) she said "you have no idea what i am talking about do you"? so she schooled me, it was funny. Cardiac, resp failure, I am all over it! immunizations?????? or L&D, where exactly is the fundus supposed to be, 3 fingers, 5??? or mental health???? The only thing I remember about that rotation is never let them get between you and the door. Mental health nurses are goddesses imo! People, think because you are a nurse that you know everything and will ask you about their rash and then about their grandma who had a stroke, I am not a derm or neuro nurse, I feel stupid often

 

[Enerchi]

People, think because you are a nurse that you know everything and will ask you about their rash and then about their grandma who had a stroke, I am not a derm or neuro nurse, I feel stupid often

I hear ya artdecogirl!!! I get that all the time too (I think all nurses do) "gee you're a nurse, what do you think about this... " then they launch into something for what seems like FOREVAH about a subject you know nothing about, wanting your medical opinion, diagnosis and treatment plan.... Um... Google is *my* friend, too, FYI! I don't know everything and the longer I'm a nurse, the more I realize I do not know (nor have interest in learning, sadly! <hangs head in shame>)

With any specialty, there is always so much to know and so many opportunities. Nursing is the same. I am AMAZED at the awesome life experiences you guys have all shared! Wow - prison nursing? Holy cow Steelmagnolia!! And when I worked in L&D, I just LOVED being the scrub nurse on sections!! That would have been an area I'd have pursued if I'd stayed in hospital - OR. I don't have faith in my memory or my ability to think under pressure, so I'm not sure if ICU/NICU/CCU or ER would have been the area for me. I never EVER found my psych rotations interesting (I thought that all the nurses did there, was smoke with the patients! It just seemed so under productive) but yet, here I am with a mainly mental health case load...who knew???

AN, Resonance of life and others newly graduated or not yet in your niche - hang in there. There is so much out there, the right job will eventually come to you. Network like mad, take all sorts of courses because you just "never know" what it might lead to. And don't be afraid to ask questions!!!

Although... the most AWESOME-EST RN that mentored me when I moved from one city to the next, and started my clinical job in public health, was so wise and patient and caring, that she always repeated the phrase - "nursing is the one career where they eat their young". I think that's mainly the case in hospital nursing and less so in community or public health, but it is true, some of the older, more experienced nurses can be nasty and resentful. If you find yourself in that situation, there is always your supervisor to report it to. But mainly --- find another nurse to go to!! (we aren't all going to eat you! )

I hope more RN's chime in as I'm really enjoying this thread!

 

[dani13]

Hi all!!

As most of you know, I'm an RN- have been for the past 12 yrs. Started my career in L&D in a major medical center, right out of school as a new grad (yes, nuts, but they were hiring and I knew I wanted OB, so I went for it)!!! After 2 years there, I decided to go back to school and start working on my MSN-Nurse Practitioner degree. I did that part time (along with working full time) and it took me 4 years to complete. Currently, I work in an OB/GYN office as an NP, and I have still stayed per diem at the hospital.

To me, its the best of both worlds, as I now really only work Mon-Friday...rarely weekends and holidays anymore...YAY!!!! And my hours are great. I love the practice/docs I work with, and its been wonderful having all the autonomy with seeing my own patients and all. It was a real switch coming from the hospital, where I have so many of my great friends....at first it was somewhat depressing, but I eventually realized that it was time to start a new chapter in my career...I really needed a change. The money is better, the lifestyle is better, and its much less stressful (at least physically) than working in the hospital. I'm particularly grateful I made the change this year, as I am expecting my first baby in a few months, and I don't think I would have been able to make it if I were still working at the hospital!! It's just so easy to get burnt out there after awhile..I work in one of the biggest L&D's on the east coast- we deliver about 8,000 babies a year!! High risk, Level 3 NICU, the works. Plus, those 12 hr shifts really kill me I do love patient care though, and sometimes I miss that, so I do plan on staying per diem at the hospital for awhile.

Good luck to all of you pursuing your career in Nursing! Its such a challenging and rewarding field- a true calling- and we certainly need lots and lots of good people to keep it all going!!!

 

[danners84]

I've been an RN for a year and half now. I was fortunate enough to get a spot in an extern program at a top hospital during my last semester of nursing school, and because of that I snagged what was (still is at this point) my dream position right out of school. I work in a cardiac ICU in a big hospital. It has been challenging, stressful at times, but incredibly rewarding and I have learned an immense amount in a short period of time.

Re: starting out in ICU vs getting a few years of med/surg under your belt: over time my coworkers and I have discussed this. Our hospital routinely hires a small number of GNs into the ICUs. Some of the experienced nurses think it is best for new grads to start in the ICU, some believe they should get their med/surg background. I was actually surprised that a majority of my coworkers did not feel that a med/surg background helped much when RNs came to the ICU. I talked to those who started in ICU and never worked med/surg, and they did not feel that they would have benefited from working the floor first. Personally, I can only say that I will never know if it would have been better for me to start in med/surg. I knew when I was applying that I wanted to work in ICU ultimately, but that it would be a greater challenge to get hired. But from what I had witnessed during clinicals and my externship was that it was a struggle for the floor nurses to get hired into the ICUs, even with several years of experience - most of the hires to ICU were ICU RNs from outside hospitals. So I decided that I would go for it, and I did. If you don't at least try...

The job market stinks for new grads absolutely EVERYWHERE. The number one tip I give all new grads? Apply to every single job you can find and be persistent. If there is a specific unit that you are interested, contact the manager and meet with them. And don't give up. My friend moved to CA after graduating and spent more than half a year looking for a job within several hours of her home. Finally, she got a job training the staff at a hospital on a new software program. It was a temporary position, but it got her foot in the door and now she is working the floor as an RN. Don't give up.

AN, neuro is tough, but it is fascinating! I did not realize that you were no longer determined to do psych nursing. It sounds like your psych clinical experience was still better than mine. Never have I been so disgusted with nurses. The ones I saw (in my adult psych, not pedi) were...I'm gonna stop right there. But I will say that I believe that they were a direct reflection of the way the facility was managed. I hope you find your niche soon. It sounds to me like you might be happy for a while with a few different options since you don't have your heart set on one thing, which is good.

Dani, are you an FNP or WHNP?

I'm trying to decide when to go back to school. It will be relatively soon. And I'm not sure if I want to do FNP or ACNP... The longer I work the more I feel I need more experience prior to going back to school. I will begin studying for my CCRN cert soon, which I am really looking forward to - like artdeco said, you really know your area well and the other stuff tends to fade away. I'm looking forward to reviewing and relearning other specialties. But, being relatively fresh out of school, I always get asked to random questions about things like OB, etc because the nurses know I was exposed recently. I do remember a decent amount.

Question for you ladies: I know some of my classmates went on to NP programs immediately. I'm curious to know what others' views are on this.

 

[Mrsacornblue]

I've been a nurse for 11 years. I spent the first five years of my career working in adult hematology/oncology. While it was a great learning experience, it was not my cup of tea. I transferred to NICU and never looked back. I love the babies and the daily challenges that they and their families bring. I graduated about 18 months ago with my MSN/Neonatal Nurse Practitioner degree and just passed my boards on July 12!! I had some personal stuff going on that prevented me from taking my boards until recently. I am still working as a staff nurse and debating my options. Due to my degree, I will have to stay in the hospital but that's ok. It's just right now I don't work a lot of night shifts and I am weighing if I am physically and emotionally capable of going back to working off shifts as a NP. I work in a teaching hospital and while I do love the hustle and bustle of a Level III NICU, the constant parade of residents and students does get tiresome after awhile. I also am not sure if it is the best for the babies and the families to have such a switch-off in care.

I think that people should wait before going back for an advanced degree. I think you need to build up your skills as a bedside nurse and learn the basics before taking on an advanced degree. Personally, there are things I learned at the bedside that I could never learn in a classroom or a sim lab.

 

[Dandi]

Hi fellow nursies!

This is my 10th year of my RN, I started out in ward cardio-thoracics, dabbled in ICU, ED, pediatrics and oncology (what can I say, I'm fickle ) until I found my niche in the OR in our city's biggest private hopsital AND I LOVE IT!!! I've been here for 7 years and have not looked back a single minute, I just love it. My specialties are anaesthetics/recovery, urology, opthalmology and cardio-thoracics, urology being my favourite. I get terribly fidgity if I do the same thing for too long, I love variety.

I was an associate unit manager in our OR for about 15 months because I think I felt I wanted the challenge, but it was not for me, I much prefer the clinical side of thigs. I resigned from that position about 4 years ago and am so much happier, rosters and meetings give me the pip!

I must say the OR is pretty hard yakka at times (as are all areas of nursing, let's face it!) with long hours, on call etc, in time I'd probably like to work in surgeon's rooms as a practice nurse, but for now I'm settled into a happy little rut and I'm staying!

 

[Enerchi]

MrsAcornBlue - I agree with you that nurses truly do benefit from a good background in bedside/hands on nursing care, that often, only a hospital setting can provide. It just helps so much in understanding the illness/intervention/recovery process and the variety of what you see in a hospital, can not be matched in labs or text books. Same with developing working relationships with the many different departments and understanding the hierarchy in the medical system. NOT saying that the hierarchy is a good thing, just that it exists and no where is it more prevalent than in the hospitals!

I believe experience is really the best teacher, but I do recognize that there are job shortages and I guess when you graduate, sometimes you pretty much have to go where you can get work.