“Federal workers and all AFSCME members have been making their voices heard in court and on the streets to protect public services and their jobs. They won’t let billionaires raid our communities without consequence – and that’s why they’re facing retaliation," said AFSCME President Lee Saunders. "The extremists in this administration have made their contempt for public service workers clear and know that stripping collective bargaining rights means stripping away their power. We are filing this lawsuit to stop this illegal effort to silence those who speak out and protect free speech for all working people.”

Hi, I am thinking of transitioning to healthcare because I like to take care of people and at the same time, nurses will always be needed.

Will it be worth it to study nursing if I want a career shift?

Thanks!

Hi!

I was wondering for those who applied to the NurseCorps Scholarship program, what were your credentials like? GPA? Essay? Medical/ community service experience?

Also if you graduated, where are you from and how did you like performing the service obligation?

I just want to see where I am at compared to others. I have a great GPA and some community service in underserved areas. It’s just so nerve wracking and I would really love to win. Any tips?

I felt like a bad nurse today. I work in the NICU. My specimens kept clotting. I missed like my 10th IV. My simple admission was prolonged, inefficient, and disorganized. I felt like I couldn't anticipate needs and delegate well. I feel like I lacked in skills, time management, patience.

The medical team and respiratory team did not acknowledge me when we were suppose to be having collaborative discussions, and I felt like their demeanor towards me was condescending and infantilizing, as if they had already decided I was an air head and would not be able to contribute anything substantive so why bother sorta thing. I'm not a senior nurse but I'm not a novice.

I stayed late to chart and once I got home still realized there was stuff I forgot to do.

Some factors that I think contributed to the chaos: I did have two other stable babies although one was very tiny and new; dealing with residents who needed to interfere to check off on their skills; charge nurses who were hardly available to help; supplies not stocked.

I had thought of myself as a caring introspective intensive care nurse, receive good feedback from families often; I feel like I have a good knowledge base.

So I'm struggling to admit that I'm not cut out for this. Especially several years in, but today was such a fail and I'm really very disappointed in myself.

I'll start.

I would not give him my number or social media information.

Am I the only one that literally wants to do NOTHING after work? I feel so bad . I literally will not go to any event if I work that day - even if it's after work. Even when I work/worked clinic hours - it doesn't matter. I.dont.want.to.talk.to.anyone. I come home and my son's friend who lives with us ((which LOVES TO TALK NONSTOP ABOUT HIMSELF)) starts talking ..I just said.. I'm sorry just let me get in the door - it's been a day. I literally didn't even take my shoes off!! I'm one of the nicest people in the world, but no.i don't want to do anything or talk to anyone unless it involves my dogs..husband because he doesn't talk my ear off.. son because even when I'm mentally exhausted I want to be a present parent . Son's friend - I do try to but he just loves to talk about himself forever and ever and ..just let me get in the door !! I do not understand how people voluntarily do things after work. Lol I have 0 energy . I can't be the only one .. I mean.. I could walk, play with my dogs, listen to music, possibly clean.. but I will not go to an event , talk to anyone, go out , etc .no!! Anyone else ?!?!

Anyone work for the VA? Upon initial hire do they look at your GPA to determine wage? I was basically told my years of experience are irrelevant because my GPA wasn’t a 3.5 so therefore I have to start at Nurse 1 step 1…. Am I crazy for thinking that’s insane?

Please any kind soul here have any resources I can use for the nclex like simple nursing or something to studying content please I might lose my chance to pass the exam and repeat nursing all over. Please help me.

I know it can be different from place to place, but there may be something that works and makes life easier

I’m coming back to bedside nursing and am noticing scrub tops now have front pockets that are shallow and narrow. I need me some huge, deep front pockets, ala Koi by Kathy Peterson like a decade ago. What do I need such pockets for? All the things! I prefer this to a tool belt or huge cargo pant pockets. TIA!

Textbooks were from the years 2017-2020 and I’m assuming if not worth trying to sell old editions. But if you have any suggestions on selling please share.

Otherwise, what did you do with old textbooks??

Is it a silly idea to think of transitioning into hospice nursing when Medicare and Medicaid are in limbo here in the US? I’m in NJ, would that provide some sort of buffer to the impact ?

My clinical experience this semester has not been the best. I’m in second year clinical, my instructor is very old fashioned by the book. My previous instructor was nice, almost TOO laidback where I feel like I did not get a lot out of it compared to this instructor/setting. The most I did last semester was finger stick tests lol.

I feel underprepared. My instructor assigns us patients and we have a list of things to do. I didn’t know I was allowed to do some on my own. By the time she got to me, I wasn’t prepared or done the list. I knew it was my mistake and apologized for not realizing I was able to those on my own. She proceeded to roll her eyes at me which just sent me into straight panic.

When we got to the patients room, it was a catheter irrigation which was obviously my first time doing it. I kept making stupid mistakes and could not think straight. I’m SO worried about making mistakes that I keep messing up, when I’m not with her I’m totally fine!

My questions are; how do I overcome this fear and anxiety? Is it expected of nursing students in clinical to know the techniques and procedures right away? I’m so worried about failing the clinical and it is honestly eating away at me.

Hey everyone - I have some questions regarding typical expectations during the orientation process of a new job. I recently interviewed for a position on a GIM unit, and asked what orientation would look like should I be offered a position and accept it. The manager explained that as a part of orientation I would be taking a mid-term and final exam (they didn't provide any more detail or context), which caught me off guard a bit. For reference, this would be my second nursing job out of school, and no nurses I've crossed paths or worked with have mentioned having this as a component of orientation. Is this common for the profession, especially in the GTA? If so, any idea what the exams would likely entail? In terms of patient population the manager mentioned a lot of individuals awaiting a LTC bed, oncology patients, and those with dementia/alzheimer's. Thanks in advance!

Hello all!!!

I’m starting radiology school soon and don’t know much about what scrubs are the best. I’m looking for comfort, good quality, cute scrubs! Doesn’t matter the price I just want a good general idea with a few options. Thanks so muchhhhh.

Edit: WOW wasn’t expecting that many responses thank you everyone who commented!! I really appreciate it! I have a lot of options to look at now lol. :3

Whether it’s dealing with death and serious disaster, or trying to find patterns in a chaotic job setting, omens or other signs seem to be around and can help predict what’s coming. Im curious to see what others have experienced, especially because i think nurses are inherently empathetic and more in tune with everything going on.

Personally, on the hospital floor i used to work on, if i had a pt in more serious condition, i would see a huge fly buzzing around the room. We called it the black fly (which is redundant because all flies are black). But more often than not, when i saw the black fly, those pt’s would crash or end up being CMO.

Anyone else have weird omens or signs that can predict what’s coming?

Had a patient with a foley. Patient also had a raging UTI. Determined foley was clogged. Got NS and a syringe to flush it. Syringe wouldn’t fit into the NS container. Got an additional container to pour some NS in and then draw up. This secondary container was stocked in the room and was not sterile.

I don’t know what I was thinking. I am beating myself up for this and don’t know what to do Scared I may have caused the patient more harm. This patient was septic and went to ICU, and i know I will continue to beat myself up if they end up passing. Logically I know that they were septic long before they came into my care but I don’t know what to do.

Hi friends! I'm still relatively a new nurse. I just hit my 3 year mark into nursing. I was hired into a level 3 NICU at my rural hospital in my hometown right after i graduated and thats where I've been ever since. Although I love my job (most of the time) I'm currently having to live paycheck to paycheck. I get payed 30 dollars an hour and the benefits are horrible. I've considered branching out and going somewhere else or leaving bedside entirely, possibly something remote, but I'm terrified because at this point I feel as though I've lost ALL of my adult care knowledge because I have never put it into practice. I also didn't get much clinical experience in school due to being a COVID era nursing student. I feel pidgeonholed into the specialty and now I have no idea where to go from here. Any advice?

Hello all,

First I am on mobile so I apologize for any formatting issues. I am also using an anon account for obvious reasons.

I am a nurse at a large hospital group in the south. Recently I had some changes in my personal life and because of that I resigned from my 90% FTE that I have been for the last 6 years. Upon resignation I was offered PRN status, which I agreed to as the requirements are lenient. I have the PRN offer in writing, FWIW.

Here's my question, as the title says: It's been a month now and I have been working PRN but my FTE online still shows 90% and I am accruing my PTO and benefits were taken out of my check (paid bi-weekly). From what I have read online regarding our hospital system you can only be PRN if there is a PRN position available. Our job postings are only showing a full time position that was available before I resigned.

Obviously I understand I need to reach out to HR, but I was still curious if anyone has heard of or experienced this before and if so, how was it resolved?

This is not the first time this has happened but just the most recent: I'm in the middle of giving report on this patient who has a TBI, is agitated, and who has no PRN sedatives (per neurologist's explicit instructions). I'm being honest and not sugarcoating anything ("this patient is behavioural and a handful"). The nurse is angrily sighing with everything I tell them and interrupts me to say "why do I have to have this patient?!"

Well, Linda (pseudonym), it's because I haaaate yooou Dennis Reynolds voice.

In reality, I said "well someone needs to take this patient. Your other assigned patient is very cooperative and relatively independent." The nurse continued to argue with me and I didn't even make the assignment nor was I in charge. I am just getting off of an entire night with this patient, I'm exhausted, I have hurt my shoulder, I need to go home and rest.

Have any of you dealt with this? Why do some nurses take difficult assignments personally and why do they feel entitled to certain types of patients? We all need to take our turns. Any advice or suggestions on how to deal with this in the future?

Please feel free to share stories of your experiences!

I am new grad night shift nurse in med surg step down starting month six…I have posted on here a lot about my struggles and this community has been extremely supportive. I recently turned down a new job, because I feel whatever job I take after my current job I will have stay at for at least a year even if I have the same bouts of anxiety and depression I have at my current job. I unfortunately feel a lot of it has to do with me and my own thinking so I have a stretch of shifts coming up and I will try to put myself in the best mindset before hand. I have just unfortunately lived in such fear of my job as new grad nurse. I unfortunately didn’t pursue this career out of passion but rather for financial independence and stability which is what is keeping me going at the moment. I still live at home, but I have really butted heads with my parents who feel I am ungrateful and want me to stop feeling sorry for myself, which I understand what they are trying to say and they just want me to be able to take care of myself which I totally respect but they yelled at me for wanting to leave my job so soon and felt I was already checked out too soon. Again, I understand what they mean but I was in such a dark place and still am a times that I thought taking care of myself mental health over the job was doing the right thing. I am a very indecisive person and also I believe that is why I chose to stay. I am really bad at making decisions for myself and will stay even when I struggle cause I fear change. I have been in therapy and on medication for years before nursing. I just want this anxiety and stress from my job to end which I am aware will not end no matter what career I pursue. I really just feel that as much as I have done well at my job being responsible for patients lives is a tall task and luckily healthcare is a team and we have support, but I don’t know if I want to have that responsibility it can be very stressful and I don’t know what other careers would work for me, but can imagine there may be other careers that are less anxiety provoking that still allow me to live on my own somewhat comfortably. I really have had some of the hardest months of my life and I’m proud to still be here. If anyone has ideas of things I can do please feel free to let me know thank you for your time!

Working nightshift in another city is for the birds. I keep thinking about that nurse who just went to jail for falling an asleep at the wheel. Then I be in traffic BOTH ways, it literally doubles my commute. I love my job but it’s not worth it, I gotta get a job closer to home 😫.

I’ve been at my hospital for almost 4 years and I make 7 months in ICU soon. I love my coworkers and the environment but I’m putting my safety at risk with the drive and I just can’t do it no more 😭😭

How hard is it to leave the OR to go to bedside or any other areas of nursing if you only have OR experience in terms of getting interviews/hired? I know it was be a lot to relearn, that’s not my concern, I am asking about actually GETTING a job because OR nurses don’t do the same stuff as floor nurses and I have only worked OR.

I’m at 1.5 years of only OR nursing, and I want to leave (and have med surg offers), but I am unsure if I want to hold off and wait another 3-6 months or if I should take it now. I know the longer I wait the harder it will be to find other jobs, but can anyone share their experience?

Asking again in a shorter version because I didn’t get any replies from my previous post.

I’ve met some nurses in the guard and it seems like an ok gig. Any comments or thoughts?

Most surgeries are pretty straightforward and the patients lead a normal health life. What surgeries have you seen or have taken care of a patient postoperatively that left its mark on you forever? For me it’s a pelvic exenteration where the entire pelvic cavity is removed due to cervical,, vaginal or vulvar cancer. The first time I saw the patient for her first postop appt, all I could think is that she looked like she had been through some medieval torture method.