Calling all Nurses!

[npmommie]

Tell me about your job. What kind of setting do you work in, do you like it?

I do some per diem on a cardiac floor at a local yocal community hospital ( I used to work in a large city teaching hospital so this is very different for me)........I also do some per diem for a Physician friend..........I work at the hospital under my RN license and for the Physician under my NP license.
both jobs pay well, but neither is where I could see myself working permanently.

I left my last NP job when my ds was born 4 yrs ago.........it was in internal medicine/encocrinology.....I worked part time there like 10 hrs a week.....i didn't work til about a year ago when i started doing some per diem stuff.
Prior to that I worked as RN at the city hospital on a cardiac surgery floor.

I liked the larger city hospital, I also liked the NP job and kind of kick myself for leaving after I had the baby, but at the time I wanted to be home..........

So now I am looking for something else either per diem or part time........but I don't know what I want to do. So just looking for ideas from others in the field.

 

[lovinpoohbear]

HI! I am a student nurse/hopefully done in June! I have two kids and am planning on working in a long term care facility, I want to work the Baylor shift. Here, if you work two 12 hour shifts, you get paid for 40 hours plus full benefits. You can do the shift either 7 am - 7 pm or vice versa. This is going to work well for us, since DH will be w/kids on the w/e and I'll be able to be home Mon-Fri......I love geriatrics, I know its not for everyone but it is where my heart is!!!

 

[npmommie]

I also did long term care many many years ago when I first came out of nursing school, it is a nice spot to work in.
I only work around hubby's schedule, we have always done it this way since having the kids.
Long term care is another thing I have been reconsidering, i was approached about doing geri NP psych consults, but again Psych really isn't "my thing". Problem is I am not sure exactly what "my thing" is.........LOL
I did like cardiac though.

 

[nicolita3]

HI! I am a student nurse/hopefully done in June! I have two kids and am planning on working in a long term care facility, I want to work the Baylor shift. Here, if you work two 12 hour shifts, you get paid for 40 hours plus full benefits. You can do the shift either 7 am - 7 pm or vice versa. This is going to work well for us, since DH will be w/kids on the w/e and I'll be able to be home Mon-Fri......I love geriatrics, I know its not for everyone but it is where my heart is!!!

I was going to post the exact same thing except that I graduate in May (and I dont have kids). I too love geriatrics and I want to work the baylor shift and maybe some more hours during the week.

 

[JacobsMommy11002]

I graduated last December. For the first 6-7 months I worked in the operating room of a large teaching hospital as a circulating nurse...LOVED it! I workd 11a-11p. But, I have two kids, and really didn't want to do full time, and for whatever wacked out reason, the hospital didn't want me to do part time. Whatever. So, I found a new job in an ambulatory surgery center. I work 3 days a week, have every Mon and Fri off, so I get a four day weekend every week. No more nights, weekends, holidays or call. And, amazingly, the pay was comparable. Best decision I ever made.

 

[poteat_3177]

I graduated in May with my RN hoping to do pediatrics, once I started my job on a pediatric floor the reality shock hit me and I learned that what jobs promise and what actually happens are two different things.

For one, this isn't just a pediatric floor it's 80% geriatrics/adults (we do overflow) and about 20% kids. which is very frustrating for me since I want to be a pediatric nurse but I am getting some good med-surg experience as well.

Right now I work 3 12 hour shifts and then 12 hours call a week (it was 8 hours call when I applied)- which can be very hard when you get called in (i'm actually on call right now, praying I don't get the dreaded call)- I'm a newly wed and I love spending time with my husband in the evenings, but when I work 4, 12 hour shifts a week - that hardly gives us any quality time. So right now I'm browsing for new jobs in the area something that is 100% kids, maybe thinking about NICU. I wish there was a childrens hospital is this area but the closest one is 3 1/2 hours away in little rock.


So far nursing hasn't been all I'd hoped it would be, but thats mainly because the floor i'm working on has a lot of problems and issues. So i hope I find something soon that is better for me and my family. school nurse possibly? holidays off, weekends off, no nights, 100% kids - i think that would be my dream job.

 

[minkydog]

Let's see...I've delivered babies, sat with old people while they died, given comfort to frightened parents in the middle of the night, cleaned blood & vomit off young men high on PCP, and resucitated 24wk premies. I've worked nights, weekends, Baylor. I've even telecommuted!

I'm a nurse.

There was a time when i thrived on the action of the ER or the ICU. But now that I'm over 50 my interests have changed. My feet and knees can't take the long hours and I get tired more easily. I'm more interested in developing long term relationships with my patients.

Currently I work full-time in a middle school. Lest anyone think school nursing is an easy job, let me just straighten that out--anything that can happen in the "real world" can happen in a school. In the last 6 months I have had to deal with anaphylaxis twice, a suspected MI, several broken bones,head injuries, a nearly severed finger, and seizures, plus "the usual" complaints of stomach ache, sore throat, menstrual cramps,vomiting, PE injuries, and I-hate-math-itis. I see about 75 students per day.Every job I ever had has prepared me for this one.

What I love about my job is the kids. I work in a distressed school with about 1000 students. 90% are minorities. Obesity and undiagnosed asthma are big problems in this population. Too many have never been to a dentist and use the ER as their primary doctor. Often I am their first provider for healthcare. Most of the parents value my opinions.

Many of my students come from families with only one parent. A lot of them are on welfare. A sizable minority are illegal aliens. 40% of the students speak Spanish & English;1/2 of their parents speak no English at all. Most of the school is eating free breakfasts & lunches, for some the only meals they get. There are several kids with serious discipline problems, criminal offenses, even probation officers. Many, many of these kids are at risk for dropping out.

I also take care of the staff. Our staff values my work, even though they don't really understand what I do. I help them monitor their blood pressure and weight, and help them make decisions about their healthcare. I educate them about topics such as MRSA, HIV, hand washing, and stress.

And you can't beat the schedule. No weekends, no on-call. No more night shift. Last summer my DH & I took the kids in the RV and traveled around the country for 2months. A dream vacation!

At my age, I will never go back to working in a hospital. I plan to retire in about 4-5 years to spend more time with DH. I've been a nurse for 30 years and I must say, it's been a heckuva career.

 

[npmommie]

I have a couple of friends who are school nurses in an elementary setting, they love it.
me, I don't think school nursing would be my cup of tea. when i was doing the masters program for my NP, i had to do some clinical and one spot I did was college health. lots of gyn issues, stomach aches, and lots of education done , it was ok.
There are so many areas of nursing, which is a good thing!

 

[kirstykids]

I have been in a NICU for 9years and love it. This is my 3rd job. Before that I worked in rehab and also a trauma unit. I love seeing a small 1-3 lb baby go home being a whopping 8 lbs. Also there is no heavy lifting!! Granted, there are also sad moments but the positive outweighs the negative. I work 8 shifts a month- no complaints!!

 

[CHEBJO]

I teach in the community college setting and love it! I like to see the proverbial "light bulb" come on. It is enjoyable to share my knowledge and love of nursing. This is my fifth year and it has proven to be all and way more than I anticipated. I must admit that there really are stupid questions and students that scare the pants off you. It is interesting to watch new students struggle to comprehend the nursing process and then see them again in their last semester rattling off info without even really having to think about it. The schedule is also great, no weekends, no evenings, no holidays, summer break, Christmas break, all the holidays off, and no on-call (granted that you are careful with your home and cell phone numbers). Absolutely the most rewarding job I have ever had. I continue to work PRN home health just for extra money and to give me some new "real life" experiences to use in the classroom.

 

[CastleCreations]

Hi Everyone. I'm a new grad...just graduated December 13th...I'm still in shock that I actually did it. I still have to sit for my NCLEX, which I haven't been studying for...
Anyhow...I'm in limbo with my career choice. During our clinicals, we had the opportunity to visit different settings. The jail, a surgical center, dr ofc, and all of the different departments in the hospital. I've been in healthcare for about 13 years, so it wasn't new to me...but it was all interesting. I'm looking into going back to school to complete my BSN. I'm meeting with a rep from Excelsior college in January.
I'd like to wind up working either L&D or Peds ED... Next week, I'm sure to change my mind. I do like surgery...and Mother Baby...so who knows...I know I don't want to work at the jail...LOL

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

Well after 18 years as an RN, I've just about done it all, from OB to ortho.

I just got a job in a hospital based same day surgery center. We mainly do cataracts, and a plastic surgeon comes every other Friday. I just started a month ago and there is so much to learn.

So far I love it. The pay is awesome, the staff is wonderful, and I work only Monday thru Friday, no weekends, shifts or holidays!

 

[blackforest]

Just a hello and big thank you to all the nurse that posted and the ones who will read this. I can't imagine the work, love and dedication that goes into being a nurse. It isn't a field that I would be cut out for, but a blessing to us when we need you! Keep up the good work!

 

[mmccan]

I am a surgical RN. I work in a very busy surgical center 3 days a week. We do mostly ortho (which I live to do) but also do gyn, eyes, ent, and general surgeries. Our surgery center also has 9 inpatient rooms so we actually are a small surgical hospital. But we do not have an ER so no call or weekend (yet) We are in the process of expanding into a full service hospital which will mean call time. I am not too thrilled about that since I changed jobs from a hospital OR setting to this job about 3 years ago to get away from call. But I do love my job most of the time and could not imagine doing anything else but surgery.

 

[lalagrace]

I work full time, which at my hospital means 3 12 hour shifts one week, 4 12s the next. I am currently rotating between nights and days, ( although I was told when I was hired it was a straight days postion).
I really love my work. I work at a large teaching hopsital, which is the main hospital for a 29 county area. We see antepartum, postparum and gyn surg. patients. straight out of school I thought I wanted L&D, but I find I really love this population.

The hours are hard on my family, my son (3) tells me "it makes me sad when you go to work". I wish I could move to part time, but right now my husband is finishing up nursing school so that is not possible. I think that when he graduates this spring I will try to find an office postion, maybe one where I could do the hospital follow up. I would love to have my nights and weekends back. We won't even mention holidays!

 

[zoomouse]

My wife is an RN - labor delivery and postpartum. She works 2-3 12 hour shifts a week. We have been very fortunate to be able to arrange our schedules so that we can rotate our child care responsiblilities. I work 24 hrs on and 48 hours off and she can pull shifts on my days off. Three kids and no day care bills! Of course dw spends 1/3 of her life effectively as a single parent - she's amazing.

My hat is off to all of you. I know that seldom do I work as hard in a 24 hour shift as all of you do in a single 8 or 12. I'm not sure how many people really realize just how hard your jobs can be and how much of a difference having a good nurse makes in the life of a patient. Thanks.

 

[ERMama]

Done day surgery and inpt oncology. Last 12 yrs been in the ER, last 9 also doing trauma. I currently dont have any scheduled hours. I love working when I tell them I can.
I cant imagine doing anything else. I like helping people when they need help most. I like that every day is something different and Im always learning something new.
I have quite a few friends who are NP's in the ER or at Urgent cares who really enjoy it.
Thats whats great about nursing, you can always do something different.

 

[toddlerhouse]

Probably not a per diem/part time job but I am a nurse on a helicoter. I fly all types of patients from trauma to OB to neonates. I go by rotorwing, fixed wing and ambulance when needed. I work 2 12 hour shifts on the weekend and 1 12 hour shift during the week. I have been flying for 13 years and can't imagine doing anything else.

 

[CastleCreations]

Probably not a per diem/part time job but I am a nurse on a helicoter. I fly all types of patients from trauma to OB to neonates. I go by rotorwing, fixed wing and ambulance when needed. I work 2 12 hour shifts on the weekend and 1 12 hour shift during the week. I have been flying for 13 years and can't imagine doing anything else.

In Florida, flight nurse jobs aren't very popular. The heat in the helicopter in the Summer is horrible. They keep them cool when their on the heli pad, but when they're in the air, it's over 120 degrees. It's awful. I went up a few times, and it's not for me. It's very exciting though.

 

[Mulan'sWarrior]

I've been a nurse for 8 years now- ER, ICU, Nursing home, Med-Surg and Telemetry...I did agency nursing for 4 years while working at the nursing home. I love it all. Sure there are days that I want to quit but then that 1 patient or family member says THANK YOU and it was all worth while and I get my second wind and go on.
What I have found most destressing in Nursing is that the managers don't back up their staff- they are more willing to 'safisfy' the complaining customer who complained that he didn't get any rest because we were in and out every little bit, or the food was terrible- why can't they just say "This is the hospital not the Hilton, that's down the street..."
I just don't understand patients and families who think nurses are maids and waitresses and pass out pain medication willingly. We take the brunt of everything- they are mad at the Dr's so they take it out on us, lab comes in to get blood- they blame us, the food tastes bad- they blame us. We need a national advertisement that explains to the general public who nurses are and what we do and what to expect when they are in a hospital but then again administrators would never put that out there would they because then people might try to stay away...sorry, but we will stay busy reguardless.
Mulan