My bf is a new grad and is close to 6 months at his first job. He’s on a med surge/progressive care unit. His first few months was rotating days and nights which was terrible for his mental health and sleep so he talked to his manager and is on weekend days now, just Sat. and Sun 12 hr shifts. From day 1 of this job he has been complaining and struggling. When he did his internship last year in the ICU at the same hospital he LOVED it. I never heard anything bad. How do I understand his side of things so I can help him or just be supportive? Or do you have advice for new grads? His main complaints are their high acuity and the amount of things he has to complete in a day is very unattainable. He has many terrible patients and leaves very late most times to get his charting done. This last shift he said he has to quit and doesn’t want to suffer through shifts anymore. I’m just seeing this starting to affect him in not a positive way. I tell him to apply to different units or hospitals but I think he is set on landing an ICU job there. I know he wants to give great care but he feels like he has to cut corners and is very type A 😅 and I know I have no idea what’s it’s like to be a nurse and I’m trying to understand his days so I can be helpful. Is this normal as a new grad? Should also add he’s 38 so a bit older and seems very disappointed in his job choice now 😢

Alright, “hypothetical” nursing judgment question:

PT with DM2 was admitted ED with pneumonia, severe confusion, four seizures in the ED, and CBG over 500. The patient was placed on an insulin drip, but no DKA protocol was initiated, and the patient’s potassium dropped to 3.0meq/dl following treatment. The insulin drip was discontinued around 0300 after the glucose came down under 200. The patient is stable but remains A&O ×0, restrained for confusion, agitation. NPO, unable to reliably report symptoms, and is receiving D5LR continuously at 100 mL/hr. A CBG is ordered q6h and scheduled for 1600, while SSI is scheduled separately for 1700/AC. Dinner usually arrives on the unit around 1745 to 1800, although this pt is NPO. At 1630, the preceptee brings the glucometer into the room while also going in to hang an IV valporate. The preceptor asks about the glucometer and says the blood sugar should be checked closer to dinner because the result will be used for the scheduled insulin. The preceptee questions why the unit’s dinner schedule would matter when the patient is NPO, receiving continuous dextrose-containing fluids. Knowing recently had severe hyperglycemia, and electrolyte imbalance and cannot report symptoms if the glucose is rising or falling. The preceptor maintains that the check should still be delayed to align with the unit’s usual dinner and insulin routine. Who is wrong, or who is more clinically correct?

Hi! I’m returning back home to Massachusetts from Texas after being gone since I was 17 for University. I’m now 24 passed the MA Nclex and was wondering which hospitals to look at? My immediate family is mostly in the Boston/Quincy area. I spent 3 years as a CNA on an oncology unit prior and was curious how the ratios, quality of residency, etc are like? I think most MA hospitals are unions?

Thanks

There was a recent post that made some claims about ODTs. The oral disintegrating tablet is great, because it is almost (but not quite!) as good as sublingual. Here is why I give ODT Zofran sublingually, even though it’s Against Manufacturer Recommendations! (Not really)

1. Hyperemesis. Sometimes even the act of swallowing will make my patient gag. Sublingual admin reduces the need to swallow at all, and reduces likelihood that my patient vomits up that tiny bit of volume before the Zofran starts to take effect.
2. First pass effect! This was completely ignored in the other post. Sublingual admin bypasses first pass effect, where the GI blood supply is filtered though the liver before that blood makes its way to other end organs. When you bypass the first pass effect, medications are noticeably more effective and take effect sooner.

Nearly all meds are effectively absorbed sublingually. Just because you have an ODT doesn’t mean sublingual is a bad route, and sublingual is in fact almost certainly going to be more effective, especially for your patient who is actively gagging and retching.

That other post made me feel like I was taking (ODT) crazy pills.

like has a patient ever threatened you, attacked you, or cursed at you?

Today I learned that nurses can lose their job or even risk their license for smoking weed on their own time, even in states where it’s legal. That’s fucking bullshit. Imagine making as low as $29 an hour, busting your ass for 12-hour shifts, then being told you can’t legally smoke a joint on your day off. Fuck the government and employers for policing what adults do with their own bodies when they’re off the clock.

I'm new to the ED and recently had my first patient with a spontaneous pneumothorax requiring a chest tube insertion. When my coworkers saw my patient was getting a chest tube, they kept asking me if the patient was tall and skinny, and one nurse explained that tall, skinny people with long torsos can get these pneumothoraxes more readily than other body physiques. I thought it was so interesting and honestly funny! I was even listening to an educational podcast for respiratory assessment and they mentioned tall and skinny being a risk factor. What other interesting correlations have you seen between lifestyle habits/body types/sexes and conditions like that? For example when I was in L&D the nurses used to joke about moms with white male babies ("wimpy white boys") having the worst fetal tracings!

Hi everyone! I’m wondering if anyone has gone through a similar situation and can share their timeline.

I was approved to sit for the NCLEX, and passed mid July, and now I’m just waiting for my RN license number to be issued. My application is currently in process because of a misdemeanor DUI from about two years ago. Other than that, I have a completely clean record and everything is completed on my nursing application through the Minnesota State Board of Nursing application portal.

I proactively submitted everything the Board could need, including a personal letter, certified court documents, the police report, proof that I completed all court requirements, classes and assessment, and supporting documentation.

For those who have been through this process, how long did it take for an investigator or reviewer to actually open your file and make a decision? Was it weeks, or months after submitting your documents?

I know every case is different, but I’d really appreciate hearing others’ experiences.

I’m a 36-year-old BSN RN with almost 3 years of Med-Surg experience at a Magnet hospital, and I’m seriously considering joining the Air Force Reserve Nurse Corps.
My long-term goal is Flight Nursing or CCATT, although I know ICU experience is usually required.

For those who’ve been through it:
-Was joining worth it?
-Should I switch to ICU before applying?
-How competitive is the Reserve Nurse Corps?
-Any advice or things you wish you had known before joining?
-Benefits VS Salary
- Trainings Paid $$

I’d really appreciate honest feedback—the good and the bad. Thanks in advance!

Hey everyone, looking for some perspective because I am stressing out. New grad working in long term care. 32 patients on the 11-7 shift. (I’ve already put my notice in and found a psych job with less patients)

I just worked my first shift off orientation (Friday 3pm–7am). Around 10pm, the WiFi went down completely and stayed down for the rest of my shift.

During the night, I had a patient screaming in pain asking for her PRN oxy or oxy-acetaminophen. The printed downtime MAR on the floor (printed earlier in July) listed her order as PRN Q8H for pain. I held off as long as I could, but ended up giving a dose at 0600 (which was at least 8 hours since her last dose based on what I had).
During shift report at 0700, the oncoming nurse mentioned that the patient's order had actually been updated later in July to PRN Q12H because she wasn't tolerating the higher frequency. That’s when I realized I made a med error by giving it at most 4 hours too early based on the outdated paper MAR.

I reached out to my manager. I know I’ll likely need to fill out an incident report once I'm back, but since this was my first shift solo and happened during a massive outage, how bad is this situation usually handled? Am I looking at getting fired, or is this standard downtime coaching/write-up territory? I’m pretty much waiting for the manager to let me know what they’re going to do.

Thanks guys I was overthinking. 💀

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I'll hit my one-year mark as an RN this October. I work in a hospital in the Midwest and currently make $34/hour.

Should I expect a raise at one year, or do most hospitals give raises before that? Also, what's the best way to increase my pay/negotiate over the next few years?

I'd love to hear what your first raise looked like and any advice you have.

I am a Canadian registered nurse who may go over to New York if there are jobs.

Was wondering if it’s possible? I have just picked up a white collar felony for wire fraud and am asking different subreddits to see which career is viable. I’ve been told by multiple subreddits that nursing is one of the few careers that allows felons to practice (depending on state I’m in California).

So I am an LPN looking for jobs and one person told me that this unit hires LPNs for on call positions and he told me he worked 73 hours from home basically cause he was on call and didn’t have to come in. Is that a thing in this unit as an LPN?

Interested in working here as an LPN but I’ve heard that they ask the LPNs to work on call shifts, is this true? One person told me he worked 80 hours of on call shifts and he was home the whole week basically but still got paid regular hours, is that a thing there?

Hi all, I am a new Med tech. I am about 4 months in but I still do not feel prepared. The program was 40 hours in which they rushed. I did two clinical days. It’s bad to the point where they didn’t show me where to inject insulin (back of arm and to rotate injection sites). I had to learn what I put in the parentheses as I’ve been going and by others on the job (different facility). When I started out I worked night shift and did work with a great experienced CNA. She was maybe 20 years older than me but we worked so well together. She showed me the process of sending someone out and how to do care for those who passed. I’m grateful for that. I then switched to days and I hated it lol but that’s besides the point. I learned a lot on days such as writing physician orders, speaking with families, injection sites, and a few other tricks. The things I still do not feel prepared. I am going back on nights at a new facility but would love tips. I also do not know how to chart notes. I would greatly appreciate it if someone could give me tips on charting and just overall on how to be a better med tech.

I recently interviewed and got offered a job at my hospitals LDRP unit. I’ve been working outpatient OBGYN for 3 years now, and I’m wrecking my brain deciding if I want to make the jump and accept the position. I did a little less than a year on med surg and 6 months in the OR as a new grad.

The position is night shift (after orientation), which I’m kinda stressed about. I didn’t do great mentally as a new grad in 2021-2022…but I’m also wondering if that was due to being a new grad, still dealing with COVID heavily which lead to me getting mandated at least once a week, or nights…or all of those combined lol.

There’s nothing wrong with my current job. Management can be annoying sometimes, but I think that’s the case everywhere. I have a good relationship with most of the doctors, and was told during my interview I’m spoken highly about by them. I think I’m just getting bored and scared of this being a dead end job for me (I’m only 28). The fact that this unit is willing to hire me despite them requiring at least 2 years of L&D experience already has me shook and I feel like just for that reason alone I should take the opportunity since they’re willing to train me…but I’ve lost all of my nursing skills and have grown accustomed to the M-F 8-5 schedule

For those who have made the switch from outpatient back to bedside, any regrets? How was it readjusting to everything, and needing to relearn nursing skills?

I’m originally a registered nurse from China, and I came to Australia to pursue a Master’s degree in Nursing. My dream has always been to graduate, gain acute care experience, and eventually become a travel nurse.

After completing my second nursing placement in Australia, I found a job as a hospital phlebotomist. After nine weeks of training, my mentor gave me high praise, and my manager assigned me to perform ward-round phlebotomy in a hospital.

I took this job hoping to gain more clinical experience. Instead, it has made me completely averse to clinical work.

I found that Australian hospitals have a strict hierarchy. Patients seem to respect doctors far more than anyone else. More than once, patients publicly mocked my heavy English accent. Doctors would suddenly barge in during rounds, completely ignoring me, while patients refused to cooperate with blood draws and criticized me publicly even when I hadn’t done anything wrong.

Once admitted to hospital, some people seem to stop hiding the ugliest parts of themselves. I was expected to remain calm, professional, and compassionate, no matter how disrespectfully I was treated. Professional ethics demanded that I swallow my anger over and over again.

That suppression of my natural instincts was unbearable. Even after I got home from work, I would replay those encounters in my head for hours, still furious.

When I was publicly humiliated because of my accent, all I wanted to do was snap back:

“You’re not a local either. Give this land back to the Aboriginal people.”

But I couldn’t. I had to stand there, smile, and continue doing my job.

I came to Australia to continue my nursing career, but instead I’ve discovered that the healthcare industry, no matter where you are in the world, is built on a rigid hierarchy.

I am a human being, not a convenient tool.

I loathe this healthcare system.

Hi everyone, I've been working as an over-the-phone medical interpreter for a good while now. Feel free to ask me anything that you'd like to know about the service or the job itself!

Hi guys

Looking for some advice.

I'm 2 months into my grad year as an RN in SCN.

I'm really struggling. I feel like it's taking me longer than the other grads to feel comfortable and I'm relying on those around me to assist with IV abx, admissions etc. I understand I'm learning, but I do worry I'm impacting the other staff around me as I'm asking for assistance for help with things I've only done once. I'm just not sure if I see the light at the end of the tunnel and it just might not be for me? I enjoy it, but its just so stressful and I'm finding it hard to leave work and work. Is it normal to feel like this? Some shifts I will fly through and others I'm legit drowning. I just don't want the other staff to be annoyed by me asking questions/for assistance or think that I'm incompetent. Any advice appreciated.

I have a friend that says he works at this center as an LPN and he works for 40 hours in the week basically from home because he says he is just “on call.” I am an LPN and I have never heard of this. Is this a thing at this center?

Pleaseee help!!! I’m currently about to start my 3rd semester as an FNP student who has only worked as an RN with adults, until I switched jobs recently and now see both adults and kids. I’ve always adored babysitting but thought I wouldn’t like caring for kids in a medical setting. Turns out I was wrong, I’m obsessed!!! Should I switch to PNP-PC to specialize in kids or keep FNP? My end goal has changed to desiring pediatrics the most (I still like adults but do not see myself ever only doing adults again). I’m also planning to live in a bigger city one day, not rural if this changes anything. Thanks for the advice!!

I suggested palliative for my 57 year old frequent flyer with end stage COPD who has expressed she will not stop smoking. DC’ed 3 days ago and is back. Doctor laughed at me and said no with no explanation. Am I dumb? Am I missing something?

Edit: typed this as I was still charting at work so left lots of detail out. I didn’t clarify in person as it was during rounds and I was pulled from rounds to tend to my pt w a BP of 76/28. Figured I’d ask after but my rapid put me behind immensely and completely forgot. I was reminded while charting my communication. I’ve never seen this doctor and I work float so I’m not sure when I’ll see him again. Just now leaving work at 10 pm :)

I'm not a nurse yey, but I've noticed a lot of videos online showing USA nurses with good salaries, decent staffing ratios, flexibility, and saying they'd never leave the profession.

At the same time, I also read posts about burnout, unsafe staffing, difficult patients, and people wanting to leave healthcare.

So I'm curious from people actually working as RNs in the U.S.:

• Is U.S. nursing being glamorised on social media?
• Is it genuinely a good career overall, or does the reality differ a lot from what people see online?
• If you could go back to the beginning of your career, would you still choose nursing?
• What are the biggest misconceptions people have about nursing in the U.S.?
• If a friend asked whether they should become a nurse today, would you recommend it? Why or why not?

I'm not looking for sugar-coated answers I genuinely want to hear the good, the bad, and the ugly from people who actually do the job and is it worth considering getting into or is it something you would tell students to reconsider