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Friday, February 29, 2008

 

kidlets

I haven't been updating this here blog. I've been busy with lots of other stuff. 21 days to graduation!

Yesterday I had an observation clinical at the inpatient pediatric unit at Downtown Nonprofit Hospital. I worked with two completely awesome nurses (one was a graduate of my program!) and had a wonderful time. I love babies, I really do... and I totally don't want to work in pediatrics. It is so sad to see sick kids - and most of the kids I saw weren't even that sick. So I'm adding peds to the list of nursing specialities I don't wish to pursue.

Okay, now I have to go write write write before I leave for clinical tonight. And tomorrow is my last day of work at Neighborhood Hospital. A normal real life is so close I can taste it!

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Sunday, February 17, 2008

 

things I think I need to be a nurse

More support stockings.

More UnderArmour to prevent chafing.

A fancy clipboard with a calculator on it.

This book.

A pocket security blanket, because when in doubt, I do research.

I am scared to death of starting my new job, actually, in case you couldn't tell!

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Tuesday, February 12, 2008

 

I made a decision

I accepted the job at Big County Hospital today. I had an interview at University Teaching Hospital that actually went really, really well... but even so, I think I will be more comfortable with the BCH job. The UTH job was on a very busy mostly surgical unit, and I was frankly intimidated about the idea of trying to learn about all these complex surgical patients while at the same time trying to figure out how to be a nurse without passing out from anxiety. I like the idea of learning from the ground up with all the other new staff. I really like the idea of being in a position to help develop a positive culture on a new unit instead of stepping into established political crap. And I like the idea of having mostly medical patients. Diseases are interesting.

But, the experience of having a really good interview and having the nurse manager offer me the job on the spot was extremely affirming. I had this irrational fear that the nurse manager at BCH was hiring everyone with a pulse just to staff her unit... but today's experience gave me a lot more confidence.

Now I just need to finish the quarter, pass the boards, and get a license. You know, piece of cake. Haha.

P.S. to Doug - 0.9 means 90% of full time, in this case 36 hours/week in the form of 3 12-hour shifts. That means FOUR DAYS OFF every week, rock!

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Tuesday, February 05, 2008

 

a wealth of options?

Job stuff update:

Big County Hospital offered me a 0.9 day shift position with orientation starting June 2. I have not told them yes or no yet, although I did send them an email letting them know that I got the offer, I am interested, but I have another interview scheduled. The reason they have day shift jobs, which is an excellent jaded cynical old nurse question, is because it's actually a new unit. The hospital is expanding and this is one of the new units that will be opening up when the construction is complete, so they're hiring for all shifts right now, both new grads and experienced nurses.

University Teaching Hospital is interviewing me next week. If I understood correctly, the interview is with the nurse manager on the ortho unit where I had clinicals a couple quarters ago. I didn't love that unit but didn't hate it either. So we'll see how that interview goes, and then I'll make a decision. I feel so lucky that I may well have a choice of jobs.

In other news, I am sick sick sick with a cruddy cold that has robbed me of my speaking voice and filled my head with snot. I dragged my arse out of bed this morning at 5:00 to get to clinical by 6:00 where I supervised 1st quarter students for a few hours, then went to campus and took a terribly difficult test (I passed! Not all my classmates did so!) and stayed for lecture. And now I am home and I am going to bed. Night night.

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Saturday, February 02, 2008

 

well, crap

Don't be fooled by the myth of John McCain

 

nothing definitive

I went to my interview at Big County Hospital yesterday - I met with the HR nurse recruiter and with the nurse manager for the new med-surg unit that is yet to open. The manager from the tele unit cancelled on me, not because she was disinterested, just a scheduling conflict (according to the recruiter). That was fine - tele was my second choice.

So I interviewed with the med-surg nurse manager, and she was very nice, calm & low-key. She was looking at my resume and saw that I went to KSU, and it turned out that she was born half an hour away from where I grew up. Small world. She asked me a bunch of those interview questions ("how do you deal with conflict?" and so on) and then we toured the unit that will be converted into the new med-surg unit. I had clinical on that floor in the past, so it was familiar. I asked the NM lots of questions, too, and I was pretty pleased with her answers.

So. It wasn't True Love at First Sight, but it seemed like a pretty good option. There are several factors in the plus column: a long preceptorship (12 weeks!), day shift hours are available, it's a vibrant academically-oriented environment, the patient population is highly variable, the pay is competitive. There are a few minuses - there's nothing swanky about this hospital including the cafeteria, it's in a kind of crummy part of town that does not make me feel safe, parking in the hospital garage is expensive. Still, it would be a fantastic experience.

Then when I got home I had a request for references in my inbox from the University Teaching Hospital. I applied for three positions there and I'm apparently being considered for two of them. I don't know if anything will come of it, but we'll see.

Oh, and as a special bonus from being in the nursing home full of sick people all week, I seem to have come down with a cold. I'm taking fistfuls of echinacea and other herbals as well as Advil Cold & Sinus, and chugging vast quantities of liquids. I don't have time to be sick!

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