Oh yeah

I had one more rejection late last night from one of the new jobs I applied to. I give this one hospital credit: not only do they let you know you are rejected (which is a BIG step over most of the other hospitals around here), they do it fast.

Monday rolls in

Today's progress: two rejections. Two new applications...different jobs than the rejections, though. One follow-up to be told, "we have nothing now, sorry." No status changes on my other applications...though I feel some small perverse satisfaction that several of the listings I applied for have been updated to indicate "experience required", where before they had made no mention of it. Guess they are paying attention to me and the 50,000 other new graduate applicants.

Finding meaningful employment is frustrating. Then again, I wake up late, drive past a rush hour traffic jam, or feel a nice breeze while I'm sitting in my yard and I think, "What's the rush in finding work?" I guess I want it all. Heh.

At least the clinic isn't rejecting me. I dropped off my application and have orientation this week. I've never worked in a clinic before so it'll be a novel experience. It'd be nicer if I were paid for it, sure...but after two-plus years of schooling and getting licensed, I want to go out and use what I've been working so hard at learning. I'm also afraid that if I don't get out and use my skills in some way, shape or form, that I'll lose them. A clinic is no med-surg floor, but it's at least something. It'll also help keep me competitive for the supposed fall "opening up" for new grads.

I think a problem I'm having is that I've spent the last two-plus years functioning at such an intense, hectic, high-paced level. Never really had a chance to breathe while in nursing school (not even on vacation), then after graduation the pace kept up all the way through boards. Now after getting licensed, life's dropped down to a much more laid-back and slower speed. I don't have to be busy all of the time, and things don't happen right away. That speed change is going to take some time to get used to on my part.

I should get back into my hobbies though...and get around to watching that Netflix movie I've had for almost a year now.

The Routine

I pretty much have the job hunt down to a daily routine:

• First thing in the morning, log into local hospital website, look at status of applications and then for any new listings
• Then look through e-mails from job search sites, see if I qualify for any. More often than not...I don't--that damn "1 year experience" requirement
• Browse around the web at career sites, forums, local company sites, then just surf aimlessly
• Apply (as applicable) to what jobs I do find
• Tweak the resume and cover letters
• Log off and forget about it for a while. Pointless to wait by the phone, as no one's calling. Same with the e-mail, as no one's writing.
• Repeat the above at three in the afternoon and once more at nine at night

Tough economy for new grads, can't you tell?

I don't know what is more annoying--seeing all of these listings saying "experience required/no new grads/etc." or applying for the few that I can and never hear anything back. Supposedly things are going to open up in the fall...in the meanwhile, I can't sit around and do nothing. I picked up ACLS; I can't afford PALS right now thanks to ACLS. So now I'm off to apply for volunteer work at some local facilities. Hopefully the job market isn't that bad that I get turned away from there as well :)

One problem I'm going to have with being a nurse is that my other half can't stomach when I talk about clinicals.  He's always had a weak stomach and he's never been good with medical issues.  Unfortunately for him, my constitution has become strong enough that I sit down to eat and can talk about my day in graphic detail.  I never remember he can't deal with it until I see his face turn and he puts his fork down.  Oh well, I guess it's a habit I'll have to unlearn.

I think I'm almost over that bug that has had me sleeping for the last two weeks...and just in time too, seeing as my next test is Monday.  I better get a move on studying.

What we the students wish the nurses at clinical knew...

There's a great threat at allnurses.com about what nurses wish students at clinical knew, so I felt it was only fair that the nurses learn what we the students wished that they knew :)  After all, one does tend to forget what it's like when one was a student...anyhow, here it is: 

• If this is our first clinical, we're terrified


• If this is our last clinical...we're still terrified, but not as much


• It's our instructor/school that decides what we can and can't do. Trust us: if we had our way, we'd jump at starting IVs and giving IMs and doing for you most of the other things our CI told us we can't do.


• Our instructor has to be there when we do certain things, especially when we give meds. The problem is there's only one of her and 6/8/10 of us, and if she's with one of us, the rest are jockeying to see who gets her attention next. So we can't always do things as quickly as we--and you and the patient--would like. And we are as frustrated about it as you.


• They teach us how to do things in school a certain way. You may not do things this way. Please don't get mad at us: until we're RNs, we've got to do things the school's way (though we'll probably file your technique away for later use)


• We're nervous, so we're going to double (and triple) check things we're not certain about. This doesn't mean we don't believe/trust/know better than you. We don't believe/trust/know ourself.


• If you can, let us watch you do things even if we can't do them. We want to learn! If you don't want us to pester you with questions while you're doing it, tell us before so we know not to.


• When we're standing around, we're not always slacking off. OK, sometimes we are. And sometimes we've done all we can for our patients at the moment, and we are stuck waiting for something to come up. Though I will admit that, yes, we should remember to ask if you need help with things while we're doing that.


• Tell us right away when we're doing something wrong, be it something with a patient or using someone's personal coffee creamer by accident. Otherwise we don't know and may keep making the same mistake.


• We sometimes miss the call light if we're in another patient's room, and we don't answer the call bell phone at the desk because the floor secretary will kill us for touching it. But if she/you/anyone tells us to go to a room, we're on our way.


• TELL US what you want/expect from us. I know that some things are obvious...but a lot are not, and we can't read minds.


• Some of us are just as bad as you've complained. We can't deny that. But we do want to say that most of us aren't like that


• For those of you who couldn't be bothered with us, we're sorry our presence bothers you. We're there because our school assigned us to this site. Don't worry, we'll be gone in a few weeks.


• And to those who, though we may annoy you at times, do their best to be patient with us, and teach us whatever you can however you can...thank you. We may forget to say it, but you are doing more for us than you realize, and we're grateful for it.

Wow, long time no type

Last post here:  nearly a year ago.
What's changed since then:  lots.

For starters, in clinical I feel like it's all coming together.  I go in feeling like I'm a soon-to-be nurse, not just a glorified CNA.  The nurses are more receptive to us, instead of being annoyed at our presence.  I feel more comfortable talking to the patients, doing assessments and providing care.  I know more about performing assessments than I did when I started, though assessments are still my weak spot.    I read the chart or hear report, I assess the patient, and I've begun putting 2 and 2 together:  so that's why the blood pressure is low.... So that's what I'm expecting to see....  It's really an exhilarating feeling.  I've been looking forward to clinical now, whereas at the beginning of nursing school, clinicals were just something that had to be gotten over with.

Lecture has become easier.  Or I've learned to study better.  Probably a bit of both.  I still do fairly well, though it's been hard to get motivated:  a combination of burn-out, an illness of unknown etiology that had me sleeping for most of the last two weeks, and the most dangerous of all:  over-confidence (and that I should know better about!).

The class has gained and lost some members.  The three we gained early last fall are all gone; of the five gained over the summer, four remain.  Six original class members have also left (one for personal reasons).  The last class took three out in one blow.

It's hard to be graduation is only a few months away.  A year ago, graduation was a day so far in the distance I couldn't even begin to think about it since it felt like I'd never get there.  Last week as I was registering for classes, it hit me that I was registering for my final semester of nursing school.  In May 2009, it'll all be over.  All of the hard work, all of the torment, all of the stress:  it will all be over and done.

And I think I'm going to miss it.

I feel like I've been in nursing school forever, and it's only been 16 weeks

The thing about these 8 week classes is that they are very intense and half the time, there is no break between classes, so it feels like you're rolling from one semester to another non-stop.  While we were waiting for our practical yesterday, I realized that it's only been one semester.  One!   Last week, a classmate and I spoke to the next two cohorts coming in and it felt like we were seasoned vets counseling recruits, and we're only two courses ahead of them.

*sigh*

Three glorious weeks off is coming up.  I'm drinking a bottle of champagne on the 11th and plan to wake up sometime on the 13th.

So the practical:  I passed.  I ran through an assessment at 90 mph because I was afraid that if I stopped I'd forget everything, but caught everything I needed to.  Of course, I was subject to teasing...I do get a bit of that, actually.  My classmates are convinced that because I do well on tests that I'm some type of nursing student genius and everything must come easy to me.  They don't realize how much I have to put into the skills portion--when I go in saying that I'm nervous or worried, I'm not saying it to make them feel better or to try to be emphatic.  I truly am terrifed and worried!

Anything involving filling out a Scantron sheet:  no problem. 

Put me in front of a human:  watch me swallow my own tongue and forget how to use basic equipment.  

I had been rehearsing my physical assessment for five days because when we went into the simulation lab the week prior, I stood there in front of the (normal) mannequin and froze.  I went in knowing I had to do a head-to-toe assessment and I could not even speak, could not think of what to do first.  I just stood there and stared at it.  That worried me--what if I do that in hospital?  That's not going to go over very well with my clinical instructors, now is it?   

 *sigh*

So anyhow, we lost another student--but this time for a good reason.  This one realized that nursing wasn't for her, that it was making her miserable.  So she decided to get out.  Good for her for realizing that--that's better than wasting two years' of time, money and stress to do something just to make her family happy.   From what I heard, no one failed the practical which is also good.  Several students did poorly on the last test though, so there's pressure on them for the final.  There's only three tests in this class leaving one with no wiggle room.