Good to Know

While going over my new benefit package with the hospital yesterday, they told me about an interesting "perk" available to full-time employees. It is kind of like an employee discount one would get if working for a store like Walmart or Sears. Only it is a discount on surgeries. No lie. If anyone in my family receives medical treatment of any kind (including surgeries) from my new hospital employer we all get 25% off.

Weird. But good.

CRUD

Another shot!

Just met with my new employer. Went over tons of paperwork. And I have to get yet another vaccine! I wrote about this when I started nursing school and needed a series of three Hep B vaccines, a Rubella booster and a Tetanus booster. Well, it turns out that I should have had the Tdap Tetnus booster which includes Pertussis.... But I didn't. So, I'm getting another Tetanus shot. Out of all of them, that one was the bugger that left my arm aching for a week afterwards! Darn it, anyway.

So, for any new nursing students, just save yourself some misery and get the Tdap Tetanus booster - even if they say you don't need it. You may, depending on where you work.

Closure

If you recall, I went on three different interviews for potential nursing jobs about 3 months ago.

After the interviews I had a clear favorite. It was clear to me what hospital I wanted to work at and in what department, maternity, of coarse. And, within a short amount of time (maybe two weeks) I received job offers from two of the three. I gladly accepted the offer from my 1st choice hospital. I was thrilled because I knew that even if I received better offers from the other hospitals, I would want to be at this particular hospital. The atmosphere is so warm and welcoming. The nurse manager is approachable. The facility modern and up to date with labor jacuzzi tubs, telemetry units, birth balls, etc.

Anyway, it has since bothered me that I never did hear back from the other, last hospital that I interviewed with. WHAT was that all about. Don't potential employers let the interviewee know either way? And, my perfectionistic personality was showing: "What was wrong with me that I wasn't offered a job at all three hospitals in stead of just two?"

Well, this past week, nearly 3 months later, I received a phone call and an offer of employment at the final hospital that I interviewed at. I told them, "Thanks, but no thanks" essentially as I already accepted a job that I am excited about.

But, it was good closure for me. I did have a little doubt: What would I REALLY do if I was offered a job at this other hospital - it is closer to my home and does pay slightly more than the hospital I chose. It is reassuring that I was able to honor my intuition and turn down the other offer, in spite of the entice.

And, as a note of encouragement to any future nurses out there: If you get the education, the jobs WILL come. Instructors and nurses all told me not to expect to get into maternity for at least a year after graduation. I had two offers to go directly into maternity. Believe in yourself. Build up your resume. Do volunteer work. Network. And, DO worry about your GPA. It will separate you from the masses in the end. It will all pay off.

Even More Excited!

I went for my pre-placement physical that I wrote about earlier. It took about 2 hours and wasn't as bad as I had made it out to be in my head. I went to occupational health for a history and physical. Vital signs, head to toe physical exam, questions about every ailment I've ever had and every medication I've taken and am taking. They did a drug screen and urinalysis.

Then I went to Physical Therapy where I watched a video on ergonomics and proper body mechanics. After which I had to return demo the techniques. They gave me a crate with 50 pounds of weights in it (It was a lot heavier than I thought 50 pounds would be!). I had to transfer it from a table to the floor and back again. Then, I had to transfer it from a table to a high shelf and back again. Finally, I had to carry it 40 feet and back again. Then, they tested my grip strength with a machine that I squeezed as hard as I could and it measured how many pounds of pressure I exerted.

At the lab, they took 7 tubes of blood for chem 7, CBC, various titers, etc. And, at human resources I filled out my child abuse and criminal history clearance.

Finally I ended at the maternity department where I met the nurse manager and had a tour of the suite.

I am so excited!!! I was excited before, but after talking with the nurse manager and touring the floor, I'm SO excited. It is a perfect fit for me. It is progressive, both in it's care and options available to patients and in its training and retention of staff.

There are multiple options available for women from the standard epidural to the walking telemetry units available to monitor fetal heart rate while ambulating. There is a jacuzzi tub and birth balls... All of which are actually used... Not stored in a closet somewhere deflated.

The orientation can take up to a year, which is awesome. Another hospital I was interviewing at had a 6 week orientation, then you were on your own. Not good. This hospital has a classroom aspect to the orientation and they rotate you through all of the shifts so you can get adequate exposure to all of the various routines in the hospital. They say you are not off of orientation until you feel confident you can handle ANY situation that walks through the doors. That is how it should be.... I don't want to be out there unsure of myself or a procedure... I value the commitment they show towards education and training.

The nurse manager is young and progressive. Easy to talk to and eager to help. Compared to another one I interviewed with who was a past army nurse whose hand shake almost broke a few of my fingers and who has a very intimidating presence.

The nurse manager talked to me right away today about my interest in teaching Lamaze for them and said there is a need for another Lamaze educator. They offer full 7 week Lamaze classes, a one day refresher course, and hypno-birthing classes.

I took my husband along with me today. His opinion matters a lot to me. We both came out of it thinking there couldn't be a better fit for me than this hospital.

God is Good.

"Physical"

My RN job offer is contingent upon me passing a "Pre-placement Physical." No big deal I thought... Say Ahhhh, pee in a cup, sign contract.

Well, I got the call today to schedule said physical and was given the itinerary: Be at Occupational Health at 9:15am, Physical Therapy at 10:15, then go to get labs drawn and finally end up at human resources around noon to file all of the criminal/child abuse clearances,etc.

So, what in the world kind of "physical" is this going to be? 3 hours of what? Seriously if anyone knows what is going to be thrown at me, please let me know. I am now stressed out about something I thought would be a no-brainer.

Should I pull out my kinesiology notes and cram? Will I be demonstrating proper transfer methods? I'm just guessing... What will I have to do at Physical Therapy? Lift 50 pounds without grunting?

Clueless.

Interview Questions

For future new, graduate nurses, I will list some interview questions I got while interviewing for my RN position after graduation.

Some typical/general interview questions came at me, like:
1) Give me an example of when you had to work in a team. What was your role. How did you handle problems that arose?

2) Name one of your greatest achievements.

3) What are your long-term goals?

Some general nursing questions were asked, like:
1) Why did you decide to be a nurse?

2) What is one bad thing about nursing? & How do you plan on dealing with that?

3) Describe how you would do a wound assessment.

4) Describe for me a time when you had prepared fully for a medical situation only to have the entire situation change and "fall apart." How did you recover and prepare to handle the new situation?

5) What would you do if you had a patient who had a complaint you could not resolve for them?

6) What qualities do you have that make you the right person for this position?

Some very specific nursing scenario questions also came up, like:
1) What would you do if you had a female patient who was accompanied by her husband in the hospital. Because of their religion, the wife was not allowed to make any decisions independently, but she wanted to have a procedure done. Her husband was forbidding the procedure?

And, similarly:
2) What would you do it you had a pediatric patient who needed a procedure done, but the mother was very emotional, crying saying she just cannot have this procedure done to the child.

3) How would you try to convince a pregnant patient who bottle-fed her first baby to breastfeed this baby?

4) What would you do if you were in charge of care for 8 patients and one of them just found out they have terminal cancer. The patient was alone, very upset and crying, but there were 3 other patients who needed your attention right then as well.

And, my favorite one because it took me off guard and made me think a little:
1) Imagine you have a 15 year old come onto your floor in labor. During your admission assessment, you learn that she has had no prenatal care, is mentally challenged, and the pregnancy is a result of a sexual attack. How would your care for this patient be individualized? What things would you do/not do?

WONDEFUL!!!

I am so excited to share my news. All of my hard work and long hours of studying are going to pay off!!! I just got offered a full time job at the hospital that I liked the best starting in Labor and Delivery!! How awesome is that? (It is hospital #3 from my previous post about the interviews)

They have lots of perks like sign on bonuses and loan forgiveness, and they even want to talk to me about teaching their childbirth education classes.

I'm thrilled that I don't have to spend a year doing general nursing before I can learn my specialty. Now I just have to make it through this semester and pass my boards.

Job Interviews

I went on all 3 job interviews this past week. I like certain things about each hospital...and I don't like other things about them. I haven't been offered a job yet at any of them.

Here are my thoughts on them:

Hospital #1:
My hometown hospital (I was born there. I had 2 of my children there.) Fuzzy/warm feeling when I am there. I know most of the nurses and doctors on the OB floor there. I've done all of my clinical training at this hospital. Very familiar to me.

But, they pay the least amount from all three of them. And, they require that you work as an RN in a department other than OB for 1 full year before you can go to OB. Major down side. Each room is a LDRP, so you would do labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum/baby care for each patient. I like that set up a lot. Not self-scheduling. 8 hour shifts.

It doesn't seem to me like nurses are valued much here. They are occasionally yelled at by Drs and mandated to work over-time. They just formed a union and are considering picketing.

Hospital #2:

Unfamiliar territory. They have the unit split up. Labor/Delivery on one side. Postpartum on the other. And, baby nursery in between. With a different nurse for each part. I'm not fond of the compartmentalization. Additionally, there is a general medical hallway on the floor for women (hysterectomies, gyn, ect.) and a peds unit there as well. All nurses rotate throughout all areas: L&D, PP, nursery, general & peds. This interests me because a new nurse would not "lose" her skills as many experienced and specialized L&D nurses complain of. You would have to stay sharp on Heparin/aPTT levels, surgical drains, etc.

They have self scheduling and 8 hour shifts; no mandated overtime. However, a new nurse there cannot step foot on the L&D side for 1 full year after they start on the floor. Major down side. But, at least you can get experience with PP, newborn, etc.

Overall, I do not have a good feel about this hospital. Each time I've been in it, for some reason that I cannot put my finger on, I come out feeling like it's not a place I would feel comfortable in.

Hospital #3:
Very unfamiliar territory. My interview was my first time I've step foot in this hospital. But, it is impressive from the start. Very up to date, modern feel about it. Nice coffee shop/cafe' in the lobby. They were the hardest of all to get an interview with. They requested formal transcripts and letters of recommendation from 2 of my clinical instructors before they would even see me. Then, they administered a 50 question medication theory/calculations exam to me immediately after the interview - of which I could score no lower than an 80% or they told me they wouldn't even offer me a job. The exam was not a push over either... It was detailed. But, they did grade it right there and told me I passed. Whew! Talk about a pressured interview.

They value their nurses a lot and are on tract to receive "magnet" status. The pay is in between the other two hospitals. And, I would have to drive on a major interstate highway to get to work every day. They have 12 hour shifts (which is a plus in my book), and no mandated overtime.

They have a NICU and take care of high-risk pregnancies there. New nurses can be hired directly onto OB (AWESOME!) or NICU - another area I would consider. Their orientation seems the most in-depth including 6 weeks of orientation with a classroom aspect to it, which is unit specific - you learn how to be an OB nurse for example. Then, you have your regular 12-16 week orientation.


So, now the waiting game. Will I get an offer. Will I want to accept it?