This is @That1Murse and I will occasionally be writing blogs here on @MurseWisdom’s blog so just let me introduce myself… my name is Humpty pronounced with an Umpty… oh wait scratch that.. LOL.
I’m a registered nurse that graduated from nursing school in2006. Within a week of graduation, I walked into a local ER (in the Midwest) and worked there for almost 5 years before I made the difficult decision to step away from patient care.. (Yes,there are nursing positions that don’t require patient care). The main reason that I stepped away was to continue my education and become a nurse practitioner and wanted to do clinicals in the ER. I am currently on track to graduate next May with my Family Nurse Practitioner and Nurse Educator certificate.
Prior to becoming an ER nurse, I was a police officer and well as a 9-1-1 dispatcher so emergencies have always been in my blood. I decided it was a lot easier to give shots then get shot at so I became a nurse.
I have a few reasons for asking MW if I could guest write inhis blog. First and foremost, I felt it might help nursing students to hear unadulterated, real stories from nurses that have been in those same seats that you are sitting in now. Secondly, it’s therapeutic to use this as an outlet for stories, thoughts, or complaints. To assist with this, I will say that I have a personal life but don’t plan to discuss it here. I think this helps to continue the anonymity of the situation and allows me the opportunity to be more frank and real then I could possibly be if my identity was known.
I will say that ER nursing is something that not everyone can do… You have to be able to go from no patients to multiple codes or traumas and then back to nothing. You will need to learn to control you adrenaline, stress, emotions, and most importantly your temper. When I would train new nurses in the ER, I would often say you are not a true ER nurse until you cry. I still find that to be true. Throughout my blogs you will hear stories from my experiences in the ER as well as nursing school and hell who knows what else.
One thing I’m often asked is “What was the worst part of theER?” I would without a doubt say coding peds and pediatric traumas. I had a particularly bad weekend one week and had 2 ped traumas and a traumatic code of a ped. That weekend I went home and just watched my daughter sleep knowing that one of those families would not ever get that opportunity again. That was also the weekend that I called my boss and told her I didn’t think I could do this anymore. I ended up taking a week off going through some debriefings and returning to work.
On the flipside, I will also tell you the best part of the ER. The teamwork and camaraderie that comes with ER work. I could tell how serious a situation was just by looking in the other staffs eyes. You learn to read each other, be there for each other, and it kinda becomes a yin-yang situation where they strengthen your weaknesses and you strengthen theirs. Along with that teamwork comes the fact that in the ER it’s not Doctors and Nurses with the docs sitting on their pedestal barking orders at the lowly nurses. It truly is a team and you become colleagues. The other best part is the “thank you” from patients and patients families when you know that had you not been there , they wouldn’t have made it. It truly is humbling knowing that you saved a life and they trusted youenough to put their life in your hands.
That’s probably enough for now, don’t wanna bore you.
@That1Murse
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
NCLEX
I think I'll sit down and take a minute to aleviate some of the fears about the Nclex. I want to help some of the Nursing students out who may have an unhealthy level of anxiety built up about the upcoming exam.
What are some of the things you've heard about the Nclex? Its hard, right? Well, yes and no. Can Joe Blow the barista at starbucks pass it? No effing way. Do 100% of Nursing students pass it the first time? No. But, is it really hard? No. Is it impossible? No, not even close. So, you have heard, no doubt, from friends or professors or nurses at clinicals that the Nclex is a soul crushing beast that will kill your family and shit on your dreams. It isn't. What the Nclex does do is target your weaknesses and focus its attention on that. I can assure you right now of 4 things... 1. That you have taken harder tests in nursing school. 2. That you will over prepare. 3. That you will walk out terrified that you failed and 4. After you get the results and find out that you passed, you will question why you ever doubted yourself in the first place.
There was a girl in my class, and I bet there is one just like her in yours. She over does everything. Overstudies, kisses way too much ass, presentations to the class are too long and make yours look like shit. You know, that girl. She told me that she had gone over 2,000+ Nclex prep questions and still had over 1,000 to go. I started laughing out loud and she jsut looked at me like I had a horn growing out of my forehead. She asked me how much I had studied and what I had done to prepare. I said "I went to Nursing School!" In reality I had only done one of the study modules given to me by ATI. It was on delegation and leadership. You know all to well that we were on the receiving end of delegation our entire time in school, so I thought I could use some brushing up. I did this the night before the Nclex.
I doubt I need to say this but I did pass the Nclex. So did she, as a matter of fact. Do you know who scored higher? No you don't, neither do I and neither does any employer in the country. So she spent her time before the test stressed out and overworking herself for the same result.
For the record, I finished the Nclex, survey questions and all, in 40 minutes.
So, the lesson here is to do whatever it is that you need to do to maintain a healthy level of anxiety that is necessary to maintain focus. Just don't over do it, you have over come far worse to reach this point. We are Nurses, we thrive in stress, and we excel in difficulty. It is in our nature.
@MurseWisdom
What are some of the things you've heard about the Nclex? Its hard, right? Well, yes and no. Can Joe Blow the barista at starbucks pass it? No effing way. Do 100% of Nursing students pass it the first time? No. But, is it really hard? No. Is it impossible? No, not even close. So, you have heard, no doubt, from friends or professors or nurses at clinicals that the Nclex is a soul crushing beast that will kill your family and shit on your dreams. It isn't. What the Nclex does do is target your weaknesses and focus its attention on that. I can assure you right now of 4 things... 1. That you have taken harder tests in nursing school. 2. That you will over prepare. 3. That you will walk out terrified that you failed and 4. After you get the results and find out that you passed, you will question why you ever doubted yourself in the first place.
There was a girl in my class, and I bet there is one just like her in yours. She over does everything. Overstudies, kisses way too much ass, presentations to the class are too long and make yours look like shit. You know, that girl. She told me that she had gone over 2,000+ Nclex prep questions and still had over 1,000 to go. I started laughing out loud and she jsut looked at me like I had a horn growing out of my forehead. She asked me how much I had studied and what I had done to prepare. I said "I went to Nursing School!" In reality I had only done one of the study modules given to me by ATI. It was on delegation and leadership. You know all to well that we were on the receiving end of delegation our entire time in school, so I thought I could use some brushing up. I did this the night before the Nclex.
I doubt I need to say this but I did pass the Nclex. So did she, as a matter of fact. Do you know who scored higher? No you don't, neither do I and neither does any employer in the country. So she spent her time before the test stressed out and overworking herself for the same result.
For the record, I finished the Nclex, survey questions and all, in 40 minutes.
So, the lesson here is to do whatever it is that you need to do to maintain a healthy level of anxiety that is necessary to maintain focus. Just don't over do it, you have over come far worse to reach this point. We are Nurses, we thrive in stress, and we excel in difficulty. It is in our nature.
@MurseWisdom
Introductions are in order....
Fellow Murses, Nurses, and Nursing Students,
Welcome to my first attempt at "Blogging"... My purpose in this endeavor is to add a little depth to what I am trying to accomplish with my Twitter account. Because sometimes 140 characters isn't enough to get my message across. That being said, you will get your fair share of rants from me, because this is a better forum for that sort of expression than the workplace. I will (attempt to) dispense wisdom, I will apply a heavy coat of sarcasm. My humor is dark and it can be relentless and I have a foul mouth when not at work. If you are easily offended, you are not only reading the wrong blog but probably pursuing the wrong career. Like Nursing, I am not for the timid or the naive.
About Me: A vague intro seems to be in order, although to maintain my anonymity I will leave out a lot of specifics. I am a Male Nurse (obviously) I am almost 30 years old and I live in the Midwest. I started my medical career in the US Army in 2001 as a Practical Nurse I was also trained as a Paramedic. I served overseas in Operation Iraqi Freedom. I am married to a nurse and we are expecting our first child. I am currently an RN although I do want to obtain my Masters eventually. I am an atypical Nurse besides being a man, I am also a large man, by that I mean 6'3" and I'm slightly insensitive. Its amazing what a fake smile and blue eyes can do for a patient or family member. I drive a truck, love dogs, grew up on a farm/ranch and will soon be working with my father-in-law on his ranch and eventually living on it. I don't know what else to tell you.
I will have guest bloggers, friends and followers alike. Hopefully, I do not get too busy with life and forget to blog. Like my Twitter account, this will also be anonymous. It's better for everyone that way, especially any co-workers and bosses that may find offense to the things I write about them.
That's not a big intro but I'm not an English major, I have a real degree. Before I go, I want to add a few things. I have a new email account associated with this blog. It's mursewisdom@gmail.com Easy to remember. The second thing is that if you are, or formerly were, an English major and you feel the need to criticize my use of syntax or misuse of a semi-colon, feel free to do so... out loud... in front of your computer... at home... where I can't hear you. Because I don't care if I ended my sentence in a preposition. I write and type in Nursing shorthand and it takes a lot out of me to type full words and use punctuation.
If you are not following on twitter please do so and tell your friends... @MurseWisdom
Welcome to my first attempt at "Blogging"... My purpose in this endeavor is to add a little depth to what I am trying to accomplish with my Twitter account. Because sometimes 140 characters isn't enough to get my message across. That being said, you will get your fair share of rants from me, because this is a better forum for that sort of expression than the workplace. I will (attempt to) dispense wisdom, I will apply a heavy coat of sarcasm. My humor is dark and it can be relentless and I have a foul mouth when not at work. If you are easily offended, you are not only reading the wrong blog but probably pursuing the wrong career. Like Nursing, I am not for the timid or the naive.
About Me: A vague intro seems to be in order, although to maintain my anonymity I will leave out a lot of specifics. I am a Male Nurse (obviously) I am almost 30 years old and I live in the Midwest. I started my medical career in the US Army in 2001 as a Practical Nurse I was also trained as a Paramedic. I served overseas in Operation Iraqi Freedom. I am married to a nurse and we are expecting our first child. I am currently an RN although I do want to obtain my Masters eventually. I am an atypical Nurse besides being a man, I am also a large man, by that I mean 6'3" and I'm slightly insensitive. Its amazing what a fake smile and blue eyes can do for a patient or family member. I drive a truck, love dogs, grew up on a farm/ranch and will soon be working with my father-in-law on his ranch and eventually living on it. I don't know what else to tell you.
I will have guest bloggers, friends and followers alike. Hopefully, I do not get too busy with life and forget to blog. Like my Twitter account, this will also be anonymous. It's better for everyone that way, especially any co-workers and bosses that may find offense to the things I write about them.
That's not a big intro but I'm not an English major, I have a real degree. Before I go, I want to add a few things. I have a new email account associated with this blog. It's mursewisdom@gmail.com Easy to remember. The second thing is that if you are, or formerly were, an English major and you feel the need to criticize my use of syntax or misuse of a semi-colon, feel free to do so... out loud... in front of your computer... at home... where I can't hear you. Because I don't care if I ended my sentence in a preposition. I write and type in Nursing shorthand and it takes a lot out of me to type full words and use punctuation.
If you are not following on twitter please do so and tell your friends... @MurseWisdom
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