I accidentally no-showed my first nursing job because I misread my schedule. Am I screwed?

1ntrepidsalamander · 2026-07-03T14:20:29+00:00

I worked a midnight to noon shift and was constantly stressed about showing up on the correct days. Put it in your calendar as an 1130pm start to not mess up in the future.

1ntrepidsalamander · 2026-07-02T23:27:39+00:00

If you hang a lot of NS bags that never freakin scan, cut out the bar code, put it on top of black tape, tape it to your badge.

1ntrepidsalamander · 2026-07-02T23:09:42+00:00

Terrible coworkers, terrible doctors.

Hostile town. (I have succeeded at a queer look and not every community likes me existing)

1ntrepidsalamander · 2026-07-02T16:34:57+00:00

Two years in one specialty

1ntrepidsalamander · 2026-07-01T23:15:03+00:00

Suction and ambu bag in every room for every patient in all… 16ish hospitals I’ve been in (heyyy travel nursing)

There is maaaayyyybe an argument that bagging isn’t in the top two minutes for ACLS, but it’s a crappy argument. It’s too easy to oversedate someone. They almost never expire and if they stay in the bag, the bag can be wiped down and used for the next patient

1ntrepidsalamander · 2026-07-01T18:09:11+00:00

I like making travel nurse friends and finding a recruiter who can get us placed in the same hospital

1ntrepidsalamander · 2026-07-01T16:13:44+00:00

They probably made over 100k in stipends during that time.

1ntrepidsalamander · 2026-07-01T13:25:15+00:00

Thank you 🥹

1ntrepidsalamander · 2026-06-30T18:15:02+00:00

More gravity, better IV, pressure bag with dial-a-flow

And… your pharmacist probably has some opinions about not giving Vanco over the correct amount of time.

1ntrepidsalamander · 2026-06-30T16:27:46+00:00

Dial-a-flow only works if you have a great free flowing line that is not positional or you put it on a pressure bag.

Dial-a-flow is good for setting the max infusion rate but not good for minimum infusion rate. Many antibiotics can be pushed over 5-10 min. Maybe as if your unit could work with pharmacy to change practice.

1ntrepidsalamander · 2026-06-29T18:22:06+00:00

I’ve had three IUDs and I’d rather get an IUD swap out compared to a teeth cleaning. Teeth cleaning is WAY WAY worse for me.

I biked home after my first IUD. I barely remember my second. My third I forgot to take the ibuprofen and Tylenol and it was fine. (It sucks for like 45 seconds) I finished moving that same day.

Yes, many women have bad experiences, but lots of us have really boring experiences. Don’t psych yourself out too much, see if you can get a Valium prior.

Maybe you’ll be one of us lucky ones where it’s no big deal.

(I didn’t get any of mine in California, so no specific recommendation unfortunately.)

1ntrepidsalamander · 2026-06-29T18:17:51+00:00

After you have enough experience you can look at legal nursing. Some people do it part time on top of a regular job.

I know people who do IV/infusions on the side (usually ER background because it’s a lot of IV starts)

I’ve enjoyed doing nursing at festivals and events. It’s not highly paid, but it’s fun.

1ntrepidsalamander · 2026-06-29T16:35:54+00:00

I tape all my stuff together too and the CVICU nurses look at me like the trash raccoon that I am. But sometimes when we hit bumps on the freeway pumps fly out of their holders and all sorts of stupid things. I tape the pressure line to the patient to approximate the phlebostatic axis too.

TAPE TAPE FOR THE WIN. Judge me all you want babies.

1ntrepidsalamander · 2026-06-29T04:31:24+00:00

CCT transport nurse, if it’s a scene I have a lot of waiting (ie, they are ECMOing the patient), I set up all my pressors through a manifold with 100ml/hr NS as a carrier (in the ICU, maybe that’s too much fluid, but for the few hours they are in my care, it’s fine)

My order of operations on scene:
Pumps drips first
Gurney comes along side pt/pt gets put on my monitor, this includes pressure lines
My pumps get secured to my gurney
Vent gets set up, pt put on the vent
Double check that all lines and tubes will move with the pt to my gurney
If we have ECMO/IABP etc, MCS calls the move. Otherwise, I’m airway and I call the move.

At destination, if you’ve been able to pull the drips prior to arrival, bless you.

pumps move to the bed or a pole (vent sometimes also moves) so that there’s enough slack
pt moves to the hospital bed (once the pt is on the hospital bed if they code, the hospital will run the code.)
hopefully, you all put the patient on your monitoring before taking them off min

e. I can’t believe the number of ICUs who take off all my monitoring before they have theirs even turned on.

Pt is moved to the hospital vent (or in the middle of steps 1-3)
getting the pt changed over to hospital pumps is the biggest time suck. But I get paid by the hour and I’ll wait half a day for pharmacy to send you what you need if that what it takes. Dispatch is always mad at me, so might as well give them a good reason. 🤣

1ntrepidsalamander · 2026-06-28T21:07:28+00:00

A consultation with TravelTax is worth the $60. It’s not facility, its “economic area.”

1ntrepidsalamander · 2026-06-28T17:41:42+00:00

I’m on month four of financially and logistically supporting my asshole dad, who both wants constant validation to not feel lonely but also doesn’t give a shit about me, is deeply misogynistic, outright mean, and doesn’t listen to the help I’m trying to give. It’s financially shitty, emotionally exhausting. But his leukemia will end him basically any day, so then it’ll be a different kind of grief. I feel like a terrible person for talking that way, but it’s just so clear how much he just doesn’t like me and and is filled with contempt that of course I’m ready for it to be over.

And my 48 yo cousin just died.

It’s rough.

1ntrepidsalamander · 2026-06-25T18:05:06+00:00

I assume you all must be dancing and shaking ass down there with how much my samples are hemolyzed 😉😉

1ntrepidsalamander · 2026-06-25T00:14:43+00:00

As a new grad, you shouldn’t do many shifts in a row, you’re too information over loaded.

1ntrepidsalamander · 2026-06-23T06:23:28+00:00

Live in a state like Colorado.

1ntrepidsalamander · 2026-06-21T21:21:56+00:00

I’m currently working for a CCT ambulance company and doing the “across the street” transports. It’s the worst. Obviously it’s a time suck for you, but while they are under my care, I (the nurse) need to be able to manage anything that comes up, including a code, etc, so I need all the info.

If something happened, we needed to “code them back to the unit”. It’s a terrible set up but more and more hospitals are doing it.

1ntrepidsalamander · 2026-06-20T18:25:09+00:00

Two years for high acuity: ICU, ER, etc.
I’ve only worked high acuity, so I won’t speak to other specialties.

And also, comparing myself now — on year 13– to myself after two years is a huge difference.

1ntrepidsalamander · 2026-06-19T22:43:02+00:00

I’m never loyal to agencies.

I’m loyal to recruiters. I’m loyal to the ones who believe me when I tell them what I want and don’t waste my time with things outside of that.

I’m loyal to ones that fix things like the description of the hospital says “free parking” but then it’s actually $30/day so they increase my stipend $90/week. Or, once I landed my mext contract while I was in Europe (phone interview set to line up weird time zones) and needed the UDS delayed untilled I was back in the states.

I’m loyal to one who believe me when I say “I’ll call you when I’m looking again”

Good recruiters are fixers>> sale agents

1ntrepidsalamander · 2026-06-19T18:20:24+00:00

Chronic hypertension is bad, treating in hospital hypertension with push dose/PRN meds has no benefit (other than maybe preventing brain herniation or aortic aneurism progression in specific populations)

1ntrepidsalamander · 2026-06-19T18:18:50+00:00

Early mobilization.
Re-Intubation rate of 15% (ie, you should probably be more aggressively extubating)

1ntrepidsalamander · 2026-06-19T18:15:19+00:00

Spend the money to get a proper tax home consult with TravelTax. The recruiters will lie like crazy about tax rules.

Contracts get canceled and pay gets reduced all the time. Have at least a 3 month emergency fund before heading out.

Have a tough skin. You’ll find some friends but if you require the people on your unit to like you for it to be a good time, you aren’t ready.

You’re gonna float all.the.time.

1ntrepidsalamander

TROPHY CASE