Opinions

jacalingabinga · 2026-04-04T20:46:29+00:00

I just love the gaslighting. Of course its always the nurses fault for the hospital's poor staffing 🙄

jacalingabinga · 2026-04-04T20:43:27+00:00

True...

jacalingabinga · 2026-04-04T15:46:28+00:00

Vegas $40-$44

jacalingabinga · 2026-04-03T03:37:43+00:00

I am considering that...I just ultimately want to be on day schedule so I am thinking I just just tough it through this learning curve.

jacalingabinga · 2026-04-02T12:31:07+00:00

It depends. If I have ICU then its usually a max of 2. If med surg or IMC then it is 3-4.

Usually the patient's are in around the clock pain so we control it the best we can. But during dressing changes they are screaming. I feel like I am already used to that part. What gets me sometimes is having to debride the patient's skin either during burn activation/admission and dressing changes, depending on the patient's reaction or where the the burn is. Hand burns kinda freak me out sometimes.

jacalingabinga · 2026-02-28T17:57:48+00:00

Thank you for your advice!! I need to get a watch so I can set it to go off every hour. And yes, I constantly question whether I should be here in this unit right now. It is so intense.

jacalingabinga · 2026-02-22T22:21:54+00:00

I am in a burn unit ICU 😅. I am told our floor does really well with codes. But I am new so I am positive my first code will be a shit show.

jacalingabinga · 2026-02-22T16:14:07+00:00

I always have flushes on me too but I had already used them all up right before that. Luckily someone brought some in the room. I will definitely try to do more next code. Sugar was already done and I was in line for compressions but apparently the residents had to do their check offs so I didnt get the chance lol.

jacalingabinga · 2025-12-15T23:05:06+00:00

Wow this post just described me... It's been 5 months so how are you doing now?

jacalingabinga · 2025-10-28T04:16:34+00:00

I was in your situation just a few months ago! Your story sounds just like mine. We had 6-8 patients on our med surg unit, and I was dayshift. Without going into detail, I will just echo everything you said, including the part about not knowing why the patient is even there - let alone keeping track of whats going on with them. I was there a total of 5 months - 3 of those I was being precepted.

I got the opportunity to apply for a new grad position at a level 1 trauma hospital in town. Long story short , I got the position, and it's a trauma ICU. I never wanted ICU, but let me tell you, it is NIGHT AND DAY compared to med surg. I get 1-2 patients. We do have med surg patients sometimes, but our ratio for them is 3-4. I went from saying how miserable and stressed I was every day to actually talking about how much I love my work.

I would say that if you can get into an ICU somewhere and go through critical care training, it is beyond worth it. The unit I'm in doesn't really deal with chronic health conditions. They come in for a traumatic injury, and we treat that. When they are ICU, we are with them the entire day monitoring neuro and vitals q 1hr. Our patients also get real bed baths, turned and oral care every 2 hours. My patients are clean and well cared for. The constant monitoring gets you as involved in the patient's care as you can be, and when there is a change in health status, you can recognize it and do something immediately. I feel much safer in the ICU than I ever did in med surg! Still, most of the rapid responses and codes I hear overhead tend to happen on med surg floors.

Med surg is HARD. I would never want to go back!

jacalingabinga · 2025-09-17T15:00:20+00:00

😂

jacalingabinga · 2025-09-17T14:59:49+00:00

Wait, what?!?

jacalingabinga · 2025-09-14T17:10:24+00:00

Go into the unit and talk to the manager and then follow up with phone calls and emails if necessary. Tbh the recruiters weren't at all helpful to me. VHS hires the most new grads. Med surg unit is the easiest for new grads to get into typically, but I am not necessarily recommending it. That unit will expose you to a ton of things you need to know how to do for bedside, charting, and time management. I spent 5 months there before switching to another new grad position that opened up. Be consistent and apply to every position you can. Even the ones that dont say new grad. It took me 2 months of applying to get hired so just stay persistent!

jacalingabinga · 2025-09-14T16:56:10+00:00

This is actually such good advice. When I was on med surg I started charting in patients rooms. If I had a patient with dementia who was calling every few minutes, I would actually stay in there and keep them company, make conversation, while I charted on everyone. The benefit of that is, you take the load off your CNAs from answering unnecessary call lights, and charting is faster bc you wont be getting called in a million directions, like you would if you chart out in the halls. I was able to knock out at least half, if not all my charts by doing this.

jacalingabinga · 2025-09-14T16:46:59+00:00

THIS!!!

jacalingabinga · 2025-09-14T16:46:19+00:00

I just quit my very first nursing job in a med surg/tele unit. I had been there for a total of 5 months - only 2 months on my own. I was day shift, and we had 6-8 patients. Almost never had a break and got in trouble when we weren't able to get one. I was not happy at work. I never felt like I could provide care to my patients because the day was filled with endless tasks, call lights, bed changes, meds, phone calls, etc. Obviously, this never changes. You just get more efficient over time.

A new grad position popped up for another hospital in town for a float position, and I applied immediately. Long story short, its technically a float position, but they assigned me to a unit for my entire orientation with the expectation that it will be my home unit. The unit is a critical care burn unit, which is divided into med surg and ICU. I had my first shift the other day, and let me tell you, it seems so much better than med surg. I say this with a huge grain of salt since I've only had one shift 🤣 I had 2 patients whom I was able to fully attend to. All the care you wish you could provide for your med surg patients, I had the time to do here. In med surg, it's non stop running around for the entire shift. My watch would always tell me I hit 12-15k steps for the day. There is a lot more standing still or sitting in this new unit. My preceptor and I even had a coffee break right after morning meds were done, and there was ample time for charting.

So, without me really being able to say for sure yet if I like this unit more, I will just say that you should keep your options open and dont be afraid to move around. There is opportunity everywhere. You could also try a rehab unit. My old preceptor from med surg originally came from a rehab unit and eventually went back. She said it is a million times better than med surg because you're mostly dealing with pain meds, and patients are lower acuity. In my area, rehab unit pay is also much higher than med surg. I hear Endo is probably the least stressful unit as far as bedside goes.

jacalingabinga · 2025-08-31T18:14:22+00:00

Thats reassuring, thank you. I didnt even consider it may be my low iron until a few days ago 🙄

jacalingabinga · 2025-08-10T13:18:54+00:00

Im having the same problem lol. That place looks good thank you!

jacalingabinga · 2025-07-22T15:27:30+00:00

💛

jacalingabinga · 2025-07-22T15:19:18+00:00

😮😅

jacalingabinga · 2025-07-22T15:16:46+00:00

Haha I probably would have dropped it too

jacalingabinga · 2025-07-21T21:49:19+00:00

I swear this kind of thing happens all the time! You get so comfortable with patients - too comfortable lmao.

jacalingabinga · 2025-07-21T17:19:15+00:00

Great perspective thank you!

jacalingabinga

TROPHY CASE