My Intro

Hello All!

Co-erced :shades_smile: by the newbie message, here's my intro:

I just graduated school from the ADN program at Cabrillo College on the Monterey Bay, central coast of CA and received my CA RN license Feb 8. I'm a lay-off refugee from a career in high tech in Sillycon Valley (I was done a great favor by being laid off. After so manuy years there I was pretty burned out by the constant invention of inventions to satisfy the greed of the majogany row folk. After figuring out the color of my parachute, I decided to become an RN with a goal of ED nursing. (The real reason is that, when I was a young man, young women would go into nursing to marry a rich doc. Seeing the number of women as MD's these days, wel, I thought, 'why not?')

I've a job awaiting me at St. Mary's in Reno: Tele unit >> DAY << shift!! Yup, me, a new grad, getting a day shift! Besides the CA central coast rapidly getting saturated with new grads, new grads here can have any shift they want, so long as it's a night shift. And, for me at my degree of seasoning, night shifts mess with my circadian rhythm a bit too much. I'm looking forward to this hospital is a great opp for growth. Besides the hiring manager having no qualms with my intent to get into the ED, the hospital is curently constructing enuf beds to double its ED from 20 to 40 beds. Methinks they will need a few nurses to fill slots there ...

Plan is to reside in Truckee, CA. Yup, it's chilly in the winter. But, that's ok, I've got my long johns. Up side is that what better place to get high legally than the Sierra? (Well, maybe the Rockies, too ...)

So, there 'tis or here I am, with ink still wet on my license.

-- Jim, RN (& EMT-B)

Hello Jim.

Wow, strange--I wentmfrom a job as a Senior Programmer II/.Net Architect before getting my EMT-IV then Paramedic, and landed smack-dab in the middle of the nursing profession. lol.

Nice to meet you.

Welcome! :)

Welcome to the site! Coerced by my welcome post, eh?!

I do admit you have a good idea on meeting women. :D As for getting day shift, congrats! As a strictly 3-11 person, I give you credit. I don't 'do' anything earlier than 11 am, as I am just getting civil about 9 am.

Hope to see you often!

'Cat'

Welcome
Congrats on getting your license. Good luck with your new job..and landing a female Dr. (haha!)

Thank you All for the welcome!

A bit more on my Sillycone Valley career: I had my own business for > 20 years, providing technical publications and training services (writing, publishing, managing) to clients in a wide variety of disciplines that included electronically controlled door locks, medical equipment, telecom equipment, military hardware, et al. Got tired of talking to accounting departments who thought they worked for different companies than those with which I had contracts. So, went to work direct for a start-up with the hope of 'making it big' on Incentive Stock Options. Yeah, right! Left that company before they turned off the lights. Tried it again with a second company but got laid off before they turned off the lights. BTW: I haven't once turned back and missed working in hi-tech...

Thought about leveraging my EMT-B into an EMT-P but a mentor of mine suggested not because EMT-P'ing is a job for folks much my junior (i.e., much to hard on the body for more seasoned folks). So, there I am, watching Trauma: Life in the ER on TLC and I have an epiphany...

So, after finishing my gen ed classes and pre-reqs and on the wait-list for school, I got my blood suck ... er, phlebotomy cert and began working at the local hospital learning what it was like to walk into a room with a tray full of accouterments of medieval torture and trying to get sick folks to laugh or at least smile before I left the room. [BTW: no one ever told me that I shouldn't take separate Anatomy and Physiology classes simultaneously! Oh, how my head hurt!]

Cat, re the PM shift, that's the shift I have been working as a Lab Tech and I love it, esp about taking my time to get up in the AM. The shifts I was offered at St. Mary's Reno Tele were 12's, either days or nights. Real tough decision there ...

Anyway, again, thanks for the warm welcome. I hope to be a contributor and opiner on the forums here...

Best regards th All. Now, back to packing for my move from the shore to the highlands.

-- Jim

Jim, I have my blood sucker's license, too. It's not always possible to get hands on IV practice, for one. My instructor's ex is a nurse, and he said they've had discusiions that just because you can start an IV, doesn't mean you can draw blood. Drawing blood does give you an advantage, doesn't it?

Hey, just a thought....you do have an advantage in Computers. have you thought about Nursing Infomatics? See this forum: Nursing Informatics

Cougardnurse --

Thanks for the reply. One of the things (well, maybe a couple .. ) I fault my nursing school for is its failing on both labs and venipuncture. In phleb school we had to complete 35 acceptable (to the instructor) punctures and draws on each other. Because we each blew our draws in some way or another (e.g., simply setting down a sharp on the table without putting the needle guard in place it) or forgetting to release a tourniquet immediately), we ended up attempting about 70 draws. In Rn school, no blood draws and only two IV attempts on each other. 'Course we got to practice as much as we wanted on a rubber arm, but no way does that come near real flesh. It's no wonder few nurses (that I've witnessed) can successfully draw blood, esp with a correct "order of the draw." I was extremely fortunate to precept in an ER where I had the opp to start an average of 4 IVs per day over my 120 hours. BTW: in that ED the nurses had to do all of their own blood draws, regardless at IV start or afterwards.

Talking with a couple of my nurse buds in the med-surg unit (a charge nurse) and in the ICU, they both complained that it had been a long time and rare occasion when they start IVs.

I think, too, that, just because you can draw blood doesn't necessarily mean you can successfully start IVs. I stumbled over my "muscle memory" for venipuncture when attempting to insert the IV cannula. However, my lab experience has stood me very well in vein location and selection.

Truth be known, I hate phlebotomy. Getting stuck with a needle hurts. Most of the time I've been able to avoid major discomfort for my patients. I do realize that I'll still be needling patients as an RN, however, not nearly to the extent as a lab tech. One thing, though, shhh!, don't tell my upcoming new work colleagues that I've formerly worked in a lab, else it'll be "Hey, Jim! Can you help me with this tough IV start?"

Re "nursing Informatics," your link took me back to the Forum home page and I was unable to find such a heading...

best regards --

Jim

Ah, fart! :p Sorry about the link screw up. Anyhow, we do have a Nursing Infomatics Forum here.

I hear ya about not wanting co-workers knowing you were a lab tech. Don't worry: I won't tell.