Mina Marra

English Composition 1
Professor Probst
November 17, 2015

Occupational Environment
a. work environment
i.
Acute care hospital, Medical Surgical Unit.
b. Typical day
i.
12 hour night shift, arrive 7pm receive report from
day shift. Ongoing head to toe assessments of each pt. Administer
medications throughout shift. Continually monitor vital signs and labs
values. Charting patient status. Reporting to physician any abnormal
results, change in conditions,
c. Flexibility
i.
Very flexible schedule. Full time with three 12 hour
shifts per week. 2 weeks paid time off each year. Scrubs uniform,
comfortable shoes, stethoscope.
d. Independent
i.
Responsible for up to seven patients each shift.
Delegating to nursing's techs PCA/ patient care assistant
e. Interaction
i.
Interaction with patients, family members, coworkers (nurses, physicians, pharmacy, laboratory, respiratory therapists,
physical/occupational therapists, social workers, kitchen aids, diagnostic
techs, chaplain, housekeeping, transporters)
f. Outside work
i.
Yearly continuing education. Committees. Yearly
reviews. Volunteering. Monthly training, updates.
Requirements/Experience
g. Education
i.
Bachelor of Science in Nursing/BSN
1. general education, nursing
prerequisites, science based courses, hospital clinicals
h. Helpful courses
1. Nursing Core classes & hospital
clinical rotations: adult health, surgical nursing, pediatrics, OB,
critical care, psych, home health, public health, school nursing,
leadership, ethics.
i. Tools/equipment
1. Assessment skills. Phone.
Computer. Stethoscope, scissors, alcohol, flushes, tape, gloves,
IV start kits, IV tubing, IV pump, IV medications, oral medications,

crash cart, lab tubes, cardiac monitor, BP cuff, pulse oximetry,

Oxygen tubing, suction.
j. Certification/Licence/Degree
1. Registered Nurse License
k. Travel
1. No travel
l. Relocation
1. Possibility to transfer units within the
hospital or float to different units
Benefits/Frustrations
m. Rewards
i.
Watching someone regain strength and recover
and go home:)
n. Frustrations
i.
Trying to be in multiple places at the same time,
being needed by many patients. High patient acuity, very sick patients.
Leaving work hours late trying to catch up.
o. Fringe benefits
p. Personal benefits
i.
Walking out of work feeling like what you did makes
a difference everyday, saving lives! Gaining new knowledge everyday,
continually learning something new every shift. Being challenged
everyday.
q. Salary
i.
Around $30/hour, $4,000/month
Personal Views
r.

Personally get interested

i.
Volunteering in the hospital, watching the
interdisciplinary team.
s. Undergrad
i.
Pre nursing courses, science based classes
t. Practical Experience
i.
Customer service in restaurants. Volunteering in
the community. Child care giver. Rehab nursing assistant. 5 different
hospital clinical rotations.
u. Current job
i.
New Grad Residency Program. 3 Interviews
v. Types of people in nursing
i.
Compassionate, people person, handles stress
appropriately, strong, confident
w. Stress
i.
Unstable patients, code situations, rapid response,
multiple physicians calling you, trauma patients, multitasking, critical test
results, new diagnosis, short staffed, sleep deprived, long ass hours
x. Like the most
i.
Nurses I work with. Nurse talk. Gaining new
knowledge and experience every day. Meeting new patients. Cute old
men my favorite

y. Like least
i.
Watching patient crash, terminal diagnosis, pass
away, stressful situations
Outlook
z. Advancement
i.
Charge nurse, manager, supervisor, staffing, nurse
team lead. Advanced Practice Degrees: Masters in Science in
Nursing/MSN, Nursing Practitioner/NP, Nurse Educator, Nurse Annestinst,
Nurse Midwife, etc
aa. Demand
i.
Jobs everywhere in any place in the world, always
need a nurse. Many specialties: medical, Emergency room, surgical,
Post/Perioperative, Operating room, PACU, ICU, step down units,
Telemetry, Pediatric, Oncology, Hematology, NICU, Mother baby, Labor
and delivery, Neuro, Ortho, dialysis, rehab, psych, home health, school,
flight nursing
ab. Technology
i.
Always changing medical equipment,
advancements. Follows evidence based practice, better/safer way to do
things. Diagnostic imaging advancements.
Advice
ac. Hiring
i.
GPA in prerequisites, College reputation, clinical
experience, values, customer service skills, accountability, ability to learn
to new knowledge, work as a team member, friendly, not annoying
ad. Groups
i.
Student Nurses Association/SNA a group of nursing
students gets involved in community and empowering guest speakers.
CPR. Volunteering. Blood drives
ae. Field
i.
Shadowing nurses, volunteering in healthcare,
internship
af. Suggestions
i.
Stay focused on the long term goal! It is all worth it
ag. Related occupations
i.
Certified Nursing Assistant/CNA works under a
nurse helps with ADLs, vital signs, reports to the nurse.
ii.
Advanced practice degrees