Jump to content


Member Member
  • Joined:
  • Last Visited:
  • 455


  • 0


  • 7,401


  • 0


  • 0


TU RN has 5 years experience and specializes in ICU, PCU.

TU RN's Latest Activity

  1. TU RN

    USAGPAN 2020

    Damn I haven't posted in a while. I remember joining this forum as a venting strategy after accepting my first Stepdown RN position out of nursing school (2013) and absolutely hating it. Here I am in USAGPAN living the effin dream. As Joe Walsh says: life's been good to me so far. And certain fingers up to the doubters, btw, cuz we're out here doing it anyway. Another direct commission, current Phase I student here (FY 19 represent). I like to think of myself as an underdog (who was refused by 9 civilian programs and accepted only by USAGPAN / I say hooah). Don't let my man Bhebe55 spook ya, yes it is a lot of work, but we have had a lot of fun, struggled together, and learned a lot in the process. I will gladly answer your questions, tridel, and if anyone else has anything please don't hesitate to ask here or PM me. I'm extremely grateful to the help I received from my predecessors and am glad to hand down any help that I can. How has your experience been thus far? My experience is relative only to my desires. My goal is to be a CRNA and to serve my country - I'm accomplishing both of those goals satisfactorily and I couldn't be happier. At this point you would be in 2nd semester correct? Correct, but "semester" might not have the same meaning as you expect. There aren't typical "breaks" between "semesters," as the next classes are just gradually worked into the curriculum. USAGPAN Phase I is designed to be an onslaught of academia to prepare you for Phase II, an onslaught of practicum. Are your classes solely GPAN students or are there other specialties mixed in? The program is taught entirely as one entity, in one classroom: USAGPAN. No other specialty. I spend every day with my 23 Army SRNA colleagues. What I love most about my class is this: 17 of us started talking to each other about this time last year (direct commissions), commiserated about the application and "scrolling" process, and then continued to bond after we met up at our report date in January. I can confidently say now that I love these folks (although they often drive me crazy) and truly appreciate the value of selfless service. How much homework and how much class time do you average? Yeah we have about 2-3, 2-hour classes daily paired with 5-6 hours of study time after class. Like Bhebe said, 9-12 hours total daily x5. Actual physical homework isn't quite as prevalent as in undergrad, but you're expect to have a conversational understanding of the concepts for class as you will be grilled. More importantly, you will be expected to function independently as an anesthesia provider in a deployed setting to save our soldiers and allies. Do you wear uniforms on campus or dress as other students do? Uniform is the ACU. Are there civilians in your classes? We're all soldiers and officers in the United States Army. Do you have to do daily reporting? When there is class, you are required to report. It's nothing crazy like some formation then you fall out to classroom, but you're expected to be in your seat at 0745 for class every day. If you're not well, you have to go to sick call and be evaluated. My people would refer to this type of practice as "no ***" - being a student in USAGPAN is your military occupational specialty. How about daily PT? PT is not conducted daily as a group in USAGPAN, but you are expected to physically prepared to participate in group PT sessions once weekly, a diagnostic PT test monthly, and a record PT test every 6 months. Do not neglect exercise. In this program, you are a soldier. Absolutely research the APFT (push-ups, pull-ups, and two-mile run) and the ACFT (more intense, functional physical fitness test that will be officially replacing the APFT in 2021). As a general rule, I'd say be able to do 40 pushups and 40 situps or more in 2 minutes, and be able to run 2 miles in 17 minutes or less. If you can't perform in PT for the program you won't be kicked out immediately, but you will be ridden (not comfortable) until you succeed. How often are y'all meeting for (Military) administration duties? For USAGPAN, outside of DCC and BOLC, nothing. I'll have to get back to you once I finish Phase II, though.
  2. TU RN

    I Fear for the Future of Nursing

    Or not hire anyone at all and increase your margin! Meanwhile, literally suck the life out of your remaining staff by increasing weekend requirements and twice daily off-day nags about working overtime. It's a lot cheaper to pay a few people time and a half than to hire full time staff. People should be brought up on criminal charges
  3. TU RN

    I Fear for the Future of Nursing

    Beyond over nursing. It could be a lack of guts portrayed by the new generation (the one I belong to) entering the work force, combined with the overwhelmingly profit-driven healthcare system to which we're enslaved. Match that with the soul-deadening regret one feels when they realize they were essentially forced to get a 4 year degree in order to pull together a career AND wage that (1.) was ascertainable by a 2 year diploma not 10 years ago, (2.) works alongside several other specialties with lower education requirements/job responsibilities for same or better wage, and (3.) is virtually inapplicable to ANYTHING else, ANYWHERE else, but bedside nursing if you're relatively new to the field. And yes that last point was added for the obligatory "you can do so much with it!" people. Not with any of these far fewer qualifications than my more experienced competition for whatever nice non-bedside job you're referring to! Should an employee put in their time before they get worthy "promotions" (so to speak)? Absolutely. That is a system I respect and I do hope it stays intact. But when I'm over here lamenting my awful career choice, physically sickened by the prospect of going back to work, not even batting a surprised look to mention that I require antidepressants to function long-term in my job as a nurse -- and the primary stipulation to your suggestion that "I can do so much with it" is for me to endure in this hell for several more years before this "so much" opens up... to those people I say get busy living or get busy dying. Which is fair. So what do the young nurses do? Well of course they go back to school for their advanced degrees, en masse. And what do such nurses harp on these days? The Bureau of Labor Statistics prediction that by 2020 the employment will be up some 40% with particular focus on the aging of the current population, the aging of the current work force, the retirement of the Baby Boomers, and the increased demand for primary care services especially given the new healthcare system in the US. Naturally, every single graduate of an accredited nursing school and their mother should go back to school to be NPs! And nurse educators, of course, because who is going to teach all the new nurses (which we totally need by the way with this nursing shortage that totally exists /sarcasm). And at the end of the day nobody is working at the bedside and all the patients are dead or healthy and everyone is happy :) clearly this is fiction. I agree with the poster who said nurses should unionize nationally and really advocate for themselves. Nothing is going to get better without a collective voice, and more importantly a collective of walking shoes if need be. I acknowledge the poster who mentioned the depression and suicide rates of other professions. allbusdrivers.com is a great idea and it should happen - I feel for those guys! The grass is not necessarily greener, that much is definitely true. I don't know how my young physician colleagues handle the intense hours for such little reward for however many years. By the same token I just met a pharmacist (owner) who drove a Maserati and seemed pretty content with his life. 3 more years of school for a doctorate, a lot of mindless work during normal hours, and a wheelbarrow full of cash every year? What's not to love? Probably the fact that pharmacists seem to love their jobs so much that they're not retiring and there's no job growth. I totally agree with the few posters who mentioned being chewed up and spit out after their shifts, or how they're pulled in so many directions. I think this is probably the biggest stressor for me and many other nurses - there are simply way too many things expected of us. Small some things may be, but the cumulative effect is crippling under all the unnecessary stress. When I'm taking care of a patient and someone calls in from the hallway for something.. anything really.. it sets me the **** off. What if this was your mother you're essentially expecting me to provide incomplete care for so I can take a bull **** critical result? Get someone else to listen to the number and write it down. Yet every single process in the hospital is put under an electron microscope by however many quality improvement and performance improvement employees (you know, those nurses we were talking about who hate the bedside so much, good to see you!). I could go on all day about this thread but I have to cut myself off here cuz I'm about to throw my head through a wall lol :headbang:
  4. TU RN

    Do Nurses Earn Big Money? You Decide.

    Maybe this speaks to my upbringing, but a 22-24 year old kid just out of college making $30/hour as a RN is good money regardless of the job description.
  5. TU RN

    Sure to Get Flamed for This

    This isn't an original thread. Or even an original topic. Others have made threads like this before. Seems more like an attention-seeking whine actually. Why else title the thread "sure to get flamed for this"? Are you happy, OP, that your whine post is just as pointless as those who whine about being bullied? You're the same as them. Treat others with the same respect you'd want for yourself. I suggest that you follow your own advice: grow up and act like the adult that you are.
  6. TU RN

    Cannabis and Healthcare 2014

  7. TU RN

    Cannabis and Healthcare 2014

    It should be illegal for employers in those states (CO, WA) to terminate/refuse to hire employees/prospective hires on the basis of a THC positive drug test. Same goes for licensure and the SBON. The substance is legal, what rationale could they possibly use to override the law? Our company/facility/institution doesn't condone the use of marijuana, therefore we can selectively hire/fire people on that basis? Authority shouldn't legally be theirs to make that call. I'm sure a hospital doesn't condone the use of tobacco, but employees aren't tested for and subsequently fired for use of that cocktail of harmful "substances." Shoot, people at my hospital take frequent breaks to satisfy their nicotine addiction at the expense of productivity and patient care - but that vice is a nonissue. Your patient codes in the 10-15 minutes while you were appeasing your urge and the response time/resuscitative efforts of the temporarily short-staffed unit leads to an avoidable patient casualty. Also while there are no effects of acute impairment secondary to tobacco use, the negative effects on one's health are substantial and well-documented. So what makes tobacco (well, nicotine) addiction acceptable for hospital workers from an HR perspective? Alcohol consumption does cause acute impairment. It also has numerous well-documented negative health effects, especially with long term use. Obviously it is legal, but due to its judgment-altering effects, is strictly prohibited from use on-the-job. That makes sense; the same as it would make sense to prohibit marijuana from use on-the-job. Can an employer terminate an employee for getting drunk at a wedding occasionally... or on the weekend... or every weekend... or every day after work for that matter? Now this is hypothetical, but if somebody's work, demeanor, and judgment aren't affected (functional alcoholics) how would they ever know? It's not like EtOH is tested for on a regular basis. Do employers even test for it (with suspicion or not)? Not where I work. So again I ask, what rationale could they possibly have for action based on a THC positive drug test if the substance is legal? The ethics of doing so are tantamount to taking action based on tobacco or alcohol use.