Nursing Job Employment Positions

Like most of you, I have been watching the Olympics. Every venue has its awe - except Curling. I don’t seem as thrilled about a broom and a stone as I do watching Shaun White fly out of the half pipe! I suppose the badgers and the Canadians would disagree. I imagine that is part of the lure of the Games - we all have our preferences. One thing I am acutely aware of is the training and commitment required of each of these athletes. It is truly amazing. I heard the interview with Apolo Anton Ohno regarding his regime and agreed with Brian Williams’ over-all assessment when he said, “These people have DNA that the rest of us do not have”! Apolo not only talked about his preparation but he talked about his goals. He has daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly goals that culminate with the ultimate prize that happens every four years.

I’ve been thinking about goals. Without them, it seems life just happens. In reality, perhaps I could be a curler in the next Olympics - if I start soon. Or, maybe, I could just get my life in order and have a goal for the day! Clarian has been presenting Forums this month about our accomplishments and goals on the road to preeminence and I have the new Joint Commission goals ever present on my name tag. Every day when I arrive at work, I set up a care of plan for each patient that contains two goals for the day. It seems everyone has goals but me.

I did a random, non-scientific pole of my peers the other day and asked the simple question, “What is your goal for today”? Responses:

• Survive - be happy - keep my patient from falling.
• Get through the day! Keep my sickle cell happy and my other patient’s wife from being mad at me.
• To leave here and go home happy.
• Get out on time.
• To be organized and not become stressed-out.
• Do no harm.

I guess I am a bit naïve. I thought someone would say, “I have been reviewing the Synergy Model for Patient Care and my goal for the day, probably the week, is to enhance my communication skills and become consciously aware of the manner in which I interact with people.” That didn’t happen. I didn’t even come up with that idea until right now. But, I think it is a stellar goal.

This whole goal business has me thinking, planning and pondering. For starters, I have set my retirement date. It will come before the next Winter Olympics; the next Magnet Review; and the end of the Mayan calendar. But, sadly, I will not see the day that 4-medicine has all private rooms! So, what do I want to accomplish? My time is limited. Lately, I have had goals like those above: be safe, get out on time, survive! I’m wondering if there isn’t something more? What is it that I would like to do before I end a nursing career spanning four decades?

And, my questions to you are the same, whether your career is just starting, waning, or coasting: What are your goals? What do you want to accomplish? Is there something more? What is it that you really want to do? I say, go for the Gold!

Sherry

To be a registered nurse at Clarian, visit Registered Nursing Position Indiana.

1. Find a position(s) you want at www.calltochange.org/nursing or www.clarian.org/clarianjobs.
2. Click through until you reach the online application.
3. Complete the application and upload your resume.
4. Follow the instructions to complete the Health Care Selection Survey. (This is a tool we use to gauge how you will fit at Clarian – taking into account your personality, experience, etc.)
5. When this is done, you will receive an automated reply by e-mail, saying we’ve received your application.

1. We call ALL qualified applicants WITHIN 2 WORKING DAYS. If we don’t feel you’re a good fit at Clarian, you will receive an e-mail response.
2. When your recruiter calls, you will discuss career goals, experience, expectations, etc. Your recruiter might also recommend other openings that might suit you well.
3. Your recruiter will schedule an interview with the unit manager (usually within a couple of days). You may have two or more interviews scheduled, depending on your experience and qualifications.
4. Your recruiter will coordinate every aspect of the interview process. Typically, on the day of your interview, you will meet your recruiter at the Nurse Recruitment office, where you will go over general employment and benefit details. Your recruiter will then personally escort you to your interview(s).
5. Within a couple days (maybe sooner) you will have a response. You will either be given a formal job offer, recommended for a shadowing day, or told why you are not being offered the position.

November 1-7 is designated Medical-Surgical Nurses Week. This is a time set aside to celebrate and appreciate Med-Surg nurses. When I first became involved in the Academy of Medical Surgical Nurses and became aware of this week, I wondered why we needed another week in addition to Nurses Week in the spring. Over time I have grown to appreciate the difference.

During Nurses Week, I set aside a bit of time to reflect on why I became a nurse. During this period of time, I think about why I am a medicine nurse. Why did I choose this specialty, and why in the world have I stayed with it for forty-two years?!? Medical nursing is never really a comfort zone. Just when you think you know something, it changes. There are many specialties that are more glamorous than medicine. And there are many places in the system where people don’t have to work at such a crazy pace or have an odd appreciation for chaos.

Over the years I have done many interesting things within the framework of medical nursing, and I have had opportunities to do numerous things in other areas, but have never made the leap. Four years ago, after my round with cancer, I was sure I would never be able to keep up with 4-medicine again. I interviewed several places and was offered a couple of very interesting jobs, but I couldn’t make the move; just couldn’t imagine myself without liver patients!

Medicine is always a challenge. It is about critical thinking, honing one’s senses and developing keen assessment skills. It’s about team-work at its finest. Many years ago I referred to medicine as the “theater of dependency.” We like to think of ourselves as very independent practitioners, but in reality we rely on each other constantly. Medicine nurses have very distinctive personalities - need I say more? Let’s just consider IU 4-medicine for a brief moment... (How wild and whacky was that?!?) I guess medical nursing gets in your blood. Over the years, I have had three criteria for staying the course in any position I have held: am I learning, am I having fun, and am I making a difference. If all of those things are operational, I am pretty content. Medical nursing has been a place of satisfaction for me.

I was pleased with the slogan for this year: "Medical-Surgical Nurses: Making a World of Difference." Medicine Nurses share an umbrella with Surgical Nurses. Somewhere along the line, I have made a distinction because I am pretty much a pure medical nurse. I hope I haven’t slighted any surgical nurses in this blog, because I can tell you right now, I have a great appreciation for what you do. Actually, I pretty amazed at what you do! I think you know that as truth because when I float to your areas a lot of hand holding occurs to get me through. For some reason it is hard for me to wrap my brain around all that cutting and pasting! So, to all of my colleagues in Medical-Surgical Nursing, enjoy the week, share your stories. re-commit to your specialty and never doubt for one moment that you indeed “make a world of difference.”

And, if you are out there as an “undecided,” consider Medical-Surgical Nursing, because it could make a world of difference in your life, too.

Sherry

To be a registered nurse at Clarian, visit Registered Nursing Position Indiana.
 

Julie entered nursing as a second career in search of a way to give back to the community and as a personal path to fulfillment, after having lived the glamorous but somewhat empty life as a manager in a retail jewelry store.

"Nursing has given me the opportunity to use my God given gifts to both directly help patients and their families and also to support other nurses and physicians who do. This is not a job, it is an identity and an enthusiasm for wanting to make a moment in time the best it can be for someone in need. "

Julie graduated from IUPUI, so despite the short walk to the Clarian campus, her professional path to nurse recruitment includes CV Critical Care and Manager of the Resource Pool.

To be a registered nurse at Clarian, visit Registered Nursing Position Indiana.
 

All external and internal hires in the Clarian system require a current signed BLS (Basic Life Support) certification. This is a new requirement based on a new policy that started this January.

All applicants should fax a copy of their card to the nurse recruiter that is assigned to their area. Without the verification of that certification, it will place your job offer on hold.

Clarian does offer a CPR course for those external candidates hiring into the system. For further CPR course information and schedule availability please contact Cynthia Ernst at cernst@clarian.org.

Shalunda

To apply for a Registered Nurse position at Clarian, visit Nursing Job Employment Positions.

• Adopting and implementing privacy procedures
• Training employees so that they understand the privacy procedures
• Designating an individual to be responsible for overseeing privacy procedures
• Properly securing patient health information

I recently had the pleasure to go to Indiana University South Bend’s campus and meet with their nursing students on behalf of Clarian. The students were a mixture of May, August, and December graduates. They all were excited about the end of the semester and drained from finals week.

This opportunity gave me a chance to discuss the wonderful education and advancement opportunities that Clarian has to offer its nurses. I discussed with them the importance of getting their applications in early. I asked my group at what date did they start applying for positions. The earliest month the May graduates had applied was in February. Due to the economy there is not a lot of turnover in nursing positions. New graduates should embrace that securing a position in a system and gaining experience, even if the position is not your first choice, is a wise decision.

To view all of the Clarian nursing job opportunities, please log on to RN Job Opportunities Indiana. I enjoyed the beautiful South Bend campus and the opportunity to speak on all the great things going on here at Clarian.  

Shalunda