Career Development & Staffing

1.    Share what you had expected to learn about the topic before the class.

a.    I expected to learn about the fundamentals of staffing and the laws/guidelines that employers or managers are held to.

2.    What you actually learned from the unit.

a.    I really enjoyed the discussion about becoming a nurse practitioner.  We learned the difference between being an NP and a PA.  We also discussed that licensing requirements may vary state to state.  We discussed actually getting into a program and taking the GRE.

b.   We also discussed travel nursing and the pros and cons of joining the military. 

c.    After we split we discussed the job of staffing a floor as a manager.  Then we had the opportunity to put a schedule together.

3.   How you will utilize the information learned in your nursing practice.

a.    I will certainly be able to use what I learned if I become a manager and need to make a schedule for my floor.  I believe I will also appreciate the difficulty a little better and be less likely to complain when my schedule isn’t exactly what I want it to be.

4.    Your personal feelings about the material covered.

a.    The beginning part of class (the discussion in the auditorium) was particularly interesting.  It’s always good to learn about the options that are available to me, especially in an economy like this one.  The scheduling assignment was nasty.  Again, appreciation, right?