And the Classes Continue.

christvs, DNP, RN, NP · Jul 28, 2005

Just wondering if your hospital/unit is requiring you to take more classes and if so what they are. I have to take 3: ECG, a telemerty class, and critical care. All the classes are provided by them at their cost and I also get my hourly wage while I'm there!!
The classes are long though. 2 times a week for 4 hours, until October. Ofcourse they include homework. No careplans thank God!Atleast the teachers are very good!

Hi! I'm a brand new RN & I just started my new job this week on a med/surg/tele floor. I will have to take 4 more classes: CPR/Basic Life Support (1 day), an IV insertion class (1 full day), a meditech computer class (half-day), & a telemetry class (2 days). Phew! Plus I had 2 full days of RN orientation in a classroom last week, & I just started on the actual unit this week. Luckily all the classes count as work days so I get paid for them! Thank goodness! :)

-Christine

Tweety, BSN, RN · Jul 28, 2005

It never ends, you're constantly in classes, continuing ed, etc.

Good luck to you!

Bekahlynn · Jul 28, 2005

aside from the general charting/IV, etc classes during general RN orientation, I had to take a 2 day ortho/neuro class, a 3 day arrhythmia interpretation class (lead II), a 2 day respiratory class, a 2 day metabolic class, and a 3 day cardiac class. Each day was 8 hours. I still have to take ACLS sometime within the next year. But its better than school, because I am getting paid. I think that mine have been very beneficial, they seem so much more pertinent now that I am really a nurse.

cardiacRN2006, ADN, RN · Jul 28, 2005

Just wondering if your hospital/unit is requiring you to take more classes and if so what they are. I have to take 3: ECG, a telemerty class, and critical care. All the classes are provided by them at their cost and I also get my hourly wage while I'm there!!
The classes are long though. 2 times a week for 4 hours, until October. Ofcourse they include homework. No careplans thank God!Atleast the teachers are very good!

You're lucky. A lot of nursing students don't get experienced in those type of classes, unless they have to. What is the difference between your EKG and telemetry classes? Is the telemetry the actually sitting of the monitors and learning of the equipment? My EKG class was both, so I was wondering what yours entailed.

HappyNurse2005, RN · Jul 29, 2005

I had to take a critical care class-6-7 hours a day for 10 days, 4 days of Kaplan(this was required by my facility), 1 day of "skills", 3 days of system and RN orientation, and next month, 2 days of ACLS

jenrninmi, MSN, RN · Jul 30, 2005

Just wondering if your hospital/unit is requiring you to take more classes and if so what they are. I have to take 3: ECG, a telemerty class, and critical care. All the classes are provided by them at their cost and I also get my hourly wage while I'm there!!
The classes are long though. 2 times a week for 4 hours, until October. Ofcourse they include homework. No careplans thank God!Atleast the teachers are very good!

Absolutely! We have neuro classes, ECG Classes, etc. It does seem never ending.

SmilingBluEyes · Jul 31, 2005

oh yea, being a nurse is a lifelong learning process. Expect to spend a good amount of your time continuing your education; you must to keep current.

rach_nc_03 · Jul 31, 2005

We have, in addition to a week of hospital orientation-type classes:

2-day ECG/dysrhythmia

ACLS for 1 day

PALS for 2 days

something like 4 or 5 days of skills classes, each 8 hours

PICU core classes (heart defects, peds med stuff, bereavement services, bone marrow transplant, neuro, trauma) for 4 days that I know of

I'm happy to take the classes- I'd welcome more of them. We also have to do something like 8 or 12 hours of peds-specific stuff each year as continuing ed