Tharius

Officially got the "denied" message post this morning! Best of luck to all those who got in and those still waiting for an answer. Sounds like its time to wait for other applications or plan on CWO. Cheers!

A great ICU nurse can't be defined easily. I work at a level 1 trauma center ICU at a University Hospital and the skills I need may not be reflective of those who work in a different ICU setting. In general, being effective in the ICU means to be strong in your clinical assessment, differentiation in diagnosis, advanced equipment management (MARS/CRRT), and damage control when things do not go well. You work as a go-between many of the different specialties that may be following your patient at any given time and need to be well versed in multiple areas of system dysfunction to communicate effectively. You need to have built upon the principles that every nurse has ingrained within and add new skills to advance your clinical practice. Please ask any questions that you may have!

Find a guide to the CCRN similar to what AACN sells. I used the Kaplan book and it provided lots of meaningful topic coverage. It would also be helpful to find a breakdown of what the test is now covering with respect to percentage breakdowns. You also will encounter test structure similar to this: CCRN Practice Test, CCRN Practice Exam Questions

Having a patient request a foot massage from my nursing student. Apparently he was the creepy type that attempted to request the young new nurses as he knew they didn't have the experience to decline such a skeevy request.

The soft swabs you were referring to sound like the best option for her. Try taking a 10 CC syringe and attaching just the catheter (not the needle) from a 18-22 gauge IV to make your own "water pick" that you can help to clean her mouth. Double-Helix is correct though, we would need a bit more information to tell you how to safely care for her. Her being conscious enough to swallow and protect her airway is very important in this discussion.

Somehow being trusted more than other staff for saying the exact same response to an unruly, confused, or demented patient. A sad side effect of social norms in the US healthcare system.

If anything, keep it brief and to the point. Try to avoid graphic issues with what you may have experienced as an EMT. Instead, focus on the points it taught you like: - Leadership of a team - Collaborating within a team setting - Experiencing complex issues and remaining poised through it. It will get you a lot further if you push that you learned things from it, instead of just mentioning scenarios. -From a former MD EMT of 6 years at station 41

I appreciate the response. I've got 5 years ICU experience, completed my own process improvement project, and am active on 3 committees. My GPA is in the lower 3 range depending on whether they factor only prereqs, entire college GPA, or just the last 60 credits... It is always tough considering what they might want in a potential candidate. Might as well lean on other school applications at this point. Thank you again.

I've been checking these forums pretty diligently and seemed to have missed if most people have had interviews yet. I applied for Acute Care and have not received an interview. Anyone else still waiting for an interview? Seems a bit grim by now.