hippie_runner

Start at the top and work down by body system. Ask questions about the body system you are assessing. For example, after you auscultate the bowel sounds and are palpating, ask about bowel habits and their GI history. It is really not complicated. Find your groove. Practice on family members. Don't make it harder than it has to be.

I am in nursing school and working as a PCT has helped me immensely. While my fellow students are trying to find their grove with time management, getting used to talking to patients, and all the charting, I already have the experience. Aside from passing meds and the full assessment, I do all of my clinical duties at my job. Another thing you might want to look into is if your hospital will pay for your school. Mine is. I will work for them as an RN for a few years in return. It is work it. I don't know of any L&Ds that use PCTs. RNs do all the work.

I second the getting a PRN PCT job. In my program, a lot of the work we do in clinical is PCT work. We do the baths, the vitals, the bed changes, and everything else the patient needs during our time there. I work as a PCT now and I wish I had the experience prior to beginning the program. Not only will it help you with the work, it will help you with your time management. As nursing students, we tend to go into a patients room a lot. The bed baths we do take a long time and we get nervous. By the time you start, you will be a pro at that stuff. It will also make your skills check-offs a breeze.

I understand the guilt. I am currently in nursing school but work as a PCT. For clinical, we wear these horrible uniforms. They are boxy and unflattering. Everyone hates them. The hospital where I work as a PCT is not color coded so I get to wear whatever I want. The week before my orientation, I went to the uniform store and spent about $300 on scrubs. I tried on every single brand and cut until I found one I loved and bought almost every color. I am hoping to get a job at this same hospital in May after I graduates so I will be able to wear them for awhile(fingers crossed). Buying scrubs for me was way more fun than buying normal clothes. Not sure why. I easily could have spent more money there, but held back.

I am in an ADN program and I pay everything out of pocket. After I work there for awhile, I am going to look into tuition reimbursement for the RN-BSN program. I didn't work until this past month. I don't think I could have made it through the first year and working. It was a huge adjustment for me. Nursing school is so different from any other classes I have every taken.

Wow! I get 8.70 an hour. I am in Mississippi though.

I work as a PCT. I had no training other than what I have gotten my first year in nursing school. The pay is not great, but it gives me more hands on experience than I get in clinical and I am already employed at the hospital where I want to work after graduation.

Do you live in Tennessee by any chance?