cameron5575

I know you mentioned seeing a doctor about your anxiety and getting a prescription for an antidepressant but who have you spoken with about this besides this particular doctor? Did they recommend speaking with a therapist? Medicine is just one side of anxiety and depression - behavioral therapy can also go a long way in helping such a complex issue. Especially considering your anxiety is impairing your life this much, this is definitely something you want to seek professional help for. I would start with reaching back out to your doctor and explaining your anxiety about the medication then asking for a reference to a therapist. I wish you all the best!

Hi All, So I passed my NCLEX on July 31st and have been on the job hunt. I have been interviewing with a big hospital system in my state for an ortho floor. I even shadowed a few days ago and was told by the unit manager that everything was a go and that I would be offered the position. However, I was initially told this position would be for nights (which is why I applied). When I spoke with the manager after my shadow, however, he started talking about days. I explained that I'm not opposed to working days however, as part of my religion, I have an obligation to attend my meetings during the week. One is at 10am-11-45am on Sunday and one is at 7pm-8:45pm on Wednesday. It is really not an option for me to skip these meetings. Working nights wouldn't interfere with my Sunday meeting. Wednesday would obviously be a scheduling conflict but on my first interview, the manager told me we are allowed to put 2 days out of the month on the schedule that we can't work. He also said people on the floor would be open to switching days if you worked another day for them - so I figured it wouldnt be too tough to switch two days out of the month with someone else (especially since I would be open to working weekend nights). But when I told him I had religious meetings and that I wouldn't be able to work on Sunday morning, the deal was basically off. He told me it wouldn't be fair since no one else on the unit gets a set day off. I guess my question is do you think I should just keep applying to different floors at that same hospital? Or should I try different hospitals all together? I personally know of a few RNs in my area who work inpatient jobs with the same religious meetings as me (and they have regular meeting attendance). But I don't know of any that work at that hospital specifically (but there very well could be some that I just have never met). Thanks in advance for weighing in.

There's a big difference between practice questions and test banks. Which are you asking for? Because if it's practice questions you want, try RegisteredNurseRN (she has a Youtube channel and a website). Here's a link: https://www.registerednursern.com/nursing-student-quizzes-tests/ If it's actual test banks that you're looking for (as in the banks that your school selects real exam questions from), know that that is not practice. That is cheating. I hope it was the first one, though! Best wishes.

What type of unit are you going to be working on? Med-surg? Tele? Definitely review the common medications of the unit and focused assessments that you might complete for the type of patients you'll see. This way, you can better connect the dots of what you see with what you know and start to better develop your critical thinking and clinical judgement skills.

Not to beat this into the ground as I know the point has already been made by multiple people but, yes, I totally support this 100% Often times, the absolute best way to get back at petty and conniving people who did you dirty is to rise above them and show kindness instead of stooping to their level. This may be difficult initially but the pay off is huge. Either they'll feel tremendous guilt and actually make an effort to better themselves (win for them, win for you) or they'll have to face the crippling humiliation of letting people see how they treat poorly such a kind person with no good reason (win for your reputation). Whatever the outcome is, you'll come out on top no matter what. And the piece de resistance is that you won't have to waste your emotional energy on hating them (as they are clearly doing with you). Best wishes!

What have you done to try to improve your academic experience in school? Have you gone to your school resources for help? Looked into tutoring? What is it specifically that you struggle with? Definitely don't throw in the towel before doing a solid self-assessment and figuring out what exactly your weaknesses are. Otherwise, you'll get stuck in a loop of making the same mistakes every time you enter a program (no matter how "hard" or "easy" you perceive it to be). For example, do you struggle with understanding concepts? If so, which ones? Do you complete all of your assigned work or do you procrastinate? Do you let nerves get the best of you when test taking? There are so many reasons why one might not do well in school. Before you rush in to another career path, identify the core problem, plan on how to correct it, then follow through. And, by all means, utilize your resources and ask for help.

What's your budget?

As gere7404 said, make sure you're specifically applying to new grad positions. I'm a senior and my school expects my cohort to be interviewing right now and securing jobs that will give us a guaranteed job under the condition that we pass the NCLEX in a few months. But they have to be new grad positions with orientation/new-grad residencies. Also, perhaps it would be helpful to go to the career center at your school and ask for help with your resume to make sure it's written and formatted properly. If it's written in the wrong font, the computer system that filters out online applications might not be able to read it properly and will basically throw away the whole application. This could be one reason you're not having any success.

Definitely watch RegisteredNurseRN on Youtube. She has videos on just about everything studied/tested on in nursing school and her mnemonics for remembering concepts have never failed me. She also has her own website with free practice questions for each video which she links you to in the videos themselves. I think she's one of the absolute best resources for nursing students.

Hey, congrats! I'm a student also graduating in May this year and I am very interested in home health care. However, both teachers, clinical instructors, and preceptors for my community/home health care clinical have all told me the same thing: home health care agencies rarely hire new grads. This is because of the vast amount of autonomy nurses have in these positions. When encountered with difficult situations requiring strong clinical judgment, new grads simply lack the experience needed to make safe and effective decisions and they don't have colleagues at the ready to ask for help as in a hospital or other type of facility. I agree with this logic and, after following my nurse preceptors for that clinical, I agree that I would have no clue what to do half of the time. So I'm planning on going to the med-surg route first. Of course, your options aren't limited to the hospital if you really don't like it. There's always doctor's offices and long term care facilities. And, technically, nothing's stopping you from applying to home health care positions - I don't think hiring new grads is something that never happens. There's always a chance. However, just make sure that you're acting in the best interest of patient safety. Whatever you choose, I wish you all the best.

These are the 3 biggest takeaways that I have found since doing vaccine clinics: 1. Follow the landmarks (three fingers under the acromion process/thickest part of muscle). I have seen many people administer too high (and have even had some people report getting their shoulder messed up because of it). And remember to inject at a 90 degree angle. 2. Use the z-track pattern instead of squeezing the muscles. Squeezing is a no-no and is more painful. 3. Tell the patient to relax their arm as much as possible before injecting them. Tell them to go "loosey goosey". The less flexed the muscle is, the less pain they experience. Most of my patients have told me that they didn't feel a thing.

@MunoRN @JBMmom @SilverBells Thank you so much for all of your helpful replies. And in response to JBMmom, sorry I didn't specify - I have a religious meeting on that night. Thanks again!

Hi there, I'm a student. I'll be graduating soon and will be applying to various positions in the coming weeks. I feel silly asking this question as it's probably something I should have known eons ago but how exactly rigid is hospital scheduling? For example, if I have a commitment every Wednesday night, would I still be able to be hired to a med-surg floor? Any other day would work fine (assuming I get hired to work nights or evening shift as a new grad) however I would not be available Wednesday night. Do hospitals expect employees to be available to work any of the 7 days of the week? Or are nurses allowed to have a specific day where they can't work? Thanks in advance!

This is definitely the best piece of advice that can be offered. From the way you describe this student, she's not purposely trying to put others down or make herself look better. She's just knowledgeable and excited to participate in class. This isn't a flaw on her part. True, with time and experience, she might come to learn that holding back even when she knows something shows humility and selflessness. However, she's not obligated to do this. If you feel that you would like to answer some of the questions that she answers, simply answer them before she does. Otherwise, she has a right to engage in the class and be the first to answer questions if she knows them. If that bothers you, a self-reflection may be in order to determine if you are feeling insecure about something on your end. Ultimately, we as individuals must all learn that others do not define who we ourselves are. I wish you all the best!

Yep, practice NCLEX questions now because those types of questions are used in school so it doesn't matter that you won't be taking the official NCLEX for a few years. Learn to think in terms of "they're all correct but which question is most correct?"

Just as a general rule of thumb, change in mentation is always a very big RED FLAG. It means something is very wrong and needs it be fixed very fast. A blood sugar of 50 is hypoglycemic and needs to be fixed STAT with juice or glucose tablets if conscious or IV dextrose if unconscious. A hypoglycemic blood sugar should never ever be left to wait.

Hands down, RegisteredNurseRN on Youtube is the best free supplemental resource I have made use of throughout all of nursing school. Her mnemonics are amazing helpful and she even has free quizzes on her website for after you watch the videos.

Started at 17. Currently on track to graduate in the next 4 months at 21.

As stated above, a very sincere apology through email sounds to be about the only thing you can do. Seeing as you already wrote it, I can’t offer advice on points you could have/should have included. Hopefully it was sincere and brings some peace of mind to the instructor. Also, sleep deprivation is a beast. I’m not going to judge you for staying awake 27 hours and taking a pill to do so because I have no idea what might be going on in your life that is so extreme that you felt the need to do so. However, I say this with your best interest in mind: please don’t do that again. You only leave yourself vulnerable to make mistakes that could end up hurting yourself (physically) and others as has already been the case. Don’t beat yourself up too hard about this. Everyone says things that they regret sometimes and that hurts others. Self reflection is probably in order to determine if you you need to adjust the way you speak to others and handle irritation as well as how you can better manage your time to get the needed rest. The most important thing is that you now try harder to be a respectful person (edit: not that you aren’t under normal circumstances - I simply mean to continue to be respectful and more so if possible) and avoid future incidents like these.

We are giving advice according to the information that you have provided.

I hear your frustration. But I unfortunately don't think I (or probably anyone on this forum) can offer you the answer you're looking for. As I and a few others have stated, not being happy with the type of assignment does not absolve your responsibility to do the work according to what the teachers have asked. A school has every right to fail a student who does not complete a part of the course (any part of the course) in a satisfactory manner. If you're looking for advice on how to appeal, I have nothing to offer. Nothing is stopping your family member from trying but odds are he will not be successful. If you are looking for validation that the school was wrong for failing him, again, I can't give you that (especially considering there are no details in your post regarding the specifics of the assignments and what the teachers said he performed poorly on). Sorry for the frustration but I think the best thing to do is to support him and encourage him to get back on his feet and try again next semester if that's what he wants to do. Take care.

Yes, we have to pass both exams and clinical assignments to pass the semester. I'm not sure when you were in nursing school but I assume it's been this way for a while? Passing exams means nothing if you fail other parts of the course. Assuming the rest of his cohort was able to pass their clinical portion, his failing grade was not the school's fault. I would imagine that he had multiple assignments to complete over the course of the semester meaning multiple opportunities to recieve feedback from teachers and recognize where he was falling short. Is doing clinicals virtually ideal? Of course not - I hate spending hours on the computer instead of with actual patients. But we're all in the same boat and we're all doing what we need to do to get by and graduate. I'm very sorry that your family member failed the semester. He should use this as an opportunity to reflect on what exactly he struggled with so he can come back stronger next year. However, it really doesn't sound like he has any realistic grounds to appeal.

First off, I'm sorry this is happening to you. It's ridiculous that adults can be so immature and childish. However, I think it's important to remember that their bullying comes out of a place of extreme insecurity and feelings of inferiority. Remember that they pick on people who they're threatened by! As of how you should react, being calm and respectful goes a long way. Never stoop down to their level and sully your dignity. But, at the same time, never feel that you have to take verbal and emotional abuse from moral subordinates. Put them in their place. Call them out on their behavior and how unprofessional and immature it is. Tell them firmly that you will not tolerate their disrespect. Will it stop it right away? Maybe, maybe not. It depends on the type of bully. But it will empower you and make them feel a little less in control of the situation. As a resource, I read a short article on bullying a few years back that kind of summarizes what I and the other commenters said. It's geared toward a younger crowd but the principles are still relevant. There's a good video at the end of it, too. I'll leave it here for yourself and others who might benefit from taking a look at it: Bullying at School I sincerely hope everything works out well for you!

I completed about 80% of my clinical assignments virtually this semester. These assignments included doing some virtual simulations and a heft amount of written papers with a heavy focus on research. I'm going to go ahead and assume the student in question did something similar (either online sims and or written papers). Ignore the fact that these assignments are in place of in-person clinicals. If this was just a regular portion of the class work, a student has no valid excuse not to do well then appeal a failing grade. You get out what you put in. If he was unable to complete the work according to the directions, then his failing grade was inevitable and unappealable. The fact that this was a clinical assignment as opposed to a class assignment is irrelevant.

Well I certainly hope everything works out for you and you're able to get your money back.