Rayngler

It went well. Honestly, if you stick with the "Purplebook" and the ANCC IQ questions you should be fine. I would say the actual exam questions are slightly easier than the IQ questions. In addition to those two resources, I used board vitals, which I think was great for understanding in-depth concepts but far beyond what is expected for the exam. Overall, the changes to the exam I think are a good thing for the field.

Katp, Thanks for the insight. Did your friend happen to say what she found so difficult about the exam or how she studied for it besides Barkley's? Did she struggle with clinically-based questions, policy questions, or just overall? Thanks for your post, it is appreciated! Hope you and your friend pass!

Congrats! How did you feel about the exam? I know there have been some changes to the format resulting in fewer policy questions and more clinic-based.

Thank you for the reply, Interesting, I was unaware you cannot skip questions now. I think overall the changes will benefit us. Good luck to you Greg and please let us all know how it goes!

Hoping for some insight. I take the ANCC PMHNP exam in January. I see they have updated the blueprint and changes went into effect on Dec. 16th. Looks like there are fewer policy/professional questions. Has anyone taken the new format? How was it? Pocketbook just now updated their prep to match the new exam and it seems like a lot of other sources are behind in updating it, so I am rather worried. Thanks in advance.

Hey prnbullets, Congrats! I am taking mine next month. Did you take your exam with or without the new changes that occurred on Dec. 16th? Looks like they are getting rid of many policy questions. Thanks!

You are welcome! You're right! Many times it's the simple things that make the biggest difference in how we see things and just need to remind ourselves again.

I'm so glad you enjoyed it. Perspective is a difficult concept to grasp, so I think that is really awesome you are sharing this with your young son. Mom of the year!

If it's during the holiday season, I know UPS hires as many people as they can for runners. They typically sit in the truck with the driver and run packages to doors. Quick pay and generally needed everywhere.

You bring up a point that many nurses struggle with. Are you working nights? This could make things worse, the night shift can put quite the toll on most people's bodies. If I were you I would start to eat a lot more protien. The crash might stem from a carb load after work, and if you tend to eat more carbs your blood sugar will be like a roller coaster throughout the day causing fatigue. Try complex carbs like oats or granola to keep you going, and also time your caffeine right

Thanks Daisy! Yes! It's really amazing what the brain can do if you trick it properly! :)

You will find nurses like these on most units. Do not let them get to you, but the sliver lining is that having thick skin in incredibly useful in nursing. Experiences like these, as disappointing as they are, will help build that thick skin. Sometimes it helps to just feel bad for people like this, because most likely they are like that at home too, which is sad to think about,

With your experience I think you will have nothing to worry about!

Yes, the PRN float job without bennies I took was base pay $25 an hour plus up to $20 incentive. Some shifts I made above $50 because of nights and weekend add ons. But, hospitals are changing this now in some areas where there are lowering the incentives and doing more float in house so it costs less for them.

I personally went straight into psych right out of school and have not regretted it. If you want a little of both, many hospitals have float pools where you will float to psych as well as med surgical. This might give you a little taste. There are also many PRN jobs for psych that you could try.