LiveZen

First, let's figure out what "Orientation" means in this case...Are you talking about Hospital Orientation where you sit in auditorium for a few days worth of safety lectures, mission statement talks and be a part of the team videos, followed by weeks of on the floor training then sure, that's normal. If you're talking about actual on the floor with patients orientation as a one week thing? No way. It takes an experienced nurse a few weeks at least to get comfortable in a new place.If the second one l is the case, I'd seriously question whether you want to work for a company that refuses to set its new employees up for success. You deserve better. Keep looking!

I honestly wouldn't worry about reading ahead. You'll get plenty of time reading the stuff you'll need to know for class. Take this time to just get yourself ready...make sure you have a good support system of people (and you'll meet some along the way through school, too!) and identify some ways that you can relax/destress (are you a bubble bath kind of person or more the kind who likes to go run 10mi to blow off steam?) when nursing school gets to be stressful. That will happen, but you can get through it! If you'd really like to brush up on something, you could always work on some math review. Math for Nurses was the book my school had us buy, it provided great explanations and practice problems for med calculations, but the answer key was riddled with wrong answers (I talked to the instructor because I was confused about how they got some of the answers and she confirmed that the key was just off). You'd probably be fine just looking up exercises online (and it's free that way!) As far as supplies go....there's not a whole lot you really need. You'll eventually want a penlight (mine was a freebie from the veterinarian!) and a stethoscope. I bought a Littman Classic II (our school's recommendation, your school may have a discount program) which is a nice piece of equipment. Currently, it's sitting on my shelf, as I'm now out of school and working at a hospital that provides a stethoscope in each patient room for infection control purposes. I'm glad I got a quality one for school, but I'm also glad I didn't go all crazy and get the Cardiology III ($$$) that some of my classmates were drooling over. We had specific requirements for uniform/lab coat, but they really didn't care that much about shoes. A lot of people just wore tennis shoes/gym shoes. I used to do that too...but once I got out of school I realized that mesh/cloth on shoes isn't a great combo in the hospital. Very hard to clean. So, I bought a pair of all leather shoes to leave at work and just be my "work only shoes." My feet always used to hurt when i wore the regular gym shoes....but I had this great cheap little pair of Asics I bought on clearance and threw some Dr. Scholl's thin insoles into....made all the different in the world. After two years, the Asics fell apart, and I picked up this pair of $20 New Balance All leather (including the tongue) shoes from Finish Line...all white, with a pink N, and pink soles. It comes in a bunch of other accent colors, too. Love them! A lot of people swear by Crocs (easy to wipe off, relatively cheap), but they just aren't my thing. Several of my coworkers have Dansko clogs ($$$), they look really classy but they're a very firm shoe, so they may or may not be your thing. Other than that, just basic school supplies are really all you need...folders, notecards if that's your thing, lots of pens, access to a library for printing, or lots of extra paper/ink for your home printer (you'll print lots of handouts/powerpoint slides for class at most schools!), a good lunchbag (packing lunch saves so much time when you're on a busy clinical...you get more time to eat if you're not waiting in a cafeteria line)

I was scared when I started my psych clinical, too. I'm a pretty small woman, and after the safety lectures our school gave pre-clinicals that quarter I had convinced myself that I was going to end up getting beat up by a patient. Nothing could have been further from the truth. Psych has a lot more "sad" than "scary" in it. These people are at crises in their lives, and many of them are just dying for someone to sit down and listen to them. I learned a lot from the experience...saw people from all walks of life (including a few near my own age...wow!) and just listed to their stories. You definitely need to be aware of safety issues, but there are precautions in place to help ease the fears- most units have "panic buttons" or something similar you wear, and the units/rooms are often video monitored. Take this experience for what it is...a chance to learn some communication skills that you can carry with your for the rest of your professional (and personal) life. Best wishes!

Yes, definitely take advantage of volunteer opportunities at your local hospitals (any one you'd consider working for) I volunteered at a hospital, that eventually turned into a Tech/PCA job for while I was in school, and then an RN job after graduation. My classmates who made connections with hospitals (volunteering or working) prior to graduation also had a much easier time finding a job after graduation! Good luck!

I'd also like to know what kind of dressing change takes "a team four hours"....even a large percent head-to-toe total care dressing seems to take about 90min or less if you've got 2-3 people working together (nurses/techs)

DIV, Wright State has an awesome program! The profs are top-notch, and the program definitely prepares you! The clinical sites are indeed varied enough to give you plenty of perspective...I had placements at (and this was a pretty typical WSU experience): an adult trauma center, a large adult psych inpatient unit, a large OB/GYN unit, a smaller hospital with an adult cardiac unit, a peds inpatient unit, a low-income elementary school, an adult MRDD facility, an upscale nursing home....learned so much even on the rotations that I didn't feel like were "my thing". Keep an open mind and you'll probably be surprised at what you learn about yourself along the way. You're at a great place to make connections because you are just getting started! I would highly recommend finding a job/volunteer position at an area hospital. I volunteered at one of the area hospitals and then ended up getting on staff as a PCA/Tech...that turned into my first nursing job. It makes a big difference to come out of school having ties with a hospital already (any hospital!). Because of my connections, I was offered my top choice of job after graduation, and actually secured a position months before graduation actually happened. So, it's definitely possible. Several of my classmates accepted positions in the same department as the same time I did. My friends who were in similar setups with connections also ended up with jobs offers of their top choices, while those who didn't have ties with hospitals had more of a challenge finding jobs right after graduation. Also keep in mind that one year of experience is kind of the golden number in nursing. So, even if you don't end up with your ideal position for your first year out of school, having a year of experience in anything will help you get your foot in the door that second year. I, as well as a lot of my friends, did one thing the first year out and then switched jobs after a year. Each of us had our own reasons for doing so, but mine was basically just because i was still figuring out the right specialty, even after graduation. Two years out, I've found a very niche specialty that I absolutely love...and couldn't imagine doing anything else! Best wishes for your schooling! If you have more detailed questions I'd be happy to answer them over PM! I'm not actually on this site a whole lot, but i get reminders in my email when i get a posting response/email so I'll try to respond in a timely manner.

I work peds burn unit, when we do our admission dressing for a deep 2nd/third degree, we wash with hibaclens/sterile water then slather on about 1/4 inch thick layer of Silvadene right on the wound (no Xenoform/Adaptic at this stage) and then cover with clean burn dressing (basically a thin sheet of gauze, I think it's like 12x12 or something) and wrap with Kerlix or other dry rolled dressing. For a superficial 2nd degree , we we wash with hibaclens/sterile water then cover with adaptic gauze (Xenoform) that has been coated with Bacitracin, then the layer of burn dressing, then Kerlix. The families do this same dressing at home, but they will be using regular antibacterial soap. The Parkland formula is essential! We see so many over fluid resuscitated kids that come from outlying facilities and that causes all sorts of issues for these patients. We use Normosol as the initial fluid for these kids. We also promote early feeding and try to get tube feeds started on the big burns immediately.

Currently working as a peds burns nurse....never did a rotation in school (a few of my classmates did Adult Burn ICU during our critical care rotation...I ended up in Adult Trauma ICU, just a luck of the draw kind of thing). Honestly never seriously considered burn nursing till I was out of school. Did a my first year in nuring in a of Peds ER and was looking for something that was more patient/family focused and nurturing. I did see some minor burns in the ER, but never thought I'd want to do that all the time. The city I wanted to move to happened to have a peds burns job available. Observed one large dressing change, sat for an interview, and two weeks later started the best job I could ever ask for. So happy I "took the plunge" and gave burn nursing a try! I couldn't imagine being happier anywhere else!

I second the OP: RR first (while they're sleeping or just "checking you out"...gives them a minute to adjust to a new person in the room) HR next (while they're still calm) BP next (because they're usually ticked after their temperature and less likely to hold still) Temp last (especially if it's going to be a rectal temp) With older/cooperative kids, I don't think it matters as much the specific order, but you want your numbers to be accurate, so you want them as calm as possible. Remember that kids are usually much more cooperative if they can look at/touch/play with (if appropriate) your "tools" first...let them strap a BP cuff on their leg, or show them how to feel their pulse in their wrist.

While you're in prenursing, take advantage of the more flexible class schedule you have now and get into the hospital to learn. Volunteer at a hospital in your areas of interest. NICUs sometimes having waiting lists of people who want to "rock babies" but you can go ahead and get in line. Be around the babies and the nurses and see if this is an environment that works for you. You'll see some success stories and some tough stuff, and this can help you figure out if this is the right spot for you. I love babies and kids and found my niche in peds (not NICU) through trial and error (a summer externship in peds hem/onc after volunteering there for a couple of years, a year working peds ER, and now peds inpatient care at a specialty-only hospital). Each of those experiences taught me a lot about what kind of nurse I want to be. You never really know unless you've been there firsthand. You might fall in love with another specialty or know for sure that NICU is "your thing". Best wishes as you start your journey!

heh, i know a bit about taking some time to figure things out. I started at UD, had four various majors (education, psych, etc), became and EMT and fell in love with medicine as a career. Took some time to explore PA school, med school, and nursing school and ended up deciding on nursing school because of the higher amount of contact with patients and hands-on nature of the job. Took 6 years in all, but I don't regret it. Took a bit of (good-natured) flack from friends and family...but now it turns out the friends who "knew exactly what they wanted to do" are questioning their careers now that we are out of school!

Graduated from WSU Nursing in June (2009). Get ready to work hard, learn a lot in a very short amount of time, and start an awesome career that really does "save lives every day." I'd recommend that you think about what it would take for you to get organized (when will you study, how will you keep track of assignments, how will you maintain a school/social life balance) before you get started. A lot of the organization is trial and error as you go, but I found that keeping a regular social life going was vital to my success (and sanity!) throughout school...feel free to PM me if you have questions.... :)

May I recommend using Amazon.com? I just listed a Saunders and an Evolve book on there last night and they both sold already, with payment on the way. Some Amazon.com tips: I used it to sell some regular textbooks, made about $250 on six books- current-ish (as in most recent edition or maybe one edition back if the new one just came out) books often sell for $30-50/piece. If they are older editions then you will probably only get a couple of bucks...and shipping would be more than that so it's really only worth it for newer/good condition books. You can see the prices of books people have already listed. I priced mine towards the lower end of whatever category they fit into "Very good", good, etc and they all got snapped up very quickly. You are responsible for paying the shipping charges but a certain amount ($3.99 for standard shipping, more for othere types) will be added to your final selling price to cover that. It comes close...I think my Saunders book was $4.50 to ship and the Evolve was like $3.50, so it all evens out. Make sure to read all the details about amazon.com payment, you have to set up a payment account that will then feed into your checking account but there are processing delays that you will want to be aware of, esp with your first payments received. Doesn't it feel good to be done with those books! :) Don't worry, if anyone who is still waiting to test is reading you will be soon, too!

I just took my NCLEX Thursday August 20th in Ohio. I've discovered a few things along the way that might be of help to those still waiting to test or waiting anxiously for results. 1. PearsonVue results do not always take 3 business days. I checked the website Sunday morning (Only one business day after my test since it was a Thursday test) paid my $7.95 and got some relief! 2. The Ohio Board of Nursing does NOT process results on the weekend. I had been told multiple times by school, classmates, etc. that they did. Not true. I talked to a live human today and she told me they have 3 business days to process the results...so for my Thursday test they could have taken up until Tuesday to process. I got my approval online at 1pm today (Monday) (Tip: very hard to get a real human on the phone at OBN...your best option is to choose option 4 "speak to a receptionist" but even that sometimes dumps you into a voicemail). 3. You cannot verify licensure status via the Ohio Board of Nursing phone number if it is outside their business hours, despite what the website says...at least i could not figure out how to...all I could get was a voicemail. Hopefully this helps relieve some stress...realize that the systems run very slow, and more than likely it's the systems and not your failing that delays your licensure. Best Wishes to all soon-to-be RN's! -LiveZen

The lab values book was most useful for understand what high/low labs meant and what treatments would be used to fix them. Each hospital sets their own "normal" lab values, so knowing a ballpark is good, but if you try to memorize them all from your book it may not match what you see in the clinicals where you will be using it.