BONBON

The step-down position sounds a lot more appealing and you would get great experience if it is at a teaching hospital. I'm working at a level I trauma center at a teaching hospital on a busy transplant surgical unit and max out at 4 patients. These patients are busy and I could never imagine going over four patients let alone 7. If you are on a step-down unit you may have an easier time transferring and securing a job in the ICU, you'd make a lot of great connections, and you would get a taste of different units!

I personally would not feel okay having little to no RN experience to then be working under the title of NP. I feel this is a hot topic with MD's and NP's. I don't doubt that there are those who do go straight into NP school and turn out well on the other side but I know I personally would not feel ready. Seems like too big of shoes to fill with too little experience.

Ooh sorry I misread! Honestly I would just call Pearson Vue, they would be able to pull up your account and should be able to tell you exactly what's going on! Since it was so long ago, there may be a chance something expired. The whole process itself is complicated even when done in a normal timeframe so I'm not surprised you're having issues. I wish you the best of luck. I'm curious to hear what's going on if you do call though ?

Started out with a Lippincott Q&A 13e book from amazon based on recommendations from coworkers who had passed. I got the book as a way to keep me on track. I mainly wanted practice questions to get a feel for answer NCLEX style questions. Because at the end of the day, you don't have time to review ALL material you've ever learned in school. I ended up getting a free UWorld account from someone who finished their NCLEX and had 2.5 weeks left on it. I used that for 2.5 weeks and LOVED it. The rationales ended up being even BETTER than lippincott's book. They also cover all NCLEX question types. Additionally, it gave information outside of just the answers. I liked that I could also electronically track my progress. 4 months is a long ways away from the actual exam. I would just start by making a word doc with need to know lab values, ABG info, narrow therapeutic drug ranges, and S/S of hyper and hypo electrolytes (K+, Na+ Ca+, Mg+.) You could then watch Registered Nurse RN Youtube videos on topics you feel you need brushing up on. She will cover the need to know NCLEX material. I don't think its worth diving into any textbooks on material. The NCLEX is so broad that you might just end up wasting too much time on a specific area/topic.

A few things that come to mind, Is it lack of sleep? Too much going on in your life outside of NCLEX that's keeping you distracted? Is it your actual environment in which you're studying? Perhaps you're studying for too long at a time? For me, I lost focus if I did more than 30 UWorld questions at a time. When I studied, I took a 30 question quiz on ALL topics/systems and read the rationales as I went along. I did 30 question quizzes 3x each day. Along with looking up easy content/areas in which I got wrong that I knew I needed to know for the exam. A week before the exam, I only did one 60 question test each day. Those days I took just the exam and read all rationales after to mimc the actual test as best as I could. I woke up at the same time as I would test day (6am) and would sit down in a quiet spot in my house at 8am (actual test start time), and complete a 60 question quiz. Just keep your end goal in sight. The way I looked at it was, 'I would rather put in the time and energy NOW and pass, than to fail and wish I hadn't slacked off.' Best of luck to you!

I felt like UWorld helped prepare me well because of the rationales for each answer. Beyond that, UWorld gives you additional context outside of the answers they provide. It also mimics the test format which helped me stay calm during the actual exam. Make sure you understand WHY you got the questions wrong. Was it: you didn't know the content in the question or an answer, you changed your answer, you misread the question, you didn't understand the question type, you had to guess? etc. Keep a tally on each quiz or assessment you take. Look through all of your wrong answers and determine what category of "why you got it wrong" it fits under. For me, my top two categories were lack of knowledge on specific content and misreading the question. Knowing this, I came up with ways to avoid misreading any questions. Over time, I found that each following assessment I had fewer and fewer wrong questions due to misreading. If it's a content issue... look at your wrong answers, pick out a FEW key/major content areas that you SHOULD have known..now brush up on those topics. Don't overwhelm yourself with trying to know EVERY detail. Cramming won't help. Also, make yourself a word document and make a list of commonly tested lab values, drugs with narrow therapeutic ranges (ie. digoxin, valproic acid, dilantin), and S/S of both hyper/hypo (Na+, K+, Ca+, and Mg+). Best of luck, I believe in you!

Perhaps you have to resubmit your transcript? The reason why my ATT took so long to receive after graduation was because they failed to notify me that my transcript I had sent was missing something on it. Had I not emailed them to check in, I wouldn't have known. After resending my transcript I received my ATT less than 48 hrs later. I would contact Pearson Vue via phone if possible to sort it out. Contacting them directly might get you your quickest answer.

I have someone in my program who used an NCSBN (and I believe paid over $100 for it) and she found it to be useless and not worth her money she said. I personally only used UWorld and then took the first three tests out of the Lippincott 13e Q&A book. Perhaps you could try finding a site where there's commonly tested concepts for each section (mental health, pediatrics, maternal newborn, medsurg, fundamentals) and if any of those topics sound unfamiliar with you, I'd go to Registered Nurse RN (website or Youtube vids) and brush up on that material . As far as pharm, again, try finding a list of most commonly tested drugs, focusing in on their suffixes. Pay attention to action, adverse effects, and pt teaching.

The nurses I was assigned to in school during clinical were always helpful and supportive. They know you are a student and will not push you to do something you do not feel comfortable with. Remember, you are doing things under their license so if they feel you are not ready to perform a skill (I would hope) they would instead do it themselves and let you watch. If you personally do not feel comfortable with a skill etc., speak up and ask for a refresher, guidance, or ask to watch first and maybe try it the next time around. I can't see your nursing instructor failing you unless you do something obviously bad (ie. breaking HIPAA, putting your patient in harm, etc.) You know what is right vs. what is wrong. They're not going to fail you for asking for guidance or asking to watch if you feel uncomfortable. Best of luck! You'll do great.

This. ? While it wasn't impossible to move a clinical to a different date, it was like pulling teeth out trying to do so. Heed his advice of having a flexible life/work schedule because your lab/clinical schedule will or may change, and most likely won't be the same every semester. I agree with others on skipping studying right now. Enjoy your time off. I don't feel as though the information in nursing school was HARD necessarily, it was just a matter of putting in the work to find ways to retain the information and prioritize reviewing material and time management (especially if you're working during the program!) Best of luck ?

What about your grading is so strict for clinical? We had a sheet the nurse had to sign off on when I was done with my clinical. It covered basics such as "safe care," "communication skills," etc. When I was in school I was most nervous for my pediatric clinical on an immunocompromised unit at a large hospital. I was nervous because I thought I'd feel SO out of my element. It ended up being a great learning experience and went really well. I tried to keep an open mind going in. I knew after that I still wasn't interested in pediatrics but it wasn't a waste of my time because it only helped solidify that for me. In the end, everyone's going to have different experiences, so try to keep an open mind and don't let other people's clinical's cause judgement or swayed opinions before experiencing the clinical yourself! Everyone talked down a specific clinical in my cohort and I ended up loving it so ?‍♀️

I would probably say mental health or children & adolescents. Mainly because it was the first time being exposed to a nursing approach with either subject and I had a difficult time remembering the different expectations with each age group children/adolescents and mental illness for mental health. The information being taught wasn't HARD per say, it just wasn't sticking with me. My advice is don't sweat over trying to "get ahead" before your program starts. Enjoy your time off now, you'll learn as you go. You could watch Youtube videos, however nursing school is designed to give you a foundation of nursing your first semester and helps you build upon it. Jumping into random nursing videos may be more of a waste than helpful (ie if you're unfamiliar with lab tests, diagnostics, terms, etc.) However, if you're devastatingly bored, check out RegisteredNurseRN videos on Youtube. Throughout nursing school her videos were very helpful.

Is pathophysiology a program requirement?

Took my test this past Tuesday. I wasn't nervous, and felt good going in. I think my UWorld scores helped in my confidence (I also have never really been a nervous test taker so that helped.) However, I was beginning to psych myself out around question 45, I began to question whether my questions were getting easier or harder. As soon as I got a question that seemed easier than the last, I began to worry. If I got a SATA, I felt oddly relieved. This game of hard vs. easy questions mentally wore me out by the end. To me, the subject matter of the question was easy and recognizable but I was having a hard time narrowing down my answer between two options (multiple choice) and on my SATA, there would always be one option I wasn't sure of. Long story short, the last half of my exam, I felt like I was completely guessing on all of my answers. Decent amount of obscure pharm and SATA, 1 drag drop, 1 exhibit. My test shut off at 60. I didn't even want to move from my seat. I was trying to hold back tears as I walked out of the test center and felt sick to my stomach the rest of the day. It felt like I BOMBED the exam. I felt like I did so bad, I refused to do quick results or the pop up trick. I was too scared to look or possibly get a false negative (happened to my coworker despite passing.) Exactly 24 hrs later, DOPL sent me a results email while I was at work. I had an interview the next day and was TERRIFIED of looking at the results. To my relief, I passed! Best feeling ever. Despite taking numerous UWorld exams over the minimum question amount (and feeling mentally intact), the NCLEX was still mentally draining. To those who passed with over 60 questions, KUDOS TO YOU

I think your qualifications are strong but what is going to really put you ahead is your direct experience with the ICU. I think the best way to do that is put yourself in a position that has direct critical care experience, ie. anesthesia tech in the OR, a CNA/HCA on an ICU floor, etc. If you can do a capstone (or some kind of extended clinical experience, not sure what other schools call it) on an ICU that would be very beneficial as well. Having connections to an ICU and having some kind of critical care experience is extremely important

Here's some areas where I think you could improve -Apply to 3-4x the amount of jobs you're applying to right now, literally any RN posting that becomes available, apply to it (doing so may even make your resume and cover letter stronger), search every hospital within your range and use multiple websites (indeed, Glassdoor, hospital pages, etc.) If a job says "we prefer x,y,z" dont exclude yourself. Apply, contact the manager, and go from there. Certain places may be more flexible than you may think. -Reach out to other people, especially if you work in healthcare already. I landed my interview because I reached out to a coworker who's sister happened to work on the floor I was very interested in. Just because you don't know the person doesn't mean they can't be a great resource for you. They can give you insight into floors/units and can give you manager information (just be sure your connection is reliable reference/employee) -Contact the manager directly. If you have a reliable connection/resource on a unit you're interested in, get in touch with the manger. Express your interest and why you want to work on that unit, and attach a cover letter/resume. Even if that unit does not currently have a position listed, they may tell you they will be hiring soon (in which case, they now have your name and your application has a better chance of being passed along & looked at) -If you work in a hospital, go to the unit and introduce yourself in person to the manager, express your interest in the floor & inquire about any openings! In some instances, it may be better to email the manager first, introduce yourself, and ask for a brief meeting for you to come in and say hi. -Have multiple people review your cover letter and resume (which should both be tailored for each job you are applying to) Long story short: be aggressive in your search, dont be afraid of putting yourself out there, and use your resources!

Easier workloads might include nutrition, a psych course (ie. intro to psych or developmental psych), and medical terminology! Some heavier topics (but very relevant) include anat. & phys., Microbiology (depending on school this could be an easier course), stats, pathophysiology I also agree with @Red Shirt 6, enroll in a CNA, CMA, or phlebotomy course for experience. Back when I applied to nursing school, I was given extra points on my application for having a CNA license and experience

This is really program dependent. Our program had a great patho instructor (challenged you in the best way) but I still found it doable during my 1st fall semester of nursing school. The first semester nursing classes are generally very basic and don't require A LOT of study time compared to second semester (imo.) Check in with other previous nursing students from your program and get advice from them! They'll have a better insight. For example, we have an official nursing fb page and I see comments all the time from new students asking previous nursing students about X professor or X course. You'll get a better gauge on YOUR programs patho course! Best of luck

I don't think I would every personally bring an iPad onto the floor due to a few reasons. First HIPAA, second it may be more distracting than helpful, your nurse may not approve whether they're vocal about it or not, and lastly you should have access to electronic charting on your clinical site (if not then you may just be learning as your nurse charts.) What I did was I brought my phone with, and during lunch/dinner I would make a few notes on my phone about my clinical (on medications, hands on skills I learned/performed, any dx that I wanted to look up, etc.) I didn't bother to look anything up until I got home. I wanted to take in and learn as much as I could during my clinical, not be distracted by any device. Many hospitals are weary about students and HIPAA violations so if you ultimately decide to bring a device and plan on using it on the floor for ie. notes, make sure you get approval from your instructor and the nurse BEFORE taking it out/starting your shift! Even with a cellphone, if you need to take notes ON the floor then let your nurse know. That way it doesn't look like you're slacking off/violating HIPAA. (To be on the safe side ?)

Check out Zillow, partners in medicine, and maybe KSL (may not find as decent ones on KSL) My best advice is try to find an individual renting out rather than a large management company. You will get much better care, won't have to worry about any shady business, less neighbors, and can easily get ahold of them when needed. I'm speaking from almost six years of renting from individuals over large management! I'm currently in a fully renovated basement of a nice house in a quiet neighborhood. Depending on your budget, you can find single bedroom apartments but they'll be on the pricier side. If money is tight, look into splitting a house/apartment with a classmate or two. Best of luck

Replying because I'm curious too. Graduation in May with an interview next week. CONGRATS to you and your accomplishments so far!

While your advisor I'm sure has great advice, when it comes down to it, you know your routine/study habits/learning abilities the best. Don't let their "silence" deter you from achieving your goals. To put things into perspective, a typical workload at a four year university for a full time student is around 13-16 credits. Quite a few of my bachelor degree semesters I was taking 14-15 credits in order to graduate in four years and meet all of my requirements. Granted it was for a biology degree (before pursuing nursing.) Nonetheless, I recall one semester I had anat. & phys. lecture and lab, a microbio lecture and lab, stats, and a class for my psych minor. Before that semester started I remember feeling very overwhelmed and unsure if I would be able to still have a functioning social life between class AND work. What I found was, my harder workload FORCED me to be studious and use my time wisely. I developed better study habits, time management, and I stayed on top of my material more than I ever had before. Long story short, I passed all of my classes and had better grades in my harder classes. I put in the work and graduated on time, even if that meant sacrificing a few Friday nights. I worked flexible hours as a CNA during college and found that really helped. Each person's situation is different and you know what's best for yourself. If money is an issue and you have to work a set amount of hours (ie. full time) then taking an extra semester may be worth it --or if you know without a doubt these classes will cause you anxiety. These classes aren't more important than your own mental health. You have time if you need to slow down and take an extra semester. However, if I were in your shoes, I would bite the bullet and take on the workload. To me, taking a whole extra semester only to reduce the current semesters workload by one class isn't worth it. From my experience I found health assessment and fundamentals to be fairly easy classes. Labs from my experience in undergrad and nursing school have also been straightforward. The labs usually follow material you're covering in class so if anything it's a good review and a place to practice your skills and hone in on info you've seen before. With patho, I found it to be one of the most important classes leading up to nursing. It sets a great and crucial foundation for everything you'll learn beyond that class. I had a challenging instructor but it WAS doable and I loved the material we learned in that class because it's all extremely applicable. If I had to guess, micro and patho will be the two classes with the most work, and health assessment and fundamentals will serve as intro to nursing courses to get your feet wet and probably will be much less work. So do I think it's doable? For sure. Remember, you can always register for the classes and drop one after you've started if you find that it isn't working out. The teachers are there to help you and students are always willing to form study groups. I believe in you! Good luck, I hope everything works out in the end one way or the other.

My advisor called me around July 18th and told me I was invited to the August interview but I still haven't received any emails confirming this yet. I wouldn't be surprised if they did some sort of "rollover" list though, my advisor kept saying there were a lot more applicants than expected!

Are you from Nevada or California? I feel yah though! I've been really anxious through the whole process. Just wish it was done and over with!

I've received an August invite over the phone from my advisor but have not received an email yet