KeepGoingRN

Sorry, but if RT's are not documenting when meds are being given in real time then that needs to fixed STAT. If they are not held to the same standard as us nurses then that should change. In my hospital both RN's and RT's can give nebs. If they are not charting until they are about to finish their shift, how will I know that a treatment given by them could be a reason why my patient is tachy and having palpitations.

Just because your hospital is a partner hospital that does not mean all clinical will be held just in that hospital.

If you really want to get a CA license, just apply for your first license to be for the state of CA. You DO NOT have to take the nclex-rn in CA as long as you indicated and applied for the initial CA license on the CA BRN website. I went to school out of state and my first license and only one is for CA. It might be harder for you to get a job as a new grad since you only have an ADN. So it might be beneficial to stay at your current state and work for a year while also applying for a CA license.

Honestly, in a perfect world writing down medication times is great. However, IMO you have to get used to not doing it because you will make another mistake of giving the medication too early or late. We all get busy and if a nurse in a previous shift hung an abx late (order is q12) that means that the time that it is scheduled on the MAR will be wrong causing you to give the med early (unless a time change was already requested). Unless its a daily medication, ALWAYS look at the last time the med was given before giving it. Everytime you scan a med it shows you the last time it was given, this takes like 5 secs. NEVER RUSH when it administering meds. Since this is a pattern when giving abx, you should be looking at the time an abx was given even before grabbing the medication. I do this for abx and prns.

Move to CA. In all honesty, you were already set up to fail if they expected you to manage 6 or 7 pts as a new grad. In CA, I get max 5 pts in med surg and even with 5 I struggle. Find a hospital that respects nurses. It baffles me so much that some RNs and prominent nursing organizations are so against safe ratios.

If I could go back instead of a being CNA while in school I would have been a phlebotomist prior to becoming an RN. Having that skill set as a new grad is so valuable especially when you are new and one of your pt codes/rrt and the physician is yelling stat lab draws to be done under pressure. Learning how to clean pt and doing CNA tasks can be picked up right away, but in pressure situations lab draws/iv placements will be more valuable than knowing how to clean up a pt.

BSN for sure if your goal is to work IT in healthcare. Then get a MSN in Information Management. SO, if I were in your shoes I would do the WGU program RN (ASN) to MSN program with a specialization in Information Management. You also get a BSN along the way. https://www.wgu.edu/online-nursing-health-degrees/nursing-informatics-rn-to-msn-masters-program.html

If I were in your situation I would do the following: 1. You need content knowledge refresher and I think this would be valuable for you. I used them all throughout nursing school and it helped me so much with my classes: https://www.nrsng.com/ 2. I would get Uworld because Uworld has great rationales. I think at this point if you have the funds investing in these two resources can help.

There's usually a parameter in the orders when to hold meds. However, if a pt is borderline the parameter with multiple BP meds. I'll hold off giving one and re-check in about 45-min to an hour and see how they are to give the rest. I also look at their baseline, if they've been taking the same meds the past couple of days at the same time/together and the BP is usually hovering around baseline then I would probably just give all of them and re-check BP/pt just to make sure.

I would suggest getting the littmann IV if you can afford it. I got the littmann IV my first year of nursing school and I still have it as a RN now. Steths can last you a long time. I actual had a MD borrow it the other day and he complemented how good it was to the one he uses. Also, have your name engraved.

I work for a large teaching hospital in southern CA and we do not hire ADNs only BSN/MSN. I think smaller hospitals still do and for sure nursing homes/rehab.

My hospital does not hire ADNs only BSN/MSN. If the ASBN is about the same amount as Entry level MSN, I would do MSN for sure. If you want to go back and do a post-masters NP you will save money and time.

Congrats to all those who received an interview! I remember when I interviewed I was so nervous and the set-up of the interview was a bit intimidating. Harvey Morse is a large conference room where they have lectures and other gatherings. So basically, it's a one day interview and all those interviewing all sit together in the back middle of the room while all the unit heads have a table surrounding you. You can see/hear the people interviewing. Initially I thought it was a speed dating type set-up where you interview with everyone, but you only interview once with the unit you decide you want to interview for. So basically, you're competing with only with those individuals interviewing for the unit you signed up for. Some units only hire 1 and some need 3-4 its really what the need is for the unit at that time. Make those portfolios look nice! Goodluck!

If they've been discharged then they should be calling medical records not the floor.

Maybe that'll be the next step. I know they were a little behind on schedule with my cohort. The assessments were like a med-surg, pharm, and aptitude test. Unless theyve changed the process.