tigerrose

Hello, I graduated with my Associates in Nursing -RN from Northark in Harrison in May. They have THE BEST nursing program with 100% pass rate on NCLEX. It is a tough program to get into because they set their standards alot higher, but it is worth it in the end. Normally you have to make a 79 or better to pass on your tests. It is a lot higher standard than any university which is 70 or higher. You come out a better nurse in the long run. They currently accept 40 students each year and you have to get your application in, in the spring to be considered for fall. ALOT of students come from ALL over to drive to Northark just to go to school there. I started taking classes in Fall of 2002 and got into the RN program in 2004. I decided to take all of my prereq's early so I could concentrate on just my nursing classes. It was a good idea for me to do that, because it was alot easier going through the program, and also they look to see how many prereq's you have finished to be considered for the program, the more the better! The clinicals are great and there are many clinical sites to choose from. Great Instructors....if you want to know more about specific instructors, just let me know, I will send you my email. There is one that teaches Med Surg I and Med Surg II that is phenomenal!! I wish she would have taught all of our classes! She is tough but you will learn more than anyone! Fluids and Electrolytes will be the hardest test. It is a tough program, but if you go to any hospital and they see that you were a NAC student, they will jump at the chance to offer you a job because NAC turns out better student than Arkansas State University. ASU was alot closer for me, but I heard from all of the nurses at the hospital that NAC was alot better, so instead of driving 20 minutes...I drove 45 minutes to get a better education. I would be happy to tell you more, just ask away and I will be able to help you. It is funny you mentioned you are thinking about this area, I agree the area is beautiful but we are moving away to St. Louis, MO believe it or not...I found a GREAT job with St. Lukes in Chesterfield that will pay me more than any of the hospitals down here in AR. Besides St. Louis offers loan forgiveness....all student loans will be forgiven at some hospitals...AR doesn't offer that...unless you go to Children's in Little Rock...but that is a 3 hour drive one way and very crooked. Anyways, let me know if I can give you any more info...phone numbers...and who you need to talk to...I know everyone at NAC since i had been there for 4 years. I also took alot of courses towards my BSN while I was there....They also offer the BSN through AR tech at NAC if interested.

You hit the nail on the head DORIMAR about sometimes they use report as a weapon. I am not sure as to why, my guess is that they either had a hard shift and someone upset them or maybe they are having a bad day. OR, maybe they are just fed up with nursing all together, and if that is the case, they need to get out of the field or go somewhere else where they will be happy. However, in order to do your job when coming on to shift, those people need to put their differences aside for 15 minutes to give an adequate report of the patient. I am the type of person when I am recieving or giving, I give all info about patient, because I am a detail oriented person by nature so there is no guessing or wondering about anything. I expect the same but I know I won't get the same in report. However, I am the type of person that WILL ask that nurse if she didn't mention something important. There has been times that I was given report and thought of something later to ask and have hunted down the nurse HAHA before she left. Now if it is something visual that I can see during an assessment I won't waste my time and hoping that she took good nurses notes. If that nurse tends to be that way all of the time, take it upon yourself to ask her for a better report. If she still doesn't give a decent report, take it up with your Charge or nurse manager. They will ask you right off if you talked this over with the nurse first before coming to them. If you tried and didn't succeed then at least you tried to fix the problem before getting a manager involved. Think about this too, the nurse may not realize she is giving an inadequate report to you, so confronting her in a non threatening way to fix the problem may be the best solution.

I am too! Good luck to everyone. I have been praying that the good lord will give me the knowledge and to remember all that I need to pass! The lord has gotten me this far!

Alot of hospitals will hire new grads in those areas, because they can mold you to how they want you to be. You haven't created any bad habits yet because you haven't had a chance to.

Well just think about how therapeutic it is to use Viagra for babies when they have circulatory probs...it is a vasodilator! Arkansas Children's Hospital uses it.

Just remember...ABC's, MASLOW's. When it comes to delegation or priority...ask yourself...what needs to be done NOW and can't wait...What can you put off till later? Also ask who is the most stable patient to delegate a task to an LPN... if there is an unstable patient you aren't going to give it to LPN are you? NO...that is the RN's job to assess that patient. Also, if there is any answer that says....call Doctor, notify doctor... 9 times out of 10 it is WRONG and you need to throw it out. ASSUME YOU ALREADY HAVE AN ORDER!!! Assume that it is a perfect world and that is the only patient you are taking care of. NCLEX is based on perfect world and not real world. Also...if asked a question and you see distractors that related to psychosocial...throw them out....remember Maslows. Physical needs come before safety and psychosocial. if there isn't a physical answer...think safety...so on up the Hierarchy needs triangle. I also have the Saunders, Springhouse, Drexel, & Kaplan. The Drexel & Kaplan is pretty close to the way NCLEX is going to ask you questions. Kaplan I think is the most reliable to study from. I take my boards Monday. Remember...it is how you APPLY the already vast of knowledge that you learned in nursing school to answer a question. These are NOT knowledge based questions....if that was the case...it would be a breeze to study and there wouldn't be a shortage of nurses. I would say study more of your Kaplan, brush up on Pharm, lab values, OB, prioritizing and delegation and infection control, and safety. Those tend to be the most important. Good luck

I would have to agree with ICUCHARGE about managing a lesser load of patients and getting to know them. I am a newgrad and was recently hired in CVICU/Neuro ICU and will be getting 4 months of internship. I wanted ICU area because I want to be able to utilize all of my nursing skills and have a closer relationship with patients and families. I am a people person. I have realistic expectations...they aren't going to just throw me in there and let me have at it! They know I am a new grad and they are going to teach me and mold me to becoming very proficient in the ICU. Yes, some of the equipment, and example...14 different drips is intimidating or overwhelming especially if you haven't had any exposure. But, they are going to show you what you need to know, you may have to study a bit at home too and take the opportunity for CEU's related to your specialty because it will only help you in the long run. With some states...it isn't mandated to do CEU's but I think you will be a better nurse if you keep with the learning process. StrugglinginVA....I think you should go where you will be happy. You will definately learn more in ICU and when it comes time that you want to do something different...taking care of MedSurg patients will be a breeze, plus you will be invaluable because you have the experience that you have. Most of the units have a tremendous amount of teamwork. If you have the opportunity...I would jump at it...if you don't like it...you can do something different. I am a little nervous but your manager and the nursing staff all know that just ask questions if you aren't sure...don't be afraid to ask...because if you don't ask...you will never know the answer. Good luck

All of our class got their accept to test and some have already tested. We graduated May 13th as well. I got my accept to test May 24th. I sit for my boards Monday June 5th. JUST A LITTLE FYI: I can tell you most of my class did the Drexel Nclex review and found it VERY HELPFUL. The cost is 299.00, it is a 4 day review and includes a Q&A CD and also you have access to Drexel's website for 2 months which has additional Q&A and review material...definately worth it! I also have reviewed the KAPLAN BOOK and found it even more helpful. Basically when you sit for your boards, remember ABC's, MASLOW's and what action you can do now and what can wait. Also when prioritizing and delegating...who is the most stable to delegate to an LPN. If there is an unstable patient, the RN needs to assess them. Some of the KAPLAN Q&A are the most difficult questions and you definately need to have the knowledge in order to answer. The questions are NOT knowledge based. NCLEX basically wants to know how you APPLY the knowledge you have and critically think. Let me tell you, there are some pretty hard questions in the KAPLAN book. Also, if you get a practice question...remember to throw out Psychosocial distractors first because you need to focus on Maslow's Hierarchy of needs...physical needs. I hope this info helps any of you who are still studying and waiting to test. PRACTICE all of the nclex questions you can! Good Luck

I started as an MA then went to work in a hospital as a Nurse tech. As an MA I didn't do any butt wiping since I worked in a doctors office, so when I actually started as a Nurse tech...wiping was a little weird but I got used to it. Now that I have become an RN...I will STILL do the care that I have done. Just because I am an RN doesn't mean I don't have to do any of those tasks anymore. Nursing is total care at times. I appreciate CNA's and all of their hardwork because I was one. You definately need to treat them with respect because they do alot for a nurse. And nursing is about delegation. My biggest feat will be to actually delegate tasks to others when I have done everything myself in the past. I will not hesitate to help my CNA's out, they deserve more credit than what they are given. I am working as a CVICU nurse which I do total care, I don't have an aide to help me...I do it all because I want to. I know that my patients are getting taken care of completely.

Thanks a bunch, My husband will be very happy to hear that! Study your fluid and e-lytes ahead of time, it will only help you in the long run...Especially, Na+ (sodium), K+( Potassium), and your Ca+ (Calcium). Learning your ABG's is a good idea too! Good luck!

Antona, Thanks so much for the info. You work in Cardiac ICU, infants or older? or both? You mentioned getting all of your stuff in your car...LOL I can imagine accumulating items coming back from a trip. Do you get to do some site seeing while you are on your days off? Do you kids like for you to travel? How many kids do you have? Ages? I have one boy he is 8 and one of the reasons I would eventually like to travel is that he can see different parts of this country, go to museums, skiing, etc. Plus, my husband and I just like to travel. Do you work days or nights? I think I would have the same worry about how the doctors will be...etc. I am the kind of person who would ask questions. Are the staff aware that you are just there for a short assignment? Or do they think you are just new? I was wondering if they are told by their manager that you are a travel nurse. Do you find that they are more receptive to you as a travel nurse or do you feel that they are intimidated a little? I was just wondering. I figure I would ask all of these questions before I would ever venture traveling so that I kinda have an idea what to expect. You are right about the best way to learn is just jumping in. Of course with nursing it is always different and challenging but definately rewarding. It is really great that you have had great assignments and that you have strong faith. I have always felt that nursing was my calling. It is funny because St. Lukes was the place I delivered my son back in 1997. The day nurse who took care of me was very mean to me and I told myself that I would one day become a nurse and treat my patients with kindness, compassion, and respect unlike how she had treated me. I was so deathly afraid of needles back then, now I have become very proficient with drawing blood and nothing phases me....well some decubs can really make me nauseous lol! So, actually that really mean nurse helped me target my career. I started as a MA and worked for 2 years in a family practice and absolutely loved it, it felt right and the lord had cleared the path to success for me. I feel blessed too. Do you take time off to vacation? and last but not least which I think you have answered in a round about way...but I will ask Is it worth it? I am thinking your answer will be yes. It has been so great talking with you Antona.

Most of the hospitals are starting at $18.50. However they will pay you for previous medical experience if you were a tech, or LPN, and depending on how many years you did that. So, it might be different for someone who has only been a tech for a year versus a tech who has worked 3 years...etc. It's pretty cool that they will compensate you extra for that. St. Lukes is a very nice hospital. They do have openings, just jump on their website. They are located in Chesterfield, MO right off of Hwy 40 and woods mill road.

Antona, Thanks for your replies. I would have to agree about the earned time off. You know you mentioned you don't have to worry about the politics, floating is like that. I used to float for 3 years and LOVED it. I wouldn't mind doing it again. However, I have attained a position as a CVICU nurse which I will get a few years of experience and I will be able to retain my nursing skills. I think they may have upgraded their insurance, they are offering Healthlink which is a PPO, they pay 90% and it is around $100.00 every 2 weeks for a family which I don't think is too bad. What do you find the biggest challenge to travel nursing or with your assignments? Is there anything that you don't like about it? I have heard that travel nurses get the more difficult patients...that could be myth so I figure I would ask. A friend of mine is a travel nurse but I haven't really sat down and asked her a bunch of questions. She has told me that she has worked in some hospitals where she had pretty crappy equipment to work with. Do you get a short orientation when you arrive at your assignment to get used to paperwork, area, supplies etc? Are you traveling currently as a nursery nurse? As far as housing, do they set you up in an apartment, hotel? I did go to their website and checked it out, it looks like they have many different states for you to choose from. How much extra is the pay? Is it different for every assignment? Thanks for your replies, your info has been very helpful:)

Hello, I was wondering how long you had to wait and what requirements you had to meet as far as classes. My Husband wants to get his RN so we can travel together. I went to SCCC a long time ago and liked the campus, but when I was there...they had 1-2 year waiting list. CONGRATS!

ANTONA>>>>>>>Why did you leave St. Lukes? Was it just to travel? What agency are you working for? What did you like about it and what did you not like about it? What floor did you work on? I recently accepted a position there and was kinda wondering from others what to expect. I would like to travel once I get some experience.