DanaR85

We had our pinning on the 13th and also wore the whites. I got my dress from Dickies and I thought it was pretty cute. It was simple; button down with a collar and it tied in the back. It was also not too expensive, which was good for me since I won't be wearing it again. I noticed lots of different options in dresses, so I am sure you will be able to find something that you like. Good luck and enjoy graduation! I know I sure did!

I also grew up in Delaware and actually will be moving back there from SC in a few weeks to start my first RN job at Christiana. I went to public schools in DE and they were good(I was in Red Clay, not sure about other districts as much), but yes, there is busing. However, there are also tons of private schools in the area of varying prices. All in all, educationally, there are tons of options. Between Trolley Square(which is now a thriving area for young professionals) and Newark, the night life isn't too bad. I have always enjoyed it. And, we are close enough to Philly, DC, NYC, etc to go up there for events/occassions. We're close to the shore/beach, and for me, you can't beat that in the summer. Another thing, tax free shopping!!! In my experience and what I've seen while looking, rent hasn't been too outrageous. It is high compared to SC where I am now(no way can you rent in DE for the $450/month I pay now), but it's still very do-able. Good luck and I hope you like Delaware!

I think that it depends on the job market in your area. If, for example, there were a lot of December/January grads who applied early, then it could be a little bit tougher. I myself will graduate on Feburary 13th, and I secured my job a few weeks ago. I will begin on March 26th as a Graduate Nurse and will have until May to take NCLEX, though I plan on taking it asap. My advice would be to call HR or nursing recruitment at hospitals you are interested in working at and ask them what they recomend that you do. Some hospitals don't want to interview you until you graduate/pass boards, others will hire you as a GN. Maybe just start doing some research and look into your options while you are studying for boards, so that when you pass(and i'm sure you will!) you already have all your 'ducks in a row' so to speak and can easily proceed from there. One thing I will say though is that having a job already lined up can be a HUGE stress relief. It is for me anyway. Good luck!!

We also practiced on the injection pads and of course spent much time practicing drawing up various meds. It would have been nice to be able to practice at home, but they wouldn't let us take the syringes/needles home with us. And no, we didn't get to practice on eachother, even though some of us wanted too! I remember that we once wanted to practice drawing blood and/or starting IVs on eachother. Yeah, our instructors didn't exactly go for that one. And I agree with the person who said that your first injection will be worse for you than it will be for the patient. I still remember my very first injection-it was SQ Heparin, so I was nervous off the bat about making sure it was drawn up right and with the correct airlock. Well, that was no problem. It was then time to go into the patients room and I was soo nervous that I was going to screw it up somehow or hurt the patient. We walk in and the patient, who was a younger guy(30s-40s maybe), was talking on his cell phone and was generally relaxed and I guess in as good a mood as possible for someone with chest tubes in place. My instructor happens to notice that he has a Carolina Gamecocks blanket on his bed and is wearing Carolina slippers/PJ pants. She and I both are Clemson alumni(HUGE rivalry there), so she begins to tease him about Carolina and talk football with him while I went ahead and gave the injection. He was so distracted that he didn't even notice when I gave it. I also felt less nervous bc the main focus wasn't directly on me. Yes, the instructor was watching me and would have stepped in if needed, but she made it easier by not making the room silent and with all eyes on me. After I was done, I remember the patient asking me how many shots I had ever given bc I seemed to know what I was doing. That felt good. On the other hand, the first IV I ever started was up in the Cardiac Cath Lab and crammed into this tiny room was the pt, his wife, his mom, his dad, me, and the nurse. Standing right outside the door was her mom and her dad. All eyes on me, room totally silent. I managed to start the IV, but it was the most nerve racking experience EVER. Good Luck!

I have had a few clinical instructors that I have liked. There was the one who was known for being tough and enjoyed instilling a certain level of fear in her students. She had very high expectations and would not fail to let you know if you did not meet them. However, on the other hand, when you did well, she was the first to brag on you to the other nurses. She taught is so much and we got to do/see more then we had in any clinical up to that point. I think that slight level of fear was just enough to keep me on my toes and make me do my best. I just recently had a clinical instructor who was just fantastic. We were on a cardiac telemetry unit and I think at first we were all overwhelmed, esp. since it was the first time we got 2 patients. But she was always patient with us and told us to take a deep breath when we felt overwhelmed. She was a huge stickler on meds, which forced us to learn them. At first it seemed annoying, but she made us put a pen dot on the MAR next to the meds as we checked them with the orders in the chart. But, she told us that it was a good way to KNOW that you checked the order. I have done that ever since and it really is no more time consuming. I also now feel like I have a good base knowledge of common cardiac meds. I think she may have been my favorite instructor, but then again, I may just be saying that because she gave me my first ever clinical excellence award. We graduate in Feburary and these are just 2 of the many clinical instructors that I think really helped shape me and taught me the most. Sometimes, in the end, the instructor that is the toughest, turns out to be the best.

I also went directly to C bc of the pain becoming worse 30 min after pain meds given. Like a lot of the other replies have said, they are trying to get you to critically think. They want you to recognize the s/s of compartment syndrome, but they do not want to ask you in a direct way. Honestly, I think it just takes time and practice(LOTS of practice)to get used to questions like this. I always read the question twice before looking at any of the answer choices. That way, I fully make sure that I understood the question and what exactly it is they are asking. Then, I think in my head what I would do, or what I think the correct answer is. Then after that, I look at my answer choices. More often then not, what I was thinking is one of the choices. Or, I will see one of the other answers and suddenly it will click that that one is the right answer. I know it sounds like a time consuming process, but I swear its not. There is a fine line between thinking critically and 'jumping the gun" and I think that may be part of what they are trying to teach you. Always remember the nursing process and/or Maslows and you will know if you are jumping the gun or not. In this case you were not bc you know that they patient had worsening pain 30 min after getting pain meds. That being a major s/s of compartment syndrome,you DO have assessments and reason to call the MD. If one of the choices is notify the MD, always make sure that in the question it states that you have assessed a problem and already done any interventions that are w/in scope for nurses. I had a teacher who made that make sense to me when she said "You aren't calling the MD to chat. When you call, you need to have already done your part." Hang in there. It does get easier to think in the way that they want you too. Do as many NCLEX practice questions as you can and trust your gut. Most of the time, your gut is right on track. Good luck!

Thank you all for the helpful advice. Since I will be moving back home to Delaware after graduation, my plan is to apply at A.I. duPont Hospital for Children. It has a world renowned reputation and it is the place I have always wanted to work. It does seem, from looking at their website, that most of their job postings state that experience is preferred. But, I figure that I have nothing to lose by applying anyway, right? They have gone to having all applications submitted online. According to their website, that is the only way they accept them now. Basically, you fill out their application online and then attach your cover letter and resume. Is this common now? It makes sense to do it this way, but I wonder if it will be harder to make myself stand out. After you submit your application, if they are interested, they will contact you, if they aren't, they won't. So I feel like I need to make myself as impressive as possible on paper(or computer as the case may be), so that they will give me the chance to talk to them in person.

I am currently in my final semester of nursing school(pinning is in Feb), and would like a career in pediatric nursing. I loved our peds clinical rotation and really felt like that was where I belonged. I hope to be able to do my preceptor there in January. Really, it was the only clinical that has "clicked," if that makes any sense. I have a few questions about starting my career that I hoped someone with peds experience could help me with. First of all, where you work, how common is it for new grads to be hired? Also, do you think that new grads do well starting out in peds? I have heard a lot of conflicting advice on this one. How would you recommend going about applying for a position, given that the only experience I have are nursing school clinical and (hopefully) preceptor? I mean, I know that getting a job has a lot to do with "selling yourself", but how do you do that with no experience? I have heard that you shouldn't put clinical experience on a resume, as it is not job experience, but if you have never worked in the field, what else would you put? I guess I really just have no idea where to begin with the whole application process and it seems very overwhelming. Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

I used to feel the exact same way that you did; if I wasn't in class/clinical, then I felt like I had to be studying and if I wasn't, I was doing something wrong. And yes, I did well on my exams, but after a few classes it just became too much. There is already so much pressure built into nursing school that you don't need to pile more on yourself. As with most things, studying should be about quality, not quantity. For me, I can go 1-2 hours max before I need to take a little break. Doing something else, even for just a few minutes can help you unwind and clear your mind a little bit. What helps me is to make sort of a "study schedule." Based on when the exam is, and how much information will be on it, I decide ahead of time what topics I will study and really get down pat that day. It helps me not to get overwhelmed. Also, it helps with the guilty feeling of not getting enough done, since you accomplished all that you set out to do. We are not machines and we cannot just go on autopilot for hours and hours at a time. It's not healthy and will only lead to burnout and your hating nursing school. Taking care of yourself and giving yourself time to breathe is never anything to feel guilty about. Good luck with studying!

I can relate to your situation 100%. I am attending an ADN program in a state that is 650 miles from where I grew up and where my family and most of my good friends still live. And before you ask(because everyone does), I am at this school because I transfered from a 4 year university that I began attending directly out of high school to this tech school because their nursing program had such a good reputation. So, I started out being viewed as an "outsider." Its hard when you feel like you automatically don't fit in, but sometimes those differences can make great conversation starters. Like you, I also tend to be shy and reserved and have a hard time in groups where I don't know anyone. One good thing about nursing school is that it has really helped me get over some of that. Now, I will never be miss out-going or anything, but it has helped me learn how to make conversation with all sorts of people. Take the way you converse with patients and apply it to how you interact with your classmates. Its hard, but it gets easier, and you already all have something HUGE in common; nursing school. If nothing else, you can talk to them about assignments, clinicals, etc. My class also started out very cliquey and there were times that I wondered if it would be like that the entire time. Well, now we are in our last semester(our pinning is Feb. 13th!), and it has gotten better. I think now we all know eachother very well and are comfortable around eachother, so there is less of a need for the cliques to stay together. A lot of times people stick with the people they know because it is comfortable. You may just have to give it time. It's good that you have friends outside of the nursing program-that will help a lot in keeping you balanced, esp. during those times when you feel like your life is consumed by nothing but nursing. Remember that you are probably not the only one in your class who feels this way. This is a new situation for everyone and by the time you get ready to graduate, you will be like one big, slighty dysfunctional, over-tired, over-caffinated, and way over-stressed family!

we were taught that in our high risk ob class as well. well, not really "taught" but our instructor told us that in her experience it seemed to be true though she did not really have research to back it up. i found it interesting since i am a natural redhead, and though i do not have any kids, i do tend to bleed longer if i cut myself or anything. it's been that way my entire life, so i never really gave it much thought, but it's interesting that it could be tied to having red hair, freckles, and pale skin. i guess it's just one more thing that makes us redheads so special... :wink2:

for lecture: -lots of pens and highlighters. i don't know about anyone else, but sometimes i would go through multiple highlighters just during one 5 week class! -calculator for med math(if you can get one of the pocket size ones, they can be useful in clinical as well) -obviously any material they say you need for the lecture portion(ie: our course materials are printed and packaged and we buy them at the bookstore-costs a little more, but it's helpful to have all the notes typed and printed out there) -some people find that taping lectures are helpful. i've never done that, so i don't really have an opinion, but perhaps a small tape recorder if that's what you prefer to do. for clinical: -whatever uniform they tell you to buy -id badges are very important(at least at our hospital), so never leave it at home. they should provide you with it, but don't lose it. where we are, if you do not have it on, the hospital often asks you to leave. -a small steno notebook to write in(one that can fit in your pocket) -a few pens -stethoscope;may also need bp cuff. sometimes in the beginning clinicals we had to bring our own bc they wanted us to do manual bps and it could be a hassle to try and find one on the unit. they should tell you if you need this. -bandage sissors and tape are lifesavers in many a situation -i always keep mints in my pocket for the times when my mouth gets dry and i have no time to get a drink(just make sure you're not sucking on a mint while trying to talk to a patient or family) -a lot of people bring drug books or med-surg books to clinical. i say don't. all units that i have been on have had plenty of books there. travel as light as possible. i had one instructor who would always say "you're not staying overnight so don't pack a suitcase!" don't worry too much about what you need to bring. they will tell you everything that they want you to have. and, of course, everyone is going to have a different opinion on brands, books, etc that they like best. sometimes it's just a matter of trial and error. but whatever you do, do not underestimate the value of good shoes. spend the extra money if need be. it will be well worth it.