gninab

Go to www.ratemyprofessors.com , locate your school and the math department. Or, if you are familiar with the names of the professors offering the college algebra course for the semester in which you are enrolled, search by name and read reviews left by students. When I was a student, I chose the professor teaching college algebra who was rated as easy and helpful, but not for serious math majors looking for a challenge. By looking at the reviews, you should be able to determine which professor is consistently rated as being helpful and better for the student who may not necessarily need college algebra in order to excel in future, more difficult, math courses. In addition, if your professor lists required AND recommended texts, be sure to purchase the recommended text books! I purchased the text recommended, but not required, for my college algebra class and loved it! The entire thing consisted of brief explanations and loads of practice questions with the answers in the back which detailed each and every step needed to find the correct answers to the problems. I also watched youtube videos of certain concepts which were giving me trouble. The videos are great, because you can pause and rewind while trying to figure something out. If lecture during algebra class moves along too quickly for you to fully grasp a concept, just jot down what it is you need to know and then figure it out on your own at home. That worked the best for me. In addition, check out the tutorials here: http://www.wtamu.edu/academic/anns/mps/math/mathlab/col_algebra/index.htm They were incredibly helpful when I was a student. Another good site is http://www.khanacademy.org/ , for video tutorials. I used all of these tips and I got an A! I was a bit of a problem child in my teenaged years and dropped out of high school in the tenth grade. I took pre-algebra in eighth grade, but turned to business math in high school when I got off track. Over thirty years later, I got my GED before applying to college and then to the nursing program. I've been a registered nurse for three years now! Good luck to you, but most importantly - work hard for what you want!

grntea, are you the author of the icu faq website?

When I first got out of nursing school, I would frequently work eight hours before getting an opportunity to grab a quick bite. I wanted every med passed, every order noted and completed and every task finished before I would take a break. Not anymore! I will get my lunch every shift. The way we are expected to work is crazy! What job would expect employees to work 12 hours without food and at least half an hour to sit and recoup? We are assigned buddies who will take care of anything that comes up during lunch that absolutely cannot wait. I refuse to go without my lunch break. If all hell is breaking loose, I'll ask my charge nurse to help out so I can eat. Occasionally I have to eat later than I would like, but on most shifts, I am able to go sometime between 12 and 1330 because I JUST GO! There isn't a whole lot that can't wait for at least half an hour.

You hit the nail on the head. Staff adequately and everyone would be much happier - nurses, techs, and patients. More importantly, the quality of patient care would improve. So, too, would patient, er, CUSTOMER, satisfaction scores. All the cheerleading in the world will never accomplish the goal of squeezing any more productivity out of overworked, overstressed and unhappy staff. Likewise, all the scripting and psychological subterfuge will never change patient perception of the care they are receiving, if they cannot get anyone to help them with toileting or pain management in a timely manner.

oops! I must have been tired when I replied previously! Perry is a 36 bed facility, not Hawkinsville! You will only have clinicals one or two days a week. I am not sure, but I think it's only one day a week. I can't remember diddlysquat lately! I am going on a much needed vacation soon. haha

Taylor is quite small - only 36 beds. I'm sure that has a lot to do with it. It's a small, one floor facility. I don't believe anyone in my class did clinicals at Albany or Tifton. Where are you located?

I don't really remember whether or not anyone had clinicals there. A few students did their preceptorships their, though. Go to the MGC website for the telephone number to nursing program faculty and give them a call. They will be able to provide you with more current information than I am able to provide. That is an awfully long drive! One of the pitfalls of a rural area, for sure!

I graduated from MGC's nursing program over two years ago. I did my psych clinical at the VA hospital in Dublin, med-surg and obstetrics clinicals at FairView Park Hospital in Dublin and my peds rotation at HMC in Warner Robins. When I attended MGC, they tried to accomodate students based on travel times. Several students had clinicals in Macon. :) Good luck!

I've recently had surgery myself, and I can tell you I thought my pre-op nurse was great! As other posters have pointed out, it takes a special person with empathy and strong interpersonal skills to make a good pre-op nurse. You answer patient's last minute questions, you soothe fears, and you have a great opportunity for patient teaching related to the procedure as well as what to expect during recovery. My pre-op nurse was awesome!

Please make sure saline locked IVs are patent. I can handle messy rooms, near-empty IV bags, and patients c/o pain and/or nausea. However, if I've got staggered administration times of 2 or 3 IV piggybacks beginning at 0800 am, only to have a difficult stick with an IV site that isn't patent, it can throw off my entire morning. What's worse, it delays treatment for the patient. It would also be nice if you could check a patient's dressing. On far too many occasions, I've started my shift with 1 or 2 patients lying in bed with dressings saturated with either bloody or purulent drainage. Many of our doctors come in just after shift change, before I've had a chance to clean the patient up. More than once, I've taken the brunt of a physician's irritation over a patient lying in bed with a soiled dressing. I realize there are some heavily draining wounds where this isn't really anyone's fault - it happens. But when the dressing is loose, soiled and has obviously been there for days (sometimes verified by the date on the dressing, if visible), it sucks to be the oncoming nurse receiving this patient for the very first time only to have the doctor scowl and think I'm responsible. Like the previous poster said, these tips go both ways. I realize night shift does not want to come to work and be met with these exact same problems. These are just my pet peeves. I would rather have three patients need zofran and a pain pill than be met with the IV and bandage problems I've mentioned. Oh! I wanted to address the poster who said they can't understand why a patient would say they have been in pain all night, followed by wondering if nurses were doing their rounding. Just let me say, I have had many patients try to get pain medication before it is due by telling me the night shift didn't give them anything all night. They don't always know we can see when a med was pulled and administered! I'm sure there are times when they can't remember having received meds they actually did receive, due to being ill, post-op, on narcotic pain meds, etc.

Patients with cirrhosis of the liver should have lean proteins. In more advanced cases of cirrhosis, all protein might need to be limited.

I believe it is (2xDBP + SBP) divided by 3.

The ICU FAQ site is http://www.icufaqs.org/ .

It's called skeletal traction. Buck's traction is an external form of traction.

:yeah: I love it! Oh, my gosh, this just struck my funny bone this morning...tears in my eyes from laughing. Perhaps I can relate a little too much...lol. I despise working in groups. However, I knew I had to do it. Whenever I dread doing something...when I really, REALLY freak out at the thought of having to go through something... I just tell myself, "Too bad, do it anyway." Time passes on, the anxiety producing event passes and, BAM! you've knocked it out and can pat yourself on the back. I never let my fear keep me from doing something I want to do, or need to do. I don't make excuses. I recognize that I'm freaking out over something, I may have to do certain things with white knuckles and tachycardia, but darn it, too bad! I do what I have to do anyway. To the original poster, you will be fine. You may not enjoy it, you may lose sleep over it, but you can do it and it will all be ancient history before you know it.