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just go to the website listed in the book and request resources as an instructor. They verify that you are an instructor and in about 2 days you will have access to the same resources and more. If it gives you an option also to request TEACH resources, do so. There are complete lesson plans there along with the same powerpoint lessons in word format with the notes beside the slide and pre-test quizzes as well. THe sales representative assigned to our college contacts me about every 3 months just to see if we need anything. We use that same book and several others from the same company and I am extremely satisfied with their resources and willingness to help me.

this last year, the OR got a new director and the first day she was there and our PN students went to the OR, she said the patient and everyone in the room would have to sign a consent to allow any student to observe. So we just backed out of there quietly and the adjunct faculty spoke to the other people in charge and our students continued to go to the OR. IMHO, I don't think the student gets much out of the OR rotation. I know I didn't 18 yrs ago. We cut the OR rotation from 2 12 hr days to just one and they spend the 2 days in preop and GI lab as well as outpt surgery.

Our PN students are required to join the Arkansas Licensed Practical Nurses Association. here is their website. http://arkansaslpna.org/index.html The student membership is $10 and it is covered in our PN fees the college charges. You could email one of the members and ask about national organizations. ALPNA has 2 conventions a year, one in fall and one in spring. The spring convention is a competition for PN students. They test in pharmacology, medical terminology, A&P, nutrition, CPR, nursing skills, and then we had a talent show. It is a great time for the students.

We have our PN students join their own Student Nurses Association and have fundraisers. The students this year did a cookbook and sold them and have raised several thousand dollars. At the end of the program they split the money equally and there are times during the year they take some of their money from their SNA funds to buy shirts for ALPNA convention, or cut checks to pay for gas, food and lodging for ALPNA convention. Participation in the SNA is not mandatory but all do participate. They also had a fundraiser selling candles. One student was a Home Interior demonstrater and that fundraiser nets the students 50% of the price on the candles. Be aware that such an organization can cause friction among the class because voting on what fundraisers to do becomes heated at times. An instructor has to be present at every SNA meeting. The class votes for SNA president, vice president, treasurer, secretary, and one other to be parlimentarian or someone to control the noise level when discussions get out of hand. I personally am using more active learning activities instead of straight lecture. For study guides, I use eclipse crossword and make my own crossword puzzles.

I am almost at my 2 yr mark of teaching full time in a PN program. I went straight to a BSN program myself and have struggled with the LPN role. Being new to teaching in a PN program and very analytical, I am learning more about the LPN role and have recently become aware of the position statement by the state boards of nursing that LPNs do not assess but collect data and observations and the RN assesses all the data and initiates a plan of care. The LPN contributes to the plan of care and makes suggestions for changes to the care plan. So, I am wondering if we should even be asking our PN students to come up with a care plan. I want all the data I can find to support such a proposition to make changes to our program before I present it. To anyone with an opinion, should PN students be asked to come up with a care plan?

I believe the Edmunds pharmacology text is a Saunders/Mosby text. Call Rosemary Stendedback at 1-800-325-4177 ext 4184 at the Evolve/Saunders/Mosby and she can get you connected to the online resources for that text. Ask her if the TEACH resources are available for that text. It may require a book adoption to do so but their website has powerpoints and test bank and instructor guides that go along with the text. I don't use the Edmunds text but most of our textbooks for our PN program are Saunders/Mosby/Evolve. My first year, another instructor asked me if I liked the pharm book and I said no. She called our bookstore and had them return the pharm books for the following year and ordered new ones based upon a text I had briefly looked at yet she didn't do anything about an IV textbook that was written on a post-graduate level and knew it was not appropriate for our program. I learned that you should never change a book your first year. I agree with discussing it with your Division Chair as well. Becky

I am an instructor in a PN program and have been full time for almost 2 years now. I adjuncted for 1 semester before that. I am an analytical person and am always trying to make things better for the students. I have a BSN and have looked into going for my master's but just can't get excited about it. I feel overwhelmed with all the details that running a program includes. I totally agree that we are not taught to teach. Yes, we are taught to teach patients but never to prepare and deliver a 3 hour lecture on 4 chapters of pharmacology. Luckily powerpoint is user-friendly. I rely on the powerpoints that come with our textbooks and the test bank. I have yet to come up with any test items on my own. I will pull from several NCLEX-PN books first. I don't feel ready for any classes on test item writing yet. Teaching full-time is a challenging job. Becky

Which care plan book do you recommend for the PN level?