nrsmela

It should not matter where the questions came from as long as they are on the subject material. You mentioned you are about to graduate, this is the time where you should be seeing the 'big picture'. You mentioned the people who had the book got those questions right, that may have only got it right because they recognized the Q&A and not because they learned anything different. Or it could be because they have been using a variety of resources to study from and actually did learn something and are now seeing the 'big picture'. Profs can pull questions from anywhere, as long as it is related to the material you should be able to answer them. You said the rational for the right answer is different, this is where your critical thinking skills come in. If you have studied all of the material, text, lectures, and supplementary texts recommended and attended all classes you should be able to answer the questions. You may be upset that you did not do so well on this test, but really the prof can pull from anywhere. In my 4th year we had a prof pull from NCLEX books, I want to mention that I attended school in Canada, our licensure exam doesnt involve the NCLEX, so none of us had NCLEX books (well a few did because we were planning to write the NCLEX after graduation). My point is we attended class, studied all the material and most of us did well on the exams.

You should move on, apply for some other jobs, line up interviews if you can and wait and see what happens in the meantime. I had an interview that went really well not too long ago. DON said she will make decision on Friday of the same week (I interviewed Wednesday) and that shortly after that those who were chosen would be notified. So of course I was on edge for about 1.5-2 weeks and I still had not heard anything. I did have other interviews in the mean time and kept applying to other positions. Almost a month later (when I had given up on that position) I was contacted by HR and offered a position, and orientation would start in less than a week. Luckily, I had some other interviews that had went well in the mean time and got another offer around the same time so I was able to choose which position I thought would suit me best. Move on, keep applying, maintain existing connections and try and make some new ones. If you have contacted them 4 times already, I would leave it at that. If they are truly interested in you they will remember you. Good Luck!!

You really can't work in any RPN role without your license. I am not too familiar with RPN licensing but maybe you could get a temp permit. It will allow you to work under the supervision of another RPN while you are waiting for your results, when I graduated I had a couple friends who used the RN temp license (it can be pricey though). Check with the CNO, all the information you need should be on their website. Good luck

Yes, I would put it on there. It is a basic requirement and almost everyone has it but do you really want them to have to 'look' for your info or discard your resume because its not on there. Good Luck

Have you tried caffeine earlier on in your shift? I would always have one around 3-3:30 and found that it really helped. It takes a while to get used to the 12 hr shift. I too had the same issue as you not being able to sleep and then being worried whether or not I would wake up in time (so never really did sleep well). I tried to do something relaxing before bed, bath, cup of tea, watch a movie and never actually went to bed too early (since I found this just made it worse). Sometimes this worked, but for the first little while I did use an OTC sleep aid (very rarely and I think for about a month or so). Then I got used to the shift and was able to handle it better and the relaxation techniques worked better for me. Of course there will always be those days when you are exhausted! Be sure to get enough rest on your days off! Good Luck!

Personally, I think the Dress pants, shirt and tie is acceptable for a male. I too stressed a lot about what to wear, and after being to a few interviews and career fairs realized as long as it is professional, there are a lot of options other than the traditional black suit (for both females and males). I'm assuming you are a male based on shirt and tie comment. Whatever you wear just make sure it is well pressed and you look put together. Well groomed also very important, and be scent conscientious. Also make sure your shoes are appropriate and clean (its the little things) If you aren't comfortable in a shirt and tie I suggest trying your outfit out and lounging around the house (this is what I did LOL) and find out what bothers you. Is it the fabric or fit? because these can be changed. If its just not your style, this will give you an opportunity to get used to the 'dressed up' feeling. There's a thread somewhere about what not to do or what not to wear and it seems ridiculous when reading it, but I have seen a lot of people who should have read those posts before their interview! Whatever you wear make sure you are comfortable and let your personality shine! There are a lot of threads on this subject already, doing a search may bring up some other useful information. Good luck!

Read it out loud to yourself, there are some really obvious errors that you probably missed since you have read it 100 times by now. things that stand out: "My dedication to continuing education to better serve my clients and place of work led me to obtain my ACLS certification in December 2011 as an addition to my current BLS certification." That's a really long sentence, how can you break this up and make it flow better? You do it again here. "I obtained Conflict Prevention and Intervention (CPI) non violent intervention and deescalation training in order to better intervene in potentially dangerous situations and resolve them safely and in the best interests of clients and staff." Sit down when you have plenty of time and read it out loud to yourself these obvious things will jump out at you. Honestly, it takes a long time to get the cover letter to perfection, I re-wrote mine at least 10 times to get it to where it is now. Keep working at it, getting others input and then go back to it again. Good Luck!

What internet browser are you using? Sometimes some applications don't work properly with specific browsers, try using a different one (internet explorer is notorious for this). Good Luck!

In our program we had a very strict professor who was also a clinical instructor (everyone dreaded having her) -She would tug on students hair to remind them that their ponytale should not touch their shoulder -Single students out in class and ask question after question, even when their answers were going nowhere, many felt humiliated by this -Send students home from clinical if they were not prepared (again many thought this was harsh) -If you asked her a question she would ask you question after question until you finally just ended up answering your own question -her exams were the most difficult out of all of the other classes, year after year We started with 80 in our community college, at the end of first year when it was time for her final there were less than 60. We found candy waiting for us at our seats and a speech about 'save the red ones for last' for the question you are really stuck on. I remember being so overwhelmed one day and she came to me and gave me a shocking 'pep' talk instead of lecture. When we were almost done with our 4 year program there were probably 20-30 of us. Attending seminars with her we learned about how respected she was in the community and all of her former students would always come up and thank her (while we of course rolled our eyes). We learned how hard she had to fight to ensure we received the great clinical experiences that we did, some students at the university (joint partnership) folded towels at the salvation army as part of their clinical experience. Looking back, I believe it would have been easier for her not to care, to give us all the answers and not challenge us. I believe that she wasn't too harsh or singling people out, it was a combination of her teaching style coupled with our own, thoughts, fears and anxieties. It is because of her that all of those who graduated from our program are excelling in their careers. Of course we all came out of school and were still a bit shocked about the responsibilities, work-load etc but we had some sort of preparation for this. The questions that I ended up answering myself, well those are the answers I remember. I am able to think scenarios through and consider many variables thanks to her guidance. Needless to say, the people who really hated her and complained were the ones who never made it past 2nd year and most of them (since I knew them personally I think I can say this) never really did anything with their lives, they thought nursing was an easy degree which would lead to a great job with lots of money. She provided them with a much needed reality check before they wasted their time and money in a 4 year program. Of course I realize that this is not the case for everyone and feel that there is no excuse for some of the horrible clinical instructors that have been described in this thread. I am forever grateful to this particular professor/clinical instructor.

My NCLEX is kind of a blur, but I remember I had some SATA questions, which I too am not crazy about. My best advice to you is to know your content but don't over-think it. Practice standard questions and get good at those and then move on to SATA. What helps me in these types of questions is to think OK what do I need to know here or what is important, what am I looking for or what would be my patient instructions. If you are not sure make your best educated guesses and look the answers up in your study good (don't forget to read the rationale as this will help guide you to figuring out what you got wrong or why you answered it correctly). I don't remember the NCLEX being as hard as I set myself up for it to be so just relax, prepare yourself and you will be fine. Good luck!

Try accessing online journal articles related to your topic, I am sure your school has a database that you can access (pubmed, cinhal etc). Read the articles and see what these articles say about interventions related to pain for example (what has been successful or proven and what hasn't). This will help you with your rational for the interventions as well as provide a reference. I would suggest doing a literature search and review and then picking your diagnoses based on what you find (in the past that has been more helpful to me). Also all of your diagnoses are 'risks', I would go for two actual diagnoses and maybe one risk. I think you are just looking in the wrong spots as a starting point, start with the scholarly articles then when you have all the info/resources you need move on to your nursing books. Goodluck!

Hello, Just wondering if you ever heard back from LIJ. Did they ask you for references following your interview? I have one coming up and was just wondering what the process is. Thanks!

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We had this conversation at work once, my favorite was one nurse who said she always kicked herself in the butt for asking BKA where their other shoe was!! Luckily most amputees in this area seem to have a great sense of humor!

I though it was just me! Every now and then I will try and apply again and get the same message, very discouraging. Regarding the open interviews, I usually see on their site that they are having interview days but it always specifies that they are not open. Guess I will just have to be on the lookout. Good luck in your job search