The Limey

Jascouniforms.com has the best prices online i've found for steths. I have the Classic II and it's great.

Oops, forgot about this thread. Well, I took the NCLEX and passed with the minimal questions. Lots of questions in my weak areas - maternity, growth and development, and meds I'd never heard of - but that's the CAT for you. Targeting your personal weak areas. Also had a lot of priority questions, and some random diagnostic test questions, and repositioning of clients after procedures etc Started a new job at a sub-acute center, just got off orientation, things are going well. Onto RN!

There will be 8 nursing exams instead of 7. Along with the CPNE there will be 3 more required clinical "tests" - managing multiple patients, interacting with a disciplinary team, A head to toe assessment. Check the PDF file on Excelsior for more details (Bottom of this page, right hand column: link )

Look up stuff that you've heard of but aren't sure about - Dx tests, Labs, Disorders, etc - anything that you know that you don't know. I did this, just looking up random things, and I had several questions I wouldn't have been able to answer had I not.

I've actually met a few people who own houses in upstate new yory but work for agencies in CT, work for a few days, then take their money back home with them. Something to consider.

I have to confess *raises hand* I'm a new grad, I removed a Pt's staples from his head, then charted on it. Instead of writing dehiscence I wrote: "7 Staples removed from left side of scalp. No signs infection, No signs evisceration. Patient tolerated well." Oops. At least it was true and his brain didn't spill out!

Just got this e-mail back from EC:

BigKenny pretty much covered it. The prices you listed are for the exams only. You don't have to purchase the study guides from Excelsior, but if you do then that's extra. For example, English Composition is a $280 exam and EC sells a guided learning package for $225 (I think, somewhere around there). So your total cost will be about $500... or you can just pay for your exam and find your own material to purchase (be it new or used). You can take CLEP and Dante's tests for the General Education classes, but I'm unsure of which ones Excelsior accept for the Required Courses (I know that sociology is CLEPable, but as for the others I'm waiting for a response from EC.) Also, like already mentioned you can take NC1 before enrolling and get NC2 waived with an LPN license. Good luck in whatever you choose.

Congratulations! And good luck with the others.

I don't think it's entirely appropiate for men to work in OB in nursing. Not because they aren't competent, but because of the comfort level for the patient (and the family). If I were a gambling man I'd stake large sums of money on the vast majority of women (and their partners!) being more comfortable with a female OB nurse than a male. I felt uncomfortable as a student in my Maternity rotation because I could sense the discomfort of my patient and family.

I don't know about any others but Apple HealthCare doesn't pay good. I worked as a nurse's aide there whilst going through LPN school. They start aides at somewhere around $10 an hour (I think I started at $10.40 with 2 years experience). They started a friend of mine as an LPN there at $18 p/h. I can assume by trend that they start RNs at the lower end of the range.

I literally just graduated, passed NCLEX-PN and landed a job at a sub-acute center where I've been for a little over 2 weeks and loving it. Just enough time to come up for some air before diving back down into the books again for RN through excelsior. I looked into TCN (and then looked away. It was good for some information though.) Will be buying study guides off ebay. So, I need all of my general education requirements: English Composition Life Span Dev. Psych Sociology © Anatomy& Physiology Microbiology Ethics College Algebra © Technical Writing (d) The ones marked with © or (d) are the exams that TCN told me that I could CLEP or Dante's but I'm wondering about the others. I see that there is a CLEP exam for English Composition for example. Does Excelsior college not accept it? I'm just wondering how much of the above I can CLEP before I have to suck it up and pay the enrollment fee and the more expensive exam fees... Thanks in advance.

I took the test on thursday 8th feb at 8am, just got my results today (saturday, 10am) so yes, you should be able to get your unofficial quick results today.

The NCLEX Exam Cram books are terrible!!! For the review book there are countless spelling and grammatical errors. Numerous FACTUAL errors.. one I recall is the book tried to convince me that the thyroid produces thyroid stimulating hormone. The rationale for the answers are poor at best, and are usually non existant. NCLEX Made Incredibly Easy is my top rated book.

NCLEX-PN Made Incredibly Easy. It goes through each of the systems, and begins each one with a little A&P reminder. Then there's a 'cheat sheet' which is basically a list of the disorders with key S&S, interventions, treatments etc. Then there's a section on the diagnostic tests involved in this system, and includes any nursing actions you'll need to know (ie diet requirents prior/after the test). This is followed by a more detailed examination of the disorders - each one has the pathology, etiology, s&s, interventions, drug therapy, treatments (with rationale for the interventions which I really liked.) Also, all of the key elements in this detailed account is highlighted in purple (and is also what is found on the 'cheat sheet'). Then there's the obligatory question and answer section - excellent questions with very clear rationale for the answers, even the distractors. Scattered through the book are images along the sides with helpful reminder tips, acronyms for things etc. Also, there's a bunch of 'stepping up' reminders through the book, explaining how to perform certain procedures (eg, NG suctioning). What appealed to me most is that it didn't read like a dictionary, or like a reference book. It's very much a learning tool, rather than a 'look up' book, which I found many of the other leading books to be. I aslo really liked that the book can be very detailed, or concise - so if you're strong on a certain system you can use the quick cheat sheet for a referesher, and if you're weak you can go into muhc more detail quickly and easily. Thumbs up imo.