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Does any body have any experience with this exam? I'm curious to know if it's super difficult or tricky. HR mentioned that potential hires only have two changes to pass. Those with any info please help a fellow nurse out! Gracias!

Hey mveldma3! Just out of curiosity, do you know how many experienced ICU nurses applied for that very same position with Centura? Just want to get a feel for the new grad : experienced nurse ratio in that area. Thanks!

I caught this post as I was searching for something else, LoL!! I've been in emergency medicine for the greater part of my adult career. EMT -> Medic -> RN. (and even though I don't have the 30-99 years + in ER like some people on here) I can very much give you an unbiased and non-burned out opinion on ER and emergency medicine... Yes it is fast paced, yes multiple patients will need you at once and you'll need to say no to some while attending others. Different EDs will have their different pt populations. Some super acute, most simply primary care and fast track. Contrary to what you may have heard you do not have to be bossy but assertive. You do have to be mean and rude but do stand your ground. This is a field where a team approach is more common than "island nursing" if you get my drift. This is coming from a guy while super introverted outside of work (like the kind that sits next to a cute girl in school but doesn't say a word the whole semester) to one that is super assertive at work and delegates what he needs to be done by resources available to him. If you have the drive and heart to deal with the overwhelming feelings of anxiety and drowning from patient load then you will fly with flying colors. Trust me...if I can be an ER nurse AND love my job after years and years in the field than you can too. Cheers!!

I am currently an ED RN in Houston. Looking to move to a much more smaller and community area of the country. All the posts that I have searched in are of 3 or 4 years ago. Is there anything new about GJ hospitals or places for experienced nurses to work. I was recently on another Forum site and the city of GJ sounds like just what I am looking for. Now if I could only scope out or get a bit of info on the RN job market I'd be set. Thanks for any an all help that you guys can provide! Cheers!

Actually, any generalized application: ER, CCU, Med/Surg... Just looking for lab summaries and values; CBC, Cardiac markers, Hepatic function panels, etc... Typically a nursing diagnostic manual will have many labs, explanations, and results not specific to any one specialty. I've just found so many on the internet and from search sites that I simply would like to find a good quality one that nurses use on a regular basis. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thankx!!

Good Morning all: I know there are a plethora of lab results books floating out there in the book stores; my question however is this: In your personal and professional opinion which Diagnostic and Lab result book has helped you the most? Thanks!

An ER mentor would be the best way to go But as far as books Sheehy has been around for a while. I would also add to the TNCC, ENPC, etc. credentials. Basically get an ENA membership and start taking webinars to boost your ER knowledge. Unfortunately it comes with time and going straight in to the ED from EMS was not any different. I had to learn to multitask as well as prioritize which took a good year to just get comfortable. Stick with it!!!! If you love the fast pace and late night jokes you wont regret it. Cheers!

Actually yes, I do have a few tips ( of course these are not full proof and if they don't work you can't sue me...hehehe!) Take it from a person who has worked ONLY 12 night shifts for the past 11 years... If you work 3 days in a row then on the last night that you work you get off shift, say at 730am. Cool? Then go home and "attempt" to stay awake. That first night off try and go to bed around 8pm (9pm at the latest) this will not be a problem since you've been up for the past 24 hours. Wake up no later than 9am this way you are adjusting your bio clock to shift from being awake at night to being awake during the day. I'm sure you understand that the human body was not ment to function on sleep deprivation nor was it ment to function working 12-24 nights and sleeping during the day. Let me know how this helps or if you have any questions. Cheers!

ER!!! Because it rocks my socks!

no specifically to the medical center but over all hospitals inside and outside of the loop. I not really looking to distinguish between Trauma centers and non trauma centers. Mainly a general overview of how any particular hospital treats their nurses in an ED acute care setting.

Hey all: I was curious at the quality of work in some of these Houston hospitals (including county and the Medical Center) Where I came from (ED) we have a very low budget computer documenting system but the nurses are treated really well and not many of us leave if we don't have to. I just wanted to get an air of the camaraderie or simply the love of the job in some of the EDs that you guys have over there. Are there any experienced ED nurses that can help me out? PM me if need be but I feel that the quality of the way the nurses are treated reflects the quality of the care that the patients receive, imo :) cheers!

Thank you very much HouTx! Every little bit of information counts now a days. I appriciate the time and I'll be sure to keep the fourm abreast of my progress. Also, I will take your advice and look into a couple of hospitals in the suburbs. We'll see what sticks... Any in particular that you're thinking of???

Good afternoon all you lovely nurses! Considering moving to downtown Houston to be closer to my family. I've heard horror stories about the job market on these forums as well as others. I've also done quite a bit of research with the local hospitals in the area. So I want to make sure all my ducks are in a row before I make a life changing decision such as this... I need ya'lls help! BSN nurse with 3+ years experience in ER under my belt. I am also CEN certified along with the typical ACLS, ENPC, TNCC, etc. I am a member of both the ENA and the ANA an am very active with my state. I've seen some postings for some jobs within the TMC chain of hospitals. However, I've also noted that the city of Houston is saturated with nurses searching for a better life. So how likely will an employer realistically take a look at my resume??? Any and all help would be greatly appriciated. Cheers! Oh, yea! I live out of state (compact no less but out of state)

thank you very much! I was let down (but not for long) when I found out that DH didn't consider me for a face-to-face interview. But now, I feel pretty fortunate to even make it through our RN program AND pass my boards!! :wink2: I'm mature and realistic enough to know that I need at least 1yr of exp to compete with most of the RNs vying for a position with some of Denver's metro hospitals. For now, I'll make the best decision that I can with the amount of information that is before me, weighing the pros and cons along the way. Thank you again for a real personal experience without all the generalities.

Thanks you so much for the reply. Actually, I actually got as far as the phone interview but then I got an email saying they picked someone who was more qualified, Oh well, :) On another note, you mentioned that the cost of living was way too high. I was looking to move to the city myself. Would you say that it is too high for a single 28 y/o M with no kids? I don't want to make a commitment to work in a facility where the living expenses is more than the 45k one would make starting as a nurse in Denver. Thanks again :wink2:

Blah!! So I got the results of my phone interview...no go I got a "thanks but no thanks" e-mail today from DH. Most of the questions were: Rate you self-worth, work ethic, dependability, etc. Also, they asked me about what I would do with a disgruntled patient, a medeocre employee promotion, a group of nurses that did not like to implement change, an example of improvisation on my part. Questions on idleness in the workplace, what I do outside of work to keep me busy. These are just a few of the questions that I remember. The interview mostly went for about 46mins of question after question. Oh well, it was a good experience and now I know what to expect. Next up, Porter and St. Joes. Hopefully, I won't have to go through too many hospitals before I find a job in this "in demand" healthcare field, LoL!! Lots of luck and prayer to all!!!

Thank you so much!!! This information helps a whole lot. I'll be sure to let you know how I do and what types of questions they ask. I have my interview tomorrow afternoon. Wish me luck!!

And how can I best prepare for one? I just got off the phone with a recruiter from a local hospital and I'm set to take a one hour situational phone interview. Is there any thing that I can do to prepare for one of these? I have never had a phone interview before; they've all been face-to-face. help...

WoW!! Thank you so muchf ro the info. I'm sure that this will save me a lot of heart ache and time when searching for a hospital. Has anyone heard anything about Porter or Swedish? Whether good or bad; please let me know??? Thanks :redbeathe

Hey guys, please point me in the right direction. I would hate to make the mistake of working at a hospital that is not very kind or respectable to their employees. I was mostly waiting until I passed my board exam before I start hospital hunting. But, now that I'm done I can look around with peace of mind that I'm actually a nurse now. Yippie!!!

I have looked all through there websites and on google maps. Very limited access indeed :) I can't seem to find a good order or Hierarchy of GOOD hospitals to work for. Does any one have any suggestions. I'm flying blind here LOL!!! What are the good hospitals that take ADNs and are a great place for a new grad to work for? Just throw some names out there, trust me I'm listening thankx for your help guys!!

I took my exam this morning. 90 questions in 2hours or so. The thing that keeps sticking out in my mind is the priority questions. I don't know if it's just my mind making up different senarios but I swear I could tell if I was getting a question right by the next question being a priority one in bold but then when I would get a question wrong the next question would be a regular question. I got a couple of SATA and a few dosage calcs which were very easy. There was nothing on the exam that I was not familiar with in one way or another its just that I didn't not have the depth or the complexity to dive in deep into the pathophisiology of it or even the basic care concepts. I've been waxing and waning from confident to sheer terror and apprehension. This is such a stressful time for me that words can not even describe it After TWO prep courses (Rinehart & Kaplan) and over $1000 in prep fees and supplies, plus not to mention I am desperately wanting to leave this state; I really hope I don't have to do this again. God help me if I have to walk this road one more time. I don't think I have the mental or physical energy to endure this again. My hats off to all of those saints that have indured this misery more than once. God bless you all. So I'll know in 2 days whether I passesd or not. Providential blessings and may the Lord's will be done. I have done all that I can to prep for this exam it is no longer in my hands (or maybe it never was to beging with). By the way, the test items ARE like kaplan and I'm banking on that I scored an ave of 61% on the Q-Bank and 61% on question trainer 7. To all that have achieved the goal of passing my sincerest congruatulations go out to you all. (How's that for venting...) Lord's Blessings all!

Oh my God!!!! I'm so sorry you failed, and your post sounded pretty confident. How did you feel when you left the testing center, good/bad?

Oh man!! I can't imagine how people deal with this pressure for so long Platanos, I have so much respect for you bro. I don't know if anything that we have to say will change how you are feeling right now but please don't let this defeat you. Take your mind elseware, even if it's for a few days. Dwelling on this will only make it worse. Find an escape or release of somesort. I just got back from taking my test as well. It shut off at 91, and ofcourse I have no clue how I did. I'm on edge as well. BUT, I know that if I don't pass...well...I don't pass. Thats it. I'll rest, recover, recouperate and get back in there and try again. You didn't come this far to stop. So please don't shut down by the way, Happy Valentine's Day everbody!!

Hey Platanos, please let us know how you did. I take my test in 3 days. The anxiety of it all has finally started to set in *sigh*...my whole future is planned out by the result of this exam. Pretty sad, I know