AZcardiacRN

Thanks for all the posts everyone. I really appreciate your feedback and enjoy reading your responses as well. :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)

Hi Jay, I'm Jenny. I too graduated in May and I am starting on a cardiac (tele) floor. I also would like to work my way up to ICU (cardiac or trauma). I'm still pretty new to allnurses.com, but so far I've enjoyed surfing through it. I find it helpful as a new nurse, and I hope it is for you too. Welcome.

Hi Holly and faith123, I wish you both luck on the NCLEX. If you want any advice, I would say to take a review course such as Kaplan or Medspub as well as purchasing a content and review book. Of course everyone studies differently, but if you want an idea of how I studied here it is: I bought the Saunders content review book and reviewed 3-5 chapters a day for about 5 weeks. I also kept a tally of how many questions I had done every week (I've heard 3-5,000 is recommended before taking the NCLEX, although I ended up doing over 6,000). I also went over the Medspub review book (which covered medications) the last week before taking the NCLEX. Don't focus too much on content once you've reviewed it- it's the questions that you want to practice since all the questions on the NCLEX will be different than any review questions you've had before. Review medications!!!! It is very important to know your meds as well as nutrition questions (what foods contain potassium, calcium, etc.) I really think you both will do great though. All you have to do is study hard, do those questions, and you're going to pass. You can do it!!!!! Good luck :)

Hey Cloud 9- Congratulations! I am so happy for you! It is such an accomplishment to pass the NCLEX, and you totally deserve an applause for your dedication and determination. I took my NCLEX recently and it's still fresh in my mind, so I think I know how excited you must be feeling. Congratulations again!:balloons::balloons:

From the time I was in nursing school up until now (as a new graduate RN), I had never seen a code. Today for the very first time, I did not just see one code, I saw two and they happened to be right next door to each other! I know that I should have felt awful for the patients, but I was just so excited to finally see a code that I kept going back and forth to look to see what was going on for each one. Do you think it's wrong to get excited when a patient is doing poorly? Of course I care about people or I wouldn't have become a nurse, but it felt a little strange afterwards. I was just wondering how other nurses (you) reacted the first time you saw a patient code (go into cardiac arrest or respiratory distress).

First off I can tell you that Med-Surg means a medical/surgical unit and per diem means that you work "on call" and that you work less than part time (or that's how it is at my hospital anyway). For other abbreviations that come up you can always google it to find the answer or check out some medical books with abbreviations in the front and back covers. Besides that, if you are already in nursing school you will learn them as you go, and if you're just curious, there are plenty of ways to find abbreviations on-line or in medical books. Good luck to you :)

Hi Holly- I'm Jenny. I passed the NCLEX on June 26th and started my first week as an RN last week! I feel kind of lucky that I'm starting as a new grad RN with a group of 50 other new grads, but it still feels scary. So far I've been doing so much classroom stuff that I still feel like I'm in nursing school, but I know it's for the best. I'm very excited to start out on the cardiac unit and I wish everyone the best of luck on their units as well! :balloons:

Sounds like a very difficult situation. Is there anyone in your family that could help you out? Have you tried applying for scholarships at your school or through the nursing program? Financial aid offices usually have awesome people who know of ways to help you through school financially, or can at least direct you to someone who can. I admire your strength and dedication to becoming a nurse and hope that your financial situation improves. All the best to you.

I took my NCLEX a month ago and passed with 75 questions. I found out the very next morning, but it was tough to wait. I'm sure you've probably passed considering how much you've studied for it! In fact, all the friends that I heard had only 75 questions all passed. Good luck!

This actually just happened on Friday- As part of my orientation process, I went to a dialysis lab to observe the RNs and the hemodialysis patients. A few hours into one of the patient's dialysis treatments, a team of MDs came in to talk to a patient about what other procedures he would need to have done before he could be discharged. The patient lying there with two large catheters and a huge dialysis machine attached to him nodded as the doctors mentioned several procedures. One medical student standing in the front proudly added "you are also scheduled for hemodialysis sometime today." I couldn't help but smile and laugh in my head as I watched the group of doctors all turn to the med student who was completely oblvious to the fact that the patient was receiving dialysis at that very moment. It made me almost happy to see that although the hospital can be a very fast-paced, intimidating environment, everyone makes mistakes and learns from them. P.S. This is my first post- I'm brand new to the world of forums :)