SoxfanRN

The nice thing about CT is that it is not terribly difficult to get around. Middlesex Hospital and the hospitals in Hartford are doable from the New Haven area depending which town you settle in. If you are interested in LT rehab, Gaylord is a possibility. The VA in Rocky Hill or West Haven are there as well. There is also hospice nearby if that is an interest.

Any hospital on the Magnet journey gives preference to BSNs. So, if you have your heart set on Yale, then I would say it is a worthwhile endeavor. If you do not want to do that, there are plenty of other hospitals in the area that provide excellent care.

If the book contradicts the exam, then that is something to follow up on with the instructor or your advisor. At the very least, you could get an answer as to why one or the other was correct pending the clinical situation in the question. At worst, you keep the same score. At best, you may be correct and get credit. If you haven't, it is always important to get rationales for exam answers. For the ones you got correct, make sure your thinking in answering was correct. For the ones you got incorrect, find out what your thinking was compared to the rationale. If you have questions, ask; clarify rationales so you understand. Once you are clear on rationales, it will help you apply your knowledge to situations that may not be clear.

Part of learning to be an educator is learning to develop tests and other evaluation tools. Nursing programs look to evaluate students' knowledge in all areas of the nursing process and the ability to critically think. Often times, the only way to do that is to make up questions based on material you know was covered or look for previously validated questions that cover the areas you want. I don't know if the quizzes and tests are the same across the schools like the curriculum is.

One of the few barriers you will face as an ADN grad is with Magnet institutions that require a certain percentage of BSNs+ to retain their Magnet status. In CT, Middlesex is magnet; I'm not sure if Hartford still has Magnet status. Other institutions may look at BSNs first but will hire an ADN without problem based on the interview, resume, experience, and references. First impressions make a big difference, including your e-mail address on your resume, so be prepared. BTW, congratulations on your acceptance.

a. Check NCLEX-PN pass rates for the schools you are looking into. They are available. Ask former students what they thought of the program. b. Your license is transferrable through each state's DPH. Some states have an agreement where their licenses are easily transferred/accepted. Others, like CT, are extremely difficult and cumbersome to transfer into. c. School accredidation is available as well. Find out what the accredidation body is and how it transfers to RN programs. Ask the school about the percentage of their grads that transfer to RN programs later on; most programs keep track of that to maintain accredidation. Many LPN programs require classes that are pre-requisites for RN programs to make it easier to later transition to the RN program; look into that as well.

This person is most likely anxious and feels she was wronged. Aggressive people don't care about anyone else's rights except their own. Now come the threats to try and intimidate you into giving her what she wants. Many people choose to file wrongful termination suits against former employers, so I wouldn't be surprised if she chooses that route. If you all have enough documentation regarding her disruptive behavior, you shouldn't have an issue.

Not only are people not retiring, veteran nurses are not moving so they don't lose their senority to potentially get laid off at another company. Take what job you can no matter the setting. I believe we can have really positive experiences no matter where we work. Many of us were in similar situations when we were new grads; we worked crazy shifts, LTC, dialysis, MD offices, etc. to get experience which would then enable us to move into the hospitals.

Being "snowed" usually refers to increasing a patient's medication to the point where the patient becomes unconscious. It does not refer to medicating a patient to expire. In psych, you will hear of patients being "snowed" after they had been agitated due to the increased medications given to them. Or after a surgery, a patient may be "snowed" from the pain medication. It is considered unethical for healthcare workers to contact patients or patient families after the family has been discharged from a facility unless there is continuity of care. The family can contact us, but we should not contact them. As for your morphine question, willfull killing of a patient or patient suicide is illegal in all states except for Oregon. Officially and legally, morphine is used only to make a patient comfortable.

Contact your representatives. Our license fees go into the general fund. That money will probably not go back into nursing. When they did this last year, it was a last minute addition to a bill, and we did not have the warning to combat it. We have no excuse this time. The first increase was sold to us after the fact that the money would go toward building a state data base; so you know: when we all fill out the cards with all of that information on our license renewals, those cards are literally stored in shoe boxes and nothing is done with the data. The data base was supposed to put all of that data into one place that would allow us to actually use it. That never happened, to my knowledge. When I contacted DPH after the first increase, I was told that "the nursing community supported it." I know that my nursing community didn't support it because they never knew about it. This "nursing community" may have been one person, who knows. This is why we all have to stand together. If decisions are going to be made that affect us, we have to have our say. The only way anyone is going to listen is if that voice is loud. With the number of nurses we have in the state, we should be able to be heard a lot more than we are.

Another factor is that CT is a pretty small state. Even if you live in CT, it is easy to travel into NY, MA, or RI to work.

Don't take these classes lightly. If you can get A&P down, it will be much easier for you in the nursing classes. Good A&P knowledge will allow you to figure out disease process, symptoms and symptom management, medication effects, and rationales for treatments. IMO, these are the key pre-requisite classes.

I have worked for both unionized hospitals and non-union hospitals. I would have to say that I like the non-union hospitals better. The union can contract for very good wages and benefits, staffing ratios, training, etc., but it all has to be agreed upon by either the employer or decided by arbitration. You can ask for everything under the sun, but it does not mean it will go in your contract. Be careful of what you are going to be promised. With staffing ratios comes mandation (someone has to be there to maintain the ratios). I had just the opposite experience as the original poster: I was a hard-working new nurse that went above and beyond for my patients. But, because I had no senority, it meant I received all the worst shifts, had to work all the holidays, and was chosen last for all the perks. People with 30 years experience who did the job minimum got everything they wanted. I got mandated at an astronomical rate because I didn't call out once/week like my co-workers did. When I became a supervisor, the union told me I was now the enemy and stopped talking to me. Teamwork at its finest...so much for valuing professional growth. I would literally have employees who called out sick as much as once/week laugh at me and say, "It's my time, what are you going to do about it? Just give me my verbal warning." Nice. So much for the patients. This may have been just a bad experience, but I have seen the bad a union can do. I'm not saying it is all bad, and there are certainly some places that could benefit. But, if your workplace is by and large fine, I wouldn't risk it. Just my opinion.

1. The curriculum. I still refer to it as "hell." 2. Initial licensure nurse? 3. Inpatient psych. I thought I was awesome at first and knew everything. That lasted a week. After that I was convinced I was too dumb to work with people. 4. Visiting nurse, research, education in an acute care hospital. 5. Education 6. A lot of options. I liked working with people. I still love psych. 7. I wished I knew all the content. It would have saved me a lot of studying! I also wished I knew that I wouldn't be fired for small mistakes I made. That would have saved me a lot of anxiety. 8. Know your A & P. If you know body systems, you can figure out any disease and what symptoms to look for/treat. 9. Get the skills down. You will not be able to think critically, prioritize, manage time, or delegate very well as a GN. Get the skills down first, and the rest will come in time as you feel confident that you won't kill someone. 10. Patient advocacy and everything that entails, including caring. 11. Everything! 12. Nursing schools are focused on the NCLEX because pass rates keep them open. Unfortunately, that causes nurses to be less prepared for actual clinical practice after school. New nurses need to know that they will feel overwhelmed and like they don't know anything sometimes. The real learning for the job comes on the job. Stay with it and don't get discouraged. You have to be pretty darned smart to pass nursing school, and no one can take that away.

I don't know what the big deal is. I am a man who has chosen the nursing profession. If I didn't choose nursing, I would have been a person doing something else. If a doctor or engineer had not chosen those professions, they would be a people doing something else. We all have our roles in this game. Frankly, I really like being a nurse, and no one can make me feel bad about it.