Vsummer1

I was older (read: couldn't test out of anything) and it took me 5 years for my RN degree. Once the pre-reqs are complete, you may find that you can't get INTO the RN program due to space limitations. That is when I took all the psch, philosophy etc. courses. So, 2 years of nursing, 2 years of pre-reqs and one just trying to get into the program! But, having done it this way I managed to graduate magna cum laude. Since I didn't have to take the nursing with other courses I could really concentrate on the class at hand and ended up with the good grades.

Can anyone tell me if they have a study about 20 ml ns being favored to flush lines with certan populations? The biopatch is a great thing in theory. Here is the bad thing... My CVP line (or anything else for that matter) through a TLC with a biopatch is only good for 7 days if the biopatch stays in place, and quite frankly my patients rarely can keep a good seal on an IJ for more than one or two days. Sterility is compromised so for heavens sakes, do NOT go by the "rules" but by common sense. I cannot tell you how many times I have encountered migrated biopatches just from tachypneic patients. And it "bugs" the heck out of me that I get the textbook nurses saying "oh, but it is a biopatch so we can reinforce the bandage and not change it for a whole week" or, "well, it is a biopatch so I left it alone and only changed the bandage as standard q 3days" never mind the crusty patch, or whilst I look a biopatch floating. I want to culture many a tip I see from the nurses who don't think but can quote me the policy. I had one today I wanted to call the ID doc in for! Lovely bandage dated yesterday, reinforced with several layers of disgusting clear tape wavering over an IJ and the biopatch hovering nicely over the lumen, no blue to be seen. OOPs sorry, rant... forgive me, move on....

We have a new policy that states that after you draw blood from a lumen you need to replace the cap to prevent clogging. Anyone else do that?

I was surprised to see this old thread again! Now that I am actually working with tube fed patients on a regular basis, I can say I have NEVER seen dye used at my facility.

Considering the fact that Kaplan has a money back guarantee, I would go that route. I took Kaplan, and it helped me pass first time around by showing me how DIFFERENT the NCLEX questions are from what we were used to. I also used Saunders to study, so maybe it was that program that helped. No money back guarantee, and it was self study. I did 100 questions per day. Good luck!

I had to take my acrylics off for nursing school, and never put them back on. Hospital policy here is: no acrylics, nails 1/4 inch long and only neutral polish allowed. Necklace may be worn, no bracelots but watches are allowed. Two rings maximum. Two earrings in each ear only, with no other piercings allowed. That they had to actually put the policy in writing makes me wonder about some of the "professionals" that worked here!

And if you noted in my post I put the sexually active in lower case, while your age and the fact you had never been was in larger text. Fact is, SINCE YOU WERE 16 you really needed to go. This is not a personal attack, nor is it a judgement. I was concerned that you would ask online about things that would be best determined in a doctors office, especially since you had never been. You might want to consider that PREVENTATIVE care is a good thing. Gyno's don't just treat simple things like yeast infections, they do complete women's health. Really, it isn't a bad thing, ALL women should go. I was rather shocked you hadn't been, and hope you do go.

I have a question here: YOU ARE 20 YEARS OLD, sexually active, AND NEVER SEEN A GYNO? I think a visit is in order before trying ANY of these remedies. Who knows what it could be?

I have a question here: YOU ARE 20 YEARS OLD, sexually active, AND NEVER SEEN A GYNO? I think a visit is in order before trying ANY of these remedies. Who knows what it could be?

Add commute time into that... and it is a 15 hour day. No way could I do more than 2. I would be a danger to myself and others!

With the 960 hours of clinical associated with the above class, I am in school 32 hours per week. I am okay, but 1/3rd of the class is failing and this is the last semester. NOT easy! I think you get out what you put in, and some people also have more interest in one area vs. another. The NCLEX doesn't look at it that way, and you have to have it all. I personally found that pysch was the worst, but put the time in and managed a B. All nursing classes are hard, and people fail out of any one of them. If they weren't challenging, what kind of nurses would we get?

OR you will get the gung ho "I can cath anything" "are you even IV certified?!" nurse to tell you that they are correct when they use the tape to secure an IV, going so far as to discard most of the IV kits. They taught us this from the beginning, TWO YEARS AGO in school, AND the hospitals are required to use needleless systems by OSHA. But don't bother trying new techniques with old nurses. You won't get anywhere, even IF THE HOSPITAL PROVIDES and mandates their use. Where do YOU work? And what are your policies that they don't follow OSHA or JCAHO standards?

While it may be an invasion of privacy, you have to understand the climate of this country and people being sue-happy. The preservatives used on the cadavers may have a tetragenic effect, so the schools need to keep pregnant females away from the chemicals. Or that is how it was exlained to me.

Look at any board of nursing site, and you can see the reasons why nurses lose their licenses. Number one reason nurses lose their license: drug use, drug diversion. Testing should be mandatory for all nurses. Bottom line: patient safety. If you find it a hardship to be tested, think about the nurses who give saline instead of pain meds to patients in pain. It happens frequenty around any profession where drugs are available and easily accessed. What better way to feed a habit than to be the one in charge of the drugs? It is ludicrous to think nurses SHOULDN'T be tested. Privacy is out the door when you are giving various controlled drugs as part of your job description, because the bad apples will always spoil the bushel. However, I do draw the line at my hair being clipped!

I notice that career2 states that EXPERIENCED nurses in California make $40 per hour. Sorry, not in the part of California that I am from. I am sure that some nurses do make that much, but with much more education than the basic RN and a whole lot more experience and schooling than the majority of RN's. In California, the cost of a home is more than most nurses can afford. In California, the wait for school may be long, but once you get out you may find that there are not enough preceptors to train you because the schools are churning out students faster than NURSES want to take on the burden of training a new RN under THEIR license. I live in California, will graduate and will make HALF OF that $40 AN HOUR. The only ones making that are 20 year experienced charge nurses that DESERVE that wage and have earned it, or the contract nurses they have working d/t the ratios mandated by law who DO NOT train new nurses. As a new grad, I will be happy to make my "measly" $20 an hour and I HOPE and PRAY I can find a $40 an hour nurse to train me, as he/she is worth her weight in gold! Career2, I am not yet a nurse but I really hope you don't choose nursing as your career because you haven't a clue what the people I aspire to be like do for a living. You did mention a doctor in the family. Perhaps medical training is more what you should be thinking about. I have met many doctors with your superior know-it-all attitude, so you should fit right in with them. Forgive me for being so negative, but I find the nonsense this person is spewing is getting to me. (edited for brain fart spelling error)