daisyfleur70

daisyfleur70's Latest Activity

1. 

   Austin job market

   daisyfleur70 replied to daisyfleur70's topic in Texas

   Thank you! :)
2. 

   Austin job market

   daisyfleur70 posted a topic in Texas

   I am originally from Austin, but have been living in Seattle for the past 18 years. I have been a nurse for a little over a year (RN, BSN), and have been working for just under a year in addiction nursing. I am looking to move back home sometime in the next couple of years to be closer to my family (long overdue). I have no idea what the state of the market is down there. I'm not a new grad anymore, and I do have some experience as an RN, but I'm not sure if my experience will help or not, as it is a bit specialized. I work with detoxing patients, as well as treating patients, and as such, some of my patients experience pretty serious withdrawals, and have co-existing conditions which involves a bit of med/surg knowledge, and I have experience that is similar to PACU nursing (caring for patients coming out of sedation), and of course psych nursing... With this is mind, would I have difficulty finding work? When I graduated, I really wanted to be an ER nurse, and I precepted in the ER for my final clinical rotation. I would be willing to start just about anywhere, though... med/surg, PACU, whatever. I would like to move sooner than 2 years, but I'm trying to be realistic in terms of getting my license endorsed, money saved, etc. Any thoughts, advice? Thanks in advance....
3. 

   rn residencies: when to apply?

   daisyfleur70 posted a topic in Job Hunt

   I am in my last semester of school about to graduate with my BSN in December. I graduate in December and hope to take the NCLEX in January. When is a reasonable time to start applying for residencies? Do I wait till I'm licensed? Do I start next month? Now? Lol! I don't want to miss out, but I don't want to jump the gun either....
4. 

   1st day clinical. I know nothing? is this normal?

   daisyfleur70 replied to Courtcatt's topic in General Students

   @jngo91 No... I wouldn't think so none of those mistakes were the kind that would put a patient in jeopardy. Those are all legit rookie mistakes. If it makes you feel better, last night I had taken a urine specimen from a patient, did the urine dip, then tossed the specimen, forgetting that it needed to go to the lab for a more in depth UA. durrr. I was mortified, but my preceptor just kinda laughed it off and said "just go tell the patient you didn't get enough urine, and see if they can pee again." (and I am doing my senior practicum!) Stuff happens. Just do your best. These mistakes help us learn...and the more embarrassing the mistake...the less likely we are to repeat it.
5. 

   1st day clinical. I know nothing? is this normal?

   daisyfleur70 replied to Courtcatt's topic in General Students

   I'm in my last semester of nursing school, doing my preceptorship and I have been feeling this way too. We learn about nursing in pieces, it seems like, and each clinical experience is different, depending on the program and the hospital site. Now that I am in a position to have to pretty much apply everything I've learned, I'm struggling with parts of it. My assessments are solid, but when my preceptor asks me what labs will doctor most likely want to order (I'm precepting in the ER), or why we're administering a particular drug, or what have you... I feel like a deer in headlights. It takes me a minute or two, or I need some prompting, or sometimes I just get it wrong. :-/ One thing that I have been hearing throughout nursing school is that even with everything we're learning, there's still so much more to learn, and that the first year of nursing is still going to feel like you're a nursing student, because of all of the things you are learning on the job. We just have to push our doubts aside, be open to learning and do our best. (I say this as much for my own benefit as anyone else's! LOL) The nurses always make everything look so easy, but over time you will see that even experienced nurses have off days, where they can't make an IV stick, or they forget to chart something or what have you. We can't compare ourselves, nursing students, to a nurse who's been a working RN for several years. Hang in there and good luck!
6. 

   Precepting....

   daisyfleur70 replied to jpowell6024's topic in Emergency

   Good luck! I am also hoping to precept in the ER (I didn't see your post when I posted my own question. now to figure out how to delete it... LOL) I'll be watching this thread for tips also. :)
7. 

   Anyone using ATI?

   daisyfleur70 replied to EbonyQueen's topic in General Students

   We use ATI also. 2 of my classes have used it as a final exam, but others have counted it for 5% of the grade. Next semester (and my last in my BSN program) We will take the ATI NCLEX predictor and that will be worth 30% of our grade in that course.
8. 

   Preceptorship Question

   daisyfleur70 posted a topic in Emergency

   Hi all, I am a senior nursing student with one semester left in my BSN program. I am hoping to precept in an ER, as this is the area I am most interested in working in as a nurse. If I am able to get a preceptorship in the ER, can any of you kind of give me an idea what to expect (general terms of course, I know all hospitals and EDs are different animals). And any advice on how to prepare would also be much appreciated! :) The ER appeals to me because it seems like a good blend of several types of nursing in one spot, and seems like a pretty exciting and interesting place to work. Thanks in advance.
9. 

   Does learning hurt for you sometimes?

   daisyfleur70 replied to Enthused RN's topic in General Students

   Oh man! I HATEEEE having an audience! G tube meds are pretty tricky... gotta make sure the pills are crushed super fine, the water has to be a certain temp, and all these things have to be just so! But you made it! It can only get easier from here on out! Congrats! :)
10. 

    ABG's acid/base balance

    daisyfleur70 replied to daisyfleur70's topic in General Students

    Thanks so much for all of your replies... this has been very helpful! :)
11. 

    Taking care of patient with C.Diff?

    daisyfleur70 replied to citylights89's topic in General Students

    It depends on the floor really. As above posters have mentioned, there's an isolation cart outside the room with all the goodies you need on it. As to equipment, there is always dedicated stethoscope and dynamap in the patients room that just stays there... if you do have to bring in your own equipment or borrow a dynamap or glucometer or whatever, there are the hardcore bleach wipes that you wipe the equipment down with before you leave the area. Don't worry about your shoes, if there is need for shoe or head covers, those would be provided on the isolation cart outside the patient's door. As to handwashing, all of the floors I've been on have a sink near the door to the patient's room, this is a separate sink from the one in the patient bathroom. Use paper towels to turn the faucets on and off. And many facilities have soiled linen containers in the patient rooms to toss your gown into when you remove it. You will be working with lots of patients in isolation for various reasons, so jump right in there, you'll be a pro in no time!
12. 

    Did you learn IV in NS?!

    daisyfleur70 replied to tammy_zeidan09's topic in General Students

    Our program doesn't teach it except as an "optional" lab practicum in Fundamentals 2. We are told pretty much the same thing, that IV teams do IV starts, although none of my clinical sites had IV teams. One site has an IV nurse but she is only called when the floor nurses can't make the stick, so yeah... I call b.s. on that one! That said, I was able to do an IV stick on another nurse. The site I was at was a teaching hospital, and on a low census day on the peds floor I got to work a shift in the ER and the ER nurses LOOOOVE to teach students! LOL I was lucky though. And I got it on my first try (but the nurse had some great pipes, so that helped a lot! ) I'm told by students in the cohort above me and in cohorts past that have graduated now, that they got to do IV sticks when they precepted, so I am looking forward to that, next semester!
13. 

    I've probably just lost it all....

    daisyfleur70 replied to Nolander's topic in General Students

    Moving from pre req's to nursing school is almost always an adjustment. Many many students find that their grades drop in the process. I was an A student as well, transfered in with a 3.68 GPA and Have made more B's than A's in nursing school, and even got a C+ in patho. It's really hard to shake the competitiveness that you get so used to when you are taking pre reqs and getting into nursing school, but one C is not the end of the world. There is so much more to nursing schools, and even when it comes to applying for grad school, if you bust your butt, and you work well with the RNs and clinical sites and your preceptors, letters of reccomendation can go a long way, as well as if you show an improvement as you progress. You may have a C in this first class, but as your learn more and get more comfortable, your grades should level out. And honestly, you can be super book smart and still struggle as a nurse. There are so many other skills to develop, building rapport with patients, working as part of a medical team, and other things that will come to you in clinicals and over time. Nursing school is super stressful on its own merits, adding stress about grades will only compound this. Give yourself a break! Sorry for the long rambly reply, but hopefully it is helpful! :)
14. 

    Ugh, ATI!

    daisyfleur70 replied to daisyfleur70's topic in General Students

    We take the paper/pencil versions, so it will be a bit before I know my result.
15. 

    ABG's acid/base balance

    daisyfleur70 posted a topic in General Students

    Can someone who is great at interpreting ABGs please help me? I continue to struggle with Respiratory vs. Metabolic Acidosis especially when compensation is thrown into the mix. How can you tell resp/vs. metabolic and how can you tell partial compensation ( all values are out of whack still, but how can one tell if there's compensation or not.... I guess?) Thanks in advance!
16. 

    Graduating Class of 2012 - Shout Out Here!!

    daisyfleur70 replied to PacoUSA's topic in General Students

    December 14, 2012 with my BSN! 2 weeks to go till summer break, then ONE SEMESTER LEFT! Booyah! LOL