DjMiG

Thanks Red_Butterfly! I've already accepted a position in the Critical Decision Unit at a local Trauma I Hospital and also a Chemotherapy Infusion position at my old Oncology clinic. I'm So excited! Thanks for all the support!!!!!

Hey all. Thanks for all of your prayers and support! The waiting game is insanely cruel. Not to mention painful. I took my exam yesterday and believe it or not, 75 questions! I was like holy Crap! I'm screwed! I was asking the proctor to let me take the exam again. On Monday, when i was suppose to be relaxing for the test on Tuesday, I spent some time here at my local parish. Meditation and spiritual guidance really helped me through this "dark" hour. I know what everyone is going through and i can completely relate. For an update. I just got my LIC!!!! I'm so excited! I'm SOOO great full to everyone here and their prayers! It is individuals like yourselfs that make Nursing such a rewarding career and lifestyle! Even thou i've never meet anyone from this site, i know that you are all family to me because of the bond one shares from going to Nursing school. Thank you for all of your support and your words of encouragement! Miguel

Hey all, Well, I too am requesting everyone's prayer for success on my NCLEX. I'm scheduled for this upcoming Tuesday. Part of me is ready, but there is that other part of me that is just nervous, scared, and flat out afraid! I know that I have to visualize success and have a positive outlook. But what can I say?!?! I REALLY just want to get this over with and FINALLY be done with all of it but I'm just too nervous. Any words of encouragement and prayers are greatly appreciated! Such as I have all of you in my prayers as well. Mig

Hey Choc! Thanks for the Congrats! County DID have a bad rep, but then again, it is always what you make of it. I personally would not turn down an oportunity with County if one came up. It's the experience that counts.Thats what I'm prob going to do with Maryvale since it DOES have a reputation for being the worse place in terms of seeing the "bad" side of ER. I feel that it will almost make a Macguyver out of a Nurse! LOL! Kinda thinking that if you can survive there, there shouldn't be too much that could be thrown at you and not freak out afterwards...know what I mean??? As for the ICU's, well thats a complete different ball game. Usually if you are working already in the hospital, those individuals are given preference over someone from the outside. The ones that have an even greater chance of getting in right out of school are students that are externing in those units. It would have been nice to have that but sometimes it's just not possible. Much luck getting into an ICU, it's not impossible, you just have to have a little luck and some nice backing to get in. The New grad pay is something that varies completely from facility. I'm sorry i'm not able to help in that aspect, but I'm sure that once you do finish you will have more information regarding that.

Oh yea! thats DEFINATLY the measurement! Seems like I know that WAY too well....

Hey all. I was wanting to get some people's opinions on something. I am currently a New Grad and it's just been about 2 weeks since Candle lighting. I'm still stoked about that. Anyways, I was curious about possibly working in the Maryvale ER. I know that almost all ER's in the valley require experience (heck! almost all hospitals require experience for ANY position right about now). I was thinking that possible working there would give me enough experience to work comfortably in almost any environment. You know the old saying...if you can survive there, you can survive almost anywhere! I was curious to see what people thought about that. I have a background as an EMT and over 10 years of Pharmacy experience. I know that I'll have a definite edge over other individuals dealing with all the drunks and crack heads, but am I on the right track thinking along those lines?!?! It also seems that it would be much easier to get onboard with them than it is with other hospital ER's in the valley. Not sure how to interpret that one thou.... I know that Maryvale does not have a very favorable reputation amongst staff in the valley, but heck, neither does County for some people but it is still a great place to get experience (prob because it is a teaching hospital?!?!?!) Anyways, any information is greatly appreciated! peace out!

That is unless you have a central line and the patient on a monitor. Then you can increase to 20 mEq/hr. As for the original posting, You should probably refer that question to a pharmacist. IMHO, figure out how many total mEq's of Kcl you have total running and figure it out from there. Am i mistaken? Anyone?

HOLY FREAK! So let me get this right, She CRUSHED a Percocet and then proceded to give it via the Port-a-cath? That must have been a very fine crushing! Is it me or wouldn't you be expecting some major complications from doing something like that? Anyways, I'm really curious as to the status of the client post "Percocet Push".

I'm about 5 weeks from completing my 4th block of school. I'm seriously looking into a postion in ICU if I can get hired in as a new grad. I just perfer being able to see almost immediate results with interventions that I perform. Might come from back in the day when I was an EMT. But I would much rather think and have to figure out problems like what are found in the ICU than in a reg Med-Surg floor. Mig ps- Just got my Preceptorship assignment in a level 1 trauma center in their ICU! WHOO WHOO!!

Hey all. I'm not sure about the rest of the schools in the Valley, but I just finished Block III at PC and we ALSO have the 76% requirement and have had it since the first block. Not sure what else to say about that thou....

HOT STUD- Are you still in Nursing school? Or at least close to finishing? Personally, after seeing what is happening with socialized medicine, it's a gamble that one takes. If you decide to go into the nursing field expecting to become rich and are just think primarily about the money, think it would be time to really reflect upon your priorities. I've worked in the medical field for 12+ years and i truely enjoy it. All that matters to me is that I'm able to buy my food and support a family when the need comes. Besides, with Nursing, you always have the oportunity to expand into other areas, not just the clinical setting. Going into nursing was the hardest decicion that I have made, but you know what? I don't regret it one bit at all.

Which one is more intense? Maricopa or Good Sam? I would have thought that Maricopa would be the most intense. Then again, I have always heard that County (Maricopa) is THE best place to get experience. Any thoughts?

I used to have to track down all sorts of Discrepancies when I worked in pharmacy. That was a good portion of problems with pyxis. I've found that you can track down most things with this type of report. I know how hairy it can get during AM and PM med passes. Trust me that I have seen some pretty interesting discrepancies that have baffled me and have had no other idea on how to solve. Just take your time when doing the med pull and don't get rushed. Even if there is a "C" word and you need meds STAT, thats what the crash cart is for. I hope this helps all and like i said before, if anyone has any pyxis questions, feel free to ask. Mig ps- I guess you can call me a double agent now!! LOL Go figure, 12 years in pharmacy and then deciding to go into Nursing!

If you are afraid to use the carpaject after it's been dropped because of glass shreds, you can always transfer to another syringe using a filter needle. If you don't have one on the floor, call the pharmacy and speak to the IV room. I'm sure that if you explain the situation they will be more than glad to send you one. But just a heads up, filter needles usually do not have a safety device with them so your safety officer might have a cow if they see it! I know we used the filter needles in the pharmacy when we break open ampules and other items including when making an epidural.

I was a Pyxis Coordinator for the longest time. At my last facility, a handful of individuals and myself were responsible for implementing roughly around 40 pyxis stations and getting them all up and running for the facility. I will say this, even though it is a great system for inventory control, it too has it's short comings. What I would recommend is contacting the pharmacy and having an activity report ran from the last verified inventory/refill from pharmacy and then comparing the activity per user and meds to see if they coincide. Sometimes another RN will pull the medication and be interrupted in the middle of the transaction. This would appear as a canceled transaction. The pyxis will believe that the medication was NOT pulled from the inventory and hence you'll have a discrepancy. This would cover BOTH error by pharmacy refilling AND Nursing transactions. I hope your able to be cleared of this since I know that it is pretty nerve wreaking. Let me know if you have any questions. Mig

Just to give my 2 cents, I'm currently in a fast track Bilingual program in that same school district that is mentioned above. Usually this online program is offered in conjunction with an employer which in this case is usually a community hospital. I know that there are some hospitals that are using this online system to get their Student employees through the lecture (Process, Pharm, etc) but are also providing the student their clinical hours through their work at the hospital. At first it sounded nice but once I had the opportunity to enroll in the first Bilingual program here in Arizona, I just HAD to jump all over the opportunity. Personally, i don't feel that being in an online program for something as involved as nursing would benefit with out some sort of structured teaching plan. I mean, it's easy to train to recognize signs and implement interventions, its a completely different story to actually have the complete understanding and critical thinking of what is going on and then again, this IS the basis of the nursing process if you are going to go on to higher education. I know i'm gonna get flammed for this but, heck! Its my opinion. Everyone learns in a different style.

Hey all, I have been working in the Oncology field for the past 10+ years and trust me when i say that alot of these new targeted therapy type of drugs are expensive. I can say truthfully that when I order Herceptin (also known as Trastuzumab), each 440mg vial is $2,486.53 at MY COST. I'm not going to say who I work for, but we'll just say that this is the most competative cost for this medication. Tykerb hovers just around that cost as well. I'll let you guys do the dosing and figure out what the cost is per cycle for the patient. Feel free to msg me if you have any questions! M

Hey all! Just wanted to stop by and say hi. Hope everyone is doing well. I'm just so excited to be past the first 2 blocks of nursing but now the real work begins. I was curious about what to expect in the second half of school? Any subjects that i should go over before school starts again in a month? Any stories about what happens during 3rd block? I have personally heard that the toughest blocks are the 2nd and the 4th. But that overall, the 2nd block is the one that weeds people out of the program the most. Any insight is greatly appreciated and I'm looking foward to engaging in this up coming career. April '08 are my boards!!! YIPEE!!! (but i better not celebrate too much so early! ) Mig

Hey all. Just about to complete the second block and can almost begin to see the light at the end of this journey. It was true! Second block is pretty tough but I'm optimistic that if I'm able to get through this I can get through the rest of the program. My question is one for the ages...Do you guys have any tips on reducing test anxiety?!?! It seems that even though I know all the information, I always get WAY too worked up, and end up missing really simple questions. I know this is going to open up a can of worms but all replies are welcomed!! This will be an interesting posting to see what different people do to get through the test. Let the madness begin!! mig

WOW! A 850 to pass?!?!!? At our school we take something similar to the HESI but it is with ERI. I'm not sure how compatible it is with the HESI but I do know that there are more than 200 questions to answer. Anyways, Do you guys know if the 850 stands for a 85 percent? By the way, SammiLPN2be, congrats on your score! thats great!

I'm glad that you had a great experience ARnS, I'm assuming that you are a male, but the majority of the postings that i have read are pretty identical. When I first posted about 4 weeks ago, I had a GREAT first day, but then all of the sudden, right after i posted that, my WHOLE experience went down the drain. The last time I was in LD, there were 2 other students and myself. Looks like there was a Paramedic student as well. Anyways, It almost felt like i should have continued in EMS since the Paramedic student was getting more attention and better treatment from the RN's! Being a past EMT, I wasn't sure how to react to it. Either way, when i was ignored (for over 2 hours!!! and they were not even busy!!) and stiff shouldered the last time I was in LD i was forced to report this to my CI. I spent the rest of my Clinicals in Triage and PP. How are men supposed to learn broaden their experience if there are such rude RN's not allowing for men to come into the area?!?! I'm all for Womens equality, but it has to work both ways!!!

Hey CocoChanel, I was looking at your posting. Since your saying that there is nothing wrong per say with the client. Couldn't you use a "At risk for" diagnosis? Right off the bat I was thinking of: 1) "At risk for" Disturbed Thought processes r/t elevated calcium levels that cause paranoia, decreased level of consciousness 2) "At risk for" Imbalanced Nutrition: Less than body requirements r/t gastrointestinal manifestations of hypercalcemia (Nausea, anorexia, ileus) Not sure if these would help you. Thats a tough question. If anyone disagrees with these two, could you please correct me? I wasn't too certain with all the care plan diagnosis's. Good Luck! Mig

Thanks Daytonite! Sorry for the delay. I looked over your links and found them VERY useful. My class and I ended up hireing a patho tutor for the sympathetic and the parasympathetic system crash course. Turns out that the instructor that we chose is a NP and she REALLY shed some light on the subject. Either way, I'm glad to have joined this forum. Looks like this place has ALOT to offer. Thanks a lot! Mig

Hey all! New comer here. First off, I wanted to thank you all for all the postings that have been stickied. They have helped tremendously! I was wondering if anyone has any additional information regarding Cholinergics, Cholinergic Blocking, Adrenergics, and the Adrenergic Blocking agents. I'm having some major problems understanding the principles about it. I understand some of it when it comes to the Beta1 and Beta2 blockers, but Alpha? I swear that I feel that some of this contradicts other information!!! Anyways, if anyone knows of a site that might be able to shed some more light on this, I would greatly Appreciate it!! Mig -Block II is almost over, only 2 more til RN-DAY!!!

Hey all, I agree that it can be VERY uncomfortable but it all depends on the staff at the facility that you are at. I was bored just reading the Fetal/Maternal Monitors and noticed that the fetal HR was tachy...well next thing you know, the docs are doing a CrashC and I'm caught right in the middle! Was fun and it seems that I earned the respect of the facility for my class. So far I've only done 2 days in OB and have already been invited in to witness 3 lady partsls and that last C. All of this and I still have another 5 weeks to go!