notadoc

I did not think the GRE was all that bad. I used the Kaplan book for about a month before the exam. Math is my strong suit, but I have to admit that the exam was still challenging. It isn't so much that the math is all that difficult, per se, but you really have to pay attention to what is really being asked. The verbal was a little more challenging for me. I am terrible at memorization, so trying to memorize 3000+ words just wasn't going to cut it. Instead, I focused most of my effort on the roots and prefixes/suffixes to try to figure out what new words meant. I also spent some time reviewing the tips for scoring well on the different types of essay on the GRE. Overall, my strategy seemed to work. I ended up with 790 on the quantitative, 690 on the verbal, and 5 on the essays. Good luck! notadoc

Vanderbilt University Medical Center has a fantastic nurse residency program in Nashville, TN. I can only speak firsthand about the critical care track, but so far I have been thoroughly impressed. The first six weeks involve rotating through each of the eight critical care areas at the hospital (SICU, MICU, Neuro, CVICU, Trauma, Burns, PACU, and ED). You also attend lectures and skills workshops during the first six weeks. Once you place with a "home" unit, you work full time as an RN, and also attend critical care lectures and skills workshops throughout the balance of the first year. Classes meet every six weeks or so. It really is an impressive program. If you are not interested in critical care, the residency program also has specific tracks for Acute Care (think Med-Surg and stepdown), Women's Health, and Pediatrics (both acute and critical care). Vanderbilt offers competitive salaries for this area, and they offer really good benefits. Their nursing web site spells out the program quite nicely. The web address is http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/root/vumc.php?site=vanderbiltnursing (and if URLs are not allowed in posts, just Google "Vanderbilt Nursing" to get the link). Besides all that, Nashville is a beautiful place to call home. Hope this helps. notadoc

This is exactly right. Maintaining a steady intake level of Vitamin K is more important than trying to limit intake. First off, although green leafy vegetables contain the highest levels of Vitamin K, they are far from the only sources of it. Attempting to eliminate (or even severely restrict) Vitamin K in the diet make for a very boring diet, since almost everything contains at least a little Vitamin K. More important, though, is the fact that something like half of the Vitamin K in our bodies is produced by bacteria in the intestines. All this being said, dietary consistency is important. Unusually increased Vitamin K intake (say, a slightly paunchy nursing student deciding to "get healthy" by eating salad every night for a week when the "normal" salad intake is more like one every leap year) can cause a clinically significant drop in the patient's INR. Likewise, an unusually low intake over more than say a week or so can lead to a clinically significant increase in INR. Consistency is key, especially in "stable" warfarin patients that may only get their INR checked every four to six weeks. Warfarin is a really messy drug to work with (and to take). Hope this helps. notadoc

Hi all! Took NCLEX this morning. Shut off at 75. It felt like I was getting fairly difficult questions, but then I also felt like I was guessing between the "best 2" answers on many of the questions. It's going to be a long couple of days... notadoc (and maybe notanurse, either!)

ZuZuTrauma, I took the GRE last August. I studied for about four weeks and ended up doing just fine (1480/5.0). The quantitative section was pretty easy for me once I spent time reviewing the material. The verbal was pretty frustrating. Know your roots and stems and prefixes and all that, and then prepare to whittle down and guess. Also, excellent advice given by shock-me-sane; at least look over the general requirements and expectations for the essay section. It makes actually writing the essay (given the time constraints) A LOT easier. Good luck! notadoc

Just wanted to throw my two cents in. I just graduated yesterday with my BSN!!! :grad: So, at 37, I will be starting my next career in about seven weeks. My grades were pretty unimpressive coming in. My overall GPA was 3.006 in a program that required a 3.0. My institutional GPA at graduation? 4.0. I am no smarter now than I was oh so many years ago. I am older, though, and that translated into an unbeatable work ethic and desire to succeed. My advice to you would be, if you know this is what you want to do, then do it. Most importantly, don't let anything get in your way. These last three years were rough (four deaths in the immediate family plus a week-long hospitalization three weeks into the last semester), but I stayed focused on my plans and kept trudging forward. Now all I have to do is pass NCLEX... Good luck! notadoc

Granolagirl17, According to my pathophysiology text (Porth's "Essentials of Pathophysiology") glucose entry into erythrocytes is not insulin-dependent. It apparently diffuses into the red blood cell just like oxygen does. Excellent question, by the way. notadoc

I just turned 37 and will be graduating with my nursing degree in May. It has been pretty rough financially since I took the plunge three years ago, but I do not regret a second of it. I am the oldest guy in my nursing class, but that has not been a problem at all. In fact, nearly all of my instructors have commented that having several older students (three of us are over 30) in the class seems to have improved professionalism and motivation in the other students since we were esentially serving as role models to them. I must say that I never got that kind of feedback when I was developing software... I say go for it. notadoc

strugglingnurse, Having suffered PEs myself on two different occassions (first bilateral, second unilateral), I have to say that effective pain management helped my breathing more than anything. Those puppies REALLY hurt. As you well know, if it hurts to breathe, the patient is not going to do it all that well. Position of comfort is also important. On the pain management front, I was surprised that opioids (morhpine and dilaudid) didn't relieve my pain at all. Toradol became my best friend for the limited amount of time I was able to take it. I would have screamed had I been able to breathe when my nurse told me that she did not know what to do since it was not time for my next dose of Toradol after she finally realized that the morphine had not worked!!! I mean, really! It sounds like you handled your patient just fine. From a recent patient and soon-to-be RN, I would also like to thank you for really caring. Your patients will appreciate that as well. Good luck. notadoc

mommaoftwo, I say, if your heart is in it, go for it! I have back and knee problems (among other issues). My nursing school did not require a physical, nor did it ask any questions about specific physical conditions (though I think there may have been a question about any physical conditions that would prevent me from carrying out my duties, or something really vague like that). As others have recommended, it is a really good idea to talk to your doctor first, but other than that, I say follow your heart. Good luck!!! notadoc

As my screen name implies, even as a (much older than my peers) nursing student, I am commonly referred to as "Doc" on the floor. It doesn't bother me at all. I politely correct the patient/nurse/doctor/whoever and let them know that I am in nursing. A few patients have asked why I chose nursing over medicine, but they asked in such a way that I honestly believe they were being curious rather than condescending. As for the heavy lifting part of being a male in the hospital, I do draw the line there. I like my back in one piece. I let whoever assumes I should be able to bench press any patient on the floor know that I will be happy to *help* them with a move, but not do it by myself. That usually gets the point across. And then, of course, I help move the patient! I am often the only male (at least, without MD after my name or an ID bracelet on my arm) on the floors I have worked and done clinicals on. I really enjoy it. Not one patient, physician, or other nurse has made a single snide or off-color comment to me. The most common response I get, in fact, when I let other nurses know that I am a nursing student is, "oh good, we really need more men in nursing." I couldn't agree more... notadoc

treess, I used Kaplan's "GRE Premier Program: 2008 Edition" and feel like it really helped. I did not have a whole lot of time to prepare for the exam, so I did not have time to take the practice exams on the included CD. I will say, though, that both the analytical and the verbal sections were a whole lot more manageable for me after thoroughly reviewing the material. I ended up scoring about 200 points higher on the actual GRE than I did on a (Kaplan-sponsored) GRE assessment/predictor test last fall, so I am quite pleased. I bought my copy at Barnes & Noble for $36.00 plus tax. IMHO, it was worth every cent. I hope this helps. notadoc PS - also take advantage of the GRE PowerPrep software that is available for the ETS web site (for free). That will let you know exactly how the test "looks and feels". That also helped tremendously.

I am terrible with rote memorization, but I still managed A's in both A&P courses. The Anatomy Coloring Book really helped me a lot, as did non-stop studying and review, and group study sessions. The coloring book may sound like a toy, but it really made a world of difference for me.

I can tell you what works for me. I try to read the chapter(s) we will be covering in lecture before I get to class. I just read them, not study them in detail. I then take good notes during the lecture, and then re-read the material again as soon as possible after the lecture, using my notes as a guide on what to really focus on. All total, this can take anywhere from a couple of hours, to all evening, depending upon how much material we will be covering. When I stick to this routine faithfully, I generally end up with high A's on my exams. When I don't, I can usually still count on a high B or low A. Your mileage may vary, but this works for me. The real benefit of this method, though, is that because of the additional reinforcement, I have found that the material stays with me long past the day of the exam. That saves me a lot of time not having to look a bunch of stuff up while I am on the floor during clinicals. Good luck!

Be professional, be confident, and above all, NO NOT act like you are scared to death of the patient. Work quickly but thoroughly on "sensitive" portions of the physical exam, and keep your patient covered as much as possible as often as possible (which is good advice regardless of their gender). I just finished five weeks of Gyn surgery and I loved every second of it. My patients were fantastic, not one of them seemed the least bit concerned about have a male nursing student taking care of them, and even the spouses/boyfriends/significant others were fine with it. Just enjoy yourself.