beth66335

I had a teacher back when I got my CNA certification that called a B/P cuff a syphgnomamometer, lol

Nope its a myth; How to Pass a drug test, Pass a urine test - Pass Your Drug Test .com

I use achohol pads to clean ports and hubs one time. Also, always remember to open the clamp before you scrub to make to port "pop" out slightly for better contact with the pad...I also sing Happy Birthday in my head while I scrub to ensure enough scrub time and wipe around the outside of the cap at the end too...I don't, however, scrub again after the flush...if you don't touch the end of a syringe when drawing up a medication, it is still sterile enough to connect to the port without a second scrubbing...

"i'm not sure about this hospitals latest solution for short-staffing..."

Jevity! I have looked like that when a feeding tube/machine malfunctioned....and I wasn't smiling!:barf01:

Two options for medical questions, if you don't know the answer say so; and explain that you are a grad nurse and still learning. Option two say," You know I'm not sure, but I will find out and get back to you!" That worked for me when I stared...and a year and 4 months after graduating there are still days I go to work with a few butterflies about what the day may hold, lol! But, confidence comes and I feel very sure of myself 99% of the time these days!

The original poster of this message past away last year, but I checked the link and it gave me a failure URL so hopefully it won't work anymore!

I agree with Brittany micah, just enjoy your Summer! I was in the class that started in 2007 and we didn't even get our books until right before we started, so there was no Summer reading list. They had us cover a couple of the chapters in our Basic Nursing book (for Fundamentals of Nursing class in first semester) just so we could be prepared to ask questions on the first day of class if we needed to. You will have Pharmacology in first semester too, and that is where you will learn the math for your 2nd semester test. ( you will also take math tests in Pharm, about 3 if I remember correctly) Btw, if anyone out there wants to buy books from me I have almost all of them from school still, just let me know the edition you are going to use so I can tell if mine will still work for you. My Med Surg book is debound and in a 3 ring notebook, but it is a HUGE book, so it really is better that way. I just took out the chapters we were covering in class that day and put them in a smaller notebook and carted around with me, lol! I also have several Careplan books and some supplemental books I bought on my own to help me with the math plus NCLEX books to practice questions before each test. Good Luck to all who will be entering the program this Fall, as scary as it could be at times it was some of the best fun of my life, honestly! Some days on the floor I really miss it!

Tell them to take it up with the doctor that ordered it!

As a prereq for my nursing program I had to take either College Algebra or Probability and Statistics, which was considered a higher level math...does your catalog lay out your nursing curriculum for you? Individual programs may differ on this, I did take P&S and I found it easier for me, but nursing math is based, I have found, on Ratio and Proportion or Dimensional analysis, which I believe is Algebra and Chemistry based math. I just followed my catalog all the way through and asked an advisor about anything general, like which Philosophy classes count toward that needed credit? Do you have an college advisor? Are they a nursing instructor? If not you can call the office and ask to speak to one that is in the nursing office about specific questions on prereqs for the nursing program...hope this helps!

I see by the date on this you are just about to graduate, has last semester been fun for you? I loved my last semester, beginning to feel like a real nurse and doing a lot more hands on stuff so I hope it's been that way for you too! I am about to celebrate the end of my 1st year in nursing and it has also had ups and downs, triumphs and disappointments as well as very treasured moments! Good luck to all of you still waiting to begin, just ending the first year, or about to join the ranks of the graduated!:heartbeat:nurse::heartbeat

We have a kit that includes a yellow paper gown like the ones we wear in an isolation patients room. We put that on the body and tag their toe, and their bag of belongings if no one takes them, then we put them in the body bag and tie the final tag to the zipper. If they have had a PICC line or chest tubes removed we place a thick pad of 4x4s over the wound with tape to keep the inside of the bag clean. We used to tie the chin with a strap and the hands and feet together with strings too, but the morticians said it left permanent marks on the bodies so we stopped. I believe treating patients with dignity extends to how the remains are treated. Plus a body in a gown moves easier against the inside of the body bag so you don't have to struggle getting them inside and closing it together to zip it. btw, we also did a bath and clean hospital gown when the person passed, either asking the family to step out for a bit or while they were on the way to the hospital, the families are always so grateful for this show of caring on our part that I believe they would approve of the gown being on for transport to the morgue as well.

Hey I have that, I didn't know it had a name!

You are welcome, it took me lots of practice and 5 math tests in nursing school to get the hang of this kind of math...I'm glad I finally got it as we have to take a math test at my job now every year as part of our computer-based learning classes!

I've had patients treat me badly both "with it" and not, and I make sure they are safe and tell them I'm leaving until they cool down, but I will be back to check on them soon. Usually works, they cool off and apologize, or if they are altered in some way they have forgotten the whole thing by the time I return. I would do the same thing in any profession, leave so the person can "check" themselves and get their control back...I also tend to get angry back so it helps me keep control as well! Sorry it happened to you and I hope it doesn't happen again for a long time!

the order is established in the question as 100mcg every 12 hours iv already, so the person that wrote the question is letting you know that they have calculated the dose based on the child's wt and age. the question has just done some of the work for you. if they needed to know how much in 24 hours they would ask about both daily doses but the question is only asking about the amount of medicine in this one dose. does that help? it is easy to add information into a question like that but just read it literally and straight forwardly to glean out only what info they want you to provide as an answer.

I just graduated from RSCC nursing program this last May and I can tell you they did take 160 applicants the year I started in 2007. I was dropped at the beginning of the 2008 year for not passing the semester math taest that they give every semester until graduation, (I missed by 2 lousy points!) but I got back in because my nursing grades were good and my clinicals evals were excellent too. They may be taking less people for the Fall because they don't have enough instructors to handle 160 this time around. I think I got in because I had all my prereqs done except English Comp 1 before I applied. Don't worry to much about the math grade (I got a C, and I took Probability and Statistics instead of College Algebra) they just require you to have that class done to apply, not that you ace it. I think being an older student helped me also, because they knew I would be more responsible, if that makes sense? Honestly sometimes I think I got in by the grace of God, lol! Good Luck to you!

Congrats! I have graduated since my post and I actually took an extra year to do so because I failed the 3rd semester math exam by 2 points, but I persevered and I now work on a Cardiopulmonary floor! It is very hard...and I love it!:yeah:Good Luck to you!!

i had a really short orientation and the floor i work on is very hard...but i love it!!

I was going to say what mb said...always dissect your problem and use the useful info and toss out the rest. If the problem is on paper cross out the extraneous stuff (or the stuff they put in to confuse you) and then you will see the "meat" of the problem. I used Ratio and Proportion on that one, I do that on all problems except IV drip rates; those I use Dimensional Analysis on. Good luck and feel free to ask for more help! I just graduated in May and I struggled with the math until the last semester of school, then it just seemed to "click".

250,000units: 1mL :: 600,000 units : XmL 250,000 X = 600,000 X= 2.4mL

There IS a nursing shortage but also in this economy there is NO money to hire like they need to...so yes, the jobs will come back when the economy does and we will always need nurses in any economy. It just takes longer to find a job when things are slow, but eventually we will all have jobs.

I passed mine too! I took it on the 24th and then did the quick results option on PearsonVue's website on the 26th. I had 75 questions, and I took Kaplan, but I didn't finish all the question trainers before I got to test day...I still did just fine though! I am soooo happy to have this behind me and I start the first nightshift at my new job tomorrow night; finally able to do all the skills I have learned...for a paycheck...whoohoo!!!:nurse::nurse:

I don't know what post on this thread is my original, but I just graduated May 8th! I am now in the throws of "anxiety related to preparation for NCLEX AEB moments of wondering if I really learned enough in school to do this!" LOL, no I will be fine I just have to keep doing NCLEX questions and researching areas I am weak in...so far it's meds! Relating to the question about tips for Med/Surg just get your med classes straight, action and side effects, and learn the disease process for the body systems...what should concern you as the nurse? What is a normal picture of a patient with this disease? Start using your critical thinking skills for these diseases...what can you do as a nurse to help with signs and symptoms? Should you call the Dr? If you should, what info should you have to give him about the patient? Hope this helps

I got a job at a hospital working as a tech before I graduated to get a foot in the door and now I have been hired to be their one and only new nurse. It isn't a place I want to stay but the ER I want to work in doesn't hire new grads, so it is a stepping stone to get where I want to be. My advice; take a job anywhere, even if you don't want to stay there, and give them a good solid year to get your experience (and too get a good recommendation from them too, of course :)) and then look for the job you really want! Good Luck!