arual56

Thanks. It wasn't easy, but I think I had it a lot easier than those who have kids and a husband at home. I would like to find the person who believes that a mother/father, who doesn't work outside the home, doesn't work. What a load of poop! And for all of those people who have kids and a hubby and work, they are truely the heros of us all. I'm so glad that you are able to take the time off and focus on school. If you need a shoulder, ear, prayer, help, or just a sounding board, let me know. If we can't be here for each other who will be?:nuke:

I am an older single mom with kids who are grown and on their own. Working, even part time while you are in nursing school, is a challenge. Many people are lucky enough to be able to quit thier jobs and just be a student (as if that is not enough to do). I was not one of those. Being single, I had no one to help me pay my bills, but unlike Miarose, I also didn't have someone there that was unsupportive of my decision. I worked full time in the ER (as a PCT during the first two blocks and as an LPN during the last two blocks) during nursing school. It was hard, and it took a great deal of time management and tenacity, especially when I felt like I just couldn't go any further. But I did manage to accomplish all that was expected of me. I never missed a clinical day and thankfully, did not have to call off work. I was very tired most of the time. But I graduated in Dec '07 and took my boards end of Jan '08, and passed! I post this for those who may be in the same position. It is much harder to work and go to school, but it can be done and you can do it. For anyone who can afford to be solely a student, yeah for you. That is great. But for those of you who must work through this time, don't loose faith. And if you need a shoulder, a kind word, a sympathetic ear, remember that there are many people here who were probably in the same situation. Hang tough. Our prayers are with you.

Please be aware that yelling at me will get you no where. My most recent answer to a woman who came to the ER with a splinter less than 1/4 inch long in her finger for two days with minor swelling and redness who yelled at me three times in 20 minutes for taking two patients with active MI's and a pt with a traumatic injury from a chain saw to the lateral thigh all the way to the bone, driven in by his boss: "Miss, I understand you are in pain, but this is not a first come, first served facility. We take patients based on who is hurt the worst, sick the worst or dying the fastest. So in this case, the fact that we are not rushing you into a room to be taken care of is actually a good thing. However, you do have three choices in how to handle this situation. You can have a seat and we will take care of you as soon as we have an opening. You can sign out AMA, which I don't encourage, but it is an option and I will be happy to get the paper work for you. Or, I can call security and they will assist you to sit down and remain calm until we can see you. It is your choice." Of course, as I was saying the part about security I was standing up to reach for the phone. The pt who was max 5'1" seemed to take issue with my 6'2" frame, became very docile and immediately took a seat. I don't know whether standing up to take care of these pt's is a good thing or not. Hehehe.

You are awesome, not just for passing, but for your tenacity! Congratulations. Be proud of yourself and know that there are others who are proud of you as well.

Congratulations! Well done.

I don't know what kind of facility you work in, but our orientation at the hospital I work at is any where from 16 weeks to 6 months (longer if you need it). Don't think you have to put what you have worked long and hard for on the line because someone else can't keep staff, or a decent attitude, together. If they are so short handed that theyonly gave you 2 days orientation, that is a good sign that they treat everyone that way. You complaining may get you nothing but more trouble. Check your agreement. If you can, get away from there as soon as you can. If they don't care about you, or what you are, or are not, capable of doing yet; they don't care how it affects their pts either. If that is the case, you could be the one who ends up getting sued and they wouldn't think anything of it, as long as it isn't them.

Thanks. Having kids wasn't this hard.

Thank you soooo much. I was beginning to wonder if I would ever get done.

I graduated in Dec '07 as well. We were given the option of taking the Kaplan review, which I did, but I tested Jan, 28th and passed. Unfortunately, I had to wait 2 days for the results to post so I could know that I passed. I am surprised that your school is requiring you to take the review. Our employeer paid for us to take it but thankfully, it did not slow down the school getting our paper work for completion to the state board of nursing. And as such, did not delay our ability to register and take our NCLEX tests. If you are not getting your school is not getting your completion papers to the state board until after you finish your review, it maybe a month or more before you can test. That also depends on the state you are in, the board of nursing for your state, and their waiting list to test.

Oh my God! It took two days of tears, depression, and fear:idea: before my results were finally posted on line with the AZBN. And when it finally posted, I wasn't anywhere near a computer. Thank God for friends who called to congratulate. That makes over half of my graduating class passing the NCLEX the first time taking it. YEAH~YEAH to everyone who passed.:cheers:

I tested out of my RN program after the first two blocks so that I would be able to work as an LPN for the last two blocks. I worked in the ER at one of the hospitals here in Tucson. Predominately, I was allowed to operate and function in one of two capacities in the ER. I either helped out in triaging people in Triage, (all but the initial assessment) or I ran the fast track area caring for patients who did not have a high acuity, most of the time. The level of acuity depended significantly on who was running triage since I periodically did get patients who ultimately ended up having heart attacks, peritonsilar abcesses, hot appy, etc. Thankfully, that wasn't too often. The days were twelve hours long and remarkably fullfilling. I was able to give IM injections, start IV's, administer PO meds, perform dressing changes, apply splints, assist with casting, and the most important, relaying information to the doctors that may not have been caught in triage or did not become evident until the pt was in the fast track area. I caught a few pts that should have been placed with an RN in the ACL section, but were mis-triaged. Every day was new, and every day brought new challenges and lessons. How the average day went depended a great deal on the day. If we were holding pts, I might be the only nurse that day that was moving patients. If it was slow, you found that a lot of your patients were much more willing to be pleasant even when they didn't feel well. I would encourage any nursing student to take the interm step. You learn and experience so much more than if you remain working as a CNA or TECH, and when you ask questions about the patients, the other nurses are not as inclined to tell you that the information/procedure is out of your scope. They are often more willing to explain and take the opportunity to teach.

I didn't go through an LPN program but did test out after the second block of the RN program so that I could work as an LPN during the last two blocks. I think it is a great idea and wonder why more people don't go that route. You get more of an opportunity to use the skills you have learned in the first two blocks, and have a greater sense of responsibility and autonomy as an LPN than as working as a NA or PCT. But if you are working in a facility that doesn't utilize LPN's you may be looking for a new job sooner than you expected. Check into what your job can do for you in that capacity before you take that step.

I just passed my NCLEX, (an evil test I might add) and the only part that we were required to do for our classes through MCC was the HESI tests at the end of blocks 2 & 4. I also attended the Kaplan review. From the sounds of it, the Kaplan must be a great deal better than the HESI. It was four days with a 180 question review test to tell you how your were doing and how well they predicted you would do on the NCLEX prior to the review, and approximately 3.5 days of doing practice questions in the class, followed by another 180 question prep test to see if you had gotten the general idea of how to pass the NCLEX. At the end they provided you with another read out as to how you were predicted to do on the NCLEX after the class. Either way, I would recommend the Kaplan NCLEX study guide, which comes with a CD of questions, before I would recommend the Saunders. The Kaplan seemed to me to be more in line with what was actually asked on the NCLEX. For those who have tested and passed, congratulations. For those who tested and didn't pass, you'll pass next time. For those of you who haven't tested; Kaplan told us that the NCLEX was like going through labor. . . only 10 times worse. Just remember that none of these review programs is intended to teach you content the way your nursing classes did. The review programs are there to teach you how to pass the NCLEX test. Smile, you will do fine.

I just graduated from MCC Rio Salado Program. Like every other program, it has its bumps and holes. The third block was probably very much like the third block you just failed. However, be aware that, as many others have told you, a 76% is required to pass. For classes with only a final exam you must earn a 76% or better on that single test. It doesn't matter what you get on the quizzes or other assignments until you have passed that test with 76%. If you have classes with one or two midterms and a final, the requirement is 76% or better average between the tests. After that the grades you make on the quizzes etc. are figured in. The 76% passing is standard for the state of Arizona. I can tell you that for the first 3 blocks that I took with MCC Rio, I would not have incouraged my worst enemy to attend the program. It says a lot for the school that they went through a complete administrative housecleaning between our 3rd and 4th blocks. The nursing program has a new director named Sue Adams, and a completely new staff to work with and assist students. I am still not thrilled with their program, but I have to admit that the new staff seems much more willing to be of assistance to the students. The old staff was not as accomodating. Like any program there are problems, and if you are looking for the easy way out, don't take this class. It is more difficult than the traditional classes simply because you have to stay on top of all of your didactic lessons and be prepared for your clinicals without having a teacher sitting over you reminding you of every little thing. And since you don't have a teacher lecturing to you for 3-5 hours at a time, you must also be willing to expand your knowledge beyond what is in your text books. Make sure that you use all the resources available to you. Look things up on the internet, ask health care co-workers or, if you have questions about the pharmalogical end of things, think about things like calling your local pharmacist. I did that with regard to medications for which licorice was contraindicated. I could not figure out if that meant black licorice, all the colours of licorice or if it was the herbal root licorice and the contraindication had nothing to do with the candy. My local pharmacist was kind enough to help me understand a great deal about a lot of the meds I was having problems with. Don't know if this will help, but do your homework and don't try to transfer without knowing more about the next ground you will be stepping onto.

First of all, contact the Arizona State Board of Nursing and ask them the questions you have posted here. Phone number is 1-602-889-5150 or e-mail at [email protected] or website at http://www.azbn.gov. Don't wait around to do your homework and get the information you need to plan. Do your homework now. You may be able to send the application and your fingerprints in now, along with your documentation, and have less time to wait when you get here. The other thing is, you can down load the application from their website, but I suggest you ask them to mail you a package since it will have the fingerprint card in it. Send it ALL back at the same time. There will be less chance of the components getting seperated and then lost. I just graduated and took my NCLEX. I don't know how your state board tests are, but this was more than a bit of a nightmare for me. One more thing, stay on top of them. Don't bug them or be too pushy, but if you contact them and then don't get a reply for a week to ten days, contact them again. Good luck in your testing and your new job. And since I was born here in Arizona, welcome to my home.

I graduated from my ADN program last week and was happy to be applying to the Emergency Department unit I have been working at as an LPN for the last 9 months. I was the first to be interviewed, and the only LPN interviewing. Each of us interviewed before a panel of people which included our manager and 5 clinical nurse leaders. This was presented as a panel of our peers. Eight of us applied for three positions and only three of us that applied work in the unit. I have NO write ups, corrective actions, and am always the first person to work and the last person to leave. I have, over the last 3 years of working in this department, cross trained and accomplished everything that the manager and everyone else has asked of me without ever stepping outside my scope of practice. Imagine my surprise when, after being told by the panel that I was the most prepared person they had seen, failed to receive a job offer, while two people who do not work this unit and have no experience did receive job offers! I went to work on Tuesday and heard all about everyone else's job offers and found out by process of elimination that I was excluded from the offers. I didn't even get a phone call from my boss or anyone else until this morning, and was then told that it wasn't anything personal. I am stunned, hurt, and as angry as I can be. This kind of betrayal is not what I expected after three years of good, hard, loyal work. I am currently seeing what else is available, but many of the positions are taken by people who already worked in those units. I just don't know what to do now and I still have to go back to my unit and keep working until I can take my NCLEX and find another position. Anyone with any ideas? I think I'm in shock.

This is not something that is your problem and you should not be letting it weigh on your heart or your mind. This individual couldn't go over the evaluation with you since you would have known right then that she had forged your signature. Contact the facility she works for immediately and let them know what the person did. In addition, if you do not already have a copy of this evaluation and her forged signatures, get copies. Then contact the state board of nursing. The other poster was absolutely right. If she would do this, what else might she be forging and then blaming on someone else. Your first responsibility as a nurse is to report when there is someone or something that is jeopardizing the health and welfare of your patients. Just like you are responsible for reporting a co-worker that is stealing or using drugs, you are responsible for reporting this person as well. If you are concerned about how your teachers perceive you based on this woman's word, contact them in writing and ask for their ideas and guidance with this matter. If your instructors are responsible they will not only guide you, but help you. If they are not willing to provide you guidance on how to deal with this, then they are not providing you with valuable information that is part of your education. I had problems such as these with a clinical instructor. I reported her, not only to the school, but to the facility we both work in. I thought it would be a huge problem. Imagine my surprise when she was fired from her teaching position and placed on administrative probation for her behavior toward me. She had been an employee for 15 years and her rank didn't save her from facing the results of her actions. Be brave, and remember: You can't put as many women as we have in the nursing profession together and not have some problems. There will be those that don't like each other, those that tolerate each other and those who are the best of friends. Not everyone will like you, but at the end of the day, will you like yourself? Will you be able to go home and go to sleep knowing in your heart that you did your best for each of your patients? If you left the facility knowing that the person you worked with was drunk and a danger to patients, would you report them? I'm guessing you would. If I'm right, this should be no different. This woman is a danger to the community and to every patient she cares for. She forged your signature. What if she is documenting false things on patient's charts, like whether or not she gave a med?

Do yourself a favor and go to your state board of nursing site and see if they offer online verification. If they do, plug in your name and see what comes up. They know pretty much right away. If you passed and got your license, your number should pop up. Then you don't have to wait around to find out.

AZ does not license or certify techs. The state board of nursing does certify CNA's. If you want to be a tech, it might be best to take a class through a community college. The CNA/PCT classes are done as a two part, one semester class at PIMA. It doesn't take that long, and can give you a big step up when applying for a job at a hospital. Tech's do everything that CNA's do as far as bathing pt's, changing beds, emptying foley's etc. But Tech's also insert foley's, change dressings on wounds, perform EKG's, and depending on the facility you work at, can become certified by the facility to perform blood draws on patients.The best explanation I have ever heard for the position of Tech is: one step up from a CNA and one step down from an LPN, without the license. Worked as a tech for 3 years before getting my LPN. Still working on my RN, but have had much more experience than if I had remained a CNA.

I am currently enrolled in Rio Salado's Nursing program. It is part of MCC system. Be prepared to read a lot. In addition to reading more than you ever have in your whole life, buy yourself a good supply of pens that you are comfortable with when you write, because you will be doing a lot of it. More than anything else, nursing school will change the way you look at and see things around you. It is not a matter of what is wrong with the patient and how you can fix it, but how is what is wrong with the patient going to affect them, and how can you make it better, avoid further damage or injury, minimize adverse affects, etc. Sometimes the process is very subtle, and other times it is very deliberate. Either way, when you finish, you will realize that your thinking now infiltrates into other areas of your life. And as much as you try to fight it, it really will help. Every program has its "bumps." Take it from me, the program at Rio has lots of bumps, and some are very big, significant, horrible bumps. Keep your mind on what you are doing, learn everything you can, even if what you are learning is "what you DON'T want to be as a nurse." Don't try to show them what you already know. For the teachers and your clinical instructors, they would rather see what you have learned and how you impliment it. And while your classmates may come to be some of your best friends, remember that the reason you are there is to learn, not to be part of a click.

I am soooo sorry that you were treated like that. It is not the way all ER nurses act, but unfortunately, there always seems to be that one person, or group of people, that think that they are so much more important than you and your patient that they can't be bothered to help out someone else. Take it from me, getting your ER legs takes some time for everyone who has not experienced it before. I moved to the ER as a PCT, and now work there as a nurse. It took me the better part of six months to feel even half way comfortable with the environment, and then only because I had some really wonderful people who were willing to show me the ropes and teach me when my preceptor quit unexpectedly. I have been there almost three years now, and I am still learning. I started off thinking that I would try to learn one new thing each day. Well that was no challenge because you learn at least one new thing each day without even trying. But there was a new process implimented by our manager that makes things much easier for new grads, new the unit, new to the facility, etc. Our manager had buttons made up that had nothing but a big red heart and the title of the person, RN, LPN, Tech, etc on it. The patients don't know what it means so it doesn't make them feel they are getting less than appropriate care, but the rest of the staff is very aware that they are new, and that each of us should show patience and consideration for them as they learn. It has helped tremendously.

Take it from a student who is embroiled in the mess this has created, it is nightmarish. They never have given very good support to their students, but now you can't reach them by phone at all, and it takes days sometimes to get an answer by email. We have a CD which contains lessons that we are supposed to complete for one class. Mine is not working correctly, and even after being notified that there is a problem, I can't seem to get any help from the school. Take it from one who is struggling through this mess, even before the administrative upheaval, this was not a "good" program. Now it is all but impossible.

I sent my application and finger prints in together, after being warned by a co-worker that sending them in seperately sometimes means they get lost. By the time I got my ATT, the Board already had my prints, and I had my license in my hand within 48 hours.

I don't know how much help this will be because I don't have small children to worry about, but I wouldn't suggest going through Rio Salado. While Rio works for some people, it is not the best program for others. Among my own biases with Rio, I think you should be aware that they lost their Chairperson in January of this year and it has taken them nearly 5 months to replace her. Before the end of last year, they lost their clinical coordinator, who they still have not replaced. As of last Friday, they lost their other clinical coordinator. In short, they are running their program, which was having problems before, with two people instead of four, and one of those two people is incredibly new to the job and the school. I recently emailed the assistant director of the program, the person who has been there the longest now, asking if we would be receiving study guides for our finals and midterms. I finally received an answer today in which she told me we would be getting study guides, and "would I please let her know the due dates for those exams." May seem like nothing to some, but when the assistant director, who has always been the one to send us out study guides before, now needs the students to tell her when the exams are due, there is something terribly wrong with the situation and the program. Be careful what you get into. All programs will have their "bumps" but this program seems to have more than most, and has bumped two of their four member staff, right out of their jobs.