mamac0805

I currently have 6 years of acute experience in Missouri. It's not strongly emphasized here (yet), however I think we are slowly staring to become that way. I have heard the job market is push though in northern Colorado so just want to be as "desirable" as possible!

Hello. My husband and I are relocating to northern Colorado in a year or so. I currently have an ADN only. Is it necessary to have my BSN when looking for jobs in CO? Is there a strong emphasis on this in the hospital systems in Colorado?

Thank you so much! Every little bit of info helps.

would you mind if i also received a copy of the grid? [email protected] Thanks!

i am going through my study guide (18ed of course) and have started on unit IV which are the critical elements. I am having a hard time coming up with clever mnemonics that are catchy. Any one have any good ones that have really stuck or know of any good recources that have them?? Any ideas or suggestions are greatly appreciated. thanks!

I do agree with that. to me its all about the fear of the unknown. I also am only going to do this once, there is way too much riding on this. I just have to keep thinking (r/t the cost of things) that is will pay itself off very quickly with an RN salary. I am defiantely going to take advantage of the excelsior staff, and will submit a careplan for review on a regular basis. That is one of my biggest concerns are the careplans. I am fairly confident in my nursing skills to succeede but the making a careplan on a whim kind of scares me to death.

it sounds as if we are in the same place. i have bound my study guide and am about 1/2 way through. I have all of the iv and wound stuff (borrowed everything from my work--god love them). I have everything ready for the application and will submit it this week. My first plan of attack is finishing reading, tabbing the study guide that way i am more familiar with what is expected then i will go from there. my email is [email protected] Feel free to email and we can muddle through this together. It is definately overwhelming (and exciting)! I havenet decided between robs and sheri's yet, the jury is still out. Good luck going through the study guide!

i did mine at staples, i belive it was $.80 a page but was lucky enough to find on their website a 30% off coupon and had the whole thing printed, hole punched, and bound for under $40. is definately worth it, i needed something tangible that i could refer back to

i also am just starting to prepare for the cpne. After paying for the test itself, i do not have much left for preparation. i live in missouri, so going to a workshop would cost pretty close to the actual cost of the cpne. I have heard great things about her online workshop but havent used it. I am going to start of with outlining the study guide and using robs videos and go from there. i am definately going to use the excelsior staff for submitting careplans for critque, as well. PM me if you would like to be study buddies!! i am learning every bit of support helps.

I am beginning to study for the CPNE and have quickly realized that I do not have extra money to attend a workshop. Just coming up with the CPNE fee is difficult, let alone the transport, lodging (yikes, best not to think about it.) I work for a hospital whom is gracious enough to let me borrow all needed simulation tools down to a dummy, wound, and IV supplies. I am looking for the best, cost-effective home study or online CPNE preparation. I am a visual learner, so am planning on purchasing Robs videos but didnt know if anyone had other suggestions as well. Thanks for your imput. It is just that i am in the inital stage of shock (have only been eligible for less than 96 hours) with the amount of material and all of the money needed. Yowser!!! Also, personal thanks to Lunah whom has wonderfully commented on my posts related to the CPNE.

I am planning on taking the sociology CLEP test shortly and after reading the reviews have just signed up for instacert. I am now a little concered, its just fill in the blank flash cards?? Maybe I jumped into buying it too quickly. How is it supposed to prepare you quickly for a CLEP with flash cards only. There is no other types of study material right, am i missing something. I dont know much about Sociology, how am I supposed to do the flashcards at the beginning?? stressed!Any previous experiences or advice would be very appreciated.

I am officially CPNE eligible and am SO EXCITED!! Due to proximity, I think i am going to chose any of the OH or Wi locations w/i the MPAC. Does anyone have any advice on these locations, how long did it take for you to get your date. Is there any of these sites that i should avoid or ones that I should really push for?? Also, thanks for all of the support this site and its members have given me. It has been really nice to know that there is a place I can turn to for quick feedback, advice, and support.

Felt that exact same way with Repro. I am not much of a studier, I usually just take the first practice exam then skim the material then take the second practice exam and that's it. I have scored B's on all of my exams. Now for repro, I was a little more nervous being I have no "real" experience with OB. I actually bought the studygroup 101, printed notes from yahoo groups, and did both practice exams, WAY more than I usually do. Spent a lot of time on the material, took the test feeling great afterwards. Hit the end exam button and saw i got a D!. I was amazed, i thought the exam was quite easy on the grand scale of things and that it was pretty straight forward. Apparantly I missed the big picture somewhere. this is my last exam and am going to take it again in two more weeks. But know exactly how you feel. It bind sides you.

I also work at a similar acute rehab unit, we avg 8-to patients with a staffing mix of 2 nurses and an aide. This is an ongoing struggle we have as rehab nurses that I fear is only going to worsen as CMS increases their regulations for getting "apropriate rehab patients". That is one of the major challenges as a rehab nurse is to document why your patient needs IRF as opposed to a nursing home, and with that it takes a lot of time to sit and chart. I usally block out the first three hours of my day completing assessments and medications as well as pulling FIMS for our team meeting. If i am having a good day, i chart my assessments as I do otherwise i play catch up all day. Then from 10-12 I sit and chart (while hopefully a good majority of my patients are in therapy.) and rely on my aide to answer lights. the patients then eat at 12 (i attempt to scarf my lumch in 5 minutes flat--that in itself is an artform :) Then again spend the next hour rounding on my patients and passing noon medications/dressing changes etc. We have our interdisciplinary team meetings at 2-330 usually. Then I return from the meeting, do quick rounding then cath up on my charting. Usually for us, we focus on the evening to update careplans/problems and goals etc as well as our narrative shift summary. I think a lot of it depends on your team that works with you as well. I will be honest, I have to fight very hard to get out of work at 730 each night and usually return the next day with a list of things to follow up on.

whoa, whoa, whoa. Let me tell you, I also have worked as a surgical nurse on a med/surg floor and have now specialized in rehab. I have relied MORE on my nursing skills as a rehab nurse than as a surgical nurse. I feel that as a rehab nurse, more responsibility relies on your assessment skills. You are 100% in charge of your patients and work much more closely with your medical director/physiatrist than consulting doctors in acute care. They all come up and ask your opinion on your pt's recovery as well as their response to recovery. It is your job to understand that concept. You see a much more hollistic approach to a patient and do not have that "tunnel vision" that comes with being on a designated surgery, cardiac etc. floor. I have honed my assessment skills and my delegation/time management skills in rehab, not in acute care. As far as the redundancy, I disagree once again. instead of having just post op patients you get a plethra of pts including heart, neuro, orthopedic, trauma etc. So you have to have that specialized knowlege and assessment skills for all of those patients as well as knowing thier risks for complications and more chronic complications to these conditions. I do not feel that it matters if you are an RN or LPN, all nurses are equally worthy and valued in this profession, especially with healthcare today.