LauraLou

LauraLou's Latest Activity

1. 

   "Honey"

   LauraLou replied to lovingtheunloved's topic in Nursing

   If you don't like being called "honey", "sweetie" don't come to Texas! You'd be in a constant state of irritation! You can be condescending or patronizing just as easily using someone's name as you can saying honey. It's all in how you say it. If you intend to be insulting and talk down someone, it will come across that way regardless of your choice of wording. To be irritated by someone calling you honey when they mean it in a nice way seems petty to me. But maybe I'd feel differently if I lived in another part of the country.
2. 

   Online support group for infertility?

   LauraLou replied to fleur-de-lis's topic in Nursing

   I really like http://www.ivf-infertility.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=1 I have been posting there since April and have made some wonderful cyber-friends.
3. 

   Chaperone or not during exam

   LauraLou replied to masstudent's topic in Ob/Gyn

   At my hospital, it doesn't matter if the doctor is male or female, a female nurse must be present when a pelvic exam is present. That protects both the pts and the doctor. I personally once had a male doctor who performed a pelvic exam without his MA or nurse present. He didn't do anything improper but I felt very uncomfortable and vulnerable. I didn't realize I would feel that way before he started, so I didn't think to ask for a chaperone.
4. 

   Do You Have Male Nurses on your Unit?

   LauraLou replied to Annointed_RNStudent's topic in Ob/Gyn

   We don't have any male nurses in L&D, antepartum, postpartum or nursery. I think male nurse are great, but I don't see how having a male ob nurse would work. At our hospital, a male doctor must have a female nurse present when he does a vaginal exam, sterile spec, etc. A male nurse would also have to have a female coworker come into the room with him everytime he wanted to do anything that exposes female genitalia, which in L&D is just about everything. It just doesn't seem very practical, but perhaps some hospitals have different rules.
5. 

   Night Nursing

   LauraLou replied to kenesha212002's topic in First Year

   I finished my internship and started on nights this month. I love it so far. After getting home from work I'm tired, so I go to sleep around 8:30 am and get up at 4:00 or 4:30 pm. On my days off, I stay up until 2:00 or 3:00 am and sleep until 11:00 am. That way, I am not trying to make my body go back and forth between days and nights. I have no problem sleeping during the day and light doesn't bother me. I've always been a night person, so this shift is great for me!
6. 

   Research Survey- Please Help and Answer These Few Questions!

   LauraLou replied to Stardaisy82's topic in First Year

   Did it ask questions in a similar fashion as the NCLEX? Do you think it helped you prepare for the NCLEX? I found the HESI and the NCLEX to be very different. The HESI asked specific questions about disease processes, etc. Where the NCLEX questions were all critical thinking, which pt would you see first, etc. I don't think passing the HESI was a good indicatior of how you will do on NCLEX. They are just too different. Should it be a requirement with a minimal score to graduate nursing school? Yes, I think you should be able to pass the HESI before graduating, but you should definitely have several tries to do so. My school required a score of 850 to pass. While the HESI isn't the same as NCLEX, it did test fundamental nursing knowledge that everyone should have learned in nursing school. Did you pass the HESI and NCLEX on your first attempt? Yes. I scored over 1000 on the HESI and passed the NCLEX with 75 questions. How else did you prepare to take the NCLEX? I took the Kaplan review course online and the school provided a review course from Meds Publishing.
7. 

   First Med error and plain old frustration

   LauraLou replied to newrn05's topic in First Year

   I'm a new grad in L&D and I almost made a med error a couple of weeks ago. The pt's placenta was out, so I went to bolus her with pitocin. She had numerous bags hanging and I started to bolus her with magnesium sulfate by mistake! Luckily my preceptor was watching me and caught the error. A bolus of mag sulfate could have done a lot of damage. Once I stopped shaking, I worked out a plan to make sure I never do something like that again. I now label all my lines with the name of the drug. We are all human and it is easy to make a mistake when you are stressed or tired. For me, making, or almost making, a mistake was a big wake-up call that I need to be very careful and find ways to help prevent errors from happening.
8. 

   nclex review: to take or not to take

   LauraLou replied to mrhrn06's topic in First Year

   I took the Kaplan review, but I did it online instead of the in-person class. It was good, lots of test taking strategies. It consisted of online video instruction and practice questions. I especially liked the instructors' discussions of the correct/incorrect answers to practice questions. I found that very valuable. Of course, I could have gotten much of the same thing from review books, but I am more of an auditory learner. For me, being able to hear someone explain things rather than reading those explanations was worth the money. But if money is tight or you learn best by reading, there is no need to spend $400 on a review course. Good luck!
9. 

   Dallas Hospitals!!!!!

   LauraLou replied to TCUFrogs!'s topic in Texas

   Come to Big Baylor!!! (Baylor University Medical Center) I have nothing but great things to say about Baylor. It is a very positive place to work, and there is definitly a "Baylor spirit". There is a strong focus on meeting pts' medical, emotional and spiritual needs. There are many nurses who have worked at Baylor for 20-30 years! As a new grad, Baylor has great training. Most internships are about 12-14 weeks with classroom instruction in addition to working with a preceptor. I have found the nurses very supportive of new nurses and very little of dreaded "eating their young" mentality that you hear about in nursing. Because Baylor is located in downtown Dallas, there is great highway access. Employees live all over the metroplex. If you are looking for inexpensive housing and a more small town feel, a lot of people live east of Dallas. Personally I live in a subarb north of Dallas. I like being no more than 10 minutes from SuperTarget, Rooms-to-Go, Starbucks, Blockbuster and any other store you can think of! If you have any specific questions, feel free to PM me.
10. 

    Oldest and youngest mothers?

    LauraLou replied to mommy2boys's topic in Ob/Gyn

    We recently had a 46 yr old pt with IVF twins. When documenting her ob history, I realized she had her first baby in 1978!! The youngest I've seen was 13.
11. 

    Success Stories?? Any Positive experiences?

    LauraLou replied to sumdae's topic in First Year

    I graduated in December and am working in Labor and Delivery. I have a wonderful orientation/internship. It consists of 14 weeks with a preceptor in addition to weekly classroom instruction. I choose this hospital because it has such great training for new nurses. Sometimes I get overwhelmed by all there is to remember. There always seems to be something I have forgotten, but overall I feel I am doing really well. I am amazed that I can do a vag delivery pretty much all by myself, with just a little verbal coaching. 8 weeks ago that seemed unobtainable. I think working at a hospital that really supports it new nurses makes all the difference. I have friends from nursing school who are working at hospitals where they got very little training and they feel like they are drowning. So I suggest being very selective when looking for your first job. Good luck!
12. 

    Finding yourself as a nurse

    LauraLou replied to ladydame's topic in First Year

    I went to nursing school thinking I wanted to be a NICU nurse. But I found that what I really love about nursing is building relationships with pts, doing teaching, providing emotional support, etc. I worked as a tech during school on a postpartum and an antepartum unit and loved them both. They gave me an opportunity to do the kind of nursing I like. So instead of looking for a NICU job, I took one on the antepartum unit when I graduated. I think it is important to look at what you like about nursing. Is it pt contact, working with high-tech equipment, a constant adrenaline high, and then find a unit that meets those needs. Good luck!
13. 

    Directed pushing

    LauraLou posted a topic in Ob/Gyn

    I have a question about helping pts push. My preceptor has the pt hold her breath and push for a count of 10 x 3 per contraction, while we hold her legs. This is how I learned in nursing school and is the way I have always seen it done. The internship class I am taking says not to do any of that. The legs should be down, have her breathe while pushing and don't count, let her push however long/little she wants during a contraction. (This class is not held at my hospital but is a consortium of several hospitals which hold a joint class.) I can understand the not holding your breath while pushing, that makes sense to me. But I don't see how having the pt's legs down and not coaching her to push would work. Is it really more effective than the traditional way? I want to use the most update practices but I would really need to see a nurse help a pt push the new way before I would be comfortable trying it myself. All the nurses on my unit push the old way. I have been using the count to 10 x 3 method because I am not sure how to use the new method and there is no one to show me. What are your thoughts how to help a pt push and what method do you use? Thank you for your help!
14. 

    Length of orientation for new nurse?

    LauraLou replied to Pocamom's topic in First Year

    Wow, I am really suprised that people have such short internships. Mine is 14 weeks long. I am not completely on my own until mid-April. I am working L&D/Antepartum so perhaps that is the difference, but 4-6 weeks doesn't seem very long.
15. 

    Be sure to focus on prioritization questions!

    LauraLou posted a topic in NCLEX

    I took the NCLEX-RN on 1/5/06. I passed with 75 questions. I would say 85% of the test was prioritization questions. Who would you see first, who would you discharge first, etc. Unlike some other posters, I thought the Kaplan review was very good. I didn't go to the class, I just did it online. I find it easier to listen to someone explain things rather than read it in a book, so the online video format worked well for me. Luckily my hospital will reimburse me for the cost. There were only 2 or 3 questions on the NCLEX where I looked at the answers and knew immediately which one was correct. All the rest, I had to think thru each answer and use critical thinking to decide which one was correct. So really focus on practicing those types of questions. Good luck!
16. 

    El Centro students Spring '06

    LauraLou replied to AllyRN82's topic in Texas

    I just graduated in December(passed the NCLEX on 1/5/06 and am now a real RN!:)). I don't think there was anyone in our class who didn't find a job. There are a few hospitals and nurse managers who prefer BSN students to ADN students, but that is rare. I have heard nurses say that ADN students have better clinical skills than BSN students, but I never had anyone say, "Wow, you went to El Centro, I can't wait to hire you!" FYI, if you want a job in a speciality area like L&D, NICU, Pedi or ICU, the best way to get one is to work as a tech on that floor while still in school. That is how I got my job in L&D. There are lots of jobs in Med/Surg and Tele; it's the more specialized areas that are harder to get into. Good luck with school!