LauraLou

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.

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.

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.

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 lady partsl 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.

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!

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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!

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!

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!

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.

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!

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!

I just finished my first week of new nurse orientation and we actually had a session on nurse-doctor communication. They gave us forms that detail what information you should have ready before calling the MD and list the chain of command if you don't get the orders you need. They showed us some sample conversations, both good and bad as examples. It was really helpful as a new nurse to get this information. We use a system called SAFE, S-situation A-assessment F-findings & figures E-express & expect. S- (situation) Verify that the MD know this pt, if not, provide brief history What events prompted you to call, be specific Get directly to the point If the situation is urgent, say so A- (assessment) What do you think the problem is State your primary concern What is your assessment of the current situation, be specific F- (findings & figures) Give findings specific to the problem (ex. lung sounds, pain, LOC, meds given) Give figures specific to the problem (ex. v/s, lab values, I&O, infusion rates) E- (express & expect) Express what you think the pt needs to address the situation Request orders for tests, meds or treatments As the MD to come see the pt if needed Clarify the MD's plan of care if the orders you receive aren't clear or you feel they don't address the pt's need

I am so sorry! I went thru something similar in June. We lost a mother on Antepartum due to a brain aneurism. I still get upset when I think about her. It was such a tragedy. I had feelings of shock, guilt, anger and grief. Talking about it with other people really helped me. My prayers will be with you and her family.

Some schools have instructors pick pts, others have the students do it. It just depends on the program. For your second week of clinicals, pick someone with one major issue, like surgery, cardiac or respiratory problems. Don't get someone just about to go home, it will be really boring. But don't pick someone with mutiple major organ failure, you will be overwhelmed. Avoid pts in isolation for the first few weeks. That requires organizational skills you still need to develop. My first semester I took care of patients with spinal surgery, pneumonia, pancreatitis, cardiac surgery, COPD and a prostatectomy. They were good learning experiences and it was easy to find good nursing diagnoses for care plans. As for what type of patient is easy to deal with, sometimes older patients are good because they like to talk, but it really depends on the person. I usually pick a couple possible pts and then ask the nurses which one they think would be best for a student. Good luck!

If you want to work in the ICU, start calling now. Those jobs go fast, so you want to be one of the first to apply. I am also graduating in December and I already have a job offer. Good luck!!

We have nurse locators at our hospital. It is not part of your ID badge, but a separate tag that looks like the the thing you use to automatically lock and unlock your car. Whenever you enter a pts room, it automatically turns on the nurse light outside that door. There is also a main monitor at the desk that shows where everyone is and lets you contact the nurse/tech whenever they are on the floor. It is convienent because you can always find someone when you need them. You get used to the system and then it's a pain when someone doesn't wear theirs. You have to page the entire floor to find them. Degrading? Well perhaps a little. It's certainly a big signal that adminstration doesn't trust its employees. The official explanation is that they are a tool to improve patient care by making it easy to locate staff when they are needed. Of course, the doctors don't wear them and they are the ones who are the hardest to find when you need them!

New grads start at $19 or $20 an hour depending on the hospital, plus $2.50/hr for weekday 7p-11p, $5.00 for weekday 11p-7a, $11 for weekend 7a-7p & $14 for weekend 7p-7a.

We recently had an especially "high-needs" patient on antepartum. She put a sign on her door stating she is not to be disturbed by visitors or staff, so dietary didn't deliver her tray. She calls out in a rage because she didn't get dinner. Says they should have known that the sign was only for the nurses and techs who were always in and out of her room bothering her with vitals signs and fetal monitoring. States she needs a free corificeat. When she is told the hospital doesn't provide free corificeats, she throws a fit and says we "damn well better find her one". We are all wondering if she would like the hospital to provide her with a matching stoller, crib and changing table to go with the corificeat? Decides she needs pink decorations for her room. I suggest her family can bring her some next time they visit. No, she wants me to get her some decorations right now. And while I'm at it, she also wants some chocolate bars and cookies as the snacks we have on the floor are too healthy and don't taste good. She finally left AMA because she needed to get her hair and nails done before she delivered, so she would look good in the pictures.

Thank you all so much for your support. The hospital had a meeting on Tuesday to talk about what happened. The doctors still aren't sure what caused her death, so there wasn't a lot of closure. Her baby is doing really well, which is such a blessing. At first I felt so guilty, like somehow I should have known what was going to happen and have been able to stop it. Talking with the other nurses helped me realize that everyone felt that way, which allowed me to let some of that guilt go. Thinking about her still hurts, but I know in my heart that I did my best for her and tried to give her whatever comfort I could. At least she knew she wasn't alone and someone was there who cared for her. Thank you again for all your thoughts and prayers.

I had a 4.0 The lowest GPA the school accepted was a 3.79.