dana204

Thank you for the reply. I have heard that Hillcrest was not a good place to work. Those ratios are insane. I hate to hear that you are in that situation. Are you considering applying at another hospital? Good luck to you and thanks for the information.

I just wanted to say that your post warmed my heart. It is nice to know there are nurses like you that would stand up for your pt. You did a great job!!

I understand how you feel. I am in 3rd semester and I am finally at a point that I have some idea of how to study. It takes awhile to find what works for you. In my first semester, I had a workbook that went with my theory book. It was a lot of writing, but it helped. My instructor even suggested we use it. I used it as an assignment for each chapter. If you do not have a workbook, then I suggest writing notes in a way that makes sense to you. Or you can find books that complement your theory book. I love the Reviews and Rationales books by Hogan. They cut it down to the stuff you need to know and give you lots of practice questions. Practice questions are a great way to go to see what you need to look over. And, most of the time, the rationales will help you understand it better. You can find them on Amazon, used and new. I do know that reading something over and over will not help you in applying the information. Memorizing only helps with normals. My school suggested we read "You are smarter than what you think!" and find our learning style. I did that and tweaked it a bit to fit. It does help. Bottom line with nursing school is that you have to understand why you are doing something. I wish you the best of luck and congratulations! Dana

CSC is Connors State College. The main campus is in Warner and they also have a campus in Muskogee.

I have a couple to add. The first one is my personal blooper. It was my 2nd semester and our first day in a hospital. I was so excited because not only was I in a hospital, I got to be in the ER. Since the ER is where I want to work, I wanted to see and do as much as possible. After a few hours there, the nurses were aware that I would want to follow them anywhere they went to see as much as possible. So, one of the nurses asked me if I wanted to watch a pelvic exam. Wanting to learn as much as possible, I jumped at the chance. There is one room in the ER at this particular hospital that is for this sort of thing. The nurse warns me that they had tried to cath this patient and she freaked out on them, so I am a bit nervous. The way the room is set up there is waiting area that has chairs so you can pull the curtain and the family can be on one side and the patient on the other. I follow the nurse in and watch her set up the tools and in comes the doctor behind me. He introduces himself to the family and as he is walking up he asks me to shut the curtain. As I said, I am nervous about the patient, excited about being in the ER and now the doctor is talking to me. So, I jump on his request as quick as possible. I grab the curtain and pull it closed. One problem, I pull it in front of the doctor. So, me, the nurse and the patient are on one side, the doctor and family on the other. Without missing a beat, the doctors says from behind the curtain, "I need to be on that side to do the exam." Trying to control giggles, I start saying I am so sorry and open the curtain back to see the family trying not to laugh too loud as well. The rest of the exam went fine. :wink2: Later that day, the doctor came up to me and asked me if I was learning a lot. I blushed and said yes! My dad said I should have told him I learned which side of the curtain the doctor is supposed to be on. This one is about a fellow nursing student. She was the type that was really nervous because she really want to do well. She was standing there talking to our instructor when I walked up. My instructor was helping her chart. The instructor asked her if the patient was on oxygen and the student replied yes. The instructor asked do you know what it was on? The student said no, I didn't look. Do I need to? The instructor told her yes and the student ran back into the room. A few minutes later she comes out with this look on her face. She tells the instructor " it was on the wall, but I don't think that is what you wanted to know, was it?" My instructor lost it, she was laughing so hard. Finally, she says no, let me go and show you. I have to give the instructor credit, she stopped laughing long enough to go in the room with the student. But the moment she came out, she started laughing again. That one still makes me smile. I have 1 and half semesters left. I am sure some more stuff will happen!

I would love to work trauma. I love the fast pace of the ER. During clinicals last semester, I enjoyed my day in the ER the most. Thank you for the information. Thanks also for the congrats. During 2nd semester, I was not sure if I would ever see 3rd. Now that it is a few weeks away, my nerves are kicking in. I am just trying to keep myself busy before it starts.

Hi everyone! I start 3rd semester at CSC in the fall. I am wanting to work in Tulsa upon graduation. I have heard that Tulsa hospitals hire new grads to their ER floor. The ER and possibly, later on, ICU is where I want to work. I have a few questions. Which Tulsa hospitals do you think have the best ER? Which hospitals have the best working environment, such as benefits, nurse/pt. ratio, shift differential pay, etc? I actually would prefer to work midnights, so that is not an issue. Also, is it better to apply before I take the NCLEX or after? I have read that some people apply to jobs and they will hold them for you till you pass the boards. Any information will be greatly appreciated.