NurseWeasel

Pace Medical Staffing is supposed to be really good. They only staff Oregon and Washington, but I'm *thisclose* to being employed by them. Just need to send them fingerprints and a copy of my SS card. They came highly recommended by my neighbor's daughter. Just an FYI. http://pacemedicalstaffing.com/

From the little I understand about this, the difference between TA and not doing TA is whether or not you claim deductions for your travel expenses (etc) on your taxes at the end of the year. You still end up paying the appropriate amount of tax, it's just a matter of having the money in your pocket vs. getting a refund... or, depending on how well you estimated your taxes, having to pay a whole bunch of taxes or not so much. Anyone else?

As far as I understand it (and I haven't traveled or done agency/registry YET), they both pay well but with the 13 week contracts you get free rent or subsidies, insurance, etc. Plus you probably get to actually "travel" more, because with registry you are (I would imagine) more local to a certain area and need to be available to travel for short assignments on short notice. OK that probably didn't help much, sorry. But I tried! I'm still learning, myself.

I spoke with an AMN recruiter today (I've not yet traveled) and was told that they just want to be on the same page with the traveler... just be honest and let them know what you need. They'll be there when you are ready to come back. Now before everybody jumps on the Evil Empire bandwagon, I know. I inadvertently submitted my contact info, thinking it was for something OTHER than having a recruiter call me or to apply, only to get a web page up saying "Thank you, a recruiter will be in touch" - and they WERE, in just a couple hours! So I figured why not use their time investment in me as a learning opportunity. I told them straight up I'm not ready to talk contracts or applications yet, but I do have multiple questions. And the recruiter was very patient and helpful. So yay, they're not ALL bad, lol.

Billy_baroo, did you go?

At least one of the hospitals in Boise, ID uses it. I hate it. I always overthink everything. Must... learn... to stop overthinking!!!! New mantra: *KISS*

I think the 'right' answer depends on who YOU are - just be yourself. That said, if you're inclined to short answers you might consider tossing one out and then watching carefully for signs that they want MORE... in which case you can elaborate on why you said that.

Ain't that the truth! Best wishes with your decision.

Yes, I think Saunders will be fine. Really, my best advice is what other people have said... you KNOW this stuff. It's in there. Review your basic lab values and medications, and READ THE RATIONALE for every test question you take. That's what truly helped me the most - because NCLEX thinking isn't nursing school thinking, but once you figure out NCLEX thinking you'll have it made. Don't just read the rationale for the questions you miss... read EVERY ONE. Best of luck to you.

Ahhh, HERE is this thread. I was scoring in the 60%-70% range on the sample tests. Our school did the Mosby faux test and I got "94% probability of passing" on that one. But all the online and at home tests I wasn't doing so hot - even though I knew that I knew my stuff... so I just went ahead and took it. Just found out I passed. I had 75 questions and walked out KNOWING I had passed. It was a lot easier for me than I'd anticipated. But I'm kinda freaky like that. Best of luck to you!

Whomever asked about the validity of the sample tests... I worked with ALL the books and sample question disks out there, I think. We took the Mosby faux-NCLEX at school, too. I got "94% probability of passing" on the Mosby, but on every other study program I was scoring in the 60%-70% range. I just found out I passed and I am here to tell you the real NCLEX questions were a lot easier (in my opinion) than the Kaplan and Saunders ones... at least for me. That said, I do feel like the money I spent on Kaplan was worth it, because it really taught me how to read the questions and their rationale was really helpful. Most of the other programs / books / disks were not nearly as helpful. Just my 2 cents, your mileage may vary.

It could have been one of the experimental questions. Plus, you ARE allowed to miss some, you know. Hee. So don't freak yourself out over random facts... know your basics and how to prioritize care based on those basics, and you'll be fine.

That burial question seems really "out there" with regards to what the NCLEX would ask. They'd be more likely to ask something having to do with nursing care than something postmortem. All my questions were "big picture" type stuff, not specific details like that, anyway. Best luck to you.

I just took it yesterday. I had 1 for sure where I needed to know a normal range in order to prioritize care. I quickly narrowed it down to 2 choices but I had to really think about those 2 because the lab values were CLOSE to normal. When I got home I looked it up and I had gotten it right. Plus there were a few others but I think if you concentrate on the top 10 common values you'll be ok. They won't ask obscure stuff.

I did it. The Nikon D70 is my new best friend.

I have the Treo650. Yes, I bought the subscription to Pepid... which is essentially buying the product with all it's updates and tech support. It works out to about $5 a month if you buy the 2 year plan, which I did. I know it seems expensive, but believe me... it's SO AWESOME. Puts epocrates and all the others to shame. I should get an endorsement credit from them or something, for all the positive press I give them... but I swear, I don't!

I'm GOING to buy a new digital SLR camera. As soon as I can get to the camera store. Trying to decide between the Nikon D70 and a Canon (because I've already got some trick Canon lenses). Hubby is Not Pleased as he thinks our current digicam works just fine (and it does), but then I reminded him about the thousands of dollars worth of muscle car he's rebuilding in the garage, so he has acquiesced. Besides, he didn't really have a choice.

My last class was 12/6, pinning 12/7. Technically done with school (dead week, finals week even though we didn't have any) 12/17. STILL haven't rec'd ATT yet, although I called yesterday to check and should have it next week. Been studying fairly heavily since 12/8 (hey, a month!) and am ready to take this sucker and get it over with. Hopefully the testing center will have openings ASAP because I want to do it before I start work on 1/17. I'll be on the float pool, my top choice job - so excited!

I use Pepid RN and HIGHLY recommend it. It has EVERYTHING you could ever want, all in one neat package. Drugs, assessment, lab values, it even cross references up to 40 drugs at a time to check for potential interactions! It has calculators, info about diseases, jeez more stuff than you could ever possibly want just about. It rocks. The only drawback is that you have to pay for it, but it's SO WORTH IT. I've used it for almost 2 years now (in school, and now starting work) and love it to death. I'm not gonna tell you which PDA I have because I am a total gizmophile and paid way too much money for it, and it's the latest greatest all-that, which is probably more than you want / need / can afford as a student.

My other work experiences are great. I've got apps in at 4 places right now, so I'm really hoping that one little blip on the radar of job experience won't eliminate me from the competition. I'm doing the waiting game right now. Wish me luck!

Ooooo, good one, Boe!

What concerns me is that employers have ways of conveying dissatisfaction without actually coming right out and saying something negative about a former employee. I've done HR, I know how it goes. It was indeed a nursing related position - I should have been smart enough to leave when the personality conflicts started, but I convinced myself to stick it out through the end of the summer... unfortunately it finally got so bad I couldn't take another minute of it and at that point it was 'quit without notice' or explode at someone. I took the high road, lol. Aiyiyi. You're right... I need to put it on there. I guess I can just be honest about it, and if they bother to ask I can explain about it being a learning and growth opportunity. Lessons learned, eh? Let's hope the 'nursing shortage' overrides the desire to screen someone out for one blip on an otherwise great work history. My other concern is that a former instructor, who knows about that experience, now works at one place I'm interested in working. She's got a vindictive streak, knows a lot of people, and it wouldn't surprise me one bit if she were to put a bug in someone's ear to check my application and see if I included that experience. Hmmm. I'd forgotten about that. Thanks for your reply... anyone else? How to put the positive spin on it? *grin*

Is it ethical to omit a job from applications, or would that be dishonest / falsification? I had a short (3-4 month) job as a student at a local facility. It went poorly and I ended up quitting with no notice. This is an employment at will state. I'm not worried about the gap in employment because it was during nursing school so I wasn't working other than that short job. Now it's time to start my job search and I'm a little freaked out. Do I put it in there and risk potential employers hearing negative things about me? Or do I leave it off and risk being accused of lying? I'm not talking about the resume' - I know I can leave it off that by considering it 'irrelevant'. I'm talking about the employer's application, which they will make me fill out before they hire me - a resume' is not going to cut it for more than securing an interview. If I do put it on the application, then what? Do I call attention to it and say 'please don't contact these people'? Do I explain that it was a summer internship and hope they don't call for a reference? All the apps I've seen around here ask for not only the employer but also the supervisor. I *really* don't want them contacting the supervisor. If I felt sure that all they'd do was confirm dates of employment, that's one thing - but I'm not so sure about that. I got burned at that job. I also learned a few lessons about watching my back. Can I just chalk it all up as a learning experience? Boy... I'd sure rather just pretend it never happened. Advice is appreciated. Thanks.

Definitely get the official one from the eri website. It is 'da bomb'.

At our house I have to put up with complaints about "limp nodes" being swollen, and the plight of the timber "woof". But what REALLY drives me crazy is improper use of the word "myself", as in "Myself and Jimbo went to this conference" or "Billybob, Hank, and myself ate woodchuck stew fer dinner"... Auuuuuugh. Used to work with one guy who improperly used "myself" (the word, not me personally, lol) all the time. Several of us 'ran an intervention' and confronted him about it, but he never could get it straight. Isn't it funny, the things that drive us nuts?