yesdog

Thank you again for your words of wisdom. In one week I will be on my own. As all of the great RNs that I work with tell me "on your own but never alone". I feel so fortunate to be in the place I am. Every day I learn so much. But also each day I am so humbled. There is so much to learn. Sometimes it is so overwhelming. What I fear the most are "the things I don't know I don't know". It is one thing to know that you need to ask someone, but what if there is something that I don't realize? I hope I can always look with a critical eye and know when I need help. As you said, I am not a critical care nurse yet. I am barely a nurse! I hope to grow and learn each day in order to someday be a critical care nurse. Thanks again!

Are you my nurse educator? :hehe: I kid I kid! I think you are right. A member of the code team should know the algorithms inside out. The fear that the nurse educator put into me made me study the algorithms until I got into the "rhythm of the code". It was really hard work, but I am so glad I did it. Although I will not be running a code any time soon, I now understand the concept of the algorithms. With experience, I hope to someday be able to have the knowledge and ability to be an integral member of the code team. I sure wouldn't want anyone looking at a card in order to run a code on one of my patients...or worse....one of my family members. Thank you again for reminding me how important this issue is.

That's so great! So many times a code is such a feudal effort or it is performed on someone that should be allowed to die in the first place. I did my clinicals in the MICU and saw so many families thinking that we could make grandma all better if she was a full code. It was sad. My hope is to someday help with better education for families in order to understand end of life care.

Congratulations! :hpygrp:

Hey all!!!!!! I ROCKED THE MEGA CODE!!! I volunteered to go first as team leader. I totally ran the V Fib code. Yeah! I also only missed 2 on the written test! WooHooo!!!! Thank you all for your words of encouragement! :dancgrp::dancgrp::dancgrp:

IMHO your instructor is a bit of a bully and is being unrealistic and counterproductive HA!!!! You hit the nail right on the head! Luckily he is not my only instructor. He is extremely knowledgeable though, and I know that his intentions are honorable. I wasn't born yesterday This is my second career. So, I am really good at looking very calm and the other new grads look to me for support. I just want to perform well in front of my peers. I just took that pre-test and got a 90%, so I guess I'm ready. I will tell you all how it goes! Thank you all for your support!

Don't get discouraged! Keep looking. Maybe look into getting your BSN in the meantime?

Actually, I was hired in July, so this acls class is about six months into my orientation. I will be off orientation on Dec 14 (Yikes!) and it is required for us before we are on our own. I took acls before I was hired so it would look good on my resume. You are right. I had no idea what I was learning when I took it the first time. This time has been much easier. I just have performance anxiety for tomorrow to do the megacode in front of everyone. I am afraid my mind will just go blank. Hopefully, my brain will kick in and I will do fine.

That is really interesting that you aren't going to get your ACLS card until six months. It is a requirement for our position.

I completely agree. I am wondering if he told us we had to know the algorithms like the back of our hands just to make sure we are prepared for the practice megacode. I have a feeling we will be allowed to use the cards when we do it tomorrow. We would be using the cards during a real code.

Thanks for the advise! I will continue to review my cards. I do ok at home and did fine when I took ACLS the first time. I guess I am concerned because my nurse educator is so intense! He is a very good teacher, but he loves to just fire questions at us. It is pretty intimidating. Thanks again! Congrats on your job!

I am a new grad and landed my dream job in the SICU of a level 1 trauma hospital. It has been an incredible experience! However, I am freaked out. On Tuesday we will be running ACLS megacodes. Our nurse educator said we need to know all the algorithms without hesitation. YIKES! I have my ACLS card, but I basically just learned enough for the exam. Anyone have any suggestions for learning them AND remembering them? I googled, but all I find are learning aides for old versions of ACLS. I appreciate any help I can get! Thanks!

The pearsonvue trick. There is a whole thread on it. After you take the exam, you go on the pearsonvue website and try to register to take the exam again. If you get a popup that says to contact your BRN, then you passed. If it lets you go all the way to the credit card payment page, then you failed. SATA- Select All That Apply Good luck!

All I know is from my personal experience. Only 2 students in my cohort did not pass and both of them tried the trick and got through to the credit card page. All of the rest of us who passed got the pop up.

UCI will be offering a new grad program in January. I do not know what departments will be hiring or when the application process will begin. Keep looking on the website for Clinical Nurse I positions and fill out an application for each one! Good luck everyone!

UCI Medical Center will be offering a New Grad Program in January. I do not know what departments will be hiring or when the application process will be starting. Good luck to everyone still looking for jobs!

I have not heard anything. I will ask my nurse educator and be sure to pass on the info. Good luck!!!

I feel so bad for everyone still trying to get a job. I have hear that Hoag will be hired a lot of new grads this Fall so keep your eyes open. UCI will not be having any new grad programs any time soon due to the budget crisis. You might want to try getting involved in some organizations in order to network. ACNL is a good one to meet nurse managers and recruiters. Good luck!

Other will probably tell you differently, but I had no breaks. Holidays were times for me to get caught up, or get papers done.

Thanks janbug. It really has been amazing. The new grad program at UCI is quite intense. It is six months long. I feel very fortunate to receive such great training!

I really have no idea who you would contact. I never even spoke with a nurse recruiter. All I did was check the website everyday. The new grad program positions will show up in the job openings. I then just completed an on-line application for each of the positions I was interested in. I was called a few months (yes months!) later by the nurse manager for sicu. I have no idea when they are planning to have another new grad program. The state budget crisis has limited any new spending. I start my new grad classes next Monday. If I hear anything. I will post. Good luck!

WOOOOOOHOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! Congratulations!!!!!!!!! You are now officially a REGISTERED NURSE!!!!!!!:ancong!::prdnrs::dncgbby:*wine:rckn::anpom::clpty::hpygrp::dancgrp::clphnds::clphnds::clphnds::clphnds:

If you were in the hospital... Would you want a nurse that learned 70% of the material or learned 90% of what is needed to give you proper and safe care. Just a thought.

Nursing school is the hardest thing I ever did in my life and I already had a master's degree in Communicative disorders and worked as a speech pathologist. I guess it really depends on what school you go to and how much you really want to dedicate yourself to learning the material to be the best nurse possible. All my hard work paid off though, and I am now an SICU nurse in a level I trauma hospital.

I am 50 years old and single. I was a speech pathologist and a special education teacher for 23 years. Today, I just received my RN license in the mail! Monday I begin a new grad program in the SICU. It can be done! It is hard. I got health insurance through my school. I didn't work though. I sold my house. I am fortunate enough to be able to live with my parents. I wish you luck! You can do it!