itsmyturn

If you really want to get extra points, take THEIR Cna class, the medical termonolgy class they offer AND the phlebotomy class they offer. And, get a job part time as a CNA because you will get even more points. If you get in, get ready to give your life to it. I studied day and night because they just pile it on so bad. Then, after you graduate, forget most of what they taught you because you get your training on the job. Good luck, hope you get in!

You know I did the 5 year thing and would you believe that employers are asking me what I did with my life before that. I also gave my med-surg instructor for reference who also works for the same hospital system as me. Easy for them to find her and she spent the most time with me. Before I left LPN school, I got permission from several so if I chose a certain area I could give that instructor.

I am working 84 hours a biweek pay period and it is doable but I have to have discipline and keep telling myself that one day soon my life will be back. Eat live and sleep nursing whether working or at school!

I was just like that when I first started. Do you think you may be studying to hard? I cut back to about 1/2 the time I studied and it worked! Sometimes worrying about passing from the fear they pass onto you in the beginning is enough to make you fail. Make you a plan and the materials you plan to use and give yourself about 2 hours a day per class to study. Away from people, noise etc. I literally had to put a sign on my office that said... "if in here, I am not here". Then let it go.

I am using Saunders NCLEX-RN for Anatomy and physiology when it fits and I also started a plan to read a chapter per day since I begin the senior trimester of LPN school. I am going to do that all the way up to the end of my RN school and I go to sit for the exam. It is an easy goal, keeps me fresh while on the job and I go through the entire book 8 times a year. The LPN NCLEX was so easy I thought that I must have jinxed myself! I also bought the Lippincott Manual of Nursing Practice that I try to read through as well.

Ericad85... Check with your school first before retaking them. I know my school and most others take your first attempt at a course so it may just be a waste of time for you.

The same at Walter State. Because I am an LPN, I am able to be "bumped" so to speak because I have more experience. I have to complete two semesters and I am an RN. I am still required to meet the same requirements as an entry level nurse but they slip me into a separate group away from the traditional students. That is why a lot around here do this. So they can work to pay for RN and get in easier. I don't believe this makes the school any less. I tell employers where I am going and they are please with my choice in school.

I just left a job there and I NEVER got a break, got paid ridiculously low and ran my butt off the entire 8 hours I worked. They are constantly calling you to come in on your day off but when you need time off they won't give it to you without a big fight. They have almost taken away all help from CNA to LPN and the patient load.... 8-10 pt on med-surg is dangerous and a possible liability issue.

If you are organized and have good assessment skills you will be fine in m/s. I work at a hospital and it is still all about med passing with sick patients depending on you to relay info they won't give right out to the DR. I think the worse part of hospital for me is the paperwork! And I work in a hospital that has EMRs. Then, you have the Dr. taking your chart and writing even more for you to do. Then you have the pharmacy taking their sweet time getting your meds to you. Then there are the family members who mean well but expect their member to be treated as if they were the only one on the floor. My day goes like this: I start passing meds at 0730. I then turn back around and collect the 0900 meds. After that, I try to work on my assessments for the 6-7 pts I have. While doing this, my pts are racking up tasks for me and my CNA . By the time I get this done, it is time to pass meds again. I then try to get dressings changed, vitals again and look at the charts to see what the Dr. wrote on his/her rounds. I have to fax the orders to the pharmacy and verify orders I can't read. THEN.... there is the wonderful admissions and discharges. Yesterday, we had 9 admissions on a 21 bed floor. Talk about rough. A long, drawn out process with lots and lots of paperwork. I am on my feet all day long, the only time sitting down is at lunch which usually offers me a 15-20 min break before someone is paging me to get something done for a pt. Now, that is where I work. I am sure that every hospital is different but I have worked in two and they were pretty much the same. Bedside nursing is hard, fast and wears you out even if you manage to get it real organized. It burns you out quick. Just try it... some people love it and were made for it. Others soon realize that it s not for them. Good luck in whatever you decide.

You have to hang in there and tell yourself on a daily basis that you are lucky to have your job and try to be optimistic. Money is about being able to live comfortable and it is out there for everyone. When I was younger, I remember having only $20 for the entire week after everything was taken out. We ate rice a lot. My hubby had to eat his sandwich while others had the money to go out at lunch. Sometimes we did without so our child could eat. It could have been looked at as we were dirt poor and let it get to us that we scraped by and even though we busted our butts, it seemed that nothing would ever come of this. One time we had to get food stamps and we borrowed money from relatives for that money we did not have for gas. You get it. But, each week as we cashed that check, we told ourselves instead that times would get better and as we gained more time at work we would gain more money. We put 5 in the collection plate and all of our extra change in a jar. We never got credit cards and as we got promotions, we built up our wealth and kept on trucking. I spent 5 yrs saving for nursing school before I actually got into one. My son got A's so he could get grants to go to school for free at a university. Life is tough but life is directed according to how you look at it. Now, we are in our early 40s. My house and both vehicles are owned outright. My son is 1/2 way through a bachelors and still getting money for good grades. My husband just retired from a 20 year service with law enforcement and I am working part time as a nurse making 25 an hour as an LPN because I work incentive shifts instead of fulltime regular shifts. We are doing well. And the reason is because we began our venture with the idea that everyone deserves what they want but in the process patience and hard work is what it is going to take to get a person where they want to be. You do things that may make you wonder "why" but in the back of your mind you must carry on and keep the demons from tearing down your dreams. You will get there and you will do it well...just keep the faith and go get what you want and give yourself time to get it and grow in order to handle it. The way I see it, is you are o.k. from what you write and YOU have a valued job that others are clawing at to have. No, it does not pay much but you are not stopping there because you have already set a new goal. Meet that goal and set a new one and keep going until you get to where you need to be. And always remember, that you will never have enough money because there is always something you really want and we all live within our means.

When i left out of there, I made a comment about how I hoped that went well, and the proctor looked at me and said" oh, you have nothing to worry about, you will do fine." At first, i thought well, wasn't she nice to encourage me but as I started thinking about it on the way home, she said it with that look that everyone has seen... the one that says oh, I got to tell you someonthing but I can't!

I choose NSO as well. We were talking about this the other day at work, and it really surprised me that most of whom I work with do not have coverage..most told me they did not want to jinx themselves. Most thought it would cost and arm and a leg but it is only $100 per yr with NSO. Now, everyone is freaking out because a woman in the hospital is suing and since we took care of her, we are gonna be sitting a t deposition for sure.... NSO helps with the expenses of that.

When I park and someone is pulling in to the space in front of me and "taps" the front of my car. Once I finish the argument that my car was still in the space designated for me, I am walking into the lobby and a lady and a man are screaming "the baby is coming!" and it plops out right there in front of me. I then get on the elevator and a fire alarm is called and the elevator shuts down because a nurse thought the buttons read 3 minutes when she left her popcorn but it actually said 30 minutes. Then once I get to the floor, I am the only nurse for 24 pts because the other two came down with a stomach virus and staffing can't get anyone to work! Happened just two weeks ago! My day ended with getting soaking wet "trying" to run to the car because I ended up spraining my foot from running my butt off that day, trying to help the agency nurse locate everything. Man, that was definately for the shelf labeled "love-hates of nursing"

So, here is the deal: We have the pt chart, that has progress note sheets for the Dr. The sheet is split in half and one side is for orders and the other is for notes. The chart contains a nursing notes section but there are only the admission history sheets and no other pages to be able to chart things.We also have a body system-based report sheet that we use to let the next shift nurse know what is going on. We also have an assessment sheet that we do everyday each shift. My question is this: Where do I make my notes and what do I make note of? I have looked through the nursing notes and it contains pages from the original assessment but no blank sheets to report anything. I write things on my report sheet but should I be putting this info somewhere else? This gets thrown away after 24 hrs. When the other nurses speak of charting, they say they are talking about the assessment sheet. For instance, Pt c/o of n/v. I give her Zofran after verifying new order from the DR. I report this on my report sheet. Should I also make a note details beside the DR.'s order in the note side of the progress note? When I gave it, how the pt reacted after, etc. I take my pt off of her IV. I d/c the fluid in our IV assessment on the computer but should I also be reporting it beside the DR.'s note?? I really don't see notes made like this. I am lost. Can anyone help me understand?

Well, for an RN, they get 6-8 weeks but for an LPN which I am, this hospital feels that we can get it in a week and that is all they are willing to give. It is like that in every hospital, ltc and the such in my area. I am doing the same job as the RN...and eventually they will want me to be in charge, and yet we are expected to be able to get it in a week. Our floor is the one of the few last floors to have lots of paperwork which is not an issue, I just don't seem to be able to have any extra time to peruse through it. I don't want to give up this job because I really like this hospital and it is close to home, etc, but I am planning on sitting down with my manager and asking some questions. I am going to set this right quickly because they are ot going to run me off and they are going to respect me...I give it my all, I am there early everyday and they are going to give me the room to grow and they are going to know this by next week. I was just wanting reassurance that it wasn't so much me but just a job with a lot of demands pushing me bad! Thanks guy/girls!

Heres the thing...I can actually handle this load its just that I have no time to be able to look through charts and get to know my pts. So, I am blind each day to what is going on with them to some extent. I look at their kardex...which gets updated sometimes, I look at the last physician orders made and watch for new orders. I watch v/s and and keep up on the necessary things like wound care, and assessing. I assess all of my pts even though we are only suppose to do half because the next shift is suppose to do the other half but doesn't and I do it before the day is done. I just have this problem figuring out what needs to be done when and wonder if it is me or not having enough time to be able to research things. I love this floor and want to stay there and there are nurses there that are doing it and doing it well so I see that it can be done without mistakes that make for a dangerous situation. My boss is great and understanding I just don't know what and how long she expects of me before she begins to question my abilities. I guess I need to ask her. I am also starting to clash with those that are burned out and no longer treating their pts as they should be and although I say nothing about this, it seems they are taking it out on me because I do things over and above what is required. Oh, Lord, this is driving me nuts...I read that it is expected, let's hope because I am loosing sleep and the stress is killing me!

Thanks but how in the world do you learn about the floor when no one seems to want to take the time to teach you? My boss tells me to ask if I have questions but she is busy and I can't give up time when every minute is filled with something to do. I am going to schedule some time off the clock with her but in all reality do I really have a chance if my peers are not willing to guide me? Is it o.k. to ask questions after orientation...I feel like I am pulling teeth and everyone gives me an attitude like I should know it by now. And to top it off, they have already split the floor with me and I get at least 10 pts a shift.

Well here I am, 1 month into a job on a new floor at a hospital. Yes, I am a new nurse with no previous hospital experience. I have my med passing down and my general daily routine. I do not have the paperwork part down...what and when things should be done and what sheet to use. I do not know the protocol of the floor...when I should call for verifications, what DRs make rounds, etc I feel as if I am learning everyday but I only had a week of orientation on this floor that is covered with heavy paperwork for every little thing it seems. The nurses taught me the med pass and how to enter it into a computer but they did not tell me about the chart and what needs to be done daily, they did not tell me about which DR. rotate and which don't etc. They allow me to slink through and beg for answers and then look at me with blank stares. And now, I feel as if I am being sabatoged because some nurses will actually allow me to do tasks that they know will end a certain way but will let me go through the heartache and time for nothing. Each charge nurse has a different routine and some do more than others, which I just realized today while working with a new charge nurse. Example of what I think is sabatoge: I received a verification notice from the pharmacy concerning a certain med. A nurse told me that I needed to call the Dr. The oncall Dr. told me to continue the med until until a certain day when the regular Dr would be making rounds and have him confirm the order then. On the "supposed" day, the Dr. never showed up and I asked a couple of times that day about the verification to which the same nurse told me she did not know what to tell me....found out later that she knows the Dr mentioned and his protocols. Later, as shift was fixing to turn, I asked once again and was told that I needed to call the office because that certain Dr did not make rounds here from that same nurse. She told me she did not realize that was the Dr. I was talking about when she was the one that gave me the name of the DR in the first place. I did not know which one to call in the first place because I have no clue who is the surgeon, regular Dr. etc. So, I call the Dr's nurse who procedes to yell at me because there is a time protocol concerning the med and how long the pt should be on the med in the first place and was wondering why I called her. I get off the phone and the nurse tells me that she knew that was probably the reaction that I would get and I look at her and ask why in the world she allowed me to spend nearly an hour fighting and automated system only to get yelled at. This is only one example of this. Is it normal to feel as if the dots are not connecting or is it just me not getting it? How long is norm for getting the protocol of a floor? I feel as if something is missing although I have gone through my orientation papers to try and find the missing info. Any advice?

I did not check my license when entering this info and it was as yours. They made me redo the ATT. Better check to make sure.

PRN goes like this: they call you when they need you. You can work or turn them down. If you turn them down, they can choose to no longer call you. And, LTC prn work probably won't be part-time.

We call primary care nurses office nurses. I have on average 7-8 pts and this is rough. Sounds to me like they are wanting to get rid of CNAs and have the nurses perform full scope. Lord, if I did not have my CNA buddy, I would never get everything done. Thanks CNAs you are the greatest!

Nursing school is about surviving and I had to lower my standards and realize that it may not be possible to get the highest grade but very possible to learn the information needed to become a safe, educated nurse.

Sometimes, happiness outweighs money or status. I work in a job as an LPN that I love. It bothered me that the RNs make twice as much even though I am doing just about everything they do. So, I came up with a solution for myself. Since our hospital offers incentive shifts, I decided to go part time and make up the hours I lost with these shifts. Now, I make more than a new RN grad does on their regular shift and I still work in the place I love. This may not be an option for you but my point is, rather than let it get you down, examine the situation and go from there. There are solutions to everything and sometimes you have to really search for them. It's all good.

Ps...lived in Jacksonville for years...not good. Crime is pretty bad, people won't look you in the eye and things are high.

Florida is on a hiring freeze, not to mention a sue party. Make sure you purchase plenty of malpractice insurance. I have two friends that used to be full time but are now prn...they say it is not good there. If you still want to try, Wolfson children's hospital is a nice hospital.