travleur

Hello, I have been a nurse for 20 years. I have experience in NICU, MICU, CICU, flight nurse, ER, and more recently as a nurse supervisor. I spent my last 8 years working in the USA in ICU as a RN. I did my BSN (the equivalent) in France and I am interested in becoming a CRNA. I am wondering if anyone knows if it is possible to enter a CRNA program without having a BSN acquired in the USA. If there are any foreign nurses here that are now CRNA, what did you have to do? Thank you for your help.

Hello, I am a french nurse. I have 6 years of experience btw ICU, ER, PHRN, NICU and flight nursing but I haven't worked as a RN since 2003 (I'm currently doing a refresher course). I just passed the NCLEX, have PA license and my ACLS. I would like to become a CRNA in the US. I understand I need a BSN before applying for a CRNA program. First I am wondering if my prior experience would be accepted since it is overseas and from years ago? Also, I was wondering if it would be of any help to do a RN-to-MSN program instead of the RN-to-BSN? I am a little confused on how the US school system work so I am not sure if that would help cost-wise and time-wise. And finally, will I need to get my GRE at any time during that process? Thank you

but why does it say 325mg? I tought it should be either grain or mg but not both. What does that prescription exactly mean? Here is the full first part of the question: "The nurse on the medical unit administers acetaminophen (Tylenol) with codeine #3 tab ii PO to a client. The physician ordered acetaminophen (Tylenol) 325 mg tab ii PO..."

On one of my practice test question for the NCLEX I read: "The physician ordered acetaminophen (Tylenol) 325 mg tab ii PO" What does ii mean? I thought it means "grain" from a previous question but I guess not. As a foreign nurse I never saw that before. Please help.

oops, sorry I read that after I already answered. I will simply expect that they will tell me where and how to round the results as a couple people mentioned.

I'm sorry but this doesn't make sense. It doesn't matter if the medicine will be given PO or IV, or any other routes because you will end up drawing the medicine with basically the same syringe to get the right amount. You may use a 5ml-syringe for one and a 10ml for the other one, but that doesn't make any difference the graduation is the same (10th of ml) - as you know only 1ml-syringe has a graduations to the 100th ml. Also, KCL is not always given by pump but often piggyback (as it is in this example) - except of course in pediatric and NICU (I also worked a few years in NICU) where the rate administered is more sensitive, but again the route or way of administering won't change the way you draw the medicine in the first place. Thx anyway.

thank you very much, now I feel better!

I've been told that you round to the nearest 100th for result 1ml which makes sense. But I don't understand why it would be different in these 2 examples. It is very frustrating because I always get the dosage calculation right, so yes it would be a shame to get an answer wrong when I have the right result. I can try to contact kaplan but I wonder who would be able to help me... so if anyone can be a little more helpful it would be great. wsuRN09, are you sure they tell you how they want you to round the numbers during the NCLEX exam? I never heard of it? Is it some king of guidelines they give you ahead, or is it actually mentioned on the question? Katie, I did my nursing school in France, so my pharmaco teacher probably don't even know what the NCLEX is!

I will sit for the NCLEX in 3 days. I am practicing NCLEX questions with the Kaplan Qbank. I had no problem with dosage calculation until I came up with these two questions: First I came up with this question: The nurse receives an order to administer phenobarbital (Luminal) gr ii PO to a 3-year-old child. The label on the multidose vial reads 160 mg/5 cc. How many cc of phenobarbital should the nurse administer? Type the correct answer into the blank. When you do the math, the result is 3.75 cc which is what I answered. But the correct response was 3.8 cc. Si I figured OK I had to round the result. But then I had this one: The nurse cares for a client receiving potassium chloride 25 mEq IV piggyback. The potassium chloride is labeled 10 ml = 40 mEq. Record the number of milliliters of potassium chloride that the nurse should add to the IV solution. Type the correct answer into the blank. correct response: 6.25 (of course I answered 6.3) The result is not rounded in this example, why? When am I suppose to round cc and when not? What should I do during the NCLEX exam?

Now I just got this question: The nurse cares for a client receiving potassium chloride 25 mEq IV piggyback. The potassium chloride is labeled 10 ml = 40 mEq. Record the number of milliliters of potassium chloride that the nurse should add to the IV solution. Type the correct answer into the blank. correct response: 6.25 The result is not rounded in this example, why??

oh OK it makes sense. thanks a lot.

Ok I have a problem here. I will sit for the NCLEX in 3 days. I am practicing NCLEX questions with the Kaplan Qbank. I had no problem with dosage calculation until I came up with these two questions: First I came up with this question: The nurse receives an order to administer phenobarbital (Luminal) gr ii PO to a 3-year-old child. The label on the multidose vial reads 160 mg/5 cc. How many cc of phenobarbital should the nurse administer? Type the correct answer into the blank. When you do the math, the result is 3.75 cc which is what I answered. But the correct response was 3.8 cc. Si I figured OK I had to round the result. But then I came up to this question: The nurse dilutes a 2-g vial of cefazolin (Ancef) with 3 mL of diluent to yield a volume of 3.2 mL. How many mL should the nurse administer if the physician orders 550 mg IM? Type the correct answer in the blank. So after doing the math I came up with the result 0.88 ml, so (because of the previous question) I rounded it up and answered 0.9 ml. But the correct response was 0.88 ml! It doesn't make sense. Am I missing something? Is it a mistake from the Qbank? What is the rule for the NCLEX, do I have to round cc and ml or not (obviously you have to round drops), if so, when?

PhillysBelladonna, are you OK? Are you sure you pick the right job? I don't know if you realize but you will face situations much more stressful at work...

Hi, I am a foreign nurse, I recently passed the CGFNS and I will sit for the NCLEX in 9 days. I know I should focus on that right now but I can't help to think about the next step. I was an ICU/CCU RN in France and I would like to work in adult ICU here in the USA. I also have experience in NICU, ER, EMT and as a flight nurse. I want to know what certification would help me the most to get a job. Plus I need to "refresh" and update my education since I haven't work as a RN for several years. I am a mamber of AACN and I know they offer the CCRN. But I also know there is the ACLS and the PALS (and probably some more). I am not sure what the differences are between all of them, is one harder to get than another, is one more recognized than another? Is there one that you can not go around etc. Any help would be highly appreciated. Thank you.

Unfortunately I seriously doubt it. Sadly, insurance companies still have a lot of life ahead of them. They have way too much power and way too much money to disappear... it is thanks to that power that there are still alive and that so many Americans actually believe that the american health care is effective and the way to go. They literally brainwash people. But let's face it: at that point our economy would seriously suffer badly if insurance companies would go down the drain. But man I hate those companies!