kss0740

Congrats!! I'm in the same boat. Just found out I got a spot at the VA. I had the same feeling- knew it was for me from the moment I precepted there. I just love the population. Some of my classmates couldn't stand the facility. IMHO, what the VA lacked in modern equipment (on the floor I was on at least) they made up for with great, highly qualified nurses and really good patient ratios. The VA system is great- very secure, wonderful benefits, retirement that can't be beat. I would recommend putting in your 2 week notice but seeing if you can stay PRN. I don't know if all VA's have nurses working 8 hr shifts... but that is the only barrier I could potentially see to staying PRN at your current job. Best of luck!!!!

I was called by a nurse recruiter at the VA today and was told I was chosen for a psych RN position after an interview last week. I can't believe this and feel shocked, humbled & completely excited! This is really a dream come true. Some of my classmates hated precepting at the VA.....but I LOVED it and really can't wait to work with this population. I was told that after a background check and physical, a final salary offer will come. I'm a relatively new grad RN- had license since July 2011 and have worked as a charge nurse in a psych hospital for 3 months. My background in psych is fairly heavy- I have my BA in psychology, MA in counseling and am a licensed counselor. Nursing is a career change for me. I have over 8 years paid FT experience in psych. I'm new to the VA system and am wondering if the VA will consider this experience as a related bachelors and/or masters degree since I will be working exclusively in psych? Some private hospitals will, others will not. Does anybody know what pay grade/step, etc I might expect to start out at the VA? Will this experience count? I know all states are different, but I believe they operate on the same grade system....? Thank you!!! :redpinkhe

Hugs :redbeathe

This afternoon, I was told by a fellow MCCD student that 200 nursing students failed to secure preceptorships during their 4th block. This apparently happened this past semester (occurred district-wide, thats why the number is high). This was due to lack of availability of slots. I am soon to enter block 4 and am curious about the legitimacy of this rumor......... Seems like it simply can't be true. 200 students is a very high number! I also thought it was the school's responsibility to find students preceptorships when the time came. How could that fall through so badly? I'd be lying if I said this didn't make me nervous. Has anybody else heard this & is there any truth? Gosh I hope not!

Thank you for your responses. I would think the more hours the better..... but when you look at preparation overall (clinical & lecture), NCLEX statistics put the pass rate of MCCDNP at 91 percent with NAU at only 85 percent. The NCLEX is where my license will come from, so I'm on board w/the program I'm at. Certainly they are doing something right Hopefully the 96 hours does what it needs to! All of my friends who are nurses say that the most important thing is getting through school & passing NCLEX, and that most of your hands on skills will be learned & improved with time on the job. Here is a link to NCLEX stats from AZBON: http://www.azbn.gov/documents/education/Statewide%20NCLEX%20Results%201996-2004.pdf

I am in the GCC weekend program, and am hoping to hear from GCC weekend students (or, any maricopa students who have been in block 4) about preceptorship scheduling. How is the preceptorship scheduling done? Do you have the opportunity to request a preceptorship location or the hours you are scheduled? Was anybody able to do their preceptorship on nights or weekends? Thanks!!

I have had two personal friends who have had extremely poor experiences at Arrowhead hospital. One almost lost her life due to a med error- which was totally sloppy & preventable. Overall, Arrowhead had poor nursing care, bad staffing ratios, poor sterile technique, outdated equipment.

Nothing is a sure thing anymore. It is hard and depressing being a new grad. A mentor of mine graduated 9 months ago and still has no job. I remember when nurses were offered 10k new hire bonuses just a few years ago. GONE are those days! Have you seen this AZBON article regarding new grad hiring statistics? Check it out: http://www.azbn.gov/Documents/News/2010/Employment%20Newly%20Licensed%20RN.pdf Here is an interesting USA Today article posted in July- has info about new RN grads not getting jobs & it being a national problem http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2010-07-09-1Anurses09_ST_N.htm I'm still holding out hope that this is just a cycle that is happening with the economy being so down. It's expensive to train new grads. I don't see what other option hospitals have..... however...... because current nurses are aging and retiring. According to the USA today article, "Large nursing shortages are still forecast as aging Baby Boomers need more care and millions of additional Americans get insurance in 2014 under the nation's new health law. A Vanderbilt University analysis last year — before the health law passed — predicted that the U.S. will be short 260,000 nurses by 2025" 2025...... Only 15 years away. i'll hold my breath- NOT

How did you study for the block 2 HESI exam? Anything I should focus on? I remember feeling like I was walking in blindly to the block 1 HESI because our school did nothing to prep us. When I asked about study materials, they said "just review what we've done in this block so far". Not very helpful. I did alright, thankfully Thx in advance for your advice.

Nursing school is different than what we take in pre-reqs in that it requires critical thinking. Pre-reqs give you a good knowledge base for school, but they don't teach you how to answer questions the "nursing school way". Getting your mind to master how to answer questions in the format that they are asked in nursing school may be the key to success, and the root of the problem here. I'd advise buying a good NCLEX study book and using the CD-ROM to go over NCLEX style questions on your computer. It is quick, and a great way to study. In my opinion, it will help you with material, but most importantly will improve your critical thinking skills. I struggled with critical thinking in block 1 too. All of the answers on exams seemed to be correct to me. I really struggled to pick the BEST correct answer. After buying an NCLEX study book, things turned around right away. Good luck!

Wow, I've never even heard of anything like that. Not a fun situation to be in. I'd call the board and ask them about what to do. I'm sure it won't cause a problem. It isn't like they can deny you employment or a license for traffic infractions. Plus, you were honest about it. Sounds like more of a pain than anything. I'm sorry! BLAH FINGERPRINT CARD PROBS!!!!!!!!!

Just a word of caution for all of those starving students out there (i'm in block 2 and know I'm not the only one!), these books might not stay the same for when you start the program. You may invest in these texts, and need to buy new ones should your campus have a different text, or the edition changes. I spent almost $800 my first semester on books alone (and I bought lots of used books!) I would suggest buying an NCLEX book so you get used to critical thinking type questions. I really like Saunders & Zerwekeh (sp??) NCLEX review books. I'm not sure if I'd suggest buy the other ones and start studying like that yet....... but best of luck! :) I can tell you are motivated :)

Just an FYI- I was told that Glendale Community College does not allow online CPR classes for RN students.

In any position, you work under the scope of that position and license. THATS IT. If you have RN skills but are working as a CNA, you use CNA skills ONLY (since that is what the scope of wat that position entails). Also, you cannot call yourself a CNA if you are not a state licensed CNA. It gets tricky. Here is my own example. I am an EMT. Right now I'm also a block 1 nursing student. Even though I have current EMT certification, I could not legally perform EMT skills as a block 1 nursing student because that is not in my scope of practice as an RN student. Should somebody code with me standing next to them, and an AED is right there and I know how to use it but haven't been trained as an RN student (EMT training only) so it isn't in my scope as a student....... that is a whole different ethical discussion & involves good samaritan laws, etc. I won't even start with it.

Congrats on completing your program!! I wish you the best of luck with your exam! Most of us are hurting for money right now, and I suspect you will be hard pressed to get a donation. We have probably sold these books & CD's after using them to help get out of debt. If you don't get a donation, I suggest you go back and do all of the NCLEX reviews at the end of each chapter/unit. Did your cohort do the elsevier Potter & Perry online book? They have really helpful online reviews. Also, you can buy used material on craigslist if you are lucky enough to find it, as well as places like half.com & amazon Good luck!!!

i'm a block 1 student and recently started at my second clinical site. i'm a newbie to the program & to clinicals, and am hoping i can get some insight (and encouragement!) into process. right now i'm very concerned that i'm learning more of what not to do than rather what to do. granted, this is teaching about good care vs bad, and what kind of nurse i want to be vs what i don't....... however, i'm worried that i'm simply not getting the good clinical, hands on experience that i'd like to take with me into my nursing career. so far, what i've seen at my 2 clinical sites has been disturbing. we are working at care homes & a rehab facility, and the nursing care is simply awful. at the first care home, i found that sinks almost never had soap by them, nurses let patients sit in soiled briefs for hours, and med errors were made all the time (crushing up enteric coated meds, extended release meds, etc) the last time i was at my current clinical site (a rehab facility that has a good reputation- i won't mention names here) i watched an rn try to straight cath a woman 5 times over an hour. the poor patient was crying. after getting the cath partway up the poor woman's lady parts several times, she would withdraw it and start over with the same catheter. unsterile- yuck. and did i mention she wasn't using any lube? i never saw her successfully find the correct opening, and seriously wonder if she thought the lady parts was where you are supposed to put a catheter. i asked the nurse if she wanted me to run outside and get somebody else, she declined. i didn't feel like i had the ability to do or say anything else at the time. per our school policies, i informed the clinical staff member who had been with us from school about what i had seen. i was thanked and assured the information would be forwarded on to the facility don. has anybody had similar nightmare-ish clinical experiences, or have i just had bad luck so far? i don't want to learn the wrong way to do things. i want to learn best practices through hands on experiences, not just reading out of the book. has anybody else had this problem at clinicals?

congrats!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you everyone!

Hello everyone, I'm wondering if anybody knows of a good place to buy nursing supplies in the city of Phoenix, and surrounding areas. I'm looking for nursing school supplies such as nursing clipboard, penlights, trauma scissors, stethoscope, etc. Sometimes, bookstores near the college have these supplies....... oftentimes they do not. I've been ordering things online, but shipping is getting expensive. I also like to see and hold what I'm buying before I purchase it. Any suggestions...?? THANKS!!!

Block 1 has been easier than I thought it would be. Reminds me of a CNA or EMT course so far. IMO, you just really need to learn how to answer questions the nursing/NCLEX way. That is the most important skill to master in block 1 (in addition to learning the material itself, of course). :)

I am taking this course right now, and I haven't found it to be worth it. Maybe it's just the block I'm in. I can imagine that if it were done in another format, it would be great. I always like to sign up for the extra classes when I can :)

I'd speak to your professor and ask them. I bet this will vary between programs, blocks & campuses. I'm in block 1 right now @ Glendale CC and we haven't had any holidays yet (I started in July). We have work all the time, however. I haven't had a weekend off yet.

I live in north phoenix and I haven't heard anything about this. My dad is a real estate agent & home inspector, so we usually get news about new builds pretty quickly. If you could be more specific, I could probably give you a better answer. I'm not quite sure where they would even put 2 new hospitals. Depending on how north, maybe the anthem area...? Some land exists out there, but I don't know what it is zoned for or the size of the parcels. The best way to determine the answer to this would be to see what hospital they are thinking it would be (banner, etc) and ask the hospital administration if they are building something new. Also, checking for building permits, zoning applications, etc would be a way to get some info. Would be nice if they were building something right now. I'd love to work there after graduation! :)

Congrats!!!! That is fantastic! What a huge accomplishment. :) Did you do the traditional program, hybrid (while it still existed) or weekend? I'm currently in the weekend program at GCC. Just started. Any tips for a new student?

BIO201 and 202 are tough courses. I took them after being out of bio for a few years and I was ok. I had the same fears you did, and a similar schedule and situation. I considered taking 156 first, but just didn't have time. Seems like you are in the same boat. Based on your situation, I'd jump in and take bio201. Worst situation is that you have to drop it or you don't pass, then you try again. I was working 40 hours per week when I took mine. You find ways to make it work and create your own study & homework time. If you are dedicated to making it work, you will. You might not get the same grade in the situation you are in right now vs. taking it when you have less on your plate, but nonetheless, it is completely do-able. Not fun, but do-able. Just make sure you study hard and really learn the material b/c it will be important later on. It just isn't a class you need to get through, but really grasp the information as it will be used throughout your whole school program & healthcare career. Good luck my friend! You can do it :)