KimRN03

I also agree with the other post. Our Endoscopy center used to call each and every patient a couple weeks prior to the appt. Unfortunately, this took a lot of time from Nursing staff, not to mention money. So, we started sending out a questionnaire for them to fill out listing their meds, allergies, etc. We also enclose our numbers in case they have questions. Good luck! Kim

Marlene~Unfortunately, the ED in my hospital will not do a consult in GI for anything but emergencies (Foriegn Body or GI Bleed). I would maybe give your doc a call and tell him the med is not working, order an H Pylori test and can he refer for an EGD. I know our GI suite is booking out into March. Hope you can get in sooner. Hope that helps! Kim

Stephani~First of all, congrats on finishing school! When I graduated from Nursing school, I had no idea what I wanted to do. I knew more specialties that I didn't like that I was interested in. My first job was on an Orthopedic floor, simply because I had interned on that floor and thought it would be the easiest place for me to transition to being an RN. I was right. There is so much to learn as a new Grad, and I really feel I was a lot less stressed just by working with people I knew and being familiar with the layout of the hospital. After about a year in Ortho, I decided to try Circulating in the OR. I was fascinated by the technology. After four months, I realized I had missed having contact with conscious patients. I decided to try GI nursing. I can say I have never felt more at home with GI nursing. You get to have the technology and the patient contact. Basically, I assist the GI docs with Upper Endoscopies, Colonoscopies, and ERCP. I get to do the conscious sedation for the procedures and work prep and recovery. I get to start IVs and do lots of patient teaching, which I love. Best of all, I work in a hospital, but I really have almost clinic hours and work every 8th weekend on call and only one holiday per year. Good luck to you. If you have more questions, please feel free to ask! Kim

I worked on an Ortho floor for 14 months as a RN before I transferred to the OR. One of my fellow nurses had transferred down there and she loved it, so I decided I would try it. I have been down there for 1 month and really have not been in many rooms. Just been hanging out in the Center Core, Reprocessng and learning sterile technique. I think I miss working with patients and managing their care. I think I made a terrible mistake coming down to the OR! What do I do now? I feel like it would be a waste for them to train me any more then they have. I really think I want my old job back on the floor. How would you all go about doing this? It is a busy 16 room OR at a Level 1 Trauma center. Thanks for any feedback!

I am also feeling the same way you guys are! I am off orientation in two days and feel physically ill! I don't know if I can do this! My preceptor and NM both constantly compliment me, but I feel I don't know anything. I HATE calling docs and taking orders. When they ask me what I want, I just cringe! How am I supposed to know what I think they should order? They went to Med school, not me! I could ask for more orientation time, but really what would that help? :uhoh21: I have just resigned myself to feeling like I won't know what I am doing for a good three months, even on routine patients. I am terrified of performing new skills without supervision. Even when I look up a drug in my PDA before giving it, I still feel the entire time I am pushing the drug, are they still breathing? I just freak. It is sooo scary not having anyone watch over your every move. Nursing school does not prepare you to be autonomous. Feel very helpless at this point too!

Thanks for all the suggestions! I will try a different pair of shoes and some support hose!

Sounds like you have done what you can to prepare! I took Kaplan and they said as long as you were scoring above 65% on their questions, you will be in pretty good shape. How many questions have you done? Kaplan also says you should do 3,000 questions prior to taking NCLEX. I was scoring in the 70's on Kaplan's material and 70's-80% on Mosby before I took NCLEX. I passed the first try at 75 questions. Good luck on Monday!

I am a recent graduate and my lower legs have been killing me when I get home. All I want to do is lie on my couch with my feet up when I get home from work. Anyone have any advice?

I was a Nurse Intern on my Ortho floor last summer. I stayed on that floor last fall as a CNA and was hired my that NM without ever having to apply anywhere else. Now, that's my kinda job searching. My advice...make some contacts or consider working at a local hospital/floor you are interested in being a nurse on. NM's love to hire from within! Good luck.

P RN, yes, I just sent in my registration and $85 to NAON, I am excited to hear more from them. Do you have any insight on getting an ONC? Just curious....why would you have to give it up. I am so excited to go back to work, I have been off for 6 weeks due to surgery. Can't wait to hit the floor runnin'!

There is a reality shock when you finish school, but it is nice to finally be in charge of what you are doing. I really didn't feel like a nurse until I was completely responsible for my own patients. There is nobody standing over you to make you nervous. Just ask questions if you are unsure about how to do something. Every good nurse knows that you don't stop learning once you graduate. There will be things that you don't know and that's allright! Not even the doctors know it all. You may even get a chance to teach some veteran nurses something. I taught a nurse of 25+ years how to put teds on correctly. She had no idea there was a right and a wrong way to put them on. So, just relax for the time being. Enjoy the rest of school!

What are you going to school for? Nursing? If you are, school and working that much as an aide may be difficult. I was an aide on an Ortho floor and now am an RN there and my first year of nursing school I could only work 24 hours per week, my final year of nursing school I only worked 16 hours per week. You may be different, try it and see how it works out. Most hospitals are willing to cut back on your hours if you think you need to.

My first hospital experience was on an Ortho unit and I loved it! Now I am a RN on an Ortho floor and still love it! The most important thing is to know how to transfer a patient. What did they have done and what are the restrictions? If you can continue to observe your patient during PT and OT sessions, you will also learn by watching them. Learn the abbreviations that are commonly used for Ortho. Check out Orthonurse.org for more info on Orthopedic nursing if you are still interested. Don't let others tell you that they hated Ortho, most nurses say that because they don't understand how to move their patients or have an idea that Ortho is a "heavy" floor. I can honestly say, I did more lifting when I was on Med/Surg. I think the atmosphere on Ortho units are very team-oriented. We all are usually more then willing to help our collegues move and transfer their patients. Another great thing about Ortho is you still get exposure to post-op patients. The patients may have other more chronic illnesses as well, so you will be exposed to Diabetes, Heart Disease, COPD, CHF, arthritis. I think it is a great place to start out. If you have other questions, please feel free to PM me or e-mail. Good Luck! :)

I would get a job volunteering in a hospital if you don't already work in one. Great experience! Besides, you may get an insight into what areas of nursing you think are for you and make contacts. Also, make sure you know your A&P. Good luck to you!

I started working as a graduate nurse on an orthopedic floor day/eve rotation, heavy on the evenings. I worked on this floor as a CNA on the night shift and loved that shift. I expressed early on to my NM that I would like to continue to work nights as I liked that shift. At the time she had no openings on that shift. Now, she has hired another nurse to work day/eve and has an opening for day/noc or straight nocs. What do I do? I would get a differential of $4 more per hour working nocs. The only concern I have is that working noc shift on my floor means I would have up to 9 patients vs. 4-5 during the day or eve shift. There is also only one other nurse on the floor at noc as well as one sometime two cna's. The only nurse would have little time to answer questions. I am concerned about having 9 patients as a new grad. Please help, what do you think I should do?

I had a lot of priority setting, meds, delegation, and OB, developmental questions, diabetes. Remember that the test in changing April 1st to include additional weight on pharmacology and less OB/Psych. You should re-start this thread after those new tests start to be administered. Good luck to you! :)

I have never heard of them, but that doesn't mean they aren't a great review course. Check with them and ask if they have a money back guarantee if you don't pass NCLEX after you do everything they ask of you. I took Kaplan and loved their program. I would take the review course and see how you feel after taking it, then reconsider other review courses if you are not completely happy. Hope this helps!

I took NCLEX the beginning of February and passed with 75 questions. I had myself convinced that I had failed! My husband was the only person who KNEW that I had passed. You gotta hand it to those fellas, sometimes they do know what they're talking about! :wink2: Best wishes!

Best wishes-I hope you see happy results on Friday!

If I were you I would volunteer somewhere where there are nurses; hospitals, clinics, schools, nursing homes. Nursing is everywhere! You can also see if these organizations will allow you to just shadow a nurse for a day or two and see if you really like what you see. It might give you more insight. Also, speak with local schools in your area to see what they require of their nursing students and how each of the programs are set up. Hope this helps, good luck in your search!

I was an intern on an orthopedic floor the summer before I graduated. It has been VERY valuable for me. After my internship I stayed on as a nursing assistant and was hired by my nurse manager as a graduate nurse 3 months before I even graduated. I made many contacts, learned so many things from my preceptors and became organized! It made my transistion as a new RN so much easier. I know the routine of the floor, where everything is and know the staff. I have some friends who did not work in hospitals, and now as new RN's say how difficult it has been for them. Not saying that it's not possible to be a successful new grad without having worked in a hospital, but it certainly helps. Looks great on the resume too! :)

I took NCLEX the beginning of February and had pretty much the same kind of questions. I also took Kaplan and found it extremely helpful. They have the best type of questions to study from! Good luck to those of you who have to take NCLEX in the coming months! :)

Here in MN working at a Level 1 Trauma Center, $22.29 per hour for new grads with a $1000 sign on bonus.

I was in the hospital recently to have a laparotomy which included having an ovary and tube removed. I had good care during my hospital stay, however, when I went home things were a different story. I developed one complication after another (UTI, Yeast Infection, Stent Irritation). When I called both of my physician's who were involved in my care, it took the nurses awhile to contact me. Now, I know they are busy, but I could NEVER speak with one directly on the phone, always had to leave a message first. I had to run to the pharmacy repeatedly to try different meds. I wonder sometimes if I was just being a 'difficult patient' because of being an RN. The thing was I thought being an RN would help them out a little, but I can't help but think maybe they shouldn't know what I do for a living. Maybe I will play dumb next time. It sure has given me a good perspective of what my patients go through. I think I will be a better nurse because of my experience.

I took Kaplan's classroon course and found it extremely helpful. I took NCLEX once and passed with 75 questions and I'm sure Kaplan helped me. They give you strategies to answer questions that are Very helpful if you have no idea what the answer would be. The questions that NCLEX gives you are very similar to what Kaplan gives you, all the way down to how the question looks on the computer screen. I don't know how the online course is structured. I think you should reschedule your test. I think it is better to feel prepared to take the test, rather then just rush in there. Kaplan is expensive, but so is having to take boards several time. I wish you the best of luck in whatever you decide to do. Stay positive! :)