NJ2010RN

No. I have never heard of it. Do you use it?

So I am new to LTC as this is my first job outside of the hospital setting. At my new facility it is commonplace for the nurses to text the doctors/NP's with questions and asking for orders USING THEIR PERSONAL CELL PHONES. Yes patient personal information is being shared in these texts, sometimes pictures of the wounds as well. When I was confronted with this situation, I refused. When I asked how I could reach these providers, I was ignored till hours later or told by supervisors that they would text the providers for me. This doesn't feel right to me. It seems as if a HIPPA violation is still occuring and I don't want to be apart of it, but so many nurses at this new facility do this, that I feel pressured to use my personal device as well. I'm affraid of security and theft, not to mention my own personal privacy. In the hospital we use phones and email provided by the hosptial. I see doctors in the hospital carrying two phones: one for business, and one for personal use. I brought the issue up to my DON, and she shrugged it off saying "No, we don't require you to use your cell phone" but said nothing of the practice by most of the nursing staff. I want to advocate for my patients, but I don't want to get myself in a sticky situation. Are the HIPPA laws different for LTC? Here is an interesting article on the topic: Hospitalists Should Refrain from Texting Patient Information | The Hospitalist

Thank you for your reply! Unfortunately, it seems like assessments aren't being charged at all. They just chart if they cleaned a wound, if eyeglasses are in place, etc. Not change in pt status or even a focused assessment, except on admission. I'm getting more and more scared for my license. They had an auditor come in, and many errors were found by the staff. Now it seems that taking pictures of wounds from personal cell phones and sending them to the doctors are common place. That just makes me uneasy. My phone isn't encrypted to prevent a HIPPA violation. Oh the flip side the people are so nice, the hours are good and location is so close.

Hello, So I have plenty of experience (Stepdown and ER) in a hospital setting, but the 12 hour shifts were causing some difficulties with baby sitting. So I took a job (while staying per diem at the hospital) at a Rehab facility very close to home. It is 8 hour day shifts and the schedule is steady. But the charting makes me uneasy. There are about 20-24 patients on the floor. It is electronic charting, but it is VERY old. I've only oriented two days, but the charting seems to mainly be that wound care was done (not how the wound looked or progressed) and that eye glasses are in place. Nurses commonly borrow medications from other patients, and isolation / infection control consists of gloves and hand washing, no gowns or other protective wear. Is this common? I'm used to head to toe assessments. I'm also used to not borrowing meds and knowing if a patient has MRSA, VRE, etc. They have had a hard time keeping nurses. I'm starting to wonder if I should plan my exit. Thanks!!

with the increased need for bsn prepared nurses, i have decided to go back to school to complete my bsn. i am torn as to which school to attend. i have been accepted to two schools and am considering applying to more. it would be a great help if you would give me your opinion. the school i am leaning towards is american sentinel, an on-line school with a very flexible schedule and reasonable tuition. it is accredited by commission on collegiate nursing education (ccne) and accrediting commission of the distance education and training council (detc). they offer classes that are eight weeks long every month. i have taken on-line courses before and am comfortable with them. my main concern with this school is that it is not well knows regionally. i live in the nyc metro area. the other school that i have been accepted to is bloomfield college, where i started my nursing studies but transferred to a community college for financial reasons. bloomfield has changed their curriculum since i was there last and will not count any of my previously taken courses. they also, like many schools in the area, only offer certain classes during certain times of the year and now have a cohort-like model. i know that next spring i will not be able to take classes because i am due with my second child on february 1st, which will greatly prolong my graduation from bloomfield. i just want to start a program that i can finish, afford, and be worth while. any opinion you could give, would be greatly appreciated. thank you!

I found this on another thread. I wish I knew the person's real name to give them credit because it helped me. Additionally I found that when I reviewed the practice tests, I would write down what I got wrong, why and study all the possible answers. I would also do this for questions that I wasn't sure of, but got correct anyway. Good luck!!! NCLEX Study Guide from Allnurses.doc

My third attempt is on Tuesday. If anyone was looking for a Monday date, the closest slot to the NYC area: Savannah, GA. I almost booked a flight, but then my boss gave the day off. :redbeathe Thank you Dena!!

Now the NYC location is canceled. Hopefully a third appointment is the charm. I really don't like snow right now.

So at 5:04pm I just happened to be checking my e-mail when I receive the e-mail from Pearson stating that my White Plains appointment was "unscheduled". So I quickly went onto the Vue website and saw that all I could do was schedule another appointment. So my plans to get up early to beat the snow storm was squished. After searching online, I saw that downtown NYC (near Fulton Street and World Trade Center) had an opening for the same time slot! It actually allowed me to register with less than 24 hours before the test! I live in NJ near a train line to NYC. Hopefully this location doesn't get canceled either, but NYC is the city that never sleeps. So if anyone else sees impeding weather, check your e-mail around 5pm and re-register in a different local. Good luck everyone!!!

I am scheduled to take the nclex tomorrow. I have used Mosby, Lippencott, Saunders, 3500, MedsPub, and NCLEX Made Easy. My average for the 2706 questions that I have done: about 68%. I hope I don't get snowed in (there is a big snow storm set for tonight and tomorrow) and I hope that I am ready. I feel ready. Please prey for me! Thank you and good luck to all!!!

Thanks for the attachment! There are some good acronyms in there!!!

Sounds like it worked out for everyone. Personally, I'm still more nervous about the snow than the test at this point. But a glass of wine and a good dinner with my husband made me relax a bit more last night. Hopefully we don't get too much snow tomorrow early Wednesday morning. Good luck on your tests!!!

Thanks for the update! Good luck with that. I remember when I was looking to register the only time available was at 8am, BUT there was lots of availability in NYC. I could have taken the test two days after I registered if I was willing to go to NYC. Now I'm kicking myself in the butt because I don't think that the NYC office would close due to snow. Remember, you can take the NCLEX anywhere. If the White Plains, NY office closes on Wednesday, then I'm going to see if I can re-register in NYC. I don't know about you, but I was prepared to deal with the stress of the NCLEX, but not a snow storm. GOOD LUCK!!!!

Hello! I'm scheduled to take my NCLEX on 2/10 in White Plains, NY. We are also supposed to get a snow storm the night before into that day. Did you have any trouble rescheduling? What happened? Where you able to reschedule for the next day or soon after? I tried calling the 800# to get some info. The stupid lady "Carol" who said she was in India and told me that I can call them at 7am CST on the day of the test to see if the testing center was still open. If she was familiar with US time zones, she would know that 7am CST is 8am EST which is when the test starts! I'm so frustrated. I also called the actual testing center. This time I heard that the office opens at 7:30, which is when they want us to be there, but there may be a recording starting at 5:30am. I live 45minutes from the testing center. I am so nervous about the storm. I had to take time off of work for this test and get used to being awake during the day. I work the night shift and I don't do well on tests if I am tired. To add to it, not taking the test on Wednesday will probably delay my start date for my new job. I used to work for Pearson in Upper Saddle River, NJ. I am SO GLAD that I changed careers. They are all about money.

Well, I took my HESI this week. When we got there our school said that they lowered the passing rate from 850 to 820. Thank god! I ended up getting an 846. I think someone was watching over me for this one. Now I can study for the NCLEX.

Thanks for all of the info! I agree with your tips. Some of my professors throughout nursing school gave us some of the same tips. I also took the Rutgers U. Review, but that focused on more content. The content review was good for me since I am more of an auditory/visual learner rather than reader. I also did about 1600 questions and I tried to always review the rationals, even on the questions I got right. Unfortunatly the HESI CD only allows you to review the questions that you got wrong, so I found myself taking notes during the test on topics that I wasn't sure of so that I could read up on it when I was done with the test. Of all of the practice quizzes and tests that I took, my average was only a 67.59% . I've read on some other posts that this rally wasn't that bad of a score. Hopefully I get more than an 850 on the HESI and pass the NCLEX. Anyway, I have my HESI tomorrow morning. Wish me luck!

I also work at HUMC and I just heard of yet another unit that is closing down Then again, who knows how it has to do with all of the legal problems that the higher-ups are having...someone has to pay for it.

Hiring has been weird all over. I hear that many hospitals have canceled their Externship programs.

Then the next day a hospital representative contacted The Record and rescinded their decision. I think that their initial decision to end their relationship with The Record made HUMC look VERY bad. It also opened up advertising for other hospitals. People in northern Bergen County are old and educated...the type that read their newspaper every day. I'm glad that someone had enough sense to put emotions aside and to not let good reporting get in the way of a long standing relationship that HUMC had with North Jersey Media.

Thanks for the input! On Monday we will be having our first Physical Assessment test. How much of the test is from the notes that she gives out and how much is from the Jarvis textbook? She did mention in the beginning that the Jarvis text is at a graduate level and to just skim the chapters, but I don't want to miss anything so I'm reading the text as well. Am I wasting my time by studying both the text and her notes? Is there anything I should focus on? I hear her test questions come from left field. Thanks!!!!!

Thanks for your reply! Please excuse my ignorance, but what do you mean by "If you pm me"?

The hospitals in Bergen just had a bidding war for part of Pascack Valley Hospital, and Hackensack won, so there may be some budget trimming. If you are looking for other hospitals to apply for you may want to look at the list of hospitals on http://www.njha.com/directories/index.aspx and call the human resources offices and inquire. Some of the hospitals have info on their web sites. It may be easier to get an externship at a hospital that you have clinicals at. Good luck!

Last summer most departments were full time, 8 hour, M-F, 7am-3pm positions. There were a few floors (such as the ER) that offered 12 hour shifts during both days and nights. As far as I know, the hospital only offers full-time externships. Everyone who was an extern was going into their last year of school, no matter if they were in a BSN or RN program. It was a great opportunity. I highly suggest that everyone does an externship.

Hello Everyone!! I recently was accepted into BCC's evening RN program. I have transfered from a full-time BSN program to BCC's part-time evening program for financial and personal reasons, so I have an idea that nursing school is hard and requires a lot of work. Does anyone have any advice on the BCC RN-evening program? Any advice that you can give about the professors, clinicals, or the program in general would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

I was a Student Nurse Extern (or SNE) last summer and thought it was a wonderful opportunity. Make sure you apply and interview early. The floors to intern on are at a first come/first serve basis. Don't go to the geriatric floor (5 Saint John), a fellow student went there and hated it. Some floors are more accepting to SNE's than others. If you are having a tough time there, speak up to Nursing Ed. and you will have a much better experience. Some floors will give you a better experience than others. L&D, ER, MICU, and ICU are some of the floors that I heard of good experiences. I was on the Women's Surgical floor and I am now a Nursing Assistant there while I am in school. I love my floor, but I don't know if it is a good floor the be a SNE on because all of the employment opportunities are currently filled, so you may want to extern on a floor that has better future employment opportunities. As for the salary, an extern is paid about $15-16 per hour depending on the time of day and if it is a weekend or not. Right now parking is in Wood-Ridge and you are bused in from there, but that may change. If you get floated, keep in mind that it is a learning experience, although the nurses may not view it as such. I am very greatful to my experience at HUMC and as a NA I am still learning something new every day. No matter where you extern, it will give you more experience than you will ever see in clinicals because it is a full-time job. Good Luck!