erlissy

Don't try to be the big, bad ER RN. If you don't know something, please ask (but use your critical thinking skills first). No one likes an unsafe nurse who tends to "know it all". You are the eyes and ears for the providers, so you must know your stuff. A good preceptor will make sure that you know what you are doing and will give constructive feedback. Don't take the feedback as a failure or anything less. The feedback is your opportunity to learn from what is said or given to you. Best wishes!

I'm in the same boat! I plan to take my exam by August since I'm not doing any BSN classes this summer. Lucky (or not!) for me, I ended up with an injury that has rendered me to the couch for 6 weeks and I can focus on studying. Best of luck with studying and testing!

Good Luck! We've been there! You can do it. Just keep focused, don't rush, and stay calm (this is the most important thing with the CPNE!) and then when you pass treat yourself to a nice massage/mani/pedi or whatever is a good stress reliever for you!

And where was this info when we were attending?! Fabulous list! So glad that EC is way back in my memory now...except for that CPNE!

I once had a patient who told our ER doc that he had an "ovarian cyst right there" pointing to his wrist....the doc just replied: "Sir, now that would be an act of God"....

You are totally describing an MD I once knew but he wasn't very nice or approachable....along with the things you named this such doctor would eat out of our containers of food in the fridge and then put them back in there without anyone knowing (he got caught doing this). He also stuck his hand (that he hadn't washed) into a bag of potato chips that I was eating!! They are out there, lets just hope not very many!!

I tested in Racine and had a wonderful experience, stressful but wonderful. Know your stuff and you won't have any problems. Go with the flow of things and you should do well. Best of luck to you! ERlissy

I too am a CMA that went on to become an RN. The only things that transferred for me where my pre-reqs. Good luck to you! ERlissy

We don't give narcs unless pt's ride/family is in room. Of course there are those sneaky few who flee out the back door and we just chart our behinds off. We have been known to watch someone get into the car, take down a plate number and call police to report drinving under the influence. Since we have instituted the no ride present in ER, no narc policy we haven't had to report anyone that I am aware of. We also don't "detain" anyone due to narcs, because lets face it...I'm not getting myself hurt because of a patient. Just document, document, document! ERlissy

Our policy....no ride home, no narcotics. Simple as that.

yeah! Way to rock it out! This post makes me feel better...I am freaking out just a little when it comes to running my first code. Yeah, I've been in hundreds of them but the next one will be the test.

I only had to do the nursing exams for Excelsior. I had a ton of credits due to having a previous degree and the fact that I've been trying to get into a nursing program for a long time. The CPNE is stressfull due to having a clinical examiner standing watching you the whole time and you know at any moment they can ask you to step out of the room. ERlissy

EC Grad as of Dec 09. Passed boards at beginning of Feb 2010. Currently working as RN in local ER which I was lucky enough to have my old LPN job switch over to. Can't wait to see what's up ahead! ERlissy RN

My experience with Excelsior was a good one. I took me two years to complete the program (had to take time off due to family illness). CPNE was done in Racine. It was stressful but manageable. I felt prepared to take the NCLEX after using learninext.com, Saunders review and Kaplan 2010 review. All in all it was a positive experience. The only issue I had was that the NCLEX advising team never stamped my photo for my NCLEX application (as required by my state) and it had to be sent to them again, all this occuring during the holidays and my application was delayed for a couple of weeks. The are "looking into resolving the issue" as I know one other person it has happened to. Good luck with your studies!! ERlissy RN

Hey all, I passed even after having to drive through a snow storm on the day of the test!!!!! I am so excited to go to work tonight as an RN!!! Thanks to all the other EC grads that helped out along the way! ERlissy RN

So I take boards on Saturday morning and there is an ice/snow storm coming tomorrow....so glad I got that hotel room close by! ERlissy

What do you guys think about calling people on holidays? There are some that do and some that don't. Just feeling people out for pros and cons to help improve staff involvement. ERlissy

Does anyone know of an ER that does patient call backs. Calling the patient a few days later to follow up. I understand calling that patient who has a blood culture done or a urine culture, but why call every patient? We are a 14 bed ER and see about an average of 60-70 patients a day. Anyone else doing this??? Erlissy

Goodness....I just got my ATT for NCLEX...now I have to be a big girl! For all you trauma people...my sphincter tone just increased!! It seems so long ago that I was preparing for NC1 with Excelsior! Melissa

I too am an Ivy Tech LPN and Excelsior only took my Gen eds. The only thing I had to take from excelsior other than the NC exams was info lit. But it is doable. I am just waiting for my ATT to take boards. Best of Luck! Melissa, GN

If you are self motivated and feel like you can do a distance program, you might look into excelsior. I wouldn't use the college network...go directly through Excelsior College if that is the route you choose to go. Best of Luck! Melissa

I got an official test date 3 weeks after I applied. I had to wait 4 months waiting on that date to arrive but I didn't put my self on a cancellation list. The longet I have heard someone having to wait was 8-9 months because she only chose one specific site and not a whole region to go to. I completed the CPNE and am now waiting to take my state boards! Melissa GN

WOOOO HOOOOO:yeah: Isn't it grand? Melissa GN

We had a Dr. who would eat out of your container of food and then put it back in the fridge...no one ever brought food after that....needless to say he is no longer working with us!

Registration staff had entered "dirahaha" for diarrhea....now it's all we say for diarrhea!