xstarsfallingx

If you have a proven track record of flying through courses, and your mentor isn't letting you move at your own pace, request a new one. My mentor is very familiar and comfortable with my pace, and I have never had a problem accelerating classes. Also, you can access the course of study for classes that you are not enrolled in yet. You can also view the taskstream assessments through the CoS. Therefore, even if your mentor hasn't given you access yet, you can still work through class, start your tasks, and then just submit them to taskstream once you are enrolled. The only part you will have no access to are the message boards.

I too am unsure about what the new curriculum requires, but I completed 27 units at the end of February and began November 2012. Six months is definitely doable. If you can think of a community health issue and look at the coursework for your practicum, you can most definitely begin to accumulate hours early if you have the time. My biggest time waste was the practicum hours. If I had begun seeking out resources earlier in the term, I probably could have been done at the end of January. Some of the papers are only 1-2 pages. Utilize the message boards and webinars for the specific information you need for the tasks BEFORE you dive into the course of study. Some of the course mentors write fantastic FAQs for passing the tasks, and I spent an extra few days fumbling around at the beginning of a few classes not realizing those resources were out there. Overall, I probably devoted 20 hours a week split up into little chunks. I work full time 12-hr nights, so you can imagine how difficult it was to make time for schoolwork. It is possible.

In regards to monitoring ovulation, an early morning basal temp before you get out of bed is much different than what it is later in the day. I personally run 96.6 as a basal, but if you checked me any other time after being up I am back to normal 98.1-98.6. If a woman is basing their "norm" on basal temps then they are severely incorrect. As for fevers, evidence is growing regarding whether it is necessary to even treat them unless there is patient discomfort or unless they are high. Personally, if a patient is 99.5 and I am told they normally "run low" but they are awake and ambulating and functioning just fine, I am by no means humoring them and treating that fever. I would educate on the body's defense, the benefits of low grade fevers, and to give me a call if they begin to feel uncomfortable in any way. Now, if they were admitted for a significant reason related to fevers then my approach would be much different.

A death is still a death. Some people watch a new story about someone dying and they cry their eyes out. How are you expected to care for a child for months and not feel a loss? Nurses are not stoic robots who lose a patient and move on like they misplaced their keys for a minute. It's not healthy. I am not sure why some people feel this is the case. Pediatrics blurs the lines even more, especially with chronic patients. You did not call to ask about the child. What you think and feel at home is yours. Don't let someone make you feel guilty for FEELING or for second guessing your professionalism. I've lost a few patients in the last year and yes, it hurt. Their families even invite us to go to the funeral services. Now is that crossing the line? I'll leave that to you to decide, everyone has different moral beliefs. Personally, if nurses aren't given a chance to cope with loss too, we'd all go crazy before retirement.

your personal health info is protected by HIPPAA just like anyone elses. Your employer cannot discriminate against you for health issues. As long as you perform your duties and are not a danger to patients...but if you mentioned it to a manager, that is passive permission and they CAN take it into consideration if necessary. Hopefully if it got to that point you would recognize it before your school or employer and offer to rehabilitate before they even noticed changes.

I agree th the other responses. Kaplan does not have a great rep in the medical field. Schools like Kaplan can be good for the tech industry and others like it, but you cannot beat the experience that So Cal CCs have in nursing. If you are willing to spend more, look at Mount Saint Marys. I do not know their app deadline, but if you are going to pay out the nose for Kaplan, at least pay for a school with a good reputation. Keep in mind that some of the CCs use a lottery system (moorpark comes to mind) so you are not necessarily guaranteed admission in a decent amount of time. Others have long waiting lists. I went with MSMC for that reason, they accept based off transcripts and applications just like any other college....none of the 2 year waiting. Then again, do the math and see if going faster really is worth it financially. Will you make more your first year than the delta between the community college tuition and these other schools? Something to consider.

Personally, I enjoy teaching students, interns, and new grads...BUT, I work nights and rarely get the opportunity. This also means I do not see them over and over, and I can understand how that gets difficult semester after semester. It is nice for nurses to help, but unless you are at a teaching hospital I do not believe the school of thought is that the nurses have any obligation to students. Your instructor is ultimately responsible for teaching you, not the staff. Sure, it's great when you can get extra info, but the reality is RNs have enough to do on their shift...if they have a slow day and are willing, great...but it is not the norm, unfortunately. I know they make it hard to learn. I know they often want to do things on their own even if it's your assigned pt,and your only one, at that....but you are paying for the mistakes of everyone who came before you. Find the best nurse and try to stick near them. Be proactive, helpful, and considerate and they may warm up. Ultimately, this is not an isolated situation, so do not let it get you down. It will get better.

If you prime with saline, you need to wait until the blood hits the patient to begin your vitals...otherwise you are not accurately monitoring. I have always primed the blood down to the bottom so that it hits the patient when I begin the infusion. Then I begin my assessments. They are not going to have a transfusion reaction to NS.

Parents generally do not know more than the nurse about their child's illness...yet they often THINK they do. Sure they know whether their kid is acting "right" or not, but that is often as far as it goes until YOU teach them. Education is aimed at both the child and thr family, whatever structure that may be. You must learn to adapt to all age groups from neonates to adults. I feel this is the hardest challenge to master. Some people are naturals at it, others never develop the skill...most of the rest of us are somewhere inbetween. I second "toughness" as being important, but toughness with empathy. Most nurses who leave peds do so because they cannot cope with sick children. Either they have kids of their own and cannot turn off "mom" or "dad" roles, or they just feel too much. For me, that concern of their well being is what drives me to be better...instead of driving me away. And your comment of psych being completely opposite of peds could not be less true. In fact, the same skills in psych come into play with peds. You must always be on your toes, always creative. Kids kick and scream and bite. Teens have depression and come in with suicidal ideation, or attempts. Family dynamics needs to be assessed and your care often changes depending on the relationships of those involved with the child. Abuse issues come up. There is a TON of psych in peds. :)

I have the same problem as you, but only on the opposite spectrum. I have been on nights for almost 2 years now and suddenly I cannot sleep at a decent hour on my nights off. I usually work two in a row and then have 2-4 nights off, so I try to go back to a day schedule. I simply cannot fall asleep despite being tired. If I stay awake until 2am then forget it...I get a second wind and I am subsequently up until at least 5. I just bought melatonin yesterday and took it for the first time last night: 3mg about 30min before bed. I was already a bit sleepy, but by the time I climbed into bed I fell asleep faster than I have in months (I usually lay in bed for 30min or so before actually falling asleep). I slept from midnight to 0600, woke up to my alarm to go cycling, and was awake and ready to go. Obviously I will need a few more nights to truly speak on its efficacy, but my coworkers use it as well for sleeing during the day and they swear by it.

I think it is a combination of two things: sick role, and the fact that at that age, we finally start to really comprehend mortality. Even adults, to a certain extent, regress in the hospital or when sick. Even at home, most people want someone to make them soup, bring them medication, and comfort them. I work in peds and without fail, the teens and young adults are more difficult to work with sometimes than the school age and younger. This is especially true when they are admitted with something like vague abdominal pain with no obvious source. Pain control is actually far more difficult in teens and adults to me than in children....kids will eventually accept it, stop fearing it, and focus only on making it go away. Older kids and adults can make the connection between pain and possible injury. They fear it getting worse, they think of all the things that could be happening....then they get anxious, get needy, and sit on their call light all night long. Even at 14 and 15 most teens still think they are invincible. They understand things more and therefore manipulate in the hospital setting more than a smaller child, but they dont quite freak out like young adults since they cannot critically think the same way. My most difficult pain patients to date have been a 29 year old and a 40 year old, who came to us as overflow... Parents contribute too. As they get caught up in the dramatic conversations of how horrible it is to be in the hospital, and "oh my gosh, what if something really bad happens?" they begin to coddle again. They start to baby their child/ young adult because that is how they fixed things when they were younger. Just my .02

Times like that can be both situational and dependent on your hospital's policies. I have worked peds at two facilities and neither had written rules on what to do in this situation. More often than not, parents stay. Sometimes they do leave for the reasons you mentioned, and we highly encourage them to have someone come take their place...not only for safety but the anxiety that comes with being in an unfamiliar place. When this just isnt possible (dcfs involvement, other children at home) we base our behavior on the child. A small baby can be left alone in between care. A toddler is a bit more difficult, and if you are lucky enough to have a CNA or a tech, usually the two of you can trade off being in the room when the kiddo is awake. Unless they are in a regular bed, you should hopefully have cribs that are age-appropriate that the child cannot climb out of. Depending on the size of your unit and the amount of time a parent will be gone, wagons at the nurses station are a great daytime option. If you use cardiac monitors and they are transmitting to your nursing station, I always ALWAYS have unattended kids on the monitors. That way you can clearly see when they are awake or asleep...the rest is just nursing improv. :)

Personally I would recommend any hospital that has a Versant Residency program. There are several childrens hospitals in California that do. Without your location, it is difficult to recommend...unless relocation is not an issue.

Having grown up in LA, doing clinicals in several hospitals in the area, and working at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles for two years before moving out of state, my very first gut instinct is to tell you to avoid Cedars. They are great at PR and customer service, but that is because they focus all of their attention on that and ignore their staff. Most past employees do not speak highly of them and do not feel they advocate for their nurses. I do not have personal experience with UCLA (either campus), but they have a great rep. A family friend worked in peds ICU as a traveler at UCLA Santa Monica and did not particularly like it. I believe an old classmate of mine is at the main campus ICU, but I have not touched base with her in awhile. Kaiser is okay, but is a huge assembly line-style brand of insurance and hospitals. Better to just pick up per diem there as they pay very well for those positions instead of getting stuck in their system. My clinical experience at St. Johns Santa Monica was great, as well as my ER and ICU experience at St. Francis in Torrence (i believe they are unionized). St. Francis is a bit of a drive, but their staff was very welcoming. It is in a pretty trashy area though...but that allows for lots of GSWs and fun trauma cases. USC University Medical Center has a brand new hospital and they have virtually no turnover last I heard. A classmate of mine is working nights in their CV ICU and I have not heard complaints from him. They pay very well too. As a past employee of Childrens, I cannot say enough about my experience there. Obviously you are not in peds, but they are transitioning to their brand new hospital, and really take care of their staff. They only place they lack is their pay...they are strictly non union and pay less than most other facilities in the area. Keep in mind when researching that if you are living in West Hollywood/bh that youre commute will be at least double in time what it looks like on paper when you are seeing miles. It is very difficult to navigate from that area to any nearby highway, so you are on crowded LA streets. I lived in weho and it took me over 30 min some days to get to Sunset and Vermont from Crescent Heights and Melrose. I would consider your location carefully.

Just to clarify, that list of colleges is the same available in their FAQ headed as colleges that have accepted students from WGU. This does not necessarily mean that it was in nursing, or a MSN program. Just because a college is willing to take a business degree applicant does not mean other academic departments would. I personally am checking in with the local colleges where I would consider obtaining my MSN from just in case. I would hate to go through the program just to find out that it counts for nothing. As of right now, it is not listed on the Illinois Dept of Professional Regulation's website, but none of the online schools are. A friend in CA ( where I got my ADN ) just finished her RN to BSN with WGU and has had no problem with CA recognizing it. I do not think she intends to pursue a Masters at this time. Could current or past students please clarify this GPA issue? I keep seeing posts asking for clarification, yet no one gives a direct answer. My friend who graduated said she simply got a credit/ no credit for the classes. If this is the case, your own "calculated" gpa based on individual grades on assignments is moot when applying for graduate school. You are still applying at a B-average. I love online courses and truly wish they were advancing at a faster pace in terms of being accepted by the professional community. They have come a long way, so hopefully in the near future no one will think twice about the difference between an online and brick and mortar student.