jjnRN

Hello everyone, I am also starting Prof A&B on Monday for my first class at UTA and Developemental Psych in Oct. Good luck to everyone!

Devie, I just applied for tech positions positions and got hired to the float pool. Go into the staffing office in the main hospital 1st floor and introduce yourself to the supervisors to see if you can get in with them.

I will be in the OR, I start the periop program in Jan. I did clinicals in peds and my capstone in medical ICU and the people in both units were very helpful and friendly. As I said before, most of the units I floated to as a tech/sitter were also filled with the same kind of people.

Very good, I think you will like UNMH. I am also a new grad and starting there in January as a nurse. Again, it is personal preference and experiences. It is a teaching hospital obviously and most of the areas I worked as a tech seamed to have a lot of people who enjoyed their jobs.

I started at HS in Oct as a new grad and I wouldn't call what I had orientation. The first week they used me as a sitter, the next week I had six patients then eight the next week, then 10-11 ever since. Every night was paired with a different nurse that had 6-8 patients themselves. They were going through a transistion phase at this point from 8 hr shifts to 12 hour shifts so things were a little crazy for everyone learning new responsibilities that they didn't have to do om their old shifts. That being said, I am a hands on, get in the deep end, and get going kind of person and felt 6 patients was acceptable usually and had no issue assessing, passing meds, wound care, charting, and ADLs. When that increased to 8 then 11 patients well that's another story. With 11 patients med pass can be crazy with meds scheduled from 1900-2200 (most are 2000 and 2100) in a 90 bed facility with 4 Pyxis systems (different wings), 9 nurses all wanting in the Pyxis at the same time, having to go between different Pyxis' to get some meds not stocked in every one, or having to override every med for patients that came in after the pharmicist left for the day. I know I am new and getting great experience, and most of the people I work with are welcoming and wonderful people. I knew when I took the position that it was temporary for me, to get experience. HS is a nice place to work but can be overwhlelming especially depending on acuity of patients. I work with CVA, TBI, renal, MVA, general debility, etc... with varying degrees of acuity and comorbidities. I appreciate the opportunity HS has given me, all my coworkers that have helped and continue to help me out when I need it, and enjoy the majority of my patients. It is very rewarding seeing someone at admit who can't help themselves many times or are A&Ox1-2 and seeing them leave in much better condition and them being greatful for all the help and care I have provided.

Congrats, I worked there as a tech and like anywhere else it depends on who you talk to and what area they work. For the most part I think most nurses enjoy UNMH and there is opportunity to move around. Not sure where you are coming from but life in ABQ and NM is different than other parts of the country. If you love the outdoors and outdoor activities it is a great place to live. If you don't mind me asking, I was just wondering if you have previous industry experience?

Do a search for interview tips for OR and you will get some great advice from previous threads on the subject. With that being said I will give you my advice from my recent experience... 1. Be confident, be ready to talk about your strengths and weaknesses. (confident, assertive, maticulous, goal oriented, orginizational skills...too maticulous so it slows me down sometimes...) 2. Know what the position entails as a circulator and as scrub (have an idea of what each does to show your interest is more than just applying for a job posting and hoping for a break). 3. Have some examples of patient advocacy ready to share if they ask any behavioral interview questions about it (especially pt safety). 4. Have an answer to why you are interested in the OR other than "it looks cool" (they are spending a lot of time and money to train you and you need to assure their feelings that you truely are interested in the OR and are committed to stay with them for several years after training). 5. Be ready to discuss how you handle conflict and/or difficult people. Be honest, dress professionally, make eye contact, and be yourself. Hope this helps, and good luck!

You are an adult and responsible for your own learning, you get there after class start it is your responsibility to get the info you missed although some of the instructors may say something to you if it is a regular habit. Exceptions are tests and clinical days, you need to be there on time. No, 8-5 is not necessarily your day, clinicals will typically be 630 to about 2 or 3 the first semester, classes will start at different times depending on the day, class and instructor. e.g. Tuesdays class may start at 830 and Thursday may be 900 or 1000. You will not know the exact schedule until about 2 weeks before you start. The first semester will be your longest days from what I remember though, you have Nursing Principles for like 6 hours will go to 8hrs with a skills lab day I think on one day, then med calc for a couple of hours, and an assessment class with a lab, and pharmacology I class for about 3 hrs. So yeah I guess it is a 6-8 hr day of class for 3 days of the week and 1 day of clinical in which you will go to the hospital the night before (after class) to get your patient info. Yes, I completed the program in August and yes it does prepare you for the NCLEX. Again, you are responsible for your own learning but the program and instructors give you everything you need to be successful. It will be to your benefit to be there for every class, you will cover a lot of info in a very short time. You will feel overwhelmed, that you have no time for anything, and what the hell was I thinking but you can do it! All of the nursing programs will make you feel this way. Time management is the key, keep a schedule and record everthing you need to do in it with early reminders of due dates. Your welcome for the info.

I will place my vote for SFCC as well, and say hello to nurseliane whom I had the pleasure of completeing the program with. I live in the ABQ area and commuted the whole time. I rode the railrunner a couple of semesters for class days and it is cheap but will make for a longer day than if you drove. Buy tickets online with student discount and it is about $30 or less. The drive isn't too bad and usually there are a few people from the area that are willing to carpool. The instructors were very fair in my opinion and will help in any way they can for the most part. I felt they were interested in seeing you succeed and not trying to see who they could belittle or make life hard. I too was fortunate enough to get a job right away that pays for the bills, gets me experience, and isn't that bad but, not what I want to do in nursing so I have another opportunity that I am waiting to start in January. The job market is tough right now because everyone is wanting experience and there are a lot of experienced nurses moving from place to place or working multiple places at a time. Another reason is that employers don't have the budgets to hire more nurses even though they need them. But be assured there are jobs and the hospitals are expanding. As far as CNM vs SFCC, SFCC students have a good reputation as well. I know people in the CNM program and they all talk about the instructor shortage they are experiencing. In the end it is about getting face time with the recruiters and making good impressions during clinicals not what school you went to. My understanding of the difference in the TEAS vs HESI is that the TEAS has earth sciences on it so you need to know some things about tektonic plates, types of rock, etc... On average I believe you need to score at least in the 80s on the TEAS to be competative. If you have taken the HESI you can judge what you need to study to prepare for the TEAS from that. Good luck, hope this helps.

Your week will change each semester, but M-Th is pretty accurate for most semesters with weekends for a few clinicals in 3rd semester most likely. It is a good program with great instructors who care about your education and experience. Class time and clinical time is only part of your schedule, you need to figure in reading, studying, and paperwork which will require a lot of time especially in the first and second semesters until you get used to the paperwork and managing your time. Time management is the most critical part of the program but you can do it. I know several single parents who did it and worked full time, not sure how they did it, but they did. Good luck, hope this helps.

I didn't work at the VA but did clinicals there. In the ICU the pt ratio was 1-2 depending on acuity. The doc/rn interaction that I observed was good, they have a lot of interns/residents and most I seen accepted input from the rn about the pt. Not sure on differentials and OT but i know they don't get flexed for low census. Hope this helps

I too have noticed the need to state preference in some way and don't get it at all. If you are worried about what someone may think then why choose the career path? I know who the straight and gay men and women are in my class and at the clinicals I have been at and it has not made a difference in the friendships and learning experiences I have attained. In today's world I would like to think that it does not matter what your preference is, what your race is, or what gender you are because throughout history it has been shown that all humans have similar abilities. I introduce myself as a nurse, not a male nurse. The only thing a patient or employer should care about is whether you can give the care that you would expect to get yourself. I'll step down now, James

Sarah, I am in the 2nd semester and I believe many of my classmates were high seventies as well, you can take it a 2nd time if you would like though to try for a higher score. Good Luck James

Actually the Rio Rancho campass won't be open till the fall but glad to hear they no longer have a wait. I just finished Level1 at SFCC, it is a nice program.

I'm a 1st level student at SFCC and I went there because I didn't want to wait on CNM's 2 yr wait list. It is difficult as any nursing program is and I have friends in all of them here in the Albuquerque area. Everyone says the same things; loads of work, critical thinking questions are difficult to get used to, and not much time for anything else. SFCC is a good school and plenty of people commute so you can usually car pool with someone or if the schedule for rail runner and SFCC match up you can ride the train. I currently ride the train because the schedule is pretty close to my class schedule and at $22 a month I can't beat it. The fall semester I will probably have to start driving or car pooling. All the instructors that I have worked with have been great and I am sure you find people that didn't like some off them as you will at all schools.