Nerdy RN

ChitownRN17 hit the mark on a few of the pros and cons. It is nice to have weekends and holidays off, but patients get mad when you call (they only want to speak to a doctor!). I often get chewed out by patients when I answer the phone; they only want their Providers. I feel like I am wasting my skills and knowledge working in ambulatory care, but at least I know I will have off x-mas, turkey day, etc., etc.

I'll be honest, I don't remember. I have been looking all. And, of course, I tossed the flash cards right after I took the exam. Sorry. The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) website has some good reference material. Good luck!

Yes, I took the exam. It wasn’t too difficult; I think the NCLEX was harder! It was roughly the same type of questions, but when I took the NCLEX I had never done any nursing before. But now that I’ve been an RN for many years, I just used critical thinking to answer the questions. I did study of course. I purchased a stack of study guide index cards online and it helped a lot. The cards pretty much just cemented what I already knew. The test was 150 questions and it took me about two hours. I received the results the second I hit the submit button at the end. So now, I can put RN-BC behind my name. I definitely advise you take it. My boss was impressed!

I thought nursing was going to be easy because I aced all my exams in school. I had a high GPA so I thought that equaled great nursing skills. Then, when I hit the floor, I felt like I never even went to nursing school. You will be asked one hundred questions a day by patients and families and ancillary staff, and none of the answers are stuff you learned in school. You just slowly get a little better and a little smarter, but you will never have the answers to everything!

Y'all, I have been working in an Ambulatory Care clinic for the last few years, and I felt that getting certified was the right thing to do. I am scheduled to take the exam next month. Has anyone else out there taken the certification exam? How was it? Did it pay off in the long run, etc? Any feedback would be appreciated. Thank you.

Respect is a two-way street. When I was working corrections, I probably got more respect from inmates than I ever do with the patients I have now (I work in an Ambulatory Care unit in a large metro hospital). The patients I work with now treat me like crap! The hardened criminals actually respected me. People talk smack about Correctional Nursing, but I loved it. In my clinic now, I just book appointments and refill meds (the boring stuff). I actually felt like a real nurse in the prison.

I work in a busy Ambulatory Care clinic, and we have RRTs all the time. Typically, it is only one-to-two ER RNs and an RT. In our hospital, a RRT is meant to be a low key event: it is not advertised over the hospital intercom. The ER RN who shows up decides whether it should be a full-blown Code, or the patient should be transported to ER before it comes to that (which is always what happens). There are no MD who show up, or 100 Residents wanting to get their hands dirty. RRTs should be on the DL, until they need to be upgraded.

I am starting the Clover Park RN program this fall (2011). Can anyone let me know how the program is? Thanks.

I also applied for May 2009 and still haven't heard anything. I applied September 6, and the school told me not until after x-mas will I hear anything.

Aloha all, I was stationed in Hawaii for five years at Tripler. I worked throughout the hospital so I am familiar with all aspects of it. I currently live in Washington, but I just got here. If anyone has any questions about Tripler please fell free to ask. Mahalo

It isn't that bad if you are going to be working night shift. Days is another story! I lucked out because I lived in the Salt lake area which was only a five minute drive from the hospital. I recently left Tripler after five years and I can tell you OB is really short staffed, but it is not that busy either. I am very familiar with the subject because I was the night house supervisor and I never had problems finding them staff because, like I said, they were never busy. Usually it was an RN and LPN on nights and they handled it well.

Thanks for the information. I recently applied and I really hope I get in, but of course, that 25 students out of 280 makes me a bit nervous. I took A&P 1 and 2 as well as Micro, Chem, Nutrition, Stats, and so on, and I completed it all with a 4.0 GPA, but my undergraduate was only a 3.0 GPA and the university said that that was the number they look at. That did seem strange that I would get all "A" in my maths and sciences and have the university tell me it didn't matter! USM and UMFK both said it.

Has anyone applied for the accelerated BSN program at USM and/or currently attending? If so, is there a waiting list to get in? I am currently applying to the acc. BSN programs at USM and UM Ft Kent. I am really not too familiar with the UMFK program either so info there would be helpful as well. Thanks everyone.

Where do I find a practice test? I am about to start at EC and I am hearing that the practice tests has been a huge help. Thanks

Tripler AMC in Hawaii was also my first assignment. Pretty much any MEDCOM you go to will be the same (Tripler, Madigan, Walter Reed, Brooks, Beaumont). I am currently at Madigan on Ft Lewis and it is the same as my last assignment. You are going to start off as a 66H (Med/Surg Nurse) for the first year. The residency isn't as extensive as you may think. You may work a day or two on another ward and that is about it. The mission on "your" ward takes priority. And, popular to contrary belief, you aren't going to be dumped on the night shift forever. A few months of days, a few months of nights, and so on. Furthermore, as opposed to other professions in the Army medical corps, being a 66H is the easiest you will find. After 8 years in the medical field, and holding multiple ranks and positions, being a 66H is a god-sent. Show up..work..go home PERIOD. I have had assignments where my 12 hour shift was only my secondary job! I would do 12 hours and then go to work. Remember, when you begin, everyone has to start at the bottom and work their way up.