LvHaloRN

Hey everyone, I'm relatively new to nursing. Not much luck getting a job this past year. I finally landed a job through an agency and they're sending me to a long-term care facility this week. I heard that the patient load is like 26 patients and I'm freaking out!! I'm soo nervous/scared/anxious...you mention it. The nursing recruiter told me that confidence is the key but right now I feel like I don't know anything. Any tips for taking care of so many patients at one time? Any tips or suggestions you can provide would be much appreciated.

I know its going to take some time...but its just hard in the meantime, living paycheck to paycheck - - applying for a 2nd job at places like walmart to supplement my income while all the older nurses return to the work field to supplement their income. The funny thing is, I went to nursing school so my future children would have a mother that could provide for them without worrying about putting food on the table - - and here I am - with a 3 month old and no nursing job. I just feel like I'm failing her. I'm just ranting at this point. Logic tells me it won't be like this forever, but emotionally, I've hit rock bottom. I guess I'm lucky that I have a job at all. It could always be worse.

I hear you. I'm getting tired of the same thing. Some places are good about stating "no new grads" in the job description, but all the other places don't say that at all. I then get to look forward to logging online and seeing my application status change to 'not selected'. This is so depressing.

New grad positions? What new grad positions? lol There are verrrry few right now. I think I know 1 or 2 people from my whole class that have landed jobs. All these hospitals are hiring, but they want a minimum of 1 - 2 years experience. Meanwhile, places like Sunrise are laying off nurses due to the economy and trying to assist them with job placement. I have a friend a Valley hospital that said they're even closing floors down and making their nurses take off every couple weeks. Its frustrating for new grads like myself. We can't even get our foot in the door. But I guess the new grad hiring happens in waves. It takes a lot of $ to do the extensive training a new grad requires, so they wait until they can train a group at one time.

I find myself sooooo frustrated right now. All this hard work to get through school, graduate, pass boards, and now no one want to hire a new grad. Does anyone know if any hospitals hiring new grads right now? If not, when do they usually start hiring them? I'm just afraid at this rate that I'll have forgotten everything I've learned before I ever get my foot in the door. :uhoh21:

Ok...So I took my boards and passed. Yay! The status changed on the Nevada State Board of Nursing website from IP to T license. What is the difference between the two? Will employers hire someone with a temporary license as opposed to the permanent one? The BON site just indicates that a temp is issued when there is additional paperwork they need to receive before issuing the permanent. I just don't want to quit the job that got me through nursing school until I know for sure. =/ I'm scared that I'll start practicing with a temporary license only to find out that my permanent license can't be issued for some odd reason. Sorry if it seems like I'm rambling. Can anyone provide some insight? I appreciate any clarification I can get. Thanks!

I took the test on Tuesday and did the trick the same morning. When I first got home, the status read: "Ready for delivery" but then later it read "Delivery Successful". You HAVE to wait until the status reads "Delivery Successful" I would say it only took an hour or two after getting home from the test...not long at all. Today I got my quick results saying that I passed. Thank God for this trick because I seriously would have panicked for the 48 hour wait without it. :redbeathe Good luck!!!

I wouldn't imagine that the holiday would hinder you from getting your results. I know people that are actually taking their test on Friday so it seems that they will be fully operational until the weekend. I took the test on Tuesday (also did pearson trick) and just got my results today saying I passed so you should be good. Good Luck!

I got the same type of questions. What to wear, who can room together, what precautions to take during transport, and the whole negative pressure thing too.

Ok....its been a minute since I've had to do this, but I got the same answer. Flow Rate = 120 mL/hour Drop Factor = 10gtt/mL Flow Rate X Drop Factor = Drip Rate 120mL/60min X 10gtt/mL = 1200gtt/60min = 20gtt/min Drip Rate = 20gtt/min

I'm getting ready to graduate and we were talking about this in my professional topics class because I am scared to death of the same thing. I'm worried I won't be able to find a job but they say that the trick is to make yourself look better on paper than you may feel in reality. Basically, the work history is just that - - work history. Its your skills that you need to sell yourself on. So if you don't have the medical work history (like I don't), then focus on the skills that qualify you for the area you're applying for and list those. Like I want to go for labor & delivery. So I'll probably list how many hours of experience I've had in L&D, the skills that I performed independently, the number of births I assisted in, the number of patients I cared for....etc. I guess its worth a shot. That clinical time has to count for something right? Good luck!!

Yay!! Congrats on starting the program!! I'm in my last semester and its been an adventure! I'm so glad its finally over. The 1st semester is going to be very hard. And its not really that its hard but its like culture shock. All the reading and papers and tests you have to do. lol You're going to think....'what was I thinking coming into this program? I can't do this.' You've got to get that out of your head now! :) They might seem a little hard on the students but its kinda like a weeding out process. The 1st semester is really going to get you trained and in a rhythm to deal with the semesters to come. The 1st semester math test isn't really something to worry too much about. You're going to have so much anxiety about failing it that it kinda helps you pass. The best advise I can give is repetitive practice. As long as you practice the problems and learn your conversions, you'll be fine. The harder tests come in the following semesters (especially 4th! - - we had 3 retakes and still had people fail out) I'd say in my class, 90% passed their first try and the rest passed the 2nd try. I don't remember anyone who failed and had to drop out just because of math (at least in 1st semester). If you do happen to fail the 2nd time, your grades aren't going to save you. I think that's why they give the test in the beginning of the course. They don't care if you're a B average student. You'll have to get reinstated in the program. So keep your chin up. Start good study habits now, form a study group, take lots of notes, and most importantly - - believe in yourself!! Good luck!! :heartbeat

Ok...I know you can't buy kids...but I really just want to have babies. I know lots of brave women that have babies during nursing school and I just wanted to wait until after I graduated. I just found out that I'm pregnant with a baby girl. Thank god....she's due the week of graduation. Cutting it a little close but I couldn't be happier. Maybe she'll surprise me and come a little early. I would be honored to have my daughter at my graduation. I guess I'll keep my fingers crossed.

It really stinks...but its a good investment. You're definitely going to need the book that your instructors are lecturing out of to pass your class. And to pass clinical, you'll need a good drug book, nursing diagnosis book, lab value book, and pathophysiology book. These are usually the required reading materials. Our instructors had required reading materials and then suggested reading materials. It will be a good idea to at least get the required stuff. You might not use some of it right away, but by the time you're ready to graduate, you'll find that you've used most of it.

These responses are great! Thanks so much for the help!

Hey everyone. I'm writing a paper about disaster management and I'm having a hard time finding information about the role of nurses during a disaster. :typing So I guess my question is...what do the hospitals require nurses to do when it comes to managing disasters (natural or internal)? Any information can help. I tried looking at the protocols for the hospital I'm taking my clinicals at, but its so vague. Are there any real protocols in place for such things or does anyone have a site that might be helpful? Thanks again. :heartbeat

I always thought percussion was more for advanced practice nurses 'cause I honestly never see people do it. But you can't really assess someone without doing the other stuff.

That's what nursing is about but thank god the hospitals make it a lot easier for you. They usually have pre-printed care plans (clinical pathways) and all you have to do is check a bunch of boxes for your interventions. It makes it a lot easier than the school careplans. Trust me...I was worried about the same thing when I first started nursing school. But its a lot better now.

Umm....wow - that's insane.

I would definitely say that Henderson/Green Valley area is the best. Its not that expensive either. There are some areas of Henderson that are more expensive than others but its still relatively affordable. I used to live on the north side of town near summerlin and my car got broken into 3 times so that really sucked.

I just don't see how passing nursing classes with a C or a B is considered "slacking your way through". I mean if these students can still pass their NCLEX exams then its safe to assume that they have the fundamentals. NCLEX by definition requires a candidate for licensure to pass an examination that measures the competencies needed to perform safely and effectively as a newly licensed, entry-level registered nurse.

There's a really great paperback out called: Surefire Documentation: How, What, and When Nurses Need to Document Its good because it teaches you how to document correctly regardless of what field you're working in and gives good technique that will save you in the future if God forbid something needs to go to court!! Check it out..its not that expensive - well worth it.

I don't really believe that anyone is "Doomed" to be an average nurse. The way I see it...the REAL learning doesn't begin until after you graduate anyway. Nothing can teach better than experience, trial and error, and the daily grind. Don't get me wrong...its great that some people accel academically in nursing - but to say that the C students are doomed to be average nurses is a little ignorant. It takes 1 year to become "Competent" in the field you're working in, 3 years to become "efficient", and 5 years to become "expert". So only TIME can really tell if you'll be a good nurse or that dreadful nurse that the other people come on here to "vent" about. lol A license to be a "Registered Nut" is a great thing. haha But just because you get an A in the course, doesn't mean anything anyway until you apply that knowledge to your daily work and prove yourself where it matters - at the bedside.

Here in Nevada, we have a NAP program. You work as a "Nursing Apprentice". The pay is pretty decent and you're basically working under the license of the nurse. You do a lot of nursing duties but some places limit certain things you can do like with IVs. Its pretty good practice though and you get assigned a bunch of patients.

That's the great thing about nursing school...you'll get to rotate all over the place so you can really find out what you like and what you don't. If you're anything like me...it changes every semester!! lol :chuckle Whatever class I was taking, (mental health, labor/delivery, peds...etc) I found that that was for sure what I wanted to do! So now..I really don't know what I want to do. You just have to feel it all out before deciding for sure where you belong. Good luck with school.