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afox

afox

Neuro, Neuro ICU
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afox specializes in Neuro, Neuro ICU.

afox's Latest Activity

  1. afox

    November 1st

    afox replied to Crt2rn's topic in Western Governors

    Featherz-- just curious..... to finish in the 6 months how many hours a week did you devote to school? And did you take your proctored tests online or at an assessment center?
  2. afox

    November 1st

    afox replied to Crt2rn's topic in Western Governors

    Just curious if you guys have figured out what you are taking first?!
  3. afox
    Im glad your husband isi back to normal! Mine was basically over night too. I went from probably 20 percent to 90 in about a day or two. My voice is a little lower now, but other than that I'm doing well! I'm scared how it will impact any future surgery I may need to have though.
  4. afox

    A Day in the Life of a NeuroNurse!

    afox replied to anxioustudent's topic in Neurological

    So I'm on a general floor. We care for 5-6 patient's a night. I have a lot of stroke patient's who can be anywhere from a normal person with no residual effects (just watching them/waiting to d/c them) or someone who is absolutely dependent on care. We get a lot of patient's who have seizures. G-tubes are common of my floor because a lot of people have been dysphagic. We get central lines/foleys. We also have patients with spinal cord injuries, spine surgery, brain surgery, MS, Lou Gherigs, meningitis. I've seen a lot of motorcycle accidents where they remove a portion of the skull to allow for swelling. I see a lot of Lumbar puntures done. Confused patients are normal to have. We take general medical overflow patients, too. Basically- i get the more stabilized Neuro patients and the ICU/Intermediate floor gets more critical patients, but then they come to us. Every night is different for me. We do Q4 hour neuro assessments. (Our intermediate floor does Q2 hour checks and have 2-3 patients and our Neuro ICU does Q1 hour assessments and has 1-2 patients.) My friend works in the Neuro ICU and see's a alot of motor cycle accidents and blunt force trauma. Yesterday she had a young guy who shot himself in the head but failed to die right away. So they do a lot of organ donation and dealing with hysterical families. if you can think of any specific questions, ask and i'll try to answer.
  5. afox

    2 offers: Neuro-Tele vs Ortho-Neuro

    afox replied to icp_'s topic in Neurological

    What did you take?! Firstly, Neuro isn't for everyone, but while it seems limited, can actually be very broad. I myself would have taken the Neuro-Tele position at the Comprehensive stroke center. (In fact, I work at a comprehensive stroke center at a Level 1 trauma Center and it's pretty awesome) It feels good to be part of a neuro department that is the "best of the best", as we recently along with help of our ED had a door to TPA time of 5 minutes. Most of our stroke patients are on tele, but we get all neurological ailments from Seizures to MS to ALS to spinal chord injuries to Craniotomies and spinal surgery. I'm on the general unit so we have 5-6 patients and some nights they are all neuro, some nights I have all medical overflow, so it all depends. I get a lot of pneumonia, sepsis, I've had a mom 1 day post partum because she was having seizuress, pancreatitis, psych issues, etc... I feel like this floor, while is specialized in neuro, has a wide array of patients many who different comorbidities and allows me to stay relevant to other issues.
  6. afox

    Infection control

    afox replied to jorgecardenas55's topic in NCLEX

    The post above offered great advice for the prioritization! I think Lacharity helped too. I had to do that in school, and so I went over it again before boards. As for infection control, just memorize the pneumonics & memorize what each type needs. do flash cards if you have to.
  7. afox

    Hurst with Nclex Help Study Plan

    afox replied to rmsm's topic in NCLEX

    With my Hurst- I listened to 2 or 3 lectures a day until they were all done. Then I Went through all of the note packets and saw what I "remembered" I focused on the parts that I hadn't remembered when I continued to study. No point in rewriting material you already know. Anyway, The Lacharity Prioritization, Delegation, Assignment book is awesome. I also liked the Davis Success' Series of books to reinforce core content. For Nclex try focusing on Infection Control and prioritization (which patient do you see first?)
  8. afox

    Are they going to accuse me of a "mind dump?" HELP!

    afox replied to DrivenToDream's topic in NCLEX

    I hope everything goes okay for you :)
  9. afox

    Questions or content review? [NCLEX]

    afox replied to badtz_maru's topic in NCLEX

    I did the hurst review which lectures general core content. I listened to the lectures/filled in my notes & then read through the notes once after. I also did between 1000-1500 questions. Hopefully it was enough b/c I took my test today and it shut off at 75.
  10. afox

    How many questions Did you get?

    afox replied to Inori's topic in NCLEX

    As you probably know, the minimum questions you can get is 75. Getting 75 can mean you did REALLY good OR you failed miserably. So as you take the test, the computer is scoring you and deciding which questions (if any) to throw at you next. No employer has access to how many questions you had on your nclex. My guess is that the interviewer is just curious, because everyone's nclex experience is different. Anyway, since you passed with 75, that means you did really well. Congrats :)
  11. afox

    Newly graduated RN... and pregnant

    afox replied to mojomama's topic in Nursing

    Thanks for keeping us updated :) wishing you well!
  12. afox
    I agree with what everyone has posted! You will make a great nurse, and shouldn't have a problem finding a job after school. It doesn't seem like you have any real criminal charges. Your way with words/communication, the fact that you seem honest, and that you are able to learn from mistakes would impress any interviewer! Good luck with nursing school! :)
  13. afox

    How do you organize your school items?

    afox replied to havehope's topic in General Students

    I wouldn't go any smaller than 1.5 inches. It all depends on your class though. I only keep one binder for every class. I separate it by unit/test, and have a folder in the back that I can keep assignments/loose hand outs. By only having one binder, and always having it with me, I know that i'll always have what I need. For clinicals, I carry a tote bag that always has my stethoscope, penlight, bandage scissors, name tag, some sort of pain reliever (never know when a headache will roar its ugly head), chapstick, bottled water, plenty of extra black pens, pocket sized note pad, and med book.
  14. afox

    Who do you ask for a reference?

    afox replied to lifein08's topic in Illinois

    Some applications require a name and phone number of people. They'll often specify if they want personal references or professional ones. Sometimes when you apply for a job they'll send you a form that you need to get filled out for references. I've used supervisors from previous jobs, and I've also used instructors. You want to use someone who is aware that you'll be using them for one thing. That way, they wont get an unexpected call, and not know what to say. If they have time to prepare, they can think of things to "talk you up". Also- you just have to trust that you've found a person to use as a reference, that you've made a positive impression on.
  15. afox

    Dream hospital job in Illinois

    afox replied to NIUnurs2be's topic in Illinois

    Well....I think right now I want to work in the ER and I want to work somewhere with 12 hour shifts. A lot of the rural hospitals in my area only offer 8's so I may have to travel about an hour to peoria. I just got hired as an ER tech, so hopefully i'll love it. If not, then atleast I'll be able to rule out ER when I become an RN :)
  16. afox
    It's pretty hard (or at least not easy) to get into the nursing schools in central IL that I know of. And they aren't easy to stay in once you are accepted either. We lost 8/32 people in my mental health class last semester alone. I think a misconception would be for the ADN that since its at a community college that it must be easy. Or that its "only" a 2 year degree. But in reality with pre-reqs even an ADN is 3-4 years when all is said and done. I dont think a lot of people realize the scope of nursing practice, and they may just think "oh, it doesnt take much to follow a doctors orders, and wipe a few bottoms." They dont realize we need to know what the how and why we are doing what the doctor orders, b/c if its wrong, its our butt on the line.