mrsmoo2

I just graduated as an lpn a couple months ago..it took 2 years of pre-reqs & then a FULL year after that..I am the charge nurse on afternoons..I do everything..even run antibiotics & heparin through central lines..I take orders from drs, call in requests to change a med if I think it needs to be, talk to families, mandate & schedule the aides, do all meds & treatments & charting, admits, discharges, weekly assessments,.....everything. We are very respected at my LTC facility...there's only a handful of RN's & they never work nights, so we occasionally have to do IV pushes as well, and the other day I had to put a g-tube back in after it fell out. So, I'm pretty happy right now, making more money than I ever have & feel very proud of myself,

I just started a job at a ltc thursday (found out I passed boards wed)..I'm orientating on 2:30-10:30..I did my clinicals there, so I had a bit of an idea how it went, but at this place the charge nurses do everything...there's no way I can learn it all before they want to put me out on my own in the next 2 weeks....I've never done an admit, never reordered meds, never sent anyone out, never even taken an order from a dr....never even talked to a dr yet!! How will I ever be able to run a wing without doing some serious damage??? Will it all just "sink in" as they keep telling me? Everyone says, don't worry, it just takes time..but time's the one thing no one wants to give me!!! I really like this job, I'm just so afraid of screwing something up or hurting someone. I can request more orientation time...supposedly I can have as much as I want, but they're sefiantly pushing to cut it short & I'm afraid if I ask for more they'll think I can't handle the job, so I don't know what to do..from the sounds of some posts, I should be thankful for 2 weeks.

It's strange to not be posting in the student nurse or nclex section! Just found out today that I passed my lpn boards & I start my first job tomorrow at a ltc facility as a charge nurse. I've wanted to be a nurse my whole life & Ican't believe that I am & in less than 24 hrs I'll acutally be working!!!! Wish me luck!!

Good luck tomorrow!! I took it this morning (lpn), it shut off at 85, and even though I know it "doesn't matter", I still was overjoyed...I figure I can't have done bad enough that it shut off because there was no hope of me being deemed competent. It was not as bad as I thought & heard. I nearly thought I would faint this morning waiting, but after I got going, I realized I had much tougher med/surg exams...I had mostly priority , a few dosage calc, 3 check all that apply, no endocrine!!! We have access to rapid results, so I'll know Wednesday at the latest. I start orientation at my new job tomorrow.

Thank you so much for this....I take my test Monday morning & I can't stand hearing one more person tell me how insanely hard it was, how nothing I could possibily study will help, how it's full of stuff no one had ever heard of. I know the majority of people pass it, so how could it be that off the chart? I've nearly made myself sick worrying & studying..every time I get a question wrong, I freak. My stomach hurts, my face is breaking out like never before, I'm snarling at my husband & kids & all I want to do is sleep!!!! I have to pass..I have a job waiting that I needed to start yesterday just to keep us out of bankruptcy thanks to all the debt accumulated while I've been in school. I've done NCSBN, Saunders book, cd, and flashcards & part of Mosby's, so I hope I'm well-prepared. I plan to spend the next few days reviewing lab values & s/s of cushings & addisons & the different insulins..this stuff seems to be on all the practice tests. Wish me luck...and please, anyone else with good NCLEX experiences, please speak up!!

I was wondering the exact same thing...that happened to me twice today on the NCSBN site....one time I worded it different..(barely), another was spelling..I spelled glycosylated hemoglobin wrong by oneletter..I'm terrified to think not only do I need to know the answer, but spell it perfect, too!!! I would love some input on this...how can we be scored wrong for simply wording the right answer different...I bet not many people write it exactly as the computer does. Also, a question that listed a clients 24 hr input in ounces & asked how many ml it was.....30 ounces in one ml, the total oz was 80, so put 2400 ml...I was wrong..it said it would be 2250 or 2700????? I take my test monday, and I'm becoming very nervous about these alternate formats...I heard a rumor that these are not counting toward our score, that they are part of the 15 pilot questions..is this true??

I feel exactly the same way...I HAVE to pass...we cannot afford for me to be a "stay at home mom" for one more minute....I have a job waiting, pending passing this thing..I take it the 25th. There is no way we could survive 3 more months of one income...no facility around here uses graduate nurses, and they also won't hire one as a CNA. I am enrolled in NCSBN course, and I cannot get above an 80% on any of the tests...even gotten 58% on a couple, and I've never had anything below a B, ever.....I feel like there's no way I can learn enough, and if my test doesn't shut off at 85 (lpn boards), I will have a breakdown, I'm afraid. I use the Saunders book & CD & did the flashcards, probably have done close to 2000 ??'s so far, my goal is 3000. All my friends say they know I will pass, they don't have a doubt, but it's just SO important that I do, the alternative is unthinkable. I think I'll go vomit now!!!!!!

Well, after dreaming of beiing a nurse my whole life I am being pinned an LPN at 7pm tonight. I don't think it's really set in yet, because I just feel kind of numb..I'm not even all that excited...is this normal? I have put in an application at the LTC facility I've always wanted to work at & the DON told me to call her as soon as I have a date for my NCLEX & she'll get my paperwork & all that officially started, I'm not overly worried about boards, so I don't know why I feel so "gloomy". For any LPN's....will people ever stop asking me when , why I'll go RN??? I might go on in a couple years, since the nursing home will pay for it, but I may not..I've always envisioned myself in the lpn role...money has never been an issue for me, I'm lucky enough to be able to do what I want, not what I have to do, but most people just don't let it be...I've even been told I'm too smart not to be an RN, and I'm just getting so sick of defending my decision....the lpn role is right where I want to be for now, but I've been made to feel I'm not really a nurse yet unless I'm an RN. I'm sure this is part of my feelings about pinning...are there any happy, content, respected lpns out there??? I'd love to hear something from you!!

Our other classes have been mostly knowledge..ie, Digoxin is used for A,B,C, or D. Pretty straightforward, but our med-surg teacher uses questions right out of Mosby's PN review book...4 good answers, pick the "most right" kind of stuff. I have been doing Saunders CD & Mosby's PN cards..I find I'm getting about 80% correct. My weakness is defiantly pharmacology..I have an A in it as far as I know, (don't know what I got on my final yet), but I don't feel like I really KNOW it very well. I cannot fail NCLEX...I need a job yesterday!! I just want to know how much time I should really expect to invest. I have a 5-week nutrition & clinical rotation left, starting Monday, then graduate June 17.

I was wondering..if a person has had good grades (A-B) throughout school consistantly, are the odds good that they'll pass the NCLEX? Does one have anything to do with the other? Our med-surg teacher tried to make all her tests NCLEX-style & difficulty, and I got an A (highest in the class), so I'm hoping that means I'll do well on the boards.

I'm at the end of my fifth week...we've had a procedure exam, which is where we go in to lab one at a time & there's acutal patients we don't know & we had to do a complete set of vitals, move a person from bed to chair & back to bed, a sterile field wound dressing change, and ng tube placement check & feed. Then we had to go & chart each procedure. Very nerve-wracking..we only got 2 trys to pass or had to start over next year. We had 4 tests in one week, have 2 on Monday, one the second week, a quiz in pharm every week, a research paper due next week , 10 hrs of community service, and an 8 hour project with a patient at our LTC facility!!!! This week we had cpr training & basiclife support. We have a written exam & procedure exam today to be certified before clinicals start next week. Our dosage calc class is only 10 weeks and that starts Monday...you know, I was feeling OK until I actually started typing all this....now I'm starting to freak!!!!! I've done alright lowest score was an 88, but i had a 4.0 in pre-reqs. I heard whatever grades you average in pre-reqs, the same effort gets you a grade lower in the actual program, so I guess I'm right on track!! B's are fine with me.

Well, I stood right there & watched the lpn do my dad's initial assessment..I was with him every step of the way..an lpn attended to him in pre & post-op, & every step along the way. I was surprised, that's why I was really watching what the lpn's were doing..I honestly only saw an RN for the IV med pushes....this is not intended to diminish RNs, only that I have been getting so sick of hearing that lpn's weren't good for much more than ltc..I was surprised at how much they were doing at the hospital. You wouldn't believe the crap I've had to hear when people find out I'm making the concious decision to be "just an lpn"...the lpns I've been watching this week are useful, skilled, important parts of patient care. There's alot of reasons why I'm choosing to be an lpn, some may change & I may decide someday to be an RN, I just don't like being made to feel embarrassed or like I won't really be a nurse...and, as of the other day here in MI, the only things an lpn can never, ever, no matter what facility, do are IV med pushes & chemo, but I do know an lpn who did start IV's & push meds in a hospital downstate..I have no idea how that came to be, but she did it.

I just had to comment..I've read so much about how hospitals don't need/use lpns & how ltc is all they're good for, blah blah blah...my dad has been in the hospital all week after having his prostate removed. I never used to pay any attention to the letters on the nametags, but of course now I do. It was an lpn caring for him 90% of the time. They did initital assesement, meds, messed with his IV, wound care, everything. They didn't have to run & ask the RN before they did something & all I saw of an RN was when he needed a new IV started & morphine pushed. When I was talking to an lpn about starting my program next month, she said "good, this hospital is desperate for lpns" They;re in the OR, ER, peds, & she said they hang blood products, too. After all the "lpns are just glorified aides" crap I've been hearing, it felt so good to see them doing "real nursing". If i hadn;t looked at nametags, I would not have ever known which ones were RN & which were LPN. So, all you current & future lpns.....we are needed & appreciated!!!!!

I'm married with 3 kids, no job, & I took micro & intro to chem one semester & physiology & general chem the next semester..3 A's & one A-. I hate to say it, but I really didn't feel it was all that hard..I just studied a little every day..(reveiwed/retyped notes) & got in a study group a couple days before exams. I'm a little nervous that I didn't really develop the study habits needed for the actual nursing program, which I start in August..I know a few minutes a day won't cut it anymore.

starting first semester of lpn program at alpena community college, michigan.