Misty1334

@calibean - how many times did you have to visit campus?

Anyone have the Syllabus or Rubric? Looking to get started early for Summer ; )

Hello Ladies! I took some time off from the program before the switch to semesters. I am trying to get updated on all of your thoughts re: classes. I have drafted up a schedule and would be TRULY GRATEFUL for your feedback. Again I haven't taken classes in a while - I work a pretty rigorous 36hrs/week (but no holiday/weekends) - no children. I'm wondering your thoughts on this schedule - I made notes of some of the feedback I've heard from you guys, please let me know if you agree and if you think this schedule is do-able without loosing my sanity! I REALLY want to be finished after fall semester - but it is obviously important that maintain a good gpa because I am applying to an MSN program. Summer 1: - 4510 Summer 2: - 4550 (only time available) **difficult - RFPD (Fashion) (easy) ----- Fall 1: - 4580 (only time available) **difficult Fall 2: - 4600 **difficult (with clinical portion) Fall 3: - 4560 (only time available) - PRCM (Bus. Comm) (Extensive Writing) Ladies I know you are very busy - but again your feedback it REALLY REALLY appreciated!!! Any notes on level of difficulty - which classes are best to take together etc are very welcomed : )

They have a Critical Care internship that is FABULOUS. You should call and find out when they will be hiring for it around that time. Other than that I'm not sure.

As of now they are hiring - I posted a long description about my exp today - if you want to check it out look at my message profile.

I begin in May - I went to the orientation, very casual, and nearly every nursing program is covered. The RN-MSN program is considered 5 years b/c it takes a total of 5 to go from nothing-RN-BSN-MSN. I was excited to find out that all I had to do was have my high school send a transcript of my 2 foreign languages, and I would be awarded a BSN after only 1 semester! There were barely any requirements to get into the program, I was very shocked!!!! I believe all you need to do in excess of your ANS is take "Statistics, College Alg (finite math), and General Psych". Make sure you double check because I'm not 100% positive. Hope this helps! All Best, - misty

Hey Yall! I made the MOVE!!! It's been about 3 months! Just wanted to let you know some info: - Applying for boards in FL isn't "that" bad, FL BON website explains everything, and the app is pretty painless. You MUST have your home school send a copy of your "Certified" degree - not just your final transcript! I was delayed 2months, bc Ohio doesn't normally do this. - FL has Grad. Nurse Status (GN), so you are highly encouraged to interview prior to boards. Most hosp. have GN Fellowships - AWESOME choice, a lot of training, and you end up truly prepared. -PAY: every hospital I interviewed with said - $21.95/hr, with $5.00 diff. for nights & weekends. Therefore $27.00 roughly. Benefits were very similar, all inclusive, with many perks for working at the larger hospitals. - In my personal oppinion, I was treated MUCH more respectfully at Tampa General. During my interview at St. Josehps I was offered a job, but they really acted as if I were just a number - there was no "team" atmosphere, nor a feeling of importance. It was as if, as long as I wasn't an axe murderer they'd put me somewhere. In their defense, maybe it was just my interviewer. Also, both hospitals only requiered 1 interview, no scenerio questions. Both offered me a job. - Tampa is AMAZING, I am downtown at Channelside - what a place for young singles/couples. I will honestly say that due to the housing market this area was built for the young and wealthy, but since no-one is buying our 1million dollar Condo, we are Renting it for a great price. So everything is here - but we need a surge in population. We go to the beach every week, ride the trolley throughout the city, and ride our bikes daily. We recently hosted the Superbowel - which brought every celebritiy you can think of!!! We met several! Unfortunatly we are having a cold streak - but in a few days we will be back in the 70's. - I just keep asking myself "how did I live in Ohio for so long....." - Cost of living is def. higher - we used to be ridiculous spenders, but now we are cutting coupons. This is just the price of "urban living" as the realators say lol! Hope this book helps lol! Good Luck All. All Best,- Misty

Hey All!! :yeah:WU :yeah:HU!!!! I will be in my new Condo at Channelside by this time next week!!! I can't believe that it's finally happened! A move from Ohio - FL is not reccommended lol - especially as a New Grad, trying to get my ATT in another state, applying for jobs, and applying to go back to school already!! So ladies, my goal in life-------has been to work at TGH in Critical Care, and thank the good Lord I GOT AN INTERVIEW---WU HU HU lol! I REALLY need some advice from anyone whom has interviewed or works at TGH Please!! I am telling you, I went to school in Ohio, and after a short vacation to Tampa in my second semester, I knew that TGH was where I wanted to work. I am interviewing with Caryl - has anyone interviewed with her before? I'm so serious, I'll buy you a pair of scrubs is you can help me lol!!! Ones with smileys on them ha ha! Please Help! All Best, Misty PS: Mytphyne - Did you decide to move yet? If so maybe this time nextwe can remminnis about the beautiful Ohio Foiliage! Oh while we're in the pool lol.

I actually just interviewed @ St. Joseph's and I as a new grad I was offered: $26.95/hr = $21.95 base & $5.00 nights Good Luck!

Thanks for the quick info! - And the advice! I have another question: Do you think it's common to have so many iso pts on such a small floor - or is the bad practices causing this? Also, You're so right, it's hard to be new, esp when you don't know anything except the basics - and it's hard to tell veterans that they're forgetting those lol! I certainly suit-up, I had a real scare once - funny story: I was passing my first IV med alone, my instructor prepared it, and for some reason left the plastic spike on the top of the syringe - we used a needless system..... can u see where this is going lol! I started pushing the med via a peripheral port - and suddenly I noticed the there was fluid dripping - and then - you guessed it.... blood was back-flowing everywhere!!!! It was gushing out at record speed! It took me nearly 30secs to realize what had happened!! I was so green, I thought that the drug caused it lol!! Well, since I thought I was so important now, passing an IV med alone & all, I wasn't wearing any gloves!!! I thought, hey I'm just pushing a med..... Therefore - I am certainly very cautious now, even if I'm just re-setting an IV in an iso room I glove & gown!!!

Hello! Well I couldn't get the answer at the Hospital, so I thought I'd go to the experts. I have been in a Trauma ICU precepting (for school), out of 16 beds, I would say 8 are on isolation.... Well the protocols were def. not followed while I was there - COWs, accu cx, thermometers, etc being used in iso and reg rooms, and worst of all - my preceptor never gowned/gloved up! Actually he even assisted me in drawing blood, and contaminated himself.... Crazy right! I just wanted to get that off my chest lol! My question is, in report several of the pts were said to have "Pseudo", and "Acetobactrium" (likely not the correct spelling). I asked several RN's what exactly these resistant bacteria's were and none of them knew, and every ref book avail. was >10yrs old! A few told me that they didn't want to "sound stupid" so they never asked, but would look them up... Well they all spoke confidently in report - as if they've delt with them a 100 x's before. I was so surprised to find that so many had no idea - I never did get an answer... So, I looked up both - I couldn't find anything in which I could understand about Aceto--, and Pseudomonas came up in Wiki, but none of the info was all that understandable either. I took micro - but I don't see how I could ever explain these bacteria's to pts..... Is it common to be clueless about these bacteria's? Is there a good ref. in layman's terms? Is it really Acetobactruim? Thanks Guys - I know you will know lol! - misty

I received the from FBN: 2)Thank you for your e-mail concerning CEs. Continuing education requirements for Board of Nursing licenses are as follows: * HIV/AIDS and Domestic Violence CE are no longer required for initial licensure, * HIV/AIDS CE is now a one-time, 1-hour CE requirement to be completed prior to the first renewal (if you taken a 1-hour course on HIV/AIDS, you have completed the requirement), and * Domestic Violence CE is now a 2-hour requirement every third renewal. For example, if you renew your license on January 31, 2007, you are required to complete the Domestic Violence CE before the January 31, 2011 renewal. * 2 hours of Medical Errors from a Florida approved provider * 24 hours total each biennium. You can find a provider for any course at: http://www.cebroker.com

NGreen - Thanks for clearing that up!! Maybe that's why no-one here seems to know what I'm talking about lol! So - just to be clear, are there RN recruiters outside the hospitals there in FL, and is there benefit in using them? Thanks - I learn so..... much from you guys!! I've been spying on this board for over 3 years now! I gasp when I find nursing students who don't know about this place - it is such a great resource! Thanks again! - misty

Thanks for responding so quickly Jlmb!!! Happy to hear I didn't make any HUGE mistakes by "assuming"! It's just so tough to apply what you know is right all the time when it seems like what you "should do" and "what you do, do" are miles apart when you're on the floor! When I would ask specific questions about "why", or "how do you know for sure", I would get the same response from many of the TICU staff which was "well, because that's the way I've always done it"..... It seems like it would be nearly impossible to complete all tasks and have time to research everything that I don't know.... Well, I know that I obviously will need some years of exp to work on a floor like that, but I'm really ashamed of myself looking back now bc I took his word for everything - and I know better!! What was I thinking not referencing these meds just bc he told me how he does it. It's not his failure it's mine - I know that he has some knowledge behind his practices, I was just doing what I was told blindly! Whew, I'm venting - sorry, I guess after the 120hrs of 7p shifts I'm just now realizing what happened lol!

Goodness - I just finished a Preceptorship (for school) in a TICU, & when I read these boards I feel like everything I learned from my preceptor is Kaa Kaa!! So quickly: I was running MIV NS, and q3 IVPB Pipercillan for 30mins and then Vanco for 120mins. He told me that I did not have to change the line - and mentioned nothing about back-flushing (not sure what that is), and we would leave them hang empty until the next dose arrived.... He told me that nearly ALL abx are compatible?? Is this right? BTW, this was through the distal port on a PICC, and the pt. had Heparin running through the primary port. Please don't bash me - this was my first "real" all hands-on rotation, and I'm running out to buy an IV pocket guide asap! Thanks for your help!!!

Maybe this is a dumb ques too, but I thought this was a good place to ask. During my preceptorship (for school) in the Trauma ICU, my preceptor first of all told me "if the pts alive push e/t slow, and if they're dying push fast", well I obviously know that there's more of a science to pushing meds than this - but my question is, I'm getting ready to go to the ED c a new Preceptor, and I'm wondering what's the best pckt ref. I can get to for IV meds - to find out how fast I should be pushing, compatibilities, etc. Also, When I administered Phenytoin, Dilaudid etc via an infusing port he never told me to Dilute them, only to Pre/Post flush.... is this correct? He also confused me even more bc he also said many other times, that if I'm running NS I don't need to flush - so what is the Criteria for when to flush, when to dilute etc while infusing NS? Even when 3/5/10ml NS would appear as a maintenance, he would tell me to just scan them in, that we didn't need to admin them if there was NS running.... I get the reason behind maintenance flushes, but I can also see his point that the NS already running - I just wonder why they would appear as sched if I don't hv to admin them? Maybe he's right, but I noticed him doing some pretty lazy/shady things as time went on, and I don't want to go into the next rotation with these bad habits! I just don't understand how on such a busy floor as this was, a new RN could ever have the time to look-up everything. Many times when I would ask spec. quests about drugs - flushing - etc. the RNs were clueless, they just knew the way that had "always done it", but had no real reason behind it... Thanks for your help! I've learned so much from you guys! Sorry for the Novel! - misty

Yes - TOO BROAD, I know.... That's how I feel. I'm precepting for school, so I'm not ACLS, but I want to have at least a basic idea. I've never been in an ED at all, so my experience is 0! I just happened to talk this Charge Nurse into precepting me for the two days - I'm sure that I will be saying "I don't know" a lot!! I guess I just really want to get the most out of the two-days, and the ED is something that I'm really interested in, so I was trying to review some Cardiac Meds, EKG's etc. This is a Trauma 1 hosp. so I just want to have some idea about what's going on, and what some of the main drugs are that are being used. As well as not look foolish when I have no clue about the basic/common formula's being used. ZOO - thanks for the info, I really appreciate it!! Very on Target with what I need to know!! Anymore advice/info is greatly appreciated!!! Thanks Guys!! - Misty

Good to hear back from you! Congrats on the move & the job!!! I cannot PM just yet..... I'm so timid about posting lol. I'm getting there. I was wondering, here in OH no-one seems to know what an RN recruiter even is... I think I've got the idea - something like a temp service, but I wanted to ask if you used one? I had applied to TGH about 4 months ago - and they called me back and said that they would be very interested in interviewing me, but that I needed to contact HR when I was closer to Graduation. Now I'm worried that if I don't go through a Recruiter maybe I won't get the same Differentials etc.... What does everyone think? Is it better to go through the Hosp directly or through a Rec.? I also need to make sure that my position will work with me when I go to school - so do you think that it's poss. to do an internship, or are they pretty set scheds? Sorry - so many quests, I just don't want to contact the Hosp. until I have def. info, dates, etc. THANKS all! Again Congrats Tampa Girl! - Misty

Hello! I have been precepting in a TICU, but next week I will go to the ED for 24hrs. My preceptor in the ED seems to be pretty serious (compared to the prev one), and when I asked him what I should "brush-up" on, he told me that I need to be on target with Dosage Calc, bc if there's a Code he always has his students push the meds - so I better be able to calc ci 30 secs.... Well I've tried to find a general list of common meds used - but I don't have a Critical Care Text, and I don't want to spend $100 on one.... I would really appreciate if any of you could share some of your knowledge with me!! I know how to do Dosage Calc, I just want to be prepared in knowing what common doses, drugs etc are. THANKS!!! - Misty

Hello, Quick question - I have contacted Univ of S. Florida several..... times to find out the avg. time-frame for the RN-MSN Full-Time program. I have emailed and called many of the administrators - but I have received different answers ranging from 2.5 - 5 years.... I am in Ohio and will be moving to Tampa in Oct. - I love the FNP program, and I plan to apply in Jan - but obviously this is a lg gap, and would def change my plans if the program is really 5 years... in OH the avg is 3yrs. I would REALLY appreciate any info. I find it insane that even the administrators had to ask others.... and still had diff answers. Thanks All!!

Have you moved? How's it going? I'm looking to move to Channelside/Hyde Park in OCT. Hope to work at TGH, and go to USF.

Jbeachgrl - did you move yet? I cannot figure out how to PM - I'm thinking I need to pay for Platinum??? Anyhoo, wondering how it's going? I plan to move from OH in Sept - I'm looking at The Grand Central @ Kennedy - Channelside/ or condos in Hyde Park. I'm also looking to work at TGH, and start the RN-MSN program at USF next year. Hope all is going well!!!!

I'm near Granville OH, planning to move to Tampa in OCT. I have plans to go to USF for the RN-MSN program, and "hopefully" land a job at TGH. Still trying to get everything figured out..... Let me know how your doing! PM me. - Misty

I have been inquiring for awhile now about the RN (ADN) - MSN program. I am in Ohio, so I watched the on-line orientation, and I have emailed/spoke to several ppl there but I cannot get a straight answer on the time-line..... Several have told me that to go full-time RN-MSN takes 5 years, but others have told me 2.5-3yrs.... This is obviously a large gap - here in OH the programs are gen. 2.5-3. So I would really love to know what others have heard. I plan to go down to speak to someone/orient the first week of Sept. but I really need to get a definitive answer asap. Thanks All!

I just took mine online at www.nurse.com/ce 60033d -2.0 hrs Preventing Medical Errors: Florida Requirement They have the HIV, and Domestic Violence courses too. I pd $34.- for unlimited "State Req'd" courses. You download PDFs for the courses, read over them, and then take the test - no time limit. When you're finished you just save the PDF certificate for your records. It does ask you for a license number after the test - I just typed in "STUDENT" and it took it. Hope this helps !