Grapenut

I used Saunders and I didn't get more than 70%, sometimes not that high, on practice tests. I passed the NCLEX on the first try with 76 questions.

If it's going to be another year before you come up that will help you get a job -- at least a year of experience. There are jobs but most hospitals want a couple of years experience at least. If you're in a specialty (ICU, ER, OR) that helps too. You can go through a travel company. But they usually require at least one year experience, sometimes 2. Good luck.

That's weird, because I have fingerprints for Alaska and Oregon (those states mailed them to me), and I live in Georgia, metro Atlanta as a matter of fact, and cannot find anyone to do ink scans. All the police departments and the UPS stores that do fingerprints only do the Live Scan.

I joined MedCeu October 17, 2012. Paid $39.99 for a 2 year membership, as evidenced by the charge to my Wells Fargo account. Now I need to send my certificates to one of the states I'm licensed in, and their website says I'm not registered and haven't taken any courses. One phone number says it's disconnected, another rings and rings with no answer. The link to email them ends with an error message. I have filed a complaint with the BBB of Florida. I'm going to see if Wells Fargo will investigate their bogus charge, but it's been 4 months now so we'll see. Beware. I should have Googled this company first, but it was recommended to me by a friend who had used them before, and I get unsolicited emails from them all the time. It was just too easy.

It's a Long Term Acute Care hospital (an LTAC). Most people don't know what that is unless you've worked at one. It isn't LTC, like a nursing home. It's an acute care hospital that the regular hospitals send people to when they've done all they can do but who still have skilled nursing needs. They don't want them taking up a bed at the "regular" hospital any longer, but they're still on ventilators, have extensive wound care, traumatic brain injury, spinal injuries, multiple organ failure, and it's going to take weeks, sometimes months to get them stable enough to move them along, if ever. Really the sickest of the sick. I worked in ICU at one. We could take weeks to wean someone off a ventilator, where an ICU at the regular hospital wants to get them off quickly and free up an ICU bed. It was a challenge.

Looking at an ad for a position at Regional Hospital Seattle. It's an LTAC. Anyone have any personal experience there? Thanks.

What part did you not pass? I would focus on that. I passed the first time. Rob's CPNE helped me know what I was walking into, but you already know because you've been there. But his study guides helped me as well. You can Google him. I spent several months prior to testing memorizing the critical elements--Rob's CPNE will help you with this using mnemonics - I can't stress enough how that got me through. He has a DVD you can order. Practicing the care plan process also put me over the top. I went to one of Excelsior's seminars when it came to town that sort of simulated the CPNE. But I spent a lot of money on it and it didn't help me much. Like the other poster said, when I was there that day I was so disoriented that one of the instructors asked me " do you really think you're ready for this???" But I was an LPN on a med-surg floor for 4 years already, and once I got to the actual CPNE in the hospital I was very comfortable in the environment and relaxed as soon as I got in the room with the patient. And I had memorized the critical elements using Rob's mnemonics, knew how to write a care plan and assess the outcomes. I had studied the Study Guide front to back several times, knew how to do everything according to the standards they were looking for (which are outlined in the Study Guide). If you take the time to do all that you can pass this. It's basic stuff, nothing hard. Study the Study Guide. It tells you everything you need to know. And get Rob's CPNE study guide. About $40. Feel free to PM me if you have questions. Good luck.

Thanks! I'll check it out.

I don't know if this is the right forum for this topic, though it deals with a career issue - continuing education credits. I've been using a company (medceu.com, if I may mention it). I spent $39.99 for 2 year membership. I took about 18 hours of courses there. But when I go back in, it says I'm not registered and haven't taken any classes. So I wrote them and addressed the problem. It seemed to be fixed as the next time I went to the site it recognized me and showed my record of courses. Then tonight, same thing. It doesn't recognize my log in, says I need to register. You shouldn't have to go through this over and over with a company. Anybody have any good online continuing education sites they want to recommend (if that isn't against the rules here). If not, I guess this will be censored. But I did want to warn people about this company as their website is not reliable. As for recommendations, PMs are welcome if they aren't allowed on the post. Thanks.

From all the posts I've seen, and my own personal experience, it is notoriously hard to get on somewhere in a specialty without any experience. Having said that, I know that Providence occasionally posts positions for new grads that they advertise as Internships. You can go to their website and apply. I think there's a lot of competition for those positions, but they do exist. If you see one in a department you are interested in, after you have applied I would call the hospital and find out who the nurse manager for that department is, and then give them a call, let them know of your interest and maybe that will help them pick your resume out of the crowd when it comes in. They will usually give you an approximate date they are hiring for. So call back and check on it after you apply. Be the squeaky wheel. There is also Alaska Regional Hospital and Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage. I don't know if they hire new grads, but you never know. It's worth a try. The worst that can happen is they say thanks but no thanks. You might also try Fairbanks. There's a small hospital in Ketchikan also. Good luck.

Try St. Elias Specialty Hospital in Anchorage. They were hiring new grads a few months ago. It's an LTAC (Long Term Acute Care), meaning, it is an Acute Care hospital, not a long term nursing home situation. Good place to start building your skills.

Where did you do your clinicals? I'm guessing Providence, Alaska Regional, Native. I didn't go to school in Alaska. But I was in a similar situation. When I graduated, first I waited until I passed the NCLEX to apply. Many of my classmates already worked as techs at the hospital where we did clinicals, so they were just immediately hired as Nurse Graduates when they graduated. I wanted to have my license in hand before I applied so I took the NCLEX first. I applied through HR. I waited and waited and never heard from them. I finally decided to put on my business casual and go to the hospital to 2 of the units where I had done clinicals to just stop in, introduce myself to the nurse managers, hi-do you remember me-I did clinicals on your unit . . . and tell them how much I loved the facility and their unit, what a great experience it was and how I would love to work for them and grow my skills there, be part of their team . . . I didn't even get to the 2nd unit. I was hired on the spot by the first nurse manager I went to. She did remember me, and it so happened she needed to hire someone. It seems the wheels turn slow in HR everywhere, but if you can just break in line and go straight to the Nurse Manager, be humble, be polite, but be enthusiastic, they can call up HR and let them know they have someone their interested in. And HR can get your resume to them. Or you can also take it with you and hand it to them, but of course they still have to use HR to get all the hiring paperwork done. Seeing a live person instead of having to go through a stack of impersonal resumes can make all the difference, I think especially in Alaska where they get resumes not only from locals, but from people all over the Lower 48 that want to come to Alaska. Good luck to you. I'm sure you'll break through that wall.

I agree with your point that if everywhere you go you get treated with some degree of hostility, maybe you need to take a longer, harder look at yourself. But that's not to say that bullying doesn't happen in nursing. When I graduated, I worked PRN on a med-surg unit as there were no full-time positions at the time. The first full-time position that came open was on a different med-surg floor than the one I was working on. The floor where I was working PRN was great. My nurse manager was very supportive, the nurses I worked with were kind and supportive, with a couple of exceptions, and everybody knew who had the queen bee attitudes and just let it roll off. When I transferred to the other floor to take the full-time position, I jumped into a pit of vipers. The exception on that unit were the kind, supportive nurses, and the majority of them were bullies. It wasn't 'they had a bad day' because that was there modus operandi every day. And the nurse manager was the same. I've never had a problem getting along with people. Even the people that other people pick on because they think they're weird or whatever. But these nurses actually enjoyed attacking and tearing down other nurses, not just new grads but even nurses that were just new to that hospital, and especially if they were from out of state. They were like a pack of feral dogs looking for fresh meat. I was on that unit 14 months before I was able to transfer back to the unit where I started. During that time these nurses ran off several good nurses that saw the writing on the wall, that they were just going to get beat up by the mean girls on the playground every day, and there wasn't going to be any end to it. I tried to convince these nurses that they should try another unit, because they weren't all like this one. I knew this because of the experience I had on the floor I started on. But all of them just left the hospital and never looked back, and it was really the hospital's loss. When the administrative person in charge of a unit condones it, it is not going to change. I have met a few very squirrely people that in my opinion should not be nurses, and some of them may be the folks you speak of that get the bad treatment everywhere they go. But bullying in nursing is out there. If every place I worked was like that one horrible unit, I'd quit nursing and find another way to help people. Life is too short. I've worked at 2 other facilities since that first bad experience, and I've never had another negative experience on that level. But everywhere I go, there are always those with that tendency to be condescending or just plain bully others. Fortunately, they have not been in the majority.

My former user name was AreWeThereYet. When I first joined allnurses, my main topic of interest was the distance learning program I was working my way through. It seemed all of us posters on this subject had this journey in common and this goal at the time - graduating from the program. Thus the name AreWeThereYet. At some point I had trouble logging into my account and thought that if I changed user names and login info it would help (which it didn't - though I finally got the problem straightened out with the help of allnurses tech folks). That's how I ended up with Grapenut. I happened to be eating some wonderfully sweet grapes as I was working on this and I'm not very good at thinking up user names.

I don't. I think it's a specialty that you need to feel a calling to, just like any other nursing specialty. To be honest, I didn't want to work there initially -- I just applied because I had to have a job somewhere and I needed the money. What surprised me was how much I actually enjoyed it. I loved the residents. Just like any nursing job, it's hard work. It was difficult to squeeze all the charting, assessments, passing meds, admissions, transfers to acute care, and other duties into the amount of time you have to do it and not go into overtime, which was strictly forbidden at this facility. It was especially hard for me as a new nurse. Time management is a skill you develop, but it is a real challenge for a new nurse to be responsible for 21 residents right out of school. I was following the advice of seasoned nurses who told me that as a new grad I should work med-surg for a year or two, so I pursued that route. My hat is off to the nurses in long term care. It's a special calling and I was impressed with the skill and big hearts of the nurses who oriented me there.

I graduated with my LPN 6 years ago and didn't want to apply anywhere until I had passed the NCLEX and had my license in hand. The hospital where I did my clinicals had hired several of my classmates who applied before they took the NCLEX. I initially made the mistake of just dropping my application and resume off with Human Resources. Two months later with license in hand and eager to be working, I finally applied at a local long term care facility, who hired me on the spot ("How soon can you start?" . . . ). I only accepted a PRN position there because I was hoping to get on at the hospital where I applied. I finally went to the hospital and was going to visit the nurse managers on the two med-surg units where I did clinicals and say "Hi, remember me, I did my clinicals here and would love to work for you . . . " The first nurse manager I approached remembered me and said she needed someone PRN for weekends and asked if I was interested. Long story short, I worked PRN at the long term care facility 2 or 3 days a week, and PRN weekends at the hospital for 4 months until a full-time position finally came up on the med-surg unit at the hospital and I was hired there and stayed 4 years. I quit because I moved out of state, but if I had not visited that nurse manager and had just waited on HR to contact me, I don't know if HR would have ever picked my resume out of the pile. And experience is experience, so if long term is all that's available, at least you'll have that on your resume. Good luck and don't give up. You'll get there.

As Fungez pointed out : When I started they had things like transportation, hospitality, etc. Our time was considered too valuable to do nonnursing things. Unit clerks were staffed every shift, even nights. Now, if we get a clerk she's expected to take VS, pass ice, in short, to do two jobs for the pay of one. And then we get dinged if our phones aren't answered in a timely manner. At the hospitals where I have worked, in the absence of any department's presence (housekeeping, lab, secretarial, transporters . . . ), we, the nurses inherited the job. We're expected to do 16 hours worth of hard charging work in a 12 hour shift, and then called into the office and reprimanded when we clock out with 30 minutes overtime too often. Nobody wants to be the one to say the emperor is not wearing any clothes. It's a bad economic time, and we're grateful to have our job, so you don't want to anger the suits. There's a long line outside the door looking for jobs, and they're all too glad to remind you of that.

We drove from the deep south also. We left on a Saturday driving, made it to Seattle by Wednesday night and spent 2 nights with a friend there, left Seattle and drove to Bellingham Friday morning to catch the Alaska Marine Highway to our final destination, and that took 2 and 1/2 more days; arrived on Sunday and started my new job on Monday. LPNs did everything the RNs did at the hospital where I worked back home except charge of course. But I watched what they did all those years (and sometimes did it for them if they were busy!). So I definitely feel ready for the responsibility now. When I was working my way through the core stuff and nursing content, I paced myself at an exam a month. We already know the material. It's not like they teach you anything different in biology or anatomy & physiology or any of the other stuff. So most of it is a review. People's criticism of the distance program is that we don't do clinicals. I had to do 750 clinical hours spread out over a year in every unit in the hospital as an LPN. The ADN and BSN students doing clinicals when I was there that year didn't do even 1/2 what we did. Congratulations on making it up here and pursuing your degree. I'll send you a private message with more specific info.

Welcome to Alaska. I came up as a travel nurse 11/08 in order to make enough money to do the CPNE. It took me a couple of months to get over the move, my new environment, etc, before I could get myself to settle down and study. So I began the CPNE study insanity about January 09. I dragged out the studying and finally took the CPNE in July and passed, graduation date was 9/18/09, took the NCLEX 10/26/09 and passed. I work in Southeast Alaska. I have 4 years med-surg experience as an LPN in a state where we start IVs, do IV push meds, other things that I have learned LPNs don't do in Alaska. We've fallen in love with Alaska and now we don't want to leave. I can give you info about graduating EC, but I haven't made it farther north than SE Alaska. We'd like to get to Anchorage at some point though. I'll be happy to answer any questions I can to help you with your CPNE experience. It's very stressful but with the experience you have I'm sure you'll pass!

Hmmm. The BON is in Macon. One of the few hospitals doing the precepting is in Macon and they're charging $500. Nursing in any town, especially one that size, is a small community. As usual, follow the money.

I had finished all my EC courses and just had to come up with the money to do clinicals when this ruling came out (summer 2008). I had worked 4 years as an LPN on a med-surg unit at a 200-bed hospital. I oriented new BSN and ADN students who did not have 1/2 the clinical hours to get their RNs that we were required to do as LPNs. I have commented on that in previous posts. I took a travel nurse job to make enough money to finish my EC degree. That process took me another year. I now live in Alaska. I am a life-long Georgia resident. I am 53. My 2 kids and 4 grandkids and sister, brothers, neices, nephews, cousins, as well as my husband's family, are all in Georgia. I left the hospital I worked at for 4 years and came here as a travel nurse in November 2008. I graduated EC 9/18/09. I work at an IHS clinic. I contacted the hospital where I worked in Georgia to see if they could precept me. The DON said she thought it would have to be unpaid. My nurse manager (who had always told me what a great nurse I was and she didn't want me to leave) was not encouraging at all. I realized I'm not moving back home. I can't endorse my license in Georgia until I have worked at an acute care facility (inpatient hospital) for 1800 hours. There is one small hospital in the town/island where I live. The Univ. of Alaska Southeast just graduated their nursing class. Guess who's getting all the nursing jobs at the hospitals? Not the 53-year old who just moved here a year ago from Georgia. So here I am. I always wanted to do ICU. It's not looking good.

Don't forget I&Os. While doing your 20 minutes checks you want to explain to your patient that you will be measuring their intake and output. If they aren't NPO and they're alert, ask the patient to help you by noting any fluid intake they have while you aren't in the room, and ask them not to empty their urinal, let you do it, so you can get an accurate measurement for I&O on your final charting. Also IV intake if they have any piggybacks.

The fact that people had or caused accidents while working under the influence then is unrelated to legal use of pot, because it's illegal, and these things happened anyway. So you jump to the conclusion that if it was legal, there would be more accidents. As a matter of fact you jump to a few conclusions. This is a subject I have much more personal, on-the-ground, interactive experience and knowledge than I have any need to explain. So you conclude that I advocate staying stoned all the time, while we drive, while at school and work, etc. Quite the conclusion jumper. You conclude that anyone who smokes pot can't care about themselves or anyone else. Have you spent time with heroin or meth addicts? I have. Pot didn't make them an addict. As an adult (yes, an actual 'grown up') I have mulled the issue of legalizing pot, and it wasn't a snap decision. I watched society and people's lives affected by our laws concerning marijuana. I finally came to the belief that pot is less harmful to individuals and society than alcohol, and if adults want to have it for personal use in their home, it doesn't seem logical that they shouldn't be free to do so. As a matter of fact, I know dedicated, scholarly teachers and professors who smoke. I have known lawyers, medical professionals, and yes -cops, who smoke. And it should certainly be available to any person who has an illness with symptoms and suffering that could be relieved by it. I don't smoke pot, have no desire for it. But if other people want to have access to it without being labeled a criminal, I am a proponent of people having that choice. We have laws governing the responsible use of alcohol. The same would apply to pot. I'm sorry you lost 3 fingers. That must make some nursing skills very difficult for you. Just curious - did OSHA follow you around closing down construction sites? My husband was a project manager on shopping centers and office buildings in a large metro area for years. If you decide to go back to construction, I'd like to make a wide berth around any of the sites you work on. Sounds like you've got one of those dark clouds following you.

The World Health Organization released findings of a recent study regarding the "gateway" theory stating that unmeasured common causes rather than causal effects of specific drugs on others at least partly account for what looks like the pattern that this leads to that. Like the person who posted the page long run-on sentence/story of her family and their drug use, it's too easy to look at the substance and point the finger. It's usually a symptom of the underlying problem. Life is much more complex than thinking if we removed all temptation to get in trouble that there wouldn't be any. In my college writing class I wrote an essay on marijuana and the new criminal class created by the War on Drugs. It was an eye opener. I used legitimate, verifiable sources for my research (BBC, US DOJ, etc.), not internet crackpot sites. The info is out there if you want to educate yourself on the reality of the history, statistics and science of this subject. I see a lot of assumptions based on dogma and outright untrue information. I find it curious you know so many people who have died from pot on construction sites. How do they know they were stoned? Are you in favor of alcohol users being turned into a criminal class as well because so many people don't drink responsibly? What else would you add to the list? As for the poster touting the god-like wisdom of the Feds, please look further. Start using the mind that god or evolution or (fill in the blank) gave you and never think you don't need to question something just because the "government" said so. One of our former presidents was quoted as saying: "Penalties against possession of a drug should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself; and where they are, they should be changed. Nowhere is this more clear than in the laws against possession of marijuana in private for personal use.... " Yes, it's out there if you care to look.

They are abusing the Tech position. They either need to hire more techs to divide up the unlicensed duties or some of the nurses need to get out of the nurses station and help you. No, it's not like that everywhere. I did 4 years on a med-surg unit and it is true you get the worst nurse/patient ratios. But we never dumped on a tech like that. Maybe you should try transfering to ICU or CCU.