EyesForward

I should be getting my ATT any day now, and I am really getting the jitters. Did you select your own test date, or were you assigned one? I am hoping to schedule my exam around the first week in Feb., but no sooner, since I need the time to review. I am reviewing content by way of Saunders, and then practicing questions from the Kaplan and Saunders cd's, and possibly the NSCBN online. I guess I'll be hanging out here for the next couple of weeks. Really scared, but trying to just stay focused. :heartbeat (tachycardia, diaphoresis, nausea, diarrhea!)

It comes down entirely to the policy of the hospital to which you are applying. Here, some hospitals call them nurse interns, others call them nurse techs or nurse associates. Some hire after semester one, some after semester two. Either way, you need to contact the recruiter for the corporation you are interested in, and ask. I am a nurse tech in picu and er, and was hired during semester III, but we hire students after semester I.

I also have an expensive pair of Dansko's collecting dust in the corner. They were too hard for me too, but then my sister turned me on to Merrell's, and I have been floating on a cloud ever since. I have several pair now for all occasions, beach etc. They cured me from heel pain too (plantar fascitis). You can find them at http://www.shoebuy.com.

Two of you mentioned free study guides from Excelsior. Can you tell me where to get them? I have a friend who wanted the RUE study guides, but does not have the $$$. Thank you!

How about a job as a hospital unit secretary? It's a good way to get experience reading charts and adding orders, which you'll have to know how to do as a nurse. You've said you have clerical experience, so you probably can get a job w/o too much more experience. Lots of hospitals post their open positions right on their websites, and you can apply over the web. After you apply be assertive with calling the recruiter to make sure they know you're serious.

I also had PF and am a runner, until I got orthotics from my footo guy for my running shoes, and bought a pair of Merrell's by recommendation. I have so many pairs of Merrell's now for casual, work, beach, etc., and they are truly unbelievable comfort. My sister, also an athlete and a surgeon recommended them along with Danskos. The Dankskos didn't work well for me, because the sole is so hard, but supportive. I needed cushion, and the Merrell's are so soft on the heels. Try them...free shipping and returns at http://www.shoebuy.com.

OK, I see I need to toughen up! But...has anybody experienced any repercussions for saying no, such as negative feedback during evaluation time for "not being a team player", and so on? Thanks everybody whose answered so far. Cool answers, especially "I've had two beers" (which is probably true half the time!) :beer:

I graduate in December, and have heard the textbook we use for critical care is not too swift. Can you recommend a book that comes to the point and gives you the gouge on critical care nursing? I'd like to find something on the shorter, but more direct side, rather than anything entitled "...for Dummies". Thank you!

Alright, the phone is always ringing, and there are always messages on my cell. I want to go in and help out, but most weeks I've already answered the call and gone in for someone or another, or am scheduled to pick up someone elses shift. If you have to or want to say no how do you get it done? I tend to ramble on about what I have to get done that day, or say I've already picked up a shift this week for someone else, but no matter what I hang up feeling like a sludge. What's your "no, I'm sorry I can't work" speech? Thank you!

:) I ended up doing my usual overspending on Amazon, and got the flip book, along with two other books! Thanks, guys.

Anybody tried them? Is there any pharmacology in them? Waste, or worth it? Thanks, Wendy

PICU transport nurses, can you tell me a little bit about your experiences? I have an opportunity to do my preceptorship wth a fantastic nurse in the PICU next semester, and I am really, so excited! Our PICU does transport, and it sounds so intense and interesting, but I'd like to hear things from your perspective. Thank you, Wendy 3rd Semester ADN

I know. I don't really expect people to search for my question, and RN's may not look in the LPN corner, so I hope you don't mind if I side-step the spanking.

I have been studying from a variety of NCLEX books which are set up in categories of disorders; cardiac disorders, respiratory disorders, etc. Does this closely resemble the format of the actual test? I've seen people post frequently on the large number of priority questions they've gotten, but have only seen a few of those in any of my study guides. Some have great outlines in the beginning of each section that point out important info, so I guess the question is are these really going to help me pass, or am I going to be shocked because I was studying something that will only help me marginally?

Thank you! I've downloaded the app. That website is not exactly intuitive...it's actually kinda clunky, but you helped me find what I needed.

True, the question are different. I've been practicing each subject, as we learn it, from both the LPN and RN NCLEX study guides. The LPN question are 'practical', while the RN question are more critical thinking, prioritizing, and broader-based. I think doing both has helped me overall with school tests and general knowledge, plus it makes me feel like Rocky to take the LPN practice tests and do well as a 2nd semester RN student.

Consideration is all finished, and I still want to do it. Rationale: Practice exams for NCLEX PN also help prepare me for NCLEX RN, I'll get a pay increase by about $4.00/hr. for the year I have until graduation (Dec. 2005), taking the PN NCLEX will give me practice/insight into what to expect at the RN boards, LPN is a legitimate professional license, I'll have an actual assignment sheet with a finite number of patients (unlike the nurse interns where I work), and I'll be doing real nursing within my scope of practice.

How do I get the application, and find out more information about testing sites, fees, requirements, how far ahead you have to submit your application, etc for FL? I know we can take the LPN exam after 2nd semester, but that's all I know. The FL state site has very little information for people taking the NCLEX-PN via this route.

Three years ago I threw caution to the wind and took Chemistry after dropping it as a 20-year old, and I made a surprise "A". It was the academic equivalent of jumping out of an airplane for me because of how bad I failed it the first time around. Trust me, I was lost. After Chemistry came other scary things like A&P, which I LOVED so much, and also made A's in. After that I slammed the rest of the requirements over the next couple semesters to try to get into the ADN program as quickly as possible. Yesterday I finished the first half of my 2nd semester in the R.N. program, and emotionally it was breakthrough day. Now I have no doubt I will make it all the way through this program, and I am entirely confident. First semester was scary because even though I kept making the grades there were people dropping out all around me. After getting through that I'd heard 2nd semester was going to be the toughest of the 4. I just finished Med/Surg, and although the exams were difficult I have been hanging in there making awesome grades. Next week I start Maternal Child, and I have a bold confidence, and every lingering doubt about failure is gone. It's my life, and I'm doing it! So can you. :kiss

I am a 2nd semester RN student having difficulty reading the charting examples given to us by our clinical instructor. I think I can finally read her hand-writing, but have no idea how to interpret most of the shorthand. Does anybody know of a key posted on the web with popular abbreviations like AOX3, MAEX4, DRg CD1, etc? Thank you!

Me too. Contrary to priori statements cat anatomy is actually very similar to human anatomy, and I found dissection enlightening, and profoundly interesting. I will never forget the wonder of the urinary system, the positions of the organs in the body, the miraculous liver, the ______ing brilliance of the circulatory system, and the complexity of the digestive system. I am grateful to the kitty who gave himself up so I could remember him every time I think of the pancreas, the spleen, the blue veins vs. the red ones, the ureters attached to the ever-fascinating kidneys, etc. They are images that will stay with me a lifetime, and I do consider anatomy dissections as having contributed significantly to my appreciation and understandinng of the human body. Thank you, kitty, I'll remember you forever, and will consider donating myself someday, so hopeful medical students can gleen such appreciation. See you in heaven.

That's pretty cool! It's a question of the week...and of course I got the first one right.

I get so many hits on "nclex questions", and of course I'm too impatient to look at them all. :)

Has anybody heard of a website or application that will pop up a new NCLEX question of the day each time you log on, or whatever? I think it would be nice over the next year and half to let one good question sink in, per day, so I can linger on the rationales and soak up the concepts.