4Karrie2

I apologize for the very long time since I have been on allnurses and just now saw your question. I have now been with the school district for just under 4 years. My most current pay stub reflects a pay rate of 2 pennies under $24/hr. I've done some comparison shopping and every district is different. Some districts nearby pay less than my district and the LVNs work less hours daily. Most districts do provide yearly raises on the anniversary date of hire and we have also seen two cost of living raises in the past year. There is ample opportunity to work during our seasonal vacations and most do. On the down side, we are not full-time, only the RNs are. I look forward to going to work in the morning. Good luck, the jobs are out there!

Whoa. It's a bit eye-opening to see some of the harsh comments on here. I am someone who also considers the feelings of others and see no reason why the OP should be pounced on for expressing her thoughts on this forum. I personally feel that there should be a Nurses Day and that's it. All nurses work hard and demonstrate "greatness". While it is a great achievement to become certified, it does not make you a great nurse, sorry. After reading all the defensive comments on this thread, I have to conclude that Certified Nurses Day must have been thought up by a certified nurse who needed some public recognition of her achievement. It's a bit childish to me, but I don't really have a problem with it as long as there is also a day that celebrates ALL nurses. Gee, I hope no one minds that I dared to express my opinion!

I see this is an old thread but wanted to comment anyway. I had an opportunity to work for a school district doing mostly diabetes management at several school sites within each week. As another poster correctly stated, the school districts in CA do not hire lay people to give insulin, though many SECAs (special education classroom assistants) and teachers are taught to do everything else, such as tube feedings, seizure meds, catheterizations, etc. If you would like to utilize your Vocation Nursing License within a school district, here are a few things to keep in mind: Though I need to be a licensed nurse for my position, my official title is NOT LVN. The school districts and the certificated nurses do not like to refer to me as a nurse, preferring to always use the term LVN. I get it, they worked very had to get the BSN, Masters and CA School Nurse Certification and frankly, all of my RNs are amazing nurses. Though I have been trained in many of the things they do such as vision and hearing screenings for students, I am not allowed to do them. I do beleive this is for their own job security. It can be quite humbling and at times discouraging because I worked very hard for my LV NURSE license and am very proud of it. My job is diabetes care mangement, which I love, and is indeed the only reason I have the job, as unlicensed personnel are trained to do every other aspect of what I do which is primarily acutely ill students and parent phone calls and secretarial work. On the bright side, I enjoy what I do, have paid vacations, an average salary for LVN, and am getting my one year experience out of the way so I can eventually go work as a real nurse someplace else, if I so desire! Meanwhile, I suggest if this is something you also want to do, keep studying your NCLEX-PN books so you don't start forgetting about thyroids, livers, and heart disease, and things that don't usually affect small children. DO stay current on emergency and seizure care, diabetes management, and polished communication skills. You will need these. Good luck to you!! :)

Hearty Congratulations, Rach10388! You did it, Nurse! :)

Hi, I thought I would just chime in with a little clarification. The Kaplan Question Trainers are different from the Kaplan Strategies. The questions from the trainers are challenging and you can use the stategies to help you best answer them. The strategies do not help you learn content, but the questions in the trainers do. It's like a two-pronged approach to help pass the NCLEX.

I just wanted to chime in and say how impressive it is to hear about someone who is managing to go through a BSN program AND take additional classes at a local CC toward dental school. Talk about time management and being a brainiac! Dental school also requires passing a rigorous exam. I know someone who has a BS and scored quite high on the exam and still could not get into dental school, so it's no easy task. Advanced degrees require the applicant to have a BS in something---sometimes anything--- and a nursing degree would certainly fill the bill. So why should she feel bad about it? Personally, I agree with the person who said that being a nurse will make the dental student a better doctor someday. Kudos to her!

All I can say is that the test for most people recently has been loaded with an unusually high percentage of SATA questions. The more factoids you know about every subject the better chance you will have of getting the questions right. I am personally terrified of this test and am sick and tired beyond words of studying day in and day out. But I want to feel confident in every area so I will pass the first time. So I think the more you see a question, even if worded a little differently, the better chnace that it will stick in your long-term memory and you will get it right on the test.

Oh my gosh, ciprea! You passed! I was praying for you since I woke up this morning! So happy for you!!! Congratulations! And thank you, Lord! :)

I've been praying for you, cip. Won't stop! :loveya:

Thank you, everyone! Looks like the time frame varies from place to place and depends on facility policy rather than law. I will do as caliotter would do and just hope to not see this question on my NCLEX, lol!

In studying for NCLEX, I have come across a few questions regarding filing an incident report. I thought the rule was that a nurse had 24 hours to file a report, but some sources said this is wrong and an incident report must be filed within 48 hours of the event. Does anyone know if there is an actual written protocol for this? Thanks very much for any insight or clarification!

You got it, msburney31! Sounds like you were well-prepared and have an excellent chance at passing. Good luck and God bless you!

Thanks so much, mene79 and msburney31, for sharing your NCLEX-PN experiences with us. I'm puzzled how the test could be an equal measurement of competence for everyone when one person gets many pharm and SATA (which seem harder) while another hardly gets any of either. Then again, of the first 85 questions a certain number aren't even counted, so maybe it's much more balanced than it appears. Kind of intimidating to know that none of the books really prepares you that well for the actual test yet that's what almost everyone is saying. I guess studying core content and strategies is about the best we can do --- and a lot of prayer, too! :)

Welcome back! :hug:

Thanks for the feedback! Congrats on passing the test!!! Could you give us some info on how many alternate format questions you were given? Did you use any study aids besides Saunders and how closely did you use Saunders (did you read most chapters or did you just do the questions)? Thanks and Congratulations again, Nurse!!

According to the 2010 Kaplan NCLEX-PN Strategies book on page 273, the answer to question 130 is to NOT count pudding as it does not melt at room temperature. If this is incorrect information, I need to know as do others, as I am using this book as a guide to passing this test! I checked my textbook and it said eggs in custard can be used as part of a full liquid diet, but nothing specific in regard to counting it as intake. I hope someone here can give good clarification on this, with references.

Hi there, Sometimes they will throw in a little trick, like also give you the amount of pudding the client consumed, to see if you are paying attention and reading the question carefully. Remember to only calculate intake based on the things that melt at room temperature. Pudding doesn't, so if they give that as something consumed, don't count that in your intake total.

Sure, lots of people get over 85 questions and pass. Some people get all the questions and some people run out of time and they still pass. Your best bet is to try the Pearson Vue re-register trick that has been written about all over this website. Let us know how you did! Good luck to you!! :)

Hi bobkat1065, How did your test go? What was it like? Were there many alternate format/SATA? Hope all went great!

Hi lilmith, I copied and pasted the link into my browser but nothing is coming up. Am I doing something wrong? Thank you for wanting to share!

Thanks a bunch! :)

That would be the original Exam Cram book, the one with review of core content?

Thanks! Which one did you feel was most helpful to you? It sounds like the Practice Questions book has more questions which are the same on both the cd and in the book, while the plain Exam Cram book has 400 extra questions in the book, but not as many questions on the cd. I wonder how many are on that cd? I have already packed mine up, ready to ship it back unless someone advises me this is actually the more helpful book.

I ordered the Exam Cram for NCLEX-PN book, but plan to take it back as it is heavy on content and I already have Saunder's for that. I saw that Exam Cram also offers a book called Practice Questions which I have not seen in person. I keep noticing others on here recommending Exam Cram as being so much like the actual test and wondered which book is being referred to? I haven't opened the accompanying cd yet, and don't know if the questions are the same in both books or on both cd's. Which Exam Cram book have you all found most helpful? Thanks!

Hi believeallispossible, I can hear the disappointment and discouragement you are feeling as I read your post. You have obviously poured much effort and dedication into achieving your nursing goal and are so very close to making it happen. It's very understandable that 2 hours after hearing you did not pass the NCLEX-PN for the 2nd time you would just want to put it all behind you. I think taking a couple weeks off to just get away from it is actually a great idea. Later, as time goes on, I think you will find yourself continually drawn back to wanting to finish what you started. Clearly that is what you have always done, which is why you are a successful nursing school graduate. And as we all can attest to, that is something to be very proud of because getting through nursing school is no easy task. I think you know in your heart that you will be back and that you are going to finish this. You 'll do it because you have to. You have already shown that you have the character of someone who simply does not give up. Down the road, you will have much personal growth from this experience which you may use to help and encourage others someday. One good thing is that there is a new test plan now, which began on April 1st. Yes, they have raised the passing standard, but I have also read that they have revised the questions for clarity which means there will be less ambiguity over what the question is asking. That has to be an improvement! Also, I know you mentioned Lacharity and Exam Cram, but have you tried Kaplan and Saunders? I think the Kaplan strategies alone (which can be found in their book) are well-worth reading and applying. I know for me that it is helping me to approach the practice questions in a new way, more methodically, and helping me to eliminate wrong choices. It might help you, too. Just want you to know I'm praying for you right after I finish writing this. God bless you, friend and future nurse. :pntlft: