JLForever

No, I'm sorry. I never got as far as even applying. I decided to put my nursing career on hold to focus on my kids and am in the process of starting an in-home business! I don't know much about Little Sisters of the Poor except that they are non-profit, which was appealing to me as an RN after a bad experience at a nursing home that put profits ahead of patients. (Sadly, an all too common occurrence) I hope you find the right place for your mother-in-law...best of luck in your decision.

Wow, I clicked on this post because I just quit my nursing job with the intentions of staying home with my children for awhile (ages 4, 2 and trying for #3) and wanted to see how people explain gaps in nursing employment. It is really nice to hear so much support for choosing to be with our kids. I have felt somewhat ashamed, like I should be willing to sacrifice spending time with them to put my hard earned nursing license to use. I have tried but felt awful being away from them and am fortunate that we are in a financial position to allow me to stay home for now. Anyway thanks for the support and encouragement even though it was directed at the OP. To the OP: do what everyone else suggested and just word it in a professional manner (like the "returning to the challenges of nursing" comment). I had to do the same thing to explain the gap between graduating nursing school and starting my first RN job, because I got my license 3 weeks before my daughter was born. In my cover letter I said something like "After spending time at home with my daughter born soon after passing boards, I am eager to begin my career as a Registered Nurse". Hope that helps. Good luck!

Anyone worked or know much about this facility? I read about it online and was intrigued- am looking for a good LTC in the area to work as an RN. Thanks!

Thanks for the encouragement, and the medicare link. At least I don't feel like a total failure having read some other stories and your responses. We are trying for our 3rd baby so maybe this is just a good time for me to focus on parenting for awhile. I just really love nursing though (still) and have hopes of finding something to keep my foot in the door. All I can do is keep searching and take with me the insight I have gained from this experience. :)

I don't know the rate for your level of experience, but as a new grad at VCU I was getting paid $21 an hour plus shift differentials. VCU is great! My husband works there in a management position at one of the clinics, and I used to work there as an RN. I only left because I needed part-time and my boss refused to give it to me. It is a really good place to work though, so much opportunity to learn. The only drawback is that the place is a TOTAL maze. I think it would take at least a year to figure out all the ins and outs of the buildings. Which doesn't matter, so long as you can figure out how to get to your unit. :)

I'm just wondering. I read so many bad stories on here. I quit my job today. They had me working as a supervisor and also occasionally working a cart. Which isn't so bad except that I received little to no training working the cart, and am a new grad. I worked last weekend and didn't finish morning med pass until 2-3 pm, including realizing too late that some of my patients had insulin ordered for 7:30am! I also had no idea what to do as a supervisor after they oriented me for a little over a day for that position. After being asked to cover a cart again this weekend I realized that the "supervisor" position was really more of a backup floor nurse position, because of the call-ins that happen quite often. I would have no problem working the floor, if I were properly oriented and not just thrown out there, putting patient safety and my sanity at risk. I would actually prefer being a floor nurse where I could work the same hall and know all my patients and not have to deal with family concerns, patient complaints, PR, administrative, employee conduct, etc. The place I worked at (up until today!) is one of the nicer LTC facilities in the area but I was shocked at the lack of proper equipment and staffing. It is hard to know what to tell aggravated patients/family members when some of their complaints are directly related to the way things are run at that facility. I did alot of beating around the bush and smoothing things over temporarily, band-aid treatment. Not how I like to handle things. I walked away from this job feeling discouraged and like a failure even though the patients have all loved me and many told me they wished I was their nurse every day. Maybe that is my time management issue- I take too much time treating them like real people! Having left them to fend for themselves in that place I feel somewhat guilty, because I will not be there to try and advocate for them. Are ALL LTC facilities like this? I actually have developed an interest in geriatrics through this experience and would love to work in a place that was run a little better and didn't treat their employees like chattel. Somewhere where I could get to know the residents, develop my skills and base knowledge as an RN, etc. Although I know hospital experience is better for developing skills and whatnot...but hospital jobs are very hard to come by especially part-time which is what I need. Thankfully we are blessed with a great income from my husband's job and are able to afford for me to walk away from this job to avoid all this stress and the possibility of losing my license. For now I'm going to focus on being a mom to my two little ones and see if I can find a part-time job at a doctor's office or hospital. I am afraid to try another LTC!

I am a new grad working as a supervisor in a 60 bed rehab unit at a LTC facility. A couple of weeks ago I was asked to take the cart of a nurse that had quit. I actually did not mind the work at all, but quickly became overwhelmed. Med pass was not completed until VERY late, and I just feel like I was giving the minimal in patient care due to trying to get everything done for my patients as well as continue to perform administrative duties. Of course having had this experience hopefully I will do better the next time I am asked to cover. I just feel anxious that I am somehow compromising patient safety by not voicing my concern regarding lack of training. I was not given any training on the carts because after working in a hospital setting for 4 months they seemed to feel I wouldn't need it. I had also worked for the same company about a year ago over a two month EOW schedule- 8 days total there which was good but still, a year ago! To be honest I thought I would be fine once I got started but quickly discovered I either did not know or remember the majority of the things I needed to. So I was considering discussing this with the ADON, but was wondering if she might feel I am complaining about being asked to cover the cart- which they told me initially I would need to do on occasion. As I new grad I guess the pressure and responsibility weighs heavy on me. What if something happens to a patient while I am "learning on the job"? My biggest fear is not only something happening to the patient but also the repercussions it would have for me. I have an overactive conscience as it is and having accusations of incompetence or neglect would be very difficult for me to handle. I am also thinking if I just let this lie and try to stick it out and see if I get more comfortable with the work, it might all "click" eventually? Appreciate any input you can give me from a DON/ADON perspective. Thank you.

It really really depends on location. Just because the pay is higher somewhere else doesn't mean you would be rolling in the dough- you'd be using all your extra money for the rent, etc. I am in Virginia and get paid 26.5 as a supervisor...although they quoted me 28 and I need to get that corrected. When I worked a cart for a short period last year I was getting paid 25. I am still considered "new grad" since I haven't worked a full year yet.

Having recently done both LTC and worked in a hospital setting (mixed unit with average 4-5 patient load) I can tell you that having fewer patients with higher acuity is not magically easier. Just different! Yes there were a few days here and there that I had a light load and little to do. That would be about the only difference in workload, IMO. The other days I was running, running, running. The higher acuity, the more stuff you have to do. (IV pumps, complicated med administration, wound care, ostomy, trach, wound vac, contact isolation with gowns/gloves/etc, acute changes in pt condition, charting and more charting, etc.) What I REALLY miss about working in the hospital is the electronic medical record. We could chart everything with the click of a button and the med administration was electronic too. Beautiful! If only LTC had the budget for that kind of thing. Anyway, I am currently working as a supervisor at a LTC...as a new grad. I had to cover for a nurse that quit last weekend and was totally overwhelmed. Ended up staying 2 hours past my shift on both days, and still barely got everything done- and did not get it done well! I feel underqualified for this job. On the other hand, if I can stick it out hopefully it will be great experience. I am lucky in that most of the time as a supervisor I am not working a cart at all, just doing management stuff and many times don't have anything to do! Crazy. I'd almost rather be working as a floor nurse so I could be learning and working on my time management, etc. (I think I'm insane for saying this after the experience last weekend working the floor) Hang in there, hopefully it gets better. If not, try to get at least 6 months in so you can use this time on your resume. Less than 6 months would not be worth mentioning and would look bad, IMO.

I recently posted regarding an incident at work and some of the responses got me thinking. I'm wondering if I really should be working in the position I am in and whether I am risking my license or not. Long story short, I am an RN still in my first year after nursing licensure. It took me quite awhile to find a job because I was holding out for a part-time position in order to be at home with my kids the majority of the time. I initially started working two weekends a month at LTC facility. Then I received an offer to work full-time in a hospital setting, which I jumped on because there did not seem to be any opportunity to work in a hospital part-time as a new grad. However I ended up choosing to leave because I really did want to be with my kids more. It was a very hard decision since the job was such a great opportunity! I am now working for the same LTC company again, as a weekend supervisor. I supervise 3 RN's and 4-6 CNA's in the 60 bed rehab unit. I received very little training for this administrative position and no orientation on working the halls (I guess they thought the 8 days I worked for their company almost a year ago was sufficient), even though I was told I would have to take over working a hall if a nurse called in for that shift. I am usually the kind of person who prefers to learn on the job anyway...but last weekend I was asked to take over for a nurse that called in and found myself totally lost. Even with the help of another nurse most of the patients in my care did not receive their "morning" medications until lunch time or later! I think I might have missed a few wound treatments as well and was there an additional two hours both days trying to get everything done. It's not so much the extra work and stress that bothers me, it's the issue of whether I'm competent to be doing this and is this safe for my patients. Not to mention my license! Am I overreacting? Most of the time when I am at this job I basically wait around and address any issues that come up (complaints from patients or family members), try to make sure the staff are staying on task, and do things like take phone calls and give tours to prospective families. I didn't know much about how this place was run or what to do when problems happen and have been learning all of that through trial and error. I am just nervous about the fact that if anything serious happened while I was either supervising or working a hall (or trying to do both at the same time), then I would basically be held responsible regardless of how little training/experience I have had. The schedule and pay are great...I'm getting paid to just be there to put out fires, basically! I'm just worried now about what I have gotten myself into. I would appreciate your honest input. Thanks.

Thanks for all the input everyone! I definitely did feel "in over my head" that day. In hindsight I should have refused to take over for the nurse who had quit. However they did tell me in the beginning that I would be asked to work a cart occasionally. I had gone through a little orientation working their carts about a year ago, then worked in a hospital setting for several months, then ended up back in LTC (related to scheduling needs). So when they didn't offer any orientation or training for working a hall I figured I would probably remember what to do and be ok. So not true! I just felt lost and it took so long to get all the meds out and deal with management issues that came up. One patient was so upset about gettng her meds late that she refused to take her meds or allow us to check her blood sugar until the next shift started. Next time I have difficulty getting the diastolic I will document all the x's I tried, patient being a-symptomatic, etc. I will also get another nurse to try. Doppler would be great but there is very little equipment in this place. I had to scrounge around for a BP cuff so we could take BP's prior to giving meds. I'm going to be discussing with my husband whether it's a good idea for me to keep working at this facility. I accepted the position because I want to stay home during the week with my kids and work a couple weekends a month as a nurse to supplement my income. At a hospital I could not dictate my schedule that way! I am just not sure the risk is worth it because it is pretty scary how things are done there at times. As for her "fixing" it, she told me she took the entire nurse's note out and wrote a new one. I was so confused by the whole thing I didn't really respond to that. I will definitely be checking her chart when I come into work on Saturday! I'm also going to tell them that I do not feel comfortable covering for any nurses unless I get more orientation working a cart. Finding the time to attend additional orientation will be tough since I not only care for my children during the week I also babysit a little girl part-time. But we'll see. Thanks again for all the input and information.

Hello. I am an RN still in the "new grad" category (less than 1 year nursing experience) who was recently hired on as a weekend supervisor at a LTC facility. It is a great facility and so far the job had not been too bad until this past weekend, when I was asked to put aside my administrative duties to cover for a nurse that had quit. I would actually have enjoyed doing the actual nursing work, if I had known what the heck I was doing! Due to my unfamiliarity with the patients and procedures on top of still doing alot of management/administrative stuff, it took me until about 2pm on both days to get all of the "morning" meds done. That's a whole other vent though. My question is this, is there an urgent significance to low diastolic blood pressure? I received a phone call from the ADON because I had documented a blood pressure with only the systolic because I had not been able to obtain the diastolic. The patient was non-symptomatic and the systolic was within normal range at 122. I have worked in EMS before and we quite often had difficulty obtaining a full reading due to riding in an ambulance or whatever and many times would document a BP as systolic/palp. Now I realize that it might seem I was being lazy but I had tried several times to get a good reading and ended up taking one on her leg. I didn't really think anything of it until I got the phone call and the ADON said she "fixed" the documentation so I would not be liable if anything should happen to this patient in the near future and it came to light that I did not get her further evaluation for an "unobtainable diastolic". As far as I know, low diastolic (with a normal systolic) is not urgent but can cause damage over long-term...and there's no way of knowing if her diastolic was low or I just couldn't hear it because I was taking it in her leg. (Had never done that before) U Sorry to babble about such a silly question but I'm really not understanding this. I would appreciate if someone could enlighten me! Thank you!

Wow thank you everyone for your insight and suggestions. I really appreciate it. I did inventory what I do with my time, and besides playing with the kids and doing some chores, I am ashamed to admit I spend alot of time "checking out" by watching TV or going online. I think the main problem I have is psychological, and I'm hoping counseling will be helpful. It's hard to explain without sharing personal details, but I get claustrophobic and panicky when I feel like I "have" to do something. Which sounds immature and selfish I guess, but it's really not coming from that kind of mindset. I think alot of it has to do with things I went through in my childhood. Which I've been through counseling for and continue to struggle with. More than anything I want to have the normal reactions and coping skills that others have! It seems like others struggle with adjusting to a new job or other life changes, but don't come to the point of desperation that I do. So yes, I have an appointment in two weeks with a counselor and hope to start working through this somehow. Meanwhile I need to find a way to cope with managing my time and not feeling overwhelmed, so I will put your suggestions to good use. I'm still on the fence about keeping this job. In part I feel like I shouldn't be chasing after a career and money when my kids are only little once. But if I quit it would need to be for their benefit and not just because I can't handle working emotionally. It would also have to be financially workable and not to the point where we are running on a really tight budget or anything. Part-time would be perfect, but I'm not in the position to work part-time since my boss will not give it to me and I'm still a new grad so no one else will hire me. It feels good to be able to share my struggles with other nurses and moms! (And give my poor husband a break) Thanks again.

I am a new grad, got my license in January 2009 and three weeks later had a baby girl! I was blessed to be able to stay home with her for over a year while I looked for work due to our bad economy. So maybe I got spoiled being home with my kids for so long. (I have a 4 year old son) I was excited when I was offered a job at the same hospital where my husband works. It's in a great unit which offers a unique opportunity as a new grad. We are like a holding unit that takes patients from the ER or direct admits and we take care of them until they get assigned a bed on the appropriate unit. No critical care patients, just anything from cardiac to ortho to general medicine. This unit is only open M-F and no holidays. The patient load is light and there is a real atmosphere of teamwork. Everyone helps everyone else. There are several other new grads who were hired along with me and I was given 12 weeks of orientation and training. So far I have loved it there! However, I am REALLY struggling with not being with my kids. When I work a day shift I do not see them at all since they are asleep when I leave and asleep when I get back. Although I get 4 days off a week, I am so busy on those 4 days that I feel like I don't have enough time for everything. I do make spending time with them a priority and it helps to do that, but then I feel like my time with them is limited and I have to squeeze in as much quality time as possible. So it's kind of forced in a way. Not natural like I am used to. I guess I'm just used to being home with them all the time. Especially my little girl, she is 17 months now and learning new things every day. She got tubes put in her ears recently so her speech has taken off. She learns several new words a day! :) There is nothing I would rather do than be a stay at home mom right now. I've thought about quitting and going back to school but it seems foolish to pass up this opportunity. Everyone keeps telling me to hang in there for at least the first year to get away from the new grad status. At this point I am having anxiety attacks when I'm scheduled to go in so I'm just hoping to make it to the 6 month mark in October! Today my babysitter called off due to a death in the family so I am thrilled to be home, even though I don't have enough PTO to cover it and will be losing money today. My husband is trying to be supportive and says we don't need my income...but we really do since we have alot of debt to pay off. If we didn't have that then we could live comfortably off of his salary. Thanks for the vent. I guess I'm just trying to decide what to do here. I'm worried that quitting so soon will look bad even if I go back and get my BSN. I have asked for part-time so I could go back to school and also be with my kids more and my boss does not feel comfortable giving me part-time as a new grad. I'm considering looking around once I hit the 6 month mark to find a part-time position elsewhere. I just hate to do that since I love the unit I'm on so much. My husband is planning on obtaining a home equity loan to consolidate our debt starting next month. It's very tempting to quit next month! I am actually going to start going to counseling because I'm getting so upset about going to work...I don't think it's normal. I wish I could take some kind of anti-anxiety medication but I'm sure it would affect my ability to work safely, make me drowsy. TIA for any opinions or suggestions.

My first check was a "blaah" because I had alot of education/orientation hours which were paid at my base rate with no differential. On top of that over HALF my income goes to childcare!!! So yes the government will take a hefty amount from you in taxes but that is nothing compared to the $1400 a month I pay for daycare and babysitter. Anyway, all that aside it was nice to see something in reward for the major transition I went through to be there. :)

This thread is encouraging to read...I'm not alone! I do feel somewhat alone in this though- I am a new grad and the mother to two young children (ages 1 and 4). I've been blessed to be working in a teaching hospital with great training and supportive experienced nurses behind me. The transition to being a full-fledged RN has been overwhelming on occasion but for the most part not too bad. My biggest issue is that I constantly miss my kids. When I have my days off I am depressed knowing that the next day or the day after I will not see them at all. Sometimes I get panicky thinking about going back to work, feeling torn from my family. Then my shifts just drag on. However in this economy and with the job market so tough for new grads, it would be foolish for me to give up this opportunity. I'm trying to fake it till I make I guess, and hope that I can make the adjustment psychologically before I have a breakdown and walk off the unit one day to go be with my babies. I know I sound like a crazy mother. I am hoping there is another new grad who feels this way!

I am a new grad in Richmond and was just hired at a LTC facility (nursing home). I know that you most likely want to start in a hospital but if you cannot find a position there, consider doing Long-Term Care. They have more turnover in those places and might be more open to hiring a new grad. It depends on how things are structured I guess, but where I work the CNA's do most of the ADL's, diaper changes, etc. and the LPN/RN's do meds, treatments and patient assessment. After more than 6 months of searching I am relieved to have found this job and my plan is to use this experience to transition to a hospital job. (Most likely med-surg and then from there to whatever specialty interests me) I am enjoying working with the elderly and the facility that I work at has a very positive environment. Yesterday was fun because it was Valentine's Day and they had all the residents dressed in red and pink, and people were getting flowers delivered, etc. Anyway, just a suggestion if you really are anxious to get your foot in the door somewhere. HTH

I went to an interview yesterday, my first one after many months of job-hunting. The pickings are slim for new grads in my area. The interview went well and from what was said I believe I will be offered a position working every other weekend at a long-term care facility. This is not the ideal starting point for me...I was hoping to get into a hospital somewhere. On a med-surg unit would have been great! However I need a job and am somewhat interested in geriatric medicine. Will taking the LTC job hinder me in being able to transition to a hospital job later on? It would be nice not to be considered a "new grad" anymore, but I am not sure whether working in a LTC facility would be a good idea if ultimately I want to work in a hospital environment. Would working in a LTC facility count as the magical "1 year experience" required to get many nursing jobs? I would appreciate your input, thank you.

I am starting to feel like filling out applications doesn't do any good, that it is all about knowing someone on the inside in order to get a position as a new grad around here. I live in the Richmond area and have two small children. My husband works but we could really use the extra money if I could find a job. I'm also concerned that it has been a year since I got my license, that this might look bad. I had a baby 3 weeks after passing boards (yes finished nursing school while very pregnant) and chose to stay home with her for awhile. I started looking for part-time work when she was 4-5 months old. Nothing. Now that she is approaching 1, I am comfortable looking for a full-time job. I love nursing and am eager to start my career. I feel that I have some good experience and qualifications besides the fact that I'm a new grad. I've applied to Bon Secours new grad positions as they pop up, as well as any position that I think I might possibly be considered for. Fortunately my husband works an area hospital in an administrative/management position. His boss says she can get me a job "no problem". That was several months ago. Nothing. Arghhh!!!!! (Sorry, I'm venting a bit) I am looking for jobs every day in the Times Dispatch, HCA, Bon Secours and VCU. Any other area hospitals I can try? I would be willing to commute about 30 minutes and live in Southside. TIA

My husband and I live in Richmond, VA and are hoping to move to Denver in a few years. I completed my ADN in October 2008 and haven't started working yet due to giving birth to our second child and having difficulty finding part-time work as a new grad. I'm contemplating starting on some prerequisite courses at the community college out here prior to our move to Denver- because I'd like to start working on my BSN once we move. There is a good RN-BSN program here in Richmond but I don't want to commit to it since we may leave the area. I basically have just googled RN to BSN in Denver and come up with Metro State College and University of Denver. Anyone have experience with these programs or heard anything good/bad about them? I think there was some other school that came up- Colorado Tech? I want to earn a respectable degree from an accredited university that is not looked down on by potential employers. I also have learned from experience that going through the fastest/cheapest program can be a big headache. (I am grateful to the community college here for my ADN, but it was so unorganized and we had to fight for clinical hours with the major university which made my clinical schedule crazy) Thank you in advance for your input!

Thanks for the information everyone. Sorry for the late reply. I had my daughter two weeks early and have been very distracted ever since! Haha. We are now debating between Colorado Springs and Denver- but this information is extremely helpful. Thank you! :)

My husband and I live in Richmond, Virginia and are planning relocating to Colorado sometime in the spring or summer of the coming year- hopefully. My husband's job is very specialized (registered vascular ultrasound technologist- no other ultrasound certs) and so I've been considering moving the family out there on my salary as a new nurse. I just completed my ADN in the Fall and passed my boards last Thursday (woo hoo!). I am currently pregnant with our second child so obviously won't be looking to work until later in the year (due in 4 1/2 weeks). I was wondering if anyone could tell me who hires ADN nurses in the Denver/Boulder area (either would be fine with us) and what hospitals are best to work for? I am not sure what area I would like to work in...leaning towards NICU but have EMS experience (1 year as an EMT) and also like ER and trauma/surgical (I did my "acute med/surg" clinical on a surgical-trauma unit with some step-down patients). I might need to stick it out for a year in med-surg somewhere just to get a job and have that magical "1 year of experience" under my belt, I guess. At this point after doing some research I would be happy to find somewhere that hires new grads with an ADN and pay somewhat decent. I welcome ANY information and advice. Thank you so much!

Thank you. :) I am looking forward to being done being pregnant. Haha. Yes the videos can be very time consuming. If you don't have time to do that, you can study the chapter in the book instead. The videos basically follow the chapters in the book and cover the exact same material. The book is pretty much a book of lecture notes for the videos! During the videos I would follow along in the book and sometimes read ahead and highlight important points ahead of time. I should have done more qbank (I only used like 25% of it) because they say that doing practice questions is one of the keys to passing. What was helpful to me was to take qbank questions in tutor mode so I could guess at the answer and instantly see the explananation and rationales. Even though it allowed me to see the correct answer, I still kept my original answers to each question so I could see what percentage I would have gotten if I took it in test mode. (Sort of see my progress or where I was still weak) Hope that helps!

Kaplan was the only study tool I used. It worked for me b/c I don't want to have to think too much about how to organize my study material- I like it all organized for me. I want someone to tell me how to study, provide me the materials, and tell me how I'm doing. That's what they do. It cost me around $400 for the program (ouch). I don't think I used enough of it to justify spending that much- but I really needed what I DID use so I guess it was worth it! (I passed so in my mind it's justified)

I am thrilled to report that I found out this morning that I passed my NCLEX! I'm really glad that my results were in so quickly (I got them through an automated phone line within 24hrs). I even happier that I PASSED!!!!! It is such a relief. Incredible. I thought I would share some info about my experience and how I studied. One of the things I did while preparing was look at the posts of those who had passed for information and encouragement. Sooo... -I used Kaplan's online course. I highly recommend this course. The NCLEX is different than any other test and it is really helpful to know HOW to take it, not just be familiar with nursing content. If you feel weak in content, they have videos to watch which are very thorough and correspond to the outline/notes in the book that Kaplan sends you. The diagnostic test and Question Trainers helped me see what I needed to study more of, and provided me reassurance as my scores went up. The Q-bank was great because I could customize it to take tests according to my weaker areas, and also use it in tutor mode to instantly see the correct/incorrect answers and rationales behind each one. -I typed up a study sheet with all the important lab values, vital signs and groups of medications with their side effects and nursing considerations. This took awhile but helped me memorize some of it while I was typing. NCLEX is mostly focused on critical thinking and prioritizing but you DO have to know the basic numbers and facts in order to answer the questions. I found having my own study sheet that summarized what I wanted to know was really great. I used this technique all throughout nursing school and got A's and B's on my exams. The typing can take forever but if you are a fast typer it's not a big deal- and it's part of your study time anyway!:typing -Keep in mind the general things that go along with meds. There were probably a total of 5 medications on the test I had never even HEARD OF, but I think I was able to get some of them right by thinking it through. Like if there is an answer related to drinking alcohol while taking a med...that's usually the correct one, as long as it states the patient will NOT be drinking it. In other words, remember no alcohol with meds! Knowing the general side effects for each group of medications is more helpful than trying to memorize the particular ones for each med. This is what Kaplan reccomends, although like I said there were several meds I never never seen before at all! I just guessed at their classification based on how they sounded. (For this reason I always try to note the meds that sound alike in the same classification) -I did not use all of the materials available to me through Kaplan. There is alot included with the course. If you are feeling really weak in content then make sure you book your test far enough in advance to have time to go through all of the videos and material of whatever study course you are using. I did not do this but only needed to get stronger in 2-3 areas. Remember that the way the CAT works, you will walk away feeling like you did terrible. It is really hard during the test to figure out whether you are answering questions at a passing or failing level. Especially since half the questions are ones you totally don't know and have to guess at! (It's hard to explain, but the computer does that) It's not about getting them right or wrong- it's about getting enough questions right at the level of difficulty/competency you need to pass. Darn computer testing is confusing, I know. Don't try to figure it out. The best thing to do, in my opinion, is to take lots of practice questions and GO OVER THE ANSWERS. As many as possible. This not only solidifies content but helps you have confidence and good critical thinking skills for test day. Being confident and relaxed during the test is one of the keys I think. I have always been really good at multiple choice tests and that helps me alot with getting better scores...the better I do the more confidence I have and then I do better on the next one. Which is why Kaplan helps with their practice exams. Sorry this is long. I hope somewhere in my babbling I have helped someone. I am sooooo happy to be done and now I can focus on getting ready for my baby girl to come. :heartbeat (I am due in 5 weeks) Good luck to all those who are getting ready for their test!!! Thanks to everyone who offered me encouragement. Feel free to ask questions or comment on my advice. I'm just trying to help out if I can.