newbebop

"yes sir, I need to check your temp AGAIN..." Q1hr temp HA, it is the only way I can keep him quiet.

The "notepad" you know the one that one patient uses to record my every move...including how long it took to answer said call light.

did that just happen.....returned to the computer to chart and had the DOCTOR get up and offer me the chair!

1. Be grateful. There is always someone worse off than you. 2. Listen. Sometimes the biggest of complaints, or problematic patients can be tamed with taking the extra time to LISTEN to their story. 3. Don't be afraid to speak up. Often that "someone else" you assume will bring up a concern or issue might just be you. 4. Smile. It is contagious, and one thing worth cross contaminating. 5. Take care of yourself. We are no good to the masses if we forget to take care of #1.

My guess is you will encounter some questions on time management, delegation, and managing coworker conflict. Be familiar with the environment you will be interviewing for and any challenges or specializations they are currently dealing with. Be confident and professional. Know what you want from your career, and what you bring to the table. Your experience may work against you, but don't count yourself out. Some really enjoy the "fresh" perspective.

Klogs shoes are my favorite!! They have closed back and even tennis shoe like versions that you could wear. Assuming that the reason you can't wear klogs is r/t the open backs. I wear the naples version to work and it is very similar to the dansko only more practical looking than bright or shinny. ;-)

I will attent the first night of class of my RN-BSN program tonight. I thought long and hard about what would be a better fit for me. I have taken classes online before and I am just a better student in the classroom. and that is important to me. I found a program that will be the same night and time every week from start to finish, so I won't have to switch up scheduling each semester. I am looking forward to the face to face instruction, support, and connections that cohort classes bring.

Allnurses is full of guidance and support, but best of all piece of mind. A reminder we are not in this alone. newbebop RN, (Michigan)

seriously, this is exactly what I did after getting my license. I worked for free. ;-) Check your local communities for free clinics and see if they need any nurse volunteers. The hours are not many, and the experience was not skills oriented. but it was experience and I was building relationships with other medical contacts and it was a great experience. Put a little time in and you have some experience on the resume and hopefully also a great reference. I also very much enjoyed the work they do and will continue there as my schedule allows. ;-)

Congrats!!! new grad here having less success, but love reading that some of us are getting jobs. I am remaining optimistic. Best of luck!

Congrats! I love reading about new grads getting jobs! I hope to be making a similar post soon! ;-)

Congratulations! I am anxiously awaiting a callback for an interview for a new grad internship program myself. I have also been gathering my interview resources from here and have been reading as many happy posts as possible. Thanks for sharing yours. ;-)

I have seen some pretty rapid results. I however, live in one of the states with SLOW return. (Michigan) I have been out of school for 3 weeks now and have heard nothing. Our grades were mailed the day after graduation. All my paperwork that could be was turned in weeks before graduation. We were told it could take 6-8 weeks just to get our ATT. I am trying to just be patient. it gets harder every day.

CONGRATULATIONS!!! I graduated Friday and am SO jealous that you have taken NCLEX so fast. Our state is pretty slow and we were told 3-8 weeks till we will even get our ATT. Can't wait to be legal. ;-)

I have seen a great one with the faces pain scale and under it listing the range of nursing student stress.

CONGRATS!!! my pinning is today and right now it still feels a little surreal. It hit me yesterday when we went and "Practiced" pinning on the stage and everything. wow! looking forward to reading a book for fun and having a little more time for my family and myself.

If some of what you seek is some soul searching, have you considered a mission trip? A friend has this planned for after she passes her boards. There are a few organizations who take new grads. The trips vary in length and could be very rewarding to both your mental health and your resume. ;-)

Music! I have two huge sub-woofers in a box in the back of my van. I crank up some loud music and jam all the way home. I have a 45 minute commute. It usually does the trick. It started as a joke, as my husband had picked them up for himself. He left them in the van for a while and I told him he had to hook them up or get them out. He hooked them up thinking I would still make him take them out, but It has turned into a guilty pleasure of mine. I tried to convince My hubby I wanted to take up shooting, but I think it made him nervous. ;-) We live in a rural area so there are no public places to shoot.

My daily commute is just shy of an hour one way. Last semester for one clinical rotation I had a 2hour drive each way. Luckily for that one I was able to share a ride with another student. I try to use this time to decompress. I have a busy household with 3 boys and a husband so I enjoy the quiet time and I also love to listen to loud music. for some reason it clears my head. I also like to listen to lectures or my own recorded notes. I have talked myself through material out loud, and even studied with a friend via phone (on speaker). It gets in the way some when we are trying to plan study group time, and they all have 15 min or less to campus. I live in rural Michigan, so I am use to everything being a commute of sorts. some winter days that commute can grow by at least a half an hour!

I always assumed the term changed from "calling in sick" to "calling in" so some people didn't have to lie twice. ;-) We tend to have more "sick" employees during event weekends, sunny afternoons, and holidays.

Waiting was the worst! i think I stalked and cursed out my mail lady for a full week. ;-) One night I got a frantic phone call from a fellow nursing school hopeful. She had me log in to my account at our school website. she kept saying "what does it say?!" I wasn't sure what she was talking about till I saw what it listed as my major... "accepted nursing" !! It was late and we live in neighboring towns so we met at a bar and shared a celebratory drink. unofficially of course, as we both did not want to tell anyone until the hard copy letter was in hand. It arrived in the next days mail. ;-) Needless to say a LOT of phone calls were made that day.

It wouldn't hurt to talk with a nursing adviser at your school to get a better idea of what challenges academically you may or may not be up against. If you are an older or returning student there is often an issue with outdated classes not transferring. (our math and science could be no older than 5 years at time of admission.) also to get a feel for the time line of how much needs to be completed before you can even get started in a program. My nursing program is a 2 year ADN program. but the pre reqs to get in can not be accomplished in less than 3 semesters. It is a smaller school and some classes are only offered certain semesters. Different schools will have a different path to your degree. I have seen some follow a path of CNA, to LPN, to RN/BSN. Others (like mine) are a straight to an RN program. Both have their + &-. like how early you might enter the workforce. I would not let jobs and economy be too much of a deciding factor. Who knows what another couple of years will bring. One of the nurses I followed last semester told be that whenever she has wanted or needed a job in nursing, she has had one. It my not always be in your dream department, but there will always be a need for nurses. (long term care, home health, community health, Hospice, etc) Hope you find some of the answers you are looking for. I will graduate in May and cannot wait to begin my career in nursing. ~Betsy

I had my skills book cut and spiral bound. Not to make it lighter, but to make it easier to use. I also did this to my care plan book. I don't think I could ever do it to the big one. (you know that big 2-3 semesters worth of med surg text book) the pages in mine are super thin and I can't imagine it would hold up very well.

Something to write with and a notebook should be fine for a first day. Dress nice (first impressions and all) but wear comfortable shoes in case there are tours of any kind. Eat breakfast and maybe bring a snack and a water bottle. Especially if it will be a long day. relax and have fun!

We use a book called Calculations of drug doses by, Janney and Flahve it walks you through step by step and has pictures of actual labels and vials. very basic, and a little out dated but VERY easy to understand.