africanaloe

I will tell you from a person who went through an orientation in a rather "mean" environment. First, identify whether the preceptor is the problem. I "fired" a preceptor since he was teaching me nothing. Secondly, if this is a genuine situation where you need to improve, here are some pointers. Critical Thinking Always try and look at the other side of a situation and find out an answer for it....for instance if you have a patient straight from OR, even they are not bleeding, ask yourself what if they are bleeding? What can I do, what can I recommend? If you cannot come up with an answer- ask the seasoned nurses or your preceptor....trust me it helps.When you get that pt in real life and they are bleeding, as soon as you mention- i think he's bleeding alittle too much and we may have to give some Packed cells and/or platelets etc etc, you are showing them your critical thinking skills!...so challenge yourself as much as possible. Charting Simple thing of if you didn't write it, you didn't do it. I carry a small pamplet esp when I have a busy day and jot little notes with time on the side. When you get a minute write it out and it saves you the problem of trying to remember what you did. Shift Reports. After I graduated, my preceptor taught me an easy way to do this. 1.Start with name, sex, age, then Doctors on the case. 2.State the history and make sure to highlight recent surgical interventions like bronchs, EGD's etc.(a date helps!) 3.Go through the systems-ALL! Get into the habit of writing this even when you take report. Neuro & Musculo- they go hand in hand most of the time :) Resp Cardio/C.V-whatever you like G.I G.U Skin Access points- eg RT subclavian with NS @ 50 cc/hr, Labs e.g INR, Q6 H&H, if K is low/high,replacements done etc. Extra's Physical therapy etc,bath, family, procedures to be done or anticipating to done in the future. Good luck dear.

I would encourage new graduates to relocate. Dallas is especially in need of nurses! They plead with you to come on board cuz there is only 3 nursing schools and they graduate less than 300 students/yr.....DFW is the place for a new grad.Tonnes of opprotunities since there are hospitals opening all over all the time. Matter of fact for my internship I didn't even interview...I "transitioned" from clinical rotation to going for the internship...lol....literally. I just turned in my job application to HR "for record" purposes....oh n all my friends had the same experience. advice---Move from Boston after graduating!

I'm not sure is s'one answered in my way but I was too lazy to go through 8 pages of opinions and/or advise. From my own brother's experience and mine s'times its not so bad. He worked for a different company from mine and in the 1 yr he was with them he did some overtime in the process. The most important question is to ask if the contract is taking into consideration a 36 hr week.:)...makes a difference, if internship counts etc. My bro had a 2 yr contract but because he did some overtime in the process, he got credit for all the hours he worked extra and so he only had like 1k to pay back which they gladly took from his Paid Time off and gave him the rest of the check! At my previous hospital, which was a different company they didn't do that run around.(4 months orientation, 7k if default,2 yrs commitment and a $2500 sign on) ...They would say it but never ran after you...basically you walked free with some newly gained RN experience ..lol.. So don't be scared- you will not be leaving for a new job anyways until you have at least 1 yr experience. Trust me the internship is so intense that the first 4 months esp if critical care its like your last semester in school..sorry. Its always nice FOR YOU to get some 1.5 experience at your first RN experience cuz when you leave employers(read hosp managers- Agency doesn't care) really don't equate the first 6 months as "valid" experience... btw I noticed your's is 7 months..I'd say that's abit lengthy but I assume it could be a large teaching facility or trauma hosp etc. My friends who went to a longer internship were definetely experienced in many other little things that I had to learn along the way eg bedside dialysis(CVVH and CVVHD), balloon pump and all those other interesting things they make you learn!

I always say this.. I'm sorry you may have to step out for about x minutes and I will let you back in once I'm done. If they are adamant- I lean on privacy- If I had a choice I would let you stay in, but for the sake of the patient's privacy please step out and I will be glad to let you back in... I have never had issues as such... Knock on wood.

That is pretty unfortunate. I don't understand how your credits cannot transfer. The school you apply to determines whether they take your credits NOT the school you're currently attending. I think you need to try and shop for an ADN or another BSN program that will allow you to transfer the courses you've taken already..some schools may allow you to transfer an years worth then you'd have to take the extra classes the school needs. Don't give up so soon and feel like you have to settle for LPN. All the best and good luck.

I don't really think there's anything wrong with hating something.. I have been an ICU nurse for couple years and I have many many small things I can brag about given to me by family members of patients and my fellow nurses.My personality sort of "covers" for my hatred for nursing. Don't get me wrong. When I graduated, I thought nursing was good but after getting on the floor and facing alot of animosity from coworkers that was it. I decided there and then I would not die doing nursing....well truth is I'm in pharmacy school right now and will graduate soon.I still work as a nurse and unfortunately the negativity and also "old nurses eat the young" made me do a career switch.I think God planned it that I would end up in a good hospital with a bad group of nurses and that in turn would shape me to be what I am today... I've never regretted my decision to this day... Good luck @ author of the thread....

I'm an RN who is back to school. Case studies do the trick. They may be long and boring but they actually help you ANALYZE what's going on and how well to FIX it. When I did my HESI and NCLEX couple years back, that's what I wasted myself with. Also, you may be stuck in one question but then remember a scenario you had covered while doing your case studies. BTW half price books is a must stop for students. I bought 2 of my guides there for about 7.50 each. Good luck.:)

We had such a case and lo and behold after checking for all sorts of diseases the dude had advanced syphllis..lol...

I started out in ICU in the south... I've seen countless people complaining on this forums for not getting an ICU internship. In New England I have noticed they don't allow many new grads to do an ICU internship which I think is rather unfortunate,IMO. For NP I think you are right....Med surg is good but also I can understand why they say ICU since you will be able to deal with more complex diseases, which will in turn sharpen your critical thinking skills. Down side is that you will only deal with insanely sick people which 99% of the time, they will be in an ER not in your clinic so could be a total waste of your time, IMO. Another thing is, for NP you're looking to sharpen your assessment skills and a med surg floor could be a little hindering since you barely have time to breath, let alone assess WELL....I don't know... As a side note, ICU can be really stressful as a starter BUT you learn alot since 95% of the time the patients have illnesses from head to toe which really helps with assessment skills in the long run. 2/3 of my friends who are NP's started as medsurg RN's and the other an ICU nurse...Good luck in your choice :)

Just remember to write EVERYTHING eg Put on Pulse Ox Start IV Took BP...be careful some people don't take "vital signs" as correct cuz it depends on the patient...lol.... connected monitor Place Nasal cannula Call MD for abcd signs n symptoms and RECOMMENDED xyz!!!!! Informed charge RN Started NS bla bla bla last n not least you will feel insulted after taking the test. The one I did had someone with DKA, Pulmonary Embolism S/p knee surgery, Chest Pain,Stroke I believe etc...know the FINE details and type them up! Good Luck..