Cinqui73

Yes, I think we (DaddyO & I) were the last people to take the Accuplacer; it is now the HESI, which is more complex. I won't say "harder," because the Accuplacer wasn't easy, just based on subjects of more common knowledge. I used the Kaplan book for NET testing, and I plan on using it for the HESI when I graduate because it is actually designed more for HESI than Accuplacer exam. It breaks down each subject and gives you 2 extensive practice exams with complete explanations at the end of the book. I would suggest perusing it at Barnes & Noble to see if you like it. Aside from that, I have no personal info to offer. I think someone told me the time limit is four hours, but I can't swear to that - had a passing conversation with an former classmate who took the first HESI last semester, and do not remember for sure. Good luck!

Congrats, I_See_You_RN....I see you were just recently hired, and surgical ICU to boot! That is wonderful!! :)

As a student in a A.A.S. course, my GPA simply is what it is....for now. I spent alot of time coveting it for my pre-reqs, but decided toTRY not to stress over it while in the program, as that MOST people end up invariably going down. I went from a 3.97 to a 3.91, because of one B+ last semester. Which brings me to one point: testing in theory classes are not standardized, they are made up by professors and professors are NOT immune to making mistakes. Some are willing to own up to their humanity and return points on a test where the question was either poorly worded or simply WRONG....and then there are the stubborn ones! Frankly, I think I (and others, I'm sure) were robbed of an A because of a certain stubborn instructor who says the right answer is whatever she thinks it is, NOT because it's necessarily correct. I know I shouldn't complain about a B+, but it would of been a whole different ball game if I felt I had deserved it. Anyhow, I feel MUCH, much sorrier for the people who failed by only a few points last semester. Secondly, I've encountered some highly intelligent nursing students who I - God, forgive me - think will NOT be very good nurses. I don't mean that to come of as presumptious, judgemental, or bitter and I certainly don't wish failure of these people; it really is such a shame to watch such brilliant people falter due to poor communication & decision-making skills, a hopeless lack in confidence, and even excessive arrogance. Survival is more important, but I am trying to keep my GPA up as that I plan on extending my degree as soon as possible. However, I hope someone hires me because they like what they see when they talk to me, not because what I look like on paper. :)

Thank you! I will be passing this on to classmates, and classmates that I am not acquainted with on allnurses.com can search and find the answer here as well!! I knew Daytonite could help us! :heartbeat

Oh, I have no idea who created the med calculation practice packet...I'm curious to see when/if we review it if the instructor catches on to the misprint. I try really hard to keep my mouth shut, nursing instructors can be....ah, testy folk! :wink2: Look, atleast it didn't say "prostrate" when referring to a prostate! I sent a PM to Daytonite...hopefully, she'll have time to help me out.

I'm still a nursing student in Bergen County, NJ (graduate Dec 2010) and I'm worried already! I can only only pray the economy will be in an upswing by the time I graduate....:uhoh21:

Have to keep looking for something about urinary frequency, but these 3 can apply as additional diagnoses: Stress Urinary Incontinence r/t weak pelvic musculature Impaired Tissue Integrity r/t peripheral vascular changes Ineffective Tissue Perfusion r/t reduced venous blood flow Just thought I'd throw those out there! :)

Ah, that's good to know. As I said, I've never seen "dilutent" before, but I didn't want to judge it prematurely, "vancromycin" or not! Reminds me of a time when when I was touring nursing colleges, and I saw a sign above the patient simulator mannequins: "DO NOT INJECT FLUIDS INTO MANIKIN!" I giggled to myself, wondering how the college could keep a boast about academic prowess and superior teaching while they had a boldly misprinted sign hanging in plain sight. Curiousity provoked, I googled the word and found out that not only can the word mannequin be spelled various ways, but the company that produces said patient simulator actually refers to their products as "manikins!" :) Wiped the smug smirk right off of my face....

Thank you for saying "diluent"....my handouts call it "dilutent," which I don't know it it's correct or not; however, in my 17 years as a medical assistent reconstituting meds/giving injections, I've never seen a vial of diluent say "dilutent" on it! :) However, it also says "vancromycin" instead of "vancomycin"...and it's not a typo, it's misspelled in every "vanco" question over a handful of times!

I need someone's (Daytonite? :wink2:) help regarding this question. I've seen another thread with a similar pharmacology question asking for "dilution volume" that leads me to believe I know the answer, but my worksheet poses the query in a slightly different manner that makes provokes the little OCD in me to post it: An I.V. medication dose of 500mg is ordered to be diluted to 30mL and infused over 50 minutes. A 15 mL flush is to follow. The dose of medication is contained in 3mL. The administration set is a microdrip. Determine the following: 1. Dilution Volume:________ 2. gtt/min:________ 3. mL/hr:______ Now, I do not have problems computing #2 and #3, but #1 threw me for a loop, as that no book or handout in my possession addresses "dilution volume." Even a worldwide Google search had only brought me ONE post in allnurses.com, and the previously mentioned similar question. My questions REALLY is are: -- what EXACTLY is dilution volume? -- Are the answers 1) 27mL 2) 36 gtt/min 3) 36 mL/hr ?

Sorry, I have no experience with the HESI...wish I could help!

Well, I'm happy to say I made it through Level 1 with flying colors! I have a medical background to fall back on, thank GOODNESS, and I managed to figure out the thinking behind the tests to do well. I'm so happy, I came out with my GPA intact (much to my suprise, might I add)! Level 2 may not yield such a promising result, but I'm taking it one semester at a time and focusing on doing my best and PASSING. Good grades are a plus! But I must also say, I wasn't JUST me, because we had a fantastic pass rate with the whole class: we only lost 4 people (If I have my info correct, one dropped the day of class, two due to medical issues and I don't know about the fourth person) early on and only 1 person outright didn't pass in the end, so 35 out of 40 people in my section are moving on. I think we did great and had, in general, one of the higher passing rates to date! They are scrambling for spots now....I think they almost bank on a higher percentage failing. Now they are in a quandary as to what to do with all the students moving on, as that they have plenty of "repeaters" also taking up spots. Thank you, as always, for your insight; it is comforting to get encouragement from people that have already been through it all and help those of us "in the trenches" see the light at the end of the tunnel and that it is all, in the end, possible! ~ Laura,

Yeah, it WAS funny, huh? I mean, all I see is your name on the sign-in and I'm like, "Wait...is that MY Ed??" LOL I'll pm you my address....

Yeah, I'll say! The only time I experience true discomfiture was the first night though; the room was so BITTERLY cold that I couldn't concentrate on anything but the fact that I felt like I was in a meatlocker! Plus, as I told you Saturday in the nursing lab, I apparently chose the wrong section, lol. I went to the gym with a friend today who apparently knows one of my professors from HoHoKus school and the professor's reputation precedes her there...sheesh! Oh well....it is what it is. I'm not going to get discouraged just yet, not after scrapping for my spot in this program!

I agree - you gave it as ordered, therefore committed no error. Just make sure you document, document, document!

Not to be snotty, but I've encountered plenty of RN's who are plenty unskilled in therapeutic communication, alot of them on this very board (not you personally, Daytonite), unfortunately! In my 17 years in the medical field, I've heard the most embarrassingly idiotic comments come out of various people's mouths of various licensures - I've dealt everything from the dumbest MA's to RN's who jump to hysterically wrong conclusions, all the way up to incompetent MD's who are complete morons. Although I DO understand what you are driving at with this sentiment, it's hardly fair to label ALL M.A.'s as "unskilled"; I was fortunate to work with alot who were very conscientious and careful about everything, not only BP's. One of them was me! I think taking blood pressure for more than a decade and a half has hardly left me UNSKILLED at it. The reality is, as you said, MA's are far more cost effective and this is very true - but another part of that reality is that doctor's do their darnedest to hire inexperienced MA's fresh out of school so they can pay them scrap pay instead of hiring an MA with experience. Part of the reason I need to go back to school to get my RN license is because no one wants to pay me what I was earning as an MA at my last job!! This particular MA that told the OP's husband was most likely trying to not get him worked up, although it was not her place to make any "diagnosis"...that was up to the doctor. Some of us KNOW the scope of our practice because we figured it out long ago! This is part of the learning curve of talking to patients; there are many innocuous things we tend to blurt out that we never realize can compromise patient care. And, frankly, in my opinion, 130/90 is NOT a good BP and I would of been concerned if his wife was claiming high readings at home. To the OP, you should NOT feel stupid...as Suanna stated, blood pressure is not a static thing. Although I'm ONLY an MA, the doctor takes my blood pressures that I take on my husband (also hypertensive) at home seriously. Of course, as any GOOD doctor would do, *always* rechecks them in the office HIMSELF...both arms twice! :) No doctor in their right mind is going to prescribe medicine based on a blood pressure he/she did not take personally.

Yup! I sent you a PM, Winnie.... See you in 602!

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW! That is amazing!! LOL! :chuckle

Wow....did you really type that?! Not only are you insulting and condescending, but the gall to insinuate you're being prosecuted for your faith rather than for what you have posted is so ridiculous it borders on embarrassing. Are you SERIOUS?? I don't remember Atheists claiming to HATE God, they simply do not BELIEVE in Him....though Lord knows if they do hate God, it would be because of statements like yours.

I just have to say, alot of my peers in the RN program are my age and up - a good amount of second-career and second-degree students in my lot! Don't let your disappointment and keen sense of failure get the best of you; I know at the tender age of 23 that 30's and 40's sounds so much older to you, but, take it from someone who feels like 23 was just a few weeks ago...it's not as old as you think! Women tend to have this internal clock, a sort of unconscious plan of what we should accomplish by what age; it's not always a bad thing, but can be very damaging in certain situations such as this one. I would always encourage one to get their education sooner rather than later, but not all is lost to you even remotely, my dear. It's just that it's not clear to you until you actually reach the age! :nuke: Grieve your loss, then move on. Please believe me, you have PLENTY of time.

I respectfully disagree with this - only because I was raised in an agnostic household, but would follow my friend's families to church as a child! It's funny, because NOW my mother is the proverbial Bible Thumper today.... I consider myself spiritual and do believe in God, however, have little faith in religion as that tends to be riddled with hypocrisy. I do not attend church, nor believe that my relationship with God is jeopardized by doing so. That being said, my "religion" furthermore forbids me from cramming my beliefs down anyone's throat because, in my eyes, God exists whether you believe in Him or not therefore why would I find one's disbelief threatening? By the same token, I certainly don't mean to sound like I have anything against church itself. It is a fabulous support system for many people of different needs, a place to harmoniously congregate with like-minded individuals. The same way every medicine is not the right for everyone, different people need a different kind of spiritual "innoculation".... Should someone ASK your beliefs, there's nothing wrong with being honest. By the same token, asking for you to pray for them, although I can understand your discomfiture, if you don't harbor any beliefs then how do you compromise a non-belief? Simply send an "earnest request" out into the universe, no matter what your "religion" is. Is it really a horrible thing to sacrifice in a person's time of great need?

Personally, I think your nuts, LOL! Are you working? If you're not working and have independent children, I think you can do it. It's been done before! It's all a matter of other things that compromise your time, the sciences are extremely time consuming and require dedicated study time. As previously states, kiss your social life GOODBYE! With work and younger children, I would not be able to do it. Best of luck to you! :redbeathe

If that's the case, I certainly agree - however, my college (as far as I know) uses a "test bank" and professors hand pick their questions for EACH test, every semester. This way, no one can pass on their tests from last semester to someone who is taking the class the upcoming semester as that each test is individual. My error, perhaps, is assuming that all colleges did that! :uhoh21:

I certainly understand your feelings, I'm having anxious feelings myself about my kids with my first semester in the nursing program looming. I have two children: my oldest is nearly thirteen yet still something of a momma's boy, even through his mildly snotty preteen angst period; my youngest will be two years old in a week and is extremely clingly and attached to me. My oldest is able to comprehend how this will better our lives as a family, but my youngest is not going to understand fully. My only consolation is that the school routine is not completely new, as that I have spent a pretty busy 2008 with pre-req's in order to be ready for the nursing deadline. The nursing program will just have me home somewhat later, one day more a week and require more study time. I've adjusted my work schedule to accomodate two weekdays of daytime study (while both are at school) so weekends can be mostly for the family. You have to look at this as everything else "unpleasant" about parenthood, such as enforcing bed time, getting up early for school, doing homework, etc. I would just suggest talking about it as much as your can with your child: the importance of education, frequently reaffirming your love, that the purpose of your absence is not to abandon him and that, although an eternity in a child's eyes, it is NOT forever. Encourage him to vent to you verbally, be sure to validate and show you understand his feelings - perhaps it will cut down on the acting out. Even if he doesn't quite "get it" now, as previously stated, he will remember the conversation when he's older and understand it. Just remember, kids don't always appreciate everything their parents do until they are older or even parents themselves! :nuke:

I don't understand how everyone came to the conclusion that the OP would never "care" about a patient for no other reason than she is disenchanted with the nursing profession. I didn't realize that hating nursing made you completely heartless and unworthy of helping people. Then again, your comment to the Pitcrew asking a simple question that was posted on the wrong thread certainly validates that stance, no?