malaski

My ex-boyfriend's grandmother died one week after her husband passed away. It was very hard on the family - they had to plan and attend 2 funerals (the latter unexpected) in a week.

I had the 2nd book also and I too recommend that you do ALL the practice questions included. It takes a long time to get through, but it will prepare you well. Do 50-100 something questions a day.

oh I see what your saying - you put the cuff on her forearm, so you used the radial pulse. Hmmm I'm not sure

Yes, you are supposed to put the stethescope in the antecubital/brachial area

Ewwww! okay - that helps Thanks! I don't want to miss any of my infection control questions tomorrow!

I know the major diseases associated with each form of isolation precautions ie. TB, measles, varicella are put on airborne precautions...but I have some specific questions about infection control. see below say you have a contact precaution patient such a patient with MRSA.... what would you consider a splash or spattering? bronchoscopy, intubation, colostomy, mouth care - in addition to contact precautions (donning gloves and gown) would you use a mask and goggles/face mask for these procedures? would mouth care, or suctioning generate splashes? I know nclex is probably going to ask tricky questions like this! Any other procedures considered a splash or splatter?

congrats, I'm taking the monster at the end of this week. Thanks for the tips. haha, I too have an endless supply of powerpoints,notes, and index cards I need to part with :)

I always have trouble with questions regarding which patient is more stable than another - ESPECIALLY with Maternity patient questions! I have been doing ok on my practice NCLEX questions, but I would like to do better. Is there anyone that can tell me what patients are usually/always top priority. Mabye a list of some of the most unstable patients and why they are? Just something you think might help me. Thanks!

Thank you for breaking it down for me! I needed that! I should add a tip since I'm posting something on here... Clozaril - the "Z" in Clozaril - med for SchiZophrenia. Most worrisome complication is agranulocytosis, therefore weekly blood tests must be done

I still don't understand the immunization schedule for infants and children. Can someone clarify for me? I checked out the chart on the CDC website, but it just confused me more. THANKS!

ysin, Well, even though I haven't started working as an official RN (I take my boards this month). I have to say that I do miss design already. I however, do not ever want to work as a designer in a corporate environment again. If I do go back into fashion, I would like to start my own personal line, but I do not wish to do it for a paycheck. I would like to design in my spare time - as a nurse you can do this - you work 3 days a week. That's one thing that attracted me to the job as well.

I just spoke with my unit director, and she said we are still starting in August as planned.

yes, I applied while I was still in school. I just graduated this May 2009, and I applied in Jan. I will be taking my NCLEX at the end of this month and I will start work this August 10th. You will need all your transcripts from pre-nursing and nursing school even though you are still not done. Also 2 academic letters of recommendations

Hey Addie, Apply early - I applied January 12th had my interview in Feb and I did not get a call back until the end of March. From my understanding there were 12 new grads chosen to work in my unit, and I know that during Feb alone, there were over 100 interviewees. I recommend doing an internship or doing some CNA work during your last semester. I was a student extern/work study during my last semester and I had over 140 hours of ICU clinical experience during my last rotation. From what I have heard - they tend to prefer candidates with some prior work experience. If you are selected for an interview, they will ask you whether you want to do a phone interview or an in-person one for 3 different units of your choice (if there are still openings). In my opinion, the phone interview was A LOT harder than the in person interviews. If I had to choose again, I would choose to do ALL in-person interviews. Anyways, hope that helps. Good luck with everything!

blood pressure in the lower extremities is higher than the upper - what your teacher said was correct Here is an article in Medscape stating the same fact "Normally, the systolic blood pressure in the legs is usually 10% to 20% higher than the brachial artery pressure. Blood pressure readings that are lower in the legs as compared with the upper arms are considered abnormal and should prompt a work-up for peripheral vascular disease. All hypertensive patients should have comparisons of arm and leg blood pressures as well as volume and timing of the radial and femoral pulses at least once to rule out coarctation of the aorta.[1] " - MEDSCAPE (see link below) http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/471829