SkiingCait

I am on facebook and enjoy using it to keep in touch with family and friends who live far away. With that said, I have nothing on my page that I wouldnt want my bosses to see. I use my account to keep in touch with my friends and very rarely say anything about work. If I do happen to mention work, I ask myself how I would feel if my boss saw this. If I think iy would be a problem, I dont write it. Problem solved :)

I'm in the same camp as you. VS at triage, and unless the temp is elevated or low, I usually won't re-check it. If we are holding the pt in the ED for an extended time, I will get one q6h. We use oral/rectal temps...I wish we had temporal/tympanic!!

As the others said, if I am giving 60mg, I always give it in the gluteal b/c it is 30mg/mL. The 1 or 2 times I gave 30mg IM, I gave it in the deltoid, and the pt didn't react.

MentalHealthRN - I agree that it is quite confusing! Where I work, however, LNA's really function in the same capacity as CNA's, they just also work under a license (and therefore are required to get CE's, renew their license, etc). As for the more invasive procedures, I haven't seen LNA's perform those tasks (IE catheters). They are allowed to remove IV's, draw labs, do vitals, etc. Very interesting how different it can be from state to state!

That is most definitely possible. In my state (NH), nursing assistants are licensed, and called LNA's. In my ADN program, after completing your first semester of nursing school you could apply for your LNA license (and many people did). If you don't want to wait, you could look into a short course and then apply for a job. Many hospitals will train you as well. I think it us a great way to get some experience while you are in school. Good luck!

Where I work we can only draw off an IV as it's being placed, before the saline lock is connected. I would definitely suggest checking the policy where you work. Good luck!!

We just got on in our Pedi ED that I have used on both peds patients and hard adults sticks - it's amazing! I'm a new nurse (started in July) and in the ED - so I've only been starting IV's for a couple of months, but every time I've used the AccuVein I've gotten a line :).

YaY! Congrats! It's an amazing feeling, huh?

I originally got the "On hold" response, then a few hours later got the "good" pop-up. Excited to say I looked at the BON today, and I am officially an RN! While I knew that it wasn't guaranteed 100%, it certainly did help ease my worries a bit while I waited for my results :)

Just got my results - I passed!! Soooo excited! Hope you did as well!!!

Lilkk - How did it go!? I just finished...had 75 questions and finished in just under an hour. Now, the waiting game begins!! Hope your exam went well!!

I am also taking the exam on Wed and am so nervous that I am not ready. I know that logically I probably am as I have been studying consistently and doing pretty well on practice exams, I just can't believe that my test date is finally approaching! Good luck to all who are taking the exam in the next few days - and thanks marcos for those tips!

I chose to take ethics as a week-long intensive course over Winter Break and found that to be the best way to do it. I still had a few weeks off for break and didn't have to write papers all semester long. I have heard from some other people who took it online that it was pretty time consuming. Just my Good luck!

Hooray!! Enjoy your break! Today was my last day of lecture...only 1 more clinical day, 1 final, 1 Hesi and the boards

Congrats - glad to hear the interview went well!! I am in the same position as you - I am graduating in a few weeks (eeeeek!!) and my dream job is in the ER. None of the hospitals in my area are hiring new grads right now, but I did submit a resume to one hospital, and I got a call that they want to interview me!!!! I am unbelievably excited and the answers in this thread are really helpful - so thanks everyone!!!

Is this on a handwritten prescription? Are you trying to type out a dot with a horizontal line under it, with another slash below that (kind of like a division sign?) If so, some doc's will write that to mean 1 tab (with the number of dots and slashes under the line indicating how many tabs). If that's not what you mean, sorry!

Congrats to you all! I'm graduating from NHTI this year, and the program is great. Very intensive, but definitely a great experience. Good luck!

Congrats!! I am sooooo jealous (and happy for you!!!) - the ER is my dream job but they aren't hiring in my area. Congrats and good luck!!!

YAY!! I am SO excited - Pinning and Graduation are on the 14th - can't wait!! Congrats to you all

I'm finishing up the last semester of nursing school and with all of the stress of passing my last round of clinicals and finding a job, I needed a reminder of the excitement I had when I first found out I had been accepted to NS. I was Thanks for the reminder :)

I would suggest trying HESI or NCLEX type questions regularly. Not only will it help when you are getting ready to take the boards, but in my program, our exams are "NCLEX style" questions, so I have found that practicing NCLEX questions helps me on my lecture exams. Also, a tip that someone gave me when I first started is when answering a question that I'm totally lost on, don't forget that many things boil down to the ABC's. Remember that pt safety is always #1 and don't forget about Maslow's Hierarchy of needs. Hope that helps some...

My guess is to label the syringes after she had drawn them up? ( I was wondering this, too...)

I'm guessing a "U" is the equivalent of "clinical warning" in my nursing program. Last semester (my 3rd in a 4 semester program), I was pulling my meds for one of my two patients. It was only my 3rd week in this hospital, and they use a different Pyxis machine than what I was used to. On the screen, there is a spot where the ordered dosage appeared (ie 500mg) and then in another spot, how the med comes (ie 250mg). I was going quickly and thought that the ordered dose was what the med came as, so I just grabbed 1 tab instead of 2. I was about to do my 2nd check against the EMAR when my instructor came up to check my meds so I could give them. She asked if something looked off and I realized my mistake. I got a clinical warning for this and at the time, I was really upset. However, I decided to take the warning for what it is - a warning. Ever since, I am EXTREMELY careful when taking meds out and am super cautious when checking my meds. Now, I know that this type of this can "rattle" you, especially on your first day with a new instructor. My advice to you, if you do get a "U", is to talk to your instructor and say that you understand your mistakes, and you will learn from it and not do it again. Try to not let it get you down (easier said than done, I know!) Take a deep breath and good luck!!

Hi Cynthia!! I am in the same boat as you...Graduation is a mere 9 weeks away (yikes!) and while I am doing well on my exams, I am just so terrified of putting in all this work and not making it (at my school, only about 55-60% of the students who start the program graduate). I am just trying to take it one day at a time and learn everything I can! I came across this website a few days ago (I saw it on a thread on all nurses somewhere...don't remember exactly - sorry I can't cite who gave it!) and thought some of the explanations were pretty helpful. Obviously, the policies that your school follows take precedent, but I learned a bit from a few of the links. Good luck and hang in there...we are so close!

Pandora - thanks for that explanation...that makes complete sense :)