rach78

I just took my NCLEX RN yesterday...and I am freaking out waiting. I only had 75 questions and they were really hard. I usually am a really good test taker and I am hoping that that is why it stopped at 75. But maybe I just did so bad on those first 75 questions...I just want to know if i passed. I have heard it is a good thing if you get 75 questions...is that true. Has anyone out there had 75 questions and failed? or passed?

Hello All, I am about to graduate (yeah!!!!) and am looking for the best study guides for the NCLEX. I need to take the test as soon as possible (got kids to support) so I need to start studying now. Any advice...on best study guides? Thanks RAchel

Can I ask how you stated on your resume that you would be graduating later. Did you put anything about licensing? Or just leave it as expected graduation date? Or maybe mention it in cover letter?

Rush Medical Center in Chicago has a program. Any new grad who starts work there is automatically put into the residency program.

Hello, I just was looking for a bit of advice. I will graduate in November, 2009 and am wondering when I should start applying for jobs. Should I start 2 months before graduation? Another question for you, how soon can you take the NCLEX after graduation? I am a single mom who has been paying rent through scholarships and student loans and really need a job as soon as possible and I am beginning to stress over how I will pay rent in January. Thanks in advance for any advice you can give me.

hello, I am about to be a new grade (in about 10 weeks) and have thought about military nursing through out school. It is something I have always wanted to do. However, I am a single mom and have heard that I would need to sign over custody of my son to go active duty. So I was thinking about the reserves, particularly Navy. Is anyone out there in the Navy Reserves as a Nurse? What types of places are you called up to? Can you share any experiences with me? I am really just looking for information. As I understand it, you commit to one weekend amonth training, plus any deployment? Is that correct? Again, anything you can tell me would be great. Thanks for your input, Rachel

Yes, you may participate. IF the survey isn't still up under this forum, it is in the students/academic research assistance section. Apparently, I am only able to post there. Thanks again, Rachel

we are asking for your help to complete our graduate research project. we are interested in determining the relationship between regular physical activity and stress in the workplace. participation requires filling out a short (15 minute survey). the questions will ask about stress at work, exercise, and demographic information. all of your information will remain confidential. all participants must: possess a bsn or adn and be licensed as an rn be at least 18 years of age worked in a critical care unit or ed for at least one year who we are: we are graduate students at depaul university in chicago. this graduate research is a requirement to obtain our masters degree. the goal of our research is to help acute care nurses develop proactive strategies for dealing with the stress that comes from working in icus and eds. we thank you in advance for taking the time to complete this survey. we will post the results on this website after analyzing all the data. to participate in the study, please copy and paste the following link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=8fli74i_2btwgpws_2bihemjua_3d_3d thank you,

I just did a nurse externship in the CCU/CVICU. I know when we transerred patients out we either transfered to the PCU (like the above poster stated) or the tele unit. It seemed that the more critical patients went to PCU and other less complex issues went to tele. I know the short time i was on a tele floor, i also thought it was pretty boring, especially compared to the 8 weeks I just spent on the CCU. I was not bored in the CCU, but we did get patients who might have some other thing besides a cardiac issue wrong, but if they have a cardiac history, they would come to us. But I saw a lot of different things and always learned something new. And can anyone really be bored in an ICU? I can't imagine that. Good Luck. I graduate in November and am hoping to find a job in the CCU.

I think that the study will show that those who are physically active are less stressed at work. Studies have already shown that exercise increases confidence and improves a persons feeling of overall well being. It only makes sense to me that an increase in confidence and "feeling good" would help prevent or at least lessen the stress that nurses feel. Before returning to nursing school, I was a wellness coordinator for a hospital chain, and a lot of what we did was trying to lessen the stress for the nurses at work. However, so many of nurses were against exercising at all and believed that being on their feet for a 12 hour shift equaled exercising. While those 12 hours are demanding, it does not induce the same heart rate response (up to 60-85% of max heart rate) to achieve the stress reducing benefits of cardio exercise. I just hope my study might help some nurses who find their jobs overly stressful as a way to cope and hopefully help them lead healthier lives, cause we all know what stress can do to the body!

I agree with you on handwashing. I can't understand why you wouldn't want to wash your hands when leaving a patient room. I have eczema and it can get pretty bad on my hands and washing them makes it worse...sometimes it burns, but I still do it religiously. I just keep plenty of steroid cream in the pockets of my scrubs. It is an essential responsiblity of nurses to do everything possible not to transmit infections from patient to patient.

There isn't alot of research comparing exercise and stress in nurses. Lots of studies showing stress, using biological markers and nurse feedback, and lots of research showing the benefits of exercise on stress, but no study comparing the two. Many other coping strategies have been looked at, social support, relaxation, etc, but none just looking at exercise. My bachelors degree is in exercise physiology and I have always been interested in the stress response and how exercise impacts that, so I thought this would be a great study to do. Who knows, maybe I'll get it published!

Thanks. I never thought about trying her publisher. I have looked at that springerlink as well.

Hello, I am really hoping someone might be able to point me in the right direction, here. I have just submitted my research proposal to the IRB at my school. They have returned it telling me I need to contact the author of the Nursing Stress Scale and get her permission to use this scale. It was designed by Pamela Gray-Toft in 1981. I have been all over the internet trying to find her and I just don't know where to look anymore. It is a widely used scale and many studies have used it, but I just don't know where to go from here. Does anyone have any ideas? Thanks so much for your help, Rachel

I am currently working on my graduate project. I am looking at stress in acute care nurses and trying to determine if nurses who are physically active, exercising outside of work, perceive less stress in the ICUs and ERs. Particularly looking at how the physiological signs of stress, increased heart rate,etc, remain closer to baseline in nurses who are more physically fit than their counterparts.