AlmostThere2011

Without knowing your teacher's style, it is hard to give advice. Usually I will go through the powerpoints and learn the general definition of the disease process and nursing interventions. You have to put some critical thinking into your answers. Ask yourself, "why is this answer correct?" when you're answering those questions. I usually write out very simple rationales next to each answer why something is or isn't correct... or I draw a line through the portion of the answer that is blatantly wrong. I usually take the full time given for the test to think about each answer. You have to know what is normal and you have to know the basic physiology and nursing interventions for each area/disease process. If you get really comfortable about knowing physiology, you can almost guess the nursing interventions because it is logical. I spend very little time studying because I like watching tv instead. I'm still getting high A's on my tests doing this. Don't study hard, study smart!

Well at the OR I did my summer course at, the techs were go-for's. Finding equipment, tracking down supplies... whatever. If you're in holding, you might just be helping people to the bathroom and finding supplies. If you're in the PACU you will actually be taking vitals and doing pt care and probably tracking down supplies. It depends on what you mean by OR. Usually if it is holding or surgery suites, you will be doing a lot of running around trying to find stuff and going to Central Sterile to grab carts and other supplies. All other areas of pt care in this area require some kind of licensure or certification. I loved being in the OR! It is a really great experience, and it is unlike any other part of the hospital. Hopefully your hospital has a great team. Sometimes staff (especially surgeons) can be rude, but if you have a good team it is absolutely the most wonderful and fun place to be. Good luck!!

Don't do any programs that say they can get you an RN online. There are some girls suing one of the big online for-profit school because the school told them that it would be ok. Now nobody will hire them. I wouldn't hire them to babysit my sick dog without having some patient experience. No real clinical experience = a big fat waste of time and money. Try to find a scholarship or something. Community colleges offer reduced rate if you can get in.

They've pushed back the Saunder's release date to Dec from what my teachers are saying. Buy a used copy with a CD from Amazon if your school library doesn't have it. Spend your money on the incredibly easy books if you're not flat out doing NCLEX prep. Or save your money for the new Saunder's book. From what the publisher is saying, the question format will be very different. I guess they're changing the NCLEX itself. The best care plan book I've used so far is "Nursing Diagnosis Handbook: A guide to planning care" by Ackley and Ladwig. The rationales are right with the interventions. They have lists of medical diagnosis with possible nursing diagnosis to go with. You have to use your brain when writing a good care plan, but this book is a pretty good start.

Could be a learning disability (no offense if it definitely isn't). But if yes, you can have your doc fill out some paperwork provided by the school for separate testing. I have ADD. I have a smaller classroom less filled with distraction for test days. Some of the girls have extended testing time. The school has to provide reasonable accommodation. And they'll do it for the NCLEX exam, too. I thought I was just horrible at taking tests, but it turns out I just needed a less crowded space where I could relax and take my time without people walking past me or shuffling papers.

Mine is Postpartum. Yay lady partsl discharge.

You know, watching those people saunter in late all the time or sit in the front row then spend 90% of class hammering away at their phone, it is like watching a car wreck in slow motion. I go to a private college, so it is none too cheap. Where do these people find money to just throw at the school? You know that these are not the people you will see next semester. How do they not know? Its just too gory/sad/mystifying to turn away and not secretly keep tabs if they show up to the final. And you know they're ******* off the teachers too. The very same teachers who grade their papers. I guess I'm too much of a goody two-shoes and this stuff shocks me. Honestly, a secret part of me gloats when they crash and burn because then I'm right about not being a screw-off. Yah. Am I going to NS hell for that?

Tell your ortho guy that you need clearance. Usually if you are clear and firm with your docs, they will respect it. Tell him why and reassure him you will take it easy on your joint. When you need to move, roll, whatever with your pt, GET OTHER STUDENTS TO HELP. Being a nurse is being part of a team. Its never too soon to start! The hernia really might not be such a big deal. He might just want to warn you that there is a small chance that you could have a loop of bowel get caught and it could become strangulated. I've never seen you, so I don't know what your hernia is about. Follow up with the doc and get worried when the stuff he warned you about starts to happen. And don't lift a whole lot of stuff. Lifting heavy objects probably isn't such a hot idea.

Always seek clarity. There are some situations that you are not obligated to report to the parents, whomever. In some instances you could actually be violating the kid's privacy rights. Plus, you will never get that kid to tell you anything ever again if you break their trust. Ask your instructor, and by all means if you are obligated to report, then do it. Otherwise, I would encourage the kid to seek more open and honest lines of communication with their parents.

I don't know if this counts, but I go to a private Catholic college. It is a 2 year ASN program, then you can opt for an RN to BSN. Honestly, I'm not completely sure about the BSN portion, but I know in our first semester we covered some of it. It was under the "End of life issues" lecture. I know that every semester it is covered one way or another. Usually it is discussed with a Catholic slant. Their college, their program, their way. I like that it was addressed. For some reason last semester I ended up being assigned to a lot of pts that found out that they were dying. I guess it made it easier for me to not be afraid of them and their families. I hoped this helped :)

No way that mtg is about you. That instructor is trying to scare you to get you to lie or catch you up so she can get out of the trouble she is in by blaming it on a flip-floppy, wishy-washy student! Nuh-uh. Stick to your guns and tell the truth. A "U" is not the end of the world. If they told you that injections weren't allowed, then a "U" might be deserved. For the day, not for the semester. And if they are all about thinking you are being deceitful, ask them why you would even mention it to another instructor if you thought you were being shady and trying to get away with something. Seriously, though, that first instructor is in a wad of deep poo-poo. Just tell the truth and try not to step in it. That mtg is soooooo not about you!

Don't worry too much. They'll break you in easy on the clinical stuff. No one wants a first semester student being responsible for a critical pt. Just report anything out of the normal to your clinical instructor. If it is WAY out of the normal, go straight to the pt's RN then your instructor. Of course, on the lecture it might be a little more overwhelming. "Fundamentals Success" and "Fundamentals Made Incredibly Easy" were some good supplement books. Actually the whole Incredibly Easy series has been a lifesaver. I never had to crack my Med/Surg book the whole 2nd semester with that series plus I like the pictures *lol* Just remember that you are in the program for a reason. And I promise you it is not because the material is too tough.

That sounds completely horrible! Unfortunately, not all nursing teachers were meant to be teachers. Hang in there and keep your head with this jerk. And just think, you only have to deal with her for a semester. She has to deal with her own venom for the rest of her life! You'll meet an instructor who inspires you before you're done. I promise it.

I knew a guy who got his first word as a fail. He was crushed. Then got a letter saying he passed. What a roller coaster. Guess he made it in under the wire, or they threw out a question after his instant results came in. That kind of thing is rare, or so I hear. I'm going into my third semester, so I'm getting nervous that would be my luck

Why is this a question? Obviously your teacher trusts her students way too much, but don't our patients give us incredible trust too? She had to cheat on a Pharm test. Do you want this person dosing your mother? If the answer is no, then what makes you think that anyone would want this girl dosing THEIR mothers, children, husbands, ect. This girl needs to be kicked out of school before she does physical harm to someone. She has already left damage in her wake, I think. I know I would feel violated as one of her classmates. She violated all the hard work you did by bypassing the blood sweat and tears put into a studying session. You deserve the grade you got because you worked your bum off. These are not easy classes. She violated her instructor's trust. That is quite obvious how your instructor would feel if this was revealed to her. I think it is great that your instructor trusts you that much. The real question is not if she is going to cheat again, but when. Who is she going to violate next? Will she withhold and steal pain meds from a patient to self inject and give her patient saline in place? Don't think that that does not happen. Don't think that people who are ok doing that type of awful thing did not start somewhere. Don't think that all the people they work with are ignorant of their bad acts. By remaining silent you are enabling this girl to stay in school, perhaps earn her degree and thus exposing patients to her compromised set of values. As nurses we deal with ethical issues often. Who do you want to be? Do you want to have uncompromising ethical standards? Believe me when I say that the type of student you are now will be the type of nurse you are later. You know what the right thing is. In the end you will earn the respect of your instructor (don't think for a moment she will not know how hard it is to "tattle" on a peer), but you will preserve your own self-respect. God bless you for being honest, even when the opportunity for dishonesty presents itself. Prove that ethics is not just an abstract idea in our profession. Good luck in school :)