kbm318

I haven't read the other comments my only suggestion would be go with what is in demand in your area. In my area they aren't really hiring LPN's and are actually phasing them out.

:w00t: Congrats! I'm a new grad also and I had my first interview yesterday and the second part to the interview is next Tuesday.

I agree with Saunders books. My school also made every test question NCLEX style. I would study all my materials from class and then look up the section we were studying in my NCLEX book and read the entire section. Sometimes it gave some better tips on how to remember and learn things. I also would do the questions for that section to help me as well.

:w00t:

I went to a diploma RN program and we had over 1200 hours

I've been applying since January and haven't even gotten an interview so hope you have better luck than I am having!

I went to a diploma school in PA for nursing and then moved to SC after graduation. Let's just say that was 8 months ago and I still have yet to even get 1 phone call for an interview. My husband is a nurse also and has tried every connection possible but everyone says they don't want new grads unless they have a BSN.

It doesn't always take 2 hours. My results went through instantly.

During your 200 semesters you will have PBL which is Problem Based Learning. They give you a scenario of a patient and you and your classmates (you will be split into small groups) have to figure out top priorities and interventions that you would do. You pretty much have to figure out what's wrong and what you would do for it. Most of them last 2 days and then you will have a day of SIM correlating to the scenario you did in PBL. The instructor's reasoning behind this is to get you to think and to learn, they say that medical students and even I guess resident's do this all the time to better themselves. It does suck because you cant really use it to help study for your test you will actually have to read the book. (wow this is why people throw a fit but seriously your an adult and in college don't expect everything to be spoon fed to you). They used to offer a test remediation on the tests that had PBL material on it so you could improve your grade up to an 84% but they recently took it away saying that people were relying on it to pass and they weren't studying. I hope this helps you.

The lady who takes the photo's isn't part of Shadyside SON she is an employee of AAA. Because Shadyside is in the AAA building we have a badge that scans us into the building if it is before 830 and to get us into the school hallways as well.

Not weird at all I want to work in an ICU because I go crazy if I don't have much to challenge my mind like machines and drips. Idk I guess I just like the really sick ones over the patients I see on the Med-Surg floors

With the IV fluid bags at my hospital there is a white port and a blue one ... the blue one is the one you pull to spike the bag

No, I haven't mainly because I'm not really sure how to approach my instructor with the situation. I don't want him to think I'm like trying to cause trouble or that I think I know everything, because believe me I don't at all. No don't quit!!! That's not how I was meaning it at all, I suck at making the sheets look nice the way I was meaning it was not that they suck at the skill its that they literally don't know how to do the skill at all. But please don't think that u should quit! Haha it's like everyone always says duct tape is good for EVERYTHING!

So I have no one that I can vent to and I really just need to get this out so if you read this fine if not oh well haha. So a short background this is week 35 in clinicals ... 16 in fundamentals and week 19 in med surg (we have 3 med surg rotations). One would think by now someone SHOULD know how to do the fundamentals like putting a patient on a bed pan, emptying a foley bag, putting on a brief, giving a patient a bath, transferring a patient from bed to wheelchair (for discharge), and what to do with the bed pan after the pt. uses it. Ok I only wish I was making these things up and all of this happened within two days and by the same person. I mean serisouly how are they still here and haven't failed out yet? I just don't understand and I'm tired of pulling her weight. I could understand if it was things that no one really has experience in BUT these things should not even be questioned right now. UGH ok vent over I feel better.

we go tues 1-5 and then wed and thurs 0645-1500

We don't get our grades rounded at all, so consider yourself lucky to get them rounded. We could have a 91.9999 but nope it will still be a B.

Thanks!

we don't learn how to do IV's either because they said something about a JCAHO thing I'm not sure what it was. But they said not to worry because the hospitals in my city all have IV teams that do it for you. I'm worried though because I'm moving out of state when I graduate and I don't know if it will make it hard for me to get a job because I have no idea how to start an IV

I had the same problem with the scores being sent to me. I had to call a few times because I never got them so they had to tell them to me over the phone, and they resent the application packet to me. I think I got it about 5 days later. However, with my transcripts I don't think I had any problem with them getting there but I know others did. So I guess it just depends on the days of the week and how the mail is running. I had most of my science classes out of the way so it was definitely a lot easier for me once school started. So if you do have to wait until fall you will be glad you took your science classes before hand (if you decide to). And having clinical at the various hospitals is great I love it.

Actually I started last March at Shadyside and we are mostly adult learners. There are a few straight from high school and when I say a few I mean maybe 3 at the max. Also we didn't start with a class over 100 it was more around 80 or so and our lecture sizes range from 20-30.

Congrats to the job offers! I am still in nursing school with only a year left so I don't have much input but I can say that my fiancee graduated and went straight into a CCU/CTU position and loved it, so if ICU is what you plan on doing I say go for it. I have my clinical on an ortho floor right now and hate it, all the nurses do is pass meds and sit at the nurses station. So I guess it just depends on what type of environment you enjoy and what type of patients you will take care of. Good Luck!

It might be a good school in the fact that they teach you what you need to know. They just might not teach you how to answer and think through the NCLEX questions. My school pass rate was 95% last year but the new ones just came out up to Oct.2010 and it was only a 90%. So it just fluctuates at my school. Does your state BON offer all the rates for the pass few years? Maybe you can see if it fluctuates any or if it just seems to stay in that area.

My first Med/Surg class is 8 weeks long and we have a total of 4 tests. Well, I just got my results back from the first test and I got an 80%. Which I know is good but I would really like to at least have a B in this class at the end. I really thought I understood the material well, but when I went to take my test I seriously went "what the heck is this" in my head. All of our questions are NCLEX style which aren't really new to me since our Fundamentals tests were written the same way, they just seem to be more difficult now. I studied from my Iggy book and from the resources online, my notes, and also 3 NCLEX books. I used Lippincott's Content Review, Mosby's Comprehensive Review, and also a Davis's NCLEX review. Does anyone have any ideas on what else I can do so I can understand better for the remaining tests?

I haven't had any of my nursing classes have cumulative tests yet. Now my pre-reqs did but up until now haven't had it, who knows maybe as I go further along I will.