Tinker Bell RN

Thank you to both. Klone I agree with you but wasn't sure if I was thinking on the right track or not.

Just curious what the veteran L&D RNs and/or managers think about getting NRP certification (or any other certifications really) before you actually work in the speciality. Is it necessary? Helpful? Does it make you stand out? I vaguely remember someone saying it's not as helpful until you're actually working in the field, or something along those lines, I can't remember. Would love to know your thoughts!

Oh my goodness, I'm SO sorry for the delay in my response This is my first job as a nurse ever. My previous career was an Executive Assistant, and actually I do believe this may have given me a little bit of an advantage, because there is a lot of administrative work behind the scenes for this clinic job. I don't know if it's the same way at other clinics, although I would imagine it would be similar. I know that's not a lot of help but any experience in health care is better than none!! Good luck to you! :tinkbll:

Hi Melissa, I am a new graduate and just finished my first week at a pediatric clinic. Sorry you haven't had any responses yet, and I'm assuming you have either started already or moved on to something else, but here's my input! As a new graduate, and someone who doesn't thrive in extreme stress like some of my peers (e.g. ER) ... this is a great job for me as a "beginner". In comparing my clinic job to my rotations in the hospital, the clinic is a little more "relaxed" ... still busy, don't get me wrong. In general, there's a lot of repetition - lots of sick visits involving fevers, rashes, sore throats, etc. and lots of physicals / well child exams. So for me, the repetition is helping me learn quicker. Also, I really wanted to work in postpartum with newborns, but since it's so hard to get a job in a hospital, and in LDRP nonetheless, this was a great compromise because I get to see newborns around age 5 or 6 days of life and then I will get to watch them grow up as they come to visit their doctor each time! The other thing you can't beat about a clinic is the hours ... no night shifts, no weekends, no holidays (except my clinic doesn't give paid holidays, which is a bummer ). Also, pediatric doctors are a little different then other doctors, they don't seem to think of themselves as the "higher" power like some docs do. In our clinic there is a nurse for each physician (which I assume it's the same way at other clinics, but I don't know for sure) ... they all say their nurse is like their partner, not someone "below" them, if you know what I mean. Anyway, I'm curious to what you decided to do! Hope everything worked out the way you hoped!:) :tinkbll:

There's a lot of threads on here about this same subject so you can read some of those to try to get some help or advice. I'm a new grad myself and it's so discouraging.

Hi everyone, I wanted to share my experience here and in the event that it gives anyone some hope then I will be glad! I was never a "good test taker" ... So for those of you like me, I am hoping you get some tips from this and be confident! J I took the NCLEX this past Thursday and found out Friday afternoon that I passed!! As I took the test, I felt like all the questions I was getting were questions about my weakest subjects and I was so panicked! I was getting a lot of Select All That Apply, and I was thinking "seriously, how is this fair?!" Anyway, I did my best to relax, take each question one at a time and get through this. The computer shut off at 75 questions exactly and I wanted to puke. I walked out feeling defeated, as I'm sure pretty much everyone does. Later that night my husband did the Pearson Vue trick - I couldn't bring myself to do it - and we got the "good" pop up message. This put my mind somewhat at ease because the success rate has been so good. I knew I wasn't in the clear, but it gave me a little bit of hope. The next day I found out I passed and I don't think I have ever felt so happy in my life!! Well seeing my name on the BON website and my wedding :heartbeat They say to do questions, questions and more questions ... do as many as you can ... I agree with this but here is what I have found to be the key to my success in getting through this test - you MUST read the rationales and understand why the correct answer is correct and why the wrong answer is wrong. Instead of trying to get through as many questions as you can, spend quality time on questions so you learn from them. I used the Saunders NCLEX book and literally went through it front cover to back cover ... reviewing every piece of content, doing the practice questions and understanding the rationales. Speaking of Saunders, in my opinion the rationales they give are a huge help compared to some other books I've seen. Davis is good also, but I believe Saunders really helped me personally. Doing this helped me clarify subjects I wasn't clear about and I actually found some topics in there that I had VERY little knowledge of, so I was very glad I took the time to do that. Some people might read this and say "well duh, obviously you need to read the rationales ..." and if you are one of those people, please kindly go to the next post instead of leaving a negative comment. There is obviously much more than this to pass the NCLEX, but like I said I wasn't always the best test taker but this strategy really helped me ... so I am posting this in the hopes that it may help even one person out there!! If so then I am happy :) Good luck to everyone!!!

Tyvin, thanks for the info! My interview was this morning and I think it went well. I should hear back next week about a second interview. You're right, it was best to just forget about the drugs for now. The time will come! BTW, "cyber hugs" = soooo cute!!! :)

Thanks Ms. RN ... I've been reading that same thing and definitely wrote that down on my list of questions to ask. It's really intimidating because I think people don't realize how much work RNs do at LTC versus acute care... I'm nervous but I just hope I can interview well and land the job. It's so competitive right now and so hard especially for new grads :/

Yeah I know there are a TON and I will be looking up a lot of drugs that I know elderly people take, I just wondered if there was a list of the most common ones you definitely see. Considering how many drugs are out there, it may be a false hope

Hi everyone, I am a new grad and have an interview tomorrow for an RN position at a LTC facility. From reading some of these posts I am a little nervous, but trying to prepare myself as best as possible. I was wondering if any experienced LTC RNs (or LPNs) could tell me some of the most common meds that you see/pass out? Thank you!!

Bosnanurse - that would be awesome if you can send that to me, I would really appreciate it! Thank you!

Hi everyone, I just found out I will be doing my preceptorship in L & D and I can't believe how lucky I got ... I am so excited! I only have two days of experience there because that's all we were allocated in our clinicals. Since my clinicals started, I've worked on 2 med surg floors as well as oncology, but I always wanted more time in L & D. My question is for L & D nurses out there. I want to ensure I make the most of this experience and put my best foot forward, as this is really important to me. I'm hoping you might be willing to share some advice as far as what you would like to see in a student on the L & D floor. I mean obviously I know important things like organization and time management, which I believe are a strength of mine, but I was just wondering if you might be able to share any tips with me or anything that would make you feel good about having a student on your floor. I hope that makes sense, like I said I just want to be the best that I can be and I really value the opinions of the professionals!! :) Thank you!!! :heartbeat :heartbeat :heartbeat

Thank you, I enjoy reading peoples success stories and how they got there. People shouldn't be attacked for sharing them.

Nope, I had 47 points and was only an alternate. I still haven't heard back yet. I'm starting MHCC in the fall. Congrats to you!

If you had 48 I imagine you have to be a shoe-in, but then again I had 47 and statistics show I should have been in. Just call their main line (from the website) and ask to talk to someone in nursing admissions. They are all really nice there. You only get on the waitlist if they tell you in your letter, so if it didn't say that then you're unfortunately not on the waitlist Call them and ask them to tell you what your points are. Last October when I applied I thought I had 47 points then but called and found out I really didn't. It was because I did all my pre-reqs at PCC then found out I needed two additional classes from PCC to transfer over to their credits (writing and chemistry). I'm sorry for your bad news, I totally know where you are coming from and I've been there. All I can say is KEEP AT IT because if you are determined it will happen!! Keep me posted on what they say!