Icess64

I've also been out of the field for a long time (8 yrs) and have researched refresher courses. I recommend looking at the board of nursing site for your state and see if they have any recommended courses listed. If not, you could try calling or emailing to see which ones they recommend. That way you know you are getting something accredited. Also, you might try to pick the most well-known organization available, so that any place that will hire you knows it was a reputable course and not just some willy-nilly bargain course.

I've certainly made a few major ones and about a jazillion minor ones...but one that I freaked about was that I admitted a patient in the morning and gave all of her am meds once the MD ordered them (of course checking the MAR against the orders) but I didn't ask her if she'd taken all of her am meds before coming to the ER. She had (never mentioned this when I was giving them to her, and she was alert and oriented!). I had to call the Dr and tell him I double dosed her, the biggest concern being her beta blocker! When he came to evaluate her, he told me I probably did her a favor because the extra metoprolol probably flipped her out of afib, which was one of the reasons she was admitted! Lucky for me :) That could have gone very badly. But now I always remember to ask them if they've taken their am meds before they were admitted! lesson learned.

That's horrible. It really makes me appreciate my unit and how great my co-workers are! I'm not saying that to brag, I'm saying that to show that there are places out there that treat new-grads well and set them up for success. Obviously I can't give you your answer, but I think maybe you should talk to your nurse manager. Without being confrontational, explain the situation from your side and ask for suggestions to improve the situation (like maybe getting a different preceptor, studying clinical procedures more, etc). I would ask her to try and remember when she was a new nurse and didn't know everything (or anything--as it feels most days!) and try to get her to remember how hard it is to be new, especially when you aren't feeling supported. And I mean, come on, they really expect you to have a ton of experience in this stuff? They are seriously delusional if they think nursing school teaches anything but the basics! I don't think ANY nursing school could possibly prepare us for what we face as nurses in the real world. If they don't understand that, maybe you should leave. Unfortunately though, if you leave under these circumstances, I think it would be hard for you to get another job. Not impossible, but definitely harder. Maybe you could talk to your NM and ask her if she feels you would be cut out better for another specialty--esp one that isn't so busy. If you had her blessing, maybe she'd be more likely to give positive references (people love it when you take their advice--and hopefully it would actually be a good fit). You could also try looking for work in a clinic vs. a hospital, that way you could slowly get into nursing, without being bombarded! These kinds of stories are so disheartening to hear, don't these people know there is a nursing shortage and they need to help new nurses succeed so THEY don't have to work so damn hard? Sheesh.

I passed! Just found out this morning! The more I thought about it, the more I felt like I did indeed pass, but the waiting is killer all the same! And yes, the NBBG has great food, it was one of the few good places in North Bend to eat. I actually moved to Seattle almost a year ago, so I have a TON of places to choose from now, but I still get a craving for the blackened Salmon Caesar salad that they have there. Mmmm, now I'm going to want that for dinner because I reminded myself of it. You should try Jak's in Issaquah if you like good steak. More $$$ than NBBG but reasonable for a steakhouse and amazing food! But super busy boo. Did my talk of steak distract you for all of 30 seconds? 30 seconds less that you have to wait for your results! My job here is done :)

Ahahah, woman, I could have written those words! When I got up to leave my testing computer I kept giggling and the lady asked me what was so funny. I wasn't laughing because anything was funny, I just got even more nervous and apparently giggling was all that came out! I told her I expected to feel better, being done and all, but I felt worse! She told me that most people say that! I didn't anticipate that at all :) But you aren't alone, everyone I've talked to says the same thing. Come on results!!!

Pegbord, Where do you live, I seem to remember having a conversation with you a long time ago when we were both about to start nursing school. Are you in Washington? I'm sure you've had enough people respond to this to make you feel better, but just in case you need yet another example to make you feel that you aren't alone: I too took my NCLEX yesterday (weds the 23rd) in Northgate Seattle and got cut off at 75 questions. I felt like I was blanking on all of the questions. Seriously, even the ones I was most sure about, I wasn't very sure about. I had lie 3 or 4 calculation q's (thank God I'm good at those) about 10-15 SATA and a ton of prioritizing questions. I've heard that's a good sign, because those are the harder questions. Did you get those kinds? Also, even though they say it's not a predictor of whether or not you pass, I've heard most people who get cut off at 75 questions pass. Time is going soooooo slow! But I'm sure we will pass, think positive. After all, 86% of people pass it the first time around. Those seem like good odds!

Littman is a great product, so you're good there. As for the nursing kit, don't spend any extra money on special cases, unless you're sure that you'll need it. Trust me, with all the books and stuff you'll be buying, you should save any money you can. I just used a bag with a couple of small pockets in the front for little things and it worked fine. As for keeping your stuff on you in clinicals, Sara had it right, you don't need much, I got by with a pen, small post-it pad (great for vitals) and my stethoscope. You might want to bring a penlight with you, but I found that unless I was on a neuro unit or doing a neuro exam, I rarely needed one. And the hemostats and scissors are nice, but you can get them in a clean utility room of most hospitals if you need them in clinicals. But buy them if your program says to, you don't want to be unprepared and tick of instructors. That's never good! Good luck!

I'll be honest, the only reason I'd consider working at Group Health is because they are within a few blocks from my house, so no parking, buses, etc. I know patients tend to love them or hate them, but does anyone have any experience working for them? I've looked, and no one has really said anything one way or another. I am in the process of applying for jobs, and I'd like some input as to whether or not I should apply here as a new grad RN. Do they offer residency programs, what's the nurse tp pt ratio, typical shift hours (5 8hr shifts or 3 12s, etc)? If anyone knows any of this info, I'd greatly appreciate it!

So I've been to Harborview for my psych clinicals, and I've decided that the crazy people are on the street outside the hospital, and less on the psych unit! That being said, I do like Harborview a lot more than I anticipated, even given the overly-friendly/scary guy that repeatedly proposes to me in a less than coherent manner. Oh and psych is on the 5th floor and can be accessed by the west elevators, but it's a lockdown unit, so you couldn't get to it anyways unless you have a key or someone lets you in.

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Thanks Justine, That's good to hear (well not the part about Swedish :) )! I'm still very interested in Harborview, it was actually my first choice for a while, I just got nervous when I started hearing stories about violence against employees. I'm actually going there this quarter for my psych rotation, so I'll experience first hand how I feel about it. Plus, I was thinking about it, and I live on the south edge of capitol hill, right up next to Central District, which has it's share of shady areas, and I don't feel unsafe walking around by my house. So, it shouldn't be too different. Thanks for your input, I'm glad to hear from someone who works there. What area do you work as a nurse tech in?

Do you work at Swedish or have you just heard that they don't usually hire new grads?

I wasn't sure where to put this, so hopefully I'm posting it in the right spot! So it's come time to think about where I'm going to work (graduating in June-yay!). I am debating between Harborview Medical Center and Swedish, both in Seattle. I like the idea of Harborview more because they offer a well-established residency program for new grads whereas Swedish claims on it's web site that they don't have a formal residency program but they are sometimes available. I like the thought of having extra training for a specific hospital before I'm dropped into the crazy world of nursing! So I was pretty set on Harborview as my first choice until someone told me that her friend works there and how she doesn't feel safe there. She was talking about how they've had to hire a ton of extra security because of several attacks on staff (sometimes even having to be escorted by security from one area in the hospital to another). I looked online for information and I found only one article talking about it, which talked more about the security guards feeling unprepared rather than the rest of the staff feeling unsafe. I'm not sure if the woman who told me this is exaggerating, or if I should really think twice before going there. I know working there would be great experience, but as a new grad, I'll have enough stress to deal with without worrying about my safety all the time. I could use some input from people who work there, know people who work there, etc. Also, any input from anyone at Swedish would be great too. Their website doesn't offter much info on opportunities for new grads. Any experiences with them would be great to hear about too. My head is spinning from trying to figure all this out! Help!

We had to do these too, although I hope we don't next year, they are such a bore! Ours are different from the ones in the examples, it is the one with the circles and triangles that suebird mentioned. And then we have the pathology info, drugs and other information on different pages. Here is an example of mine... blank CM.doc

Most of these are scattered throughout allnurses forums, but here are the ones I found so far. The last one I made myself, and it seems to work well for me so far. Good luck. my report sheet.doc report sheet (2 pt.)-1.doc Report sheet2.doc JREPORTSHEET3.doc Report Sheet1.doc