PiedPiperRN

Warning: this is another "I need a job, what should I do?" email, so feel free to move on if you are sick of them. I swear, the next person that says something along the lines of "But isn't there a huge nursing shortage?" is going to get popped in the nose. I am a new RN with both a BSN and a BA in computer science. Like so many others, I went into school with the assurance that I would be able to find a job. I was given the double whammy of being told that with the push towards EMR, an RN with computer skills would be about as sought after as a viable republican candidate. I have applied for about 50 jobs that have anything to do with anything healthcare. I have all the major hospital career sites bookmarked. My resume has been sent to about a dozen nursing homes and every job that mentions anything about informatics. But I am still jobless!! I am thinking that with all the buzz regarding how much I am needed, there must be something that I am missing. Any suggestions? (Anyone that helps me find a job will win a hand knitted scarf.)

Are you sure that the mom bribed the nurse and didn't just pay a $50 fee for the service? I know a friend who wanted this, but she decided to just grit her teeth and have it done at teh mall, as the hospital wanted three times as much as a standard peircing.

I would talk to the LVN and tell her to give the ring back. Explain that this is not ethical, that the wife is upset, and that it's plain wrong. Even if she is an unlicenced worker, she should listen to reason and give the ring back, because it is wrong for her to take it.

Do NOT go to St. Luke's College in Sioux City. they are a horrible school with horrible teachers, and embarring drop-out and expulsion rate, and they are very expensive. I know a lot of people that transferred to WITCC, and they stated that it was worth the year wait to get in.

actually, it's "there" not "their". not sure about a shortage of nurses, but there is a shortage of people who can use english properly.

I had pretty much the EXACT same idea. I was going to hit the reserves, take advantage of the STRAP to get my BSN, and then join active duty. As soon as I got my graduation date, I called the recruiter back and he told me that the STRAP was temporarily discontinued for this finitial cycle, and that there are no ASN RN's being accepted at this time. I am currently in a BSN program, still would like to do military. I also encourage you to talk to a recruiter. This may change, I plan to call again in a few months. Good luck to both of us, hrm?

Well, I hope that you get the job, both ultristically because I hope you get a job, and selfishly because then you can tell me your experiences in this facility. Good luck and let me know how it turns out!!

elkpark, I would be happy to work at the type of institution that you talk about, but the statements by 2011 graduate paint a very different picture. I have too worked at places with different affiliations, and within the same affiliations (Lutherian) I have seen both sides of the coin-- one place was quite liberal and stressed love and respect for others for the sake of love and respect, the other also stressed love and respect, but only in the name of God. At the first, diversity was respected and we were seen as unique individuals with important points of view. At the second, many people were bothered by the fact that I was agnostic and I was seen first and foremost with this label (although it was not one that I advertsied.) I was hoping that Adventist would fall into the former category, but I am not sure. Maybe a few other people who are familiar with Adventist will weigh in.

Not being understood is what I am trying to avoid. Thank you for your post.

Her brain, perhaps? OK, now we are just being mean.

hello, i am considering a position offered at portland adventist, and i am a little hesitant because i am openly agnostic. part of the application process involves stating your comfort level at some activities such as being asked to pray at the bedside or prayer during meetings. these activities do not make me comfortable, but i would be fine with these as long as my diversity is respected. (patients asking me to pray is another matter, i would do this without hesitation if i felt that it would be therapeutic to their well-being.) i am not a person who would be offended at being asked to pray, but i would ask that i would be allowed not to participate actively, and that this would not reflect negativly on me by my peers. i also find it uncomfortable when people make assumptions about my religion or beliefs. part of me feels that i should not apply to a adventist hospital due to my feelings, no more than a vegetarian should work at a butchers. on the other hand, i have worked at hospitals with religious affiliations before (it is hard to find a hospital that does not have one) and have not had a problem. i would love for some input from someone who has been at adventist before, either as an employee or a patient. they seem to have a very good reputation and appear to be a good hospital, and part of me feels that i would be lucky to work there. thank you! pp

What I would like to say to one or two my RN instructors would probably get me banned from allnurses due to inapproriate content that would make a hooker blush... I'm glad to see that many of you didn't have that experience.

it really bothers me when people post their assignments on this board and ask others to answer them, essentially asking thier peers to do their homework. therefore i had an internal debate on posting this question, but i have decided to simply because i am so interested in what others have written about. i am not looking for answers, i am looking for inspiration! it's that time... the dreading apa nursing research paper!!!! i have always dreaded writing these things because i can never think of a topic. either my topic is too vague (nursing and the role of organ donation) or too narrow (evaluating handwashing vs alcohol rubs nosocomial mrsa infections). either way, i end up hating my topic!! i am curious what other students have written about that they thought was a great topic. i am not looking to steal your idea, rather i am hoping that discussion will lead me (and perhaps others!) into new areas of possible paper topics. topics that look at the nurses role are very appreciated-- that is the area i need to think about, and the area i am least interested in! thanks! the piper

I would say that the greatest cause of asthma in this case is just asking other people to do the homework and not getting off the butt to find the answer for yourself.

No offense, but I think that your teacher is an idiot. If the rectum isn't part of the GI, then what body system, exactly, does she think that it DOES belong to? Unfortuantly, I have to agree with tcgirl. I came across a lot of teachers that wrote questions like this. Some were reasonable and would throw the question out, others were stubborn and got mad at your for arguing a point. It doesn't seem fair when you consider that a teacher's bias may cost your your GPA. But just do the best that you can and stick it out and realize that it won't matter in a while. After attending RN school, I felt like there are two types of RN teachers. Ones that do it because they love the profession and they love to teach, others who do it because they like the idea of being idiolized, listened to, and think that thier opinions are too wonderful to keep to themselves.

Hey there, A suggestion for passing the NCLEX: I read a lot of posts from people who say "I took this and that class and I didn't pass." Obviously we need facts to pass the NCLEX. Otherwise we would not need RN school. However, keep in mind that the NCLEX is both a test designed to test knowledge as well as critical thinking! When I took my test, there were many meds that I didn't know and even a few conditions that I never heard of. Rather then guessing, I was able to use critical thinking to answer these questions. When you take classes, read books, adn do practice questions, remember that the most important part of the learning process is understanding why an answer is right or wrong. When you answer questions, we sure to read all of the rationales, even if you missed the question or didn't miss. More often then not, there are clues in the questions that will help you out. A standard example is this: A patient is taking Krofiphin and asks for something to drink. What should the nurse give them? 1. Coffee 2. Iced tea 3. Cola 4. Juice Now, some of you might be thinking "I have no idea what Krofiphin is". Well, that is understandable, I just made the drug up. But by looking at the answers you should come to the correct answer. Here is another one that one of my Rn teachers gave me (again, the med is made up). You should be able to narrow the following down to wo answers: The nurses gives a patient his Crobilan inhaler, and intervenes when he does the following: 1. Vigously shakes the inhaler before using 2. Breathes out slowly through his nose immediatly after taking a dose 3. Sprays a small bit of the solution into the air prior to using inhaler 4. Holds breath for ten seconds after taking a dose Again, the answers here hold a clue to the correct answer. (Both the answers are at the bottom.) To quote Dilbert, you don't want to study faster or more, you want to study smarter. Don't ask "did I get that question right" but rather "why is that the right answer" and "what evdince did I use to come to that answer." Also, take a second to learn why the other answers are wrong. ANSWERS For the first question, the answer is 4, as the other three options have caffinee. You might also have been tempted to pick 1, since the other three were generally served cold, but 4 is the better answer as caffine tends to be resricted more often. For the second, notice that this is a "pick the WRONG" answer question. Then notice that it is NOT POSSIBLE to both breath out slowly and hold your breath for 10 seconds-- therefore, one of those answers MUST be the incorrect way to use this particular made-up inhaler. I would guess that the correct answer is 2, as I have never heard of an inhaler being used in that way. Good luck!!

The percentage does not directly line up with a letter grade. See this thread: excelsior college--minimum grade for exams? - Nursing for Nurses

Take a calculator!!! One will NOT be provided for you!! (Yes, I learned that the hard way. In my program we were not allowed to use our own calculators, so I just got used to never bringing one with me.) I actually took no study materials and just chilled out on my way there. I seem to be alone on that. Whatever you do take, divide your luggage into two piles: things you MUST have (uniform, calculator, ID, care plan book, watch, medications) and things that you can live without (ie a change of clothes.) Make sure that you put the essentials is your carry on bag. You don't want to be running around two hours before the CPNE starts in a new city trying to find a place to buy a new white uniform after the airline loses your luggage.

Excelsior is a great program with many good points but their speed is not one of them. You can start studying now for your exams, so that when you are accepted, you can start to take them right way. They are pretty quick to get your exams to PearsonVue after your schedule them, but everything else is a huge wait. CPNE is about a 6-8 month wait, graduation is another two months. It can be very frustrating!

Also, if you have completed 50% of your clinical courses through an ASN program, then you can actually transfer to Excelsior to finish your ASN. That's what I did.

Hey there! Just writing to let you know that as of today, the nursing student formally known as vegastar is now an RN!! I found that the NCLEX was a breeze. 75 questions, 45 minutes. I did study a lot, although I do feel that at the end of the day critical thinking skills are the main thing that is needed for the NCLEX examination. I can't talk about questions, of course, but there were a lot of questions that asked about meds and conditions that I never heard of. By using my vocabulary to figure out the anatomy and type of the procedure, and by taking clues from the questions, I was able to find out the right answer (or at least what I am guessing was the right answer...) or at least narrow it down to 2!! Good luck to all!!

1) What kind of facility do you work for? (Hospital, Nursing Home, Assisted Living, Home Health Agency) Hospital (formally) 2) How often do you come into contact with bed alarms? They were required for all patients that were deemed a fall risk. we would use both the "string" kid (where the patient would be attached to a box via a string that could be pulled out) as well as the bed weight kind. 3) On a scale from 0 to 5 (0 being not effective at all, 5 being completely effective), how would you rate the effectiveness of bed alarms? 3 - Often a patient would become confused by a bed alarm and would try to get up "and answer the phone" when they normally would have stayed put. 4) On a scale from 0 to 5 (0 being always, 5 being never), how often do you find dead batteries in bed alarms to go undetected in your facility? 0 - But we had battery testing and routine battery switching. The beds were plugged in. 5) On a scale from 0 to 5 (0 being always, 5 being never), how often do bed alarms sound without being heard in your facility? 0 - small floor, loud alarms 6) On a scale from 0 to 5 (0 being always, 5 being never), how often is it difficult to locate a sounding alarm in your facility? 4 for string alarms (the patient would usally be sitting away from the door, muffling the sound) 0 for bed alarms (it was tied to the call light, and a light above the room would go off) 7) On a scale from 0 to 5 (0 being always, 5 being never), how often are bed alarms left disconnected in your facility? 4 - we actually started to fill out reports when a patient was found without a BA, the number went to about 0 or 1 after that 8) On a scale from 0 to 5 (0 being always, 5 being never), how often do bed alarms malfunction with no apparent reason in your facility? 2 - always the bed alarms, which would go off with the slightest movement in the bed 9) What other problems do you encounter with bed alarms? Some of the patients figured out how to disarm them They would go off when the patient moved in bed They would not go off if the patient sat up in bed They often caused comfusion in patients who did not know what the sound was or where it was coming from 10) In your opinion, what percentage of falls do you believe are prevented by bed alarms now? 60% 11) In your opinion, if the issues discussed in Question #'s 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 were resolved, what percentage of falls do you believe could be prevented by bed alarms? 70% 12) Comments? In general, I felt that the alarms caused more problems then they solved (due to the list in #9) but they did prevent falls and I do not know of an anternative.

Drug tests are pretty good. There isn't too much that can throw them off. Even with poppy seeds, you would need to eat a ton of them to get a positive result. If it were a matter of taking an over-the-counter remedy like Echinacea to get back a false positive, you can imagine that those drugs would be flying off the shelves in an attempt to hide elicit behavior!

I was told by an Excelsior worker that New York is the quickest, probably because that's where Excelsior is. I tested at Albany Medical and felt very strongly that they were "rooting" for me. I recommend this site. I live in Portland, and found that a plane ticket to NY was only about $30 more then a ticket to WI.

If you have 1/2 of your ASN program done (half of your nursing classes done, not just prereqs) then you can finish with Excelsior. This is an online program. They do not have a waiting list, they can be a bit slow but at least you would be able to get started right away. Check out the Distance learning forum for more information. (https://allnurses.com/distance-learning-nursing/). I was 1/2 done with an ASN when I transfered, it took me about a year from my first phone call to them to my grad date.