tvolo

I think you will be fine. I am at Quincy and think its a good program!! I heard lots of horror stories before I started but so far so good. Knock on wood. Good luck !!

OMG, I just went through this last semester. I was a nervous wreck and still am. Its alot of pressure especially when you don't know what to expect or what is expected of you. Take a breath and don't worry. Soon making a bed will be the least of your worries. Don't worry you will only be doing this for this semester. You are going to look back in a few weeks and totally see what I mean. Honestly they would not fail you in clinical if you didn't make the bed right. Focus your energies on vitals, patient care and MEDS. Those are things that will get sticky.

I am trying to put everything together for my first clinical tomorrow at 6am for newborn assessment. I am more of a visual learner and am having a hard time orgainizing everything. Does anyone have a timeline for what happens in the first few days in the hospital like bowel movements, what tests should be done, what vitals should be on a particular day or hour, wet diapers, etc. I keep doing a search but it only comes up the first few days at home with mom.

A C is awesome!! You passed!! When I first started the professor said not to get too hung up on getting an A. She said most of us were probobly used to getting A's but nursing school is different. She said to focus on really understanding the whole concept of nursing and the main concepts at lecture and clinical. She stressed that it was okay to get a C. Her motto throughout the whole semester has been "C's get degrees" Nursing school is hard. Maybe one of the hardest things you will ever do in your life. You passed, congratulations!! Some people, more than you think, don't. There were about 12 students in my program redoing it that failed last year. It seems like you are in a Bachelors program. I am in an ADN program but our nursing course is 8 credits. I totally know how you feel though. I had a 4.0 and that has went down the toilet completely.

Don't worry then. As long as it is above the required score. I really worried about this too and passed by a hair and still got accepted into school

I had a 4.0 before I started nursing school. I dont think anyone is being snotty. I think many like myself are just proud of the work they did because believe me it was the hardest thing I ever did to maintain it. I dont think you have to be super smart to get a 4.0 you just have to put in TONS of hard work and study study study all the time. I mean all the time. To some it does come easy but for the rest of us it takes dedication and the desire to become a nurse. I have two shoeboxes full of flashcards just for A&P I. I took every practice test I could get my hands on and participated in study groups. After you get accepted you only need to pass. My favorite professor always says C's get degrees. Hang in there if you want it bad enough you will get it.

what are your scores? what does the program require you to get?

we use ati too!! our program is split up in the next semester. the first half is OB the second half is pedi.

Let me just say that the one thing I wish I did before I started nursing school is become a CNA. The first half of your first semester is basically training to be a CNA. You will actually be certified at the end of the semester. You will start out doing CNA work in clinical. Let me tell you if I was a CNA before I started I feel things would have been a lot smoother than they were. If you have never worked in any healthcare, simple things like washing your hands and putting on gloves take a lot of work. Did you know there are like million steps to wash your hands and put on gloves and you need to do it perfectly. It is not easy turning someone, dressing someone or even feeding someone or operating a hoyer lift when you have never done it. If I had already had these skills I would have a lot more time to study all the other nursing stuff like medications, diseases, acid base balance etc. If you become a CNA you will have a leg up on your studies and will feel more comfortable in clinical and lab. Not to mention you will shine. So many people told me to do it before I went to school and I didnt listen now I wish I did.

I will be starting my second semester of an ADN program in the end of january (if I pass my final on Friday). I will be going into OB. I really want to be super prepared before I go in so I dont have a repeat of this nightmare semester. What are the most common meds and medical diagnosis for OB? What hard concepts that take a long time to understand should I try to get a head start on before I start? What concepts from fundamentals should I really know like the back of my hand? I would appreciate any other info as well. I really want to get my diagnosis and med bank started before I have to start doing care plans again. I am will be lucky if I pass this semester and want to do much better next semester.

I just need to vent a little. I am in my first semester of an ADN program and last week we started doing two day clinicals instead of one. Last was also the first week I was really on my own. I feel like I just did everything wrong. I had to give a bed bath, give meds, dressing changes, hoyer transfers, everything. The patient was very vocal about her pain throughout the entire day (normal for her) so it made it very difficult to focus. My anxiety level was through the roof, I was sweating perfusely and it took me all day to complete everything to be done and then document. I screwed up so many times. I really left so uneasy and I still can't stop thinking about it. I guess the CNA's were making fun of us (a fellow student heard them all talking about us in the hall, they didn't know she was in the room). To make matters worse, I forgot to put the med cart keys back and got to the end of the road and had to turn around and bring them back. Just as I was walking in the door my instructor was walking out looking for me. I was supposed to clean something too and I forgot. My instructor said not to worry she would do it but I feel like I am going to get in trouble. My instructor is awesome and really nice but I am still worried. Has anyone else had bad days in clinical?

Thank you so much!!

I am having a hard time figuring out the simplest way to explain diabetes. I am confused about type 1 and type 2. I keep reading that type 2 is non insulin dependent but I had a type 2 patient in clinical that took 2 different kinds of insulin injections so how can she have type 2. She also got it as an adult so she can't have type 1. I am so confused. Can someone tell me the differences or point me to a good site?

I am in the first semester of my ADN program and I would say that you should freshen up on the kidneys and liver and GI systems. You might also want to freshen up on blood (allergic response, etc.).

I am in my first semester in an ADN program. I was told that after your first semester you can get a job as a nurse intern. Does anyone know of any place in southeastern MA that would hire nurse interns. I would love to just get the extra experience becuase I think it would complement my studies. I don't really want a CNA job. I want to learn a little more.