Hopeful2011

I wish the new version was coming out before the end of July, since a lot of people (including me) will be taking the NCLEX before the end of July I feel like we're at a disadvantage..

I think the thing you should spend the most time on is the essay that you're going to have to write when you apply. One of the most important things for the essay is that whoever reads it should be able to get an idea of who you are after reading it. GBCN wants to make sure that the students who they accept into the program are people who are good people. Another important thing would be to do well on the TEAS entrance exam, so I would get a couple different study books and do a few questions everday.. just so you can get used to the types of questions. Don't worry about the admissions counselors thinking you're a pest... the more questions you ask the better.. and the counselors definitely are more than happy to take your questions and to help you in any way possible. Good luck!!!!!

Hi! I'm a current student at GBCN and I transferred all of my science courses from GPC so you should be fine. But the best thing to do is get in touch with an admissions counselor at GBCN and ask them. Good luck. Ga Baptist is an amazing school with amazing professors.

You could do both.. but I'm sure the internship would look better since you would be getting nursing experience that you don't get as a CNA... but you could definitely find a way to do both...

For my first skills exam.. Foley insertion was an option.. and the best thing to do would be to take a stuffed animal or something and cut it open and take out the stuffing... make a make shift private part hole for it and just practice.. you guys must have supplies that you can practice with at home... Sterile field is what got me! But luckily our school gives us 3 attempts! I wonder does your school allow you to get credit if you realize you made a mistake and then tell your professor or whoever is checking you off.. for example.. if you crossed over the sterile field.. and you realize it.. could you say "I shouldn't have crossed over the sterile field.. I contaminated the sterile field" .. and would they let you continue on with the rest of the exam? Good luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you all for your replies and wise words! I just feel sooo disappointed with the experience I've had so far. I am definitely going to make each day a learning experience and do my best to get what I can from the program, but I just feel so dejected and am really not looking forward to going back to work tomorrow and the next day because I don't want to work with these people when I know what they are like. I'm not sure if things will be better or worse, since it is a weekday.. and hopefully someone will have some sense of authority or management and that will encourage the nurse station guardians to get up and lend a helping hand.. but I just hope that things will get better... things are just weighing heavily on my heart because I was sooo excited about working with this particular patient population but now that excitement has turned into dread...

I definitely know no matter how long I am a bedside nurse I will never ever be a nurse that treats my tech as my maid/servant... it just makes me not want to go back knowing that perhaps on my next shift I'm supposed to "shadowing" one of these nurses and I have to act as though these people are competent and knowledgeable... which they may be but they surely aren't wonderful people to spend 12 hours with... and that's what I have to work on getting over... finding some way to put a smile on my face and listening to these nurses while the voice in my head is saying "YOU SHOULD SOOOOO NOT BE A NURSE!"

They have some kind of weird formula which states for x number of patients they only need x number of techs on the floor... yes cause if you have 24 patients... then only 2 techs are needed.. that was the rationale of one of the nurses (i'm assuming she was a charge nurse or something.. didn't see much of her on my side of the floor)... number of patient's isn't what should be determining the number of techs.. it really should be their weight.. if only that were the case!!!! goodness some of these patients... I'm just going to tough it out because the floor supposedly gets patients who have illnesses that I want to work with once I graduate... no experience is bad experience... or so I've been told.. lol... All I know is me and the Motrin bottle are becoming fast friends..

So I just started my nurse externship this past weekend.. saturday and sunday were my first days on the floor. The first week or two (not sure yet.. since the shift supervisor seems to have no idea what is going on and I have yet to see the manager) I'm supposed to be following a tech and doing what she/he is doing and helping her/him out. So I get there at 650 (supposed to be there at 7) and no one knows what is going on.. of course neither the manager nor the shift supervisor left any instructions about who I'm supposed to be following or anything.. so then finally they figure out who my preceptor is supposed to be.. and we come to find out that this poor woman has 15 patients!!!!!!!!!!!! The floor has 36 patients and there are only 2 techs!!!!!!!!! 1/3 of those patients were total care! I swear after working these two days I don't know how techs convince themselves to get out of bed for their shifts and do what they do.... if the shifts for most techs are like what I saw my preceptor do then truly all techs deserve some kind of medal and hugeeeeeeeee pay raises!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HERE COMES THE VENT! How is it that the nurses think that it's okay to sit on their butts reading newspapers and chatting (probably) gossiping while the techs are running around with their heads cut off barely getting all of their work done in a professional, and decent manner... the nurses on this floor manage to find time to sit in the hall outside of the patient's room on the hospital computer researching nursing schools where they can get their masters degree but can't seem to find the time to come in to turn THEIR patients, or to help clean up after an incontinent patient, or to help do anything that they deem is TECH WORK!!!! Honestly... I know I sound like a nursing student who has never been on the floor before but I don't remember the other nurses on my rotation floors being this horrible! The nurses would all take their breaks together, take lunch together... while me and my preceptor and maybe one nurse is left to take care of 15 patients!!!!!!!!! I am absolutely dreading going back to work because I know the majority of these nurses won't be able to teach me anything about being a team player or being a good nurse... all I know is that in the 2 shifts that I've worked.. all I've learned what to do and what not to do on the floor... such as... it's not okay to call yourself a R.N. with 8 years of experience and to leave a needle (thank god it was still capped) in between a patient's legs... (total care... totally not oriented) and then the next day be on the verge of tears because another patient and his/her family were rough with you... Maybe if you weren't sitting on your high horse and so concerned about getting an advanced degree and were actually paying attention to your patients and the job you have then someone wouldn't have to send you patients and families like that to give you a figurative slap in the face to bring you back down to earth. I understand no one likes to clean up poop and change a diaper and do all the dirty work, but all I know is that as when I become a nurse.. I will definitely do my part to make my tech's job easier.. because a tech, CNA, PCT, whatever title you want to give them... they truly do make a nurse's job easier or harder... and when you treat them like a maid or your servant... then you can expect to be the nurse that everyone hates!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sorry for the long post! Thanks for reading!!!! Comments, Flames are all welcome!!!

I don't really understand what you mean by why doesn't "vasodilation cause an increase of BP at the vital organs", but if you have vasodilation then the vessels are relaxed.. and are wider (that's how I picture it in my head) so that the pressure on the vessel walls is decreased.. thus resulting in a lower BP measurement.. I'm not sure if I helped any... :/

Congrats on the extern position! I'll be starting my externship on saturday 7-7 shift! From what I understand.. I get to shadow a tech for a couple of shifts and then I'm set up with a nurse as my preceptor and even though I don't get to pass meds, or put in IVs or anything like that it is my responsibility to know about the meds and about the process of putting in an IV... Our program coordinator told us that lawfully we are patient care techs but not to think of ourselves as PCTs... I'm sure you will have an orientation week where they will go into more detail about what you are and aren't allowed to do.. either way it is definitely going to be a great experience and will give you a leg up on a lot of people who will be looking for jobs! P.S. when do you start working in the ICU? I'll private message you and let you know how my first couple of shifts went... maybe then it'll be more clear about what us externs are supposed to be doing.. lol

You'll always run into nurses who have their set way of doing things and don't interact with their student unless the student asks them a question... but I think you should do your assessment of your patient, and try to find out if it is okay for you to pass meds and start an IV with the nurse you are assigned to if your professor isn't with you. In my program we are all on the same floor.. so we don't really have the issue of the professor being on a different floor.. but sometimes it is hard to find the professor and so we are allowed to give meds as long as the nurse is with us. I think you could introduce yourself to the nurse when you get on the floor and give her/him a highlight of what skills you are able to do and which ones you aren't and tell them that you want to learn as much as you can during this shift and ask if they wouldn't mind if you shadow them with other patients if your particular patient doesn't need you.... I've learned that if you let the nurses know that you want to see and learn more then most of the time they are more than willing to let you see and do more. Good luck!

The needle is a good indicator, but you should go off of the number where you first heard the sound.

I think you should focus on the job you got, because like you said there are sooo many new grads in your area and there aren't many jobs. There's no reason to give up on OR but maybe you can find some way to make yourself more appealing for the next OR job that comes up. You never know.. The job you have now might be something you love! Good luck!!!!!

i know exactly how you feel... i feel like just sitting and watching movies all day.. i'm sooo tired of going over powerpoints and trying to remember all the important stuff of med surg.. .. i've just been trying to answer as many questions as possible from various review books.. and whatever i know i'm fuzzy on.. i go back and look in the notes and powerpoints... we got lucky though because our professors had a review day.. where each professor would come up there for 15 mins and they would answer questions on the content he/she taught.. and some of them gave us pointers about what kind of questions to expect... you've worked all semester.. just think of it this way.. one more exam and you're done til august/september (or whenever your program starts back up)!!!!! just keep swimming!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :hug: