amyn87

So Wednesday night I started having a low grade fever (99.6 F), body aches, chills, sinus drainage, and fatigue. I was off Thursday and Friday with the same symptoms. I was encouraged by my other nurse friends to call in sick today so I did. I still have the same low grade temp but my other symptoms are slightly better. I know a fever is technically anything higher than 100.4. I felt guilty calling in today. I work in the medical ICU so I'm around very sick patients. I'm really debating on whether or not I should work tomorrow or call in again. I don't want to call in and have to pay $50 to see a doctor to tell me to drink lots of fluids and rest so I can get a work excuse. What should I do??

I am an RN living in Ohio and am moving to Louisiana - so I cannot visit whenever I want to. How can I let potential future employers know that I am serious about wanting a job? Should I write a cover letter to help explain my situation? Or explain my situation by speaking to them on the phone? Any help would be appreciated!!!

I don't know about everyone else, but with all the stress that we put up with being nurses, whenever I make a patient smile or have one tell me "Thank you for being my nurse today" it makes it all worth it. Today I had a elderly woman patient with a GI bleed taking a bowel prep for a colonoscopy so she was on the bedside commode every 10 minutes. She said that she told her family earlier, "I had no idea I was so full of sh*t." I asked her what color her eyes were. She looked at me for a second and said "What?" Seeing she had green eyes, I said, "Well, they're not brown are they?" She looked at me for a second then started cracking up laughing and told me she had never heard that before. I could tell she was worried and scared about her condition, and just seeing her smile made me feel like I made some kind of difference in her day. Anyone have any good stories to share? :)

I had an ex boyfriend who liked to try to talk about things he had no clue about to make himself sound smart. He came over to my grandparents' house one Christmas for dinner and proceeded to tell my grandma (who was a proper southern lady) about the PENILE gland in the brain. My face turned 20 shades of red and I about choked on a bite of food. But God bless my grandma she just smiled and nodded and let him go on a rant about the penile gland. Hahaha

Thank you everyone! Great answers! :)

I've had 2 interviews since I've passed NCLEX-RN, but both have been unsuccessful. I received an e-mail the DAY OF my last interview telling me I was not chosen for the position. I hadn't checked my e-mail yet when I called a few days after my interview, and they said they were still interviewing other nurses and had not yet made a decision. Was my interview really that horrible that they decided not to choose me for the position? Would it be wrong to call and (politely) ask if there's any way they could tell me what I'm doing wrong? Or would that make me seem pushy and rude? I personally got a good vibe from the interview, and they told me they hire new RNs and that the floor I was interviewing for was great for gaining experience. I'm totally confused! Help please!!

congrats ann08 and sydney2404!!! :w00t: i got the good pop-up too, so i'm keeping my fingers crossed til i get my official results!!!

Congrats on passing!! And thanks for the advice!

75% on pharm is pretty good in my opinion; i'm horrible at learning meds! keep it up, i have faith in ya! be sure to let me know how you did when you find out!

congrats 1life2live and lisat380!! :cheers: i take mine for the 3rd time may 3rd (3rd time's a charm right??? lol), wish me luck!! i'm definitely going to try the pearson trick too...if i can work up the nerve haha

thanks for the advice! and congrats on passing this time!! i think one of my biggest downfalls is not feeling confident when i walk in that room. monday i plan on getting my nails done, my hair done, and going shopping - the whole shabang - just so i feel a little better about myself when i take my test tuesday lol.

When I had 265 questions my second time, I was starting to get burnt out. Around question 200 I stopped analyzing the questions so much because I was over it. I wish I would have known this before!! Oh well, at least now I know if it happens to me again! :)

Check out this post: study checklist for passing NCLEX-RN. It has a study-guide type thing for NCLEX and it's pretty helpful. It's someone's opinion of what to study, but it still gives a good idea of what's important. If you're starting to feel overwhelmed, stop what you're doing and do something else. You still have a few days, so if you want to learn a little bit more it could help, but don't try to cram in a whole NCLEX book in 2 days...just do a few things that you feel shakey on. Keep doing practice questions because it gets you used to the format of NCLEX. If you haven't been to the test center before, make sure you go BEFORE the day of your test. It relieves some stress of trying to find it that morning. The day before I take my test, I plan on getting my hair done, getting my nails done, and going shopping, because they're all fun relaxing things that make me feel good. lol. Do something the day before your test that relaxes you and reduces your stress. If you feel like you need to study that day, then do it. It's whatever makes you feel better. Use the earplugs they give you. They feel funny at first but once you get them in right they're a huge help. Use the dry-erase board they give you. Use it to write key words from the question or draw pictures or whatever you want to do with it! BREATHE. Very important. Don't forget to do it. lol. If you start to feel nervous or panic over a question, stop, close your eyes, take a few deep breaths, and clear your mind. Try not to let your nerves get the best of you. Be confident when you walk in that room. Think you're gonna kick that test's A**!! lol You made it through nursing school, you can pass this test!!

even though it is your opinion of what to study, i hope you realize what a big help it is for those of us who feel completely lost as to what to study! thanks again!

You're welcome! Good luck on your test! Just try to stay confident!

wow this list is great! i take my boards in less than a week, but i'm still going to print this off to go over a few last minute things! hope to see the rest of it soon!! thank you!

I've been out of school since June last year, and May 3rd I take NCLEX for the 3rd time. The first time I took boards it was right out of school, and all I wanted to do that summer was relax, so needless to say I didn't study as much as I should have. I took it for the second time at the end of January and got 265 questions and failed. I was devastated because I studied nonstop for a month before I took it. This time I gave myself more than a month to study and I read 1/2 of a Saunders book then made notecards out of the last half. I've also been doing practice questions on the CD that came with my Saunders book everyday. As far as drugs are concerned, if I get a question on a drug in a practice questions and I don't know what it is, I look it up and make a notecard on the main points about it, including what was asked about it in the question. Also as I was going through the Saunders book making notecards I made some on drugs that were mentioned that had a few "pyramid points" next to it. I also noticed that there were a lot of TB and chemotherapy drugs in Saunders that I recognized from practice questions. Here's some of the drugs I've made notecards on so far: Prednisone S/E Imuran S/E Aminosalicylic acid (Paser) Pyrazinamide (PZA) Ethambutol (Myanmbutol) Rifampin (Rifadin) Isoniazid (INH, Nydrazid) Nasal Decongestants Antihistamines Bronchodilators (names) Antiemetics (Reglan - when to give - 30 min before meals and at bedtime) Proton Pump Inhibitors (names and action) Histamine 2 - Receptor Antagonists (names, action, whether or not it's affected by food, cautions) Antacids (when to take) Oral Hypoglycemic Meds Glucocorticoids (S/E, cautions, names) Mineralocorticoids (interventions) Fosamax Thyroid meds Antithyroid meds Baclofen Aldactone Diuretics Lithium Calcium Channel Blockers Digoxin Insulins Pitocin Ticlid Theophylline Desferal Heparin and Coumadin Zoloft (interaction w/ St.John's Wort) Clozaril (causes agranulocytosis) Then I also went to the alternate format test questions on the Saunders CD and made notecards on priority questions, like steps for blood administration, steps for Allen's test...etc. If you feel confident about what you went over in your book, then go through more practice questions and make notecards (if it helps you) on things you don't know. Hope this helps! Also if anyone has any studying tips for me, it would be greatly appreciated!! I really don't want to go for a 4th time… (YAY IT FINALLY LET ME POST IT!! LOL)

I don't need to send it as a message, I was trying to post it on here so everyone could see it. Whenever I try to submit it, a green screen comes up and tells me that I need to log out, close my browser page, and open a new one and log back in. I've tried doing that about 10 times and it still won't let me. I don't understand how I can post this, but I can't post something else...maybe because it's too long?

applereyes : i keep trying to post a reply as to what i'm studying, but for some reason it won't let me. do u have an email or something i can try to send it to?

I am taking my test for the 3rd time on May 3rd. I need all the prayers I can get! I've been reviewing my Saunders book and using the Saunders CD for review questions. Today I actually started hanging up pieces of paper with random information in my room, like lab values, ECG changes, Erikson's Stages, isolation precautions, etc. Hopefully that works and I just don't end up looking like a nut . I was wondering if anyone has any hints for how to study pharm. for boards?? I really have no idea where to start on it, since there is such a variety of questions that can be asked about meds. Good luck everyone! Prayers for all of us trying to make this possible in May!!

i had the exact same thing happen to me the last time i took my boards. i'm trying to figure out how to study for my test coming up in a couple weeks too :/...i'm just going to keep doing a lot of review questions on my Saunders CD and review my Saunders book, and starting tonight i'm going to write down random things i'm having trouble remembering on pieces of paper and taping them all over my room so i see them everyday. also, if you haven't read uaefan's post,( https://allnurses.com/nclex-discussion-forum/long-time-lurker-533532.html ) i recommend doing so because i found it to be inspiring. Best of luck to you!!! I'll be praying for you!

Hey everyone! I'm scheduled to take my NCLEX-RN for the 3rd time (uughhh) in a couple weeks. I'll admit the 1st time I took it I didn't study as much as I should have, but the 2nd time I worked sooo hard and ended up with 265 questions. I've been studying for about a month already for this test, but I'm starting to get really nervous. I've been using a Saunders book and CD (for practice questions) and Mark Klimek's review books. I was just wondering if anyone had any little tips, pointers, or advice for me? I feel like I'm not doing something right but I can't figure out what it is! Anxiety was a big issue for me the first time, but I wasn't as nervous my second time. Any help is greatly appreciated!! :redpinkhe

Hey everyone, I'm looking for the pathophysiology behind the signs and symptoms of UTIs for a careplan. I've looked in all my books and I've looked at a few sites online, but I can't find any that have what I'm looking for. I'm specifically looking for WHY symptoms happen...for example, Why does the urine have a foul odor? Why is there hematuria sometimes? Why does it cause fatigue and cognitive changes in the elderly?....I have basic answers, but I need very specific pathophysiology on them and I can't find it anywhere. Can anyone help? Thanks! :)