Summers_Off

What about changing your bulletin board? Posting health and nutrition facts in the bathrooms?

That's not a guarantee. I had a student come in complaining of ear pain. No fever. Tympanic membrane looked fine. Sent student back. Called Mom just to inform and she decided to pick up student. Turns out LD was complaining about a scratch behind her ear. Mom sent an email to the principal complaining about my assessment skills and questioning my judgement.

My kid has a dairy allergy. I don't think requesting a dairy free elementary school would go over very well at all! 😆

I was taught in school that 26 weeks is viability. Is that viability in the real world? I know everyone wants full term, but if you or your wife was expecting, at what point in gestation would you exhale and feel confident in a good outcome if your baby were to be preterm? Thanks for your response. I am very interested in knowing what professionals who see the good, the bad, and the ugly really think.The general public loves to share stories of the incredible ELBW miracles, but no one talks about the ELBW babies with profound disabilities. I precepted in the NICU but didn't get hired there after graduation. :-( Sure do miss it. I loved my time there. Such a special place with amazing nurses!

Hello. Can someone tell me how many days a week are the classes? Thanks!

I hope you have found something by now, but honestly, in my opinion the resume is mostly a formality. Getting a job is more about who you know than what you know. Yes, I am fairly new to nursing, but in my short time in this industry I have not seen anything that has changed my mind about this. Network, network, network.

Wow, this is SO helpful!

Thanks for all the advice. And even though I truly, deep down didn't think it would happen to me for a handful of reasons, the new grad market claimed me too. I had big dreams, but my eyes are wide open. Neither opportunity (peds or nicu) presented itself to me and I accepted a position I was offered in adult med-surg. The one thing I did NOT want to do with my nursing degree. But I am giving it 100% and, surprisingly, I enjoy it even though it's in a speciality I have zero interest in. I just enjoy being a nurse at this point. No experience is wasted (especially as a new grad). My new plan (I always have a plan lol) is to begin looking for a peds med-surg spot in a year. My road to PICU will have to have an extra stop or two (if an adult cardiac opportunity arises, I would jump on that too), but the dream remains! Again, thank you all for helping me!

It has to do with your birthday month, I believe. The same thing happened with me & a classmate.

I have done it. I usually bought a previous one and saved a ton. Mental health book was only $5! I did, however, buy the current edition of the Med/Surg book. I thought that was worth the investment. I also rented a textbook. That works too if you are really in a pinch.

Paid in March. Graduated 5/3. ATT 5/7. NCLEX this week.

Unfortunately, this is the Children's hospital. They don't hire new grads in PICU. My family situation (and the housing market debacle ) will not permit me to relocate. I have to position myself using the opportunities I have available to my locally. Thank you for your input.

LOL... yes. I was posting with three hours of sleep over two days. I meant for the poll to say "Peds" or NICU and I couldn't get back to the poll to fix it and also couldn't figure out how to delete the whole post and start over. Thanks so much for the input.

Hello everyone. I would like some advice please. I am aware of the current new grad job market so I realize my question is potentially purely hypothetical. However, I am a strong candidate among my new grad peers and I firmly believe that having faith and believing that positive things will come into your life makes a difference and I like to prepare as such. Okay, with that little caveat addressed, in the future, I want to be a PICU nurse. I definitely know that pediatrics is where I belong and I have a strong desire to work specifically in critical care. I have spent some time in the NICU and I like it a lot, but I am the type of person that always needs new challenges. I need to be learning new things consistently and I don't like to feel stagnant. I know I would love the challenge of the NICU early on, but in my heart, I think a few years down the road, I would be bored. I'm drawn to the variety and complexity of the PICU. IF I had a choice between accepting a position on a general peds med-surg floor or starting in the NICU (level 3 I believe, but ECMO and cardiac babies go to PICU), which position would better prepare me for a PICU position in the future? My hospital does not hire new grads in the PICU, but the NICU and peds floors do. I'm not sure if the ICU experience is an advantage or if the wider range of ages and conditions, albeit much less acute, is better.... or if it's 50/50. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks! EDIT: UGHHHH.... I wanted the poll to say Peds not PICU. Sorry, going on little sleep!

I enjoyed having to separate volumes. Our class was structured well and the exams were clustered into one volume or the other. I say go for it.

I had a patient ask me for some take out menus. I'm just a student, she was on a regular diet, and she said it like it was a well known fact so I asked the primary nurse where I could find them. A doctor nearby overheard and he almost blew a gasket! Pt was not happy with me, but she did get a visitor to bring her some Burger King. FWIW, the cafeteria food is awesome. It's part of the reason I look forward to clinical days. I don't know what her problem was!

I think you've gotten lots of great responses. I just wanted to second that the Ackley nursing diagnosis handbook is one of the best ones out there. I love it.... well, as much as you can love a care plan book . Good luck in school! It's been an awesome experience for me.... so far at least.

:w00t: Ha, ha, ha Misstgo keep it 100! I was very intentional in choosing my son's name. No mid-name apostrophes, no random capital letters, and nothing ending in 'quon' for goodness sakes! As much as it pained me, I even went with a traditional spelling. Not as much fun, but for me, as a parent, it was the right thing to do. NO, it shouldn't have to be that way, but it IS and I'm not going to let my kid pay the price because I want to fight the system.

I think one is fine. My school recommended two because we wear them twice a week back to back. But, honestly, I still could have gotten away with one since I wash my uniform immediately upon arriving home. Still a germaphobe, I can't help it. Good luck in your program.

I keep my stethoscope in my clinical bag beside my computer desk. However, mine is neither pricey nor sentimental. But it is a pretty color.:) If you do decide to keep it out (or even if you don't), I suggest you disinfect it before you bring it home. Also, I wouldn't keep it in the car (like over the rear view mirror). I suspect that would damage the tubing.

Hopefully you have found something by now, but my suggestion is to physically go to some nearby nursing homes. It will cost you some money in gas, but if it pays off it will be worth it. Even though everything is online these days, I am a firm believer that pounding the pavement still works... especially at smaller institutions. Of course, knowing someone is always quicker, faster, better, but if you don't, you just gotta make something happen for yourself. Best wishes.

I took my TEAS there and before the test they said that the TEAS was a decent portion of your score (Nice! No pressure there, right? ) They were honest and said if you didn't get at least X on each portion you would not be competitive. I want to say "X" was 70 or 80, but it was three years ago and I don't want to tell you the wrong thing. I would call and ask what score you need to be competitive. They didn't act like it was some heavily guarded secret. Good luck! Nursing school rocks. :w00t:

I leave my diamond at home. It has a really high setting and putting on those paper thin, stuck together sterile gloves is a joke. I have a plain thin band that I wear to clinicals. It was dirt cheap at the time and we bought it so I wouldn't be worried about losing my ring in the ocean on our honeymoon (I know someone that happened to!). Sure has come in handy now. When I graduate and start working I may treat myself to blinged out band because I can never wear my diamond to work.

0645 or 0700 depending on the clinical instructor. Per the official registration time 0645. Really sucks when your daycare opens at 0630 and it's 25 minutes away.