Summer Breeze

Hey everyone! :) I was just curious if anyone has heard back from Children's Memorial RN Internship Program for the August/October cohort. I applied in April and haven't heard anything back yet. When I call HR, they just say to wait because it might ...

This is a wordy reply... I bolded my main point. Haha! I can definitely relate to your anxiety Stella! During my orientation in the PICU I felt the same way with my preceptor. She kind of let me be on my own, even in the beginning of orientation. She...

I definitely know how brutal a schedule like that can be! I was supposed to work 6 nights in a row (my preceptor worked a super crazy schedule because she liked to travel a lot), but I did bring up my concerns to my educator. She was able to tweak my...

I've been meaning to respond back to this for a while! Definitely fill us in on what happens with the NICU! If PICU is where your heart is set, keep applying for jobs! But I would definitely recommend accepting a NICU position if available. Its easie...

I'm a new grad working in the ICU. All of the nurses on our unit are really big on doing safety checks... Its the first thing I do when I walk into my patient's room. I think most of the nurses do them, your patients life could be on the line if you ...

Just out of curiosity, were lab coats a part of her school uniform? I know that my nursing school required us to have lab coats. Not everyone wore them all the time, but some of us sometimes did. They clearly identified that we were nursing students ...

I definitely agree with everything that ChristineN said! Especially in regards to having a senior practicum in peds, PICU, NICU. A lot of students tend to get hired on the units that they had their practicum on. I would also recommend taking every o...

You still have time to figure out what you want to do. Good luck! I also wanted to share that I would get really lightheaded at the thought of blood.. thinking of starting IV's and drawing blood really freaked me out. It was weird.. I was in my anato...

1. when did you graduate? may 2010 2. do you have a bsn or adn? bsn. 3. are you still looking for work? nope!! =) 4. if not, how long did it take you to find a job? three weeks after i found out i passed the nclex i had two interviews (one was for my...

If you're still in nursing school, here is some advice that I can give you: 1. Get to know your clinical instructors and let them know what units you are interested in. They could possibly offer you a shadow day in the ER or OB! I know a lot of schoo...

I've always known that I wanted to work with children, even before I started nursing school. My ability to shadow on multiple pediatric units (PICU, peds ER, NICU, Peds OR/PACU), pediatric clinical rotations + pediatric community rotation, and my pra...

Don't worry about your preceptor! I know it isn't the same, but during my senior preceptorship in nursing school my preceptor had never precepted anyone before! I was her first person and she was SO amazing! I definitely learned a lot from her. I rea...

I have to agree that networking and knowing someone is the best way to get the job. I think clinicals were the best way to network... with your clinical instructor or anyone you could have met during clinicals. I think I was extremely lucky with who ...

Nursing school is definitely tough, but I'm sure your girlfriend will be able to find time to hangout. Its usually hardest in the beginning when you have to finally learn how to manage your time, get used to early clinicals, nursing care plans that ...

I take a pencil and just make a small 'dot' on the medications that I have drawn out. That way I double check myself and know 100% that I took out all of the meds I need for that specific time. Once my patients take their meds, I go back and initial....

Good luck! My biggest advice is to always ask questions, it doesn't matter how dumb your question may sound to you. =) Like my nursing instructors always said "the only dumb question is the one you don't ask." If you don't feel comfortable doing some...

I had my senior practicum in the PICU and fell in love with it. =) I only applied for Pediatric, PICU, and NICU positions after I graduated. I just recently obtained an offer for the PICU at a hospital I've always wanted to work at, so I'm EXTREMELY ...

Yay! I'm glad you enjoyed the PICU. =) I hope you get accepted! It will be an extremely awarding opportunity.. and there's just so much to learn! Its also great when the staff is friendly and helpful. Good luck!

I would recommend Kaplan as well. Their question bank was helpful and they really seemed similar to the questions I had on the NCLEX. I would also recommend Saunder's for more detailed information. I love to know details (i'm extremely detail oriente...

Great job Ashley, RN!!!!! I hope you enjoy your new job. Keep us updated on how it goes. =) I definitely have to agree with you that networking is the way to go. Befriend your clinical instructors and faculty at school and try to keep in touch with ...

It really depends on where you see yourself working in the future. I had my practicum in the PICU and I loved every second! I seriously was so sad on my last day, I didn't want to leave. The PICU sees a wide range of patients, so I have taken care of...

I took a Kaplan course. I honestly didn't really use their strategies during my NCLEX! But their QBank was helpful in practicing questions. I also reviewed content with Saunders. I really loved the detail in it. I've also heard great things about La...

I'll try to respond to the best of my ability. I just graduated from nursing school in May. I don't work as an RN yet, but everything finally made sense to me during my senior year. Especially during my senior clinical role transition (capstone, inte...

I'm from Illinois. I started applying for jobs months before graduation. The positions are all closed off now. I've honestly applied for so many jobs... and its horrible how so many positions state "not accepting new grads!" I took my NCLEX on July 1...

Yeah! If it stated that: Our records indicate that you have recently scheduled this exam. Please contact your Member Board for further assistance. Another registration cannot be made at this time. That's the good pop up. =)