Michael A RN

I spoke with UNR regarding finishing my BSN. I have a prior BS and an ADN from TMCC. They said they were aware of the GPA needed to get in and what students were having to do to get that GPA. They are concerned with the steps students are having to take. There was no specific timeline, just that they know how hard it is and they are concerned. There are other things they would like to do as well and are seeing if some of those are possible, with the hope those things will happen within the next couple of years.

UNR is going to start looking at how many times you re-took a class and factor that in. They are concerned with the GPA as high as it is and what that is meaning for the students they are putting out.

The highest related to MI was around 300, cathed the next day, to find no blockage. The highest I've ever seen, though, was a rhabdo with a troponin of greater than 1000. Their CPK was greater than 200,000.

The area that I work in has both a four-year college thatgrants BSNs and a community college that grants ADNs. For many years, the hospitals would hire the ADNs over the BSNs due to the programs each had. The BSN program was having problems with accreditation and the pass rate for the NCLEX was around 50%. The ADN program was passing around 94%. Talkingwith HR reps from the hospitals, they believed the ADNs were better prepared then the BSNs. Personally I think you get what you pay for and what you put into whatever program you go to. Get the RN and if you want keep improving yourself with as much education or certifications as you can.

I worked as a patient transporter. It allowed me to see all parts of the hospital and learn where I would like to work later and where I would not. It was horrible for all the attitude you receive, but I was able to meet tons of nurses that wanted me to come work with them when I was finished with school and that allowed me to almost pick where I worked when I was done. Whatever you do work, it should be something in the hospital where you will see patients and see a lot to help you when you finish. Any experience gets you that much more prepared for when you are finished.

We have MedSelect, which is another brand. You can only take one patient's meds out at a time, but you don't have to leave the machine or logout to choose another patient and get their meds. I only have 2 patients per shift so it is easy to keep the meds I take out straight and we have 3 machines in our unit. I work ICU and the issue we have is overriding meds. We have been repeatedly told that our override priveleges will be taken away if we do not get an order for the meds and fax it to pharmacy after using them. I agree that the order is important, but my priority is not always faxing the order immediately. The meds I am overriding are typically for procedures or emergencies. The other thing that is a problem is responding to rapid responses. We do not have access to the MedSelects on other floors so we have to find a floor nurse to get the meds we need and the machines are not always stocked with the meds we might need, like pressors. On the whole the machines aren't bad, and you get use to them, but they do have their drawbacks.