gjerstp

I too am nursing faculty. In my clinical groups I reserve the last half hour of clinical to talk about how the day went. It's a time when the students are finishing up their charting, and telling what happened with their patients. I think they learn a lot from hearing about different patients with different conditions and situations. This applies to real hospital practice too. Once I had clinical students on a floor where, when the day shift came on in the morning, they all sat in a conference room, and one by one the night shift people gave report on their patients. It meant that everyone heard about all the patients, and in case it became necessary, could more safely take over care. Everyone gains from hearing those clinical-related stories.. But no two-hour sessions AFTER clinical!

I'm an instructor at a nursing school. I personally used NOT to swab new one-use vials. But once I started teaching I cleaned up a lot of my own practices in order to give a good example and follow the practices of my school. I decided that it's a good thing to carry out such procedures as swabbing everything always between any two accesses because if it's a constant, reliable habit, then you'll never forget. It's similar to identifying your patient every time you do an intervention - of course you know that person well by the middle of the day, and it's not really necessary to check who they are. But you'll never make a istake if you ALWAYS carry out these procedures. Be safe.

I went back to school for an MSN when I was 55, no children at home, a husband who was still working, and who really approved of my move into a "helping" field. I just quit doing many things and let him do something about it if he really cared. Now I teach nursing, and I have had many. many students in the same boat with you - people who have been married, with children of any age (teens often need more supervision and support than little ones), and with spouses who say (and mean at the time) that they support the student and will do whatever it takes to help them get through. I have found that 1) the Significant Other NEVER UNDERSTANDS HOW HARD AND DEMANDING THE NURSING PROGRAM IS, 2) they also can't envision what their "support" will entail. They can't believe it when you tell them. You probably had no clcear idea when you signed up for this. 3) Many life emergencies can come up as the program goes on that require a choice of where you will put your energy, and sometimes you have to choose life. I like the approach of the respondant who reminded that the S.O. is probably contributing money to this endeavor, and that sabotage will make the investment a total loss. Money does talk. If you have small children who will need your time and who can't be expected to "understand" and not bother you, it mght be better to do this later when they are older. Or else get help from grandparents or other relatives. It also helps if you go away from the S.O. to study - they can't make you feel guiltyif you're not there. To help the S.O. get through the sad, resentful parts, make a plan to have one "together" event (date, dinner. mopvie etc.) per week that you stick to so they know they're still loved. If you can do a program that allows part time it might help. Good luck. Everyone's answer to this problem is different and depends on the individuals involved.

Thank you for this. I teach nursing, and I'll pass this content and this website along to my students. Also: be aware that as of April 1 ("Fools' Day!") the passing requirements will be raised, and thus the level of difficulty. Be sure to research just how the questions will be weighted in importance, and do anything you can (Kaplan courses, ATI exams etc.) to identify the areas you are weaker in, so you can work on them before you take the test.

The only story I know of where I work is that one of the cardiologists started dating one of the nurses, then divorced his wife and married the nurse. And I think it wasn't the first for him. We are all human and the workplace is an obvious place to meet someone - you share the place in common, and possibly also interests, and you're there most of your waking life.... And what's wrong with it, as long as the relationship and/or rumors don't disturb or compromise the integrity of your work.

When I went to school the whole class bought Littman Cardiology Master stethoscopes (solicited group pricing). Then soon after, I traded mine in for a Doctors' Research Group cardiology stethoscope. They cost in the $200 range, but the difference in quality of sound is really tremendous. And you can buy stethoscopes at stethoscopes.com, or even amazon or ebay and get a better price. It's worth investing in a good piece opf equipment.