sozo

FYI - seems like good advice; agree or disagree? anything left out one should consider? Financial planner Deborah Levenson designed a three-part plan that would help newly licensed registered nurse Amanda Johnson pay off her $99,000 school-loan debt more quickly while still having enough money to build an emergency fund and save for retirement. http://www.boston.com/business/personalfinance/articles/2010/04/25/three_part_strategy_should_ease_nurses_student_loan_debt/

has it/would it work where you are? "...The Program will identify 250 talented RN graduates who have not yet found Bay Area nursing jobs and provide them with a 12-18-week post-licensure internship in either an acute or non-acute clinical setting... "The employment issue for new graduates is a short-term problem," Nikki West, the program's coordinator for CINHC, said in a March 22 statement. "Experienced nurses are postponing retirement and part-time nurses are taking more shifts than usual. So, new grads aren't being hired at the moment. Once the economy picks up, we anticipate an unprecedented need for nurses. Our goal is to retain these new graduates in the local workforce." The purpose of the RN Transition Program is to keep new graduates' skills current, enhance their professional competencies and provide opportunities for them to gather experience in clinical settings, according to the Institute..." http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2010/03/22/daily8.html?s=industry&i=health_care

this article gave a little bit more insight as to what/how the test may change - perhaps be of assistance to those yet to test? - good luck! "...Kaplan Nursing test preparation services reviews its test prep course every three years based on how the NCSBN decides to change the exam. "We review our questions to determine if the questions discriminate at a higher level and meet the needs of the revised NCLEX-RN test plan," says Barbara Irwin, RN, BSN, director of nursing for Kaplan Nursing. The new standards will require students to be prepared to answer higher level questions that require more analysis. For example, a question might describe several patients and ask who the nurse should see first. The student might say all of them, which is not necessarily wrong, but the correct response would be that the most acute patient needs to be seen first, Irwin says. Other changes that will take place on the NCLEX in April include increased emphasis on the management of care subcategory, Irwin says. The NCSBN defines management of care as providing and directing nursing care that enhances the care delivery setting to protect clients, family/significant others and healthcare personnel. The test will reduce emphasis on the subcategory of reduction of risk potential, defined as reducing the likelihood that clients will develop complications or health problems related to existing conditions, treatments or procedures..." http://news.nurse.com/article/20100315/NATIONAL01/103150001/-1/frontpage