boogalina ADN, ASN, BSN, MSN, LPN

I sat for the June CRRN and passed it. I had just completed one year's experience in rehab, and had a year into my MSN at WGU. No problem, based on the scenario you outline in this post, you would meet the CRRN requirements with your year of experie...

Get into a good new grad program. I recommend Float Pool nursing - your specialty will find you! Thought I wanted to be an ICU nurse...but was hired into float pool. Was privileged to gain experience in stepdown critical care, ED, med-surg, inpatient...

My goodness, this is the worst!" (The one about patients with add-on requests.) If you give a mouse a cookie" patients, I call them!

I'm an acute care RN in my hospital's float pool. I go to inpatient psych, inpatient rehab, ED, critical care (stepdown) and med-surg-tele floors. Seems like it's nursing work wherever I go! Beyond that, my fellow ADN grads work in acute care, home ...

Encouraging the patient/client to do as much as they can for themselves is at the heart of nursing, at every level and setting in which care is delivered. Damn, I should write nursing textbooks!

If you are a kinesthetic learner (as I am) you may enjoy Wynn Kapit's amazing A&P coloring book. I still pull mine out from time to time for review. You can get them on Amazon. Hope this helps!

I'm still (after > 5 years on nights) figuring this one out. I would get an activity tracker (I've been using a Fitbit Flex) that gives you info on the duration and quality of sleep, and pair that with a food tracking app (I use LoseIt but some li...

Great article! I received scholarships from two foundations during my associates program (hospital where I work and the community college I attended)...for my BSN and my MSN just from the hospital foundation (so far...waiting to hear about scholarshi...

My late husband used to write special dates in the dust like my birthday, our anniversary, etc. It was annoying, but cute.

I passed my PCCN examination yesterday on the first attempt, and would like to share what worked for me. I used the following courses and materials for my examination preparation, which I started in late August this year: AACN's PCCN Certification R...

Patient, upon seeing the big red "RN" at the bottom of my ID badge asked "does that stand for really nuts?" Ah, out of the mouths of the demented....!

While I don't work in our hospital's inpatient psychiatric unit full-time, I get to float there (note: GET to float there, it's a privilege) and I always learn so much! It's really helped my ability to care for all patients. It sometimes happens t...

Application times/dates for hospitals vary by area. Your daughter will want to check each hospital's/health system for their information and process. Some hospitals will not allow an application until the license has been issued. I would let her tak...

I think so. SATA is timeless...it's not so much about content as it is techniques for attacking this type of question.

Good grades and high SAT/ACT scores are helpful, but not predictive of anything other than passing the academic aspects of nursing school. Not that that's easy, mind you. Experience and connections will be key to your success. I do suggest you try...

I use a Batclip...it's awesome...secure stethoscope holder that clips to a pants pocket or belt. I love it, and the leatherwork and clip are what I'd call tactical quality. You can find it on Amazon for $35-40.

ACLS and more experience will help. Even if you take the live ACLS class, I recommend you invest $110 and take the AHA's online ACLS class, because it gives you the opportunity to practice the case scenarios over and over again until you feel more co...

It's important to be conscious of one's own physical safety when caring for patients. At least on the floor or at LTC they are a known quantity (sometimes), but a brand new ED patient? Who knows? It's best to stay at arm's length as much as possi...

Try Salem Hospital - an hour from Portland. 30 bed MICU, level 2 trauma center.

Nurses may work when sick because of the fear of being disciplined for calling out sick. Some facilities only allow 2 call outs per rolling 90 days - a third in this period can result in a write up.

I think there's plenty of action to be had on night shift. Nights are still incredibly busy in med-surg where I work. . .and usually night RNs have 1 more patient than day shift. Good time management is crucial in med-surg. . .move fast, chart even ...

I believe G-tube placement is checked radiographically post-placement, and not by instilling air. Rather, checking residual before each feeding, or at specified intervals if feedings are continuous, is the norm. Residual greater than 200 mL would i...

They are professional as long as they are not prohibited by the facility's dress code. I think it's nice to bring color and beauty into what is, at times, a dreary atmosphere!

There are many threads on this topic. However, given that you will work with many CNAs over the course of your nursing career, some of whom will be integral to your success as a nurse, and to your good care of patients, you might be better served by ...

My son once asked me why anyone would want to be a nurse or a CNA since it involved "wiping butts." I responded by telling him it wasn't so much about that, as how it felt to see the effect on the patient of being clean, and the opportunity to see wh...