santina44

Thank you Merna for your reply!

It's not for a paper. I'm a NICU nurse. 2 NICU RNs go to C sections and high risk vag deliveries so we see them right away at my hospital. Just a few days ago I went to a section and a baby was delivered with a kiwi vaccuum. The baby had a little more difficulties than I had seen with other babies and was wondering if the vaccuum had anything to do with it. That's all.

Thanks for the info.. I consulted the forums because I would've preferred first hand info from other nurses.

Are there increased chances of respiratory complications when a baby is delivered using a vaccuum device such as a Kiwi?

I was a new grad when I started also and am still in training. My training was a long period of time as well. My biggest word of advice is to ASK QUESTIONS and to not be afraid to ask those questions. Hopefully you get a good preceptor who enjoys teaching and is patient. If you butt heads with your preceptor, speak up to your manager. Every time you hear about some new disease/term/etc that you have never heard of, look it up right then and there. Get familiar with lab values and their meaning in terms of how they relate to your patients. Just remember to be patient. You won't learn everything overnight and your orientation process will be overwhelming at times but don't worry because it happens to everyone. Review your hospital's policies and protocols for feeding, med admin, bath time, etc. Good luck!

I looked up many times whether or not I should bring one and I saw many people who said it couldn't hurt, so I decided to just bring one.

I am going to an interview tomorrow and was wondering how to open up my cover letter. I was thinking something like.. "Thank you for the opportunity to interview with your company. Please accept the following documents...." & so on. OR should I just stick with the traditional, "I am writing to express my interest in position...." I just feel like option #2 is unnecessary since I already got the interview! Help

Hi all, I have no experience writing cover letters and just wanted some feedback on the following. I appreciate any help!! Thank you Dear Sir or Madam, In reference to the current position, "_______," please accept the enclosed documents for consideration of my qualifications to become a member of your team. As a teaching facility, "hospital name"offers me an opportunity to further develop my knowledge as a graduate nurse. My clinical training and work experience have effectively prepared me to begin employment as a registered nurse. Through my clinical rotations, I learned to care for a variety of patients of different acuity levels. I became accustomed to performing efficiently under levels of high stress and found this to be one of my numerous strengths. As you will see, I worked as a patient care coordinator at a dental office. I gained excellent customer service skills while working with patients and their families. I organized treatment plans, assisted the dentist during procedures, and conducted follow up care for patients. I provided safe and quality patient care and will use these skills as an RN at your facility. I am highly confident I will be able to perform to your expectations as an RN at "hospital name". I appreciate your careful review of my qualifications, as I am eager to be a part of your healthcare team. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Sincerely, "My name"

Hi all. I am aware there is a post about this similar topic on the forum as well however my situation is a bit different. I actually am Catholic and am planning on applying to a Catholic hospital. The hospital is obviously faith based. I am just wondering if I should mention the fact that I am Catholic in my cover letter? Or at least that I respect the faith based stance the hospital has? Thank you for any input!

Some hospitals have this spray that you spray on the pts behind before you start wiping. It almost completely gets rid of the smell! Ask the employees at your nursing home if they have such a thing.

I do outlines. I have done outlines since day 1 in the program. I get my book and computer, and type notes. This way, I have a hugely shortened portion of the book written in MY language. Once I am done with outlining, I read my outlines over and over and over again. I also sometimes get a scrap sheet of paper and write down important sentences or lab values 2-5 times. Writing really helps get concepts into my head because it causes me to actively think about what I am writing. I only use flash cards for short information (lab values, drugs, etc) and I find this to help. Also, I cannot overstress the importance of practicing NCLEX questions. Usually the books come with CDs that have questions about the material in your book. Practicing these questions "warm up" the brain on how your actual test questions will be presented to you. If your book is from the publisher Elsevier, there is an excellent website called evolve.eslevier.com and it has NCLEX questions for every chapter. I suggest you check it out!

I suggest you talk to a counselor or therapist who can suggest relaxation techniques. Also, what if you had a buddy set up a practice test for you in exam-like conditions with a time limit, grade, etc. Maybe this could help you get used to the testing environment. Practicing NCLEX questions is a wonderful way of warming the brain up for the tests. I do these so I won't be shocked by the type of questions when I see the exam. I think it's one of the best techniques I have learned because when I go into a test knowing what to expect, I am able to perform better. I have had test anxiety since middle school and I have done all of the above things I just mentioned. I can say my test anxiety is 99% gone now and I only experience normal, typical test jitters that go away once I start answering questions.

I had a horribly rough start in my nursing program, and so did my husband. After our first semester, we just felt beaten up and like, "what did we get ourselves into?" However, I am one semester away from graduating now and I am SO glad I did not give up. My husband already graduated and he already landed a job. Please do not base your program experience on how nursing will be in the real world. I am not exaggerating when I say that almost every nurse I have spoken to has told me "working is completely different from school." They tell me that everything they learned is different which I hope can give you confidence that you are not being prepared to work in a horrible system. If you decision is based off the fact that it is hard to study and it tiring you out, I really suggest and hope you won't quit. If I heard you saying that you hated clinical, working with people & their families, and everything about human body science, THEN I would say, maybe this field isn't for you. But it sounds like you are just discouraged by the amount of work involved, which everyone encounters (I promise). Keep up your good work- it seems like you have good skill for the field if you are getting 86's on your exams. Take time out of your day to relax and exercise to relieve stress and don't forget to have fun every once in a while. It'll keep you from going insane. GOOD LUCK!

Homan's sign is a classic sign, but unreliable. My professors tell me NOT to do a Homan's sign if a DVT is suspected because like you said, it could dislodge it. Compare the pts 2 legs. Is one leg swollen and warm compared to the other? Like another poster said, measuring calf circumference (at same exact spot on each leg) is a good test. Doppler IS the best method for actual Dx. The pain should be diffuse throughout the whole calf of the affected extremity.

It sounds obvious, but just perform it in a head to toe fashion. Use the body as your cue. I start with AAOX3. Usually you don't need to say anything if a teacher is watching because they can hear the pts response. Then, I go on to my cranial nerves-- checking eye movements, hearing, etc. I narrate aloud what I am doing, which nerve I am checking. Some teachers are not picky and don't make you name each nerve, luckily. Do you have someone you can practice on? While you're doing it, just explain to them everything you are doing and why as if you were talking to the teacher.