TinaL29

Thanks for the info! I've finished my first night shift, and it was okay. 4am was rough, but I got through it! I definitely need to nap before, but I'm still trying to figure out what works best for me. I will definitely be bringing more healthy snacks with me...eating small snacks through the night is a great idea!

Thank you for all of your advice! I'm going to give melatonin a try and naps before work. And maybe coffee if all else fails, since I'm not a coffee drinker.

Hi Lizzie - thanks for the advice. I'm going to give it a try!

I'm starting nights next week, and I have no idea how to prepare myself for it. I'm a new grad and orientation has been on days so far. One of my friends stayed up the night before so she would be tired and sleep during the day in preparation for that night. I'm looking for any advice/tips. Thanks!

@alisha - good luck! here you go...it definitely helped me out! infection precautions has 3 types:airborne,droplet and contact airborne (my chicken hez tb) measles chicken pox herpes zoster tuberculosis management: -private room -negative airflow pressure, minimum of 6-12 air exchanges per hour -uv germicide irradiation/ high efficiency air filter is used, mask, n95 mask for tb droplet (spiderman) sars s carlet fever sepsis streptococcal pharyngitis pertussis parvovirus b19 pneumonia influenza diphtheria epiglottitis rubella mumps mycoplasmal/meningeal pneumonia adenovirus management: -private room -mask contact (mrs.wee) multi-resistant organism respiratory syncitial virus skin infections (e.g:vchipss- varicella zoster, cutaneous diphtheria, herpes simplex,impetigo, pediculosis, staph infection and scabies) wound infection enteric infection (clostridium difficile) eye infection (conjunctivitis)

Throwing in my 2 cents....previous posters have brought up valid points about both. I just graduated from a BSN program, and I would definitely recommend a BSN program. HOWEVER, cost is definitely an issue. $4K vs. $30K is a HUGE difference. Only you can decide if you can afford the difference. You also said there is a large commute with the BSN program. Are you able to sacrifice the time in your personal life? It will also take away time from studying. Also, find out what type of degrees are wanted in your area in the places you want to work. Most new grads want to work in hospitals after graduation. Most of the hospitals around here (NY Metro area) are either ONLY hiring BSNs or will hire ADs but require you to get your BSN within 5 yrs or so. And if given two new grads with similar grades and accomplishments but one is an AD and one is a BSN, recruiters will pick the BSN....this I've been told from numerous nurse recruiters. An advantage of getting your AD: you can definitely take advantage of tuition reimbursement and enroll in a bridge program (RN to BSN). As great as that sounds, will you honestly be committed to doing that once you're working three 12 hr shifts or five 8 hr shifts? Again, I don't know what personal commitments you have, but some are able to do it and others aren't. You've raised some great questions that I don't think too many students think about prior to choosing their program, so kudos to you! If you decide to start with an AD, I hope you decide to pursue your BSN later. Good luck!!

Hi CrunchyMama - I'm sorry you have felt attacked by posting in this forum. I think you absolutely have the right to post on these boards and vent, but you need to realize that it's a two-way street and others have a right to post opposing views (maybe not so negatively). There will be those that are more supportive of your sentiments than others, and some more vocal about it. My post is, in no way, meant to be one of those that makes you feel like I'm attacking your post. But I'm curious to know that with your school, did you not see the required medical clearance items prior to your enrollment in the program? I cannot imagine any accredited nursing program that does not ask for certain titers to be up to date. My program required that we provided proof of titers every year for these: Tetorifice/Diptheria, MMR, Varicella, Hep B. We also had to get a PPD every year. And as another poster said, it's mostly because the hospitals require these titers. Without them, you will not be able to attend clinical, and if you don't attend clinical, you will fail the class. Last year, during the whole H1N1 outbreak, New York State mandated that all health care workers (including nursing students) needed to get the H1N1 vaccine, and many had concerns about getting the vaccine. But according to the hospitals, they would not allow us to attend clinical without it, so I received the vaccine, albeit somewhat unwillingly. Eventually, this mandate was revoked due to all the controversy. There has been much controversy regarding vaccines since the discredited "research" published a number of years ago in "The Lancet." I believe you have merit in voicing your concerns. In the end, you need to research it and decide what is right for you. If you decide you cannot go through with the vaccine, then you should seriously reconsider your future in the health care field because where ever you find work, I'm positive you will be asked to show proof of titers, and if you don't, you will be required to get vaccinated. If you don't get vaccinated, you will not be permitted to work. Better that you know this now and decide if you want to go through with nursing school or choose another career path that doesn't require you to show proof of titers.

Definitely shoes! I'm not sure where you are in your program, but with my 12 hr clinicals, if I didn't have good support, my feet and knees would be killing me. You are just fine with the $40-50 Littman Lightweight stethoscope. I have even seen Doctors carrying them around and using them.

Hi - I started nursing school with the Littmann Lightweight steth b/c it was the cheapest, and I knew I wanted to treat myself with a new steth after I graduated. I purchased the same steth you bought after graduation, and neither of my steths had the "new sticky rubber feel" that you mentioned. Both of mine felt....like what you would expect rubber to feel like...definitely not sticky. Maybe you should exchange it for a new one? Good luck with school!

Hi - I had to buy Dove uniforms for school. I used them for 2.5 yrs and did not experience any yellowing of my white pants. But I took care to wash them only with other whites. I did not bleach. I honestly never got them dirty except for some liquid iron but that came out in the wash. Both my top and bottoms still look great after all of my clinicals. My top (maroon) did not fade in color. Just be sure to wash as directed. I used Tide (no special detergent). They were expensive, but they are durable, and I'm sure you can resell to other students at your school once you are finished. Good luck with school!

Congratulations!!!!!:yeah:

I found the same problem with Kaplan questions. It did not indicate what rounding they wanted, and I would get the answer wrong because I didn't round correctly. I had only 1 math question on the exam. It was so easy you didn't need a calculator, and it did specify the units it wanted the answer to be in. Good luck!!

Hi - this is what I learned (to make it more confusing...) Aortic - 2nd ICS @ R sternal border Pulmonic - 2nd - 3rd ICS @ L sternal border Erb's Point - 3-5th ICS @ L sternal border Tricuspid - 4th - 5th ICS @ L lower sternal border Mitral - 5th ICS near L midclavicular line This pnemonic really helped me out: All People Eat Turkey Meat For the order from right to left and down (Aortic, Pulmonic, Erb's Point, Tricuspic, Mitral) Good luck!

I also felt pretty sick to my stomach after finishing the exam...convinced that I was in danger of failing. I went home and did the PVT. Even though I got the "good" popup, I still wouldn't believe it until my unofficial results were available. I took my exam on a Friday, and I didn't think they would be available until Tuesday, but they were available on Sunday. So if you haven't already checked, do so now! The previous posts already answered your question. But if you search for pnemonics, there are some great ones that you might want to know...just in general. They certainly helped me out for my exam!

I took my exam on a Friday and results were available on Sunday, but I didn't even know! I thought I had to wait until Tuesday (2 business days), but I ended up checking on Monday and they were there! Someone else I knew tested on the same day that I did and knew the results on Sunday. Congrats!!

Hi - I also have not heard from most of the hospitals I applied to. If I don't hear back within a certain amount of time, I call HR and ask if I'm still being considered for the position. I guess because there are so many applicants, most don't bother with sending out rejection letters. Good luck! I hope you find something soon!

I passed with 75 questions and had 1 med calc question. It was so easy that you didn't even need a calculator. So I'm not sure if it would be considered a higher level question, like the SATAs. Good luck to you!

@ems4uni - I know what you mean! :) This is a great forum, and I'm so glad I found it at the beginning of nursing school. It surprises me that so many of my fellow nursing students don't know about this site. There's so much useful information here, and it's a great community to express yourself. Good luck with your nursing career!!

Hi - I also recommend the LaCharity book, but I primarily used Kaplan. I paid for their live review course, but what I found most helpful was their QBank. I found that Kaplan's questions were the most like the NCLEX questions, and there are good number of priority like "A nurse receives 4 telephone messages from patients. Which one do you return first?" and "You have 4 patients that are post-op, which do you see first" etc. Good luck! I hope you succeed on your next try!

I felt the same way you did...even though I did PVT and it was the "good" pop-up. I wouldn't let myself truly believe that I passed until I got the unofficial results. Sounds like all your hard work paid off, so while I'm sure you won't be relieved until you get your results, I hope that you'll find a way to relax now that you've taken the exam. It won't help to stress yourself out over something you can't change right now. So try to have some fun and two days will fly by in no time! BTW, I took my exam on a Friday, and the unofficial results were ready by Sunday, but I didn't check until Monday. So they may be posted sooner than you think! Good luck!! :)

Mine was blue, but I never heard anything about a connection between color and whether you passed or failed. Try the PVT...it worked for me!

I haven't seen my name posted yet, and I took it 4 business days ago. One of my friends took it before me, and her name was posted in 6 business days.

This is great! Thank you so much for posting this!

@jag123 - Good luck! So far I haven't read any posts that says the PVT hasn't worked, so take it as a good sign! @ems4uni - Congratulations!! Feels great, doesn't it? :)

Hi Kat - congratulations!! Don't you feel so relieved that it's all over? Can I ask what state you are in? My BON (NY) has not posted anything for me yet, and I took the exam on Friday, 7/16. Thanks! Good luck with finding a job!