laurie5256

when i can't find the nurse for a patient with something weird going on, i go to the charge nurse and tell her, and i tell her why i am telling her. but, i'll look for the nurse on the floor before that, try to find her instead of calling her (or whatever this vocera thing you speak of is). and the assignment thing, you'll get used to checking up with the desk to see pt's that are coming and going. someone should tell you that you are getting a pt, but i've been surprised before, too. just let it go, you did what you could do, and really. sometimes you just have to know that you are doing the best you could do in a situation and let other people's opinions wash off your back. eventually, you'll get used to the floor, the people, you'll have ones you love working with, ones your don't like working with that much, and you'll be way more comfortable finding nurses, asking questions, knowing the abnormals and normals. just stick with it!

we did photos put into a powerpoint. one photo with arrows pointing to things we needed to know, the next one with the answers. kind of (exactly) like flashcards, but via the laptop/ipad/what have you and with photos from the models we would be tested from.

it's cheaper at a community college (not easier, don't let the price tag fool you.) and at the end you take the same NCLEX. then get the RN job and most of the time, the job will help you pay for school so you can get the BSN while working.

and it's very important you still do things for yourself, exercise, go out with friends. it seems like you are wasting your time because you are not studying, and that might raise the anxiety a little. but, if you don't take care of yourself, you won't focus as well.

my favorite way of studying involves concept maps and/or the nursing process. break down every disease following the ADPIE system, and you will know it well enough to pick the most correct answer out of all the correct answers. also, remember maslov's hierarchy, physiological needs before emotional needs. the ABCs! people need to breathe before they need their antibiotic. i also find it very hard to READ everything without some sort of project while reading. so, i make outlines, answer chapter questions. if you can answer those, you have a good concept of what they are going to ask you. and i have mild panic attacks every semester when school starts that i'm not going to do well enough. just keep fighting through it, and eventually, it will be over.

Was this a new patient on the floor? I wonder because if you picked up the patient from the CNA on before you, they should have told you in report how to get this person to the bathroom. If not, then in the future ask the nurse before you move the patient so that you can move the patient safely. And as a CNA I can't change the O2 settings for the patient, out of my scope.

where i work, anyone can call for a code if they find a non responsive patient, as every minute counts and the time it takes a cna to find a nurse to call the code could mean life or death. mostly, one cna runs for things as needed, and the others continue their regular job while it's going on.

i am a single mother in an rn program and i work. something about those of us that strive to be nurses: we are survivors. we do what needs to be done. my advice: accept help whenever it's offered, even if it's someone offering to take your son so you can take a day off to do nothing (including study!) you are going to need those. and, before you know it, it's over, and you got a kick ass job to provide better for your child and yourself.

i never attempted to do it online...i don't know anyone who did. i did meet some of my best friends in these classes, but in the lab portion, really. A&P 1, i had at va beach campus with dr. z and he read the powerpoints that he also posted online, so i felt like i could have just taken it online and done fine for lecture...A&P 2 i'm fixin' to take in the fall, and i have no burning desire to take it online. i took them all/taking them all at va beach because it's more convenient for me than the others, and now i know the professors and students there.

i am just glad i don't start until march so i have time to save up and purchase all these necessities like insurance, blood titers, and more books...

where do we order these from? polo shirts and a vest...that sounds just plain...interesting.

ugh, health insurance! that's okay i guess...i'm in the nurse aid class right now, so hopefully i'll have it offered through my next job. one way or another, i'll need it. tell me more about this uniform cost/where do they come from?/color? are they white? i have to wear all white scrubs for the cna class, and i feel like a giant marshmallow.

congrats! i got my letter, too! i'm in cohort 4.

thanks! just curious to see what gpa's were getting letters...i have a 3.58, i have no idea how many credits.

well, i know for micro, you either need that or a chem credit...so that might be why it was misunderstood... i went to an info session back in november and the lady gave 50 examples of what 2 sciences you could have. what was (is) you gpa if you dont mind my asking? i figure if they called you because they didn't think the letter would get to you on time, they must be getting in the mail shortly and perhaps by the end of the week i'll get a letter... no one else has posted on blackboard or here that they got accepted, yet. i am just uber excited that someone finally found out! (i didn't think you were being mean in your response, i was just trying to answer all the parts of it. if i did miss something on my application, than i will be pretty surprised. i know that at the meeting she said one reason they like it to be so difficult is to see if you can follow directions...)