mollyj91

I recently started a job earlier this year on an acute women's treatment unit in a county mental health facility. The facility houses the county's most and severely mentally ill. 95% of the patients have a history or current behavior checks for attacking other patients or staff. It is my first nursing job, and the first time I stepped onto my unit, I had no idea what I got myself into. I never thought I would ever work in a mental health setting, let alone THIS facility. I am FT as well, and I have learned that being FT is very beneficial. It provides stability to the patients (at least at my facility, each FT nurse has a permanent designated "mod" of patients). The most important thing is to build a relationship with the patients and get to know them and their triggers. I have been threatened to have my "head blown off", I have had dinner plates thrown at me, and someone jump over the nurses station desk at me. It may take a few days (or a week) of restraints and IM's, but eventually there is a light at the end of the tunnel and the patients somewhat come around once they begin their medication regimen (if they don't cheek meds). Redirection is key. If you have a trusting relationship with a patient who is threatening and hostile, take them away from what is triggering them and try to sit down with them and encourage them that behavior like this will not get them discharged any sooner and try to do deep breathing or something to re-direct them. Sometimes it doesn't work and sometimes it does. You will eventually know which patients are easily re-directable and which ones to have the PRN's ready. Do NOT show that you are scared. They can sense if you are scared of them and will use it to their advantage and manipulate you. I am by no means experienced at all, but I have learned so much since I started working where I work and I can honestly say I love working with the patient population that I work with. One piece of advice a mentor had given me: "Never let a patient get in the way of you and your escape route and always be the last when going into a room with a patient". It is all a learning experience and it is not for everyone. Best of luck to you!

I am currently in nursing school now, and only have one semester left. I can tell you that you will become married to your notecards. Also, you won't have a life in nursing school. Just study study study- and not just memorizing stuff either, really understand the patho behind things and it makes things A LOT easier. I study every chance I get and plan ahead, and I have been successful in ALL my classes so far. I don't know if your school uses ATI at all, but the books that you get each semester really help with certain areas since they condense the material and make it easier to understand. Nursing school is kind of like an investment, because you invest so much time, sleepless nights, anxiety attacks (at least for me), and tears. Best of luck to you!

One of my friends who goes to a different nursing school than I do got kicked out of her nursing program for having kidney disease....

I know how you feel. At the nursing school I attend, you need at least an 85% average on all the exams before the homework is added in and if you get below an 85% you have the retake the class. Also, you can only take ONE class that includes a clinical out of the whole program. I just got done with finals and am going into my third semester or nursing and my Health Promotion class was almost the death of me. Before the cumulative final I had an 86% and was above the class average and was totally freaking out about the final because I know A LOT of people who had to retake it and I'd really hate to retake it and the whole clinical along with it and not have a chance to retake a more difficult clinical course. I knew I knew the material but my instructor seems to put senseless questions on the exam that she never talked about. I always rewrite all my notes and making diagrams has turned out to help me A LOT. Not sure if this will work for you, but many people in my class have tried this and they all passed. I wish you the best of luck!

I had the exact same issue in my first two clinical rotations and in my CNA clinicals at the VERY beginning. Keep in mind, for my CNA clinical, I had the hardest patient on the floor, and I was SO nervous. I constantly asked questions to the nurse and she turned at me and answered my question and then said " There, you've used up your questions for the day". She was joking, but I realized I asked a lot of questions. For my first nursing clinicals, I talked to my professor in her office after our lecture because I thought I was being annoying to the nurses when we would be at the clinical setting. She told me not to worry about it and that it is excellent that I ask so many questions because if you do something wrong, you're kind of screwed. I also talked to one of the nurses when we had our lunch break, and she said she worries about the students who DON'T ask questions, in fear of they think they know what they are doing... but they don't. Asking questions shows that you are willing to learn! Good luck with your clinicals!!

I've had the same issue. I've had anxiety from my freshmen year in high school, and my junior year I went to my doctor and he prescribed me an anti-anxiety medication. It helped A LOT! Once I started nursing though, The first exams in three of my classes I failed, despite me studying like it was for my life. I discontinued my anxiety medication and my OCD rituals became overwhelming and I felt like giving up because I thought I was stupid. Finally, I went to my doctor and talked to him about it and he had diagnosed me with A.D.D and put me on medication. And let me tell you, I have absolutely NO anxiety going into an exam anymore (though I have general anxiety about every little thing imaginable). My professors thought I was one of those students who just rush through exams because I was always the first one to finish, well, I got A's on EVERY exam. My advice is to see your doctor and maybe get on some anxiety medication because it honestly helps with the general anxiety. My cure to test/school anxiety was being diagnosed with A.D.D because my problem was that I couldn't focus even if my life depended on it and then I would get frustrated, and my anxiety would sky rocket because I thought I was going to fail and I'd be a wreck. And never let someone tell you you can't be a nurse, or it just wasn't meant to be. Someone told me that when I was still in high school, and I proved them wrong because I've made it to the dean's list and am just two more semesters of becoming an RN.

I have a nose ring, and for my CNA clinicals, no piercings or tattoos were allowed. I cut a small square of the adhesive part of a bandage and stuck it on my nose so it covered my stud. It was probably the best idea I have ever cooked up in my head. For my clinical rotations for nursing, we don't have to cover up nose piercings(only if it's a small stud or clear), only lip, tongue, and eye brow.

At the university I attend for nursing (in Wisconsin), it is required that you have your CNA license BEFORE you begin classes. I had to take a class on the weekends at a different facility (not affiliated with my school). As with what everyone else had said, being enrolled in a nursing program doesn't automatically give you your CNA license considering it's a much different scope of practice. I must add, taking my CNA course helped me a lot in my introduction to nursing, physical assessment, and health promotion & maintenance classes because I learned abbreviations that were used in those classes.

And, some a&p books come with a year subscription to a website with diagram labeling, quizzes, and games. My lab book came with a CD that was called Practice Anatomy Lab (PAL) and they had lab practical-like tests for each system such as bones and muscles. The best part of it was that you can choose a human cadaver or a cat so it was more like a lab practical you'd have in class!

Best advice would be to prepare yourself for studying. I'm a nursing student, and I basically worshiped my a&p book. I spent at least 4 hours ALONE on a&p homework a night. I got an A because all I did was go to class, go back to my dorm, and study until I went to sleep. I made it a PRIORITY. Also, don't wait until the last few days to study! A lot of people in my class last semester failed the class because either 1- they didn't study, or 2- they studied the night before. Once my professor posted the review sheet online (and the exam was at least 2 weeks away, I was probably the first person to print it off. I would look at each topic, and re-write my notes (if my professor already covered it in lecture) to make them into my own review guide, and cross it off the list. If my professor didn't go over the topic in lecture yet, I would wait and re-write the notes I took the same day and include them into my own review sheet. THEN, after all the topics were covered, I would then go back and make note cards of EVERY vocabulary word. I would then wait until a week and a half to a week until the exam, and start going over my note cards, sometimes even re-writing my whole review sheet I had made, just so it is fresh in my memory. It helped me A LOT!

Be prepared to STUDY!! I am a nursing student as well, and during the semester, I spent AT LEAST 4 hours of homework/studying EVERY night... Sometimes up to 8 hours when I would re-write my notes and make note cards (maybe won't be as much for you, it's just the way I study). You can't just "wing" exams either, unless you are very book smart and only have to read something once to retain it, unlike me because I have A.D.D. The studying really reflects on your grades and professors can tell if you actually know what their talking about (atleast in my a&p lab). Also, buy LOTS of notebooks. I went through 2 notebooks JUST in my a&p class.

I'm a nursing student and I just did my mother and baby clinical rotation in the spring and I absolutely LOVED it and my goal in life ever since I was about 15 was to have the reward of bringing in new life as a l&d nurse. I know you need your BSN to specialize in a particular area, but I was just curious as to how you go about doing so after you get your BSN? Thanks!