guitargirl88

I just applied for a job that is a clinical evaluation area, and also a chest pain observation area. I am from Florida, and this job is in a smaller hospital in North Carolina. It seems it will be better, that the techs do more than they did for us on my floor, which was a surgical progressive care unit. I'm wondering if I will enjoy the job or not. I am going for a shadow day tomorrow so I guess I will find out :)

Paychecks can be very motivating, also the flexible schedule. :)

Detangling IV cords! That is the worst!

Does anyone else get very stressed about going to work after having so many days off? Do you like knocking out everything at once, or do you like to spread out your shifts? I love to have 7 days off, but I don't like it when I have to go back and readjust my sleep schedule. Anyone else have input?

Tell me stories about why you stay in nursing, despite all the craziness that goes on. Sometimes, it feels more like just a way to make money. Just get through the day, whatever it takes, and you will make enough money to get by. We always wish that there was something more, and sometimes there is. What keeps you going, what keeps you motivated to stay in nursing? If you were to lose your job today, what would you miss?

Hey everyone, I thought I would start a discussion about where our favorite places to work are. Do you like fast paced floors like the ER, or do you like slow, outpatient settings? Does anyone have experience in both, and have a recommendation on where I should look for a job? Or just use this as a place to discuss your favorite and least favorite floors to work on.

Hey, I just moved to Cary, NC, and I am currently searching for a job. I moved from Orlando, FL. If you want to chat about nursing, hospitals in Cary that I have been looking into, etc, let me know :) I am not sure how to private message on here so we don't have to give our info to everyone. We could meet at a coffee shop or somewhere public.

After working a crazy day the other day trying to get a patient's insurance to accept all of his medical needs (IV antibiotics without a PICC line available, wound care, Lovenox, etc..), I don't think I could ever do case management. I had to play the part of case manager because the patient was rushing us...it was no fun. I have been looking into other areas than bedside nursing, too...sometimes it can just be too much! I had a patient the other day trying to fight me all day, and she was stronger than anyone I've known! I felt like I had gotten a full body workout after managing to get the blood pressure cuff on. Bedside nursing is so unpredictable and crazy! It can be, however, very rewarding. The key to balancing is to find a place where everyone helps, and the full load of work is not placed on any one person. I wish more people could understand that. I try to help out other nurses around me whenever I am free to help.

If you can find a way to do Kaplan questions, I would do that, they really help, and learn how to critically think, that's also a big help. I did NCSBN learning extension online, you can pay about 50 dollars for access for a week or something. The questions were a lot like NCLEX. Saunders seemed way easy, but I did do a lot of Saunders questions and passed :) Good luck to you, you can do it. Don't be too nervous....think of it as just any other day, and try to get enough sleep. I was bad at that one...lol.

Guess what everyone? I passed the NCLEX, I had no idea that I could! Thank you so much for this thread it was such a help!! I just wanted to encourage everyone with a few things I found out: I didn't see my quick results (the free Florida ones) after 48 hours, so I tried the trick, and it worked...the pop-up came up, see the thread about the pearson veau trick. Then I paid for my results and got them sooner. I really thought that I had failed...I even thought that the last question was an easy one, and that I got it wrong. I had 255 questions! Don't let anything discourage you. I did it soooo fast, and thought, surely I failed. But I didn't! So if you know your stuff, you CAN do it! Don't let yourself freak out too much, God is in control either way! Good luck everyone, and I can tell you, it feels good to be done :) Now to find a job!

I just took my NCLEX today, it stopped at 255 questions...I have no idea what that means. And it seemed like all my test taking strategies were thrown out the window. But I'll let you know how I did in a couple of days. I couldn't sleep last, kept having dreams about being late, etc. But I'm done...for now :)

Antibiotics need peak and trough levels: Peak levels: 45-60 min. after med administered Trough levels: Right before you give the next dose Cephalosporins: Inhibit synthesis of bacterial cell wall. Used for tonselitis, otitis media, meningitis, etc. S&S: Bone marrow depression (anemia, thrombocytopenia), suprainfection, rash. These SHOULD be taken with food (to help decrease GI upset). Don't give if patient allergic to penicillin. Culture and sensitivity done to make sure medication is effective. Can cause false positives for proteinuria and glycosuria. Learn the classes of drugs, just the basics and a few under that classification-it will work more than learning every single drug because you'll never remember them all :)

Oh, I meant pregnancy category D for Dilantin (it makes sense right, D for D?)

my exam is tomorrow! i hear that you're not supposed to study the day before the test, but i'm getting on here because i need to do something ? a few facts i picked up yesterday: most antibiotic medications could cause ototoxicity and liver and kidney problems- so you need to check the ears, and liver and kidney function tests. always acknowledge the feelings of both people in a situation- for example, "your father's illness must be hard on both of you," or "you and your wife are going through a hard time right now." don't just say "your wife is going through a hard time, you need to understand that." a nurse should be a patient advocate- this allows trying to be flexible with visiting rules, including hours and age limits. dilantin is in pregnancy risk category b- this means it is extremely dangerous to the fetus! a decrease in the level of consciousness is usually priority, and the answer. any neurological problems could interfere with the patient's ability to breath as well (airway, breathing). decreased loc can also indicate intracranial bleeding, etc. haldol can cause orthostatic hypotension-rise slowly when standing here are some antipsychotic drugs that i memorized in school: thorazine, compazine, mellaril, haldol, clozaril...and i forget the rest lol. remeber that with clozaril (i think it's the name), you have to watch for agranulocytosis (dangerously low white blood cells). compazine, i believe, can be used as an anti-nausea medication. haldol is good for calming combative patients down-sometimes giving haldol is the first choice if a patient is out of control. happy studying! and, i believe that a key to doing well on the nclex is not being nervous. so i've decided to tell myself that it's no big deal. i have enough money to re-test, no one is expecting me to pass (i can't find a job yet anyway), etc. putting no pressure on myself is helping me to be less nervous, which will hopefully allow me to perform my best (i know i do need a certain level of positive stress, don't worry, i have that :)) study tips: kaplan is really great, the questions are like 3 times harder than saunders, even though kaplan is expensive, maybe you can buy their book or something. their decision tree works well too! try to do 3000 upper level questions, using critical thinking and decision making (involving choosing assessment or implementation, maslow's, abc's, and thinking about the outcome of the question). tell yourself you can do it! get plenty of exercise, keep the blood flowing to your brain throughout the day and week. bring snacks with you the day of the test. drive to the testing center before the day of, so you're not stressed about finding it. if you're getting about 55 or higher on kaplan tests, don't stress, because i know plenty of people who got this score and passed nclex. you only need to be above the passing standard, which is 50%. take your time on the test-the more time you take, the more you get right, and you'll probably end up with only 75 questions. just don't take too much time because you might also not get many of them right

[color=lime]more tv commercial meds: rozerem: sleep aid. don't use if you have liver problems, don't use alcohol. s&s: drowsiness, fatigue, dizziness. nexium: for acid reflux. s&s: headache, diarrhea. zyrtec: allergies advair (solbuterol): long acting for asthma relief (decreases inflammation) viagra and levitra: for e.d., don't use with other nitrates because it could cause extreme vasodilation and hypotension. s&s: headache, flushing, abnormal vision or hearing, stuffy nose. other facts: -many answers will be, don't use this drug, etc, if you have glaucoma. -glaucoma s&s: having to turn head to the side (decreased peripheral vision). -retinal detachment s&s: flashing lights and "floaters". -go to the ncsbn website for a comprehensive list of everything you need to know for nclex, including what lab values they want you to know. :redpinkhe