<3_RN

I work in ICU. We were told this was our surge plan also. In our unit the PCU nurse will have an ICU nurse who will also receive report on the PCU nurse‘s patients and overseeing those patients also. I’m going to assume leadership will attempt to give most “stable“ patients to the PCU RNs. But we all know how that goes. So the ICU RNs will be responsible for four covid ICU patients.

I know you have been thanked by others already, but I wanted to thank you also. I have a brain sheet I created, which is tailored to our ICU routine and requirements w/times due for different assessments, i/o's etc; however, you detailing how you organize and balance your time between the two patients helped me to tweak it. Thanks for sharing your insight.

It was def relayed and confirmed as K+ which added to the confusion. Thanks for the responses. I'll know next time, always a larking experience.

Hi, I'm a fairly new nurse on a telemetry floor. I am not sure at the reasoning for some medications administered to a newly admitted pt. The pt was ad,tired from ER for palpitations, sob, nausea, C/P. Hx: afib, HTN, no hx of DM. Labs: K+ 5.4, no other abnormal labs Meds given in ED: "Hyperkalemia cocktail" Potassium chloride Insulin 10units Amp. D50 It was end of shift and my CN was already gone and the RN I asked for clarification with had no idea at the seeming counter productive med treatment. I go back tomorrow but was hoping someone could give me some clues. I'm not sure what I'm missing and of courses I feel like an idiot not beginning to see the sense of this. Thanks for your time. Kim

You will be nervous and she's done this before you so she knows your nervous too. It's ok. Take a deep breath and remember that old saying the only dumb question is the one you didn't ask. They know you don't know allot. You can apply theory but this is reality and they are there to guide you and teach you. They should be there to stop you from drowning, but they need to know by you telling them sometimes that you are over your head. It you are feeling like you are overwhelmed, stop and take a breath and think of what's your priority at this moment. It's easy to take off running but stop yourself and think what else will I need to do this task or deliver this med or perform this procedure. As far as report, I found a good brain sheet for inspiration and then created my own. I found I kept forgetting to note time pts went off floor and came back and had to waste time finding information from other reports. I added that to my brain sheet. I organized mine by assessment head to toe. Top of it is allergies and diagnosis. I put the report I receive at change of shift on the form printed on our patients. ie BBS the other RN hears, I put what I assess on my brain sheet. Everything on their is my assessment. I can read off that in order at report and it's a very logical, complete COS report. My labs are listed on there, test/procedures done and what is ordered still for the pt in the future, it's my todo list too with a check off. I list my orders on there and check them off. That makes chart checks easier. That one brain sheet has fluids, vs, iv site, etc. That was one of the best things I did. Watch other nurses and see how they organize and manage to get everything done. They will all do things slightly different. Your preceptor's technique or style might not be yours. It's ok to ask other nurses what works for them. They have the experience I've found even the "most standoffish" are willing to impart knowledge if you ask and explain why you are asking. Remember everyone has been where you are. It's scary and overwhelming but it gets better. Good luck.

Awesome! Thank you!

Silverdragon102, I appreciate your quick response but now I'm confused again. Is this correct: I will graduate NY accredited school in May, I can then apply to NC BON and then arrange to take NCLEX? Sorry for my confusion. Kim

To my knowledge, NY is not apart of the compact. I just needed to clarify as I wasn't sure if I had to take NCLEX in same state I graduated from. Thanks for your comment and so quickly Kat_SN.

Hello, I will be graduating from a NY school in May. I can't seem to find answer to this. Do I have to take NCLEX in NY or can I have my school info sent to NC for NCLEX? We will be moving to NC very shortly after I graduate and in fact already own a home there and I want to work in NC. Thanks, Kim

Without the entire question and the other 2 possible answers it really isn't possible to fully answer the question of how the question applies to nursing and whether it is a fair question. What is missing might have been important to the answer. Also, cultural, religious, and any other alternative treatment beliefs is very pertinent to answering these questions and how we are taught and expected to interact and care for our patients. The system at our school is based on points which is not the same as percentages. So losing your seat by a point is not as small a margin as it sounds. I don't know if you are referring to percent or points but there is a difference. I'm sorry for your friend I can only imagine how sad and frustrated she is about this. I hope if she chooses to pursue this it works out in her favor and a second chance results in better outcome.

Hi, I was following a diet that called for a recipe called vegetable quiche. I'm never a breakfast eater but I followed the diet and these were easy to whip together in a big batch and then freeze. They are eggs, (egg substitute), vegetables chopped (in this case some froz/or fresh spinach) and a little shred cheese (low fat). I'd pop two of those in the microwave to defrost/heat and have w/a glass of tomato or v8 juice and I have to say they really did stay w/me...It can get old after a while if this is all you ate of course, but w/some other suggestions it might work. According to the theory, you don't get the fruit/sugar boost and drop w/this meal. I'm whipping these up tomorrow to last me a couple weeks. I start NS Monday, but I've been up that early for years for my job. Kim

96 and yes. Good luck

Misty I hear you. You have to be very proactive and on top of everything and ask very specifically worded questions of the right department...it can be frustrating. Due to misunderstanding regarding entrance test I was delayed a semester and had to reapply. All I can say is stay on top of everything, transcripts, entrance test, transfer credits. Call and ask questions, get peoples names, don't be afraid to ask which department is responsible for different procedure, write down date/time that you spoke/met with people so that when someone asked when you did this or were told that you have the answer. You don't have to say "so and so said" you can just say well on "such a date" I spoke with someone in "this/that" office and was told "this" or to do "that" or "it" was completed/or not. It can help to have more specific information for getting to the bottom of things. In my case, to make sure things were done I drove in multiple times to talk to the people in person. Be polite, smile and remember that they are doing their job for thousands of students and in not the most optimal conditions. They aren't out to get us. Things fall through the cracks all the time. For my piece of mind though, going in and seeing with my eyes that something was done/entered or received into a person's hand (whose name I'd jot down) was reassuring to me. Besides at different times of the year they don't answer the phone in different departments anyway because of the influx of students. Seeing what was going on when I was talking w/them about something helped give me more information and allowed me to ask more/different questions to ensure what needed to be accomplished -- was. I take it as practice for being thorough and better thinking to ask the right questions in the future when I'm an RN. Good luck to you, I hope you haven't given up if you really want this. Kim

scottmack, i'm starting the evening rn program at ecc north this month. i don't know the program first hand of course, but i have heard from a couple different rns how much they either liked the program themselves or how good it was working with graduates from there. my neighbor's daughter just graduated from there and passed nclex and has a job she'll start soon at ecmc. her mother is an rn and she likes the program at ecc and feels it was a good one. good luck w/your pre-reqs and in your future goals. kim

Well, one of my biggest fears is navigating the cattiness of NS. I'm older so I don't think I'll have to deal with the hottest/skinniest mine field. I doubt anyone would think/consider me that way. I manage to do it in my job now that is heavily female so I hope I can transfer that to NS. Although I've taken one nursing math preparatory class (at my NS) and I didn't much care for the women in that class at all...it was my first glimpse of what's to come potentially. I've liked the women in my pre-req classes well enough or been able to avoid the ones who seem drama magnets...but then you just come off as rude or something...face it you can't win with us women. So if so many of us are dreading THEM...who's them? Advice to the original poster, you'll never really figure out all women or learn how to navigate them completely successfully. Keep your opinions good/bad to yourself if at all possible, be polite, nice, but not overly friendly. Keep separate your real life from you NS life if at all possible. Neutral comments that don't commit you in any way to any specific opinion, unless you feel strongly about the topic and would be unfaithful to who you are as a person if you don't speak up. Don't try to reason w/us, figure us out, or ever think that even the best of us really think anything like men...we don't... :) Smile, be kind, listen if someone needs an ear...one thing I've noticed is that many, many people who are nasty, negative, catty really only want to be heard anyway - they aren't interested in what you have to say unless it is what they have to say. -- No I don't have NS experience, but I have real life experience. We'll make it! Good luck to everyone. Kim

Hi, I start the evening Associates RN program end of August. We had to have already taken our second level A&P II to be accepted, which is not a pre-req for the day program. Although we were accepted into the evening program if slots are available during the day program for a class we can take it during the day. I'm taking my assessment class at noon just because I could and it was one less night out of the house and away from family. However, our evening lecture class is at 5 pm, our lab is at 4 pm on the same days. Our Clinicals are all evenings (4-11) p.m. and we cannot go to the day clinical even if a spot frees up. The length of time at our school to earn the degree is the same as the day program, 2 years. I believe I will find that I'll want to take all my classes in the evening next semester because those are the students I'll be learning/working with in clinicals. We'll see, I'm guessing that though.

Everything is important to a degree, but what I found was understand the process and how things are related and interact and affect/effect each other. Hormones, factors, chemistry, cell biology and the parts and their function will help you understand in more advanced A&P levels the effect/affect on the body. I was really glad I did as well as I did in each of my earlier science classes because it ended up making concepts easier to grasp and understand each subsequent class. IE: ions (Na+, Cl-) in chemistry is really important to understanding action potentials, and of course understanding how that might be out of balance in a patient will help you understand what care is needed and what to watch for...but that's later. I hope that makes sense. Really understanding from the basics and applying it is the best advice I can offer. Good luck to you.

I was just accepted into the ECC evening RN curriculum for Fall 2010. My GPA is 3.8 as of acceptance. It was my second application, my first was turned down do to confusion over their entrance test...miscommunication so I didn't meet their pre-req's. Their 2009 NCLEX pass rating according to NYS Office of the Professions - State Education Department is 97% for the North Campus which is where I'll be attending. I too am an adult returning to college. I took the previous 2 years and did my pre-reqs at GCC & ECC. I'd rather have jumped in and gotten it done in less time but circumstances didn't allow. I heard, 2nd hand, that the original applications received which included high school students w/o pre-reqs were about 1,000. I don't know how exaggerated that number is. I remember at the time thinking, "well you would know." when this person told me but I can't be sure who or how that conversation happened and don't want to speculate and further distort it. I was also told GCC had 'hundreds' of applicants. I don't know if that included those w/o proper pre-reqs which of course would just be eliminated right off. I can tell you at GCC they go back over ever grade in college you've ever had. So if you are like me and 30 years ago didn't do well...they factor that into your GPA. Doesn't matter if you are a 4.0 now...they may not count your credits anymore but they'll count it against you. Having said that I'm really sorry for that policy because I started taking my pre-reqs there and liked the school. Good luck. Hope this helps. Kim

Frustrating isn't it. Rules from one school to another. I've had a harder algebra (the A grade) and I've had chemistry and both involved conversions and math but I still have to take a dinky one credit math that is basically converting...I'm getting it out of the way in a 6 week summer course..but give me a break. Hopefully it won't be as boring as it was last night, every week. Good for you getting all registered...I'm so excited I can't stand it...Good luck

Just wanted to add my .02 cents...I'm 45, I went back to school at 43, any math I had was a very long time ago and even then I hated it and did as little as possible. I took a into to algebra course and scored a 99 for my final grade. If you are committed to do the work and use the resources available and don't have an inherent disability you can succeed. Believe me when I say if I can most anyone can...LOL I just was accepted into the Fall 2010 semester RN program and the "remedial" math didn't hold that up either. Good luck and best wishes... Kim

]Congratulations!! Isn't it the best feeling...

I'm 45 and just accepted into the Fall 2010 program at our CC. I did my pre-reqs over the last 2 years and took remedial math (practically) in my first semester back to college. I've managed all Mostly A's a couple B's and am darn satisfied with that. I think it is an advantage to go back to or to school at our age. We know it will be hard but we've done hard. My kids are grown and my youngest being out w/friends so much triggered the time for me. I have a very supportive husband and now my two girls think this is the thing for them too. In fact my SD is in my starting class. We'll graduate together... Go for it!