chronicTX

nursing=stress. why do you think they teach us body mechanics, stress management, and all those nursing ethics but for our own survival? :deadhorse

ABSOLUTELY! :offtopic:

ABSOLUTELY! :offtopic:

" when the going gets tough, the tough gets going"... always remember that. Like you, I criticize myself too much whenever I make mistakes. It's a never ending struggle to make nurses perfect. One thing though, do not repeat a mistake. that's when we really learn. The worst thing about making a mistake is not recognizing it. But you did recognize your own. Way to go girl! You're normal... just like the rest of us! Enjoy working and learning!

It made me value my existence even more... A dying client of mine says " man can predict the day a new life can be born, but no one could ever predict a man's day of death"... I'm still young, I haven't reached the Integrity vs Despair stage of my life and I am afraid to die. But Death is imminent. All I can do today is to make my life worth living.

It's a good thing that you joined allnurses. This is your breathing room now! (so I may say!) With regards to your problem, please don't lose hope. Like they said it's not all bad. Remember, you have the same education and training like the rest of us. True, theyr'e all friends because they have been there together longer. Newcomers almost always feel an outcast. Sure, someone will have to agree with me... Struggling to blend in with the group and adjusting to a new line of duty are all stressful alright! But for a certain time until you get along with both. Don't fret! you'll get by! Goodluck!

:kiss exactly! thanks for the vote of confidence...

Yeah, I think so. Good for you because you're from Canada. It's different for us here. It may be possible, but rare. If they would petition an employee by direct hiring, processing might be a lot easier. They would go through all the trouble (an agency would easily do for them) which I know, the reason why they choose to use agencies on their behalf. Besides, I don't think they would'nt do that for just a single or few nurses. I myself was under a "direct hiring" process. Just so everyone knows, my employer is the one shouldering all my expenses. Once I arrive in the US, the agency that processed my papers lose their control over me.:)

hi neriners, i had the same problems as you do. i also took and passed the cgfns july 2003, passed the toefl on october 2003, waiting for my tse result i took last june 4, and waiting for my att for nclex. it's gruesome, isn't it? i don't have much experience either. i worked as an ophtha nurse and an or nurse for barely a year each. i think experience may not be needed but it helps a lot especially when your nursing skills are well-developed. not only you can gain confidence, but aid you in answering nursing exams ( at least for me). right now, there's no such thing as "direct hire". i have relatives in tx who dutifully searches institutions to hire me but they always come up with just one conclusion. they do not hire directly. they make employments available thru agencies. but beware. :uhoh21: your agency sounds like they're offering you no more choices. there's no such thing as "faster". if your agency is well-funded by your employer, then the faster you'll be able to process your documents. but there is in no way your documents will be fast-tracked once it gets to immigration and the like. waiting time is just like sitting in prison. :angryfire just be sure to follow-up with the person processing your documents. kulitin mo ng kulitin, til' you get your desired response. hope this helps... have patience sis, we'l be there soon... goodluck to us both!!! :roll

why not? i am a foreign nurse ( soon to work in a dialysis center somewhere in tx), and it's a great opportunity for us to be recognized as globally competitive nurses. please don't look at us like we're stealing somebody else's careers. it's sad that your own nurses give up their jobs due to "unfavorable working conditions". then what do you think it will make us feel? :chair: it's scary, but we are offered jobs to fill in with the gaps. it's more sad for us because the best nurses from our country are the ones who gets recruited and the process is gruesome. our healthcare delivery system is greatly compromised. even our doctors leave their jobs here to study as nurses just to work there. it may be pathetic, but it's happening....

If most of the items you encountered are difficult, chances are you'll gonna pass. Difficult nclex questions are noted to be a progressing line on your graph. That means the computer is throwing you a more difficult question after you adequately answered a hard question.:roll

Please don't quit! Being fired twice in a row won't make you less of an efficient nurse. You would'nt be a nurse right now if nothing from it interests you, am I correct? Try to figure out what you can do best as a nurse and start from it. Do'nt be afraid to try new things and discover what is in store for you. Just like the others have said, Nursing is a versatile job. There's one nursing job out there for you...

:angryfire It's sacrilege!:angryfire

hey freeflo, just like you, I'm a foreign nurse wanting to work not in Australia but in the US. We can choose either IELTS or TSE for the required english language test. I haven't taken any of it yet, but to prepare myself with these exams, I speak english at home, at the review center,or to anywhere that i would please to speak it. I don't care if I sounded funny:chuckle , but my goal is to take the exam just one time and pass it. My mentor once said, "THE BEST WAY TO PASS AN ENGLISH LANGUAGE EXAM (WHETHER ITS TSE OR IELTS) IS TO SPEAK THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE FOR AT LEAST 2 STRAIGHT MONTHS PRIOR TO THE TEST DATE." Hope this helps. Goodluck to us both!

It's med-surg dear. I just don't have enough of what I learned in college. I'm already preparing for nclex and still, MS Nursing is on top of my priorities. I think it has the most extensive scope. Contrary to those who said pharmacology is the hardest one, I would like to share with you that I felt the same way.But hear this one: Recently, I have developed an study aid for pharma alone. Categorized drugs according to classification, their most common side effects and adverse reactions, and the appropriate nursing care. Take note of the specific reactions unique with each drug, then it would be easy to study them. Also you have to memorize the sympathetic and the parasympathetic responses. It will help you determine if a certain group of drugs has its effects and you'll know right away what drugs are used to counteract its action. It may sound difficult but there's no harm if you try. It worked for me, hope it works for you too. Goodluck in your studies!!!

hi caroladybelle, Thank you for this information. I understand that these problems has made us foreign medical proffesionals a little bit pushy. We know we are capable of our responsibilities and being able to communicate well in english as our secondary language, is the one that we have to deal with and learn through time. However, it's sad that we are less preffered to render our care because of our race and not much better with a language barrier, but I know there are a lot of ways we can be better appreciated.

hello heart queen, TRUE! Thanks for making me understand. I don't feel threatened anymore because I'm very much willing to learn. I had an english instructor for this test (who's from Alabama) who said that himself. I'm glad it's not just us. I just felt sorry that we have to spend a lot of money taking this test repeatedly til' we pass. The bottom line is that, how will we communicate effectively when we get there...:wink2:

Hello everyone, I just don't get it! The TSE (Test for Spoken English) and/or IELTS is required for foreign nurses and other professionals who wish to work in the US. Okay, I understand that for us nurses, one of our invaluable tools in dealing with our clients is our good communication skills. TSE and IELTS are a form of regulation to ensure that foreign professional nurses will be able to deliver services adequately and accurately. That's fairly acceptable... Make no mistake, I'm in favor of these regulations. However, I do not understand why is it so hard to pass? We've passed our CGFNS and NCLEX exams. We've passed the TOEFL. Most of us took these exams only once and passed. But the TSE/IELTS is the one that we prepare for the most. Ridiculous isn't it? you know why? It's the most difficult to pass! Alright, I've never tried it before but I have to. I need it for my visascreen. The information I'm getting from it is non-reassuring. You wouldn't believe- most of the nurses I know from my country have at least taken the TST/IELTS at least 4-5 times before they passed it. I'm trying to make an appeal especially to US nurses. Have you ever had difficulties in communicating with foreign nurses who earned their US-RN status? We may not speak fluently because we are born with our native tongue and english may be our 2nd language. Are the raters expecting us to speak like the native-born Americans? Common, we can speak english. We may have a funny tone /diction but we understand english fairly well. Being such doesn't make us less of an efficient nurse because we had the same education and has passed the same exams. How could that be difficult for us? I'm taking TSE this June 2004. Will I make it ?

Thanks for the concern. I'm learning so much from the replies on this website. I sure won't forget what you shared today!

Hardly. I work in the operating room for an 8-hour shift and the length of time a major or a minor surgery is completed are unpredictable. Most of the time, I get off about an hour or two beyond my time. It's not even about extra pay. We just get 30% plus by the hour and as soon as we get our pay slip, taxes has them ripped off already. I think it's about fulfilling your duty and telling yourself at the end of the day, "I have served well today"...

Hey suzanne, learning has never been this fun! Thanks so much for the tips... Hope to hear more from you soon...

Helps a lot steel, I really appreciate it!:)

this post is just for your view on this issue, and i am a neutral. i have been a smoker for several years, and i will be graduating from nursing school in the spring. many people including my instructors have been so negative towards my smoking, i just want to know what to expect when i get into the work place. are nurses ok with this? i know that its bad for me, and i know i should quit, but thats easier said then done. any suggestions??? you're not alone. ive been on the same boat. it was disgusting really, and i felt compelled to stop it. common, we give health teachings and all. "smoking blah! blah! blah! can cause blah! blah! blah!"... it's like a slap on my face!!! man, don't get offended. it's serious, and as health advocates, we should be the first to set it straight. i quitted after 2pack years... now i got my self steem back. i did it, you can too...:)

Dear users: I understand that PRIORITIZATION MEASURES are imperative in our practice. Much more, it is often asked in examinations. I'm about to take the NCLEX by July of 2004 and I'm really in urgent need of some information about this. Please share! I've heard that there are books about it but can't find one. Do you know any website who offers these infos? (books or online education) Any reply is highly appreciated!:)