regrebs

Thank you for all of your input. You're all right in that being a part-timer will prolong my inexperience. I've applied for more full-time jobs and hope something comes through. :) After all, from what it seems like, many of the nursing jobs in my area have been bumped down to 36 hours/week.

Thank you for moving my post! Didn't mean to post it under Nursing News.... Oops

I've been looking for part-time work because I'm furthering my degree (have an ADN, just got into an RN-BSN program) and want to focus on school while I'm young and can get away with not needing a full-time job to make a living. I've applied for some part-time jobs and either haven't heard back yet or have been rejected. I've also applied for some PRN positions, and my question is: are PRN jobs mostly for experienced nurses? I heard that once before, that new/unexperienced nurses generally aren't what recruiters are looking for when they post a PRN position, and I wanted to ask you nurses and get your thoughts. Thanks. :)

The renewal slip was, in fact, enough to get in. I wasn't even questioned about having a "real" license. I told the woman there that my new license hadn't come in the mail yet, handed over the renewal slip, and was allowed into the exam room. I apologize to the poster above you who didn't get an answer when they needed it! I'm so sorry for not noticing a late response to this thread. Best of luck on your NCLEX! You got this!

Our weren't too bad. Sky blue tops and bottoms, any brand, with white shoes and socks. The other nursing school in our area had to wear all white. Poor guys!

Very helpful list! Definitely saving this to my bookmarks.

I can't even begin to tell you how much being a Spanish speaker would help you in the workplace. The more languages you know, the better! I live in an area heavily populated by Spanish speakers and, being just an English speaker, always found it extremely difficult to survive a day in the hospital when I cared for a "Spanish only" patient. Being multilingual is a very attractive quality; language barriers are the worst.

If you're able to take a medical terminology class, then I'd highly suggest it. Med term was a required course when I was a freshman in high school, and I can't begin to tell you how much it helped me throughout high school and nursing school. I saw some classmates in nursing school struggling at the beginning in terms of medical terminology and helped as much as I could. If there's anybody in your class who seems to really get a grip on terminology, then I'd ask how they studied.

I went for an ADN because my college was more convenient than going to the university providing a BSN, and while I was worried at the beginning, I decided to get into an RN-BSN program right after graduating, then go for my MSN. I'm working on my BSN right now and feel like I've made a good decision, even though this route is longer than it would've been if I'd gone for my bachelor's to start with. The more education, the better, right?

Took a deep breath and smiled.... :)

i think this is very insightful. there were some skills that i was insecure about at the beginning of my preceptorship, but i made it clear to my preceptor that what i lacked in experience, i'd make up for with my willingness to try. there are skills that you should have down pat and some that you need to work on, and your preceptorship should be about sharpening your skills while gaining experience dealing with coworkers, patients, and families.

Congratulations on your new little bundle of joy. :) Like EMcGrady said, I would ask the hospital about flower delivery. A thank-you note and little gift of appreciation go a long way!

Congratulations on almost being finished with your preceptorship! For a while there, I didn't think I'd make it through mine, but I certainly did and have my RN license now. If I can do it, then anyone can. :) On to your main concern, I'd personally find it unlikely that your preceptor would have reason to fail you if you haven't done anything wrong and he sees that you've tried your hardest and have made visible improvements since your first few days. As far as wanting to discuss your performance with him, I'd suggest that you bring it up for a few minutes during your lunch break (if you take it together, that is; my preceptor and I split our breaks so one of us had our eyes on our patients) or during any downtime when he doesn't appear stressed. I'd ask if he's seen an improvement in your skills, patient/family interaction, and the like or ask for a quick evaluation of your total performance. During your last two shifts, just work hard and efficiently and apply the strength that's gotten you through nursing school. :) You'll be just fine. Good luck with everything!

Fair enough. Thank you!

Hello, nurses! I am leaving tomorrow to take my NCLEX on Tuesday and am worried that I won't be allowed through the doors. My TX driver's license expired, so I renewed it a few weeks ago. It has yet to arrive. I don't have a state ID or an unexpired passport. I have the temporary license given to me when I renewed my license, but according to the ATT, temporary licenses are unacceptable. I did some Googling and found the 2010 NCLEX Examination Candidate Bulletin which lists "U.S. drivers license (if expired, a renewal slip must be presented in order to be admitted) (Department of Motor Vehicle-Issued)" as an acceptable form of identification. I'm assuming that this "renewal slip" is what I was given when I got my license renewed. Is that correct? I don't want to drive up only to be turned away and forced to repay and reschedule! I will be bringing the Bulletin information that I cited in case they don't want to let me in. Any thoughts? I'm not even nervous about my exam, just about being allowed to take it! Thanks in advance.

I just finished nursing school and will be taking the NCLEX soon. Some of my classmates have already been hired on varying units, but I've known from the beginning that staff nursing isn't really for me. I've thought about research, oncology, infectious diseases, genetics, and other specialties, but I don't necessarily want to work on an oncology floor, and so on. I did well during clinicals and preceptorship, and I love this field to death, but my heart just isn't in the hospital-unit setting. I will be continuing my education and have been considering school nursing as my job for the time being. My mom, a nurse for 30-some years now, worked as a school nurse for the last couple of years, and I helped out every so often when I had time or when she was out of town. She knows how I feel about staff nursing, and we both think I'd enjoy the school setting and should apply at the local district. My main concern now is that, when I further my degree and want to work somewhere else, I won't be taken seriously without hospital experience. What do you experienced nurses think? Do you need to work in a hospital to be considered a "real" nurse? (My mom says no, but I don't know if she's saying that as a nurse or as my mom!)

If these projects are something like PowerPoints, then much of the work can be done over e-mail. However, if you really need to meet as a group, then try to meet after class. If you need to meet outside of class, ask if you could meet halfway because you live so far away from campus. If some people refuse to try, then that's their own fault, and there's not much you can do about it. I would meet with as many members as I could and tell the others, "We're meeting at this place to work on the project, and I hope you can make it too. October is coming up, and I want to be sure we're keeping up with both projects." It might be a good idea to express your concerns to them or to your instructor (not stating names so nobody in particular gets in trouble). Good luck!

Thanks, Nursesomeday. I'll see if any of the other nurses will let my shadow them.

I'm currently doing my preceptorship at one of the least reputable hospitals in my area. My peers and I have never had good clinical experiences in this hospital. Most of the nurses are not helpful, friendly, patient, or willing to teach. My preceptor is one of those. He is nice to me, which I am thankful for, but the other students on my floor talk about how negative he is and how sorry they are for me. For the first few days, I wasn't allowed to do much besides vitals and observation. However, my preceptor "kindly" asked me not to shadow him while giving meds because I was "slowing him down." (What a blow to my self-confidence! And how will I know what to do on my own if he won't let me observe? I feel like I'm wasting his time and bothering him.) I've slowly progressed to doing assessments, routine meds, some wound care, and the occasional IV med. I've told him that I would like more experience, and he keeps saying that he'll let me do this and that, but he ends up sitting me at the computer to chart, disappearing, reappearing after varying lengths of time saying, "I took care of our meds. You're doing great. I'm going to take a little break," and disappearing again. The last few hours of our shift mostly consist of him charting and me helping the CNA's, talking to my patients, or studying for the NCLEX. I have seven more shifts to get through, and at this point I feel like I'm running on empty. On top of that, I quickly realized that staff nursing isn't what I want to do with my license. I greatly admire staff nurses because they work extremely hard for so many hours, so many days a week; however, I know in my heart that I'm not cut out for that lifestyle. That's making my preceptorship more difficult to get through. I'm feeling very disheartened, and I don't know how I'm going to get through the rest of the month. If anybody has some advice to help me get through these next few weeks, I'd greatly appreciate it.