michelle0781

New grads are hired here where I live and I feel that may be the best place for me to really strengthen my critical thinking skills and understanding of disease processes. Thank you to everyone for your advice. I use google and YouTube quite frequently in conjunction with my textbooks and have found them to be helpful resources as well as this wonderful blog site. Always comforting to hear from nurses with vast experience. I hope to be well rounded one day.

Hi, in August I will enter my last semester...wooohooo!!! I had med-surg in level 2 and now I am going into critical care. I am really nervous mostly b/c we have so much to cover in this last semester including prep for NCLEX. I will perform clinicals mostly in an ICU which is where I am thinking about working after graduation depending on how comfortable I am in clinicals...lol. I am using this summer break to prepare by reading and doing as much ATI as possible but I am really nervous about the content and clinicals. I have been a strong student so far but I feel completely unprepared for this semester. I feel like I know nothing about nursing and can't believe that in 6 months I will be a real nurse(hopefully...lol). Did anyone else ever feel like they don't know what they are doing????? I just seems like I should know more than what a last semester nurse should know...I could be just panicking for nothing...lol. I have asked my classmates and they say they feel the same way but it scares me to think that in such a short time I will be fully responsible for someone's life. I try to remeber safety at all times and I am very passionate about nursing. I know this is my calling just scared to death right now. If anyone has any advice for what to expect in the critical care level and/or for the newly graduated nurse I would greatly appreciate it.

One of the most important things I learned in NS was that there will always be some type of drama when so many people have to work together. I used to let every little thing hurt my feelings until just recently. There will always be someone that you cannot please or that does not like you, BUT it doesn't have to interfere with you personally. Being a nurse means being part of a team. Between yourself, the doctors, other nurses, rad techs, cna's, resp, lab, etc. you will all be working together for a common goal....the well being of the patient. I have learned over time that the best thing for me to do when something is bothering me is to confront the issue (person). When I say confront I do mean professionally and tactfully. Let them know how you were made to feel. you may just find that they were acting that way b/c of something you did unknowingly. Hope this helps.:)

Have you asked your school if there are any other grant programs in the community that you can apply for. In louisiana we have different grant options not necessarily affiliated with the school such as PHOCAS. There may even be some just for nursing students. Talk to your schools financial aid department and hopefully they can help you. Good luck!!! and congrats on getting into nursing school, its an adventure you'll never forget....lol.

My first clinical instructor was a nightmare. I think she personally did not like me, she never complimented me even though she would for the other students and everyday she had something negative to say to me. I will admit that I made a few mistakes but nothing major and I always owned up to them. I strive to do my best and i already have confidence issues. At first I thought maybe she is just trying to make me tougher, build up my confidence but it was when she laughed in my face and told the entire class about a simple mistake that I made that she shared the blame that I realized she just didn't like me. She told me my careplans were horrible when they were just the same or better detailed than her favorite student's. My assessments were not up to par but she would boast on another student's who forgot to auscultate heart sounds!!!!! I made it through the semester feeling more confused and broken than when I started. I did confront her once and she apologized and agreed that the way she was treating me was inappropriate but the next day was the same as usual. I still don't understand what I did to her. We lost 12 out of 30 people in our first semester and I was one of the students with the highest grades so I still don't know what exactly she wanted from me. Looking forward to next semester b/c she will not be there. I am hoping to get a better instructor!!!!

This is my first semester of nursing school so we are still at the nursing homes...I think our instructor just wants us to practice using one diagnosis at a time...last week we did a physical diagnosis and eventually we will use multiple and have to prioritize them. Thank you so much. This is all so new to me so any suggestion helps. :)

Well this only my second time to write a careplan and so I wasn't sure if it made since or was apprpriately written.

It has to be a psychosocial diagnosis...and she has not had a stroke I should have been more specific on why she is paralyzed...she substained a spinal cord injury by falling in her home, but thank you for your comment. :)

Hi, I am in my first semester and have just begun clinicals. My instructor has asked me to write a psychosocial careplan for a pt. I only need one nursing diagnosis. I know where I would like to go with it but am not sure how to write my diagnosis. My pt is a 72 y/o female that has paralysis from an accident three years ago...she has a medical diagnosis of obesity and makes negative statements concerning her weight about herself while I care for her. I am thinking a good diagnosis would be SITUATIONAL LOW SELF-ESTEEM R/T FUNTIONAL IMPAIRMENT AEB PAITENT MAKES SEL-NEGATING STATEMENTS. It just doesn't seem quite right and I need help making it fit. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!! I was not expecting to get in. I was told that the committee was looking at several things besides your gpa and teas scores, such as are your pre-reqs finished, and especially your attitude, they asked for several instructors opinions b/c they know us as students already. I will be in the second class for my school so they are depending heavily on the first class for accredidation. I heard they have already lost 8 students so far due to poor judgement on selections. Makes for a harder selction process and coursework for us but makes me more proud that I was one of the 30 that got in!!! :) Like I said my Teas score was not great but I have worked hard and my gpa was 3.9 and I made it. So don't worry so much about your teas b/c that is not all they are looking at.

I am so excited!!! I have been selected into the nursing program!!! All that worrying for nothing...lol.

Thank you so much!!! You both give me hope :)! I just needed to let go of some major anxiety. I don't believe I have ever been this stressed in my entire life, and I have 2 kids if that tells you anything...lol.

They only allow a retake every six months, I would retake if they would let me. I am slowly learning to accpet the fact that if I don't get in it is not the end of the world...lol. I can always retake it for another school and apply there. I just feel so bummed. My gpa is awesome and I have worked so hard and for it to come down to one test grade is very frustrating. I am really hoping that my gpa pulls a little more weight than the TEAS. Guess I will know in a few weeks.

No, I bought the guide a week before the notification of the test change...I had plenty of time to study and I did...but the TEAS V was nothing like the review guide I was studying. I spoke with other students who used the TEAS V study guide and they said the test was exactly like the TEAS review guide. Also I know that the company issuing the test would prefer that we use their guides however this company also issues review guides for the NLN-PAX so either way they made money. I have no desire to retake this test or have special priveledges b/c of this but I still feel like I could have done better if I had the proper study guide. There were alot of questions on the TEAS V that were not even remotely covered by the NLN-PAX review guide. Also I asked the agent at the company who issues the test what the difference between form A and form B, b/c I had B and he said that usuallly form B is for someone who has taken the test already so it's changed up quite a bit, I've never taken this test before. I am just really disappointed in myself and having a hard time, but that's ok b/c if I am not accepted I will just pick myself up and dust myself off. I'm not going to give up on my dream of becoming a nurse. :) Just really needed some advice and I really do appreciate the feedback.

Hi, I was informed by my school a week after I purchased a NLN-PAX review guide that they were going to switch to the TEAS V. They told me there was no need to purchase a new review guide, that the one I had would be sufficient. I took the test in August and my results were passing but not competitve and I felt the NLN-Pax was not sufficient TEAS V preparation. I called the "company" distributing the test for my school and the person told me I was poorly informed and that the review guide I used was not adequate. I told them I realize this but now it is too late. I finally called my nursing advisor and she didn't seem to grasp the issue I am having so I called the director of Nursing over my school. She told me to call the call the chairman and admitted that she was aware that students had been told that the NLN-PAX review guide would be fine to use. I don't want to make a scene, I am only concerned of how this is going to affect my chances of being accepted. I would have gladly purchased a TEAS V review guide if they had told me to. I feel like my opportunity to comepete has been jeopardized. Other students have spoken of their scores and they purchased the TEAS study guide and their scores are higher b/c of this.....What should I do???? Please any advice would be appreciated.