Plutonium261

But yes, if you noticed at the bottom of my post the equation is just V/H x D. Which is literally equivalent to D/H x V. Just the way I learned. Same basic equation, some people just learn differently. And again, all the other stuff is just details. Just in case either the OP, or someone else that might be out there that learns the way I do.

Hahaha. Rose Queen. I actually spelled it out in detail so it seems long, but in actuality all I did was volume over what the dose you have on hand, times the desired dose. Super simple. I literally did it in my head. I can definitely see how it looks like it would be long though. Just trying to explain it in detail for someone who may be like me, or learn the way I learn, and need/want to know the exact way to solve something. Before someone explained it to me in detail like this, it just really didn't fully make sense to me. I'm slightly OCD when it comes to certain things like this though, and I need to know the why of things sometimes. Once I learned Med math in detail like this, and realized just how simple it is, I have been able to solve most Med math problems in my head. Although, again, I'm slightly OCD when it comes to certain things so I will still most times wrote them out.

It depends on how specific they want your answer. If they don't want to count, or subtract that first 4g, then you can technically just base your answer off of the entire 50g in 1,000 mL. However, if they are giving you the previous information, the 4g, looking for you to subtract that from your would-be answer, then you need to make sure you calculate your answer with that in mind. So in that case you want to find out much medication is in your bag per mL. In our case here just divide your total 1,000 mL by how much mag you have, which is 50g. This comes out to 20mL/1g (mag). Now they said previously that you were to administer 4g of mag. The 15 minutes of time is not really relevant in this case, unless they were too otherwise state that it was important, because after the 15 minutes you will just be administering per hour. So we take your 4g and multiply that by your 20 mL (20mL/1g that we just got). This comes out to 80mL. Subtract this 80mL from your total 1,000mL of solution, this leaves us with 920mL. Now your problem starts. Keep in mind that you are solving for mL's. mL's per hour, but mL's nonetheless. Your problem is now: you need to administer 2g of mag per hour. You have on hand: 46g of mag in 920mL solution. Your equation = 920mL of solution divided by how much medication you have left on hand, which is 46g, times the amount of medication per hour you want, which is 2g. So your equation will look like: 920mL / 46g X 2g = 40mL per hour. For drop factors you would use volume/time to infuse (minutes or hours) x drop factor. Most problems can be solved using very similar equations. I would definitely suggest once you get into nursing school, or even before, if you can find a med math tutor, to definitely utilize that resource. Many nursing programs nowadays have Med math tutors. Good luck my friend. I hope that helped somewhat, and I hope it wasn't too drawn out. I was just trying to go step by step. That's how I learn anyways, and just was hoping that may help.

Well I got an answer. However, in order for us to help you, we would need you to tell us first which method you use in solving Med math problems; desired over have, etc. Secondly, it would probably be better if you were to explain to us what you did to solve this problem, and then what you got for an answer. That way it would be easier for people on the forum to help you out. If we were to just tell you the answer and/or what we got for an answer that's not really helping anyone out much.

Just wanted to say thank you so much NotReady4PrimeTime for all of the great info. I am ecstatic! I just graduated a couple of months ago and got picked/hired into a phenomenal new grad RN residency versant program! I'm so excited, and a little nervous, but excited! Anyways, thanks again and I too will continue to look around the forums for other great information and tips.

I too would most definitely take a patho class. It will help tremendously! Also, like other posters have said, nursing school is no joke, and not like any of the other classes you have ever taken. You better believe that those 9 and 10 units are not going to be easy by any means. They will challenge everything about you. They will challenge the smartest of nursing students. However, again, having a good understanding of your A & P, along with pathophysiology will help give you the solid foundation to help you better grasp the stuff you will be learning in nursing school. Brush up on those three topics specifically, and just enjoy your freedom and relax time. Trust me, there will be much less of that for the few years you are in the program. And trust me when I say, all of those prerequisite classes you've taken are a cake walk to your nursing classes, nursing exams, care plans, and clinicals. Not by any means trying to scare you, I'm just forewarning you as per your post you don't think it "is going to be that difficult". I've had some very smart friends in my cohort fail out of our program. Don't underestimate the time, effort, and level of difficulty it takes to not just get into a program, but complete the nursing program. Truly wish you the best of luck. You are still a little ways away, but if you have any questions I'd be happy to answer to the best of my limited knowledge.

Loma Linda just has a certain way of asking interview questions. It's just a way of interviewing someone in the form of asking questions a certain way which also helps them simultaneously get to know you and get to know how you address certain situations. By the way I forgot to mention before, definitely know the hospital's mission statement and values. You're always taught to make sure to know the mission statement and values of the hospital(s) you are applying to and/or interviewing with, and it's true. I've been on a few interviews with Loma Linda and in one of them I was asked out of all of their values, which value did I like the most, and/or relate to the most, and/or which value I thought was the most important, and why. So, since nursing school, I think of many things in the sense of ADPIE. Hahaha. I know, dumb right. But, if you take many interview questions and break them down to answer them in this way, it may help. For example, some of the questions they may ask will be directed towards something like asking you to tell them a time when you ran into some kind of problem, issue, or conflict. The question will obviously be more specific, but it'll be something similar to that, and they just want to know how you address things, deal with things, and solve problems. And, what was/were the outcome for these situations? (Remember before I said to make sure you have a beginning, middle, and an end to your story? They may even let you know that they are looking for a beginning, middle and end, as they did with me). You can find/look up many specific nursing questions, to go over, that many interviewers ask by just googling them. So...when coming across a problem, in nursing or life outside of nursing, we assess the issue, we may not necessarily diagnose a normal life problem but after we assess an issue we definitely plan and then implement something to address the issue (what did you do to attempt to fix your issue, problem, or conflict), and then we evaluate (again, what was the outcome, and then assess whether we need to or had to plan and/or implement something else to do). Attack interview questions like this, and attempt to answer them like this, and hopefully it should help a little.

Which department are you working in? So awesome to hear that everyone is nice and welcoming. I really have heard that about here. I'm pumped to join the team!

Anyone else here hear anything? Anyone else here apply to the PICU?

Congrats! That's awesome! When is your interview? It's a little nerve wracking, but just remember everyone else interviewing is nervous too. Just be yourself. If it's anything like my first interview they'll ask lots of personal (types of) situation questions. The kind that help them get to know you. Like, "Tell me a time when this happened, or that happened..." type of questions. Most interviewers will ask different kinds of questions so it's hard to say what specific things they'll ask. I have a friend who interviewed for a different department, and besides the basic questions like tell me about yourself (which they'll probably ask. Most places will ask that one), they asked her completely different questions that my interviewers asked me. Just be prepared for some of the general questions that they're likely to ask like, Why do you want to work for Loma Linda University? Why neonatal? Why Neonatal ICU? Your strengths and/or weaknesses. What makes you a good candidate for this position? And if they ask you any situational-type questions, make sure you have a beginning, middle, and end/outcome, to your story. Some of the other questions they may ask are Loma Linda's style of asking questions, and some of those are really hard to prepare for, you kind of just have to answer on the fly. They're designed that way on purpose. It helps them see who you are. And remember when responding to always look at who's asking you the question. If there are more than one interviewer (my first interview was a panel interview, yours may not be though), you can look at them all, but focus on who asked you the specific question. I noticed a lot of people look down at the floor, or the ceiling, or anywhere but who asked them the question. It's just a nervous thing, but it doesn't portray confidence. Practice that just as much as you practice interview questions. It's important. Hope that helps a little. Just be yourself. If this is truly your passion, let them know, or let it show. They'll see it. Good luck, and let us know how it goes.

Hey everyone! I got a call for an offer yesterday! So freaking excited! Can't wait! From what I'm told the new grad residency program is 22 weeks long, with two 8 hour days in the classroom, and two 12's on the floor. I'm not sure how long both 8 hour classroom days last during the program though. And yes, be patient, every department does things a little different it seems, so time frames for the process are going to vary. Good luck to you all!

I applied to the Pediatric ICU. You?

Hey, how's it going. Are you speaking of the meet and greet?

You can if you want look up some pathophysiology stuff, I bought the patho made easy book prior to entering nursing school and I think it helped. And if you want some pharm stuff. However, the pharm stuff more than likely a lot of it may not make sense, or you may not be able to retain it the way you will until you're in the class. Most instructors have easy to remember little tricks and mnemonics to help you remember some of the pharm and meds. My advice though, especially if you're already enrolled in nursing school, would be to just relax and enjoy your time with family and friends. Believe me when I say that you will have MORE than enough reading and studying to do once you start. I have 21 days left of my BSN program and I wish I would've taken that "relax while you can" advice a little more seriously. Hahaha. Not that you won't have any time at all to spend with your family and friends, but trust me it will be far less and few between. Best of luck on your journey.

I applied! I actually took that test previously, so when I applied to this program, at the end of my application it said I need not take the test because I had already taken it. Then the next day I got an email saying that taking the test was a requirement, and it asked me to take it....if I haven't taken it already. Hahaha. I just figured it was a default email because it still hasn't let me retake it. P.S. I applied to Neuro/Trauma ICU, and Cardiothoracic ICU. Good luck to you all!

Welcome to AllNurses! The first piece of advice I'd like to give, as excited as you are, is to not put any of your personal information on here (I.e. First and last name). Secondly, regarding your position, remember first and foremost that at the end of the day we are all apart of the team together, to help each other, in the best and most efficient way possible, to have the best possible outcome for the patient. Prioritize. Just know up front, you'll likely throughout the day/night be getting called and pulled (and asked for help) in all different directions, that's ok, just stop and think "Who NEEDS me first?" "Who needs me right now?", and go from there. If you say you're going to do something...do it. If you can't do something, or you can't get to something, don't be afraid to say so. Don't be afraid to ask for help. Especially if it's something you haven't done before, are uncomfortable doing by yourself, or something that having help may prevent an injury (I.e. lifting/moving a heavy patient). I'm a strong guy, and I can lift, move, and reposition on my own in certain circumstances (and with the help of these fancy new-aged beds that tilt which help out a ton). However, I have no shame in asking for help to reposition a patient if need be, and the nurse for said patient should have zero problems helping you if you ask. And don't EVER let anyone make you feel less than, or make you feel like you are "just" a PCT/PCA/CNA. This is a vital role in patient care, as well as on the team! Go to staff meetings. Go to in-services, or any other training your facility offers. Know your facility's policies for your position. Work hard, be diligent, and keep up on your documentation (depending on your facility, and the policy for your pct's). Congrats! Good luck! Best wishes!

My wife's a nurse in the ICU, and when she first got hired on, one of our good friends who's a physician gave her "The ICU Book" that he said helped him through his ICU rotation while in medical school. She [my wife] says it helped her out tremendously when she first started. Although we all know nursing and medicine are different ball games, the ICU is a different ball game than most other departments. Not sure if that helps, but you can always look into it.

Oh ok, my apologies, some of those books were for the RN versions, however, I'm sure they have similar texts for PN's. As far as the Maslow's Hierarchy goes, this is something that is universally across the board in nursing, so you should be good there. This goes from the bottom to the top, with your most basic needs; air, food, water; being on the bottom and needing to be realized and satisfied first and foremost. Then moving up to each next level as the level before it is realized, with Self-Actualization, and Self-Transcendence, being the most difficult to achieve. My main point for Maslow's is to memorize (one of the things you should memorize) each level and what can or needs to be accomplished at each level. This will help you when you get prioritization questions (on an exam or in real life) where all the options given are correct, or all of the answers are something that you would definitely do, but you need to choose the "most correct" answer, or the option that you would do first. And when choosing an answer it is most usually a good idea to fall back onto Maslow's, along with all of your other information you've gathered and stored in your "tool box", and all of your clinical judgement you've attained while in school and at clinicals, and quickly bring all these together in your head and make the best decision possible for the best outcome for your patient.

You'd have to speak to your school advisors, however, it's highly unlikely to be really honest. Prerequisites are as such for a reason. Not saying that you would, but if for some reason while taking the classes concurrently you didn't pass algebra (the class intended to be a prerequisite), the school would be in a bind. Also, they require algebra before chemistry for a specific reason. Chemistry is a sort of different language, and one of the things needed in order to decipher that language, algebra is needed. I know the feeling of not wanting to wait, and to already want to apply or get into a program, however, when it comes to certain things like this, going about the process in the proper manner I promise will only benefit you, your education, and your skills, knowledge, and ability to critically think in the long run.

These are also some great goals to have going into your funds rotation.

Lots and lots of vitals, bed baths, cleaning of incontinent patients, helping patients with eating, wound care, assisting the wound care specialists, changing lots of linens, I's & O's, probably minimal basic med passing, and head to toe assessments. I know everyone gets excited (and sometimes a little nervous) to start your first clinicals, and everyone always wants to jump straight into assessments and passing out medications. What we have to remember though is that without a great foundation in the beginning, all of the skills previously mentioned, it is us who look mediocre, less able, and less prepared or inadequate, and it is our patients that suffer. Do not brush these things off or stand on the sidelines when it comes to doing these things in your fundamentals rotation because you don't like one of them, or you think you're above bed baths, changing incontinent patient's, or changing linens. I am in my senior year of my BSN program, but I also work as a NA at a hospital and I see it from both sides of the fence, and I work with plenty of RN's who are not above helping me with doing any or all of these things if I need the help, although I try to do most things if I can because again I see it from both sides and I know they many times have much more important things to worry about. Still sometimes we are just too busy, or the mess is too big, for one person to handle. And I love those nurses who without question or a doubt will help me when needed. After all, a nursing assistant is just that, someone to assist the nurses with some of their daily tasks. These things are still a part of the RN's job. P.S. Yeah, our clinical rotations, even in fundamentals, were on a med-surg floor and were 12 hours.

Med-Surg is a very interesting subject, and can be tough just as equally, because it covers such a wide array of all equally important material. This is not one of those topics that you can or should memorize things to be able to take an exam, and then forget most of the material shortly after. Everything you'll learn in med-surg will carry on, and build on, throughout nursing shcool, and throughout your nursing career. Everything in this builds on each other. And for me, although I did very well in intro to med-surg, intermediate med-surg (or med-surg II in some shcools) I did well in also, but I found it to be much tougher, much more in depth, and required much more critical thinking. For me, doing only flash cards did not help. Use flash cards but you need more than that. You cannot just memorize the material anymore, for a number of reasons, but one reason is because of the NCLEX style questioning that you will encounter on your exams. These questions are not straight forward, they are scenario based and often require you to critically think through the situation(s), or prioritize. Know your Maslow's! This will help out a ton with your prioritization questions where all of your answer options may be correct, but you need to select the most correct answer. Yeah you won't truly grasp the awesomeness of the latter part of that last sentence until you know what I'm talking about. Oh and the SATA questions! Awe man, is it a love/hate relationship! Hahaha. All of these are things that I heard over and over from instructors, and people ahead of me in the program, so many times that the phrase looses its..."Umph", for lack of a better word. Hahaha. NCLEX style questioning is something that you'll only truly understand (and grow your love/hate relationship with) once you start practicing and taking your exams. The key word in that last sentence is practicing. Practice, practice, practice NCLEX style questions. Buy (don't rent, buy) a book that contains NCLEX practice questions WITH the rationales, preferably (for me anyways) with the rationales for the correct & the wrong answers as well. Off the top of my head the Med-Surg Success book, Saunders NCLEX Comprehensive Review, and the HESI comp. review, are all good books I have that helped quite a bit in Intermediate Med-Surg. Look for some books like this and practice these specific exam style questions. Also, find some smart classmates and form study groups. P.S. Having a solid foundation of your pathophysiology (or knowing how, when, and where to look it up when needed) will help out tremendously. Sorry if any, or all, of this seems jumbled up. It's late and I just got finished with a long 13 hours at work, hahaha. I'm sure there is so much more that I can't think of at the moment, but there is a start. If I think of a few more things I'll post them, and if you have any questions feel free to let me know. Hope this helps a little.

THIS! The entire time I was literally thinking, and about to write, this exact thing. OP, you were saying that the quart thing wasn't confusing you, but it was the exact thing confusing you. All you needed to do was stop thinking of it in the conversion factors of your book, and think of it in terms of them asking you for 1/4, 0.25, of the 1L. 1L = 1,000 mL. 1/4, 0.25, or a quarter of 1,000 mL is 250 mL. As you now see, it really is that simple. Good luck to you my friend, you are well on your way to being great at med math!

Most definitely tell the truth. Although you would eventually in essence be leaving them short a tech, I don't know of many hospitals anywhere that aren't interested in, or pro, their employees furthering their education. No offense intended at all but techs are a dime a dozen (note: I am currently a tech/cna, and currently in a nursing program). There are thousands of techs out there looking for a job. They'll be fine on that end, they can always hire a new tech. It may be more of a strain for them to hire a new RN, spend the money to train them for a few months or a year at their level 1 trauma center, then have that RN leave to a new/different hospital. That, they may not be too keen on. But hiring a tech that becomes an RN, and already knows their system, and how their team works...if anything I think they'd be cool with that. And if you think about it, in probably every single job interview, hospital related or not, they are going to ask you what your future goals are, what are you going to say, "Just plan on being a tech for a while." Even if you were planning on staying a tech, you have to have some sort of future goals, even if it were to be being a tech leader, or something. You have to have goals. So, no, you tell the truth and say, I plan on being a tech at "said prestigious hospital", where I can learn as much as I possibly can from the best environment and the best team possible (or the best team/hospital around) so that when I graduate my current RN program I will be more prepared to deal with the type of environment that I may face, and be better equipped to contribute in the best possible way, to the team, as an RN, now that I would know how different aspects of the team work. And once I graduate, I plan on applying, and being hired as an RN here, where I plan on staying for a LONG time. Maybe even throw in a 5-year goal or two, of furthering your education even more, or maybe doing some extra certifications to become part of a trauma team, or rapid response or code teams (because as you state they are a level 1 trauma center). This is just along the lines that I would take it, vs. omitting the fact that you are becoming an RN soon. Just my humble opinion. Much luck to you in the future.

The thing you have to remember also is that you JUST started nursing school. Being that, I'm assuming that you've only had clinicals at one hospital site so far. Correct? If so, it may also just be that your current, very limited, experiences you've had have not started out great. Give it some time, and give it a chance. My first few experiences, and first few different hospitals I did rotations at were great. I feel as though I sort of lucked out though. Some of my other classmates didn't have great first experiences at their sites and it too left bad first impressions on them about med-surg. However, since then most of them have done rotations at different hospitals and their experiences, and thus their outlook on med-surg, and the invaluable education gained, has since changed. I did not think I would like med-surg at all, but doing my rotations and seeing all that can be learned is more than I can speak of. And although it wouldn't be my first choice, if I am able to have a first choice once I graduate, I would take that position in a heart beat, and without reservation and/or without a negative thought, for the mere fact of gaining that experience, and then if need be down the line move into what I would want to ultimately do. With that being said, again, absolutely keep an open mind to first the learning experience, and second to the fact that one experience is way too general to write off med-surg in the general practice or terms as a whole.