Jaelle625

CVSICU not only does open heart cases, but also (V)ascular cases. So your "typical" cabg, valve, transplant with the addition of AAAs, TAAs, carotid endarterectomies, etc... I'm sure individual units will vary slightly in the types of cases they take.

BSN, RN, CCRN as of today! I used Laura G and Pass CCRN (question bank only--the book is WAY too involved). Good luck to all who are studying!

I don't plan to apply to Case Western, but I'm curious about the math questions? Are we talking gtt calcs? I feel like a math quiz in the middle of an interview would make me miss a beat...

Hi all! I've recently been looking into VCU's combined MSNA/DNAP program and have a few questions for anyone who may know. I'm curious as to how much additional study time these students had to allot for the extra courses each semester. Clearly, it's doable or the program wouldn't be in existence, but I wondered if in hindsight the students wished they would have gone the more traditional route and separated the two degrees? I see that the combined program replaces a semester of clinical with one of the dnap courses as well.. Thoughts? Thanks in advance for any input!

Missnurse01: Coursera? I briefly looked into what it entailed. Care to elaborate? It looks as though its college courses without the college credit? Would you recommend supplementing grad level classes with some courses from coursera? I've been skimming Dr. Najeebs lectures and love them. Thanks for the insight!

It does get better. One day at a time. I've only been off orientation for a few months and I've already had a few situations where the proverbial **** has hit the fan. I was AMAZED at how fast my coworkers were in the room. As the LNRN11 posted, you are never truly alone. When other nurses' pts code (or they notice a critical change in pt status), I make it a point to ask exactly what they did. Of course, I also participate in any emergent situation that time allows for. I've also learned that when participating in a code, that being the charting rn allows me to learn the most about the situation. All of that being said, I know EXACTLY how you feel. I have good days and bad days. As a whole, my days seem to be getting better. I can only assume my experience will continue on the same path. Cheers to the best specialty in nursing!

Thanks for the responses! I will definitely have to look into this further. I did see that at my facility, there is a time commitment of 8 months after the semester is over. Not an issue for me if I take summer classes, however. I don't plan to apply until next fall and most schools I've looked into don't begin until the following year after interviews are over.

I really wanted to use my employer's tuition reimbursement as well, but it seems as though I have to be enrolled in a degree program. Did you find a loop hole or did your facility not have that stipulation? Thanks for the insight!

We give CaCl regularly on our unit in response to hypotension. Your serum Ca may be normal, but your Ionized Calcium (free floating, available to be used Ca) may be low. MD is correct in that it improves contractility and therefore BP. It's the policy at my facility that it only be administered via central line because of its vesicant properties. Serious Kudos to you for researching before administering!

Rd, I sent you a pm but its not showing up in my "sent" folder. Let me know if you didn't get it.

You guys are great! Thanks for the advice! There's a CRNA school near me that let's you take advanced patho and suggests taking a research class that's required for their program. Rd: What graduate classes did you take besides patho? I'm glad you're doing well!! Which school are you at?

I have seen many people suggest calling schools to see what they recommend. Is it better to call with a bunch of questions, or would they allow me to schedule a meeting in person? Either would suffice for me. I just didn't want to call and start rapid firing questions if most would prefer face-to-face interactions. Thanks again!!

Thank you for the feedback! I took general Chem I and ochem in undergrad and got As in both. Would you suggest taking general chem II (it wasn't required for undergrad so I didn't take it then)?

My "young and dumb" days are finally catching up to me... I'll save you all the gory details and just get to the point: A&PI- B A&PII- C Microbiology- C All were taken 2004-2005ish. There are other *blemishes* on my transcript (Quite a few withdrawals, F in English comp II, D in College Algebra... both of which I retook the next semester and got Bs in:crying2:). Got my head on straight in 2006 and finished with a 3.9 for my BSN (once accepted into nursing school) and 3.5 overall. So my question is as stated in the subject. Should I retake these subpar classes? Or should I take graduate level courses? Traditional classroom setting or online? I realize that the B in A&PI isn't tragic, but thought it would be helpful as an overall picture. ANY advice would be greatly appreciated. :)

This was my response from a similar previous post: I can't speak for experienced CVSICU nurses as I'm new to this specialty myself, but I can give some insight from the "newbie" perspective. Questions. Ask them. A lot. The amount of knowledge these nurses possess is staggering. Be a sponge! You are in a unique position to learn without all the stress of extreme expectation. If you don't know the answer, say you don't know. Trust me, your preceptor knows the answer and can smell BS from a mile away. Study, Study, Study. When you think you're done studying... study some more. i make it a point to make a list throughout the day of things that are mentioned that I want to know more about. Then I look it up as soon as I get home. If you have down time (which is rare, but may happen from time to time), and your preceptor doesn't mind (which they shouldn't), seek out interesting cases, new admits, transfers... anything that you haven't been exposed to or want to know more about. You'll know almost right away if this is the specialty for you (or so I've heard; I couldn't imagine not absolutely loving it!). I could go on and on about how amazing this unit is, but in all honesty its not for everyone. Its fast paced, crazy intense, and you're expected to be on top of your game no matter what rolls out of the OR. You MUST have thick skin. You WILL feel dumb at times. You WILL screw up. Learn from it and move on. The gym, my family, and chocolate cake get me past the tough days. ?? All that said, I wouldn't trade it for the world! Let us know how it's going!

I can't speak for experienced CVSICU nurses as I'm new to this specialty myself, but I can give some insight from the "newbie" perspective. Questions. Ask them. A lot. The amount of knowledge these nurses possess is staggering. Be a sponge! You are in a unique position to learn without all the stress of extreme expectation. If you don't know the answer, say you don't know. Trust me, your preceptor knows the answer and can smell BS from a mile away. Study, Study, Study. When you think you're done studying... study some more. i make it a point to make a list throughout the day of things that are mentioned that I want to know more about. Then I look it up as soon as I get home. If you have down time (which is rare, but may happen from time to time), and your preceptor doesn't mind (which they shouldn't), seek out interesting cases, new admits, transfers... anything that you haven't been exposed to or want to know more about. You'll know almost right away if this is the specialty for you (or so I've heard; I couldn't imagine not absolutely loving it!). I could go on and on about how amazing this unit is, but in all honesty its not for everyone. Its fast paced, crazy intense, and you're expected to be on top of your game no matter what rolls out of the OR. You MUST have thick skin. You WILL feel dumb at times. You WILL screw up. Learn from it and move on. The gym, my family, and chocolate cake get me past the tough days. All that said, I wouldn't trade it for the world!

My interview was closer to 3 hours but I heard all different time frames from other nurses. Some also interviewed with multiple people at one time. I think it depends on the unit. I want to say they offered me the job within the week. I interviewed on a Tuesday and was offered the job that following Monday. I was the last day of interviews though so I heard from some that we found out sooner than most. I'm not sure how long we had to decide. WHC is where I wanted to be and I was offered the job on one of my choices so I accepted right away. I also wanted to let the OP (Y.not.ask) know that I applied in November and received the email regarding my top three choices and interview dates within the week. I replied that same day and never heard anything again. I had all but given up hope that I would get an interview when I decided to send a follow up email to HR regarding the status of my application (even though there were explicit instructions not to do so). 3 or 4 days letter I received a reply stating that they were "confused", that they "thought" they had sent me a reply email a month prior confirming my interview date. I PROMISE you that they did not. I checked my email religiously on the computer more than once a day (not to mention that they are sent directly to my phone). They rescheduled my interview for the next day (which may have increased the anxiety during my interview I spoke of in my previous post). Long story short: Follow up regardless of what they say, ESPECIALLY if you feel like you may be a qualified applicant!

Thank you! It has been great so far! The interview was a two step process. I first interviewed with HR (mostly "Why do you want to work here", "Tell me a situation when..." type questions), then I interviewed with the Nursing Director of my unit. Honestly, that interview is mostly a blur, haha! I do remember the clinical questions were along the lines of, "You walk into your room and find your patient (symptom xyz), what would you do?" or "Your patient has (symptom xyz). What do you think is going on with them and what orders would you expect?" I think there were four or five clinical questions. I was also asked the typical "strength and weaknesses" question. The ND told me about the unit and then asked if I wanted a tour. A few things I wish I would have known or could pass on (you'll find many similar stories in the (Feb cohort thread): There's a LOT of people interviewing on the same day you are. This threw me off as soon as I walked into the HR office! I think there were at least 50 of us... The interview process takes approx 3-4 hours. RELAX! My nervousness definitely got the best of me, and it was REALLY difficult to relay what type of nurse I wanted to/could be on the unit. I know this is easier said than done, but try! My interview (ESPECIALLY hr) was very direct and to the point. No time for fluff AT ALL! DON'T FREEZE! If you don't know something... its OKAY!! I swear, I seriously started to look like a deer caught in the headlights during the clinical questions. I didn't know something and I started to fumble. Looking back its comical but I swear she just sat there and watched me sink! The world didn't end though and I GOT THE JOB!! Don't psych yourself out. Let me know if you have any more questions. This site was a life saver when I interviewed! Congrats to all of your for getting this far!

I was hired with the April cohort and there was an ADN with us, so definitely not just BSN! :)

Let me preface this by saying I'm a new grad as well and COMPLETELY understand how hard it is to get a job. But what you're talking about seems really scary. I'm not saying that you can't handle it (I have no clue as to your abilities). I can only speak for myself and I know that the license I busted my BUTT to get isn't worth losing due to inadequate training. IMHO, a few more months is well worth the wait to protect myself and others. No judgement here, I promise. Just my

Wow.... GREAT advice!!!!

The last line made me literally LOL!

YAY for Mom!!!

Don't we wish they would all turn out this way!

I know this is an old post, but I went in for my physical yesterday and we talked a little about the strike. I was told that the hospital proposed to do away with shift differentials and the nurses didn't agree (obviously). The hospital decided back in aug or sept to keep differentials but the union didn't want to strike until now because there were people in town they wanted to impress. This person told me this was the reason many nurses decided not to strike at all. Please know that this is second hand knowledge and by no means proven to be fact. Its just what I was told, so I thought I'd share. :)