pkallen61

I'm also a hospice RN in ATL. I go into apartment buildings with elevators, ALFs, and all other kinds of facilities where anyone can read my nametag (which is required to be worn at all times). I've had people in elevators ask me how their neighbor is doing, etc. (and give the standard "I'm sorry, but you'll have to ask XX." I have window stickers on my car that say I'm a member of STTI, and a member of the Iowa Alumni Association. I'm proud of who I am and what I do. However, I don't need a bumper sticker to advertise the fact that a nurse is visiting the patient -- it is the scrubs, the white lab coat, the assessment bag, supplies I'm trying to discretely carry into the patient's home, the minimum once weekly visits, and darn it, that clearly readable name tag, that gives it away (the visits from the DME vendor and deliveries from the palliative pharmacy don't hurt, either as giant flashing billboards "HOSPITAL BED DELIVERY!!!"). I'm a hospice nurse, and proud of it, and would probably (after recovering from the shock of one of my patients chastising me like that) very delicately and pleasantly point out those facts. Hospice is a wonderful service, we provide comfort and reassurance when no one else can....but all in all, the old customer service adage is "the customer is always right" (uhhh, yeah [NOT]) - but we still have to mollify patients and their families. Paula

I work at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, which is, as part of a state university, a state-funded tertiary care center. We get time-and-a-half for working the holiday, plus "Comp time" - meaning that if we work the holiday, we can take a paid 8-hour day off sometime within the six weeks after the holiday. If the time isn't taken off within six weeks, then it is paid out on the next paycheck after the six weeks has expired (as regular pay) -- so in effect, if you work a holiday, you get 8 hours of regular pay, plus time-and-a-half for the hours you do work. I *DO* expect to work holidays, but I also expect to be compensated for it, too. When you join the military, you give up several of your rights as a regular citizen. You should not have to give up rights to be a nurse! Before I graduated from my nursing program and started working as a nurse, I worked at the hospital for six years as a medical transcriptionist. It worked pretty much the same way, except the "comp time" was paid out differently because it was under a different union contract. Sorry if my explanation is confusing - it took me a while to understand the whole "comp time" thing. Paula

:balloons: i passed!!!!! :balloons: just found out from the state bon site. what a relief. thanks everyone for your good thoughts and encouragement.

thank you! :)

Hi!I graduated May 15 - all the paperwork was filed with the BON and Pearson well in advance - back in late March. After graduation, I got my ATT via email on June 4 (I think I got it via snail mail three or four days later - which didn't matter). The day I received my ATT via email, scheduled my exam for as early as I could get it, which was yesterday, June 21. The computer shut down for me at question 75, and I didn't get any of the new format questions (I had even bought a special review book of nothing BUT new format questions). I used the calculator for one question. The Pearson center where I took it didn't have a touch screen - just a plain old mouse. Hope this helps. PK :)

:rotfl: :rotfl: I laughed so hard I cried!!!! I just took the test yesterday and I'm here on this site trying to pass time until I can get my results tomorrow....Each and every one of these is right on the money!!!!! Can I have your permission to send a copy of this to the University of Iowa College of Nursing student services office???

:balloons: Congratulations to you!!!:balloons: I'm in Iowa City and took the test at the Coralville testing center. I just graduated from the University of Iowa, and I did pretty well in the nursing program. I know of two people who graduated last semester and did very well in the program, but didn't pass NCLEX on the first try (I think they psyched themselves out). I had a friend who took it on a Tuesday this last January, though, and got her license in the mail by Friday - I thought that was amazing. Yup - we sure are lucky to be able to check the Pearson site in two days. The BON website is updated Wednesday mornings, from what I understand, and I intend to check that tomorrow morning, too! PK

Hi all! I took the NCLEX yesterday and the computer shut off at 75 questions. I was fine up until the computer shut down...THAT's when I started shaking! All questions except one appeared to be at least application or analysis level questions. None of them seemed like "recognition/recall" or "knowledge." I wasn't sure about a single answer - on most questions I could get it down to 2 possible answers right away, and from there, who knows.... The waiting is just a killer! Stuck waiting in Iowa:uhoh3: