austin14

OP - It really depends on what state you are in. I have a friend that is a PA and the doc she works for uses PA and NP equally. PA's do not have to choose a specialty whereas NPs do. In some states NPs can work independently and PAs can't. I have been told that PA school has more didactic concentration than NP school. I don't really have a preference between the two, but use a PA for a provider. I hope to one day go back to school to for NP :)

Congrats on you new job! I am in the same situation you are. I am graduating in May and did my preceptorship in an ICU where I got a job. I am also very excited but nervous at the same time :) Good luck with you new job!!!

I was able to go to the NICU for 3 days in my OB/Peds rotation. The nurse I had was awesome! She explained things to me, let me change diapers, and let me give a shot. One day we got to help set up IV lines and help get a baby ready for a surgery. It was an amazing experience and I want to work in the NICU when I am done in May. I am glad there are NICU nurses out there who will mentor student nurses and take the time to explain procedures, medicines, etc.

I am also graduating in May. I have talked to a couple of PCCs and CNOs. They have told me to start applying in March so that is what I plan to do. Good luck!

its b because of low calcium levels. just had a question like this in my med-surg class

I was told it doesn't matter what state you take the NCLEX in. I know people who took a trip to another state to take the NCLEX, but were not moving to that state. Hope this helps some.

i quit my nursing program after the first semester of clinicals. i finished the first semester and did pretty well, but i wasn't sure it was what i wanted to do. i went and got a biology degree and then decided nursing really was what i wanted to do. i had to reapply to the nursing program and start over since it was a couple of years later, but they let me back in. i didn't talk to anyone besides someone at the school when i was asking if i had to reapply and what classes i needed to take since they just happen to change some of the curriculum. i will be graduating in may and am glad i went back. :) good luck to you with whatever you decide to do.

I just study the ATI book when studying for the ATI tests. Also, we get codes for practice tests for the section we are taking the tests in. After taking the practice test you can print out the results with areas that you need to go back and review. Know your normal lab values. Good luck!

I buy mine from Barnes and Noble. I use my discover card to buy them so I get 10% back (right now they are offering 15% back) and its free shipping if you are a member. I buy new books because I dont like lots of highlighting in the books and I have found that buying from Barnes and Noble with using the discover card is usually cheaper than the school bookstore and sometimes even amazon.

hey, i just got done with my peds semester. our tests were somewhat similar to what you are explaining with being tested on age group. definitely know your psychosocial and how a adolescent, toddler, or infant would react in a certain situation or any nursing considerations for that age group. our final was 100 questions and almost all were related to psychosocial. there was a little bit of patho and diseases specific to peds that we needed to focus on, especially with cardiac. just know your different age groups and milestones, nursing care, and psychosocial. hope this helps.

I might be able to clarigy a little bit. As far as your Heparin question. You would have to either use two different pumps or the pumps we have in the hospital you can run two lines at different rates, but in your example you could not hook up the heparin to the other med because the rates are different. If you did do this then the patient would be getting too much heparin because it would be running at 75 mL/hr instead of 50 mL/hr. If you patient has a tripple lumen then you could hook up to three different lines up to it without worrying about mixig meds. Always look up your meds and check what solutions they are compatible with. As far as your second question I am not sure. I havent come across that problem yet. Usually if it is time to give meds and they have a IV push and have to hang a bad do the push first and after hang the bag. I dont know if the med is already running but I dont think you would have to start a new IV. Hope this helps some.

My school does random drug test. We had to do one last semester and we were told in class that day. We had 24hrs to get it done and the school gave us a list of places we could choose from. We had to use one from the list and the prices varied from $25 to about $45.

1.the bolus would be 64 ml. (20 ml/kg x3.2 kg). The rate would be 10.7 or 11 ml/hr. (80 ml/kg x 3.2 kg = 256 ml/day divided by 24 hr = 10.66) Not sure on 2

IV bags are usually only good for 24 hrs so i would assume that whoever notices that there is no date or time will take that one down and put a new one up with it labeled.

It depends on what you want to do. I have a friend that is a PA and works with NPs that pretty much do the same role as her, but this is not always the case. I chose NP over PA because I can get a job after nursing school and work my way through NP school. My GPA is not horrible, but I think I would have had a hard time getting in. PA school is also mainly a masters degree now so you would have to have your BSN. Another reason I didn't choose to go for PA is I didn't have any patient care experience and a lot of the PA programs I looked into required a lot of hours in order to apply. PAs also have to retake their exam every 7 years in order to keep their license, NPs dont. On the other hand I have another friend who is in PA school right now and loves it but it is very hard and take into consideration that you wouldn't be able to work. Whatever you do good luck!

We had group quizzes after an exam which was worth so many extra credit points, but as far as any normal exam or quiz it was all individual.