wantccu

That's very helpful - thanks so much!

Hi everyone, I was wondering if someone can give me the scoop on the new grad situation in Charlotte? I will be graduating my ADN program here in Ohio in May, then it's likely that my husband's job will be transferred to Charlotte this summer. I've spent quite a bit of time applying to Nurse I openings at CMC only to get rejected as soon as I submit the application. Is there a specific area for new grads to apply that I'm not aware of? Or another hospital that I should be looking into? Thanks in advance for any replies!

Thank you! ^^. I already wrote my paper but that's exactly the type of response I was looking for. Pediatric oncology has to be heartbreaking .

I'm capable of using google, thank you. I was just hoping to hear from people in the field who have been for awhile what their personal experiences as a nurse in practice have been. Sorry to bother you.

Hello, I need to do an EBP report for school and I'd like to have an oncology topic as we're doing oncology currently. The problem is that I don't know how things have changed with nursing practice regarding chemo and nursing care over the years. Can anyone give me some examples of things that have changed over the years? Do we administer chemo differently? Take different precautions? Thanks in advance!

I can't decide between med surg made easy or pathophysiology made easy. Can anyone who has seen both compare the two?

Did she have a c or episiotomy? That could be a why. You need a good perfusion to heal and avoid infection. Without knowing details, that's where my mind would go. But, I'm a student as well and there are a lot of people on here that know a lot more than me!! :)

I wish I could remember them Esme. It was pretty broad... Everything from someone in a homeless shelter to a postpartum mom. I'll let you know what my professor says about it. For now - on to cardiac!!

Thank you for all of the great replies! It's really awesome that you guys (who are clearly brilliant and accomplished nurses) take such time to help a lowly student that you don't know help understand these concepts. Very grateful!

My rationale for the pneumonia one was that even though the patient is being turned every two hours to try to prevent stasis in the lungs, the patient is still comatose, bed ridden, not ambulating, not able to cough and deep breathe, use IS, or sit up. So while turning helps lessen the risk it doesn't eliminate it. It wasn't a "best answer" question, it was a "select all that apply". And the exact question was "which of these patients are at risk for developing pneumonia?" There were 6 or 7 options. In my mind its like saying an obese, bedridden, post op patient is not at risk for DVT because they've got scd's on. I'm not opposed to being wrong, it happens all the time in school and life - I just want to understand why so that I can be a better student and nurse! And that scenario above WAS excellent, thank you!

The rationale was pretty much "because I said so". I have an appointment to meet with her, though. Not to nit pick and argue points, but because I simply don't understand the rationale about a few answers. Another was a select all asking which patients were at risk for pneumonia. One of the patients that I selected as at risk was a comatose patient who is being turned q 2 hours and it was incorrect. I get that turning lessens the risk of developing pneumonia but is that comatose patient really NOT at risk for developing pneumonia at all simply because they're being turned?

Thank you for the helpful responses. That was my thought process. Couple of weird rationales on this exam honestly. I don't want to be "that" person that argues over every question, but I do want to ensure that my critical thinking skills are being honed for licensure and my future career.

Reviewed our most recent respiratory test in class today. There was a question that had a patient in the ER with facial trauma and swelling and asked what the priority assessment was. Two of the options were to assess for patent airway and assess for a skull fracture. (Don't remember what the other two options are, they were irrelevant.). Anyways, I thought it was a no brainer and clearly airway, but the correct answer was skull fracture. My professor told us "I know that airway has been hammered into your brains, but that is old school". I'm not really too concerned about one question on one test (although there was another-same deal, not airway), but I am concerned about the NCLEX. Are they moving away from ABC's as priority?

I'll message you!

Good for you! We had that happen this semester - lost our 115 instructor three weeks from the end of class. Any big plans after graduation?

I can't speak for anyone else, but I used free apps. There was no place for us to leave anything or sit down at all at our clinical site, so I didn't bring more than what I could carry with/on me. So I had my ipod with apps (I used skyscape and got a free Davis Drug download), my clinical papers, and clipboard. I never used the books. I did hear jabbering about us being on our devices from nursing staff on the floor - but as far as I know, we are allowed to be using these things, or else they wouldn't give us the option of downloading $$$ worth of reference books onto our devices rather than buying the hard books. Every instructor is different, though - so I'd wait until the first day of clinical to see what they tell you.

Really well, thanks Jennylou! How's it going for you? Any words of wisdom for us going into 128 and 129?

Really, burden away - it's winter break and I don't mind! :) Cut throat students? I really didn't witness that at all. The program is tough. They try to make it seem way scarier than it is. That was the hardest thing in the beginning. The first thing they do on the first day of all of your classes is tell you all of the different ways you will fail the program. What I saw with the students was more of a banding together to survive than anything else. Everyone is equally scared! Some of the instructors were - umm - nicer than others. Do you know who you have yet? My advice would be to take a deep breath and not let your nerves sabotage you. That's what will get you in your check offs. I would also say from my experience, don't bog yourself down with reading the 500 pages a week that they assign to you in 115. Pay attention and take good notes in class, study your power points, and use the book for supplemental knowledge (ie - topics you don't understand or to answer specific questions on the study guide that you can't find in the power points.) I saw people get overwhelmed at exam time trying to memorize every bit of material from every chapter of the book and lose sight of the important points. 114 you will have to read your books because there are no power points. Clinicals - Do you have any hospital background? Dive in and do everything that you can. The first semester is pretty easy. Show up early, keep busy all day, finish your preps and care plans, and don't miss any classes, and you should be fine. I can't think of anything else offhand - if you have any specific questions please feel free to ask.

I started out with a big binder and loose leaf for each class. What I found is that it was a LOT of bulk to be carrying around every day and we have these tiny lecture desks that they don't fit on opened, so I transitioned into a 5 subject that I'd bring to class for note taking and then rip the sheets out and put them into my binder. Plan for this semester is to use a "case it" soft binder with shoulder strap for syllabus and hand outs and a 5 subject.

Focus on the questions and what they are asking, rather than what you've memorized. If you could give examples of the kind of questions you are having trouble with maybe we could help walk you through them?

I started in the fall. I know it's hard going into the first semester not knowing what to expect, but don't worry too much - you will be fine! :) I'm happy to answer any questions you have.

Interesting thing is that before they even know who we're losing (there are a lot right on the border line of pass/fail going into finals) - They only have 100 clinical spots available for our class that started with 120. So that means they figure they'll lose at least 20 the first semester... crazy! I should check and see how many they offer for 3, 4, and 5!

That's good to hear. I'm just finishing up my first semester of clinicals and honestly, it hasn't been all that bad. Yes, there's a lot of material and time consuming for sure. I've just heard these horror stories and am in classes with people who are retaking because they failed last semester - and I don't get it yet. I guess I'm just scared that there's going to be a point where the hammer drops and it suddenly doesn't come easily to me anymore. (I don't want to say easy, I'm working for it - just that I'm not struggling with the material like a lot of my classmates)

I'm living it right now... And you need to let go. Your house will not be cleaned the way you want it to be. Things will never be moved to clean. You will find a month's worth of crap in the crack between the fridge and kitchen counter. When you have to leave getting the kids off to school up to your husband and come home and see what he sent them to school in - you will be horrified. Just breathe and let it go. And realize that you're lucky he's willing to pick up the slack and he has the best intentions even if he doesn't do things the way you do. As for the specifics of meal prep - I take weekends when I don't have exams the following week and make a ton of food (several batches of about 3 or 4 recipes) and freeze it. Saves money and gets everyone fed on time and without fast food.

It seem's like everyone is always telling me which semester is the "weeding out" semester. And everyone has a different opinion of which that is. So, I'm curious to know what the masses think. IS there a weeding out semester? Or will it be uniformly difficult throughout the program?