Nai'aHI

Could anyone give me an idea of the community reputation of the nursing programs at these two schools? Any graduates of these programs? Many thanks to any who respond ....

Yep - yet another nurse/runner with plantar fascitis What helped? 1) Custom orthotics 2) Stretch - Ice - Repeat (ad nauseum) 3) Good quality running shoes for work (lotsa cushioning) 4) Short-term run of Naproxen Sodium - for about 3 weeks Hint for the icing part: Take a 1 liter container of bottled water and stick it in the freezer (pour a little of the water out first to allow for expansion). Whenever you think about it (and at LEAST once daily), sit and roll the frozen bottle on the floor with your foot. Yes, its COLD at first, but gets easier. It really does the trick, plus it allows you to sort of massage/stretch the plantar fascia while icing. I still get a little achy at the end of a tough shift, but I am able to run, etc. afterwards. Before doing all of the above, I was limping my way even after only 1 hour at work....and having run 4 marathons, I thought that I was accustomed to foot pain! Hope this helps -

Nai'a is Hawaiian for "Bottlenose Dolphin" and HI as in Hawaii.... not too creative, but my other favorite - Tursiops - was taken. Tursiops is the genus for the scientific name of Bottlenose Dolphin

"Handbook of Nursing Diagnosis" by Carpenito. (Now Carpenito-Moyet) Worked really well, with lists of problems/symptoms and suggested interventions with rationales and expected outcomes. try this http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0781743559/qid=1105639545/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/104-1500625-0761559 The most in-depth and involved was Patient Care Standards http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0781739063/qid=1105639329/sr=8-4/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i4_xgl14/104-1500625-0761559?v=glance&s=books&n=507846 but the Standards book was much more involved/detailed - the more 'down and dirty' (in my opinion) was the 1st book. Hope this helps

Here in Hawaii we use a similar system. Every patient is assessed every shift, and a computer matrix-type questionnaire is answered with 'choices' such as - 1)Patient with no mobility limitations (independent) 2)Patient with some limited mobility (min assist) 3)Patient with moderate/max limited mobility (mod/max assist) 4)Patient totally dependent (total assist) and so on. This is done for ADLs, cognitive status, eating/not eating, complexity of care, frequency of required interventions (i.e. on the light every 5 minutes, or continuous monitoring). The resulting score is from 1-4, with 1 the most independent, and 4 maximum complexity. The score gives an average which is then used to determine staffing for the unit for the upcoming shift. Ex: If the mean score for the unit is 3.5 you get 6 licensed personnel and 2 aides; if mean score is 2.89 you get 5 licensed personnel and 3 aides, etc. (These figures are just for example, and are NOT actually reflective of the true matrix.) The matrix is different for different floors/units - again to account for overall complexity/acuity - such as vented patients vs. non, telemetry vs. general med surg etc. Also - we make sure that no one nurse gets all 1-2's or all 4's - makes the workload more balanced for everyone. Hope this helps - john

Another point to remember (which may seem obvious to some, not to others) is that you have to replace ALL of the lines and/or tubing. The same thing applies pretty much to any contamination i.e. particulate matter precipitated out in the fluid, etc. Again - may be obvious to some - but sometimes we need to be crystal clear about everything!

Passed w/ 75 questions. Like the previous posters have said: 75 questions and shutoff mean either really good, or really bad. Let's hope you're with the statistical 'average' and passed !!! In either case - Best of Luck as you start your nursing career !!!

Hey Tweety - You'll do just fine. All you have to do is 1) approach it 1 page at a time, and 2) get a BIG pot of coffee going for the next few years :-) Seriously - (as a professional student here LOL) you can do it. It's always intimidating at first, but once you get into the swing of things, you somehow manage to get everything done and time passes. I know that we all applaud your efforts to improve yourself and to provide even better care for those patients lucky enough to have you as their nurse. Good Luck!

I am probably way out in left field here, but have to say that I find the concept of nursing diagnoses helpful. This comes after years of working with 'medical diagnoses' alone. Not to say that all of the writing of care plans and all is very much fun or useful in and of itself - it's more like a way of thinking that is valuable. The hard part is thinking up all of the problems and then addressing them (nobody likes doing this) - but it is this same process that sharpens critical thinking and removes what we do from 'rote' practices. I was taught in school that nursing diagnoses are meant to address problems or issues facing the patient that we as nurses can do something about. That means that it doesn't have to directly apply to the specific disease process underway with the patient; it just has to be something that applies to the patient that the nurse can do something about. I think that many many students have problems with care plans and nursing diagnoses mostly because no one ever explained "in English" (as it were) what the intent is. In my opinion - Nursing process kind of boils down to three major steps: 1) What is wrong with the patient that (as a nurse) I can do something about or can help with? 2) What specifically can I do to help or change the situation? 3)What happened after I did whatever I said I would in #2? Just my 0.02

Thanks for the correction about the waiting lists, etc. I was not trained here, so can't offer much insight into the specifics that way. The new graduates that I work with who went to HPU are (so far) all good, safe new nurses. That being said, there are all kinds of students, just like there are all kinds of nurses. For my own schooling; some of the students were excellent, and some had a more difficult time with mastering nursing skills. My point being this, pretty much - most any school that is certified, licensed, qualified, etc. will make available a good education. It is up to the individual student to do the bulk of the work and determine how much they learn. I do understand that some schools have better reputations than others (can't really say that I know either way in this case) - but from my own experience, the student makes the educational process what it is - not the school. You can't force people to learn, much though we'd like to try! The biggest consideration at this point (again my opinion) would be the $$$ difference in tuition between private and public schools, which is considerable, to say the least. Just my 0.02

Thanks for the correction about the waiting lists, etc. I was not trained here, so can't offer much insight into the specifics that way. The new graduates that I work with who went to HPU are (so far) all good, safe new nurses. That being said, there are all kinds of students, just like there are all kinds of nurses. For my own schooling; some of the students were excellent, and some had a more difficult time with mastering nursing skills. My point being this, pretty much - most any school that is certified, licensed, qualified, etc. will make available a good education. It is up to the individual student to do the bulk of the work and determine how much they learn. I do understand that some schools have better reputations than others (can't really say that I know either way in this case) - but from my own experience, the student makes the educational process what it is - not the school. You can't force people to learn, much though we'd like to try! The biggest consideration at this point (again my opinion) would be the $$$ difference in tuition between private and public schools, which is considerable, to say the least. Just my 0.02

I work with several HPU new graduates (BSN) - and (in my opinion) all are very well educated. I understand that the school is excellent, but also that it is quite expensive (private) vs. publicly funded university - BUT - there is a waiting list for the latter, none for the former. Hope this helps -

Actually, I have interviewed at two different facilities, one with Omnicell, one with Pyxis. I've worked with Pyxis before (liked it just fine) - but was wondering if there were any pluses/minuses that would help with the employment situation. Yeah, I know it's kind of "retentive" of me, but sometimes it's the little things that make all of the difference. Thanks for your input!

I have experience with the Pyxis system, but none with Omnicell - who I understand is the biggest competition to Pyxis. Could anyone who has experience with both systems comment on comparison and contrast? Many thanks -