ABM1227

Just thought I would update those who took the time to respond. I passed ENPC, I read the book I thought it was an amazing class and I'm very glad I took it, even if I do work med-surg. Thank you all for replying to my question it was greatly appreciated!

Our policy is: Remove cap, scrub with alcohol, flush with 10 mls, waste 5 mls, draw blood (usually just 10 ml's), replace cap and flush with 20 ml's. we are not allowed to use a PICC for blood draws at all if the patient is getting TPN. Also never use a syringe smaller than 10 mls. Seems pretty consistent with most everyone's answers.

I am gearing up to take the ENPC course next month. Any advice or tips on things to study or brush up on? Thanks!

Thank you codeteam B! While I agree I am not working in the ER yet, it is a future goal of mine. Because I do work with pediatrics I want all the tools and experience I need to be able to quickly and accurately assess a child or infant and know whether their current state of health is beyond our capabilities. Same with med-SURG, we may not need to "triage" Pts as they come in the door, but we do need to be able to accurately prioritize our Pts,and again-quickly and accurately decide if they are deteriorating. If these classes will help me achieve these goals I'm all over them.

I agree. Whenever I see a pediatric crash cart in the hallway coming into work I hold my breath and cross my fingers they aren't assigned to me. I'm hoping this class will give me more knowledge in this area of nursing. Knowledge is power, face your fears- haha.

I think specifically because we take pediatrics on our floor. We ship them if they are critical , but during flu and RSV seasons we get quite a few sick kiddos with respiratory distress. Pediatrics can be a challenge for us because the nurses on our floor aren't specifically trained in pediatrics, so when we are assigned a pediatric patient they count as 2 patients D/T the hourly iv checks and q2 hr respiratory vitals. I had expressed an interest in getting more training/experience with pediatrics. She said this class will be a good learning experience for assessment and signs of deterioration. I also had a meeting with the ER director who wanted me to come and precept down there after I had helped fill in a few nights-I told him I didn't feel like I had enough confidence and experience yet. He also recommended me to take both EPNC and TNPC along with ACLS and PALS.

Hi all! I am not sure where the best place to post this so I will start here. I am a recent new grad who has been working on a Med-Surg floor for almost 1 year. Recently my director mentioned having me take an ENPC course next month. I am totally excited but this only the second time I have heard of this course can anyone offer me some insight on what this class is like? It's a two day class. Thanks so much!

Hi All, I am a recent graduate who was blessed to be hired on a Med Surg floor. I absolutely love it! I've asked my preceptor and done some research but I am still coming up short on this topic. Does anyone have a credible source that can help me distinguish the differences in pain medications in terms of strength. I have read a few threads on here with people saying Percocet is stronger than Lortab/Norco etc. Frequently the Physician will have both Norco and Percocet ordered. Normally I look at what the patient has been receiving, ask them how effective it has been working for them base the dose (1-2 tabs based on the severity of their pain). However I would like a better understanding of the differences in strength between the medications to help me make more educated nursing judgment decisions when it comes to administering pain medication. So... Any one know of a credible website that I could use as a reference? Thanks!

I am planning a presentation on Time management. Because we are due to graduate in December I want to gear it more towards time management on the floor as opposed to time management with school work etc. (I mean we are in 4th semester if you haven't figured out how to manage your time with school its a little late now.) I am really wanting to find a group activity involoving time management, I have searched for one but can't seem to find a good one. I was thinking about making up patients with different diagnoses, meds, orders etc, and having the groups try to priortize their care and organize their day. Does this sound effective or useful at all? Does anyone know of any good time management skill activities that I could use? Any help would be awesome, I have been stumped how to do this for a couple of weeks now, and I'm becoming frustrated. thank you!!

I also JUST posted a thread like this one, I havent had much response though. I am also planning my classes graduation and pinning ceremony. What I have planned so far is to hold the pinning ceremony at our campus, with a slide show and a humorous powerpoint. After that we will announce that we are holding an after party at a different location (we are deciding between three local restaraunts) We have a local bakery in our town who was willing to donate a sweet tray (instead of a cake). This way guests can buy dinner and drinks if they wish and it doesnt come out of my $200 budeget the university gives me. We will also serve coffee and tea to go with the sweet tray. I am also having class sweatshirts made for everybody. And because my class didnt want to order the traditional pins I had some buttons made up for everyone. We are also going to do senior superliatives during the pinning ceremony!

I agree, the ceremony is more for all the people that have helped us accomplish our goal. It's been a long journey and we as well as our families, mentors, and teachers deserve some recognition. Our clinical Instructor has made it clear that bowing out of a ceremony is not an option. The ceremony is tradition and is expected of us. Apparently it's a big to do with quite the turn out from the community.

hi all! i am 6 weeks away fromg graduating nursing school, needless to say i am totally freaked out and on top all my anxiety, homework and clinicals, i also got sucked in to planning my classes graduation/pinning ceremony-which will prove to not be an easy task as half of my class members don't even want a ceremony. they are completely negative about the whole situation, which makes my job a lot harder. i have the basics completed: location, time etc. what i am looking for is some ideas on how to make the ceremony more fun... i found a thread on here called "you know your in nursing school when.." i asked my classmates to finish that sentence so i could incorporate some humor in to our ceremony, i also have some pictures i can use to put together a brief slide show. we are having buttons made, instead of pins (because the majority of the class thought the pins were "stupid" and didnt want to pay for them) and possibly we will have either t-shirts or sweatshirts made for our graduating class. does anyone have any suggestions for me? i appreciate any feedback you all might be able to give me!! thank you!! =)

hi all! i am 6 weeks away fromg graduating nursing school, needless to say i am totally freaked out and on top all my anxiety, homework and clinicals, i also got sucked in to planning my classes graduation/pinning ceremony-which will prove to not be an easy task as half of my class members don't even want a ceremony. they are completely negative about the whole situation, which makes my job a lot harder. i have the basics completed: location, time etc. what i am looking for is some ideas on how to make the ceremony more fun... i found a thread on here called "you know your in nursing school when.." i asked my classmates to finish that sentence so i could incorporate some humor in to our ceremony, i also have some pictures i can use to put together a brief slide show. we are having buttons made, instead of pins (because the majority of the class thought the pins were "stupid" and didnt want to pay for them) and possibly we will have either t-shirts or sweatshirts made for our graduating class. does anyone have any suggestions for me? i figured i would post this thread here since most everyone here has graduated and could give me some advice on things that did or did not work. i appreciate any feedback you all might be able to give me!! thank you!! =)

I got married roughly 15 days before I started my FIRST semester of nursing school. We moved to a town close to 2 hours away from our familys. My husband has a job which requires him to be gone for one week and then he returns home and has a week off..week on..week off. On his weeks off he was currently not in school because the campus I was attending did not have the degree program he was currently in at the other campus. Needless to say it is diffucult. I was quite the shock for him to realize that school and homework were my priority. It can be tough at times but you just have to be able to organize your time. Since your fiance is also going to school he might not feel as neglected. Marriage is a beautiful journey and to be honest Im not sure I could have made it through with out my husbands emotional support. He has been so encouraging, supportive, and motivating. There is no better thing than coming home to my husband after having a rough day at clinicals. Im not sure if there ever is a "perfect" time to get married. There will either be school or work, after you graduate you will be overcome by trying to find a job, and then working as a new nurse. I got married when I was 21 and am now 23 and still married to the same fantasic man, I know in reality being married for 2 years is not quite that big of a deal, but still an accomplishment to me. I think with out trials and rocky roads you have no opportunities to grow with eachother and become a better couple for it. I think you should pray about it, God will not lead you astray.

I also will graduating in December, as long as everything keeps going according to plan. You all sound so much more excited than me, I'm more terrified than excited at this moment!

These books are a great supplementation to your required texts. I found them to be a great study tool. These books break down topics into basic, simple, concrete defintions. They give you memory triggers have good diagrams, and although I am not much of a visual learner the diagrams do help. The books break down subjects easily and quickly so you can understand the basics better, allowing you to study the finer details with more ease. I bought the fluid and electrolyte one this summer (mostly because I felt our school really fell short in this area. I ACTUALLY understand acid- base compensation vs. uncompensated now!) I also got a Med-surg one for a review for the summer and will be ordering 3 more for this upcoming semesters courses. Buy one and see how you like them.

PEPID is a wonderful tool, our program required it. It can be spendy though.

It seems like others have your back on this one as well. I also have gotten over 100% on several exams..and this year managed to pull off a 97% on my OB final. Don't let it discourage you. Keep doing what you are doing because its obviously working. If they keep asking you about your study habits, tell them and show them...I frequently re-write my lecture notes and chapters from the text into my own handwritten study guide..and my text books are all full of highlighters to prove I also read the material. Good job on working hard and keep it up =)

The biggest struggles my male classmates had was during the OB roations. Neither of them were able to witness a lady partsl birth, and only one was allowed in on a C-sec. The maternity ward was especially difficult for both of these men and the RN's weren't very helpful for them either. In the classroom I am also the youngest, other than me the ages range from 30-47...I haven't had any problems with my classmates not taking my opions seriously. Your age wont matter to them, your maturity level will though. Don't take it to personally if you come into contact with biases from older classmates and nurses. Sometimes I look at my younger sister who will be 19 this year, and I still don't think shes old enough to drive a car or live on her own yet...but really shes 19. She looks younger than she is and sometimes it can be hard not to forget that she is an adult now. No matter you encounter just smile and kill them with kindness =) good luck!

I agree with learning all the normal ranges for vital signs, also if your super eager learn all your lab values for CBC and Chem panels, know your electrolyte imbalances..learn the signs and symptoms for hyper/hyponatriemia..potassium, calcium etc. I may be overstretching but these are things that you will need throughout your carreer as a nurse and as a soon to be 4th semester nursing student sometimes I still find myself struggling retaining this information..especially the electrolytes. Dont study your brains out just yet though, put all this info on some index cards and keep them in your purse pull them out while your waiting for appointments and such. Dont start you crazy study sessions too soon, trust me you'll get your money's worth once school actually starts. It's also important to spend quality time with family, friends, significant other as your time will be pretty much devoted to nursing and sometimes peoples feelings will get hurt.

I reccommend making your own flashcards. I used 5X8 index cards because they were bigger and allowed me ample room for all the pertinent information. On my flashcards I inlcuded: generic and trade name, therapeutic and pharmacologic classifications, indications, the most common side effects, adverse effects, special considerations (i.e. don't give atenolol if apical pulse is less than 60), patient education, contraindications to the medication. I found that writting every thing out helped me to retain the information better. They also sell rings (like the three rings in your binder) individually at some office supply stores, I would punch a hole in the top corner of my flash card and use the ring to hold them all together. The index cards fit nicely in my purse and are convient to study with through out your day. Also sometimes I used 3X5 index cards and made a giant floor memory game out the flashcards as well, but I am also a giant nerd

I had a similar question presented to me in my OB class. One thing I learned about myself was that I have a bias against fathers not participating in the birth of their children. Our culture tends to promote the fathers involvment in the labor and delivery process. Just try to think about things other cultures may believe that you dont agree with. Try to acknowledge your personal judgements and biases. How do you feel about woman who don't breastfeed, natural childbirth? What about parents who don't stay in the hospital with their children? what about families who don't want to donate their loved ones organs? what about jahova's witnesses who refuse to accept any kind of blood transfusions-even if it means life or death. There are many different ways to go about answering these kinds of questions, its a great tool to help you look within yourself and discover areas that you feel strongly about that could negatively affect your outlook on your patients.

i am a nursing student who will soon begin her 4th and final semester of an asn nursing program. i always thought upon graduation i would be filled with a sense of pride, accomplishment, and knowledge. instead i'm finding myself questioning what i have learned, felling nervous, apprehensive, and concerned about finding jobs. i feel like a baby bird about to be thrown out of the nest and i'm afraid i wont be able to fly. i guess i am just wondering how all of you graduates felt about your upcoming gradutation? how difficult was it for all of you to find your first job or internship? what are some of the biggest challenges you felt you had to overcome during this transition period?

It's nice to see nursing students trying to stay positive and see the brighter side of things. I would enjoy having more classmates like you. I get SO frustrated with my fellow classmates because they all slack off, complain of the long school days, complain about the teachers, the questions on the exams, and any extra time they have to put in and in generall seem to be unhappy about having to even be in class on most days. Good job regaining control of your emotions and being responsible and having a meeting with your instructor. It seems that going to your instructors for clarification of materials, expectations, or just to vent really can have a positive effect on your nursing school experience. Keep up the positive outlook, it will only benefit you and make nursing school more enjoyable =)

Like others have said, my program specifically tells us to always round down, if you underdose the child you can give more, overdose poses more serious problems and children are very succeptible to the effects (good or bad) of even the smallest amount of medication. I would clarify with your instructor what is expected, but in general I would round down to be safe.