Nessa,RN

I'm from NE Ohio and as a new grad I make $26.50/hour with $2.00/hour shift differential.

Thanks for the advice! The brain sheet sounds like an awesome way of organizing...I'm sure I'll need a lot of that and I'll figure out what works best for me. Best wishes to you as well

I don't know how the acuity compares but at my acute rehab unit on nights there are about 12 patients per floor with 3-4 RNs but no aides or unit clerks, so the RNs literally do everything! Patient to nurse ration doesn't exceed 4:1

Let's see...I got my background check completed a month before I graduated, I graduated Dec. 18 and during that time I submitted my mail in app to the board of nursing. The beginning of January I registered and paid for the pearson vue site and literally got my ATT the day after. I didn't take my NCLEX until mid March but that was my choice bc I wanted time to breathe!! I hope this helps.

Well, from what I noticed about the labs on the NCLEX is that it's pretty obvious that they are normal or abnormal. Just memorize around the average lab values and you should be fine!

When I took the NCLEX in Ohio they provided a calculator on the testing computer as well as a dry erase board to do any math problems you need to write out. No lab norms....that is expected of us to know like in the real world :) Best of luck to you!

I did the Kaplan question trainers and got in the 55-67 range and passed the NCLEX with 75 questions. I read on Kaplans website that you should get around 65 the first couple then trainers 6 and 7 you should shoot for 65s. Don't focus on your scores so much...you can get SO many different questions on the NCLEX that I don't really believe that there is one test that genuinely measures your passing rate!

Hi, I'm a new grad and I just got my first job as a Rehab nurse dealing with stroke, ortho, spinal, and head trauma patients. I requested the night shift position 11p-7a and was wondering if anyone works nights in Rehab and knows what I should expect and/or the usual routine?? Thanks for any tips :)

Hi, I'm actually at the job search stage now...I graduated in Dec., took my NCLEX mid March, and now I'm starting to get a few call backs and interviews. I live in NE Ohio and nursing jobs are BAD...there is a huge concentration of nsg schools in my area and we all want jobs now!! So anyway, I've had 2 interviews so far-one at a rehab facility and the other on a busy med-surg floor that deals with GYN/GU/Plastics. The rehab one seemed like the perfect job...3:1 nurse to patient ratio, good schedule, and fellow nurses were happy there. The downside was I wouldn't get benefits because it wasn't union and it was very specialized..rehab for neuro patients. The med-surg one I had worked on the floor already as a nurse tech many times and knew it was CRAZY!, hectic all the time, and the nurses seemed unhappy with their job. However, this one has benefits offered. My decision leans more toward the crazy med-surg just because of the EXPERIENCE aspect of it. I might have hectic and overwhelming days, but it will be rare that there's a medical condition I won't see. My biggest advice would be to not start out in a really specialized area of nursing, but to start more general to get skills under your belt and truly decide what nurse area is for you. What are the two choices of jobs you have? Good luck with your job search!

I attended Kent State University and they use the ATI exam, but it wasn't used as an exit exam. It didn't matter how well you did on it...it was basically for your own personal assessment for the NCLEX. I thought the ATI tests were pretty easy compared to my friend who has to take the HESI. I hope this helps!

CONGRATS! Wow, what an inspiring story you shared! It sounds like you really worked hard to get to where you are today! I just became an RN a week ago and I know that it's an awesome feeling. Good luck with everything!

CONGRATS!!!! It's THEE best feeling in the world to have worked so hard and to FINALLY accomplish being a nurse

Hi! I just graduated from Kent State main campus BSN program in Dec. 2010...let me know if you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them!

Yeah I just passed a couple days ago and my test was probably 80% priority (which med/patient first?) It really doesn't matter how many questions you get...I got 75 and passed and my other friends got 175 and 265 and both passed! I think you should get the guts to do PVT

It's hard telling with just the number of questions you got...a better idea would be how many "higher level" questions you got such as SATA. Did you try the pearson vue trick? It works 99% of the time to ease your mind! Good Luck!