blackandyellow

I took the CMC test and passed it back in March. I found this test to be more difficult than the CCRN most likely because it's more focused. I used the Pass CCRN cd rom and studied the cardiac questions on there and also bought a cd from AACN with practice questions. I would advise studying various cardiac conditions like cardiomyopathies and different types of MI's and learning how each treatment is different. Most of the questions relied on that type of knowledge. Good luck!

I have never used these modules however my unit has recently started using them for all new orientees without critical care experience. They were introduced to us as being the top notch for education however those orienting my unit complain frequently about them. My orientee told me she just clicks through the modules and retakes the test to get a higher grade and isn't retaining much from them. Like I said these are new to our unit so I will have to see how it goes through a few cycles but so far they have not been well liked. I have relayed this information to my manager and we are waiting to see how they work for the next few cycles of orientation.

Just wanted to say congrats on quitting smoking! I got an Ambien rx when I was quitting smoking 'cuz Chantix turned me into an insomniac. I brought in my rx for the drug test even though the nurse said it wouldn't show up I just didn't want to take any chances. Good luck on quitting it's the hardest thing but it's worth it.

I was photographed one time with a patient who posted it on facebook along with other staff members. This was a pt who had been in the ICU for two months we didn't think he would make it multiple times. We got to know his family very well and they got to know us. He came back a year later walking, talking, to be honest I didn't recognize him. We all got caught up in a surprise very happy moment and allowed one of his families to take pictures of us. Sure enough it was on facebook. It's a small world and someone who knew him who knew one of our nurses told her about it. I wasn't upset about it because I agreeded to it in a sense. Today where we have smartphones with numerous apps like snapchat and other sites we are often not aware our photos are being taken. I personally would not like my photo to be posted however like other posters have pointed out it could happen at the supermarket or in the car without our knowledge.

I like the ATI app. I did have to pay for it but it was more convenient for me to have then trying to study all the books. My school requires us to pass all of our ATI tests with a certain score. I found some of ATI to be a little outdated and the lab values can be different so I would just use the app and the ATI books when I studied not outside of ATI books.

OP- It all comes down to how bad do you want it? My school was not leniant and had many changes while I was enrolled. We were suppose to get the summer off but ended up having to take three classes that summer and found out about the changes in a month in advance. What did I do? Canceled my vacation plans and switched around my work schedule. They also combined our medsurg classes and what we did in our previous med surg class did not count. Was I happy with it? No. But I wanted to be a nurse and I sucked it up. Take a couple of days to think it over if you want this badly you will do it. I wish you luck.

Yes!! I graduate in April and only have two papers left haven't started them yet. My classmates and I are also trying to take better care ourselves since the dark bags under our eyes wont help us in job interviews. We are almost there :)

I work in an ICU as a CNA and am in my last semester of nursing school. What impresses the people that I work with is students that are not afraid to get involved and are assertive. We have some students that are too nervous and afraid of doing many simple tasks. The best students are those that get involved. Sometimes we get busy and forget that students are there it is important for students to take the initiative and if you see something interesting happening ask if you can help or watch. I got offered a job in an ICU after doing several clinicals from doing what I said earlier but I was also comfortable in that type of setting which the staff kept pointing out. Good luck!

The worst instructor I ever had was unprepared and taught directly from the book. I went to her to review a test and she looked at me and said I don't write the questions I get them from a test bank so I cant tell you why the answers are the way they are. I could tell she had no passion in teaching and she came off as not caring at all. The best instructor I had gave us the hardest questions. To the point you could read and study and still fail a test. Her main focus was on critical thinking. I went to her several times to go over my tests and I loved her rationales. She would pick apart every question and explain it so thoroughly when it came time to take the final I felt like I knew everything from how thorough her explanations were. She also used a lot of real life experiences that helped put a vivid picture in my mind. I wish every instructor I had was like her she was always available to help.

I was a big partier and friends with everyone. I was always in trouble for skipping school or talking back to teachers. I wanted to drop out but had an amazing guidance counselor who talked me out of it. I always wanted to be a nurse but didn't want to put the effort into to it and didn't have the grades. I always wonder about my classmates too at our graduation dinner we are going to do superlatives and have our photos from highschool displayed I cant wait to see some people's photos.

I was petrified of microbiology and it ended up being one of my favorite classes. Med surg can be a hard class for some people there is some memorization involved and a lot of nursing process involved. What I did in med surg was I always read ahead of class, taped the lecture, rewrote notes, and used some NCLEX study books to help me get used to the questions I might get on a test. If I did not understand something I would google it from reputable websites and having another source explain it helped. Youtube has some amazing videos on diabetes, hypertension, etc that helps. Math and I also are not friends it takes me longer to get it than other classmates but I have never had problems passing med math tests. There are some good websites out there that are helpful. Some of my classmates also have math for dumbies books that they swear by. Just remember that everyone does math differently and uses a different way to solve the problem find a way that works for you and stick to it. Best wishes next semester!

I find that I'm the opposite of the women you described if anything I'm too nice. I usually do not tell people that I am in the healthcare profession because I do not want to be like those women you described but it always ends up coming out one way or another. For instance when my grandmother was in the ICU I was helping the nurse turn her and her monitor kept going off so I asked her if she would mind if I silenced it. Let the cat out of the bag there. Usually most of the patients family members I have who are nurses are generally very nice and it makes it easier explaining things to them such as why a pt on lasix needs potassium. However I did have one patients daughter who kept silencing and restarting her fathers pump and he was on pressors I had to put a stop to that behavior real quick.

Does your school give you a username and password for ebsco? I have found many nursing journals on there that have been helpful to use for my papers. Make sure you follow your teachers rubric to a tee. Believe it or not many people in my class ignore the rubric and wonder why they don't do so well on papers. Is your teacher or another instructor willing to read the paper ahead of time? I have had some professors that offer this and it has been helpful to me. I had no idea how to use APA and got confused so I downloaded PERRLA APA and MLA Format and Style Software by PERRLA, LLC - PERRLA.com and have used it for every paper and have never gotten points taken off for APA. If you would rather not download it some of the links previous posters said are reputable and many of my classmates use and like them. Good luck!

I am not good at math I had to hire a tutor for my college algebra class and I dreaded taking statistics. I ended up taking it online because it was the only thing that I could do with my work schedule. I ended up liking statistics, found it easier for me then algebra, and got an A in the class. I wouldn't recommend taking it online but for me it was my only option also knowing my student center had a tutors available if I needed them helped. I think statistics was more interesting to me and my teacher used a lot of examples from the health care field to make it so nursing student could relate to it. I even ended up doing my final project on ventilator related pneumonias. I'm not sure if statistics has helped me in nursing school but whenever I read an article saying something is 150% of people have a disease I know it is not a legitimate statistic since nothing can be over 100% :)

Thank you so much for posting this I took care of my father and three months after he passed my mom did and I took care of her too. It was so draining in ways I cant explain that you summed up well in your post. It sounds nice to be able to take care of aging family members but the emotional toll, finances, and physical toll are a big consideration. At the end of the day my family members got their final wish to die at home. However there other family members of mine would not have been able to do this and I had to sacrifice a lot also.

I have the same problem. I usually shower the night before a clinical and put my hair in a bun to sleep with so it doesn't get too unruly. In the morning my hair is still a little damp but I put a ton of frizz gel in it and put my hair in a bun or pony tail for clinicals.

I have been an on and off again smoker for ten years. Unfortunately with nursing school I picked the habit back up again and don't see myself quitting anytime soon. It's very hard to go through clinicals not smoking and always trying to hide it from my classmates and instructors. I plan on quitting again once school is over. What has worked for me twice was Chantix I found this to be the best out of all the other methods I tried cold turkey, gum, the patch, lozangers, e cigarette. You smoke on it for a week while it get's into your system. It literally makes the cigarette taste gross and to the point after a few puffs you end up putting it out because you no longer want it. I highly recommend it. The downsides of Chantix was I had a hard time sleeping, very weird dreams, and it was expensive( my insurance didn't cover it). I wish you the best of luck it's a hard habit to break.

My school has the same policy. I took care of a sick family member who was dying the day I had 3 tests. I'll never forget emailing my instructors from my phone at 4 am explaining why I would not be there to take the test. My family was looking at me like I had 10 heads. My school is very strict and if I didn't email them prior to the tests I would have failed regardless that I was busy giving morphine to a dying relative. Another girl I go to school with her husband had a heart attack the night of a test, she failed to email her teacher and they gave her a zero on the test. My advice would be to talk to your instructor and explain to her your concerns. She most likely will not bend the rules but maybe there will be some extra credit or she may be able to help tutor you so you score higher on your exams. I am sorry this happened to you, that's always been a big fear of mine that I would miss an exam. Don't give up! I remember my second semester I needed a 95 on a final and a test to pass. I thought I couldn't do it but was determined to give it my all and I ended up getting those 95's. Good luck!

I work three 12 hour shifts a week while going to nursing school full time. I usually work overnights I think it helps that I work three days a week verses four or five. My employer allows us to do self scheduling so I usually try to schedule an overnight shift for the weekend or a day that there is a short lecture. I try to avoid scheduling myself on the night before a clinical because some days I feel like a zombie. It's not easy but I make it work and stick to a strict studying schedule that works for me.

1.) My biggest obstacle didn't have to do with nursing school but my personal life. I took care of my dad while he was on hospice, worked full time, and was a full time student. 2.) I would have saved up more money so I did not have to work full time. But it isn't too bad I just stick to a strict studying schedule that works for me. I was also grumpy some days. Working 3-11 then studying until 2, my dad waking up multiple times in the night, and then 6:30 AM clinicals. There was some instructors I was a little short with and I became a target. However being a target worked to my advantage because I always had to be on top of my game. Since I was always as prepared as I could be I ended up learning more than if I just stayed in the background. 3.) I would say enjoy the time you have with friends and family before school starts. I still have time for people but not as much as I would like. Maybe invest in a care plan book if you're nervous about them. They're not too bad just time consuming. Good luck!

Keep at it! I applied to the hospital I currently work at 6 times before I got a phone call back. One of my friends in HR says she get's 300 CNA/PCT applicants a month so sometimes it's just timing. One of my friends got hired at another hospital by going to a job fair there and applied there 3 times prior. Dont give up it will happen it just takes time.

I dont like how unorganized my school is. The instructors are organized but our administrative office constantly loses thing's and isn't helpful. I dont like how my new director has an open door policy and keep stressing that yet I went to her to ask a question and she said I would have to schedule an appointment through her secretary. I like the majority of my classmates but I dont like how rude one is. She heard through my friend that I got an A on a paper and an A on my test and said they were pity points because my teacher feels bad for my home life. My teacher only knows a small part of my home life because I had to get an excused absence for a test. I worked hard on that paper and for the test would spend all day dealing with my home life then go to a 24 hour coffee shop studying for that test until 4 AM every night. I got those grades from working and studying hard! I also dont like that I cannot tell her off when she said that to me because I have to act professional at all times.

I'm burnt out with school right now and feel like I chose the wrong school. What I like about nursing school is getting the syllabus at the beginning of every semester and thinking there's no way I'm going to be able to do all of those thing's and I pass all of them. I dread a lot of it but at the end I feel like I've accomplished so much and I know I've learned a lot. I like the friends that I have met in my program, they are the only people that understand the demands of nursing school and are a great support system.

I work in an ICU as a CNA and we are responsible for checking the carts. Pharmacy handles the medications and the charge nurse on second shift checks the defibrillator. We have to check the cart once a week and after every use. We use to check the defibrillator years ago but someone messed that up so it is strictly nurses who check it where I work now.

I'm in the same boat. Passing is an 80 and I have a 79. I have one test left and then the final. I dont have any advice other than make sure you meet with your teacher and go over your past tests. I'll be doing that this week. Just wanted you to know you're not alone. Good luck.