runner25

Perfect! Thank you. I love cardiac. I am still affiliated with a hospital so it may not be too difficult to get in. Great to hear a firsthand story. I really appreciate it because I think I need to decide by tomorrow for one opportunity!

I was wondering if anyone worked at a specialty clinic then switched to inpatient. I did my preceptorship in the ED, am working in a specialty clinic inside the hospital, and want to switch to inpatient for a faster pace and higher acuity. Please share your experiences so I don't feel like I did everything backwards:)

I feel like I always get behind. I mean, I think talking about money is important. I cannot work as often as I wish I could (every day!). Here's some random little things (for me, saving hundreds a month helps). To me, the biggest expense is rent. I do not think I can afford 40-50% for rent. After that, I spend a lot of money on food. I'd rather cut back on other areas. Look at any automatic expenses you have. Do you use the $10 magazine subscription, the $30 gym membership, the $20 online movies, etc? Make sure you are not paying hundreds for prescriptions or more health insurance premiums than you need. A lot of plans cover 6 visits a year, and paying $50 a month for insurance versus $125 can make a huge difference. Negotiate any possible cell phone or other bills. I know family plans can be hundreds of dollars a month. Make sure you are not late on any library fees, DVD rentals, childcare pick up or anything where it is going to charge you more. See if there are months where you are paying more utilities. In the summer, utilities are more, so see if you can start savings. If you start an emergency fund, you will feel like you have more money. Eat less meat if you can, eat out one day less a week, eat grains and veggies only one day a week, drink more water, if you drink carbonated drinks (don’t buy them individually but in a case of 12 cans if you have to). If you have errands like grocery shopping, use less gas by doing your grocery shopping only one or two times a week. Don’t subscribe to anything online where you see something you can buy online. Find something that will motivate you to save. Not just paying for grad school or paying off debt but somewhere you want to travel, something you want to do! Also for me, I did not have a big limit on gifts. Giving $25 for a colleague's kid every month, giving $50 for someone's birthday, $ for Christmas, $50 for someone's wedding can add up if you're the type of person that gives without thinking. I know I spend less in summers (but the utilities go up and I buy more iced tea/coffees) than winters, but I try to plan accordingly. Good luck!

I think the most important thing to remember for written tests is that if you see something out of the ordinary, notify the RN. If you see a patient with low blood sugar or they are having difficulty breathing, notify the RN. If you have a question and need something clarified, notify the RN. If you have two RN’s telling you different things, then get them to talk to each other. As a tech, someone told me that nurses aren’t usually going to be yelling at you for helping them. Try not to be nervous. Even if you are one floor and do not see the same staff again for several months, they will probably remember you. Most floors have routines. Each floor may feel like a different hospital though! Some floors have 9 am vitals and then every 4 hours. Some floors have vitals at 7 and you take them right when you get to the floor. When you get a floor, ask if they have an assignment sheet (where you write down patient room numbers). Then, you usually go in to see each patient and then talk to the RNs after they do report. With call lights and blood sugars before meals, you will stay fairly busy. There may be other end-of-shift tasks each floor may do. A lot of floors are similar, but usually on ICU floors you do not take vitals. So most of the time, you make yourself available where nurses can see you. You ask them at the beginning of the shift and look at the patients’ charts – you may be turning them or positioning them every two hours. Some patients may need a finger stick blood glucose every 15 minutes for some diabetic situations. If you do know what to do on ICU floors, sometimes they have certain times techs empty Foley catheters. They may do morning baths and a morning linen and supplies round. Good luck!

1) get a pet 2) start tracking your finances/make a budget 3) train for a running event 4) volunteer for something 5) read books, watch movies or TV shoes 6) travel 7) start a blog 8) do some activities in your city like exploring downtown 9) practice an instrument 10) cook some dishes 11) get certified in wilderness medicine 12) mentor someone in your old college 13) get to know your family more 14) buy a sewing machine and learn how to quilt 15) trace your genealogy 16) search all the festivals in your area - sometimes there are luminarias/lights during the November/December/January season 17) go to a farmers market or a food co-op 18) take up photography 19) visit museums or local attractions that tourists would do 20) find some local friends who may relate to being lonely I would definitely encourage you to do something you liked to do when you were younger but did not have time to do in nursing school. For me, I think that will be reading more current books, exercising more, or doing something that doesn't actually involve people when I am not working. :)

From my understanding, there are no real raises this year. But if you go up the clinical ladder to clinical nurse II (12-18 months later?), you can get paid more. I think clinical staff nurse IIs are hired at $28-29 an hour.

Thank you so much; I work there as a tech and was wondering! Good luck at work! If you have any questions, PM me! :)

Can anyone confirm that the new grad salary is $23/hr?

I go to Pima. Yep, there is a drug test and a HESI test. If you get a low score on a HESI section, they recommend some reviews before you start the first semester. That is what it's for.

Nursing credits are the same price as non-nursing courses. If you take your prerequisites/corequisites before you enter nursing school, the most you have to pay for is 12 credits per semester. Before entering, I had the cpr course ($30), dps fee, the hesi fee, the drug test fee ($15), a cheap stethoscope fee ($40), immunization fee ($100 - had to get a couple titers and mmr), physical fee ($20), and nursing clogs ($40). You can try to ask someone who has completed nursing school for their books or for a discount on books or buy them used. But yes, the fees are slightly accurate though you can pinch a few pennies here and there. As you are closer to graduate, you will want to do the Kaplan review course and have to pay for licensing.

Oops, I mean, HESI, not NET.

I applied June 2010 and am accepted for this fall 2011. That is three semester wait. I was on the waiting list as an alternate (I think, top 15). I found out the end of April that fall entrance may be a possibility. Apply as soon as possible. Make sure the pre-health advisor accepts you and follow through on that. Expect to hear back around a year later. Go to the orientation, do well on your NET (math, anatomy, and reading especially), and take microbiology while you are waiting.

I applied April 2010 and had a time stamp in June 2010. I have not heard back of any start date. I guess Spring 2012 at the earliest (that would be a four-semester wait)

A few applicants who applied in March and April 2010 have been offered a seat for Fall 2011. So if you applied near that time, good luck!