BeeGeeRN

in my third class at CCN :) I think the classes are good. I'm currently in Nursing Informatics....def not my fave class, but i'm learning new stuff (and revisiting a WHOLE lot of what you learned in undergrad, but never use in the real world I'm fumbling through NANDA/Nic/Noc right now for a small paper, so i feel as though I'm back in undergrad again ah well! I still have health care policy and EBP i think then its on to the big dogs....patho and pharm. I'm scared of them both bc they are only 8 weeks each. I have a friend that goes to Maryville...their classes are 8 weeks too, until you get to path and pharm, then they are both 16 week classes, taken together (ew!). I hope patho/pharm is do-able in 8 weeks!

any of you ladies in the class that starts today?

Doesn't the mandate say something about 90% of charting has to be on an EMR by 2014..... Not sure but I think that includes all clinics too? Your office could be in for a very stressful 2014. I went "backwards" with charting as a travel RN. I was traveling around my metroplex but found a PRN job at a hospital (incase I didn't want to deal with contracts etc. They were all paper charting. Had to grab my labs that were tubed to us and filed every morning charting 6 tele Pts by hand... Wasn't allowed to chart by exception (full notes q2h on each pt, my hand killed me!!!!!) it was a nightmare, that job didn't last long! Your. Friend is right, you'll be a super user when that office finally goes EMR thanks! ~b. Sent from my iPhone using allnurses.com

Pardon my stepping in to this thread as a regular RN (about to start FNP program). Something stuck out in your post... When you say you constantly have to follow up with staff to tell them they have orders, then follow up with ancillary services to find out results etc. This. This is why you are not able to see more patients like your MDs probably like. Why are you having to do this?! Do you use an EMR? Do nurses effectively use their order review? If results are on EMR, do you have realistic time frames for labs/results (I don't mean to be rude.. At all, but I get impatient with labs where I currently work bc I'm used to ICU and rushed results ... Or does this need to be brought up a chain of command as why stuff is so delayed. I feel as though there is a process issue for the unit you work on. When I was on a floor, I was responsible for carrying out all orders, if there was a delay- it was MY job to get the ball rolling and ask why stuff was delayed. If I missed order, it was my butt for not checking my orders Etc. I've worked closely with NP's and they were not responsible for all of what you do, it was my job as an RN. If my NP noticed something wasn't completed in a timely manner, she we talk to me and I followed up with it. thanks! ~b. Sent from my iPhone using allnurses.com

Thanks all! I decided to go with chamberlain. My experience was so much better with them... Wayyyy better than maryville! Also no group projects was big for me too, a friend attends maryville and is constantly frustrated with her group projects. She has also had quite a few "run ins" with a professor. I prayed about it and felt that chamberlain was the way to go. They went above and beyond to make sure all the state paperwork was in line to get me going which showed a lot about their word and their desire to help students. I start jan 6th :) thanks! ~b. Sent from my iPhone using allnurses.com

Long story short, I was accepted to start first of november but bc of some state requirements for clinicals (apparently Chamberlain was missing some paperwork) I decided to hold off on starting until it was resolved (I didnt want to assume it would get fixed and later find out it didn't, then try to transfer around, no thanks!) Since then, everything is in order and I'm now starting Jan 6th :) hope to "see" some of you guys in class with me! I'm super nervous bc I haven't been in school in 9 years...and even then we used MLA formatting for papers. I hope i can get the hang of APA quickly. I was also accepted to Maryville but after much debate/prayer/conversations with my husband, i've decided to attend Chamberlain......

Well....thanks.... I guess thanks! ~b. Sent from my iPhone using allnurses.com

So...I've made a list, (checked it twice...actually 100 times ) of the key points to each program. They've come out pretty similar. I'm having a battle with my self on which one to choose. I have had road bumps with both schools involving the admissions process, but chamberlain handled it MUCH better than the lady at maryville. Chamberlain: I found out (AFTER I was accepted,....and*I* informed the school!) that they were not actually approved in my state (SD), they thought they were. I had to delay my start date until I was comfortable with the progress of the paperwork. FINALLY I found out that it was all approved (before the schools office even knew, I just emailed and asked the state....again, *I* informed their office hahah) It was a hiccup however, they were really nice and worked hard to get everything in line. This obviously was not just for me, but also currently enrolled students from SD. They kept me fully updated on the progress and really made me not freak out about this haha (2 weeks before my school start date!) Maryville: I got a lot of back talk from the admissions person and she really frustrated me...even snapped at me a few times about my essay (she didn't like how I worded a few things, also was not clear on some of her instructions....when I told her I wasn't aware of something I got the response of: well, I would NEVER forget to tell you ____ (OK, I'm sure sometimes you might, but whatever). Also, when she was telling me how she didn't like my intro sentence to my second paragraph of my essay, I must have said something about how she was being not so nice.....her response: "I'm really inundated right now and just overwhelmed" hmmmm OK. She told me to delete the first sentence and it needs to start with certain wording etc....OK fine, I did that. Both are costing about the same, both have similar course paths. Chamberlain is a well known/old nursing school, Maryville is an established university. Both are fairly new. I need to take a trip to chamberlain once, none with maryville.... just wondering if anyone else has any tidbits to help me make a decision. Thanks! B

Hey NV.... i'm in SF also. I work at Sanford in the Cath lab (was at aver before that in ICU) we should meet for coffee when school is going! So...a couple of things i wanted to update you on....Everything is ready to go with SD and Chamberlain. Now there is a person at Sanford that actually PLACES FNP students to a clinical preceptor. This is a huge relief to me bc even though i have some connections in mind for clinicals....they may have already commitments for other students. This person (through Center for Learning) will place you in the correct setting and track you through school. If you have a connection for a preceptor then you just tell her, she does the paperwork (or at least helps you) and then makes sure that the preceptor is still available and pairs you that way. This placement person will be mighty handy if stuff falls through I think. She said they place 100+ students each semester (which is why her position was created!) bc the offices at both hospital (avera/sanford) were getting flooded and it was getting too crazy she said. I will appreciate her placement when it comes to Peds clinicals. the only connection i have is a specialty :-/ Anyway.....Avera has this same type of person of that group....i don't know the name yet, but i figure if i can stay at Sanford, that will work.....I'll find her name later. Also, each school has to fill out paperwork for an "affiliation agreement" for the hospital. Chamberlain has it already for non FNP students (msn with the education route)...they are currently working on amending and including FNP students on that agreement. I haven't checked avera yet. Have I babbled enough yet? Anyway, glad there is someone local doing this program also! Where are ya working right now? have a good rest of the weekend! talk to you soon! If you want, i can email you my email. (you can see my PM's even if you can't send them yet)

8 years since I graduated with my BSN-- I bought the APA book already to figure it out, it's foreign to me hah! Also my univ provides a site to submit papers to for review before due date, so I will utilize that a lot I hope I can regain the momentum of using APA thanks! ~b. Sent from my iPhone using allnurses.com

So-- when we graduated with our BSN (2004) in Texas (Midwestern state) , I had 4 classmates with an MIP charge on their record. They had to declare it to the board, submit essays on the issue, send a lot of paperwork in to the BON and pay some fees for the extra work. It took 2 months to get answers- all were allowed to test...eventually....for nclex. Graduating wasn't an issue (bc it's school level). My hint to you is start very early on getting this issue resolved. If you can get it dealt with as an RN, I think u night have luck with the FNP part (1 of those college kids with the MIP has become an APRN)... But you have to follow their reaalllly specific instructions, allow time, pay their fees. I hope this was of help... Sorry if I didn't answer your question thanks! ~b. Sent from my iPhone using allnurses.com

congrats to everyone starting!! Lets stay in touch hahahah survival in group mode

Miiki......i wish our BON was that transparent! I had to read 4 pages of bylaws to find the sentence that said "must be an approved school". I knew it would have to be accredited (obviously) but had to find that sentence THEN call them and speak with them to find out what approved meant. I found out that they must register w/ the secretary of state as a business of SD. The faculty member in "charge" of me during clinicals must have a SD license, a compact license, or hold multi-state licensure (with sd or a compact state).....Illinois is not a compact state, so it would have to be a multi-state lic. holder. Chamberlain says that they have been ok'd by SD/SD BON to allow students to apply to chamberlain. SD BON says that Chamberlain is not an approved school. The school is trying to get it straightened out and give me a final answer this week. Its a paperwork overlook on one end or another, I'm just glad they are working to fix it! They assure me that they will not let a paperwork issue prevent me from legally going to school...

we staff EVERY case with 4 staff members. usually 2 RCIS (scrub & Monitor) and 2 RN's (circulate and "nurse"...they document, give meds etc). Sometimes RCIS circulates....which leaves one nurse in the room. Usually its ok, if its any urgent case or any on call case, it is always 2 nurses, 2 RCIS. All of our RCIS are acls certified so push comes to shove and a patient codes, they are able to push meds, able to do anything I can do. I feel safe with it this way. Our cath lab does anywhere from 20-60 cases a day, so its usually on our coordinators to staff appropriately. During intense cases, they put an extra nurse in the case (so 3 nurses, 2 RCIS) to help with emergency meds and circulating, pacing etc.