MannaKay

I am in what I feel is a uniquely crappy situation, at least in the class I graduated from. I graduated in May of this year, had already accepted an offer at a local hospital on the Med/Surg floor and was super excited. Unfortunately I got denied to take the NCLEX. I'm waiting on paperwork and junk to go through so I can get a waiver (it will happen, it's just taking SO LONG) but the hospital is working with me and allowing me to be a CNA until I can test. It's been two months and I already hate the hospital! I obviously hate the CNA part. I didn't go to school for two years and spend as much as I did to be a CNA. But I'm close with the nurses and see and feel the stress they handle on a daily basis. Med/surg is just miserable. It's the usual, unsafe ratios and not enough time or resources to get the job done. I just hate it, and I haven't even started yet! I guess the reason I'm posting is to ask what other options anyone can suggest. Since I haven't actually started as a nurse at the hospital, I am going to decline their offer and find another position once I test. I don't want to burn bridges but I'm already having panic attacks and my dislike for work is affecting my home life. I like the money at a hospital but am willing to take less if it means I won't hate my life.

A few people in our class got this scrapbooking tote from Hobby Lobby. It's a little pricey, but it will last. It fits all of the books we needed daily, plus has lots of little pockets for pens, pencils, highlights, post-its, etc. http://shop.hobbylobby.com/search/default.aspx?ItemId=80145&searchTerm=rolling+tote

Coming from a job at a hardware store making $7.50 an hour, I will also be glad to start around $20/hr. I'll be making what my mom does after 13 years w/JB Hunt straight out of the gate. Now how is that a bad thing? Granted, that is if I can actually find a job...

We have a super study group. There are anywhere from 2-8 of us at any given meeting, but usually it's about 6. We meet in hotel lobbies w/wi-fi (after we call and make sure it's ok, of course) and basically just read through our powerpoints/notes. We find this to be helpful as everybody takes different notes, somebody may have written down something you missed and vice-versa. Other times we do nclex questions, mostly from the success books (fundamentals success, med-surg success, etc). We take a lot of breaks and joke around a lot, coming up with silly sayings or stories to remember key concepts. We always say we'll meet weekly to keep caught up, but we usually just meet the weekend or couple nights before a test. We are far from serious or structured, but it works for us. I never studied in a group before nursing school either, but I wouldn't have made it through the first year without my study group. We're like family! Remember, not every group is going to be the right fit for you. Try studying with a few people to see who you work best with, and study by yourself, too.

I have a 3in binder for each class. I print out every pp and label them with tiny post-its so I know where everything is at a glance. I have a ton of 1in binders at home where I keep things divided and labeled by class/test. So far I haven't had any problems w/disorganization. However, I'm about to have to get another bookshelf because my books and notebooks are overflowing! I carry a normal backpack but don't take a lot of books to class (we have e-books if needed) A couple classmates got a rolling scrapbooking tote from Hobby Lobby that carries a lot of books, and they're cute.

Anesthesia carried them and the OR nurse would follow with the bed. They handed them to me and made sure I was holding them safely before they left.

I'm in nursing school and did OR rotation last semester and was the "baby holder" on one of my PACU days. It was ENT day, tons of T&As and tubes, they carried almost all of the little ones back from surgery and handed them off to me to hold. The only one I didn't was a 3 yr old with a special ear bandage. As they usually have a designated 'baby holder' I assume it's standard practice in their PACU.

Oh my geez, we have a couple of these. It drives me crazy! If you're just going to read me slides and not elaborate at all or answer questions, what is the point of us being here? We can read the slides to ourselves in the comfort of our own homes, thanks. If you asked our Funds instructor a question she would just say "Uh huh. Yeah." Maybe she's a good nurse (I hope so, she works in a NICU!) but she is not a good teacher. And unfortunately we're so short on nursing instructors that the evals at the end of the semester don't mean a thing.

I took both A&P2 and Micro in the same semester (as well as human growth) and got As in all three. If you're not working, I think you can do it. Good luck!

What queenjulie said, wait. You can stock up on basic school supplies and the success books (fundamentals, med surg) but you don't want to waste money on anything they don't want you to have. Also, my school had a 'sale' during orientation where we could buy a lot of what we needed through them for cheaper than on our own. There are A LOT of unexpected expenses in your first semester that I wish I had been warned about, so be ready.