KentechRN

I have to agree with the posts here that the customer service based reimbursements are just a bad idea. I just got out of the tourism/entertainment business and I know what it's like when all focus is on customer service, it won't be pretty. Regards,

Make sure you don't flush so I can see your BM. Throw up in this basin so I can see it. Spit in this so I can see what color it is.

Perfect, that's what I carry and after reading this I'll have to be sure to keep it. Regards,

Just wondering which malpractice insurance you have. I do carry one but it sounds like yours really backed you up well. Regards,

I've only been a nurse for a short time and nursing school is still fresh in my mind. The nursing students on my floor are all from the same school I graduated from so I have a decent idea of what they're going through. I love having students working in my group and try my best to grab them for anything interesting and help them where I can. I'm also quite frightened that I will mess up in front of them because, as I said before, I'm still new to a lot of things too. I hope my desire to help students learn doesn't fade but it's true, having a student can be quite time consuming and even irritating if the student has a "done that, don't need to do it again" attitude.

I use a Littmann classic that I recently purchased. I like having the bell side and the tunable diaphgragm and I definitely hear a difference between it and my old prestige medical stethoscope from school. I think it's worth the investment especially if you're having trouble hearing and differentiating breath sounds.

I would want the extra PPE just for the flying bodily fluids. It has nothing to do with the patient having HIV or not. There is no need to expose yourself to these things regardless of what the patient has. It's not like this patient is HIV+ with no other issues. There is a risk of exposure to bodily fluids that I would want to decrease in this case.

I wouldn't require experience in patient care. Sure it's a good thing but previous experience does not guarantee they will be good and lack of it doesn't mean they will fail as a nurse. Many here may not agree with this but even without patient care experience in the past a nursing student can succeed and become a good nurse.

In my clinical at a BHU our instructor always told us that it was a just a fine line that stood between us and the patient. She believed, as do I, that any person can be pushed over the brink given the right (or wrong really) set of events. I think this is something for any nurse to keep in mind when caring for a client who was just pushed over that brink.

Needles, needles, needles, needles. Didn't really if I was getting stuck or not, the things freaked me out. When I decided to go into healthcare I realized that this might be a problem and started forcing myself to watch when I got a vaccine, blood draw, etc. Now I'm at the point that I'm almost volunteering to be stuck for a shot and it really doesn't bother me anymore.

If I was in that position I would jump at Hospital 2. It just sounds like a much more fulfilling and supportive environment, at least on paper.

I also was deciding between radiologic tech and RN. I ended up going the RN route but you may eventually want to consider doing both. In certain settings both licenses could make you invaluable.

I did a lot of practice questions from a Saunders NCLEX prep book but I'm not sure what the name is anymore. It came with a CD with 5,000 practice questions that I made a lot of use of.

A photographic memory or Eidetic memory isn't really something you can get. It's more of a natural ability to remember pages from books/photos almost perfectly with very little exposure to the material. However, since nursing involves a lot of critical thinking I wouldn't believe that an Eidetic memory alone would get someone the best grades in class although it would help.

I was in pretty much the exact same situation. Only had a couple rather unimpressive jobs in the past and had not worked in a while. I have an Associates and a lot of places want experience or just wouldn't give me a shot. I just recently got a job and I did it by networking. Try to get in contact with anyone you know who works in a hospital or other place with job offers and ask them if they can put a good word in for you. In the end, for a new grad networking is very important.

I sent an email and a thank you note to everyone who interviewed me. I got the job about two days after sending the thank you notes and my manager did thank me for the note the next time I spoke to her. It definitely keeps you in mind. It also shows that you are courteous, aware of current professional behavior, and if you send it promptly it shows that you are on top of things. Definitely send a thank you note for everything.

Well if you want to do some teaching with hygiene you could always look into the "germ" cream/powder and a black light as part of your presentation. A lot of A&P, Biology, & Nursing instructors will do this to teach students the important of hand-washing and there's a good chance you have an instructor who has the supplies and might let you borrow them to use for your teaching project.

That is NOT the proper use of the call bell.

"It's the End of the World as We Know It" I listened to his before every test I took in nursing school and before my NCLEX-RN. I listened to it before my job interview today too :).

I'm in a similar situation as you are. If you've done anything relating to customer service it is good since it shows you can interact with people. Those of us without a lot of clinical experience outside of school have to think out of the box as to what could be relevant to what you are applying for. If you need more you can also think about volunteering for nursing related experience as well.

It's most likely also illegal if you are not getting paid for work done or not getting breaks that are probably mandated by labor laws.

Just don't act embarrassed or nervous about being who you are. If you have a strong personality then they can't help but respect you for expressing yourself.

Sometimes you really don't have to say anything. Just listen and be there for her to cry on if she needs it. If she's looking for reassurance then give it to her but if she just wants someone to listen to what she's feeling then you can be there for that too.

Statistics wasn't required for my AAS in Nursing (RN) and I graduated from the program. I don't feel like I missed anything by not having statistics although I do like math.

Make sure you get a good night's sleep and that you are confident you know how to get to the testing center. Give yourself plenty of time to get to the testing center in the morning and have your paperwork and identification all gathered together and ready to go so you don't stress yourself out before you even get there. When I took my NCLEX they took my picture, scanned my fingerprint, and did a palm scan so don't be surprised by anything like that and don't let that make you nervous either. You can pass with 75 questions or 265 but plan for more so you don't freak out if it doesn't cut out at 75. Don't forget that in the worst case scenario, you can always take it again.