coco.nut

GrnTea, Thank you for your suggestions. I do realize that that is the optimum way to find an APRN to answer these questions, except that I work 5 days a week as an RN and do not have extra time on weekends with school and family. This is for my online RN-BSN program, I have no interest in pursuing an advanced degree at the moment. I see your point about speaking with an anonymous person here. Yet we are all anonymous here and ask for questions and advice for nursing practice/school and thus implicitly put trust in the credentials of the person on the other end. I don't think this is much different. This interview is not for a paper, article, or presentation. It is a two paragraph "filler" discussion board question that was given in place of an online collaboration session.

Hello! I am looking for an APRN to answer a few questions for my Professional Nurse Development class in my RN-BSN course load. This was a mid-semester addition, which is causing me some stress because I do not work with any APRNs nor have any professional contact with any in my current workplace (home care). The questions consist of: 1. What type of education, certification, examination, etc. was required for their specific profession? 2. Are they a member of a professional organization? If so, which one and what medium (Facebook, Twitter, etc) if any do they follow? 3. Is there any continuing education required for their specialty? 4. Do they participate in any community events or activities to promote professionalism or the nursing profession? Help is greatly appreciated. Thanks for taking the time to read!

$12 an hour is insulting no matter what part of the country you live in. I made more than that on some cases as a home health aid. I'm sorry you had your time wasted. If employees are so under valued, imagine how the agency treats patients!

Practice until you get proficient at counting. Don't rely on electronics, they can't do all of your assessment for you and they are not always accurate. You will get to the point where you trust your skills and instincts but only with time and practice. I'm not there yet for sure, but I feel slightly more confident every day. You may not have to do manual BPs at clinicals, but you will get tested. It's a very important skill. I never had to take manual BPs at clinicals, but only take manual at my job now. I like the Littman Master Classic II S.E., it was fine through nursing school and in my current job. When I land my desired job on a CVICU floor, then I'll upgrade

I have an ADN, I got hired 2 weeks after I passed the NCLEX. Many of my ADN cohorts also found jobs quickly with good hospitals in the area. Yes, a lot of hospitals prefer BSN's but you can make yourself more desirable by enrolling in a RN-BSN program immediately after receiving your ADN (you can defer starting for a semester as I did). You can work as a CNA or tech while you are in school to get experience and network. That's how I got my job. You can impress clinical instructors who will give you an edge with HR when applying. I would suggest shadowing any area you think you might be interested in. Also of course, check job demand. There's no shortage of nursing jobs. I bet there are even less in x-ray, nuclear med, etc. Why do you have to wait 5 years to apply t other nursing programs?

Have you gone into the nursing office at school to see if they have copies? They should. Also, talk to your director, don't just decide to stay home from a clinical. She/he will be able to tell you the appropriate steps and if this instructor is being unreasonable, it's important for the director to know. Always go through the proper channels, don't take decisions such as this upon yourself. Remember that CYA (cover your a@@) is an important part of nursing

FCC was at about 3.67 when I started. GPA goes up every new class due to the large number of applicants. However, GPA was calculated ONLY from the classes that were pre-reqs, which may make a difference. I would consider retaking classes you didn't get an A in. Just because you meet the minimum GPA requirement doesn't mean you will get in. You will have X number of people with higher GPAs applying for the same few spots. You must be competitive (even though it stinks to have to retake!)

$100-ish for 1 pair of pants, 2 tops and a jacket. Terrible quality, uncomfortable and unflattering and the pants were near dead by graduation. We had to order from this particular company. They suggested 2 of everything, I was a poor student, so no Turns out I didn't even need two shirts, I had plenty of time to wash everything. I regretted the jacket, the only piece we could buy different brands of. I didn't know that when I bought it. It was ugly but it covered up the super-ugly of our uniform. It got stolen at clinicals right before graduation. I had to have one for pinning, so I bought a nicer one! I envy people who could choose what brand! I pay a little more for Koi now, because I think it's very comfortable and that's important to me.

I can say all of my instructors were smart, experienced, and invested in our success. Yes, we used PP an spent time going over each one. They would relate stories, advice etc. We could always ask questions, no one was made to feel stupid and they would admit if they didn't know the answer. If they didn't know it, they would find out and either email if right before an exam or tell us in the next lecture. We didn't have busy work or in-class group work THANK GOODNESS. There were never any tricks on exams and we would go over them the next week. If we felt there was an incorrect answer, we could email with a rational and they would re-examine it. The only complaints I ever heard was that some PPs were more detailed than others (good), thus making it slightly easier to study for exams I am so blessed to have had a great experience in NS, at least from what I've read here about some of the programs!

My advice, if a school is not accredited, cross it off your list. Figure out how much a month you will be paying every month for debt, is it doable? Is it worth it? My ADN cost about 14,000 total, I am (luckily!) debt free. My RN-BSN is $7,000 total at a state school. Find out 1. what are the retention rates 2. what are the NCLEX pass rates. They may have a high NCLEX pass rate but that may be because of low retention rates. Some schools, especially those who do not have high admission requirements lose/weed out a lot of students to maintain high pass rates. Might it be worth retaking some pre-reqs to get higher grades? Why were your grades low? Will you be able to make passing grades in nursing school? Also NP programs are competitive. As it stands now, will you be able to contend for them? Nursing school is challenging, figure out why you were making Cs in pre-reqs and work on ways to improve so you will be successful where ever you go. Getting in is only a small part of the work.

Gloves are also for patient protection.

LiLev, I just use a table to input info name, action, etc. Then you can search for the drug in your doc with ctrl F. I started off using Word, but switched to Google docs for several reasons: It's always accessible wherever I am I can share it with others to use - just give them the doc address I can allow it to be edited so others can add drugs as they run across them as well ( I love this aspect, lol) I wish i had done something similar for my care plans! They are all on the computer, but I have to sift through them for specifics. Often it's just as quick to not use them.

At the point we have 3-4 pts, we are expected to be able to plan care w/o coming in the night before (which is good and bad, lol). We still have reams of paper for each pt, but it is due several days later. My suggestion is do all your care plans on the computer so when you get a similar pt, you can refer back and often cut and paste. I also started a drug database, which has made a huge time difference (sometimes it's the meds that take the longest for me esp in med-surg where some people have ridiculous amounts). Try some progressive relaxation before you go to sleep & melatonin. I had the same problem in fundamentals when I had to wake up at 4:30. I NEVER got more than 3 hrs. It is terrible working on no sleep and dreading having to think coherently in front of instructors.

There is nursing school/NCLEX and there is real life, as instructors say. In NS you learn one way to do something, maybe not even the current standards. However, that is the only correct way when tested. You could always say "we do this such and such way at work, I feel unsteady when doing it (NS) way. What is the rationale behind using this technique?"

My HHA required proof of insurance upon hire and it had to be a certain amount of coverage because we do drive clients in our cars if needed. We also get reimbursed for mileage running errands and ferrying clients around. I have had jobs where all I did was transport clients, which is a nice change from being stuck in a house working. I am in MD and there is no way that one could get to clients houses using only public transportation. We have a bus system in the 2 major cities, but service many clients in the "country" inbetween them.

Get your Littman monogrammed, as it has been shown you will be stuck with some very petty people. Ignore those who begrudge you having a nice instrument. They too will be able to have one in the future if they are successful in NS, so it shouldn't ruin their entire lives if you have one now and they don't. This kind of attitude will though Your instructors are most likely to dislike you if you are petty, immature, unprepared, arrogant...you get the picture. We were encouraged to buy a good stethoscope - except by one instructor who swears by the disposable ones for isolation rooms lol. On the other hand, I guess I don't have to worry about having a crummy car if my Littman is such a status symbol ;D

This is my biggest fear in NS. Nursing school has too much to keep up with date-wise, then add in the rest of life... I started using Google calendar when I started NS. As soon as I get my syllabus I put everything in along with all my non-NS stuff. You can set it to send an email and/or text ahead of time, so sometimes I set it for a day ahead, 2 hours ahead, etc depending. It has helped tremendously, it is one less gigantic thing to worry about I would ask your instructor if there is anything you can do that would give you some extra points. Don't explain that you've been dealing with familial problems and stress lately. Approach it it taking full responsibility and admitting you made a mistake. If they ask about the circumstances then explain. I have seen people using both approaches and it is ALWAYS the one's who say "I made a mistake" and don't try to justify it who are more likely to receive leniency/sympathy.

Love my Addidas. Bonus point, I wear a women's 8.5-9 and fit in a boys 6.5, thus saving $10 adidas Superstar 2 Shoes

I cried when I got my letter and I am NOT a crier, lol. Things to do: - learn to use a calendar. I put everything on my Google calendar and use the alerts so I never forget anything (my biggest fear). - If you like procrastinating as I do, learn to do it less. You will feel like you have more free time, no cramming right before the exam. - Don't panic. NS isn't the end of life as you know it. I still do all the stuff I like to do and always ride the high end of B's. Every school is different. All of my grades are from exams, we don't have busy work or quizzes. I make time for studying and I know how I learn best. I make time to enjoy myself as well. You can't and shouldn't study all hours of the day, you can only learn so much at a time and you don't want to burn out. Be efficient with your studying is what I'm trying to say. I could cut out some fun stuff and make A's, but I choose not to make myself miserable, it's a balance you have to find for yourself. - Be prepared, don't make excuses when something happens like arriving late to clinical or forgetting one of your stacks of assessment papers. For me, getting through all the classes to get into NS was the hardest. NS goes quickly. It is fun, boring, frustrating.... Be flexible (!!!!), use resources, get through it :cheers:

Looks cool? Who looks cool in scrubs, especially nursing school scrubs??!!

No debt for my ADN, thanks to grants. The total cost of pre-reqs and all is about 10K. RN - BSN will be about 10,000-11,000 which will be a mix of savings and as little loans as possible. Where are you going that an ADN costs 20k plus? I can't imagine a community college program would be almost as high as some 4 year state schools. Or are you taking out loans for cost of living as well?

First, 47,000 and 24,000 are a lot of money for an ADN. Second, both of these programs are new. I would question whether they are accredited with NLNAC. Why is this important? Please read this short explanation : http://www.allnursingschools.com/nursing-careers/entry-to-nursing/nursing-school-accreditation A red flag went up when I read the short description for the nursing program at Manegement resources Institute. There was almost no relevent information and a whole paragraph devoted to all the various career options in nursing. There was a grammatical error on the top banner... My advice? Avoid for profit schools at all costs. They are often unaccredited with NLNAC, they cost WAY TOO MUCH. You should not be in debt for years for an ADN degree (mine will be about 10,000 at my comm. college). This is especially worrisome when the job market is bad (it is not good for nurses, no matter what schools tell you). Employers will not choose a for profit graduate when they have a glut of candidates from accredited, reputable non-profit 2/4 year schools. I would wait for a letter from the comm college. I f I didn't get in, I would retake classes and reapply. I would apply to 4 year state schools. They will still be cheaper than for profit schools.

ALWAYS check 3 times. Since this was your instructor, I understand why you automatically assumed everything was fine, I probably would have too, which is why we also have to check. You won't make this mistake again and it probably was a lesson your classmates learned too after seeing what happened. This time it was your instructor handing you the mistake, when you are a nurse it will be the doctor, pharmacist, etc. You are the last line of defense for the patient in any situation! Lesson learned the hard way, but we will ALL make a med mistake at some point in our careers, so remember that when you start to feel totally incompetent!

The geriatric population gets cancer too.

At orientation we were told tales from graduating students about missing important events, spending hours upon hours doing care plans, then more hours and hours studying, how hard the tests were, how scared they were with their first patient, etc Was it as dire as they made it seem? Care plans - horrible, but they get faster. Keep electronic copies and use cut and paste where applicable. on the bright side, they help you remember interventions Studying - hours and hours, obviously. Exams - they have books for teaching how to approach nursing exams. We also had an optional pre-semester class on this. It was invaluable. Social life - still have one. Won't give it up, I have hobbies that are essential to my mental and physical well being. Being miserable won't make me do better in nursing school, it is not a punishment. If you prioritize and have good study skills you should be able to squeeze stuff in for fun. Orientation is a time for the faculty to impress upon you the fact that NS is different from everything you've had previously. If you don't get it together and accept this, you will have a difficult time. There are a lot of adjustments you have to make. Bottom line, don't panic, don't be negative. You haven't even started, you are setting yourself up for unpleasant times. I suggest taking the time between now and NS to figure out some ways to stay organize, research some good study tips and most important - learn how to relax, not become an anxious mess and keep a positive attitude.