Lucidity

thank you very much for your quick reply and suggestion. i agree. it hasn't been an issue in years, and i'd hate to risk losing my dream job over a psych problem i had in high school

I'm attending a health screening soon for a new job and it asks on my pre-screening forms if i have a hx of depression, which i do, as well as an eating disorder. this was treated back in 2008 and i don't take meds/ receive therapy anymore. i haven't had any issues either. is there any chance that i will be disqualified from employment with my history?

i am also curious to learn more about Inova's cc program! jstage, did you apply to it?

Hi everyone, quick question... I have a history of bulimia/ depression. I was diagnosed at 17, treated for 6 months with therapy/ antidepressants, and haven't had issues since. According to my medical records online however, it says my dx is "active." (i just realized that me and my family never went through with any appointments/evals that would confirm that i was better) 6 years later I am attending a health screening for a new job at a new graduate nurse resident program. they'll ask about a history of mental health issues... this is probably paranoia, but is it possible to be turned down for a job with a hx of mental health issues? would there be any way for them to find out if i deny it?

I read numerous posts on allnurses about how difficult nursing school is. People are thrilled when they get high Cs or low Bs, and state that averages for some of their tests are around 70% or lower sometimes - they are just happy that they are not failing. I get ****** off when I get anything below a 93% on an exam. I graduate nursing school in a number of months (it's a BSN program) and have received As in all of my nursing classes (with the exception of an A- in pharmacology). I am not posting this to build myself up or upset anybody. I am actually legitimately concerned about the quality of education I am receiving from my school after reading about others' struggles. My school's program is not that difficult. It can be time consuming, but getting 4.0s each semester is very do-able, even with jobs and extra-curriculars. I can't stop thinking that my school creates easy exams & just hands out As, and that I won't pass the NCLEX... So I want to know: how can you tell if your nursing program is a "good" one? what makes nursing school difficult for you? do you feel like you are getting quality education? did you expect nursing school to be easier or harder?

thanks that definitely helps!! :)

I am trying to understand how to utilize ISBAR with different scenarios. this is my first assignment related to this tool. i'm a bit confused and need help The first scenario involves a patient who is 80yrs old, who lives alone but has family nearby, and was diagnosed with diabetes 6 months ago. he has an injury on his toe and the home health nurse (me) is to assess it. after i do SPICES and ADL questions, I assess the wound and am supposed to call the doctor using ISBAR. I am not exactly sure how to word my statement and/or if i'm missing information. So far I have this: (after introducing self, stating i'm patients RN, and that I'm calling from his home) "patient currently has a wound on his right big toe. he said he injured it three weeks ago and has been soaking it in water. the patient has a history of diabetes - he was diagnosed six months ago. he takes 12 units of NPH insulin, tylenol, aspirin and a multivitamin every day. I assessed the ulcer and it appears to be infected. (then i will describe pain level, wound size, color of tissue, note drainage, odor, & edema but i wont find that out until tomorrow). My recommendation is to get him started on some antibiotics to help clear the infection." ..... I'm not sure what else to add to that. any suggestions? the treatment is also supposed to involve applying Neosporin to the wound and a damp saline soaked gauze, and also to have a home health nurse to monitor the wound 2 times a week, but I'm not sure if the doctor needs to okay applying neosporin or how that all works... The second scenario involves the same patient a couple weeks later who has't been taking care of himself. At the end of assessing him, administering meds, drawing labs and such, i'm supposed to request lab results - (do I just state that I would call the lab for that?) and after I request labs I am supposed to give report to the nurse in ICU using a standardized hand off tool... what does a report like that look like? just what has been done for the patient and his current condition? I am trying to find examples online but no luck

"What do you hate about clinicals? Clinical will be like when you get a job in the hospital except you are on your own as far as how you do things and in what sequence." It sounds bad but I don't like dealing with the patients. I'm scared of working with them. :/

I am doing well in school - I have gotten a 4.0 in the last two semesters. I loved learning pathophysiology and pharmacology and the skills. But as I go through the program, each continuing semester involves having more clinical time and less class time, and I dread going to clinical sites. But clinical is what nursing will be like, isn't it? If I hate clinical, will I hate nursing? I'm starting to believe I belong in a research lab or something since I am a pretty shy person, which I feel like makes it harder to enjoy nursing...

I'm in my very first semester of nursing school and this is something me and my classmates have been talking about a lot lately. We are in a program for a bachelors degree, in a pretty populated area in Minnesota. Some people say nurses make a lot of money and others say they don't. Now no matter what I want this for my career - but I am curious, how much do RNs REALLY make? Otherwise if you don't know about the MN area, what is your opinion about a nurse's salary?

documentation was the correct answer

I just had my first test. There was a question on it that my classmates and I are debating about. It asked which medication administration error would least likely result in being fatal or something like that. Options were: right route, right documentation, right dose, right drug. I picked documentation. Others picked route. For most questions I was just able to look up but I am not sure about this one and can't find the answer anywhere. What do you think?

I am just curious how the nurses on here feel about it. What is your vote? Do you think obamacare will be good or bad for our country? How will it affect nurses?

I just started the nursing program and my professors already hate me because I keep falling asleep during class. Classes are from 8 - 11 every day, with a couple five minute breaks. It's really not that bad but I can't seem to stay awake during class! I've been going to bed by 10 or 11, and when i get up at 7 in the morning I feel like I got a good nights sleep, but when I sit in class I slip right off to sleep after about 30 minutes. I sit in the second row so I'm near the front, I started drinking coffee during class (and i HATE coffee), Ive been eating healthy breakfasts (fruit, oatmeal, eggs), I even just started getting up at 630 in the morning to go to the gym for 30 mins to hopefully get my body more awake, and I just fall asleep sooner! I don't know what to do!! It's so pathetic but I just get so tired from sitting in class for 3 hours. Ive resorted to pricking myself in the knee with a needle pin whenever I feel myself getting really tired. Its been the most helpful thing so far but I can't keep doing that. Does anyone have any special tips or tricks that have helped them stay awake during class?

it will be pretty intense but if its your only class it should be fine. i did a combined A&P class and did well. be sure to study every night if you can! if it starts getting too difficult, get a tutor :) they're amazing.

I'm asking because I was just accepted into nursing school and I start in the fall. It will be for a BSN. I'm nervous because I have been reading numerous posts about how tough it has been for new grads to find nursing jobs. Every now and then there will be a lucky few who get several offers, but for most, it's a struggle. So I'm curious 1. how tough is it/ was it to find a nursing job? 2. what kind of nurse are you? (CNA, PCT, LPN, RN 2 yr, RN 4 yr, ect) 3. which state do you live in? I'm from Minnesota.

Before you started school, what did you expect the nursing career to be like? Did your idea change once you were in nursing school? When you became an RN, were your expectations met? Were you surprised? Disappointed? Is it harder than you thought? More rewarding that you thought? Less rewarding? Or was it exactly how you imagined it would be? I was just accepted into nursing school. I've job shadowed nurses before, talked to nurses, and i think its for me. but i am curious on how it worked out for others.

it was the exact same test for me. i know because i checked out my remediation, and memorized all the questions i got wrong, and all the same ones showed up when i re-took the test. the questions were just in different order. it has been different for everyone though. other ppl have said that their test was completely different, and harder, though who really knows... its possible they just forgot.

i took hesi twice. first time i scored an 88, second time a 98. i had to take math, reading, grammar, chemistry, anatomy&physiology, and vocab. i went through the hesi A2 book so many times that i had almost all of the questions & answers memorized. so to get more practice i went to Barnes & Noble and grabbed other "nursing school entrance exam" practice books, and went through their practice problems as well. This helped SOOO much! especially for math & reading. as for grammar i ignored the "what is an adjective..." part in the HESI A2 book and skipped to "most common mistakes" and such, and also did the practice problems. i discovered that some of the example sentences are almost the same as the questions stated in the test! vocab is the hardest.... pick your answer carefully. seemed like there were always two responses that sounded correct. for math i brought with me 10 sheets of scratch paper to the test, wrote each & every question down even if it seemed super easy, wrote big & clearly, worked slowly, triple checked everything, and boxed off each problem so that i didn't get mixed up with other problems. try this. i got 100% in math. do you only have to do four sections?

i start a BSN program this fall too!! ahhhh so excited!!

you have to call your school and ask which score they will consider. my school counted the most recent, not the highest. i got an 88 my first time and a 98 my second, so i definitely think its worth the retake, especially because now you know what the test is like. be sure to check out your remediation, it will help.

I was just accepted into the nursing program! (BSN) I start in the fall. I'm nervous about nursing school, but I'm more nervous about finding a job once I graduate. I've read countless posts about how new grads struggle to find jobs. I want to know what I can do, during the next 2 years as a nursing student, to make my resume more attractive to recruiters when I start looking for a nursing job. I do not have my CNA but plan to get it soon and start working as a nursing assistant. I've heard that helps (is that true?...). What else can I do?

just got my letter!!!! ahhhh i'm so excited!!!!!

I start nursing school in the fall and I heard that having an NCLEX RN study guide helps. My school is especially known for having all their tests in NCLEX format and many students fail the first several tests because the questions are so difficult. I have heard many good reviews about the Kaplan book. Would you recommend getting the book right away? Or would it not really be worth it as long as I study hard during school?

I think an NCLEX study guide would be useful for nursing school. Our program is tough here since all tests are in NCLEX format, and many students do poorly on their first set of tests in nursing because of this, so I feel like I will be more prepared if I have a good study guide and start getting use to NCLEX questions as we go through material. what books did you use to study? which contained questions most like the NCLEX?