Labrynth

I'm in the same boat. My first job met a difficult end and I have now been out of work for 6 months. I don't know what to do. I am enrolled in BSN classes for this fall and I'm not sure I even want to do it. Everything about nursing seems so unprofessional. I have seen so much drama, politics, back stabbing, favoritism and other miserable pointless behaviors that it blows my mind. I thought we were adults and professionals. I should not have to know your family or kiss the proverbial backside to be blessed with a job. I just want to be trained, become a good nurse, serve my patients and go home close to on time. Marcos - I wish your interpretations were incorrect but it is sooo on point. I would also like to know how new grad jobs can ask for or require 1-3 years of experience? Check the job boards, it's insane. Entry level jobs are non existent and if you can find a new grad job they want BSN minimum, 20 continuing education credits, ACLS, PALS, specialty certification AND 1 or more years of experience. Why does my ADN count for nothing? It's blowing my mind. Sorry for the rant, I'm reaching the maybe I'll start waitress point also.

Liking your coworkers is a bonus. Find another job. The unprofessional behaviors resulting in you being trapped in your current situation demonstrate a lack of desire for your facility to assist you in advancing your skills or career. Keep the job while looking around for a new one.

Kaplan and Silvestre and a solid study partner were all I used to prepare. If you are getting 60-75 on Kaplan you have roughly a 90% chance of passing the nclex. This does not mean slack off! This means do your best to get the scores up to the 80's to ensure you pass.

Nursing school is not unlike hostile brainwashing. It takes a ton of work for the teachers to break your spirit and make you feel defeated for them to start building you back up. It is necessary to break the chain of basic memorization/teaching for tests learned in precollege education. You need to figure it out. You may know the material but possible overthinking/overcomplicating the tests. You work with the information given in the questions and nothing more. Cover the answers and try to come up with an answer on your own (don't waste to much time if your truly have no idea). Ask yourself what makes an answer wrong when you dont know what is right. for example if it asks which lab value is outside normal range and you only know 2 of the 4 you have at least given yourself a 50/50 chance. Find different study partners. It takes a gentle blend of egos to make a group work and each person must be able to contribute to the group with either knowledge, leadership or style. Keep study groups to 4 or less people and build in breaks. Common concepts could be anything in nursing. If you could be more specific I could offer some guidance for study tips.

Just talk to her. Tell her you appreciate her attention to detail and respect her experience. Add that you appreciate the feedback and make her feel important by asking her such things as how she prioritizes and manages time. A little ego feeding goes a long way. When she expresses her "disappointment" in you I suggest thanking her for the feedback and walking away. If it continues you will have to confront her but this must be a last resort because she may become your worst enemy auditing your performance and reporting any perceived gaps in care to supervisors. Never apply makeup in a clinical area. It is an infection control risk and the diva behavior is petty.

I am seeing that the nurses come and go but the gns's/cna's stay generally on the same hall/floor/wing. I am starting to identify a lack of concern for the RN's opinions/priorities/clinical decision making. I speculate this is due to high turn over in certain areas and inconsistent staffing. Under appreciated, under paid and over worked it is easier to bully/ignore/and fight the RN then it is to build a positive working relationship. There is a strong " I have been doing this longer attitude" which closes them off from new eyes on long standing routines and habits. Do not allow yourself to be walked on but do not bully/fight/demean or speak down to the gna/cna. Pick your battles wisely. Patient safety is always first. Yes they need to eat but did the client slap their hand away or throw something at them? Nonverbal does not mean non responsive. It is important to know your gnas names and which patients are theirs. Your the nurse, it is your job to know who is assigned where and what they are doing. Don't forget to say good morning, thank you and good night. These simple gestures open the door for communication. Good luck with your job! Keep in mind it will get easier as your learn how to manage your personality and theirs.

The staff spliters are the worst. They try to play on your simpathies and then turn when you dont give in. The only way to manage this is to have good communication with the other nurses so you can be confident when you say this is the policy, this is the documented time of administration and unless the doctor changes the order this is all you have the ability to do.

I strongly feel Kaplan is a better representation of what NCLEX is really like. Problem is you have to be able to critically think through the questions. Is there some other reason this person may not be doing well? Are they getting worked up, bad test taker, have there been life events that distract them? It could be the material or many other things.

If you are getting 60% or better on the kaplan question trainers you are doing well. If you pass the Kaplan pretest and timed question trainers with a 60% or higher that means you have something like a 90% chance of passing NCLEX. They dont tell you this until you get to the Kaplan review class. I am by no means saying slack off on studying but have faith that you are learning the material and focus on your weaker areas. I just passed NCLEX in May and was scoring 60% -80% on question trainers. The whole class thought we were going to fail until we got this news!

Ask yourself what would happen if you gave him a bolus of 500 or 1000 ml of NS and then he received 2-4 units of blood. He is in heart failure right? Where will the fluid end up? In his lungs then it wont matter what his H&H is because he will have ineffective gas exchange and respiratory distress not to mention the increased load on the heart. Also in his assessment is he peeing? If you are getting 30 ml urine an hour his kidneys are perfusing well and he has time to wait for the blood.

If your Kaplan test scores are in the high 70's that is excellent. Kaplan will get you accustom to answering the question styles and when you get to NCLEx even if you dont know the answer your critical thinking skills and question training will serve you well. How long is it taking you to complete the question trainers as opposed to the amount of time they are allotted? Consider that when you sit for NCLEX you are given I think 6 hours with breaks. So if you can finish 150 questions on the trainer in say two hours than you can alot time to sit there and collect yourself/take breaks/reread questions.You can also try putting pressure on yourself. Question trainers allow a certain amount of time. If they alot 3 hours give yourself 2. This may make you feel anxious the same way class tests do and help you figure out what you need to collect yourself. The NCLEX was not a horrible event for me. I had 75 question, finished in under two hours and it seemed like most were choose all that apply. Kaplan and school prepared me well and even the people I knew that were bad test takers passed. You can do this!

After you move to a state you have 30 days to have your state of residents changed. This means notifying the state in which you intent to practice and your home state. You then are issued a license by your new home state. A non compact state will issue you a non compact license. Or if you are licensed in a non compact state you must apply for a separate license in other non compact states. So basically get the job then move your license or just apply within other compact states. Also remember that if you itemize on your taxes professional association dues and work expenses may be tax deductible. Save your receipts for all job hunt expenses because they too may be deductible! Talk to your accountant!

I have heard many times "I wish I was a smoker cause they always get their breaks". While this may appear true I believe they use being a smoker as an excuse to take a break even if they do not plan on smoking. My point is where there is a will there is a way. The nurses not taking breaks need to slowly work those breaks in and train management to accomodate them. The work place does not have to be like this.

Just ask them why they are not a doctor. Unless they are.

There is not much anyone can tell you without the back story. I will be honest that I was confused regarding your statement about becoming a doctor. How does that comment make you a better nurse? You may obtain a higher level of education but your presentation will not change without an honest assessment of the perceived problem. I can only hope after the time that elapsed since you initial posting that perspective have been achieved and you are doing well with a new position.