alocklear

I took it yesterday at 8, finished a little after 9, and was able to get the PVT pop-up by the time I checked it at 2 :)

Are they the pre-filled syringes? If you twist the cap rather than pulling it straight off (it seems darn near impossible - you have to really yank it) the needle can loosen.

I was absolutely terrified of getting old/death as I started my first year of nursing school. The idea of people fading away and then just being GONE was unthinkable to me, and something I fortunately haven't had to deal with on a very personal level yet. During my third semester, I was helping a fellow student do patient care on her assigned patient, who started coughing up and choking on blood while we were in there alone, and died soon after we notified her nurse and family. It was expected, but still pretty traumatizing to us. Our instructor was amazing, and as an experienced, very down-to-earth nurse, she debriefed us very well and realistically. The fact is, we're all going to die one day - death is part of this thing we call the circle of life (as hokey as that sounds). Being scared of it is what makes it scary. During our last semester, a patient had passed right before we came onto the floor one morning, and our instructor offered that the students could do post-mortem care. I pretty much volunteered, and grabbed another girl to go in there with me. We had never observed the procedure before, but it was pretty easily explained. I was much more afraid than I had expected myself to be/wanted to be when I walked in the room. It's very interesting - the care and handling of a body. Because it's just that - a body. We found ourselves handling her just as we handled other patients with decreased awareness or consciousness. I hope I never get to the point in my career of wiping someone down like a McDonald's table. We noticed that someone had painted her nails, that there was a CD player with a CD of beautiful music and debris from a large number of family in there. She had pictures and items from home. I had to keep praying silently and praising the Lord (which of course not everyone does) that she had a long, fulfilling life with a loving family that cared about her. We made it through, and a few days later I saw her obituary in our local paper. I am glad I took it seriously and allowed it to change and teach me. Death does not usually mean we failed as medical professionals. For me, it is a reminder that we are not the only ones at work in our world. Focusing on the positive things that person did in their lives is helpful, even if you have no idea and just imagine them.

We took the ATI NCLEX predictor test last week and I was told I had a 99% likelihood of passing the NCLEX on my first try. My instructor gave me a thumbs up and said "keep doing what you're doing." Which is actually nothing yet (we graduate next week). I'm terrified that it will give me a false confidence. Did anyone else take the predictor test, and was it accurate? If you received a high score, how much reviewing did you actually do before the NCLEX?