ToyaB

Uh, yes! I had a woman who had just delivered using the bed pan and when I went to get the thing out, I came so close to being splashed with bloody urine that I yelped! I always have trouble with that. God forbid, one day it's going to happen. I'm going to start wearing mask and goggles when I take them off. LOL!

I hate feet flakes! Oh and chunky vomit! Aaaahhhh! I also hate watching other people put in IVs where they can't get the vein and the catheter is sliding in and out... in and out... I swear I get faint watching that. Lol!

This week I learned that after you take and pass the NCLEX you have to re-learn how to have a life. I also learned that putting in applications is tedious!

Congrats! I also passed! Now onto the tedious applications! YAY!

I took my test today too. I got so many SATAs that I had to laugh. I could not even believe it. I'm not even exaggerating half of my test was SATA. All of the other questions seemed so foreign. Like, I cannot even reconstruct the questions they were asking me if I tried. I felt like I guessed on 90% of the questions. I took so long on each question that I was offered a break before I even got through the first 75. I took the break to use the restroom and to look at myself in the mirror and pump myslef back up. I went on to finish and the screen went blue after the 75th question. I literally wanted to cry, vomit, scream. I was so upset. I felt that I was doing so bad and I was hoping for more questions. It was all a blur! I laughed at people who did the PVT before, but the anxiety got the best of me and I had to try. I put in an actually credit card with funds available and real info becuase I figured that if I failed, I would have to pay for it anyway. I got the good pop up and though I know it's not garantee, it at least took the edge off for me. Here in PA, people have been taking the test and getting results on the BON site within 24hrs so I'm going to check tomorrow and if I see myself on there I'll save my 8 bucks! I'm hopeful and I'm praying and trying to keep my minf off of it. I pray we both passed!

These types of post always make me feel sad for humanity. We, as nurses, have chosen a career in which we are charged with helping people of various cultural backgorunds. If you don't believe in God, that's ok. But if your non-religious attitude causes you to begin insulting people who do by equating God with unicorns and such, you're really showing yourself to be ignorant. It's about acceptance. You have to accept people for who they are. People on both sides can call the other fools. Come in. Do your job. Be a competent and caring nurse and then go home and be who you are. I don't get why this has to always turn into religion bashing. Atheism is for all intent and purposes a religion. We all have a philosophy about life and the meaning or lack of meaning of life. I assure you there are *******s and good people on both sides of the fence. Just live and let live people. As for the OP, you can kindly decline to participate in anything like that that you are not comfortable with, but for being afraid to be honest to keep your religious friends... I wouldn't advise that. Some of them would look at you differently, some of them may pity you, but so what... other will accept you for who you are and that's real friendship.

Well if the clog fits:sarcastic:... In any case, I'm not saying that the OP does not have a problem testing, but how some of you managed to make the leap to the OP having a lack of knowledge of basic content and not being cut out for nursing with the information given in the post is ridiculous. I did say that the test is of "minimun competency", but that doesn't mean cake-walk, even for people who excelled in nursing school. And she may be better in practice than when sitting in front of a computer with application/analysis level questions. Maybe! I don't know either way. So you know what I did instead of assuming anything about her? I didn't. I just gave her what she asked for. She asked for help with review and advice for how to proceed. I'm not sure if you read to original post, but she already has a team of nay-sayers. She didn't come here for that. She didn't come here to have people tell her she can't do it or that she's not cut out to be a nurse. She came here to ask "experience and knowledgeable" nurse about how to proceed. So again, if you're not giving her suggestions, it's not an entirely a bad idea for you to not say anything.

Congratulations on getting in! The best thing you can do for yourself at this point is get organized with family life and work. To prepare for school, I would just brush up on A&P. Go over the body systems- you know cardiac, GI, and all of that jazz. If you have time. Me I was one who started reading the nursing books before hand. Don't do that. It's a waste of time becuase you don't know what you're going to be starting on until they tell you, so review A&P and most of all RELAX! It's hard to do, but do it before nursing school takes over you life! Go to class, study the material, you'll do fine. It's not as all-consuming as people say. You will have less of a life, but still a life in school and you'll have a great time to boot. I just finished. I have two kids 9 and 5 and I made it through more than fine. I even found time to participate in extracurricular activities on campus and my support system is not outstanding, but it was enough so fret not, get ready, and just do it. Welcome to the wonderful world of nursing! I wish you all the best!

You took the words right out of my mouth! The OP asked for help, not for anyone to jump all over her confidence with both freaking feet! She may be an excellent nurse. She may be a horrible tester. You all keep saying that the NCLEX test basic knowledge and that is not entirely true. It test "minimum competency" and for a nurse there is nothing "basic" about that! This is not kindergarten we're talking about. This is critical thinking.So if you're not going to offer the OP "help" (which IS what she asked for) then keep your demeaning, snarky, and flat out ignorant comments to yourselves! OP, I am studying for the NCLEX now and I am also a mom who works full-time. I am using Kaplan. I'm not sure if you've done that, but they have great tools to help you see where your weak spots are and their decision tree has helped to improve my score on their content as well as on other's questions (including Saunders and various NCLEX quiz apps). DO NOT lose heart if nursing is what you want. You made it through nursing school with all of the time and effort it takes, and that means a lot! Identify your weak spots and focus on them, REVIEW, REVIEW, and REVIEW again, then go into this test and TAKE YOUR TME really seeing what each question is asking you. If your issue is focus and you can only get through 25 questions before going to LalaLand or Panicville, take an unscheduled break. You can do that. I wish you the best of luck and I will pray for your strength. You'll need that especially with all of these Negative Nancy Nurses on here.

I'm happy to see that I'm not the only person considering getting both. The way the program I'm planning to attend works is that you can either start with the ACNP or the FNP and it would take an additional year for you to get the other. That's the way I'm planning to go becuase I can really see myself wanting to do both at different points in my life. I'd also like to continue on later to get the DNP. I don't feel that it's worthless to have it. Currently NP are usually master's prepared, but there is starting to be chatter about making NPs a doctorate degree which would certainly garned more respect for the profession.

I agree the OP has to choose her battles, but the reason you wear that gown in a precautions patient's room is not just to protect yourself, but to protect every other patient that you come into contact with. And we can all argue that those yellow gowns are useless, but you do what you can with what you have. We need to change that mentality that if it can only hurt me then its my risk to take because you may be missing the bigger picture.

I have 2 kids- 8 and 4- and I go to school and work. IT IS ROUGH! Luckily, I have support and also a 24/7 daycare. I make sure that my kids see my face everyday and we spend time together doing family stuff at least once per week. I take it one day at time. When I feel I'm getting overwhelmed, which is NOT infrequent, I talk it out with someone, I pray, I get a good night's sleep, I excercise, or I cry it out (sometimes you just have to) and carry on. This is temporary and when I'm done (in May 2015- whoop whoop!) we are going to celebrate!! Then- when I decide to go back for my master's (at least 2 years later) I'm going to take it super slow. Like one or two classes per semester so that I can have an actual life while in school. Again- it is hard, but you adjust, and you push through, and you get 'er done!

That's actually a good question. From what I understand (or at least what I see in the system I work in) a patient goes on contact precautions if they have EVER tested positive for MRSA wether or not they have an "active" infection. Seems to me the MRSA is something that you always have once you get it. Sounds more like a virus than a bacteria... You'd think that after you were treated- that would be that, but it doesn't seem to be the case, does it? Hmmmmmm....

It could be that... or it could be that they're sipping a little something called HATERADE. Not everyone has it in them to be a nurse, but if you do, go for it! Your options are endless in this field and when you enter school you're going to be amazed at how expansive and amazing nursing is. It's also challenging and we are working in a system with some kinks, but honey please, PEOPLE LOVE US! And how can they not... we're pretty great! Don't let anyone discourage you.

I was just talking about this yesterday- how nothing can stunt my appetite anymore. I was telling someone the despite cleaning up a guy who did a big smelly poo- I could not stop considering my options for lunch! The article tried it's best to turn you stomach and make you think- how could she, but I didn't even blink. It actually made me hungry for Chipotle!