Born2Care4All

I have been so depressed and crying everyday to the point where I am questioning why did I ever want to become a nurse. I graduated with a BSN in December 2014. Landed my first job in L&D after NCLEX in February. I worked L&D until this May, so just a little bit over a year. I really loved L&D!! The hospital was bought out several times but eventually closed. I decided to do home health to avoid the hour and half commute to the next local hospital for work. Now I'm working home health and seeing pediatrics to geriatrics, and everything in between including wound and psych patients. I don't have any previous experience and I don't feel like I know enough to take care of these patients. I put in my resignation back in July but I rescinded after the DON promised that she'd help if I had questions. Any time I have a question she makes me feel so stupid I'm afraid to ask. I don't feel like I can safely care for these patients, I'm afraid that something can happen and if I don't know what to do I would be in a lot of trouble with BON. Also, I have three small children and they feel neglected because I spend so much time on documentation when I get home. This makes me feel like a horrible mother. I just don't know what to do?!? Any advice would help.....

I agree there are multiple interventions for the newborn, however I can limited to the delivery only. Another person in my class is assigned the "nusery nurse" and those interventions would be part of their plan of care. This limitation is what's making me confused. My interventions would only be for during labor not after birth.

Sorry I didn't add that info to the original post

The scenario is based on me being the L&D nurse attending the delivery. So thats why I assumed risk.. I also considered fetal asphyxia based on the variable decels not exactly sure though

I am working on a care plan for a patient that had thick meconium staining and variable decels. The newborn was delivered lady partslly and was reported to not have suffered MAS. My diagnosis is risk for meconium aspiration since there was not actual aspiration but I am stuck on interventions. I have notify doctor, notify respiratory, monitor FHR, and educate and encourage patient. I feel like im missing something. Please help..any and all input is appreciated!

Not a problem at all. I appreciate your input..I was thinking that was the right answer too but I was also thinking that the whole purpose of cleaning a wound is to prevent it from becoming infected?? I don't know though that's what makes me so frustrated

Okay here I'd an example of a question that I can remember about wound care.... Why is it important to clean a wound from the center and work outwards? Two were completely off but I got hung up on the last two. A. Prevent the spread of bacteria B. Prevent contaminating an already cleaned area To me both are true and I don't understand why one is right while the other is not... How are you supposed to think through this?

Thank you all for the responses! I am going into med/surg rotation next semester and I look forward to be able to build on what I already know but I must admit I am scared to death. "The terror" has sunk in from upper levels telling me that they failed this semester because of the same thing THEORY.

I have successfully completed my first semester of nursing school. I did good an A in assessment and clinical but I barely got a B in theory. At final evaluations my instructor told me that I could do better in theory if I began to "think like a nurse when answering test questions "...I was so excited that I got a B in the class that I left without asking her to explain what she meant. It seems like I can narrow down to two questions but they both seems right and for some reason I as always choose the wrong one. Am I the only person that does this? Any suggestions on How I can do better?

I am writing a care plan for a 70 yo AA female with HTN, DM II, and left side hemiparesis. She is a resident of a long term care facility and her HTN and DM II are well controlled. I am writing a diagnosis of Risk for Impaired Skin Integrity but I'm not sure if there is a need to write a diagnosis r/t HTN OR DM II. Any suggestions?

I am also in semester one of my BSN program. There are other students in my class that feel they way you do and we have already lost 7 students because they felt that its was not working for them. Me personally, I love it. The lectures are somewhat boring but since I have a genuine interest in learning it, it doesn't bother me. The instructors can also be really mean as well but I look at it as I have to get where they are so I take it as a grain of salt. I totally agree with you about clinicals. It seems that they don't want you there and just want you to get out of the way. They are very disrespectful and can make you feel like the dirt on the ground. I know what I want, TO BECOME A NURSE and no one or nothing is going to stop me from doing just that. It is hard but for me it is worth it. I plan to work in hospice so I don't have to deal with the chaos of the hospital setting and I will truly be able to provide quality patient care at a critical time in patients' lives. I can't tell you to stay or leave nursing school but I think that it's a decision that should be made from the heart. Many of the nurses that are mean to us in clinicals are the ones that should have changed their minds during nursing school...

I shouldn't have used the term "fun" I would rather say creative.. I have a brochure to hand out with info but I not certain on visual aids

I have the 2013 drug book and it didnt mention neuropathic pain but I did find a lot of info on Google. Thanks!

I am trying to figure out why my pt. is taking Neuroutin. They have a hx of DM, HTN, and CVA. No hx of seizures though. In the med book it didnt mention any of the dx as an indaction to take this med. Any help please?!?

I am writing a teaching plan for a patient with PTSD. U have completed the diagnosis and care plan. I am looking for creative ideas on how to present it to the patient and his wife ( classmate and instructor). Since this is a kind of depressive topic I can't think of a fun way to present it!?!?

Thanks everybody! I really like the # picture!!

I am doing OK but I honestly feel I can do better with more practice with her. While practicing with others my time is limited because they are usually working with their partners. My problem is that during our class practice time we are not practicing most of the time spent is me trying to teach her and during returns she expect me to try and help her when the instructors aren't looking.

Does anyone have an easy way to remember the steps of a cranial nerve assessment! It's seems so long I don't know if I could ever remember it!

This may seem like not that big of a deal but I would like to get some advice. My friend and I are in our first semester of nursing school. We have been through all of the hardships of getting accepted and so naturally we became partners in our assessment class. The problem is that she never likes to practice and I am the type of person that feels that practice makes perfect. She haven't been practicing and her skills are suffering. I have been practicing with other classmates and I am doing well. Should I ask the instructor to change my partner so I can do better or would that be wrong of me?

Ok they didn't even ask a question like this on the test because it was so confusing and we didn't have time to go over it. However, for future reference I would like to know is it safe to use the equivalent 15 gtt's = 1 mL??? It definitely made the question easier to work... Or if its not always equal how would you work this problem without it?

Yes yes yes!! That's helps a lot! Our SON gave us a list of conversions and equivalents to use but 15 gtts=1ml was not listed. So I didn't even know where to begin. Thanks a million!!!?

I have used all of these resources and I still can't figure out this one answer. I am really frustrated and worried..i don't know what I'm not getting. I need help. Here is the example. The physician orders 500 mL of NS at 30 gtts/min. The drop factor is 15. How long will it take to infuse all the IV? If the infusion began at 2400, when will it be completed?

I know how to calculate infusion time easily when given ml/hr. But my instructor gave us practice problems where we had to calculate infusion times when given gtt/min. I am so lost on this. I don't even know where to start. I'm in Louisiana and we have been out of school since Wed. due to the hurricane and I have not been able to contact my instructor either. We are testing on this Tues. and I really need ASAP. Please!!!!

I started BSN program this fall. I am just so anxious I just can't help myself! I know I should be enjoying the free time but I have been brushing up on my A&P and patho. It just seems like if I'm not doing something the anticipation of starting class is going to drive me crazy lol. Sent from my iPad using allnurses.com

I had the exact same problem!! I did not take HS Chem and I was so scared that I would fail. The other people in the class seemed to have an advantage because they had taken it before but I still got an A in the class. It was difficult for me but I talked to my instructor during office hours and had free tutoring through my school which helped me tremulously! So you should be fine just make sure that you take advantage of any available resources.