CareQueen

Hey! I worked there for about a year and a half in 2015 & 2016. I started there as a new grad. I had ZERO complaints about it. What questions do you have?

Just the other day, I had to pick LAST..and I was lucky that the other nurse just ahead of me chose to keep the more intensive assignment, who would up tanking that day too. It just shouldn't happen. I like my team here and they are mostly helpful and knowledgeable, but if a process is meant to give orientees experiences while also giving new grads patient assignments that are safe, that should be the way it plays out. This whole "take who you had the day before or otherwise whoever you want" keeps that from being the truth consistently and it bothers me...because I know for sure if I am stuck with an assigment that I don't feel comfortable with, I will say so and that may not bode well with the team. You are right in saying that it probably won't be changed. When I asked why they do their assignments that way, they said that that's how they have always done it.😕

Basically, yes. The orientees/preceptors can take whatever they want if they feel like it is something they haven't experienced..even if it is an "easier" patient load. The sickest patients (i.e fresh post-ops or ones who have just coded, are usually given to the other charge nurse on staff(b/c there have to be two per shift), but it's an ICU, so everyone is sick! I just think that sometimes it can be unfair and possibly unsafe. I have seen some of my fellow new grads get stuck with complex post-ops and marginal patients that I don't think they would be equipped to handle. I just wish they would abandon this whole process and assign based of experience level, and a review of previous patient acuity alone.

Does anyone else work on a unit where they get to choose assignments? I do and I absolutely hate this method. I'm a new grad who has been on my unit now for 6 months. Once I was off orientation, I was supposed to be pre-assigned...to the "easier" patients (I work in a cardiac ICU though, so interpret that how you will). However, this winds up not always happening and it sucks. Orientees and preceptors always get to choose first. If there are 3 or more of them on one shift, your assigments can be eaten up quickly. Also, ppl who were there the day before get to choose after that. THEN, the new grads are supposed to be preassigned, but usually have to choose. You can see how that can often leave us with more intensive assignments. I do NOT mind working while at work, but if it's one thing I can't stand, it is when the more senior nurses take the easier assignments. Yes, I understand that they have paid their dues, but it's crazy to leave the new grads with intensive, busy and higher acuity patients, who often tank, when we have barely gotten down our time management skills. I've not had to take any patients where I feel completely unsafe, but sometimes it pisses me off that the charge nurses don't look out for us in a better fashion. I really wish that charge simply assigned patients and let that be that. At least it would seem fair. Does anyone else work on a unit where they do this??

Nope. No steth needed! You won't be doing any patient care aside from assistance positioning a patient, maybe.

Hello! I work here at Duke now in a Peds critical care unit. I applied maybe 2-3 weeks before graduation and actually made Duke wait about a month to interview me after they expressed interest, so I interviewed about 10 weeks after applying. I received an offer the very next morning after my interview.

Does it say "Complete" on the checklist part when you pass? When I checked the day of the test(yesterday), it didn't say complete in that part. Today is the day after the test and it now has my school's info under the education section as well as completed and completed date in the checklist section. I hope that means I passed! Still no license number though.. I never thought this test would cause so much anxiety!

Wonderful to know! I'm looking to move to ATL as a new grad BSN,RN upon graduation in July!

Way to go!!! Best wishes!!!

Best wishes everyone. I hope you all get accepted!! I received a packet, but wasn't able to get all of the paperwork together in time as one of my instructors never came through with the last recommendation, and also realized that the licensing wouldn't work out because I'm in an accelerated program which graduates the last week in July. That means there's almost no way that I could have my CA license by August since the board there is notoriously slow and the NCLEX date I'm given may be a few wks. out after graduation. Most new grad programs are scheduled to revolve around those who graduate at traditional semester end dates, so I am frequently running into this issue. Oy vey!

I think they were referring to JHH East Baltimore Campus and not JH Bayview Campus...b/c I'm positive that JHH starts new grad nurses at about $27/hr right now.

Did you get it?? I hope so! I just started as a CNE in the ED there at the beginning of the year. I'm learning a ton!

You can do this! Study as hard as you can and be prepared to explain what life dealt you, to the powers that be. They WILL listen! Believe me!

Wow. It's unbelievable to me that they would put you out of the entire program for not passing one exam. At my institution, each semester we're required to take dosage calc exams multiple times until we pass.(at least 3) (However we have to take the first grade given as part of the avg for the class). So sorry that hppnd to you. Good luck on getting back into the program. Don't give up!

Yep..been there before...and it all ended well. I'm there again right now in Med-Surg 2...and I'm confident that it will end well again. It has to lol. I graduate in 5 months and there's nothing that's going to impede that! All you can do is study harder and seek out resources if you need them. Hey, at this point passing is the key! Just focus on the prize and do what you can to remedy the situation. You will be a nurse!..and a good one! :) Best wishes!

I have an MDF one and a cheap back-up one...both are purple...and both have nametags.

I had to do the same for my Mumps titer. I received a full MMR series as a toddler but for whatever reason, the Mumps portion came back negative. So, I got a booster and waited until I got to the program to get the titer redone. (a/b 2 1/2 wks time difference), & the second time it was indeed negative.

That's awesome!!! Best wishes!

Enrolled in an ABSN program and the curriculum is as follows: Semester 1: Principles & Applications, Health Assessment, Patho, Professional Role Development & Patient Centered Care (clinical course) Semester 2: Nursing Across Continuum ( for Aging), Adult Health I(+clinical), Psych Nursing (+ clinical), Research in Nursing, and Pharmacology Semester 3: Adult Health II (+clinical), Peds (+clinical), L and D/OB (+clinical), and Nursing IT Semester 4: Public Health Nursing, Transitions into Prof Practice, Transitions Practicuum and an elective nursing seminar.

Anything at or above a 70% is passing, and for each course the exam average must be at least a 70% in order to pass the class. However, my school only allows two Cs in courses in order to continue with the program, so in my mind they may as well say anything less than an 80% is failing lol.

Wonderful!!

There's a tech on my clinical floor doing this very thing. She's had her RN license since 2012,but has struggled to find placement as an RN, so she's been working as a tech. Fortunately, the hospital has decided to hire her as an RN starting in one month. In her case, I think working as a tech helped her to secure the RN position.

I WISH I would have taken it when I was taking prereqs because the course is kicking my butt right now. If I would've taken it then, I would have been better able to give it the appropriate time needed. (Not to mention that I would have two free afternoons per wk in my schedule this semester lol). A strong A&P background would certainly be helpful. I also think the instructors will make a difference. My instructors aren't the greatest and there's a lot of self-teaching involved, which is frustrating sometimes. For me, I am sure it will be my biggest challenge this first semester! I would prepare yourself to see lots of A&P material joined together with explanations of clinical manifestations of those concepts and how you can use lab values and things of that sort to understand and recognize disease processes in the human body. I'm finding it to be quite interesting, but dense. Best of luck!

That's refreshing to hear!

I have lost 70 lbs within the last year,and now that I'm in my first semester of my ABSN program, I am struggling to keep up with those better eating habits and my exercise regimen. I'm still hanging on the best I can though. I go to Zumba classes 2-3x/wk, spin class at least 1x/wk and I lift 3x/wk. I try to get most of my intense workouts in on the weekends, because on most weekdays, I am absolutely exhausted after school and I literally don't have as much time to devote to the gym. In any case, we have to be sure to get that physical activity in as best we can. We can't take care of others if we don't take care of ourselves! :)