lorren2002

Holistic Health Assessment is an ok course. It just requires attention to detail. Everything that you document on your assessment forms should be exactly as the book requires. Just follow the wording/ assessment documentation as it is written in the text. The assessments are time consuming, but very doable. The exams are open book, but the testing time is very limited, so you will need to read over the assigned material as much as possible.

Don't go into nursing if.... 1. you don't have any time management skills. 2. you don't have a thick skin. 3. you have a bad attitude. 4. you think you are too good to empty a bedpan or a urinal. 5. the sight of blood makes you faint. 6. you hate people. 7. you think you know everything, and are unwilling to learn anything new. 8. you have a poor work ethic.

Hi Jules0612, When you say that Hist 1312 was a lot of work, what was the most time consuming or difficult part? Was it papers, exams, discussion questions? I just completed Texas government. I didn't think it was too bad. I had about 5 discussion questions, 5 exams, one power point presentation, and 1 research paper. Most of the exam questions were from the lectures and few questions were from the textbook.

Hi theoZZ, What did you think about Tech writing and Professional Nursing A and B? I will start Tech. writing in January and Nursing A and B in February. I started with Texas politics and Composition II. Just finished those.

Hi svdbyGrace, Hopefully you will hear something soon. I called the university several times throughout the process. I also found the list of nursing advisor’s and emailed my “would be” advisor. You will be accepted to the University before you receive notice about the nursing program. Be sure you check frequently with the admissions office to check on your admissions status. I had been accepted, and didn’t even know. I didn’t receive an email about my acceptance to the university until I received my acceptance to the nursing program. The only way I found out, was just to keep checking. Once you are accepted to the university, go ahead and set up your student email account. This is how you will be notified of your acceptance to the program. My turnaround time seemed to take forever to me. I think they have more applications to approve this time of year. Best Wishes!

Hi abrights3d, I will also take technical writing starting January 14th. I will also take POLS 2311 and Professional Nursing A&B this semester. I have just completed my first two courses, English 1302 (composition II) and POLS 2312 Texas Government. So far, it’s o.k. A lot of work, but doable I guess. I am happy to have a month off to regroup. Hopefully they will have everything straightened out for you prior to the start date.

Fpbxny, did you ever hear anything from UT Arlington?

You'd better call Dr. Smith in the research department. This definitely counts as an adverse event.

He's been eating Soylent Green again!

I'll check his vital signs. You start the I.V.

I know I agreed to work the graveyard shift, but this is nuts!!!

Wow Shantel!!! I know you are so happy to be almost finished. Congratulations to you!!! I will be so thankful when it is my turn.

Hi Carylene, and fpbxny, Do you have many general courses to take, or do you only need the nursing courses? Just have patience with the enrollment process. I applied to the university about one week before you did (fpbxny). I just received my acceptance letter to the RN-BSN program on September 25th. So you should hear something soon. Be sure to check your MAV email, (thru the university email system) this is how they will notify you. If you have not set up your email, be sure to do so. You can also call the nursing dept to check the status of your application. Log in to the "student center" to be sure you don't have any "holds" on your account. I am really excited to get started. My first classes will start on October 21 or 23.

Thanks Shantel for the information! After reading through the forums, I have decided to try and CLEP out of algebra. I am not great at algebra, but I would rather attempt testing out of the course than to actually take it online. If you don't mind me asking, where are you in the program? What do you think of it so far?

Hello, I will be starting classes on October 21, 2013. I am starting with state and local government and Composition II. Any information about the courses??? ( Ex. Level of difficulty, Test, Essay papers due) I am just a bit nervous and excited at the same time. Thanks a bunch!

Hello, I just recently received my acceptance letter for the online RN-BSN program at UT Arlington. I have registered, and will start classes on October 21, 2013. Just wondering if anyone else will be starting soon. Thanks!

I know you were serious with your post, but you actually had me laughing out loud. Really! After my day today, I would have thought that to be impossible. You have a wonderful personality. Just let that shine, and don't worry about the other stuff. I would love to work with a kind nurse, instead of hateful, non-caring ones ( too many of those already, sad to say). We are always our own worst critics. Change the things that you can, and learn to accept the things you can't. You have to be happy with you, or no one else will. :)

Welcome to the world of LTC! I would like to encourage you, but I must also be very honest about this area of nursing. It's not for everyone. Speaking from personal experience, LTC nursing is one of the most difficult areas, but it can also be the most rewarding. Actually, the patient ratios that you mentioned for your job are pretty low. Our facility usually assigns 40-60 pts on the LTC halls to one nurse and the sub-acute/rehab nurse usually will get 25-30 pts( Many of them with feeding tubes, trachs, Picc lines with back to back ATB therapy, wound vacs, multiple meds, and so on). I swear, sometimes you don't have time to inhale or exhale. It's hard for new nurses to get a job, and nursing homes will usually take a chance on new grads, but nursing home work is absolutely the worst job for a new nurse. A seasoned nurse has a hard time doing this job if they are actually trying to do it the right way. If you can hang it there, you will have a better comfort level at six months and actually be comfortable after a year. Never do anything that you feel is unsafe for a pt. If you don't know how to do something, be sure to ask for help. Sure some of the nurses may get peaved for having to teach you, but it's better than hurting the pt and once you learn it, that will be another thing under your belt so to speak. Try to always sign out any prn meds when you give them, I know this is time consuming, but things can build up quickly. I see so many nurses going completely crazy at the end of the shift trying to sign out narcs and prn meds. Speed with your med pass will come once you get to know the pts better, and get a comfort level with the meds you are giving. Make up a sheet with the pt census and mark how each pt takes their meds ( whole, crushed, thickened liquids,etc.) You can also write your blood sugars on this sheet, pts with oxygen, etc.) It is best, when possible, to get your most demanding/alert pts out of the way first. They can make you nervous, by staying on the call light and yelling till they get their meds. If you get to a room and the pt is not there, just mark the MAR( some MAR's have pull out tabs that state" missed medication") and move on to the next pt. don't try and look for each pt. It will burn up too much of your time ( unless it's insulin or a med that has a very strict time frame). You can find the other pts, when you come off the hall. I am sorry you are having a difficult go of it. I truly know how you feel. I have been there once upon a time, and I still have my really difficult days. I hope it gets easier for you. Maybe once you get about 6 months under your belt, you will be able to get hired in a hospital or health clinic. Also check into dialysis. They are usually willing to train new grads with extensive training, but that is wild in itself, but at least you are focused on one type of pt and most of the meds are injected into the pt's lines. ( no p.o. med pass). Let us know how it's going for you, and what you decide to do. Best wishes! :)

I hear everything you're saying, and I agree whole heartedly, but here where I live depending on where you work, after being written up 3 times for overtime, you will be terminated. They do expect you to get your work done before you leave, and if you pass it on, then you have to deal with being ridiculed by the other nurses. You should see some of the stuff some of the nurses do to clock out on time... As for me, I plan on returning to research/ education positions.

Being able to clock out when all of my work is actually finished would be a dream come true, but in real life, it just does not work (not where I work). I have worked in quite a few facilities that will reprimand and write you up if you are on the clock 7 minutes past your shift. Management does not care if you had 2 new admissions and a full code on an 8 hour shift. They want you off the clock! It's sad, but they are fully aware that nurses are charting off the clock, and they never, ever, mention a word about that. I have been a nurse for almost 20 years, and it was never like that before, but now the almighty dollar rules! I see so many nurses taking way too many shortcuts just to finish on time. If nurses did things like that 10 years ago they would have been fired on the spot, now management just turns a blind eye to everything. I work thru my lunch breaks and never go to the bathroom during my shift. I make sure all of my "floor work" is complete, and then I go find some cubby to hide in to do my charting. I am not sure when things got so bad... I know they say it's a nursing shortage, but it sure does not seem that way where I live, you have 10 nurses waiting to take your job if you want to complain about anything. P.s. I am not trying to be negative; I am just telling the truth about what I have experienced.

Congratulations! :)

Congrats! :)

Bob and weave! Judy is being pulled to the geri psych unit tonight.

This is really funny stuff! So true!!! I can really see some poor nurse snapping and saying this stuff. LOL!

Maybe we should institute a decaf only policy...