Nursing4Sure

Im a fairly new GN in my second month of fellowship. I have two great preceptors and all the unit nurses (well, almost all of them:lol2:) are great and are welling to offer help. Two month into the program, I'm not as reliant on my preceptors as much as when i first began. That said, I still run things that im not sure of through them just to make sure...and believe me that has saved my ass many times. In your situation, which also applies to me as well, u have to take charge. The preceptor is there to help and guide u through ur orientation, not hold you by a leash and drag u around. At this point in ur orientation u should ask ur preceptor to step back and let u do everything. I think this well help u develop ur own style and confidence. And REMEMBER, when it comes to nursing, as my preceptor puts it, the PATIENT ALWAYS COMES FIRST, paper work can wait. Good luck

You have my greatest blessings sistersweet. Go out there tomorrow and take the NCLEX by the horn.

I graduated from nursing school in may 2007 and just started on a new job (well, technically i'm in a 3 month fellowship program). Between nursing school and my first degree I have accumlated ~$70,000 in loans from nelnet and sallie mae. Now, i'm the type of person that absolutely hates owning anyone any money (i know, hard to believe ppl like me still exist right. lol) and i just want to get this loan off my back ASAP. I had conversations with a friend of mine about this subject and he told me that after he finishes his contract, he's going to work for a hospital that will pay off his student loans. I thought he had a great plan until I thought about the interest rate that is going to accumlate on my loans for evey month that I don't pay them back. Unfortunately the hospital i work for does not pay back my student loans and I have a 18 month contract with them. What's the best thing to do with my situation guys/gals?? Jayden

grnmtngirl, I took my on wednesday and just found out that I passed this moring...so I 'll just tell u what i had on my exam. I had 75 Qs with lots of priority and teaching/education Qs. I had only one "check all the above" question which I'm pretty sure I got wrong. Meds Qs I got about ~10 and 2 med calculation questions. I don't think I got any OB or psy Qs but for u it wouldnt hurt to do a quick review 2 days before ur exam day. What I would suggest is know your labs well. Be sure u know ur delegation, nursing fundamentals (TPN administration, trach care, etc..) and diagnostic tests (colonoscopy, schilling test). As far as the meds go, I really dont have a good answer to that. With my exam, I had about 10 or so meds questions, and to be honest most of them I never even heard of...and I studied them a lot. Focus on side effects/adverse effects and contraindations (i.e each meds's contraindicated diseases). Hope that help and best of luck to ya. Jayden

You're not my mommy are you? 'Cause my name is Jayden too...lol I was in the same boat as u (just found out I passed this morning). I also had 75 Qs and I walked out of there nauseated and with a HUGE H/A. I had a lot of priority Qs and lots of teaching/education Qs. I had only one "check all the above" question which I'm pretty sure I got wrong. Meds Qs I got about ~10, most of which I had no clue whatsoever...just picked the answer that sounded the worst. I had 2 med calculation question which I was pretty sure I got right...sadly those were the few that I totally felt I got right. I felt totally the same way u are feeling right now...like I failed it BIG TIME. So, don't think about it too much. Drink some wine and take a nice hot bubble bath and try to relax yourself, 'cause I know you passed!!! I'll be waiting for your good news.

I know 2 ppl who got all 265 Qs and passed. Hang in there and best of luck to you.

Just want to share my good news to everyone at AN and to those who will take it soon/waiting for their results, good luck to all of u. Anyway I took my NCLEX on Wednesday (7/18) and found out this morning that I passed. It's the greatest feeling in the world. The computer cut me off at 75 and I afterwards I had a HUGE H/A and felt VERY naueous. But its all GOOD now.

Ella, I'm glad that you like Marymount...but what made you transfer from NOVA to Marymount?? Marymount is super expensive and quite frankly the nursing program doesnt even worth half of the tuition they charge. Having said that, the quality of the clinicals and classes are decent and you will be prepared to take the NCLEX upon graduation. I know this for a fact b/c Im in their accelerated BSN program and everyone that I know from last semester all passed the NCLEX on their first attempt. If u have any questions poetry, feel free to PM me.

Thank you all for your insightful replies. This just made my decision a little bit easier;)

Tried to search the answer to this question on allnurses but didnt really get the definitive answer I wanted to hear/see. I think I already know the answer to it but just want to hear some expert knowledge to reassure myself. 1) As a nurse, are we allowed to hold MORE than 1 licence at any given time? (for example, be licenced in Virginia and DC at the same time). 2) If so, am I allowed to work in both states at the same time? That is, working full-time in a DC hospital under my DC licence while working part-time in a LTC in Virginia under my VA licence? Probably is a stupid question but I have to know for sure since this will determine where I will end up working. BTW, dont know if this matter or not, I'll graduate in May 07.

Thanks CT Pixie. Although Im just a new grad or rather will be one come May, if you need any information about YNHH, you are welcome to PM me. And I will update about my interview.

Still very excited right now. Let be start from the beginning...I decided to apply to YNHH based on the rave praises I heard about YHNN on allnurses. And the waiting began. Let me tell ya, I must have checked my e-mail 3x/day hoping they would give me an interview. And today.....it finally happened via my cellphone. A lady named Ann at the employment office left me a message saying that they had received my application and would like to speak to me. So I called her back 30 minutes later....she gave me a quick rundown of the fellowship program they offered and said that I would be interviewing for a position either in the MICU, SICU, or CVICU (according to her Neuro ICU and CTICU were all filled). My interview day is set at 9:15am March 7th and she said that I will be interviewed by each of the three ICU managers:eek: ....boy I cant wait for that:uhoh3: . Bottom line is Im both super happy:lol2: and nerves. Did anyone recently had interviewed with them?? If so, can you please share their interview process. This will be my FIRST EVER job interview so you can imagine the nerves and jitters.

First off, I'm graduating in May with a BS in nursing. And I'm planning to apply to both Columbia and Cornell. Although I have a lot of good things about Cornell from this website, I haven't seen many posts about Columbia. I actually called both of the hospitals today and found out that Cornell only consider GN for their step-down unit, while Columbia are willing to accept GN to their ICU. I'm leaning towards Columbia right now b/c I really want to work in ICU. Are there any Columbia nurses that can tell me about the quality of the ICU fellowship?? Thanks in advance

From the information I have gotten from other posters on this website, their wage is pretty competitive. If I'm not mistaken their starting wage for GN is ~$28. Not bad if you ask me. But as far as the work environment I wouldn't be able to help you there since I'm still a student nurse. BTW, if you don't mind, can you share the hospital that you have accepted?? Their wage and working environment. Thanks

thanks for the advice whitecap1. I think I will stick with just the dress shirt and dress pants. I can't imagine hospitals would turn me down just b/c I'm wearing a suit.

Cant anyone give me some advice??

Hi all, I'm a male nursing student set to graduate on May 07 and am currently planning to start applying for jobs. I have done some research on this website on the topic of interview clothing. I would like to wear a nice suit to an interview but I just don't have that kind of money to spend. I'm afraid that the interviewee will think less of me if I'm not wearing a suit. I sure DON'T want them to get the impression that I'm not taking the interview seriously. So far I have bought a nice black dress shirt with a matching black tie and a pair of khaki dress pants. Is what I have OK for an interview??

I'm set to graduate in May 07 and YNNH is one of the hospitals I'm considering working for since I heard a lot of props about their ICU fellowship for GNs. As for salary, I'm not sure about the ER but ICU GN gets around $23-$24.

Thanks Quiet1. I will take your advice into consideration.

I'm very surprised. Could you share more about why they did not accept you. Did it have more to do with the "politics" rather than your qualifications??

Hi all, Like most of you in this section, CRNA is my dream job. The truth of the matter is, it's one the main reasons I want to become a nurse. But unlike many of you, I don't have a stellar GPA that can wow the crowd. Yet, I still haven't given up on my dream. And for this I have to thank many of you who have share your stories, for they truely have inspired me and kept my hopes alive. With my graduation in nursing coming soon (May 2007), I have been looking into the career path of a CRNA deeper than ever. The minimal requirements of most of the programs throughout the country are all the same (minimal 3.0 GPA, 1 year ICU experience, GRE, etc.). Obivously I need to balance my borderline GPA (3.1) with excellent GRE scores, great recommendations, and any other things I can get my hands on. I have come across several programs which are offered by the hospitals themselves (and afflicated with local colleges/universities). Am I daydreaming thinking that my chances of getting into their CRNA programs will increase if I apply to their programs after working in their hospital system?? In other words, does my position (being the hospital employee) give me an inside track to all the other applicants who do not work for that hospital?? Please straighten me up. :trout: Jay

Thanks Xeno. Good to hear that since I'll need every cent to pay off my huge debt I accumlated for nursing school. BTW, does anyone know if it is hard for new grads to find, say, ICU positions in CT?? I know places like Boston and Las Vegas are not so "new grad friendly".

This is one of the best nursing sites on the web and over the past year I have learned quite a lot from everyone. And I'm so excited that I'll be graduating next May with a BSN degree. Naturally I have started to ponder where exactly where I want to work. I have read a lot of posts in this CT section about how much more LPN's gets paid to work in LTC than RNs in hospitals. Do LTC hire RNs?? and if so do CT RNs actually work in LTC?? Thanks in advance.

This is a question is not related to a patient but to myself. So, last month I went to my local health department for an x-ray to update TB for my school (my previous PPD was already positive). The results came up negative. I then went ahead and set an appointment to get my INH medications with them and they scheduled the appointment on the 28th. The day comes and I go in and expects a quick process. Instead, the receptionist tells me that the doctor did not recommand me for the medications when the x-ray results came back and that I was not going to get the medications. I then fought with them and talked them into calling the doctor to confirm. Hours later, I receive a call saying to go to them today to get my meds. They still did not give me the meds today but that was for another reason. My point is, and please correct me if I'm wrong, isn't INH always recommended for nine month when the PPD is + even though the chest x-ray is -?? I mean, that was what I was taught at nursing school. A + ppd means that I have been exposed to TB and the x-ray tells me if I have the TB disease or just TB infection. I asked my friend, who is also another nursing student, and she added that if I'm INH then I have to get a blood sample every month?? Is this true??

Congrats from me to dream2nurse. Great advice too...applying to multiple schools is a great way to max your chances of getting into a nursing school. Yeah its a pain in the butt to fill out applications and asking for recommendation letters but its worth it at the end. I had to got back to my old college on two seperate occasions just to get recommendation letters from my former anatomy professor, my advisor, and my employer. It wasn't fun but it paid off for me at the end.