Maverick80

I graduated May 10th, and took my NCLEX on July 9th!! I took the Kaplan course the week after graduation (it was offered at my university and was highly recommended one of our faculty teaches it!!), and then while i studied i worked as a tech about 30-35 hours a week. I live in ohio so we don't have the option to work as a GN. I found out i passed on july 10th and i started working as an RN on july 23rd!! I studied here and there but when I scheduled my test i had a little under a month to study and about 3 weeks before i really started cracking down on my studying. I would make myself do anywhere from 100 to 350 questions a day. The week before my test i decided to not work anymore until after i took the test, i had fun, and studied a lot. I decided i would only return to my tech job if i didn't pass. Plus after i was licensed i would no longer be aloud to work as a tech!! I thought the test went pretty smoothly, i was so nervous and terrified!! 75 question and a hour and a half would decide it i was an RN or not. I'm so happy it's all over with!! If you have any more questions just let me know!!! Good luck with everything you will do great!!!

I'm so happy it's over with!! Work is going well too!! Thanks so much and you will be there before you know it!!! good luck and let me know if you have anymore questions!!!

Well Akron General and Summa have tech positons. How you get these jobs is to apply, after you've had your first clinical rotation. I went to kent state so after Interventions i applyed at Akron General. I actually wanted to work in the ER so i ended up taking a Senior Tech position which can be a nursing student or a STNA moving up in rank after taking classes that akron general provides them with. Being a nursing student you don't have to take the classes though. I just worked PRN in the ED 16 hours a month to keep my job which i always did way more then that. Money was good for being in school 12-13 dollars and hour. I loved it and i got to do EKG's, Foley's, straight caths, blood draws, blood cultures, collect urine's, and transport patients upstairs to their rooms. It was great experience and I loved it. I actually got a lot of experience doing some of the technical things that you don't get much time to do in clinical. I don't know much about Summa, or children's but try and apply at all 3. I did my first clinical at akron general so that helped me get my foot in the door, plus i had great letters of recommendation that i got from professors. I actually just passed my boards last week and will be starting on the 23rd as an RN. I won't be on the floor yet i have a few days in staff development which i will watch video's and go over things, and then i think i will take critical care classes, because i will be in a unit. I talked to the director of the CCU, and she said that my classes won't count toward my orientation because it's not hands on and she wants me to have a solid 3 months of hands on before letting me on my own. I will do 8 weeks of days with a preceptor, and 4 weeks of nights (my position) with a preceptor. I really don't mind working nights and it's almost impossible for a new grad to find a day shift position. I'm a night person anyway!! If there is anything that i can answer just let me know!! Good luck!! Oh and i know that rainbow won't let you work in pediatrics as a tech until after you've had your clinical rotation in pediatrics. I have a friend who works in the NICU up there and she took peeds/OB first half of junior year so she could get a job in rainbow. I think childrens is the same way!! good luck!!

It's hard to get into akron childrens but if it's where you want to work just keep trying. I loved pediatrics and akron childrens!! I decided to go into adults though. I've worked at Akron General for 2 years as a tech and now will be staying there as an RN!! Go for it if you want to work at Children's!! I just know a nurse who i worked with who said that she worked at Akron childrens for 10years switched to Akron general and started out making more then she was making at akron childrens after 10years!! Money isn't everything so it's what you want to do!! If i wanted Pediatrics that bad i would try Rainbow babies and children in cleveland!! That's also a wonderful hospital, but both are very hard to get into!!

Just wanted to let everyone know that i took the NCLEX-RN last week july 9th, and found out on the 10th that i passed it!!! I'm so excited to finally start my new job!! It's been such a long 5 years and i'm so happy to finally say that i'm a Registered Nurse!! I start orientation on the 23rd, and then from there i will probably be in class taking the critical care classes!! i'm so excited to finally beging my life as a big kid!! thanks so much everyone you have truly helped me threw a lot of rough patches!!! yay!!!

Akron children's dosn't pay that well, but if you like peeds then it's definitly a wonderful place to work. WHen it comes down to it money only means so much, i loved it there when i did clinical. I will be working at AGMC i tech'd there for 2 years in the ER and now i'm going to work in the CCU i love it there!!

I did the kaplan in class, and the complete online trainer, which had the qbank and the question trainers!! I spent $399 on it and it was the best money i've ever spent. Expensive yes, but to me it was worth every penny. The question trainers and the qbank question are very similar to the ones that you will see on the acutal test at least it was that way for me. You get used to priority questions, and how to answer them and every question they have rational's for as to why this comes before that!! The hospital i am going to be working for is reimbursing me for the cost of the class, but even if they weren't i would have still forked over the money. I took the nclex on the july 9th and found out july 10th that i passed. i start work on the 23rd!! i had 75 questions and it took me about an hour and a half which was typical of the time i spent on 75 questions on the kaplan website!! i recomend it to anyone, you don't have to spend all that money to pass it though!!

I hate the fact that everything costs so much money. I know individuals who have passed just by doing questions from saunders and other books and cd's. It's not impossible. I think that just the online portion of kaplan you can purchase for 419 and the classroom and online portion is 499. Sometimes you can get discounts through your nursing school which is how i payed 399. i think that no matter what it's possible to pass the nclex by just working on questions. I loved the saunders book while in school, it helped a lot. good luck and if you have any questions just let me know. i wish i could help you out finacially, but my bank account is pretty dry itself. Good Luck!!

i took the class and they consider a 60 percent passing. being a nursing student who hated to get a b this was very hard to get used to. i liked the class a lot, and did the online stuff too. i got anywhere from a 48% to a 71%. that was on the qbanks and question trainers. i averaged in the mid 60's on my qbanks!! i'm waiting for my results right now, took it yesterday morning, should hopefully find out sometime later today!! good luck!!

i just wanted to make this paragraph more clear hope you understand what i mean, if you have any questions just let me know!! Kaplan has a really great website, they have over a 1,000 question q-bank for you too take, which you have many options when answering questions (you create tests, maximum questions per test is 50. You can do tests of 10 if you'd like also!), or you can take questions from sections you are weakest, and you can also repeat questions already taken and take tests of quiestions that you missed on previous attempts. They also have 7 questions trainers, which are tests with nclex style questions to help build up your stamina. I think the first 3 are 75 question, the 4th and 5 are 150questions, 6 is 200 and 7 is 265!!

i spent $399 on the kaplan review class!! I went to a big university and a teacher at our school taught it. It was one week long and i thought well worth it, i found out things that i don't think i could have learned anywhere else. The teacher i had was amazing and she has been teaching the class for kaplan for over 10 years. The hospital i'm going to work for is reimbursing me for the cost of the class, so i just had to fork over the money in the beginning. See if the same is true at the place you plan to work. Where i work i've heard that they will reimburse you for all classes taken so maybe you could get the other one covered too. Kaplan has a really great website, they have over a 1,000 question q-bank for you too take, which you have many options of just taking them all one time 50 at a time, or you can take questions from sections you are weakest, and you can also repeat questions already taken and take tests of quiestions that you missed on previous attempts. They also have 7 questions trainers, which are tests with nclex style questions to help build up your stamina. I think the first 3 are 75 question, the 4th and 5 are 150questions, 6 is 200 and 7 is 265!! I have a saunders book with a cd also, but i quickly put that away. i loved that book in nursing school but when i went through the questions i always did way better on those then i did the kaplan tests. The kaplan questions are challenging, and i truly studied most by doing questions. If i didn't know something or the topic they were talking about i would review it, i think the best way to study is by doing questions though, if you just study material you won't be very good at the priority questions, application and anaylsis which i've been told are worth the most. good luck with whatever you choose!! i wish you the best of luck, and you will never feel like you are ready to take it so schedule and just go...lol!!

Thanks!! It will go by fast and will be over before you know it!! Goodluck!!

Thanks so much!! Will do!! I won't be starting for a little while because i haven't even gotten my number to test yet for the NCLEX!! Thanks again!!

Well i've finally graduated from Nursing school on May 10th. It's been a long, but great 5 years of school and I've made some really great friends along the way. I already work in a hospital and have been a tech for 2 years in the ED. I love it there but was told that i couldn't work there as a new grad because turnover has been low and it's not fair that a person whose worked med-surg for a year dosn't get the job over me. they told me the same for the ICU's! I was so upset over this because i love everyone i work with. I love trauma's!! Well I was in touch with Human resources and she wanted to set me up with floor interview's. It's not that i hate floors i've just found that they really aren't my thing, and i praise everyone who likes the floors. I just crave the higher acuity patients. Well last friday the HR lady called me and said she had a position in the CCU if i wanted to interview for it. I said of course because CCU is my second choice (although she didn't know that because i only put ED on my app), i love the heart and I did my critical care clinicals at the Cleveland Clinic in the Heart Center ICU's. She set up the interview for today at 2pm. I talked to people i work with and some of them whom have worked in the CCU, and they said they loved it up there. I went for an interview i was 15min early. I saw a nurse i used to work with and chatted with her for a few minutes because the director was in a meeting. She said that she loves it there and it's a much better learning enviorment. She said the director and management is super nice and so are the nurses and docs. So i interviewed and she seemed really interested in me. She talked a lot about the unit, the high patient sat scores. Clinical trials going on, and a new program starting in the fall that is going to try and merge the gap between nurses and docs, so that the communication system is better. She talked about how i will take critical care classes after i pass boards and that's not included in my 12 week on the floor orientation. I will also take ACLS as soon as she can get me in. She took me on a tour and introduced me to everyone, and told them that i was interviewing to work there and that she was really hoping that i would stay and work with them. I had a lot of questions and she answered almost all of them through her talking. Ratio's are 2:1 or 1:1 with a patient on a balloon pump which i won't do for a little while. She said that when she started as a manager ratio's were 3:1 and sometimes 4:1 but not anymore. I got home a little after 3pm and i recieved a call from HR a little before 4pm. They offered me a position. I took it of course, i know it's has to be a good unit because everyone i've talked to has great things to say about that unit. I just am excited now because getting a job was so stressful to me. I didn't get to work in the ED but this is the next best thing and i believe that down the road if i do decide to be an ED nurse that this will only enhance my nursing skills. Thanks everyone for helping me through the last 4 years or so of NS. I'm so happy it's over with, but know that my learning has really just begun!! I sometimes don't think i would have made it without my friends at school and Allnurses because if you arn't a nurse or haven't been to nursing school you just don't seem to understand what it's really like!!!

Haha, nope a full size one!! I will never forget seeing the x-ray of the abdomen, it was soo big!!!