I.C.UNurse

Do not worry about it, were all human and can't be perfect in every situation. You might find yourself in a situation later on in your professional setting that sometimes patients need you to be tough on them to push them to get better. Live and learn, everyone loses their cool once or twice in their career.

Here's what I did and I recommend. The Laura DVD's are a good study tool, but not necessary. Do not do the Kaplan CCRN study tool either. Get Pass CCRN book because not only is the book give you the in-depth details you need to answer questions, it has an online test bank of over 1000 questions. All these questions give you a rational for the answer which is awesome. Second, get the certification and review book 6th edition and the exam book which is the 72 page one, both from the AACN bookstore. Lastly, they give you the blueprint, so make your own study guide on each topic and put in your own words and mindset. If your long term plans are to go to CRNA school, there will be a lot of hiccups along the way and you need keep trucking on. I have just been accepted into CRNA school and CCRN is a good certificate have to back up your ICU knowledge. Good luck!

They can tell if you had to take the NCLEX or CCRN more than once in your interview. You will be grilled on critical thinking skills and no answers include "I would talk to the physician". CRNA is becoming SUPER competitive and the new DNAP programs want the shiniest and brightest. And that includes a good GPA (average applicant where I applied and accepted was 3.5+), multiple certificates, not just your CCRN, PALS and ACLS (everybody has that) and good experience (charge, preceptor, know how to use ultrasound, etc). Some people will say don't worry about your GPA but with the growing number of applicants for CRNA school you need your GPA to be better. (Some schools have 20 to 30 applicants for 1 spot). Attempt to finish school with the rest of grades bring A's and retake classes if needed in the future.

I am an ICU Charge Nurse and can be classified as a "new" nurse, I can take care of septic patients, balloon pumps patients, swan ganz patients, trauma patients, intraventricular drain and monitoring patients, be a rapid response team member, expert IV access member, code blue and trauma leader, while being an expert consult to the rest of the hospital staff (nurses with 30 plus years experience mind you), but I don't care scissors in my pockets so I must be a total failure as a nurse and human being. Man I didn't realize that not having scissors and not doing a immediate skin assessment while my other patient is coding and dying meant I was a horrible nurse and failure as a human being. What a joke! This nurse needs a big dose of reality and realize not everybody is perfect, including herself.

I do too not understand why nurses like to post every credential they have on nametags, writing letters and emails (like really your emailing me about a car and you have to put Jimmy John BSN, RN?!) I have multiple national certificates and a BSN, but I don't put my credentials after my signature at all, just my name. Sure you should be proud of what you accomplished but those accomplishments mean nothing if you can't put them into practice and it shows to other people. You should let your work do your talking, not your credentials. I digress, in the end it would be more of a headache to explain everyday to everybody about your jacket. If you dead set on it and do not want that headache then get your jacket done and don't wear it until you have graduated with your BSN. If you don't care, then go for it, just tell people your a registered nurse because you are one and going back to school.

I'm confused, you are a RN coming off orientation and you have not done any IV's? What about nursing school? And to give medications? You need an order to do that unless you become an advanced practice nurse (i.e. CRNA, DNP). You seem very puzzled about what is basic knowledge for a registered nurse, make sure if you are not ready to come off orientation you request more time.

Why does it matter? She can't assess and shouldn't be but in the end it's you that makes the assessment and intervene when needed. I think there is bigger things us nurses have to worry about and fight for than stuff like this. If the STNA continues to do stuff outside scope of practice then they will lose their certificate it's just a matter of time.

Going into a different job and field is a hard transition. Words of advice, keep your head down, work hard and ask questions. Do not be afraid to ask for help. I have to orient nurses to my critical care with 10+ years in different fields and I tell them "You will feel like you do not know what is going on, so please ask questions". Starting over is hard, like your a new nurses almost like that feeling. I am going through a similar experience by going back to school this upcoming fall for CRNA and have started reading textbooks already and feel like the biggest idiot because I know about 5% of what that book is saying, but that is good because I realize my own limitations and I know that I should not know this stuff yet, but want to introduce myself to it regardless. Stop talking yourself up, keep a low profile and you will do fine.

This is just plain ridiculous. End of story.

The antidote to anxiety is preparedness. Continue to soak up knowledge and work on other certs (ie TNCC and CCRN) while working there. If your level headed and handle stress well you will do okay. If you don't know please always ask your charge for help. Mistakes in the ICU can be disastrous for the patient. Good luck!

As a leader in my critical care unit, you need your ACLS to work in my ICU as well as having some noticeable attributes. Such as being driven, independent, hard working, intelligent, willing to work overtime, etc. TNCC is also a good course to take if able.

As a critical care nurse K+ of 2.4 is something to worry about but the way you handled it was wrong. The patient had no adverse effect of not being on the monitor (i.e. No lethal arrhythmias) according to you, so you should have put the monitor on and did what you needed to do and had a right then and there convo with primary RN. That should have been the end of the story. You are going to make enemies and in ER you need to rely on each other, you are going to make your life harder. What happens when a patient comes in with a problem you have never dealt with before and don't implement a timely intervention bc you didn't know? Now you have opened Pandora's box for the other nurses to write you up.

I hate to be the critic here but you went through your first three attempts and did one "winging" it and you think you still want to be a nurse? If you can't take a refresher course then take some time off and reevaluate what you want to do. If you can't pass it on three tries then either you don't know the material or you can't put it together which is neither good.

I think it comes down to people need to just take a stand and don't tell with that bull crap. Telling someone they are acting like a jerk is not going to get you fired and if it does then you do not want to work there. Tired of people saying "did you tell the manager", well have you tried to talk to them first? Have you realized that some people are just jerks and can't make them happy, therefore do not give them the time of day? I get it when you have to work with these people, but you can always tell them to "figure it out" when they want your help 24/7 and not get sucked into their vortex. I would know because I am management and charge nurse. And the first thing I ask when somebody is being bullied is "did you talk to the person"? Nurses are expected to be mentally strong individuals and take some criticism, it comes with the territory IN ANY JOB!

As someone who was just accepted into CRNA school I will tell you GPA matters a good amount, especially the science courses, but is not the all to be all. They look at everything (GPA, GRE, years experience and where, leadership in nursing, certifications, etc.) and use that to base their decision on whether to grant you an interview or not. You do not need a perfect 4.0 to get into school, but if you have a strong GPA that is one less thing you have to justify or explain in your interview. Also, you never know what is going to be the tie breaker between you and the other candidates. Also, realize that CRNA school there is no such thing as cramming or procrastination. They look for candidates and expect them to be over-achievers and extremely driven, you can't "cram" for a graduate level pharmacology or chemistry class. So, I think your GPA is fine, but the attitude toward studying should change because you first need to pass nursing school before even thinking about CRNA school, so concentrate on passing nursing school first.