parkj9

So I took my first NS theory exam today. We are three weeks into our program. Since Day 1, I have been studying my a** off every single day until the day of the exam, which was today. We need a 75% to pass and I know (or think) that I comfortably made it into the 80's range and passed. I did not feel like I failed or anything..but what has been bugging me all day is that I KNOW I changed my answers to questions that were right. I noticed that once I started looking through the test a second time, I started adding in "what if's" and would change my answer. It was just frustrating for me all day today because I know I could have easily gotten those points. I am in no way a perfectionist, but it's just irritating knowing that I do have a better score than what I actually got. I also feel a lot of pressure because our profs have been emphasizing this A LOT saying that we're not to be competitive anymore since we each have our spot in the program. But I know that everyone is still in that "competitive mode". It puts a lot of pressure and intimidation on me knowing that there are better students. I know it's nothing majorly serious, like I completely failed it or something, but I think I'm just slowly starting to feel overwhelmed. Not even because of the material or anything like that, but because I can still feel the vibe of everyone trying to compete with each other. I just need a few words of encouragement. I know that on the next exam, I need to NOT look over each question and re-think things through, maybe just check that I have every bubble filled in. Anyway, some guidance would be nice :) Thanks for reading through my vent..

So it's been my first week of NS, and we were learning about basic vital signs, etc. in lab today. We talked about orthostatic BP and what that means as far as the diastolic and systolic number changes with the different positions. I was just wondering when would you know to take BP in these different positions as opposed to just taking a regular brachial BP?

So I'll be starting my first quarter of NS in a couple weeks and I received an email from one of my profs for our class and she explained that our class would be split into two groups and taught my two different profs for one weekday, then we would come together at the end of the week. I'm confused as to how tests would be taken and what if some topics aren't covered for one group or the other? Also the profs probably have different teaching styles too so when it comes around for exams, how would they be written fairly? I'm just confused about the efficiency of this..Anyone else's nursing program do this??

I know this may depend on the school, but generally, how different is the education level between an associates degree in nursing from a community college vs. a bachelor's in nursing from a university? Is the CC's education more easier and laid-back compared to a university's? Are their programs run differently?

Hello everyone, So this may seem like a silly topic, but I'm starting my first year of NS at the end of this month. When I should technically be in my senior year this fall, I will be a junior year nursing student (so I'm a year late). At orientation before summer, it seemed like all of the sophomores (who will be juniors) knew each other and had friends in the program. If I had gotten in last year, this would have also been the case for me. But since I'm a year late, I don't know anyone. Maybe one person. And it makes me extremely nervous that I don't know anyone and don't have anyone to rely on. And the one person that I know, I don't want to make it seem like she has to stick with me and study with me all the time and be needy kinda thing. I don't want her to feel obligated just because she's the only person I know. She is two years behind, so maybe she is also in the same boat as me, I don't know. But anyway, what was everyone's experience with becoming close with fellow nursing students? I heard you spend all your time with them so you end up becoming good friends and stuff, but right now, I'm just so nervous!!! I'm the type of person where I can't be very independent and it brings me comfort knowing some people in my class, but I really don't. Any advice? Sorry for the vent

No, I'm pretty sure our school doesn't use ATI. But I'll look into the mnemonics!

I wanted to get some extra workbooks so that it would be easier for me to study for pharm. Which books would you guys suggest? I know of the "Incredibly Easy" series.. Are there any other books you'd recommend? Thanks!!

This is probably going to be one of the dumbest questions ever...but I have to ask. So I just got my BLS Certification today and they made me sign the card when I received it after the class and I was in a little bit of a hurry because of the line of people behind so I signed it but it's a VERY ugly signature that I just messed up on. So my question is, do employers look at your signature on your card?

Haha ok you have me sold. I think I will return this one and go for the Cardiology. It'll probably give me a peace of mind too knowing that the acoustics are better :) Thanks so much for your awesome input!!

Would you suggest that I just switch to a Cardiology III? Since I know we'll be doing clinicals in peds later on and you can switch between the pediatric diaphragm/bell if needed. Plus it already has a tunable diaphragm. Or do you think the Classic II is alright for now just to use during nursing school and I can get the Cardiology III later on?

What is it named? All Nurses or allnurses.com??

Do you think the Classic II SE is sufficient/adequate enough?

Hello, I'm fairly new to AN, but I was wondering if there is also an app for AN on smartphones? I think it would be really convenient/helpful if we were able to make one :)

Green34 -- I looked up the apex and tried listening with my steth and as you mentioned, I did hear it the loudest (very thumpy). I re-tried listening to the aortic valve, where I had trouble hearing, and it seemed pretty audible. I was also able to hear some bowel sounds as it was right after I ate. So I'm guessing it wasn't a stethoscope problem but rather, me thinking that I was going to be hearing very loudly and clearly with the stethoscope. And also, it was probably because I haven't had much experience using the stethoscope and taking auscultations. Hopefully I'll be able to get used to hearing the sounds once I start in the fall and properly learn them. Thanks for your help! I also have one last question. If this is about as loud as you'll normally hear, how would I be able to hear with distraction noises/in loud environments? Is it just getting used to recognizing the sounds and being able to find them in these situations?