HisKids37

We don't have CNAs or LVNs in our NICU. Good luck!

Awesome! Congratulations! I'm assuming you'll have an orientation program; if so, you really don't need to do anything to prepare. Skimming your Merenstein will be nice because it'll give you an idea about some of the more common disease processes, but your unit will teach you everything you need to know!

NICU is a specialty field, and your preceptor knows that you know basically nothing about it. Your preceptor will hopefully have been chosen as someone who likes to introduce new people to all they need to know to be successful. The most important thing you can do is go in with a positive attitude, a servant's heart, a willingness to learn and ask questions, and probably a little notebook, in which you can write things down so you don't have to ask over and over. Have fun!

I personally think that the NICU is a very gentle place to work. My friends who work on other floors are so physically exhausted at the end of their shift, while I have plenty of time to sit down and hold babies or chart or whatever.

Is this the book you're talking about? Certification and Core Review for Neonatal Intensive Care Nursing, 4e (Watson, Certification and Core Review for Neonatal Intensive Care Nursing): 9781437726336: Medicine & Health Science Books @ Amazon.com

I graduated with my ADN and started immediately in a NICU. I'm sure it varies by area, but where I live, hospitals prefer to hire new grads directly into the department they really want.

At my hospital, an occupational therapist is our developmental care specialist.

Right now I have about 4 hours in class and 17 hours in clinicals, plus all kinds of extra stuff - meetings, time spent in skills lab (no required hours right now) etc.

I had to do the same thing. I was able to print something from the FAFSA website that had all of my IRS information on it, and my financial aid department accepted it.

Try visiting an academic advisor at your school. At mine, there were ways to increase my GPA based on two things: one, replacing old grades with newer, better ones (I hadn't realized that I had to file a request for the old grades to be replaced), and two, expunging a number of my old units based on my current gpa and the amount of time that has gone by. Good luck!

You might want to call the nursing program at your school and ask their advice on this. Mine highly recommends that you don't work at all during the program, but many work part-time, and there might be a couple working full-time. I really can't imagine working a full-time job and doing well in nursing school, but everyone is different.

She's manipulating you, and that is very hard to deal with. You will need to make your own grown-up decisions and let her own her reactions to them.

You will probably need your own laptop if your husband is using the family one most of the time. My laptop is the family computer also, but they all know that Mom has priority, because I do spend substantial time on it writing papers, doing research, printing out powerpoints etc. As far as supplies, the first commenter was correct: your nursing school will let you know what you need, besides the obvious - binders, papers, pens etc. Even with those things though, they might have specific guidelines. I had one teacher who required two 2" white binders. Ha ha! Good luck!

I'm very sensitive too, but you really do learn to temper your emotions. First semester, I would agonize over how was this patient or that one doing. I wondered how nurses every emotionally survived, wondering and wondering how their patients were. Well, I'm only in 3rd semester and already I just don't get as worked up. I care, and I think about some patients, but they don't occupy an inordinate amount of my mental energy any more. You really do just get used to seeing things, I guess. Let your sensitivity be an asset!

I'm in semester 3 of 4, due to graduate in December 2015. I love my program, though I will admit that I am excited to have a break this summer.

Next semester, my med surg class will be heavy on EKGs/tele. I was going to see about taking an EKG class over summer to make next semester, but a quick Google search didn't show me much. Has anyone done something like this?

Honestly, I really rely on my husband as a big part of my sanity, so our marriage has made school easier for me. He completely supports my education, even thought it means that he is highly taxes physically and emotionally, taking over most of the homeschooling of our children while I'm at school. Nursing school is consuming and exhausting, but I really like it. I enjoy coming home to my man and telling him all the crazy things that happened that day. Of course there are times that I'm so tired that I just come home and go to bed early, or I'm grouchy, or he is from working hard at home all day, or whatever. That's just part of life, and I would imagine that by now you've weathered that kind of thing as a couple. You know what sorts of things work for you. If "I love you" texts are what you normally do, keep at it. If you're already happy together, just keep doing what you're doing and you'll be fine!

I have only had one disorganized instructor so far, and it was a frustrating semester. I just organized myself the best I could and tried to be self-taught.

My patient in PICU didn't have parents around, which was sad to me. The other parents I've been around in peds and postpartum were wonderful. They know there is still an RN involved, and they see that my instructor is with me for anything invasive, meds etc. Our instructors always ask the parents if they're ok with having a student nurse, so it's not a surprise to them when we walk in.

I have done well on my ATI proctored exams, and I think the thing that helps me most is the practice exams. As I take them, I read every single rationale (so for every question, I read all of the rationales, for the right and wrong answers). This helps me to understand not only the exact material covered, but how ATI wants me to think/answer. For example, the answer "notify the MD" is hardly ever a right answer, because they want to know what you will do as the nurse. Obviously ABCs and other priority questions can be answered based on correct prioritization whether or not you know the actual material.

Time with my kids. I actively miss them when I'm away, and wish I could be with them all the time like I used to, but I'm so grateful to be where I am that it balances it out. Also knowing I will be able to provide my family with a secure future makes it worthwhile. And actually, I really enjoy nursing school despite how difficult it is.

I'm in California also and most new grads are working for a couple of months before they have their license, provisionally.

My favorite thing to do was to go on youtube and look up nursing student videos. I got so many great ideas there. Of course you'll come up with your own study methods, but here are some things that help me: - Organize your binders. Make sure you know each class's schedule of assignments, including reading, exams, and things that are due. I combine all of these into one table that has a row for each week so that I can see at a glance what I have coming up. - Read or skim assigned chapters before class. Carefully read any powerpoints or study notes before class. - After class, re-read and organize notes you took in class. Do this daily if you can. Exposing yourself to the material several times really helps. - Review course objectives and study the information from your textbooks and notes that relate to the objectives. - Do NCLEX, textbook and ATI questions that relate to the subject you're studying.

Binder, steth, watch, name badge, penlight, mints, lunch money, tylenol/advil, black pen, whiteboard pen, pencil. I put it all in a little box so that I don't forget anything important.

You are doing the right things. Get organized - for school and for your home life. Get your binders ready, your supplies, whatever you need. And at home, if you don't already have a system for laundry, menu planning etc., get one going. But I think you already know that. The thing that helped me the MOST was watching youtube videos about nursing school and being encouraged to go into it thinking, "this is going to be such an amazingly exciting adventure!" I still tell myself that. I think it changes how you see all of the work if you think about it in a positive light instead of giving in to the feeling of "Oh crap, this is going to be awful". You earned your place in your nursing program. You're equipped to do well. You're going to make close friends, learn a TON of interesting stuff, bond with your patients and think about them long after your clinical day is through, and feel SO PROUD when you pass those nursing exams and finals. Go get 'em, tiger!!