theboysmomx4

now, when i was in nursing school, this would have been a problem....there was a group of us that liked the first row and sat in it for every class, every semester....and the 5 of us would get there early and "claim" our seats in the first row by putting our books and such down.... we never had professors lock the doors for late comers....but sometimes if they didnt unlock the door properly, it would remain locked from the outside....it was not an issue at our school...if someone needed to get in, they gently tapped on the window on the door and whoever was close to it would open it... lateness was addressed by having 3 tardies equal an absence. 2 absences from clinical or 3 absences from lecture, and you were withdrawn from the class. most did not enforce the tardy rule, just the absence rule. it was rude awakening to one girl who was consistently late, when she arrived at level 4. we had a brand new clinical instructor who said she would enforce the rule and it was understood it was by her watch. period. no exceptions, not even 1 minute. only took that girl 3 lates to make her one clinical absence.....she was never late after that knowing that if she missed one more day, she was booted from level 4. of course, that only lasted thru clinicals....during management the instructor was not there, and she reverted back to her lateness... her preceptor even asked me twice where she was and if she was coming in....!

thank you so much! for studying, i mostly did the saunders nclex online questions. i read very little of the book. i also availed myself of the study guide i found on this site. i believe it is like 35 pages(???) but had a lot of great info and some strategies--very helpful. i also did any and all free nclex assessments online that i could find. i continued to get together with my two study buddies from school and we worked out of the lacharity prioritization book and questions in the saunders book. OH i also found the three videos in the saunders very helpful too!

soooooo excited! i had originally scheduled my NCLEX for Jan. 28 and then an opening came up on Jan 23. i rescheduled. i was nervous as all get out on friday morning. My test was for 2pm. the nervousness drove me crazy because i an NOT one to get nervous over any test. took the test and i knew i was on question 75......but when i clicked next, and the test stopped, something like a shock wave went thru my body....i was ready to cry. i had heard that people get questions that they have no idea what it is talking about, or questions that are "crazy hard." for me, i didnt get any like that, so i was convinced i had failed because, if i didnt think they were hard, then how could they be the higher level questions??? any way, as soon as i could, i did the PVT with a gift card that has $2 on it. i knew it was too early, but i had to do it. got the GOOD pop up! cautiously optimistic, altho, i knew i had to wait the 24 hours. in the end, i waited about 32 hours and did it again and got the same good pop up. more relieved, but not yet ready to celebrate. sunday, i was counting down the hours until i could get the quick results. at exactly the 48 hour mark of when my test shut down, 316 pm, quick results were available. I paid my $7.95 and held my breath.....and YES!! saw the wonderful words, PASSED!!! i started shaking and crying...omg! i was finally an RN. called my spouse and my study group buddies and then posted on FB...lol! then, i felt like i was gonna puke. the emotions were crazy....!! i am so happy to have this chapter of my life done. this was a high stakes exam for me, not only to get my license, but because i have two job offers and both, of course, were/are contingent upon getting my license. NOW, to figure out which offer i should accept!!! Good luck to all who are preparing for this huge exam....keep telling yourself, YOU CAN DO THIS!!

my interpretation of a patient asking "do you like nursing?" is that they are really asking if you like taking care of THEM. i feel that patients do not really care if you like your employer or not...they want to know that you care about them and helping them to feel better...not just there to pass out meds and update your computer. if i was a patient and asked this, it would probably be just because i was making small talk and being polite....to be given an answer like the above, would make me very uncomfortable, especially if this is my first contact with you. might be different if i have had you as my nurse for several shifts and we developed a friendly rapport and i loved the care you otherwise provided to me. however, if i do not know you and i'm maybe asking this questions the first time or two i have interacted with you, i would be taken aback and question the care you would provide to me...as a fellow nurse, i would ask to have you removed as my nurse for that day/night...lucky for you, many patients do not know they can complain to the charge and have you taken off their care.

Congrats on passing your first semester...!! i was just pinned dec 11th and graduated the 13th...it is a wonderful, wonderful feeling. Nursing school is truly the hardest thing i have ever done and honestly, i am glad i will never have to do it again. I completely agree with study groups! i am an older student but i didnt really have any trouble finding a study group...after a couple of weeks, you find out which of the students are a bit more successful and serious. for me, that was me and therefore, others wanted to join me. word of advice, limit your people to no more than 5, and make sure those five fit your groups style. yes, everyone learns differently, however, someone who's "style" completely clashes with your group, will not work best for the rest. In my group, there were 3 of us who were consistent for each semester and others came and went. Also, people will tell you A's are rare and C=RN. For me, A's were not rare, i got them in every single nursing course, however, not everyone did, but try your best because it IS doable! And while C does in fact equal RN, i have found that when applying for my first job, hospitals DO ask your GPA. So, if you are like me and do not currently work at a hospital as a PCT, being able to put an impressive GPA down is definitely a good thing. One week after submitting my application, I had one interview for PCU oncology and on Monday, i have another interview for GYN oncology at two different hospitals! Care plans are not fun and are definitely time consuming, but put the time in. You will, in the end, save more time doing it well the first time instead of having to re-do them, as some of my classmates had to do. And to be perfectly honest, i would do 5 care plans to one mind map any day. i HATED mind maps....ugh. but, you will (probably) do them and get thru them. I too, am of the camp that feels taking hand written notes works better. i brought my computer to class to follow the power points, but additional notes were hand written. i cannot tell you how many times in study group would my fellow "groupies" ask me a question about what the professor had said. i almost always had the answer written.... One final word of advice, (altho, maybe this part is for 2nd-4th semester)..unless your instructor tells you that you need to know a specific item, concept or disease process intimately, dont. stay in the shallow end of the pool. instead of having excessive in-depth knowledge or studying minute details (which will make you overwhelmed, burnt out and unable to remember as much), focus on a general understanding of the issue, and more attention on what you, as a nurse, can do for the patient and as someone else said, first thing to think about, safety and maslow.... also, if you are at a school that has ATI, find some time to practice it...not the first semester, but during your break before semester 2. having to find 5 hours to remediate on content from the last semester, while you are trying to learn new content is not fun. believe me, i know many people who had to do it...and if you're like me, you will be glad its not you. good luck to those continuing and those just getting started.....you will feel AMAZING at your pinning!!!!!! and always tell yourself: I CAN DO THIS!!!!!!