sandiixx

I take offence at being called an unskilled worker after being at university for 4 years to get where i am. AND I did have to sit the CGFNS exam AND the NCLEX to get to work in the States thanks. I personally think half the nurses are a darn sight more skilled than some of the doctors i have worked with!! Have a great day!

in addition to my last reply: Start studying well before the exam day. Like a few months. Set yourself study time AND play time. Long term study is best for long term memory And regularly reinforce what you have read by doing prac tests on it. Dont over do it the day before and dont even look at the books on the day of the exam. If you have studied well beforehand then you will recall what you have learned when you do the exam. Relax before it and picture yourself succeeding:)

Read all different books on NCLEX study and do as many practice tests as you can on your computer. Dont stick to just one publisher or author. I found that if you do plenty of practice exams of all different kinds it will set you up to understand the NCLEX and the style of question and how they want them answered. This helped me heaps. I also found that of the tons of stuff i studied that i used hardly any of it on the actual exam as most of my questions were priority questions. But as every exam is different, you need to study EVERYTHING! And practice practice practice! and time yourself:)

No its not a typo. They had ileostomy listed as well. There are articles on heostomy but I cant seem to access them off the web. There IS something called an heostomy but I dont seem to be able to read about it in any of the articles. And no it has nothing to do with tracheostomy either. In each article heading I've read it eludes to it being intestinal.

Hi I was filling out a skills check list for when i come to work in the States, and under the ostomy appliances it has an heostomy. No body i know, knows what that is, including myself. I have tried to look it up on the internet to no avail, I have looked in my nursing books, to no avail and the stomal care nurses here at my hospital dont know what it is!!! Please tell me what it is and where on the anatomy it is situated, which part of the ?bowel does it involve? This is driving me nuts!! Thanks :biggringi

Here in australia we have wonderful state unions, I believe that without them our pay would be low, and our pt/nurse ratios unreasonable. Our union has worked to get a reasonable pay, which we deserve as professionals, and have given us acceptable nurse patient ratios. We are not slaves and we need to have some of the pressure taken off as we deal in lives and when there is too much pressure mistakes are made. I love my job and would hate to consider another but love of the job doesnt pay the bills and neither does romantiscizing it. Sure i could work elsewhere and earn more but thanks to the union I dont have to because it is reasonable pay:):balloons:

:uhoh21: I am an australian nurse that is coming to the States (hopefully AZ) and your attitude to foreign nurses scares me. Am I going to be treated as an outcast due to the unrest amongst the nurses over there? I would hope not. We here in australia also have staffing problems which our hospitals see fit to recruit nurses from all over, from india in particular. I know there are other things the government could do to correct the problem, but even so i would never think of letting any of those nurses feel less welcome to my hospital. Nurses no matter where they are from need to unite and stick up for one another. Its hard enough doing our work without the lack of support from our co-workers dont you think?:blushkiss

As a younger woman, I had a lovely set of breasts. No complaints. Then i had kids. Well that was the end of anything decent, they were more like fried eggs:( I felt embarrassed to wear my bikini or anything that would show my eggs:( I have a curvaceous figure but that just looked out of place as i also have broad shoulders. I didnt want to look like a man so i had it done. Not gigantic ones, just ones that look the same as before except I guess they sit a little better without a bra:) I feel good about them for me. I do hate it when guys like to speculate about if they are 'real' or not. It is none of their damn business and if they had half a brain I am sure they could think of better things to think about. I like them as now my WHOLE body is in proportion again, just like before:)

I JUST LOVE THIS THREAD!!! IT JUST RECONFIRMS THAT WE ARE NURSES FOR A REASON, COS WE ARE GOOD AT IT AND WE LOVE IT!! LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LOVE IT!!! YEEEEHHAAAAAA!! :chuckle

I LOVE my career AND my job:) I have had 2 days where I thought I may be a bit crazy doing what i do because it is so hard sometimes but thats only two in years:) I work in med surg (previously ED, loved that too) I love where i work, the people i work with, my boss and I love to take care of my patients. My co workers say i am manic, but I love how i love it all!!! :rotfl: Thankyou God for giving me the chance to do what i love!! :balloons:

WOW:yeah: How long did it take you to get where you are now?:bowingpur

Beautifully said:cheers:

That is true, when you get a good agency nurse it is a blessing and yes it is very difficult working agency as i have done it myself. Going somewhere different, not knowing how you will be treated by the regulars, (sometimes poorly, and that is before you start!) It can be very intimidating, I wouldnt treat anybody with contempt just because they are agency, but in saying this, there is no excuse for laziness and poor nursing care:)

Yes I have worked with some real duds and they are probably agency cos no one will employ them in regular work! But in saying that i have worked with a few absolute gems:) Definately exceptions to the rule:coollook:

You know the continence people that come to teach the staff in the aged care facility I used to work at say the same thing and the owner went and bought liners incase there was any faecal smearing on the pads so they didnt have to be changed!!! How can they get away with that? I used to change the pads anyway and all the regulars were like "OOOOHHHH You cant do that!!" WANT A BET??? My conscience wouldnt let a person sit in that for hours at a time. The whole thing makes me so angry:angryfire How dare they just because those poor people cant speak up for themselves!!

Oh my goodness it sounds like the female owner, DON, of an aged care facility I worked in:( This so called Christian woman has no conscience I am sure. I wouldnt put my enemy in that nursing home and the linen I wouldnt use for my dog!. Those poor, poor people. Very cruel:scrying:

I LOVE House and i find it very tongue in cheek and funny:) I NEVER miss an episode and I would marry that arrogant pain in the butt doctor any day:rotfl: I think we need to take it for what it is, just entertainment. Anyway i like the way they work out what disease is causing the complaint:)

I LOVE YOUR IDEA AND YOUR POST :balloons: Believe me if i had the money I would send it to you:) Thats beautiful

hey good luck for your exam in december!! Please let us know how you did and give us any useful tips you might have from your experience :biere: All the best!

That may be why know one will tell me! I was told to practice and study till i get 80% on the practice questions then I would have a reasonable chance of passing. Another girl from where i work sat the NCLEX and says she passed at 67%! Dont know how she knows that? I did one practice exam KAPLAN I think and got 94% then did another and got 56%! Big difference!! So I think that like they say variety is the spice of life

yes thats something i need to know as well? What is the passing score for the NCLEX as no one will give me a straight answer. Does it vary depending on how many nurses they need?

I do believe that with all there is to do in an 8 hour shift (in which i almost always leave an hour late) I could easily go through to 12 hours! I know i look forward to leaving at leaving time but I also know I would have PLENTY to keep me busy for 12 hours:) Funny isnt it? I think the job is tiring and underpaid but i wouldnt swap it for another. I LOVE my job:)

I quite often fix the flowers or get a vase for the flowers at work when i am asked nicely about a vase or I see the flowers there but if someone approached me like that ( and thank goodness it hasnt happened) I would have to pull them up on it for sure. I do not take being spoken to like that at all and wouldnt put up with it!

yes you did the right thing and that nurse should know it, except she did the wrong thing and apologise to the patient and you. Crikey, she wont get far in the job if she cant learn these simple things!! Thats scary:sofahider

Oh my goodness such awful conditions!! You did the right thing by quitting. I would refuse outright to admit another patient if there wasnt sufficient staffing to provide care. I am worried now as i am coming to the States to nurse next year and i know from your letter that i have been spoilt from having a wonderful union here in Australia with 1 to 4 or 5 ratios. The most i have had is 8patients with a dvision 2 nurse, like your LPN except they dont give out meds. Maybe i should stay home?? I like to be able to provide quality care for my patients, something that is near impossible with ratios like you have pointed out!