KaliNurse

A-fib, for sure....A-flutter is REGULAR, a-fib is IRREGULAR. That's one good way to distinguish between the two....and of course, flutter shows the saw-tooth waves:-)

I think the question/order could have been worded better than that, but it sounds like the forst 3 should be given STAT.

Hospitals choosing the BSN RN's over the ADN RN's started because of Magnet accreditation. Many more hospitals are starting to apply for Magnet status (nursing excellence award). Having BSN's on board looks more favorable when facilities are applying for Magnet recognition. Honestly, in my opinion, hospitals are interested in your RN license....more so than the schooling. But, because of Magnet, they are trying to hire bachelor's-prepared RN's. (Wait til the nursing shortage catches up to them!!!!!!) lol...... You can always enroll into an RN to BSN program. The best part of the ADN is that you can allow your employer to pay for your BSN!!! If that particular hospital is going thru the "Magnet Journey", chances are, they will have some kind of tuition reimbursement waiting for you to use because that makes the hospital look good with Magnet:-) Take it from me....the "Magnet Ambassador"

I believe that hospitals are currently in a position to hire only BSN's. However, we will see that change once the economic situation lifts. It does look good for hospitals to hire nurses with higher levels of education. After all, most other professions are at least entry-level bachelor's anyway (ex.... physical therapists = masters degrees; pharmacists = doctoral degrees). However, once the economy turns around, hospitals may not be in that same position to be so "choosy" with their nursing levels of education. There are simply not enough BSN's to care for the additional 26 million people that will be insured once our new healthcare plan goes through. So, I don't think this is going to be a permanent thing. You should further your education because you WANT to, not necessarily because you HAVE to. Magnet does have alot to do with this whole BSN thing. Many hopsitals aren't quite ready to get their Magnet status as of yet. If this is going to continue to be a strong recommendation from Magnet, then hospitals may eventually start providing more tuition reimbursement for higher education. There's nothing wrong with getting an ADN, and then making your employer to pay for your BSN, if that's an option for you...... Hang in there!!

DCCC Marple students......Some clinical sites are: Mercy Fitz, Paoli, Crozer & Lankenau. DCCC Chesco Students.....clinicals are at CCH for the first 2 semesters (First Year).

Kaplan and Mosby's Comprehensive have all the questions broken down into systems (resp, cardiac, GI...etc)

You CAN do it. Forst of all, you got the right idea (in my opinion) with the Kaplan QBank. The NCLEX set up is extremely similar to the Kaplan set up. Keep practcing computerized questions, since that will be the format of your exam. Review all rationales...even if you get the answer right. Kaplan wants you to pass as much as you do, so keep doing their questions! You have a few weeks to keep at it. Good luck!!!

Stacey, Make sure your read your contract BEFORE you sign it! Know what your facility is asking of you, prior to committing! Also, it is good to ask about their requirements for passing the NCLEX. Jumping into a contractual agreement prior to graduation can be shady if you don't consider what they want in return. It may also be helpful if you could talk to another person who contracted with the same facility and went through the same ordeal. You can ask anyone in HR if they could refer you to someone who went through it so you can ask them personally..... prior to signing the contract! Good luck with your decision.:wink2:

Yes. You really should check prior to administering meds. Even though some patients have been on those same meds at home for the last 20 years and don't check their own blood pressure prior to giving themselves their meds.....you should still check because the patient is in YOUR care now! When talking about parameters...you should know whether you are giving a beta blocker versus an ACE inhibitor. ACE's won't affect the heart rate...they only affect the BP. Beta blockers will affect both. So, you need to pay attention to what you are supposed to be giving, and as well as the parameters. If the patient's heart rate is 50, and their BP is 180/90, then call the MD and let him know about it since he is the one who ordered parameters. Most likely, he/she will change the classification of the drug ordered in order to lower the BP without affecting the HR. By the way....pay close attention to your diuretics as the others have told you! Lasix or Aldactone in combination with a blood pressure medication, could certainly "bottom out" your patient.

Hang in there, ehlay! You'll get through it! You've come this far!! Best of luck to you!:up:

Patient Safety!!!......Patient Safety!!!....Patient Safety!!!..... You cannot go wrong with those words. Also, the Joint Commission knows that you simply cannot know all the answers. So, if they ask you something that you aren't too sure of.....you should say something like...."I would ask my nurse manager first", or "I would refer to the Policy Manual for that". Believe it or not, they are more interested in safety than anything else. I think most people would agree......

That's correct. You need to go to your family physician and have titers drawn for Chicken Pox. This will tell how high/low your titer levels are for chicken pox. If you still have a decent level, you may not need to get the Varivax vaccine.

I know what you mean....you mean like aesthetics or administering botox injections for a spa or salon....etc.....The answer is YES. I have a friend that does it with a BSN and malpractice insurance. You also need an MD to partner with. He needs to review your charts and order your botox and restalin (I think that's what it's called). Anyway, I think this is what you are asking...... If it is the answer is YES you can. I'm sure there are alot of other things involved in getting it started. You'll have to check with the nursing board in your state to see what the regulations are. That would be a good start if you are serious about considering it.

Well, I guess I wouldn't take that for granted either. But, think about it....that makes NO sense. Why would the facility require a double RN signature on a heparin gtt and NOT on an insulin gtt???? I can see why you are questioning it!!

Yeah I guess everyone has their own "method to their madness" when it somes to studying. I think all of you have great studying ideas. I also agree with the fact that studying a little every night will help. You cannot cram this information in. Some people are procrastinators and believe that they can cram all the info in the night before, and then pass the test. That is usually not possible. However, now that I said that.....someone is gonna reply to my post and say that they waitied til the last night to study and passed their test...blah...blah...blah. So, here's the deal....if you wait til the last night to study for a nursing test and you pass it, you simply got lucky. Yeah, that's right...lucky! But, guaranteed....you will not remember ANY of that information when you need to actually use it in future practice. So don't listen to the procrastinators on that one. Remember...nursing is a PROCESS. It takes time to develop and build. Study a little each night and continue to ask questions. That should take you a long way!!!! Also, I agree with Lauren too about PRIORITIZATION. You have to know what to do first. But, since you are a first year student, you have to get the basics down first. Then, you can build on the original knowledge taught to you first year. Best of luck:)