Nurse2be35

I was a NICU baby born 2 months early and my stay there was just as long. I'm considering being a NICU nurse too. I have 3 more semesters left.

You're welcome! The MEC also has TEAS prep classes for reading, English, and math. They're $200 each though. I did the math and English (they were pretty helpful). I think they're through continuing edu or workforce development. From what I hear most students who applied got in. Take your time with the TEAS. If you aren't ready, don't waste one of your three tries. I've heard of people having to wait to apply because they didn't pass the teas right away, but they're in the program now. It is well worth the wait. The program is not as intense as I expected. It's definitely manageable. If you're on top of everything and try you will be just fine.

I had to retake the math portion of the teas. I studied Keshwani videos on YouTube and got almost a perfect score the second time around. Best of luck! You can do it! And you have plenty of time to study.

For the critical steps I think it means don't start brushing someone's teeth with the bed supine and then later say "oh I should have put their bed up before I started doing this." That's a safety issue because the patient could choke. As for locking everything and removing the foot rests it makes sense to me to take the footrests off, lock the wheelchair, then move to locking the bed (as long as you do those steps before you help the patient stand). I guess it just depends on how strict the proctor is. I didn't have that skill on the exam, so I am not 100% sure.

Remember the basics... When entering: knock, greet the resident, say your name and what procedure you'll be doing, pull curtain for privacy, gather supplies When leaving: Call light within reach, bed in lowest position, pull back privacy curtain so they can see their surroundings, side rails up, dirty linen goes in designated dirty area, wash hands ^^This applies to the skills where you interact with the resident. Learn this and then apply it to those skills, that way you can focus on the few specific steps involved with that skill instead of all 14 or whatever is listed in the Pearson Vue book. You don't need to do this for things like PPE because you stand in front of the proctor and simply put the gown on, etc. If you're dealing with liquids/body fluids remember gloves (brushing teeth/dentures, anything with urine, bathing). Remember the bold steps are critical and you must do them in the order listed. When ambulating the resident make sure they have nonskid shoes on, their feet are flat on the ground, and the bed is locked (wheelchair too if needed) before you attempt to move them. Fluids: dump in toilet, rinse, dry, container goes in designated dirty area

I took the CNA exam in another state. I had hand hygiene, measuring urinary output, PPE, assist with bedpan, and catheter care. I went through a program that barely used the skills lab, so I did most of the skills prep on my own by watching YouTube videos (RMayor and 4yourCNA) and practicing on my bf. It is possible to pass! You just have to be willing to put in the effort to compensate. I recommend watching a video on how to check blood pressure (I know people who failed because they forgot what to do during the actual exam). Remember to tighten the knob on the bulb all the way to the right before pumping. This allows all of the air to flow into the cuff until you release it. If you do not hear anything with the stethoscope in your ears, turn the bell until you hear it click into place. In my state they loosen the knob on the BP cuff and turn off the stethoscope to see if you know how to adjust the equipment. Actually practicing the skills on a friend/mannequin helped me learn them much faster than reading the Pearson Vue book over and over again. Good luck! You can do it! Message me if you have any questions :-)

Hi everyone, I got my uniforms at the bookstore about a week ago. I didn't have to wait for them to be ordered. I found the tops run a little big (usually wear a M, got a S). I hope once we are in the program we can move away from the unisex styles and buy scrubs in the same dye lot because they are so constricting and unflattering.

Does anyone know if our textbook bundle is for the entire program or just the first semester/year?

Thank you! I took those a few years ago at another university too...my scores are somewhere at the previous college. Leaving it blank for now.

I have no idea what that is. I did it and left those two questions blank. It says we have multiple attempts. If they tell us what it is at orientation I'll go back and fill that in.

Yes I ordered my nurse kit separately from a different website and it looks like it's the same thing they listed on blackboard. Happy shopping ?

That is so frustrating, I'm sorry. I also assumed that 1 week between summer/fall semesters we would be free if we completed everything else ahead of time. The 11th and 14th are listed, but maybe at the nursing orientation they will have alternate dates? ...that's probably wishful thinking if the textbook publisher is coming to the MEC. Too bad they didn't schedule all of these orientations the same week, or over a few days so we could get the requirements out of the way and continue on with our summer. I also saw something about the handbook we won't be able to submit until the 15th.

Thank you for bringing this up. I didn't see the "at a glance" dates when I printed the to-do list. I feel the same way! I planned on going to the beach the 11-16... I guess that's not an option anymore :-( Maybe I'll try to go for a long weekend and leave right after the book orientation on the 14th. Our classes start on the 20th I'm pretty sure. Either way, we all NEED and DESERVE the relaxation before we hit the ground running the week after. They should have added that to the to-do list.

Okay I spoke to someone in the nursing department and they told me to upload the vaccination form once. In the meantime they will work on getting that and the 2013 deadline fixed. Hope this helps!

I just checked my profile and everything still says 2013. I got an email yesterday after responding to the one we received asking to let them know if we were in the wrong class. The woman replied and said she would take care of it. Later today I will try to call the nursing department and ask if we should upload the same vaccination form (the one attached to the physical form) many times in a row. It doesn't make sense that the form is condensed, but on certified profile it is separated into each individual vaccination. I will let you guys know if I hear anything!