WhitDogg19

By the way, someone asked where I will be practicing - I live in Massachusetts.

"I'm suspicious of this post. This same info was posted a couple of months ago and the poster was banned. I see you just joined this month just a coincidence or is the banned poster utilizing a new account?" I'm sorry - I tried to find some information on the topic before, but I hadn't been able to find it. I have been a member for longer than a month, I have never been banned, and I am not someone using a new screen name. Frankly, that was a little rude. Anyway, the information that was quoted by soliant12 was not even really relevant. I was asking about NP's, not paramedics, and thank you, I understand the difference and the scope of practice. For those that were a bit more supportive, thank you very much for the information! I am thrilled that NP's are being utilized in hospital ED's! I wasn't sure if they were, which is why I asked. They always say that there isn't a dumb question. Keep up the good work everyone!

Happy New Year! I have a copule of opinions for you. 1. For a stethoscope, you want quality for your NP clinicals (I am on an NP track as well). Try one of the Littmann stethoscopes. You can get them from places like Allheart.com or the actual Littmann website (just do a search for 3M Littmann Stethoscopes). You can also get a ton of other fun stuff from Allheart.com! The benefit of going to the Littmann website itself is a wider selection of kinds of stethoscopes (cardiac, classic, infant, lightweight, etc.), as well as a huge selection of fun colors! :rotfl: I personally think that the Littmann II classic is the most versatile. It is very comfortable on the ears! As far as PDA's go, I highly recommend the Treo 650. This is a spectacular PDA that can be used as a cell phone, a PDA, your day planner - I have pretty much gotten it to do everything for me short of my laundry and the dishes! It is great! What do you have for cell phone service?? Seriously, I have Sprint service, and I use this PDA for everything!!! I even have a few Nursing programs stored on it that are quick references for things like drugs, NSG diagnoses, etc. If you would like any more info on this topic, please feel free to PM me - I can't say enough for this product! Happy shopping! -WhitDogg

Hi everyone - First of all, Happy New Year! I had a quick question for you all in the ED. I will (hopefully) be an NP by May '08, with my fingers crossed for an internship in the ED this summer. Just curious if there are any NP's out there working in the ED, what your thoughts are, and how you got to where you are. Any information would be greatly appreciated! Thanks so much!

I haven't taken my NCLEX yet, but I have also been using the Saunders NCLEX review book. It is different from the rest of the books because not only does it give you a ton of practice questions, but it also gives you an explanation as to why an answer is right, as well as why the other answers are wrong. It is very helpful (it also helped me pass Med/Surge - no doubt!). Good luck! :)

Thanks so much everyone - I was looking at the F&E Made Easy book - glad to hear that it is worth looking at. WIll definitely have to go shopping! We are using Ignatavicius' Med/Surg Nursing for our text. It just feels like it throws so much at us at once and doesn't really take time to give examples. It also has a CDRom with it, but it wasn't much help. And I will definitely check out that online tutorial! Thanks so much for the help and support!

Hey all - any suggestions for a good textbook that would be helpful for someone having a tough time with fluids and electrolytes? I am a relatively new nursing student, and I know what the ranges are for most of the 'lytes, but (for instance) if one is high and the other is low for a certain patient, I don't know what it means! Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Watch a few re-runs of M*A*S*H, and try and take some notes on Klinger's Nightengale outfits - that should get you close enough! Totally Kidding! :roll I know in our program, the we females have blue cargo-type pants, with polo-type shirts, lab coats, and white approved nursing shoes. The men are required to wear the same pants, with real polo shirts (very nice! ), but unfortunately, the white nursing shoes are required. All depends on your school's/hospital requirements. Good luck!

Hey Goober, and everyone else who has been repeatedly put down because you look so young! I have also been spoken down to more times than I can count, and not just in the work place, but at the movies, at the store for lottery tickets, and anything else you can think of! :angryfire I am 25, very petite, 5'1" (on a good day when I am feeling tall!), and I will admit, I do look young, but do people always have to point out the fact?? In my short life of a quarter of a century, has this thought escaped me? Obviously, ESPECIALLY in the hospital setting, pharmacy setting, etc., places where you need to have a necessary amount of training to even be in the position where you are, people should not be so concerned with how you look! 17 or 117! I have another good one for you..........I used to have a roomate that was over 6'5" tall. She was a very tall girl! And people would constantly point out to her that she was tall! I would be walking with her on the street (granted, we looked like Mutt & Jeff!) and people would stop to look at her, like she was some sort of monument, and say "Wow, you're tall?" and almost ALL of them would ask, "Do you play basketball?" Do they think she is unaware of her height? I mean, come on people! :smackingf Here is my thought for everyone: Although it stings when people put you down for looking so young, when someone says something hurtful to you about your age, I want you to look at them, and smile, and think to yourself, "Yeah well, you know what? You LOOK your age, and when I'M you're age, I'M still gonna look FABULOUS!" HAHA!! Weeeeeeeeeeeee! Here's to being carded for another 10 years, ladies! :cheers: -WD

NO WAY! Turns out, depending on when you went to take your chemistry, I was probably in Australia for the time you were going to take the class! It is our third term that we can spend abroad! I am glad that you got someone else pretty good for the class though! I didn't actually take A+P @ Elmira, but if you could choose someone to take it with, go with Dr. Gillie - she is AWESOME! I had a class called Animal Behavior with her. So much fun! She is a terrific prof! :yelclap: And, yes - Kolker Hall is AKA the "Hall of Heads" - if you go down to the Amphitheater, you will see the most incredible taxidermy without having to go to a museum!

How cute are you! :chuckle I am very excited as well! (kind of scared stupid, too! :uhoh21: ) GEP @ UMass Medical. We have navy pants & white polo type shirts + white coats. I decided to spice up my life with Littmann II's Raspberry colored scope (bright pink! Good luck!

Isn't it beautiful?? I miss it sooooo much - although Harvard does remind me of Elmira - their grounds keeping is just that good! Kind of chilly in the winter, but being from Vermont originally, winters anywhere else are like Bermuda! :Snow: Who did you have for chemistry? Was it Dr. Stephens? He's a hoot! Were your classes in the "Hall of Heads??" Haha! I just graduated from EC in 2003. As you know, it is quite a small campus (Elmira has a total enrollment of 1200, that includes grad and undergrad!), so if you were there recently, chances are that I know them, or at least who they are - who knows, might even be able to give you some dirt on people!

Wow, Krissy - they didn't make you take the GRE's? How lucky are you! I am starting a Direct Entry program at UMass Medical School, Worcester next week for my NP as well (terrified/excited!), and I was running around like a madman just trying to get my pre-req's finished up, and then I realized through the cloud of working 60+ hours/week and school @ night, that I still needed to take them!! AGGH! You know, one of those, "I will do it later" kind of things. I almost forgot to take them! HAHA! Anyway, for all of you that don't have to take the GRE's, how lucky you are! I honestly think they have become yet another part of the "weeding out" process for grad school. Good luck to you with your program! And good luck to all of you starting/going back to school this fall!

WOW! I actually got my undergrad at Elmira College! I didn't think anyone else knew where that was! Small world! :chuckle

I agree - Good luck with everything! Be sure to check into all your local colleges and universities - there are a ton of Advanced Practice Programs for folks who already have an undergraduate degree! It might take some digging, but ask around - these programs seem to be getting more and more popular, and are a pretty well kept secret in nursing schools! Good luck!