thimba

This type of system is definitely standard practice. At my school tests/final are worth 80% of our grade. In order to pass the class we need at least a 76% exam average. If that 76% exam average is achieved, then the remaining points (from quizzes and projects) are added into our grade. Your school is just making sure that your test scores are high enough to pass the class. I don't see anything wrong with their grading system.

Doggie door? Or pay a neighborhood kid to let the dog out when they get home from school

Ugh I also graduated from Truman with a not-so-great GPA. It's so frustrating because nursing schools look at cumulative GPA only, not the difficulty of the school. If I had gone to a different school I'm sure my GPA would have been at least 0.3 higher.

Here's how it could end badly... The student gets a compliment (like they are a child) then decides from that compliment they are excelling at clinicals and don't need to do anything more. Then they stand around even more. Another compliment? "Wow! I'm really doing everything right this semester. No need to change any of my behavior." = Continues being useless on the floor. They are students, not children. If they don't deserve a compliment, then they shouldn't receive one as some sort of backhanded way to attempt to make them useful during their shift.

Were you not assigned a nurse to follow? My very first day at clinicals I was at an LTC facility and I wasn't given a nurse to follow, but that never happened again. Usually you should be paired up with a nurse at the beginning of the day. What do you mean by no partners? Do you mean no fellow student to be partnered up with? I have never been partnered up with another student, I have always just been by myself with a nurse. Before the shift starts you should receive report on all the patients you are helping take care of, so you know which ones can ambulate by themselves, which ones need assistance, etc. I have never gotten a tour of the clinical facilities I have been at. I always have to figure out where everything is myself. Usually when I'm first walking down a new hallway, I will start looking at the labels on doors to get an idea of where things are. Then as I'm walking to and from patients' rooms in other hallways I am always still looking at door labels. Clinicals are hectic. When I was at the LTC my first semester, we weren't allowed to do much at all. So I found things I could do-- like refilling towels in patient rooms, making sure there were enough clean laundry bags in the rooms, making sure the precaution rooms had adequate stocks gowns and/or masks, going into rooms and asking each patient if they needed their water filled up, asking the techs if they need any help taking vitals (I would split the patient load with the tech, she would take half and I would take half), also feeding the patients meals helps out a lot as well. Just think of what could be done to help the techs and jump in Edit: before you feed the patients meals, ask the CNA or tech if they're an aspiration risk. Also make sure the patient isn't NPO before getting them water. Edit 2: also even just sitting and talking with the patients is a wonderful thing to do (work on those therapeutic communication skills!) A lot of the patients are lonely and are tickled pink if you lend them an ear for 10-15 min.

As a general rule, we don't want to just give you the answer, so it helps if you show us the work you have attempted so far

Woahh where was your clinical instructor/a nurse while you were doing this? Someone is supposed to be supervising you whenever you do skills! It doesn't seem like you did anything wrong, but someone else is supposed to be there to tell you to stop if you are about to harm the pt. I thought this was standard protocol for students.

Once nurses are actually out on the floor, they will be transferring obese patients. They may as well get some practice now.

I'm currently at the Phoenix location. The professors have been wonderful so far-- so much better than my professors I previously had while getting my first BS degree at a different university. Clinicals are at good hospitals. I have no idea how easy it is to find a job after graduation. Equipment is great. Have you seen the SIM lab? Have you taken any college classes before? What was your GPA? The only reason I'm asking is because chamberlain admits almost everyone, but then the nursing classes get HARD... many struggle and subsequently fail multiple classes then get kicked out of the program. Chamberlain doesn't want to graduate incompetent nurses, so they make the program difficult. So be prepared!

You're going to fail if you get in that mindset. Stop doubting yourself and keep trying. In this post alone you have just listed negative things. Stop thinking that way and go forward with a positive attitude

Maybe you could try applying to a few community colleges and take some nursing pre-reqs there. Once you get good grades in those classes then you may be a better candidate for a BSN program if the school has grades other than your HS grades to look at.

Who in your class has been doing consistently well on all of the tests? Find that out, and then meet with him/her and ask them EXACTLY what they are doing to study. Are they reading the book? Highlighting important parts? Using the power points? Making their own "study guide"? Making flash cards? It seems like you're a hard worker, and I hardly doubt it is your intellectual capacity that is holding you back. I think you are studying incorrectly, and your priorities should be: 1. Figuring out how to study for this particular class, and 2. Managing your anxiety so it doesn't mess you up on future tests.

They won't deny employment if you're actually prescribed those meds. If you test positive then you will probably get a phone call asking you to provide proof of prescription, or they will ask for your pharmacy and call them to verify

I had no problem talking to our clinical coordinator, she actually emailed me back within the hour on a few occasions. All of my teachers have been wonderful, professional and knowledgeable.

Has anyone tried out the newest Littmann Classic III? I am a nursing student and I am buying my first stethoscope. From what I have read, I should go with the Classic II S.E or the Cardiology III. The Cardiology III is a little expensive, so I was going to go with the Classic II S.E. However, I am interested in the newest Classic III. If anyone has bought it/tried it out, I am interested in your opinion! Thanks!