Bunsen

I did an absn program with a 2.9 gpa going in. Finished with a 3.5. My nursing school took into account that my undergrad is a very good, difficult school, as well as the fact that I volunteered. I did take a couple of prerequisites at a community co...

I learned that you can be awake and asymptomatic with a blood pressure of 300. TPN tubing can bubble out, forcing you to replace the entire length of tubing that isn't stocked on the floor for some reason. Having to take 8 am classes for work as a n...

Cardiac PCU. 1:3-4 nights and days. 3 if they have titration.

I learned that there is a lot more charting that needs to be done than what we learned in school. There is so much. Cardiac cath patients stay awake during the procedure. They also have to stay flat for at least an hour afterwards. One of the ICD's w...

Lots of unit-specific policies this week. You have to keep replacing potassium and magnesium even if it's within normal range but not quite at the benchmark. Potassium powder does not taste good. Apparently I developed a sense of "something isn't rig...

A tote bag, free ice cream, car chargers (this one was weird), free massages... AND I've only been here a week - picked a good time to start!

First week as a new grad at this hospital, so lots of basic stuff. Two nurses can declare a dead pt, but the doctor still has to sign the certificate. PIV's can be left in indefinitely if they don't become red and painful, as per a Cochrane study a c...

I learned that the hospital doesn't expect you to know /anything/ when starting as a new grad. Ironically, except blood administration, which I never did as a student. Test tomorrow! I could have done without the half-hour video on how to ambulate pt...

Congrats on passing! I also did an accelerated program - 13 months non-stop. I just used Uworld and did 150 questions/day for a couple weeks, although my classmates used Kaplan and it apparently worked since nobody has failed yet. Almost everyone in...

I got my first pair of compression socks about halfway through school. Magically, my hip pain disappeared! Sockwell has a ton of cute options that I can actually choose from now that I'm not decked out in all-white seethrough scrubs.

I learned that it takes about 3 days to get a license number from the NCBON after taking the NCLEX. Also, that I should save all of my receipts for scrubs and shoes for tax writeoffs in 2016.

Maybe I don't understand correctly, haha. This is different from select all that apply questions?

All of these things (except fill in the blank?) are already on the NCLEX.

Just finished my BSN in March. Work for 2-3 years in the stepdown unit, not sure if I would want to move to a different floor eventually or not. Apply for a 3 year DNP program and work PRN on the side while that's going on. Then hopefully practition...

Seasoned or experienced sounds 100x more natural.

I learned that taking 5 tests in 3 days can be as physically taxing as 4 shifts in a row. However, I'm now done with nursing school and getting over my cold! One test left that I get to study for for the next 6 weeks. I also learned that my future nu...

I got a message from a Teach for America recruiter who stated she found me by my Sigma Theta Tau mention on my profile. She asked if I would like to set up an appointment to talk about employment opportunities at my campus. Does anyone have experienc...

Maybe I haven't gotten to this part in school, but what does having a DVT or PE have to do with having a baby before 25? Past classmates have been pregnant and had children during our 13 month program, but they surreptitiously always have them during...

The khakis and black shoes are for some clinicals outside of the hospital - mental health and community use them a lot. You can use any documentation for the flu shot but TAKE A PICTURE OF IT FIRST. For real. Financial aid is all over the place. Some...

You can wear whatever you want within reason in class. Bring extra jackets, the heat in the building goes out frequently.

No, you have an instructor from the school on-site for every clinical. The one exception is preceptorship at the end of the program where you can sort of pick your own unit if you know someone willing to precept you. Scholarships: We were the last gr...

Some of my classmates want to warn y'all to not expect dealing with the school to get any easier...at any point. It's apparently a tradition that the ABSN students are second-class to traditional students. We have maybe 5 people who commute from Gree...

Depends on your definition of "affordable." I love Southern Village, and it's on a busline. Never had problems with noise and it's very much young professional instead of student. Other popular ones on buslines are Laurel Ridge, University Commons, ...

FYI I asked the assistant director since I was in his office today if they had chosen the next group. He said, "Yes, we have forwarded recommendations." Good luck, guys.

The comment about Financial Aid is concerning how...blase they are about telling you what's going on. We've had to fight with them about getting financial aid for pretty much the entire program. They'll get it to you if you're persistent enough thoug...