RavensNation

The only thing I did was use the hesi resources in the evolve website. I did the practice quizzes for each topic (OB, community/mental health, peds, fundamentals, and med surg) and the cumulative quizzes, I also used the online resources in the hesi text book for more questions. I made sure to read all of the rationales once I was done each quiz. I wasn't scoring great on the practice quizzes but I guess reading the rationales helped me to score better and pass the exit exam. I didn't pass by a lot, my school requires an 850 and I got an 885. I also took frequent breaks to calm myself down and to get my eyes off of the screen for a few minutes because looking at a computer screen for too long KILLS my eyes. I wish you luck on your next attempt. You got this! Take your time and really consider each answer choice before selecting an answer.

I'm so excited I passed the first try. This semester was almost the death of me! I was failing by literally 1 exam question. Our instructors allowed us to retake exam 2 because we missed 4 out of the 5 classes on the exam due to snow, thank god because without that make up I'd be taking the semester again. With the way my semester was going I was convinced i would be taking HESI straight down to the fourth try. It was a real confidence booster to pass it first try. My son says it's because the 4th was with me :-P. Now I just have this "little" thing called the NCLEX and I call myself RN!

Yep, so it's getting close to the day that I start my job. I'm getting so nervous! I haven't had a "job" in years..I worked for my father from 2006-2012 when his company went out of business, but from 2011-2012 I was working from home but if you want to get real I haven't worked since 2006 (working for my dad? Ha that wasn't "work"). So last night I had a dream that anything that could go wrong on my first day went wrong. First I woke up late, than I get on the road hair a mess, went to my friends house and parked.....(she doesn't even live walking distance from the hospital), get to the hospital and I saw friends and say in the car with them smoking cigarettes with them for God knows how long (I haven't smoked in 3 years), finally go inside and I realize I'm wearing jeans not scrubs, can't find the elevators and I have no clue what floor to go to and finally woke up. Never got to my floor before I woke up. Realistically I know none of that is going to happen but wow that dream was nuts! Apparently my anxiety is through the roof! I'm starting out in the PCT program for nursing students and I have this part of me that thinks it's going to be like nursing school, full of instructors with attitude problems and critical unsatisfactories for doing something wrong or just because they feel like it. I know I'll be fine once I'm there but my anxiety is bad to begin with and fear of the unknown is probably my biggest fear.

Thank you! I'm so excited and so nervous at the same time!

Got a job! Pending background check and drug test of course, but that won't be an issue! Start nextonth. Can't wait!

I can do my prerequisites at a community college but I'm not aware of any community college where I can get a BSN?

Finally got another hospital to call me back. Had the phone interview and I'm assuming it didn't go awful because they asked me to come in for a face to face (but I'm sure this is protocol unless you totally choke on the phone, idk never had a phone interview before). Today is my face to face interview and I hope and pray I get the job. This hospital would make me a level 3 PCT since I'm a nursing student, and they would train me in foley's, blood draws, and IV's (which according to them a non nursing student CNA wouldn't get that right away) I'm scared to get too excited until I see how this interview goes. Wish me luck!

That's probably why you don't have as many to do...I have all kinds of general Ed classes I will have to do but oh well I guess I will somehow get through it just like everyone else does

Well you my friend are lucky! I'm going to continue to shop around but I will have to take more English, statistics, history, more humanities, nutrition and a few others I cannot think of at the moment...it's insane! I've only looked at a few schools so far sono don't really know what other options I have at the moment. I'm sure there's probably something better out there for me

Yes I know! The cost is so depressing. I can never afford that and if I can't get scholarships idk what I'll do. I don't work now and have had to take out loans just to keep my head above water while I go through school, I can't afford to rack up more debt! Idk the whole thing is depressing and it really irks me that I will pretty much have to deal with this right away and not in my own time frame

I'm in maryland and it looks like the average RN to BSN program is about $28,000 and that's not including additional general education classes. I'll will keep shopping around until it's time to enroll

When doing a program online does the university have to be in the state you live in? I've been wondering that too. If not it will open up my options a little more.

That's awesome. I've been in some requests for info on the programs and I'm just waiting for call backs. I want to maybe take my transcripts to them and ask what I would need that way I will know exactly and it won't be a ton of guess work when choosing a school.

Thats good! I'm seriously regretting not doing all of my "homework" before starting. Now I'm going to pay the price by being in school longer. Bridging from ADN to BSN is cheaper in the long run and probably better in your situation but get them Gen Ed classes out of the way. Check several BSN programs and see if what they require is pretty close, to give yourself the best possible picture

https://allnurses.com/showthread.php?t=953261

I'm actually looking into BSN programs right now bc I will graduate with my ADN in May. Word of advice, look at different BSN programs required prerequisites and get them done while doing the ones for your ADN program. I didn't and now I'm going to have 2 years of additional prerequisites and 2 years of a BSN program (of course that's at part time) I have just made a post about it on here last night. Let me see if I can send the link

Wow that sounds like a lot. Are you in a BSN or ADN program right now? The universities I'm looking at right now for a part time schedule show 8-9 credits per semester. To add additional classes to that with two kids and working a full time job would be a bit much. I've never taken more than 10 credits at the same time and even that was difficult. I'm sure I will figure it all out when the time comes but in the mean time I'm stressing about it. I guess I just need to focus my eyes on my original prize (graduate w/ my ADN in May and pass my NCLEX?

I guess the best thing I can do is just start requesting info and finding out exactly what will be expected from me at each school. I finish my ADN program in May, so I may be jumping the gun a little by worrying about this already, but I like to be prepared ahead of time. From the way I'm reading a lot of the sites is that I'm going to be 2 years completing additional prerequisites and 2 years in the program going at a very part time rate. My biggest problem in all of this is that I'm hearing more and more that any job I get will rush me into finishing my BSN within 2 years and it's just not possible for me. I really want to plan to take a year off to spend some well deserved quality time with my family. Originally I had no intention of even getting my BSN, not in the near future anyway. I didn't realize how big of a deal it was to have it. When I was shopping for schools before I even started they made it sound like I didn't need to worry about a BSN....how naive I was...I'm learning More and more that schools just tell you what you want to hear to get you to enroll. I've always wanted to be a nurse and I knew an ADN would make less than a BSN but I was ok with that bc I just wanted to be a nurse, it wasn't about making more money for me, so I thought eh maybe I'll just further my degree once the kids were grown but it seems I no longer have that option.

Let me just say I'm really regretting going into an associates degree program. I graduate in May and I'm looking into BSN programs and it's just insane. I will have to take so many more prerequisites before I can even start. Than the program itself is going to take me an additional 2-3 years to do because I must do part time. Ugh! I wanted to wait a while to start school again once I graduate because I think it's due time I be able to spend some time with my kids and husband but that doesn't look like it's in my near future! So frustrating! Feel free to share experiences transitioning from RN to BSN. Thanks!

It's nice right? I feel like I'm "growing up"

So from day one everyone says in your second year of nursing school things start to click. I've been having an awful time connecting the dots on things so I never believed any of them and today IT HAPPENED! It was a super small connection but it happened and I was super excited! The patient I had was a 13 year old postop patient. I did my morning assessment and vitals and her HR and RR rate was a little high but nothing not expected for being postop. Well when I went back 4 hours later to do her vitals (I was with her throughout the day I'm just talking second set of vitals here) and her HR and RR was even higher this time. So I immediately asked her to rate her pain and she said 3 out of 10. Okay so maybe I counted wrong, I checked again and no I wasn't wrong her HR and RR were elevated and it just dawned on me, I think she doesn't want to say how much pain shes in! so i don't say anything and i just take the vitals to her nurse and explained I took her HR and her RR twice to be sure and low and behold what does the nurse say? shes not taking pain meds the way she should, I think shes in more pain than shes saying which is why these are elevated! Such a small and maybe a common sense connection but normally I would just blindly do what the nurse told me to do and that's it, no thought to it, unable to really "think" about what was going on just relaying info. And at the end of the day I got my first complement from a nurse since I started clinical last year. She says I did good work today and I was very independent. It made me feel good, just thought I'd share!

I'm glad I'm not the only one! Well of course I'm not but you know what I mean. They didn't have to wheel me out but when I walked out of the room the nurse could see it in my face and immediately she grabbed me and sat me in a chair. She wanted to "nurse" me but I insisted I was ok. And after a few minutes of sitting I was ok...scarred for life but ok.

I have put in about 12-13 of them so far. Only PRN ones though bc I'm still in school and just don't have the time for school, full time work, and kids. There's are only so many prn jobs even listed right now :-/ oh well hope the other one works out. Once I graduate nursing school I'm sure it's going to take a good amount of effort to get a job, unless it get into a place now and hopefully have them hire me as an RN

So I didn't even get an interview lol! They filled the position internally just yesterday, but she brought me in anyway to see of I was interested in a full time position. Unfortunately I won't be able to take that. But I did mention another application I put in and she said she's going to call that recruiter personally and ask her to put my resume at the top of the list. Fingers crossed

Thanks! The interview is tmr (well technically today at this point) at 2:30pm. SOOO nervous!