Boardten

Ah very nice. Thank you.

I had a confused patient that kept pulling the leads off. The nurse before me placed them on their back and that seemed to solve the problem. Patient didn't pull them off and we still could read the rhythm on our monitor so I just went with it. Of course it wasn't ideal, but is it ok for like a "do what you gotta do" kind of thing?

I don't know if it'll help you, but this is what I did for myself. Going into the nclex, I was really nervous. Shaking, all that jazz. My personal situation, if I didn't pass the test, I could just take it again. I'm not saying I'm rich that I don't need the job, I don't need the money, I can pay the test fee anytime. I don't even own a couch (I don't really need one, so why get one?) I'm saying it wouldn't kill me. I had money to support myself so I had food to eat, roof over my head and clothes on my back. I think that's all I need to live. Sure it'll would have set me back 45-90 days, but I'm still going to live. So that's what I told myself to calm myself down. So I said to myself, if I failed, I'll just go back home, eat, sleep, study and repeat. Come next test date, try again. No biggie since I'm not in any "danger". I also thought about the people that move to a new city and have years go by before catching their big break. They just make sure they have food, shelter and clothes and just keep trying. People don't become successful overnight. Any profession. And in any profession there are people that have had to encounter numerous setbacks (failed business deals, bad decisions, failing nclex) before being where they are now. They just haven't given up and neither should you :)

It sounds like you have a load of materials and that can be overwhelming in itself. I think you should concentrate on one or two study materials. For me, I just used Kaplan for all the strategies (how to prioritize, how to answer questions) and practice questions. Davis' Drug Guide for drugs. Again, to avoid being overwhelmed, when you see a drug you don't know, don't study its itty bits and pieces like what specific enzyme it acts with this and that, just know that what it does, what to do with it, what NOT to do with it, SE, things the patient should know or should expect from it. Think about it this way, the next time you see a question about a drug, study it. What did the question require you to know about the drug in order for you to get it right? I bet it didn't need you to know what the Y-site compatibility is or the dosages for children and adults and inbetween. So when you're studying that drug, you can skip all that. I bet it might have needed you to know what it's for, what the SE are, what to do when you see complications, etc - so that's what you study. You have to take the rest of the trainers. If I remember correctly, the last few trainers contain all of the level of difficultly question that you will run into during the nclex. Remember how the nclex is graded? You have the passing line and if you answer a question correctly you will get a similar or harder question and if you answer it wrong you will get a similar or easier question? The first half of the trainers only contain the easier questions. Do all of the trainers to get a good feel of the rest of the nclex. Also, you will be able to study the rationales and strategies behind answering the harder questions. I don't know how you viewed this test and whatnot, so again, this isn't about you. I am just telling you how I saw the test and how it helped me pass. Now, this isn't a test you take in school. it isn't a test about what you've learned. It's a test of your ability to use what you know. The "what you know" part is everything you've learned in nursing school. Nclex knows you went through nursing school. Remember that. So when studying, don't study as if you're going to take a classroom test about that subject, study as if you're going to be tested on what to do with/about that subject. Take MI. This isn't a test to see how much you know about an MI, it knows you know it. This test is to see how well you've trained for it. This isn't a test that is separating you from the next chapter in the lesson or the next semester of school, this test is separating you from a room with an actual MI that happened to an actual person. So when you're in that room, think about what you need to know to practice nursing safely. To top it all off, I think you have too many study materials. Like the rest of the comments have said and agreed on, you can't study every single test material and question out there as if they're going to be on the test. The practice questions out there isn't there for you to remember and study what the question specifically asked about hypothyroidism, it's there to have you practice what you know and don't know about what to do with hypothyroidism. Say you have a math test. You are not going to get every math book and study material out there to learn that 1+1, 1+2, 1+3. You're going to learn what "+" is so you can solve all of those problems. So now you're ready for all the "+" questions and you only had to study one thing vs studying an infinite about of things. So that question about a what position do you put a patient in after a bronschoscopy. You're not going to remember bronchoscopy = semi-fowlers. You're not going to study bronchoscopy and what positions you need to put them in and you're also not going to remember that every time you see bronchoscopy you're going to pick "semi-fowlers". You know that it involves the throat and sticking something down that sensitive area. So it would make sense to put them in semi-fowlers vs supine. The book isn't going to tell you to not to put them supine or not to turn their head or not to put them knees to chest, trendelenburg or whatever. You're going to need to realize what you need to know in order to come to that conclusion. That's how I viewed the test. I only had Kaplan's review course, their trainers and bank, drug guide and google to refresh myself on a topic. I personally think Kaplan taught me everything I needed to know. Again, everyone is different.

Hello all! I just found out about this forum not too long ago and it seems like a great place for advice! I'll be sure to pay it forward in the future! I just graduated with my BSN and moved across the country to FL soon after. I will be taking my boards soon, but would like to apply for the new grad programs in the area. Thing is, this is my first time EVER in FL and don't really know my way around. After some research, I'm aware of the GN program from Florida Hospital. Other than that, I'm not too sure about some others. I will probably call the hospital themselves during business hours to make sure, but would like any input on these programs! Does HCA have a GN program? is it the StaRN? I think Orlando Health is another system? Do they have a GN program? Lakeland Regional doesn't seem to fit under Orlando Health, HCA, or FLhospital. Who are they running with? I've read on these forums that the GN program from FLhospital will need a contract that locks me in for 2 years. Can I get this straight please? Do I sign the contract in order to start the GN program? So if I fail to complete it for some reason, I have to pay the $13k? Or upon finishing the GN, I will be offered a position at the floor I was studying on and then will have to sign the contract? This way, from then on after graduation, if I decide to leave the floor/department/hospital/get fired I will have to pay the $13k? Are there other GN programs that I've missed? I'm just trying to make it in the real world! :) Thank you in advance!