c27_AEMT

Would anyone be willing to PM me and talk to me about Vandy for NP? I am planning on pursuing my NP and thinking about using my GI bill. I have my BSN now and a bit of experience. I would love to pick anyone's brain who is willing to let me. I am specifically interested in the costs and if anyone has used their GI bill since it is a little nuanced depending on how you use it. Hoping to hear from some of you, thanks!!

Well, I scheduled the test for about 6 weeks from the TCRN review course so I probably don't have time for another course. I will look into their review materials though and hopefully that will be enough. Thanks for the info!

I will use text pages for things like med requests or anything straightforward and leave my number so they can call with more questions. That is typically easier for both of us. I am not sure how it is everywhere else, but where I work (ER) we do an increasing amount of putting the orders in under the physician's name. Mainly for ER patients but sometimes for admitted patients as well. The order is entered by us but "ordered" by them.

I am with guy in babyland. I work in a large ER and have an iphone to communicate with er people (or will go find them) but when i work in our part of the ED with boarders or have boarded patients in the ER, I will call whoever the service is. IF I have time and it is appropriate, I will text page the provider....for example requesting something for anxiety for a patient going to MRI who needs it. I will also ask if anyone else needs to talk to pulmonary or whoever the service is, but that is only if it isn't urgent. We have multiple teams for basically each service line so it would not be logistically possible to coordinate calls or have charge do it, not to mention the patient safety aspect of it, growing rapport with providers, and learning how to communicate with them as a nurse.

I used ATI in school, the NCLEX prep app (which I really liked), and NRSNG the website. I studied for about a month but am not the best at studying. I am an exceedingly good test taker and good at internalizing information, especially trivia which really helps me as a nurse and in test taking as some of those questions in nursing are weird and "random." The best advice I can give is to understand test taking, figure out your learning style, and take a ton of practice questions or do a ton of whatever reinforces the info for you. I literally was doing about 1k questions a day the last 2 weeks before my test. Also when you read the question see if you can think of the answer before you read your options. It can really help so you don't get distracted. I have sat for the TCRN test recently and smashed it and I did basically the same. There was a book that had quick tips and just small tidbits and that didn't work for me...the questions keep my mind engaged and the rationales reinforce the answers. Best of luck! Soon the NCLEX will just be a distant memory.

Just my thoughts, as I was in your shoes not too long ago. I went with an ASN. It was cheaper, I would be an RN sooner, the NCLEX pass rate was near 100%, and the clinical placements were great for final semester, not to mention that during the program the clinicals were of higher quality than the BSN in town due to the instructors and how the director of the program ran things. I could have done an ABSN but even with the GI bill it would have been around $30k. My program was a few thousand a semester for around 16 months. To those who say you can't get a job with an associates...that has not been my experience. I made a list of 50+ hospitals across the country where I was interested in working. I contacted their recruitment departments since many websites said BSN required. Only three had a hard requirement for BSN. About five others had fewer openings for ASN, and the others didn't care but put that on their websites to get more BSN applicants. I work in a large academic setting now where the pay is ok and the benefits are amazing bordering on insane. I just finished my BSN (paid in full by work) while some friends who started the BSN are just graduating or will be graduating next semester. I am not one to say which is better, but despite all the naysaying about ASN that I heard when starting nursing school, it worked out great for me financially and professionally.

I am typically one to over prepare. Do you think the Solheim pocket practice (all four) and review course, TNCC and a ATLS audit within the year (with extra review of the books) are sufficient to pass the exam? I work in a level I trauma in the ER so a lot of the inpatient stuff was new...I am also considering the book by Kendra Kent that Jeff mentioned in the course and the ENA CATN trauma course online. I figure that worst case, I am over prepped and learn a bit more in the process...there just seems to be a lot of different resources out there.

MrNurse(x2) thanks for the advice. That really makes sense and as someone coming to nursing in their 30s, is a little tough to grasp at times. I honestly love what I do most days but they do work us to death with boarders (including ICU) that can just drain your soul. Applewhite the benefits are great...if the pay was a little better I would be fine, but also, I can become an RN II, III, IV, etc after another year, which increases pay and benefits. I guess the waiting is what is killing me. I guess I have answered my own questions with everyone's help, but the last gripe is that the housing market here has had a sharp uptick in cost without much or any adjustment to starting pay and the only way to increase is time. Getting my BSN or MSN won't even do anything for my pay.

AceOfHearts The shifts I pick up are time and a half at their base rate befor shift diff or actual overtime so they are around the same pay or a little more than I would get from other organizations in the area. I think I am ok sticking with it here for now...at least until I have enough experience to travel or a good idea of where I want to go. Midwest nursing just seems to not pay as well generally. I know its not as bad as the south in some places but its just pretty average, even in places where the cost of living, housing, etc is higher. Thanks everyone for the replies and insight.

Good points KelRN215. My friend who is a travel nurse here but also started here was saying that if we started out around $30 it would be more commensurate with the work we do. Overall it is a good place but I guess I will see what happens once I can get a few steps on the clinical ladder program.

Thanks for the reply. I hear about some nurses making quite a bit more yearly but I guess a lot of that comes down to experience. I don't want to leave a place where my only complaint is the pay and find myself in a place where the people and organization aren't what I want but make more money. I also want to make sure I am being compensated fairly. I'm ems I worked for far to little and don't want to get into a position like that again. Now I'm thinking give it 3-5 years and reevaluate while taking advantage of everything I can here.

I am finding myself somewhat frustrated with my pay as an RN. My total compensation is very good, I feel but due to my overall financial situation (pre-nursing school student loans), I am considering moving to a higher paying organization. My current situation: I work as an emergency nurse in a level one trauma center but also can pick up shifts at a smaller er within the enterprise. I am a new grad with prior emergency experience and while I do have the new grad feelings of being overwhelmed from time to time, the people I work with and the overall nature of my experience limit that feeling to a manageable level. I make in the low 20s/h plus shift differential for nights and weekends although I primarily work days. Insurance is cheap and good, school is free, and we have a good match on money toward retirement. I have been here a year and have taken PALS, ACLS, TNCC, ENCP, audited ATLS, gotten my CEN, and plan to take TCRN after the review course being offered free in May. I also have taken the neonatal resuscitation program (NRP), and plan to take a peds critical care course and cross train into the peds er next year. There's a ton of cool stuff going on here and a lot of free education as you can see. My question to all of those out there more experienced than I..... should I look to move based on the low pay, wait for the clinical ladder to kick in (more pay), go back to school, or something else? Does the above situation sound like a good deal for a new RN? I really like it is but then I know some other places pay more but offer less overall. Many of the travel nurses I have talked to come back here because of the environment and overall benefits. Is this a case of the grass not being greener on the other side? Thanks in advance for reading this long post. Oh yeah, the weather is gorgeous but the housing market is kind of expensive for being in the Midwest.

Not the OP but I have been having a similar situation after being ED for a while. Lots of non-compliance but also lots of patients who just aren't sick. Working in critical and trauma can be pretty cool but the acute care is so draining. I will have to look into oncology. I love reading and learning new things about science, medicine, and nursing and need a place where I really get to think hard and use the knowledge I have.

I am just a new nurse coming to nursing from a very eclectic past. Here's my two cents; take it or leave it. If someone has mentioned this, I missed it but to OP: why not consider a RN-MSN program. There are quite a few out there and some are not much longer than BSN if you have a BS in something else like me. That is what I am doing because I have the GI bill and my employer pays for it. I think it is almost common sense that the best nurses are life long learners. I study and read new things almost every day, some of which could be considered "over my head" or "doctor stuff." I don't do this to try to play doctor, but I find that the more clinical knowledge I have, the better nurse I am. I think one thing that really frustrates people like me is that nurses who have been mediocre nurses for years make the same as nurses who are proactive in their education. I know a few MSN students who have very poor clinical knowledge because they don't sit down and read, don't have an intimate understanding of disease processes, don't know their A&P, etc. Having letters behind your name doesn't mean a whole lot if you do not hold yourself to a standard. I liked what people said about the CEN and other certifications. These are places to start in your specialty, but ultimately you are the one who will limit yourself. There is no bar on knowledge and if I want to go and read medical texts and get into the hard science more there is no one to stop me. Doing this may help me be a better bedside nurse, but at some point there will be diminishing dividends for knowing these things. I say all this to point out the following: It is super important to continue learning but along the way you will have to jump through some hoops. It is like the quote attributed to Mark Twain: I have never let my schooling interfere with my education. In the grand scheme of education and nursing practice, the RN-BSN is pretty basic. I consider myself far more educated from my efforts than by the college education and degrees I have. Regarding leadership, the BSN is just a brief overview of it. Leading soldiers in combat and reading stacks of books on leadership, science, medicine, and everything in between have taught me far more than a BSN could and I would wager that many of these RNs with years of experience who are good leaders become good leaders by leading not taking classes. We are trained to believe that more letters equals smarter and more prepared but I am sure many of you can find that tech who reads the NEJM on the toilet every day, the PA who busts her butt to know more than the residents and attendings she works for/with, or the nurse who saves the patient's life by reading medical texts and being able to catch the occasional zebra. The degrees are just starting points...real education and learning is a lifelong process that is the responsibility of the individual.

I wish I would have done it before 30. It makes me sad to see all the negative experiences...I think my best decision besides becoming a nurse was choosing to work with an organization that really values its nurses. I see where some of my classmates are and it just makes me sad that they were unable or unwilling to work outside the relatively small area we went to school in. There really are some great organizations out there who value their nurses and have amazing career opportunities.