CarpeDiem'15

I will be a new grad at the end of July (God-willing!), and have been offered a position at the CVSICU in my dream hospital. I'm beyond excited and totally geeked out, but at the same I'm a little nervous about my first 6 months (heck, let's make it...

I attended an information session yesterday with the director of UMD's Anesthesia program, and he stated that their admissions committee DOES look at schools when considering GPAs of applicants. Basically, a GPA of 3.9 from an easier program will NO...

Thanks for the advice, I appreciate that both of you took the time to respond! :)

So.... I'm currently finishing up my 13-month ABSN at Hopkins. It was absolutely the best decision to attend here and worth every penny. I've been able to learn from amazing instructors and professors who are literally at the top of the nursing fie...

If you are truly interested in research, you should look into eventually pursuing a PhD in nursing. These PhD programs actually pay YOU to attend their programs!

Many in my cohort also have jobs, and we graduate at the end of July. I received a job offer in the CVSICU at my dream hospital, pending successful graduation and passing of the NCLEX.

ABSN is actually for students who already have an undergraduate degree in any field OTHER than nursing. So students with BS/BA in literature, history, biology, psychology, or even computer science (like me) would be able to enter ABSN programs.

Three years is a very long time to be in school for your BSN when you've got 3+ kids, more so if there's also a chance that you may want to go on to pursue advanced degrees in nursing. I would say to go with Linfield. I am currently finishing up a ...

Bump... Anybody??

Many large teaching hospitals offer shadowing opportunities with their CRNAs. If you live in / near Baltimore MD, the Johns Hopkins Hospital has a shadowing program for high-school juniors and seniors to shadow their CRNAs for half a day. Message m...

Based off the ABGs, I would definitely say the patient was showing respiratory alkalosis. The patient must have had an episode of hyperventilation at some point prior to the blood draw. I need more info about the patient though to reason through wh...

If you haven't charted, you haven't done it. I get that. But I personally think it's a two way street: if you haven't done it, don't chart it! I totally agree with the OP that if you aren't going to give meds at that point in time, then don't pres...

^^ THAT makes my blood boil! It's damn depressing and a shame that we have to live in a society where businesses/policies/economies are contingent on the suffering of our fellow man. But this makes me all the more determined to do something about...

Oh, forgot to include the link for this little nugget: http://www.rcjournal.com/cpgs/pdf/06.10.0758.pdf --> these are guidelines published by the American Association of Respiratory Care, and it advocates hyperoxygenating patients pior-during-pos...

This is indeed an interesting discussion! I haven't covered peds yet, so this information is definitely good to know for future reference when I do start learning about pediatric nursing care. I'l make sure to circle back to this thread when/if I l...

Just to clarify, the 15 seconds was for the entire suctioning, not per pass.... That would be way too long for one pass! So 3 passes while keeping the trach suctioning within 15 seconds. Also, my professors were pretty adamant that evidence based ...

Hi Jena, I actually covered tracheal suctioning in my ABSN program a couple weeks ago, and we were taught that taking the apical pulse prior to the suctioning is a way to confirm the patient does not have any cardiac dysrythmias that could be exacerb...

I also have four little ones (oldest one is 8 yo, youngest is 18 months), and I can totally relate to you! I started planning my career change 3 years ago, and everything's finally falling into place. I'll be starting my ABSN this summer, and I'm i...

I agree with the previous posters, don't be afraid to tell the truth and receive credit for ALL the work you did. Only thing I'd add is that I would first tell your lazy partner, in a factual and non-emotionally driven manner, what you intend to rat...

Love this post, I'm about to start my 13-month ABSN in a couple months and these study tips will definitely come in handy. Thank you for taking the time to post this, you are definitely "paying it forward"! :)

I have the choice of attending an accelerated BSN program from a top nursing school (Johns Hopkins) at ~$70K, versus a 2 year program from a state school (Towson University) that is much cheaper at ~$20K over the entire 2 years. The Baltimore / DC M...

I contacted JHU, UMSON, and Towson (only nursing schools feasible for me due to personal circumstances) before embarking on this adventure, and asked them what percentage of their BSN graduates from 2014 had jobs upon graduation. JHU had the highest...

Define what you mean by "best position." Because there are many... MANY.... different nursing positions out there, and many... MANY.. subjective criteria for judging which one is the "best". You've got your bedside RNs in various units, your NPs...

Farawyn - Congrats on your son getting into UNC. Also, my post was in reply to the person who posted AFTER you.

Yes, I'm very sure about this. :) Of which, IMO, Johns Hopkins is the best, and therefore will give me an edge on the other new grad BSNs when it comes time to apply for positions in large acute care hospitals in the DC Metro area. As a matter...