erinhoga

@maxnurse0507 You sound very prepared and ready! Do you have it scheduled yet? IMO, just bite the bullet and get it over with. You will feel so much better!!

OMG you guys, I passed my ANCC Adult Geri Primary Care for the first time yesterday! I wanted to submit some tips, since I know many people wipe their hands of the exam afterwards, and I found some of the tips on here helpful! Study Materials: Leik: I bought the book and a 6 month digital access. It was $99, but you can occasionally find a promo code for 25% off, so it only cost me $75. Totally worth it. I reviewed every topic and answered all of the practice questions. The app is super helpful as you can use it on the go (commuting, laying in bed, etc). I did find Leik helpful, but be wary because some of the answers contradict themselves. The exam tips / pearls at the end of each chapter were a great way to go back and review what you didn't know. I created my own study guide with just these and added in whatever I didn't know (happy to share this). Board Vitals: Ah, the infamous Board Vitals. I agree with most, this app is filled with loads of questions they say are much harder than the exam itself. While I personally disagree with them being harder, I felt the format and critical thinking was VERY similar to the boards. The rationals are great, and you are able to see how you scored compared to others. BTW, I was scoring a terrifying 30-60% in the beginning on 10 question quizzes, but towards the end worked myself up to 25, 50, 150 ?s and scored mostly 72-83%. Pro tip: if you work at an academic institution, you may have free access to board vitals. I'd Google it or ask around at your job (the latter is how I found out). Fitzgerald: We used this for school. She is so intelligent, but talks SO SLOW. I added an extension on Google chrome to be able to speed up her videos. I reviewed the topics I felt I was weak on and it was really helpful. She really know how to break things down in a simple way. Other materials: I found this cool app called PicMonic, which creates quick, 1 minute ridiculous stories on a variety of topics. This is how I learned to remember which antibiotics are in which class (ex, fluoroquinolone = flower queen who herds oxen, as in they all end in "oxacin.” Picmonic has a free 7 day trial on their app. I also utilized good ol Google to search for images such as skin diseases. As Leik says, you should know to identify some skin disorders and she was right. The exam: OK, I don't mean to scare you all, but I'm gonna be real. Everyone I talked to said "it's not that bad, it's very straightforward, you'll be fine.” I did NOT feel fine and did NOT find it straightforward. I would read the first part of the question and be like "OK I got this,” only for them to add another twist! I had a LOT of select 2-3, select all, drag / drop, even matching (I had one that required me to match all these meds I wasn't familiar with with the drug class). I was wiping away tears, absolutely convinced that I failed. With 30 minutes to go and all questions answered, I used this time to take a much needed break- went to the bathroom, stretched a little, threw some water on my face and gave myself a little pep talk in the mirror (cheesy, but works!). I went back in and reviewed my flagged answers. OK, so! Of course be VERY careful about changing your answers. I found myself wanting to change them all, but resisted. I spotted one question that said "select 2,” which I hadn't spotted before, yikes. So I then went through my flagged questions just to make sure I didn't misread anything like that- so be careful , take your time and read the questions very carefully!! I was 100% convinced I failed. It asked me about 10 times if I was sure I wanted to submit. I was like "yes, but idkkkkk?!” Waiting for my results was the longest 10 seconds of my life. When it said that I passed, I literally just sat and stared at the screen for a good 10-15 seconds OMG. For the record, I didn't start studying until 5 weeks before my exam... BUT- I studied every day for like, IDK, 6-8 hours each day? I'm fortunate enough that I don't have kids and do have a really supportive partner. Plus I am only working per diem and doing on call sexual assault shifts, an ideal situation for someone who wants to cram for this. You guys can do it!! Don't take it lightly, prepare yourself! Expect it to be harder than you think. Def do Leik and BV. Do some full practice exams beforehand to get used to having to sit for that entire period of time. Feel free to reach out with any questions!

Thanks so much! Yes, I know it can vary a lot. I work with an RN with 20+ years of experience who took a 40% pay cut to move to the other side of the state, where housing is significantly cheaper. She very much regrets her decision because she had no idea that her salary would be that much less over here. I know that it is important for us to do our research, but I didn't think about looking into websites like realtor.com to see about housing costs. Thanks again!

I am a current nursing student and am open to moving out of my current state (New York) upon graduating. I've been researching nursing salaries in different states, but have found so many conflicting results for each state on various websites (for example, I have seen that nurses in MA make anywhere between 65k-95k in the Greater Boston area. This is quite a wide range!). Can anyone recommend a reputable, up to date source that lists RN (I will have my BSN) salaries by state / geographical location? Thank You! - Erin

Hi Guys! This is my first post- hello! I am currently finishing up my junior year for my BSN. I am trying super hard to get a summer intern/externship this summer and have applied to three places: Mount Sinai NYU Roswell Park I am really hoping for Mount Sinai / NYU, as I would really like to move back to NYC after I get my license (I know, SUPER competitive) and I know that these are very reputable, Magnet certified hospitals. My question... anyone have any experience with these programs? I assume that they are also super competitive. Has anyone interned through these programs? If so, what did you think? I had applied to non-RN jobs at NYU / Mount Sinai in the past, some that I was completely qualified for, but never heard back. I'm hoping that the summer externship program is a bit different. I do already have my Bachelor's in Psychology and currently have a 3.9 nursing GPA. Also have experience in inpatient psych and nursing research, so hopefully that helps?? Any and all advice / feedback is appreciated!!!