tjmnurse

I used my laptop to take notes at the bottom of the powerpoint in the notes section because I could get more info down quickly. Don't proofread until after class, and then take a minute to read back over your notes while you're tidying them up. I printed my powerpoints and type-written notes and made additional notes from the book, Success Book (look up the Fundamentals Success Book on Amazon if you don't have one - there's one for MedSurg, Peds, Maternity, and they're SUPER helpful), along with any normal values. Honestly, I didn't read a ton in Nursing school. We were in an accelerated BSN, and there just wasn't time to read everything, and I don't learn that way. So, ALWAYS read the boxes, charts, figures, tables in your book. Skim for any numbers, normal values, or critical values in the paragraphs. I tried to get as many practice questions in as possible from the back of the chapters, if my book came with a CD, online resources, and the Success Books. For the questions that I got wrong, I always wrote/typed out a summarized version of 'question - answer - why' so that I could read over that the gist of the question, the answer, and rationale when I studied. Finally, I would try to get ALL of my notes together and read over them 3-4x total before the exam. Then, I would sit down with a friend or 2 (not many more than that), and we would talk it out the night before or we would meet at 7am before a 9am exam. Basically, we would just point out info that sounded like a good test question (especially SATA), and we would talk out the why. Talking it out is really helpful.

I used a resume service (Dragon Resume, maybe) for formatting, and I think they were running a deal where they would help with a cover letter too. I had degrees in Finance and worked in lending for almost 10 years before doing ABSN. Basically, I summed up my objective as being a grad nurse seeking an entry-level position or nurse residency. I did list areas of expertise such as budgeting, Microsoft Office Suite, Policy and Procedure development, time management, communication skills, etc. Then, I summed up educational experience by listing it as Bachelor's Degree in Finance, UTK, 2010, then Bachelor's in Nursing, 2016, etc. I listed where I did my clinicals because I got the opportunity to have clinical in 10 or more different units. At the very bottom, I put the jobs that I held and a brief description of what I did in those jobs at financial institutions. I tried to focus on aspects of those jobs that would help me in nursing so documentation skills, computer skills, communication, interaction with people, problem solving, research, etc. I was also a tutor at my nursing school so I listed that as well. Definitely list your previous experience and awards... just keep it short and sweet on the job description details, and play up skills that can be transferred to nursing.

I'm in Tennessee, and we didn't have to take TEAS.

I haven't taken NCLEX yet, but I'm hoping to test in January. LMU has the highest NCLEX-RN pass rate in the state, I believe (either this year or last year). Almost everyone in my class had jobs offers before graduation (some hadn't applied yet). We took a predictor test right before graduation, and I got a 99% likelihood of passing NCLEX on the first attempt. LMU also requires ABSN to do 3 days of HURST Review, which is a really good way to prep for NCLEX (3 days in class at school and an ongoing online portion with videos, practice questions, meds, etc. that you can use for a year). I think the program and instructors have prepared us well. I also appreciated that we had clinical experiences in a lot of different specialties/hospitals so I think that gives you a good idea of where you want to go after graduation.

There were quite a few people in my graduating class who did not get job offers where they precepted, and then there were those, like you, who really had no interest in applying where they precepted. It really didn't seem to matter because most managers know that preceptorships are assigned. The units (TSICU, CVICU, Neuro ICU, MCC) that were hiring at UT in Knoxville actually do a peer interview with 3 staff nurses, without the manager present, to see if you are a good fit with the existing nurses. They never even ask where you precepted. One classmate had a very impressive resume including healthcare experience of more than 10 years, excellent grades, and was not chosen for the unit that he precepted in. That same unit chose a girl that precepted at a completely different hospital on a telemetry unit. He was offered a position in a different unit at the same hospital. Your interview will probably weigh more heavily than your preceptorship assignment so I wouldn't stress about it.

I just graduated from an accelerated BSN program (17 months), and I have a preschooler. We did eat out more than I would've liked, especially in the beginning. However, towards the second half of the program, I got meal prep and simplifying meals down pretty well. Thursday or Friday afternoon, usually during lunch, I'd jot down a list of ONLY 3 meals for the next week (I cook enough for leftovers usually since it's just me, my hubs, and my son). Friday evening, I jot out my list of ingredients for stuff I had to cook, plus our normal breakfast items for the week, then shoot a text to my hubs to see what he needed from the store. I wrote out the grocery list and put any coupons with it. My husband enjoys grocery shopping so he'd take the list and the coupons and knock that out Saturday morning. I try to keep it super simple... think 2-3 ingredients per meal (because I would buy 10 ingredients for a meal, never use them, and throw them out - You'll be busy!)... so Caesar salad kit and seasoned shrimp/chicken, Gorton's fish fillets and fresh green beans in olive oil with a little garlic salt, chicken/steak/beef Tacos and rice/beans on Tuesday, one of the healthier versions of pizza on Friday, leftovers on whatever my clinical day was. On Sundays, I meal prepped. This also included healthy snacks/lunch items for everybody. While I would cook chicken/shrimp/beef, or whatever meat for the upcoming week, I would prep snacks to be available in the fridge. Boiled eggs, yogurt, string cheese, celery sticks, PB packs, green pepper, baby carrots, applesauce packs, true moo, water, apple slices, grapes, strawberries, etc. I also tried to keep healthier lunches prepped for me... usually tuna or chicken salad on romaine lettuce with avocado, chicken wraps, brown rice with chicken, a little soy sauce, and steamed veggies (you can buy packs of those in the frozen section and they're great as add-ins or as already-seasoned sides by themselves). I enjoy cooking/baking so if I really wanted to cook a more complex meal, with more ingredients, or if I wanted to try a new recipe, I would plan that for the weekend or whenever I had a few free hours. In my program, I didn't have a ton of free time during the week.

You should have no problem getting in. If I remember correctly, acceptance letters go out in mid-March. I just graduated from the ABSN at Cedar Bluff.

I kept a planner before starting nursing school, but I write EVERY. SINGLE. THING. down. I took my syllabus and assignment list for each class and wrote down every assignment and important date for the entire semester. Every Saturday/Sunday night, I take a look at what I have to do for the upcoming week and make reminders. I use a different color highlighter (Ex: blue for Patho, green for Fundamentals, orange for Assessment, etc.) to cross off/highlight stuff in my planner when I get it done, and I try to work ahead if possible.

I'm almost 30, and I've actually lost a few pounds (probably from the shock and stress of my first NS semester). However, we were assigned senior mentors in our program, and one of the first things my mentor told me was to prepare to gain some serious weight. She said that some of the seniors had gained 20 to 30 pounds.

Does your Fundamentals book have a corresponding Success Book? I have a Q&A Review Success Book for Fundamentals, Peds, and Med Surg. It breaks down into different subjects, asks the questions, and then shows the rationales... basically why the correct answer is correct, and why the other answers don't work. The seniors in our program (I'm a junior) swear by these books, but no one found out about them until Fundamentals was almost over last year. Here's the amazon link. Fundamentals Success: A Q&A Review Applying Critical Thinking to Test Taking: 9780803644144: Medicine & Health Science Books @ Amazon.com

I'm quitting my job in the banking industry as of Friday in preparation for my first semester of NS. I wouldn't mind being able to fit in a part-time job somewhere, but I'm in an accelerated program, married with a 2 year old so I've decided to wait and see how it goes.

I'm definitely going to start working on the dosage calculations as soon as I'm finished up with my last two pre-reqs (Nutrition and APII) next week. I just checked it out online, and it looks like 39 pages... If you don't mind me asking, what other classes are you taking? I've been looking doing the part-time FNP program at LMU after the ABSN, but not 100% on that yet. This is Bachelor's #2 for me, and I have an Associate's in Finance/Accounting. I would definitely have to be working as an RN while I do the FNP program because things are going to be super tight for us budget-wise with me taking 17ish months off for the BSN. Any idea what you'd like to specialize in yet? Where are you doing clinicals? Thanks for all the info on LMU! I've been hoping that I would find someone else on here that was going there!!

Wow! 5 kids... how do you do it? And how old are your kids?? I have an almost 2 year old son... he's in daycare 2 days per week and with my mom 3 days. We're hoping to keep it that way as I go through this program. If you can PM, send me your email. I can't PM because I haven't posted 15 messages on AN, and I had to get off Facebook when I started pre-reqs... was just spending too much time there! Lol

So like 2 full days on campus per week? Are you working at all??

Cedar Bluff