Bambury

Can you let me know what kind of interview questions they might ask? Is it critical care related, or something more mundane on a daily life scale? I interviewed for a computer programming job, but the questions they asks were totally unrelated, and instead was on art history. :-) Took me by surprise!

Daytonite - what a wonderful and encouraging post that was. It was great seeing things from a nurse manager's perspective. Jerico - I agree with you. I think that sometimes we have to put our foot down. I did the same when I was still a nursing student. I wouldn't take my clinical preceptor's abuse (even to two clinical instructors), so I would point it out EACH time when she was being a bully and inappropriate. She would be stunned by it. But each time, I did it respectfully, but very honestly. Towards the end of my clinical preceptorship, she apologized direly for her behavior. I think she was afraid of any bad remark I might write on her evaluation (which I did). Conversely, she wrote me the best evaluation, as did the clnical instructors. I think that it was eye opening, as well as refreshing for them to hear someone they wouldn't have expect to speak, to indeed, speak up! Nutrix - Take good care! I'm feeling for you! I will begin my orientation day 1 this Monday. Keep on talking to other nurses, the nurse manager, and to anyone else who will listen. I think it will make your day feel possible and lighter just to talk.

I graduated from a 2nd degree accelerated program this past summer. My first major was also in the humanities. I feel I learned quite a lot!!! You get out as much as you put in to it. In clinical situations, you do have to tell your clinical instructor that you want to learn a ton of procedural things. I made contact with all the floor nurses and CNAs and asked them to call me when they were to do anything at all. So by the time I had to do my last clinical preceptorship, I felt pretty much set to take on any assignment. I was overseeing the care of 6 patientss on a daily basis by that time, with my preceptor watching my back. Again, be proactive, and study like a smart weasel (that means, figuring out essential from nonsessential information, and thinking critically), and you will do fine. No matter how overwhelmed you may feel, at any one time, trudge on and all will pass. Before you know it, you'll be an RN. Godspeed to you!

Here's how we work on my unit (med/surg): Soon after the report, everyone checks on the med schedule for each patient. Some check it before the report is given, while they wait for the report to start. We find that this is key to starting the day. That way, by 7:30A when all the reports have been received, and we check that a patient has a med at 8:00A, we prioritize our assessments with that in mind. Anyway, we jot down on a column next to the pt's name on our flow sheet, that pt A has med at 8__, 10___, 12___, 16___, etc. We check these off after they are given. Also, another thing I do in particular, is I write down how many meds there are in for a particular time in parentheses. So, mine looks more like the follow: 8A (2)____, 10A(3/1IV)____, 12 (1)___. This usually works for me, as it makes me more efficient, and careful that I don't miss any med. Afterwards, we go into each pt's room with our big roll of germicidal wipes. Before we begin our assessment, we introduce ourselves, and then move to quickly swipe the major areas around the patient. This usually builds trust between pt and nurse. The pt is made aware that she cares about his stay. The pt is given an extra time to acquaint with the nurse for that shift during that extra minute spent cleaning up. Then, after that's done, we find that the pt is usually more at ease with getting assessed. If we know that the pt is getting a bag of fluid (as seen in the MAR), and that their time is up for a change of bag, we go in with a bag of fluid, and hang it then. Before we leave the room, we know what's in the patient's bedside table, or surrounding area, i.e. extra gauze, saline bottle, etc, etc, so that we don't waste resources bringing things into the room that the pt may already have when we come to change dressing or such. We check these things, either when we are germicidal wiping in the beginning, or before leaving the room. I quickly jot down everything I've noted in the room and with the pt's assessment as soon as I step out of the room before moving onto the next pt. This saves me a ton of time during documentation, and helps me be accurate. I've enjoyed reading everyone else's tips. Time management is surely an art that comes with experience. Things become easier with routine.

I too think you are being overly hard on yourself. There's a negative cycle going on in here. You feel overwhelmed, so you start making mistakes, and the mistakes you made make you even more overwhelmed, which again, leads to more mistakes. Perhaps, you can try and do what I do whenever fear creeps in. Focus on one thing to do at one time. Afterwards, after you've checked off on what you were to do, move on to the next thing, and then focus just on that. Eventually, as you become more adept at what you are doing, you'll be able to multitask. Perspective is really important in your situation. Think about it: you are a NEW RN. It wouldn't make sense to measure yourself to others. As soon as you do that, fear just attacks you. The better thing to do is to approach some of the nurses that you'd be working with that day, and say with respectfully and humility "I'm still getting acquainted with this whole nursing thing. And I'm fearful half of the time when I'm working with the pts. If it is alright with you, I'd like to come to you to ask for help and questions." Again, don't make unfair comparison. You are a novice, and you will be making novice mistakes. Just don't forget to learn from them. And always ask lots and lots of questions and lots and lots of help.

I'll be starting in the M/S unit as well. While I think it will be stressful, I believe the reward at the end of each week I'm there will be worth the work. I'm just going to ask a LOT of questions to be safe and effective, regardless of whether I get the everyone rolling their eyes or not at me. I hope you have a terrific start!

My advice is that you be respectful, but honest. Point out what you noticed, and how it's made you feel. Regardless of how she treats you afterwards, she will most likely have a new found respect for you. When I was doing my preceptorship, my RN was a bully. At times, I had to be the "mentor" to her, and calm her down, present her things from the correct perspective, etc. I also reported her behavior to my clinical professor, as well as the nurse manager. The preceptor was more careful, and aware afterwards. At the end of the season, she awarded me the highest marks, and also came up to apologize for her behavior. I hope it'll go well with you too. It takes bravery to be respectfully honest. I hope you'll be brave!

I believe #3 is the correct option. The Good Samaritan law covers the health care worker as well, but not so, when compensation has been received. The law, as generally known, is covered in all states. Variations might be minimal.

Hi Lauran, The time on this thread is from 2004!, not 2005.

I'm so sorry to hear that Sharon! I'm sure saying this doesn't help much, but things like nclex are a minor bumps in life. I'd be happier to have a nurse who tries hard and knows more though they fail on paper, than one that can ace their exams at first try without any sweat poured over. This will be another opportunity for you to study and therefore know more. You'll eventually be a nurse, but one that tried harder, and so cherishes her profession more than most, because it came by hard work. I'm sure your celebration will be sweeter for it then! Also, I think God uses things like this to give us a priceless gift: humility! I find that those I admire most, know a lot and are good at what they do, have this humble aura about them that puts pride to shame! Eventually you'll be all the above: a nurse, more understanding of others who feel sad for one reason or another (because you will have been there), knowing more stuff of your trade, and also humble! That'll make you one in a million!

In case you're curious: I passed with 75 questions! I would still recommend Kaplan. That course had the most priority, "what should the nurse do first", and LPN and nursing assignments strewn all over than any other nclex material's I have looked into!I had a quite a lot of those questions in the exam. Knowing content is important too. Otherwise, one wouldn't know whom to attend first! So don't choose Kaplan alone. Use content based Review books like Saunders. Lippincott Q&A is also excellent! Godspeed!

I think I might be able to help you with the crutch gaits: There are three types, but only the 3 point gait is the non-weight bearing, while the others - the two point and four point - are partial weight bearing. Three point gait This is the R2-D2 Robot of Star Wars walk. You advance with the crutches, then the good leg follows. So it's: crutch, good leg, crutch, good leg, crutch, good leg. This is, all the while, your bad leg is off the ground. Both the four point and the two points are similar. So that makes it easy. Two point: Pretty easy. Just walk as you would, with your extremeties in opposition. So everytime you advance with your right leg, your left arm advances in parallel. Then, as you advance with your left leg, your right arm swings in parallel. That's easy. Now, imagine you have crutches on each arm, as extra appendages, and basically you follow the same pattern of oppotional movement between the extremeties. So it goes parallel like this: Right leg with Left Arm AND Left Crutch then, Left leg with Right Arm AND Right Crutch. Try walking, and then imagine having crutches under the arms, and walking normally with them. That's it. Four point is just like 2 point except, instead of thinking of as "one-two, one-two, one-two), you have 1-4 steps to think about. Again, it's oppositional extremeties, they just don't advance together though. Here goes: Right crutch (split pause) Left foot (split pause) Left crutch (split pause) Right leg. It's oppositional movement, but just not at simulteneous. By the way, when you have to manage the stairs, it's always "up with the good (foot) and down with the bad (foot). That's the order. Cane: Cane on the good/strong side. When you advance, cane and the weak leg move parallel and simulteneously together, followed by the good leg. Hope it helps!

You can always Google the words: Mosby NCLEX-RN CAT or go to: http://www.us.elsevierhealth.com/product.jsp?isbn=0323028667 It's roughly $40 for 30 days of use. Good luck to you!

Now wasn't all that agony of waiting worth this good news? Kidding! Congratulations and I wish you the best!

Hi there! Glad to know it helped. No, I haven't taken the boards yet, but will be soon. I will however, say that I try everything before I critique the cuisine:-). I feel I've done that with NCLEX-RN related things. No matter what the method, I agree with thatoneguy - you have to commit to the studying - consistently. I've been doing a steady stream of studying daily, for several hours, for the past month. Went through cover-to-cover with a couple of the books. Answered every questions, and have gotten progressively better. And I feel I know a whole lot. That's the best feeling going into any exam. And I think that committing to studying hard has helped me do that.