Apollo617

Hello @Arr-tistRN. I started at the VA September 2023 with an ADN Nurse 1, Level 2, Step 3. I obtain my BSN within my first year and automatically moved to Step 4 at my year anniversary. I wrote my proficiency for Nurse 1 Level 3 as I was advised I needed to go to that Level before writing for Nurse II. There have been all types of mixups and I've been told that through "human error" an incomplete Board action was posted to my eOPF. The person who has been helping me told me that she doesn't think I got the promotion due to not meeting all qualifications/dimensions. I am looking for help with the appeal once I'm given final notice. I thought I'd done a thorough job and now I'm nervous about redoing this. I would really like to get to Level 3 so that I can try for Nurse II next year. Thanks!

My process took 3 months. I start 9/12

There's information and a link to the excel spreadsheet here. It was spot on for what I was offered when hired (I got a little more than expected).

Hello. I just completed the process and start with the VA 9/12. There is a form that you will complete where you will list all of your experience, certifications, research contributions, etc. A different HR rep will contact you for references and proof of all of those things. They'll also ask for another resume with specific information added in. Good luck!! It's a looooong process! Mine took three months.

Hello. I just finished my first semester. I was wondering if anyone could give me some info on what to expect second semester? I don't like how they name these classes and the class descriptions don't really give much information. My friend who goes to another school asked me if I'd have Pharmacology next semester. I don't know lol. We got a bit of information about 152 from Mrs. Arnold, but nothing about 170. Thanks in advance.

Here is a sheet I made for Pre-Assessment. This is the information you need to gather from the patient record in order to do pre-clinical charting. CLINICAL PREASSESSMENT-1.docx

I was originally Traditional and switched to Hybrid. 130 is an online class for everyone. 100 is the clinical class, but hybrid had lecture online. I had 106 and 200 lecture and lab in class. I opted to take both on the same day. So I only went to campus on Wednesdays. I had 200 lecture @ 0830 followed by lab. Then a 40 minute break before 106 lecture and lab from 1300-1700. So it was basically an 8 hour day of lecture and lab. It wasn't bad though. My clinical day was Tuesday. We were scheduled 0630-1300 at the hospital. We did have to go to our clinical site the night before to gather patient information. That was a bit of a pain. Especially for people who lived far from the clinical site. For 100, Powell schedules tests on a specific day and time. You would not schedule at Testing Center. So you have to be aware of that. Ours was Monday at 4. We met in class, went to Testing Center as a group. We had to wait until everyone finished to leave. Then we went back to classroom and re-took the test in small groups. Depending on the group grade, points would be added to the individual exam. So even though I only had class on Wednesdays, I had pre-clinical, clinical and exams on other days. Then skills check-offs and SIM. These classes take quite a bit of time. I just finished and made Dean's List without school consuming my entire life, so it's doable.

All white or all black. Totally enclosed. No holes. You have to be able to wipe them off. Your socks have to match your shoes--all black or white.

I have two. I have clinical one day and lecture/lab one day.

Hey. You will need burgundy/maroon pants. You can get those anywhere, but the tops and scrub jacket have to be purchased at Flynn O'hara on Midlothian because they have to have the school patch. ORDER EARLY because they can get backed up and take weeks. The jacket is about $50 and I think the tops were $20. For the pants, you can try Goodwill. Family Dollar, Dollar General, Rose's and Gabes on Hull St have really inexpensive scrubs. Walmart runs about $18 which is higher than what I pay at Bryan's in Regency ($14-16 and sometimes much cheaper if you don't need a special length). I can't go to the cheaper places because I need petites at 5'1. I specifically asked someone at my doctor's office about her burgundy pants and she got them from Gabe's. They were Grey's Anatomy and $7. I don't know any upperclassmen to ask. You'll need black or white shoes and your socks have to match the shoes. Congratulations on your acceptance! Get ready! LOL!

Stay up on your reading. That's important. Know your medical terminology and abbreviations. It makes things much easier. Feel free to ask any questions! Little tips would have made things so much easier for me lol.

Congratulations guys! I was this site looking for something else and found this thread. I started in the fall. I just wanted to offer some encouragement, advice and insight. I'd advise to get in the practice of managing your time well. There's a lot of work to do outside of regular lecture and lab that we didn't expect. You'll have Zoom sessions, pre-assessment for clinicals and for certain classes your exam times are scheduled for you and you'll have to be there for about 2 hours. We go to Testing Center together, take the exam, wait for everyone to finish and then go to a classroom. There, we get into groups and take the exam again as a group to earn extra points on the exam. It helps but it takes a lot of our time. If you are/were an honor/dean's list student, get out of that mentality. Not that you'll do poorly, but the grading scale is different. I was so excited to see that I had a 90 in one of my classes then remembered that's a B, not an A lol. The lowest passing grade is 80. Right now, I have 100, 89, 88 and 87.9. That's with minimal effort so I know my grades could be better. I work full-time and have a 4 year old so it's challenging. GET A CALENDAR/PLANNER!! There are so many different assignments due that it would be impossible to keep up without some sort of calendar. Stay on top of your reading and the assignments and you'll do well. The weekly quizzes can make or break your grade. There are only 5 questions so you can only miss one and still pass. It's hard but I am actually having a great time. I would LOVE it if I didn't have work because even though the reading gets boring, I actually enjoy learning about the different topics we have. Congratulations again and god luck!

Why is it so hot and sweaty on the burn unit? I ask because I'm considering applying for a tech position there (moving from dialysis) to get more patient care experience. I've seen children on the burn unit every time I've had to go over there and that part unsettles me. Anything else I can handle.

It sounds like you should do the night shift unless you have someone to watch your child after preschool for a few hours. I work nights and I prefer it. My son is with my parents while I'm at work. I get off in the mornings and take him to school, then I go to school and come home to sleep awhile. I will admit that I typically do not get my proper amount of sleep each day/night, but I'm working on it. I've never been one to sleep for an 8 hour stretch. Doing 3 overnight 12s in a row is rough. That's what I do. But then I get 4 days in a row to myself. The hard thing about working nights is that you're actually losing two days for each night you work. What I mean by this is: if you work monday night, you have to rest/sleep Monday during the day before your shift and then sleep Tuesday during the day after your shift. If you space out your nights, you really do lose time/days. If you clump them together, it's rough but you get it over with and have 4 free days. You can adjust. Your body will have no choice. Get blackout curtains or a sleep mask and take a lavendar shower before bed laying down during the day. You'll find ways to make it work.

We put everything in a patient belonging bag: bicart, cartridge, saline, dialyzer and crit pieces. Most nurses keep a wrench in their tote bag where they keep their supplies: gloves, needle packs, gauze, quick clot, etc. The hoses are kept in the machine room and we grab one on the way out and usually hang it on a machine or RO.