CaptC

You know people that have taken the nclex 4-7 times before passing? That sounds sort of insane to me? I have never heard of anything like that before. Especially considering first-time pass rate is normally between 90-100% at most schools.

I'm in an ASN program, but my school is going to offer a BSN sometime before I graduate which is convenient. I might be one of the first to receive a BSN from my college which is pretty cool. I hope to have my BSN or close to it by the time I start my first job. Pretty much every nurse I've spoken with has told me it is a must.

This actually makes me feel a bit better. I'm still going into my first semester very cautiously. I could ask a number of questions about specialities, masters degree programs, etc. However, it is probably best if I just take things one step at a time.

Alright, so it's probably normal. That's a relief. I'll still call the Monday morning just in case.

Hey everyone. So I'll be starting nursing school in January. I finished everything in castlebranch. My only concern is that its been 3 weeks since I've completed my fingerprints and it still shows the 3rd step as incomplete. I'm starting to worry that the school didn't receive my fingerprints for whatever reason. I plan on calling the school Monday to make sure everything is as it should be, but I was just curious if anyone else had this same issue in the meantime. Thanks.

I'm starting nursing school in January and I have to admit I'm rather nervous. My fears mostly revolve around the school workload which if it is anything like a&p it will be brute force memorization with very little application which often felt like luck when it came to testing time. It wasn't luck I got A's with hours upon hours of studying, but it felt like it occasionally, because of how much there was to learn and the breadth that could be on the test. I've been told that there is more application and problem solving in the nursing program, but it is a concern or at least something that I'm mentally preparing myself for. I generally enjoy classes where I get to apply rules and knowledge instead of just memorising, but I understand why memorization is critical to healthcare. The second fear is the job itself. I understand nurses have long shifts, and at my current work, as a delivery man, I go to work ready to go and perform very well, but at hour 8 or so I start to go slower and become less attentive. Turn on the wrong street, need to turn around things like that. In nursing, you can't turn on the wrong street because its people lives. If I'm working 12-hour shifts I fear that I won't be able to perform my duties at the quality that they need to be performed. Yes, I do recognise that I'm worried about this rather early, but it is on my mind and thought it couldn't hurt to get other people perspective on these concerns and tips that could help alleviate them. Thank you.

What you consider peanuts might be different from what I consider peanuts. Peanuts and experience is better no peanuts at all.

Yeah, I have no expectations of just rolling into a job. I expect it to take between 8-16 months of hard work to get placed. I also plan on pretty much immediately getting my BSN. It will literally be BSN course work and job searching. My hope is that before I finish my BSN to find something. That way everything will align nicely, but I'll take it as it comes.

I've recently been accepted into nursing school starting January and was wondering how people see the job market being around the time I graduate. Obviously this is a difficult question to answer but I thought some people might have some insider knowledge on some market trends. I'm not exactly concerned about this currently because it is so far ahead, but I'm just curious. I'm flexible and willing to move where work takes me so I'm confident I'll find work within a year, but hopefully sooner. I make no assumptions that I'll immediately find work. Thank you for your responses in advance.

I'll be starting nursing school in the next couple of months. Is there anyone that actually enjoys their job? I'm worried that if all the good people in the profession leave there will be no one left to promote healthy change. I don't know anything about hospital politics so I'm speaking from a place of deep naivete, but if we all stick together maybe we can change things for the better? I'm very new so try not to scoff too hard at my optimism. Note: This is not a judgment at all on the OP's decision to make a career change. I fully respect and understand the complexities of that situation.

If someone said that to me and I was a new nurse I would be very upset. People spend many years and give up many things to become a nurse. It's not as trivial as your last paragraph makes it seem. If an individual starts working and is not given the proper time to take things slow and learn from more experienced nurses, but is instead bullied and yelled at that can often make improvement significantly harder or next to impossible. From personal experience, I can say that what makes a good job environment is co-workers you can trust. Someone you can say, "hey I need help" and not got torn apart for not knowing something. The worst job I've ever had was in a position where people felt it was super cool to tear you apart, for simply asking for help or not knowing something. The only reason I can gather for this was to show superiority in some backwards attempt at promotion, but everyone was trying to do this bs and instead of working together everyone fought each other and nothing was ever done and no one was ever promoted. I can honestly say I would rather be dead then work at that job again. If this individual felt that way about this position and felt that represented all of nursing (often the same position in a different building can have a much better internal culture) I can without question sympathise with how distraught this person would have felt. It is an extremely sad story. Look, someone needs to show that they are dedicated to improvement in their career. However, if you allow people to get bullied in the workplace because they are "a bad nurse" or whatever the case may be, instead of simply trying to help each other then that is bad for everyone. Generally, I think most people can get good at whatever they set their minds too. Being bad at something is a tempory stage due to lack of experience, not something inherent in a person's DNA. Workers need to cultivate a growth mindset and employers and coworkers need do the same. Compassion and empathy are the greatest tools to do this, not anger and judgement. If I notice someone doing something wrong I simply show them the right way to do it. Kindly, and not forcefully. If someone forgets something I simply do it myself, I don't get pleasure in rubbing it in their faces. I'm not a nurse yet, but it seems to me this is the predominating culture that many nurses live in, (not sure about MSN or CRNA's) and it is very dangerous to the profession. The moment people start believing they can do something they can and often do. The moment they stop believing they often can't and don't.

Update: I got an A in physio! Just a nutrition final left to take.

After reading your posts again I think windsurfer was being too harsh. He did that in one of my posts also. Not sure why he feels the need to be so hard all the time. It might discourage excellent nurses from joining the profession. Maybe that is what windsurfer wants I don't know. Anyway, all I was trying to say is that basically nursing isn't an easy school path and it is an even more difficult career so just make sure you know what you are going into and take steps to try and achieve your goals. I'm personally having difficulties with the course work and might have to change career paths or perhaps I might drop out of college entirely if I don't get into a nursing school after a few application cycles. It really is that competitive. Just make sure you know what you are getting into that's all. Keep in close contact with your schools nursing department and even other nurses in the program. I've gotten much more relevant help from people in the program than people outside of it and that includes school advisers. Your millage may vary. Good luck and keep us updated.

^ This x 1 million.

Ok I disagree here. Anatomy and physio in my opinion is harder than any math or science class I've ever taken. I've taken up to calculus 1 and completed chemistry 2. Those classes aren't even close to the level of difficultly of anatomy and physio. This is just my opinion and experiences will differ from school to school, but I don't think nursing pre reqs are easier or harder they are just much different.

So here is a little update: In march I took the teas and got am 87.3% cumulative. 85 science 100 math 85 reading and 80 grammar. I got an A in micro. I'll be honest physio is seriously one of the most ridiculous classes I've ever taken. I currently have a 92 but the final is Monday and honest not sure if I'm capable of doing what the classes expects of me. If I get a B in physio after getting a C in anatomy I've been more or less told that I basically shouldn't even apply. I've been also told I can't retake for 5 years. If I get a B I'll apply but if I'm not accepted I'm not sure what I will even do. A year of my life has been dedicated to completely the prereqs and I'm not exactly young as it is. 25 years old. Not sure I like the feeling of absolute helplessness school has given me. Anyway, just thought I'd give an update.

Thank you. The teas test is something is should be able to do. I took the online version of the practice test (assessment A) the other day and scored a 73. 83 English and 70 something in science and English language. I forgot what my math score was but it about on par with my other tests. People say the online version is harder so idk. I take it March 10th so I hope to get my scores up. I just don't really know home I'm supposed to study honestly. Like if I focus on something am I neglecting another. How do I know I'm not over studying something. Am I actually learning more by taking these notes ect ect. However I'm really anxious about it and have frozen up on tests. It's gotten better but it is still something I'm working on. I'm applying to two other schools now. Hopefully I'll get I to one of them. I also put my 2 weeks notice at my job. This is much more important to me.

Physiology on the brain. Lol

Thanks, I'm already in Anp2. The way the professor works it seems is that the difficulty of the tests scale waaaay up. The first test will be relatively easy. The second test will be about twice as hard. So on and so fourth. The crazy thing is I know anp 1 pretty well lol. Sometimes the phrasing of the question makes it difficult. There were a number of times where I would pick the wrong answer and I'd later go to the professor and be able to answer instantly once it is framed in a different way. I'm not exactly sure why that happens. I might need to take anp 1 over again honestly. It just delays everything by a ton.

I'm trying pretty freaking hard to get good grades. I study extremely hard to get good grades and usually do. I just had a lot of issues with anp1. It was a TOUGH course taught by a extremely tough teacher. I'm studying probably twice as much and with more frequency than last semester and honestly because of the vastness of the material and the sort of pot luck nature of what can be on these tests I'm not even sure it is enough. I work 20 hours a week and I'm taking two other courses. I'm going to quit my job in march, but that is already towards the end of the semester. I don't respond well to the man up sort of responses mostly because they are laughably over simplified and condescending. I suppose I should have said trying even harder to get As but I figured that would be clear. What if I can't get As, then I'm screwed. So by saying I'm planning on getting As basically means I don't have any other choice. This post is all over the place, but there is LOT on my plate right so w/e.

So last semester I did pretty poorly. I received a 79.7 in anp and a 89.7 in stats. Physiologically that is a hard pill to swallow and honestly effects my application. My teas practice scores have improved a bit with about 15 hours of study but my reading scores went down since my last review because it hasn't been my areas of focus. 75 reading (down from 90) 80 math (up a bit) science 75 (up from 64) and English 73(up from 62) I have an associates degree already and would prefer to get into a bsn program but my goal school is massively competitive. I have a 3.48 gpa right now. I plan on getting straight As. I decreased my work hours and might quit I March to double down on school. I really really want this and any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

Yeah I'm not worried about the math section. I'll work on getting it up some more, but my mistakes are mostly from poor handwriting or trying to do problems in my head and estimating. Doing arithmetic like 1267 x 356 / 5 in my head I know know I shouldn't attempt to do. When I decided to use a pen my 11 became 16 through a sort of and 7x 16 is much different than 7 x 11. Really basic stuff like that. 26/30 correct. There was only 1 question that I honestly messed up on. It was one of write this in an equation problems. So I might to a bunch of those. In general I'm confident there. Grammer is my next focus. I honestly don't know any of the rules, subject verb agreement and all that stuff. I just don't know it at all. I even messed up on some spelling things like the word nickel... I was thinking we'll twinkle so than nickel, but that kind of thought process doesn't seem to work with Grammer lol. Science is a beast of its own. There is just such a wide range of areas they can ask questions from it can be intimidating.

I took another math practice from this site TEAS Math Practice Test - Free TEAS V Practice Questions. I found this to be more similar to the ati book practice tests. I got an 86 and didn't use scratch paper. With a bit more practice and being a bit more careful I should be able to get pretty close to 100%.

Sorry about that. I was looking for a teas test forum, but had troubles finding it. Thank you for moving thing for me.

I took a practice test from the official teas 5. These are my scores: Reading: 83% Math: 73% Science 63% Grammar 60% I was annoyed with my math score because I'm usually pretty good at math. The mistakes I made were pretty simple mistakes that I shouldn't make. I believe I could get my score high than that. I didn't use a calculator because I was under the impression you weren't allowed. That makes sense based on the questions. The science I expect to get a worse grade on my first try. Considering, I felt I did fairly well for a first go, still need to improve significantly however. Grammar was the biggest surprise to me. People might laugh but I honestly don't know what some of the grammar terms even mean. This was about a month ago, I'm still taking pre reqs, (after this semester I'll only have 3) so at the time I didn't feel I should use a significant amount of my time towards the teas. A month later and I'm starting to study for it, mostly because the program I'm applying for is very competitive and I might get a B in A&P 1 and statistics. That is pretty awful for this program so my teas scores need to be spectacular. I was working over 30 hours a week and got an awful failing grade on my 3 stats test. After decreasing my work ours I got over 100 on the 4th test...anyway back on topic. I'll admit I do have issue figure out how long I should be studying in one class vs another. I also get really tired so it isn't very productive for me to study when I'm mentally fried. Sorry a bit of topic. I recently took a practice test from the Mcgraw hills book of practice tests. The questions were easier in some instances than the official book. Reading: 94% (This felt much easier than the official practice test questions) Math: 79.4% (This felt about the same difficulty, the only difference I noticed was they didn't have some of the word problems found in the official guide. It even had some geometry questions that took me a couple of minutes to figure out. I was able to figure them out so they weren't difficult, but they caught me by surprise and I was running into some time trouble towards the end of this section. For the most part it was similar to the official guide practice test. I def improved improved on some of the simple mistakes from the first time around.) Science: 67% (This felt easier also, but my grade was similar so maybe it wasn't.) Grammar: 60% (yeah I need to study lol) The most frustrating part is that some of the questions, I think 4, are experimental and aren't graded so I could have gotten an better or worse grade and I would have no idea. What would you suggest I do from here? Should I pay for a prep class? Is there a study regiment that you would recommend? I would really like to get 80 or higher on all the sections. Science seems like it covers the widest range of topics. That seem like it would take the most time to improve. I wish there were more official practice tests, I don't want to wast the second one in the book. Thank you for your time.