minim

Just now seeing this thread. Congrats to you all! I was accepted to the ACPNP program this fall without having to interview. Looking forward to an exciting new journey :).

Watch your medications! Always triple check the dose and use a co-worker to double check you for emergency medications you draw up. Too much medication is deadly in the little ones. I have caught mistakes from pharmacy a few times. Also, the parents are pretty tense in PICU. Listen to them, take care of them, and your life will be much happier. I always start my day by offering the parents a cup of coffee or water- it helps them to know you are on their side. :) Good luck!

I wear Sockwells most every day. Love them. My feet hurt worse if I don't wear them.

I'm also small and have found Heart and Soul scrubs are the only brand that fit well without alterations. Good luck!

I did the Peds CCRN review course by Susan Wade and have been studying her book. I am testing in a few weeks. I hope it goes well :)

As a PICU nurse, I've noticed that PICU nurses get frustrated if the PACU is by-passed for "simplicity" or what-have-you. The PICU protocols for recovering a pt are extensive, vitals q 5 min, then 15, then 30, which can be time-consuming and take away from our other's pt's care. If you have a peds PACU, send them there. If you don't have a peds PACU, its another story, as PICU nurses are quite protective of their babies... but we appreciate all the PACU does and like them to be utilized.

See if you can take an elective practicum in Peds. That's what got me my job! Volunteering or working as a tech can help too. Best of luck!

I graduated May 8th and took the NCLEX yesterday. I used Kaplan to prepare.. completed 1150/1290 Qbank questions with a 62% average. I did 5/7 Question trainers. I got about 58% average on those. I remediated all my questions that I completed. I don't have my score yet, but I tried the PVT and got a good pop-up. I had 75 questions yesterday, mostly multiple choice, about 25 select all and 1 math question. Good luck. Let us know how it goes :)

Worst: I had an instructor tell me that I was too shy and that my patients would take advantage of me.