Starting work next month, how do I prepare?

[frostrambler]

I graduated in May 2008, I passed my NCLEX in August 2008. I am in NYC, so getting a job has been impossible for me. I finally accepted a position with a good hospital in Long Island and will be starting on a telemetry unit next month.

I have a month to get some nursing knowledge back into me. How should I review?

The unit is mostly stable 2-3 day post-op cardiothoracic patients.

I feel my priority should be to review:

1. Basic fundamentals (infection control, safety)

2. Cardiac disorders such as CHF.

3. EKG's

4. Cardiac Meds

5. Basic Respiratory system/meds review

6. Fluids and Electrolytes (they affect cardiac so much)

7. Lab values

8. Basic universal meds.

9. Basic medication calculation (IV drip rate, that sort of thing)

I also want to review dressing changes, IV placement, subq, Im injections, etc.

For the reviewing of content, I want to use Saunders Comprehensive NCLEX book, and just read the chapters on the above topics. I may also look into my old nursing notes for some extra content.

For dressing changes and IV placement and injections, trach cleaning, all of that... I'm not sure how to review. Other than watching youtube videos, I hope that during my orientation, my 2 weeks of in class and 10 weeks preceptorship, I will be shown all of this again and I can learn.

What advice can you guys give? Its been 6 months since my boards, and I only have a month to be a safe and effective nurse again, help!

[MB37]

You should be able to cover pretty much all of this with your preceptor - 10 weeks sounds longer than many new med-surg nurses get. I'm almost through my 16 in ICU. We had to be checked off on EVERYTHING by ours before we could do it on our own. Be up front about your past experiences and how long it's been - everyone had exposure to different things in school, and it's OK to ask him/her to demonstrate a skill once before asking you to perform it under supervision. It's good to find out from the start how to access your hospital's policies and procedures as well - mine has detailed instructions for most skills, and you never go wrong if you follow policy. Your ideas for what to review sound good, and most things will come back to you fairly quickly. I'm almost off orientation, and there are still some things I'm not good at. Be willing to jump in and try, but always ask for help for anything unfamiliar. Good luck, and congrats on the job!

[dorselm]

Congratulations on finding a job. I think 10 weeks is a good amount of orientation time and you should make the best of it by being a sponge and absorbing all that you see and hear and by asking questions on every single thing you are unsure about. Then once you get the answer, don't keep asking the same question over and over, try to retain the information. Don't worry about brushing up, it will come to you and what doesn't to you, the more experienced nurses should be able to help you with whatever you need. I was the same way, I wanted to know what I could do to prepare for my new job but once I got in there, things started coming to me and it will be the same for you.