Kaplan score meaning?

Where can I find the meaning of my scores from Kaplan?

I've taken all the Qbank trainers 1-7, readiness, diagnostic, and some other test.

I know what my readiness score means, but I want to know what the Qbank trainer scores mean. Read More...

Staying awake studying for nursing school

Nursing students have to do what they got to do...

Counting Respirations

I'm still having trouble counting respirations while having distractions. I still have to act like I'm counting the pulse "for a full minute" and count respirations for the second half of that time. Anyone have any tips on how to do this another way? Whenever I try to do it while I'm using the Vitals machine, I find I don't have a full 30 seconds to observe for respirations and so I can never make it work out. Any other time I try it, I find myself getting distracted... Read More...

What's so great about a pinning ceremony?

I'm not one for pomp and circumstance, but I must go along to appease the family. They want to watch me walk.

I haven't mentioned to them the pinning ceremony, as I had no intention of making everyone spend more time in the audience watching me. Many nurses and classmates are appalled that I'd not go to pinning, or that I'd choose commencement over pinning. Then, I got to thinking, I don't really know what pinning is about or what it involves. What is so great about the pinning ceremony? What happens? Read More...

Tell me about your first day of nursing school

I am curious to know what everyone's first day of nursing school was like and how it went that day. From the time you woke up until the time you went to bed that evening, describe your first day. I often hear how anxious students are on their first day of nursing school and thought this might help those (myself included) prepare and transition better into nursing school. It may give someone an idea of what to expect on that first day. Read More...

Anyone dealing with a discouraging advisor?

I'm finally getting the opportunity to pursue my RN/BNS after 18 years. I found out that most of my pre-reqs don't "count" anymore because they're older than 8 years.

I figured, fine...they'll be review classes and I aced them when I took them back in the 90s. Well, after meeting with the nursing advisor on Friday, she was SO discouraging!

I went into the meeting so full of enthusiasm and was so positive and it's like she just wanted to burst my bubble. I'm not trying to be unrealistic about my expectations... Read More...

Health Care Team Members Key for Antimicrobial Stewardship

Antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) that use health care epidemiologists (HEs) and infection preventionists (IPs) have a crucial role to play in the effort to combat health care-associated infections (HAIs), including those caused by multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs), according to the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology and the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America position paper published in the March issue of the American Journal of Infection Control. Read More...

Education Dilemma

I am torn between community college and for profit school. The dilemma is that in community college I would have to put in 16 wks to earn my PCT. In the for profit school I would only have to put in 6 wks for my PCT and it includes all books, scrubs, and any tools I may need. Can anyone give me some advice on which way to go? Does anyone have for profit school education an did it serve you well? Any advice is welcome... Read More...

Picking a Career Path

I figure I should ask this here since I will be a male nurse. I have done EMS fro 5 years. I originally went to college and received a BA, not in nursing. I have since realized, working as a ER/Trauma tech that nursing is my passion. I have many options in pursuing that career. That first would be to get just my RN, the second would be to enter an accelerated BSN program, and the third would be to get my RN and go for a bridged RN to MSN/APN program. Any thoughts in what would be best for my future? Read More...

Male CNA

Any of you other male CNAs have problems with residents not wanting you to shower, wash, or change their briefs? I have had this problem a lot where I recently started working. I had managed to convince a couple of ladies to allow me to change them, but about 4 or so of them just didn't want me to do that to them. I doesn't hurt my feelings because I know they were brought up that way, but I like to be able to actually help residents out when I see their call lights on. I usually am the first CNA in the room, but only to be rejected. Any tips on how to deal with this? Read More...