My 2013 NCLEX Experience. Worth a read.

I did the Pearson Vue "Trick". Well the screen came up for me to put in my credit card information. That isn't a good sign, they said. It means you failed, they said. I felt like the world was ending. And let's face it, to a new graduate nurse - IT WAS! The PVT is almost 100% accurate, afterall. I checked that site I know 20 times and had a friend of mine check it from their computer miles away - still showing a cc page to purchase a new exam. How could I come this far and FAIL. The dreaded F word.

I kept telling myself, well I can retake it in 45 days. But what do I tell my three children who had helped me along the way through school. What kind of example is being set? By midnight Thursday night I had resigned myself to the fact that I was retaking the NCLEX. I had a game plan in mind and the next morning I was going to the bookstore and buying a Kaplan book. Read More...

How do I recalculate flow rates for infusions?

1. An IV of 500mL was ordered to infuse in 3 hr using a 15gtt/mL set. With 1 1/2 remaining, you discover that only 150 mL is left in the bag. At what rate will you need to reset the flow?

2. An IV of 1000mL was ordered to infuse in 8 hr. With 3 hr of infusion time left, you discover that 600 mL have infused. The set delivers 20gtt/mL. Recalculate the drip rate, and indicate how many drops you will count in the 15 sec to set the new rate. Read More

Please grant me one wish...

If you had one wish what would you change in nursing school? Read More...

Prioritization question - need help with rationale

I'm trying to find out which is the correct answer to the following prioritization question:

A 30-year-old client is brought to an emergency trauma center with a hand injury from a nail gun sustained while remodeling an old barn. there is a strong odor of alcohol and the client admits to having three beers during a 3-hour period. Which assessment findings are most important for the nurse to evaluate FIRST?

1. blood type
2. time of last voiding
3. current blood alcohol level
4. date of last tetanus immunization

I would also appreciate your rationale. Thank you in advance! Read More...

My NCLEX experience......I think I passed!

I have been reading a lot of threads on here to prepare myself for the NCLEX and figured I would share my experience to hopefully inspire others in our shoes!

I finally took the NCLEX yesterday and for me it was a crazy experience with the questions that I got. Without going into details I had my first SATA at question #7 and remember thinking OMG! Half of that test must of been SATA's for me, and the rest was prioritization and even more prioritization's. I had a few med questions, and I think that you really needed to know your meds to answer those questions. The same goes for the few lab questions that I had too... Read More...

How do HESI scores correspond with passing rates of NCLEX?!

I took my HESI two weeks ago and got well over a 1,000 (or a 95% conversion score). I got my ATT yesterday and took a leap of faith and scheduled my NCLEX for tomorrow, YIKES!! I have done really well in my classes, getting nearly a 4.0. I just don't feel like I have studied enough but my family has faith in me that I will go fine, like I always seem to do. I have bursts of confidence, then times I feel like I should have given myself another week or so. I guess it'll all come out tomorrow!!

So how have some of you guys done on HESI/ATI in comparison to passing NCLEX?? Read More...

Why nursing?

We all want to help people, but is there something or some other reason that's pushed you even more towards becoming an RN? For me personally, I've always been a people person and love being around others. But my biggest reason for going into nursing is because of my car accident. I was t-boned on my drivers side by a lady in her truck who was talking on her phone. We were going around 50 mph. This changed my life...

So what about you? Why nursing? Read More...

Where are your clinicals?

I spoke to someone at a school today about their lpn program and I asked about their clinical sites. They said they're mostly in nursing homes. Now I know in most areas lpn's are mainly employed in ltc facilities, but I was under the impression that lpn programs had clinicals at hospitals too. Was I wrong? where were your clinicals located? Is that a sign of a bad program? Read More...

Must Have Nursing Books

I am in my second semester of an RN program and I am wondering, besides the books that you need for your nursing program, what are some extra must have nursing books that have helped you or are helping you with your nursing school journey? Read More...

How do you learn nursing skills at your school?

Several of my classmates and I are becoming increasingly frusturated with our educational program. Our skills course is worth 2 credits. There are multiple reading to do each week and objectives to help focus us. There are skills videos that show how to complete the skills but these are sub par at best. I feel like skills needs to have a lecture component to help us understand everything rather have to teach it all to ourselves. I also believe these need to be demo'd to us in person so we can have a better view/ can have all of our questions answered. Read More...

What is Kaplan coursebook 14th edition about? Should I get it apart from Saunders?

I was wondering what is kaplan course book about? I have never heard about it and is this the book that you get only after completing their crash course? Any idea? Please help, I have only one month to prepare... Read More...

How many clinicals do you have per week?

I'm in my second semester of nursing school and I was just wondering how many clinical hours most nursing schools have. I'm getting one clinical a week for 12 hours, and then 2 days of surgery this semester. We then have 3 hours of lab where we learn skills. This doesn't seem like that much to me and I know I'm only in my second semester but I feel like we haven't learned that much practical stuff yet. Does this sound unusual? Read More...