Remembering Like It Was Yesterday

From the moment you are accepted, nursing school is one wild ride. There are more things to learn, obstacles to overcome, and new skills to practice than you can even wrap your head around. It's easy to lose yourself to burnout and maybe even feeling like you'll never "get it". But somewhere in the midst of it all, if you pay close attention, you can catch a glimpse of how far you've come and a reminder of why you started down this path in the first place. Read More...

So many nursing majors in my class!

Hey everyone! I'm taking my prerequisite, and in my sociology class, every single person in the class is majoring in nursing. There are 32 of us. Is this seriously what its like? I read things on here constantly about the field being flooded... Is it really this bad?! I've been told many of these people will end up not making it or changing their minds, but its freaking me out a little bit. Have you experienced anything like this? Read More...

How can you work and go to school?

Many people work while in school ... many are successful while others struggle. For those who are successful juggling the two, how do you do it? Please share your thoughts and any tips that you may have. Read More...

Flu shots as a student anyone?

It's been six years since my family of four got a flu shot. Sick - maybe three times. My two boys are now 12 and 13. Funny thing is I don't like the concept of the vaccine. I don't believe it is effective. Just putting junk in the body. I don't even like Tylenol! Soooooo, Is anyone getting it this winter? I will do it just don't want to. Read More...

Kaplan Review Phase 1. Need suggestions!

I just started my Kaplan review last Monday and followed its study plan. So far I'm on Phase 1, I took the diagnostic test and scored 51%. Then, I took the question trainers 1-3 and these are my scores 49%, 52% and 56%. Now I plan to watch and finish all the lecture videos before I start my online live classes in two weeks. Not sure if the videos are helpful but I am a visual learner.

Does anyone of you took Kaplan or have any experiences with its review? What are the meaning of my low scores? Should I freak out? The book said that to aim 60% and above. Isn't that low enough? Any suggestions? Read More...

Something my clinical instructor said...

I was wondering if it is normal for a nurse to run a primary of NS at 10ml/hr when you are hanging a small bag of antibiotics (50ml), when there is no order for the NS to begin with. My pt had no fluids running or any order for fluids but my instructor said to hang the NS and back prime to avoid wasting a significant amount of the atb priming and then just set the rate for the NS at 10ml/hr. She said some nurses don't feel comfortable doing this...is it because it's illegal? Read More...

Failing....? Your school's policy?

I recently graduated school but I had a question. There were a few members of my class who did not pass their finals with the minimum percentage needed to pass. There were 2 that were accused of cheating as well... There were also a few who did not pass clinicals....

It's obvious that these students were pushed through for whatever reason (went in and got points back, begged, cried, offered $$ IDK). So my question is what happens at YOUR school? Read More...

What has been your favorite prerequisite?

We always talk about what was hard or what we've hated... but what have you loved?

Before this semester A&P was my favorite series of classes. The complex processes of the human body were rewarding and exciting to both learn and understand.

As I enter my last semester of prerequisite courses, I think A&P has a rival for my favorite. I'm now in Chemistry and I LOVE IT. It just makes sense to me and I get excited to come home and do my homework! My professor has her doctorate in Organic Chem from Johns Hopkins, she is so knowledgeable and passionate. I swear her enthusiasm is contagious.

Throughout this process I have gained an incredible love of learning, I feel so lucky to have this insatiable thirst for knowledge! Read More

Patient with acute systolic heart failure

I'm working on my caremap for my patient. He is an 81 y/o black male admitted for acute systolic heart failure and urinary obstruction after being seen in the office for acute swelling in his legs, ankles....

He has no known allergies, is MRSA positive. On contact precautions. Past medical history: cardiomyopathy with pacemaker induced with systolic heart failure, HTN, & hyperlipidemia. Ascending aortic aneurysm, 2:1 AV block with pacemaker implanted. Aortic aneurysm repaired with ascending aortic graft. Aortic valve replacement (prosthetic).

Ok, my gut is telling me that the #1 nursing diagnosis would be decreased cardiac output. Would that apply, however, considering that he is 100% paced? I am stressing over this BAD because I have the most awful clinical instructor on the face of the earth. Read More...

Diffusion vs Perfusion

I am having trouble with this concept and I want to make sure I have it right. Perfusion has to do with the amount of blood and/or O2 reaching the alveoli, whereas diffusion is the ability of the gas exchange to occur at the alveoli such as the surface area available? It seems like they overlap a lot and I am not clear on how to differentiate the two. Read More...

How to get over being shy?

I'm in my third week of nursing school and had a huge hit in the face today. Our first check off is next Wednesday and we have to use a fellow student as a patient, addressing them, explaining to them what we are doing all that just as if it were a real patient. Talking to people in performance freaks me out. When I try to do it my throat closes and I feel like I am naked giving a national speech.

So how did you deal with this? What made you more comfortable etc? Please don't tell me just get over this, it's not that easy for me. Also I do not need anyone to tell me to quit and give up my dream. Read More...

What keeps you focused to study?

I am taking the last prerequisites before applying for the BSN, so far I have done extremely well. The last courses are APII lab and lecture, Statistics, Womens studies, and Philosophy. For some reason I am having trouble focusing to study. I just transferred to a university from a community college and everyone here is so competitive, its not like community college. What has helped you to study and stay focused? Read More...