My defining moment as a new graduate nurse

The work day started as any typical day on the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit. I arrived on the unit promptly at 6:30am to gather all pertinent information on my two critical patients. I printed off my cardiac EKG strips, looked up my patients’ history, physical and chief complaints and tried to plan my 12 hour shift accordingly. My preceptor walks over to me at 6:42am and in a stern voice says “It is now time for report”. Report consists of the off going nurse to give the oncoming nurse a brief synopsis of the patient and plan of care. As a new graduate registered nurse I always found report intimidating but exciting. Intimidating because most of what is said during report I have no clue what we are talking about. It’s exciting because I get to learn new things even if it means I have to look up what certain terms mean at a later time. Read More...

Got an email saying that we are encouraged to have our MSN by 2017

Anyone else got this bomb dropped on you?? Partial tuition reimbursement will be given. I thought that getting a BSN would keep them happy. When will it be encouraged that we are all NPs or PAs or MDs? Read More...

Yes, Passing NCLEX is Possible!

Not sure what the percentage is for people who have passed the NCLEX on their 2nd or 3rd try ... But I'm sure it's pretty big. Here's to all those people who never gave up...

NEVER GIVE UP! Read More...

PLEASE HELP Before they kick me out!

I got called into the DON's office to be told that they are failing me for missing 2 days! They are also doing this to 4 other students. No warning, or anything. I have 3 kids so things come up and I may miss a day here and there but I put in MORE than enough study time to make sure I do not fall behind. I am a straight A student and I do not think this is right! Two of the other students they are doing this to had doctors notes for being absent, but they were told that absences are not excused under any circumstances. Read More...

5th attempt & 10 months later...

I can officially say I am a Registered Nurse...BOY DOES IT FEEL GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!

I tested for the 5th time this Wednesday, got 264...NOT 265 questions and left that test center feeling really confused. All these thoughts went through my mind, why didn't it go all the way? Why didn't I get any drag and drops, any EKG's, and hotspots? You know what...that doesn't matter!!! What matters is that I MADE IT! For those that are curious as to what I did... Read More...

What are some nursing careers that are great for a first year RN?

I am a Pre-Nursing student who has already applied to nursing school (just waiting for acceptance or rejection) and I was wondering what are some nursing careers that would be great for a first time RN. I have been reading some some stories about nurses who are overwhelmed with how quickly they have been thrown on to the floor and seen some gross sites and either passed out or threw up. Is there some nursing specialties that have less disgusting things to look at so that I can work my way up to the disgusting stuff? Read More...

A&P Instructor Accused Me of Plagiarism

I don't know how to handle this at all. I've never cheated in my life, and I don't even understand how you would plagiarize the assignment. I'm taking A&P online, and for this assignment, we were to do two virtual labs and watch videos about the respiratory system, including the pathway, etc. The first question of the lab journal was to describe the pathway through the respiratory system, describe inhalation, and describe exhalation. I assume (because he has not responded to my email yet) that is the portion he thinks I plagiarized, because the other two questions were over the virtual lab. It is beyond me how it's possible to plagiarize the pathway of air through the respiratory system. Read More...

New RN Nursing Student

I'll be starting in an RN day program beginning at the end of January! I'm super excited, nervous, excited & nervous... I pretty much bounce between those two feelings any time I think about it. I can't believe I got in... it was my first time applying and was almost certain I'd be denied for whatever reason. Any words of wisdom from those who are in a program, or who've graduated and are working, would be greatly appreciated. Other's entering an RN program soon... how are you preparing yourself? Any tips/tricks/stories/etc...??? Read More

[Poll] Chamberlain, Capella, Kaplan, or who???

I'm an ADN RN who is having a heck of a time finding employment. I graduated in May and am still looking for a full-time job. Every hospital I apply at glances at my resume, sees 'ADN' and quickly tells me that they only accept BSNs. I have never been so depressed in my life.
So I have decided to get my BSN. The only difficulty I'm having with it is deciding where I want to go. Read More...

Finished all of Kaplan/Hurst.. am I ready for NCLEX-RN?

Okay so I have taken Kaplan and Hurst to prepare for the NCLEX-RN exam. I went over the Hurst content videos multiple times each, filled out all of the packets. I just took one of the Hurst tests and I scored an 80/125. I have been studying 3-6 hours a day for the past month, every single day.. These are my scores for Kaplan... Read More...

To all the new prenursing students, some encouragement...

I just wanted to share my progress. I am a 26 year old non traditional student. I started out as a pharmacy technician after having gone to trade school. then worked for almost 7 years for a big mailorder pharmacy. I got a lot of experience with medicine. meanwhile, I was also a single mom and worked and took classes since 2008 part time. I had no idea how I would ever finish or how long it would take.

There were SO MANY NEGATIVE PEOPLE especially other prenursing students who spoke about how hard and competitive it is to make good grades in the prerequisites.In high school I didn't even have the best grades. Well here I am on my last and I am a straight A college student. You have to block out the negative people. They are everywhere! Read More...

Muslim nursing students

Have any Muslim nursing students had problems wearing a hijab to class or clinical. I am worried about being asked to take mine off for class. Read More...