July 31, 2011

NCLEX-RN Practice Question Challenge!


Correct Answer: 2

1: Implementation: Outcome not desired, must stay flat to maintain alignment
2: CORRECT | Implementation: Outcome desired, log rolling maintains proper alignment of spine
3: Implementation: Outcome not desired, no twisting allowed
4: Implementation: Outcome not desired, no twisting allowed

July 30, 2011

NCLEX-RN Practice Question Challenge!


Correct Answer: 1

1: CORRECT | Assessment: Outcome priority, must evaluate competency of the UAP. Nurse is a accountable for UAPs actions during delegation process
2: Assessment: Outcome not priority, # of procedures done is not as important as demonstrated competency
3: Assessment: Outcome not priority, nurse should be able to delegate procedure if UAP is competent
4: Assessment: Outcome not priority, obtaining a capillary glucose sample is within UAP scope of practice

July 27, 2011

Book Recommendations | Nursing 2012 Drug Handbook!

Oh my gosh, another drug book right? The reason why I purchased this book is because with just ONE purchase, I received a hard copy drug book and an online drug reference book (for my iPhone - picture below) for a year. Nothing beats that for $30. Plus, this book provides pill pictures for the most common pills given. You don't really need this book but with additions like the photos and the mobile drug reference, it's worth it! Best drug book yet... online recourse + hardcopy book + pictures = awesomeness!

Nursing 2012 Drug Handbook With Online Tool Kit
ISBN: 1609136195 | 978-1609136192



July 26, 2011

Book Recommendations | Progressive Care Units!

AACN Essentials of Progressive Care Nursing 
ISBN: 0071664432 | 978-0071664431

I start working on my floor next week and I will have actual patients, no more clinicals! My training program works like this: 1st week = you have one patient, 2nd week = you have two patients, and you build up to a regular four patient workload. I'm so nervous because I was previously an ICU nurse technician. I'm not sure if that previous experience will translate, since the patient population and acuity levels are different. Yes, I came from a Multi-System ICU... so going to a Multi-System PCU shouldn't be that bad, but you never know. So to ease my mind and to find out what disease processes I will be interacting with, I purchased this really amazing, detailed book called: AACN Essentials of Progressive Care Nursing. The book features foundations such as focused assessments, interpreting x-rays and hemodynamics. It extends into diseases such as ARF, respiratory failure, sepsis and seizures. This book has it all! It's helped me to familiarize myself with my patient population plus, it provides me with tips and tricks I haven't learned yet. On top is everything, it has extensive information on medications... amazing book!

July 24, 2011

NCLEX-RN Practice Question Challenge!


Correct Answer: 2

1: Outcome not priority. Indicates that Rh antibodies present, needs further investigation
2: CORRECT | Outcome priority. Indicates pre-eclampsia, requires immediate evaluation
3: Outcome not priority. Colostrum may leak from breasts during pregnancy, normal finding
4: Outcome not priority. Normal finding, quickening doesn't occur before 18 weeks

July 23, 2011

NCLEX-RN Practice Question Challenge!


Correct Answer: 3

1: See Last: Most Stable Patient
2: See Second: Unstable Patient / Cardiovascular - Requires further assessment and antihypertensive meds
3: CORRECT | See First: Unstable Patent - Upper airway injury possibly due to inhalation injury
4: See Third: Vital signs consistent with dehydration, rapid respirations are kussmauls and expected

July 18, 2011

Bedside Nursing Documentation Sheet | Four Patients

Printable PDF Version
Nursing Documentation To Organize Your Day
Created By | Nurse Nacole

Book Recommendations | Maternity & Pediatric Units!

When I was in my nursing program, my toughest courses were that of OB/maternity and pediatrics. During those courses, I used these books to help me understand the giant world of children. I don't have children so, I felt at a slight disadvantage. But, these books explained complex concepts in an easy to understand way and provided great pictures when needed. These books use the outline format and present the information in an organized, detailed manner. For example: disease process, possible NANDAs, signs/symptoms, nursing interventions, diagnostics and evaluation. These books helped to understand the full picture of a disease process or procedure when I was unsure after reading my textbook. I recommend these textbooks "in addition to" your school textbook but NOT alone. They cover sections but not in extended detail. 

Maternal-Newborn Nursing: Reviews & Rationales
ISBN: 0131789732 | 978-0131789739 

Child Health Nursing: Reviews & Rationales
ISBN: 0132437112 | 978-0132437110

July 16, 2011

NCLEX-RN Practice Question Challenge!


Correct Answer: 4

1: Implementation: Outcome desired but not priority, given when hemoglobin is down to 8 g/dl
2: Implementation: Outcome desired but lower priority
3: Implementation: Outcome desired but lower priority, risk of spontaneous bleeding when platelets < 20,000
4: CORRECT | Implementation: Outcome desired and high priority, at risk for acquiring life-threatening infection

July 15, 2011

Book Recommendations | Seeing Clinical Procedures!

This skills DVD collection (includes 6 DVDs) was something I've looked at throughout my nursing program. Starting nursing school is very nerve wrecking and learning things such as a head-to-toe assessment in a week, does not help! Instead of just reading about all the procedures I needed to learn in my techniques course, I watched them being performed per standards with detailed explanations. It shows everything and anything needed to perform each and every skill. It even provides PDF step-by-step instructions, if you want to try them out at school. This is another goodie I don't plan on ever selling, worth every penny!

Mosby's Nursing Video Skills - Student Version: Basic, Intermediate & Advanced Skills | ASIN: 0323052924

July 14, 2011

How To Make Your Nursing Brain Book

Punch List # 1 | Generic Index Card Binder | 4" x 6" 
Punch List # 2 | Oxford® Index Card Guides | 4" x 6" 
Punch List # 3 | Oxford® Index Cards | 4" x 6" | White Ruled
Punch List # 4 | Generic Single Hole Punch | For Card Guides

My brain book contains...
1. Commonly used medications on my unit (given by charge nurse)
2. Common laboratory and blood work tests (CBC | BMP | CMP)
3. Hemodynamics and vital signs normal ranges (CVP | PAP | SVR)
4. Common oral intake products & their milliliters (8 oz milk | 4 oz juice)
5. Different oxygen options & oxygen percentages (aerosol | venturi | bipap)
6. Nasal cannula liters vs. percentages (1 liter = 24% | 2 liters = 28%)
7. IV medication push times (lasix = 1-2 minutes | zofran = 2-5 minutes)
8. Common floor procedures (percutaneous tracheostomy | intubation)

Kaplan Overview | NCLEX-RN Experience

The RN Course Book 
ISBN: RN4011T (Given With Program)

Kaplan NCLEX-RN: Medications 
ISBN: 9781427797476 | 978-1427797476

To be successful at the NCLEX-RN exam, you don't have to do exactly as I have done. This is just a reflection on my experience and how it all worked out in the end. I used the Kaplan NCLEX-RN® Review Classroom program, it was added to my school tuition and done during my last semester of my nursing school. It provided a classroom portion (with an instructor - four days) and various online resources and tests. It costs an arm and a leg, around $400-$500. Why did I pay? Because I had only heard (from my professors, nurses and classmates) good things about the program. Plus, they provided a money back guarantee. So I paid and was immediately given an abundance of study materials.

After getting those books and the class ending, I used the online resources. I focused on studying out of study guide (recommendation from the Kaplan instructor) and did at least 50 questions a day. In the end, I completed about 1,500 questions from Kaplan's QBANK & QTRAINER sections (they contain 2,000 online NCLEX type questions) and 200 questions from the Saunders Comprehensive Review for the NCLEX-RN textbook. I liked the Saunders book but the questions were just too simple, I found the Kaplan questions more challenging. Now that I look back, the Kaplan questions were spot on to NCLEX-RN exam. I even swear I saw some of the questions from Kaplan, on my NCLEX-RN exam!

When I sat down to take the exam, I was beyond nervous. Fast forward to about question # 10, I was ultra mellow and at ease. Why? Because I was that prepared and knew that much information about each and every question. Oddly, with every question... I felt like I had either saw it before or had a question similar to it on Kaplan. I was not surprised or lost, I was focused and flew through that test. I planned on being there for 6 hours. I was out of there in less than an hour and that's not because I'm smart, it's because Kaplan is that good. It makes you that good! In the end, Kaplan was perfect for me and I would recommend it. The NCLEX-RN exam experience is stressful enough, Kaplan gives you the tools to be successful on your first try. Now, please know I did studied from April to June. I studied every single day and I took this program very seriously. Kaplan isn't a 100% win, there are people out there who paid and failed the NCLEX-RN exam. Why? I'm not sure, but this is my experience and I wouldn't change a thing about it.

Book Recommendations | Medical Surgical Unit!

This medical-surgical textbook presents any and every body process and disease process you will see on a medical-surgical floor. In the text, you are also given the opportunity to take mini quizzes at the end of each chapter. This book is great for clinical (not carrying, it's rather large) education on your patient's disease process and also nursing exams on said material. I had this book by my side my entire nursing program. I always found myself referring back to it's content, even when studying for NCLEX-RN exam.

Another book I constantly flipped through while on the medical-surgical floor was the pharmacology textbook. I used these two books hand and hand to get the full visual picture of what my patient was experiencing and what my patient was at risk for. These books aren't going to give you answers for an exam, but they do present tons of information and will give you the tools for success.

Medical-Surgical Nursing: Reviews & Rationales
ISBN: 0130304573 | 978-0130304575

Pharmacology: Reviews & Rationales
ISBN: 013030462X | 978-0130304629

Book Recommendations | Intensive Care Units!

These books helped me through the 18 months I worked as a nurse technician in an ICU and also assisted me during my critical care courses in my nursing program. These books aren't going to give you answers to passing an exam, these books simply explain concepts, procedures and systems only. They present complex ICU content in a simple, professional, organized manner that any nursing student can understand. The material in these textbooks will help you understand the ICU atmosphere, critical care decisions and interpretation and understanding of ICU machinery.

Hemodynamic Monitoring Made Incredibly Visual!
ISBN: 1608313409 | 978-1608313402

AACN Procedure Manual for Critical Care
ISBN: 1416062181 | 978-1416062189

July 13, 2011

Get A Hospital Nursing Job Fast (With Email)

Updated: December 21, 2016


Whether you're an experienced or graduate nurse looking for employment, these tips will help you to get your resume to the real people who do the hiring at hospitals. Now, I'm not an expert on obtaining a job, but this method has worked in my favor and others who have tried it. I've had three nursing positions, and all three positions were obtained using this method.

1. Obtain position specifics.

By that statement, I mean know the job objectives and expectations. You can't discuss a position intelligently if you are not familiar with the job objectives. It's obvious now, but you'd be surprised by how many people don't research job positions before they call or write the unit manager. Why the research, you ask? If you do make direct contact (with management) on the first try, you need to be able to show you're prepared and can talk about what you can bring to the unit. If you're attempting to get hired on a fracture unit, you should be familiar with common fractures and what nursing interventions will be needed. If you want to be seen as an asset, you must know what the expectations will be.

2. Locate who does the hiring.

Once you have your research completed, it's time to locate the individuals who do the real hiring, and this is usually not the human resource department. The human resource department typically deals with the document and verification aspects of recruitment. You want to communicate with the team that determines candidate selection. Human resource associates usually conduct preliminary interviews, but they don't manage candidate selection (if there are no criminal, ethical, or institutional concerns). This decision tends to be carried out by nursing management. Hospital interviews are completed either by the unit manager, educator, clinical nurse specialist, charge nurse, and/or the assistant nurse manager. Nursing administration is patient-care focused and they determine unit-based needs. Nursing administration wants to know if you're up for the job and they want to have the opportunity to see what you're made of through scenario-based questions. Yes, human resource is the gatekeeper, but there are levels to this game with each department having specific roles and objectives.

3. Use professional communication.

How do you get in touch with the decision makers? Go to the hospital of interest (online), click on the careers section, any section will work (even billing). You're just looking for an e-mail template. An example of an e-mail template is johnsmith@abchospital.org. If you see an e-mail format like this, you know this organization's email format (xxxxx@abchospital.org) for the entire facility. Now, this is where we go all matrix. You saw the position online, which means you now have the unit information. Call the hospital and ask to be transferred to the relevant unit. Once transferred, ask for the unit manager or the assistant nurse manager's full name. Administrative assistants are asked this regularly and there is no confidentiality broken by this request. The goal is to avoid the re-routing of information and the corporate runaround.

Once you have the full name, you're done. Understand that this strategy might work, as some e-mail accounts could contain nicknames and/or modified name configurations. I employ this tactic as it provides direct results. No answer = not interested! You've made contact with the right person, you're not in limbo and now you can move on. This strategy is bold, yet professional. You're simply utilizing available resources. You are sending nothing more than an e-mail. I love this strategy because it leaves the ball in management's court. If you don't get an answer, that is your answer. Interest is the name of the game and not everyone plays. Some individuals will read it and some won't. Looking for a job can be stressful and time consuming. This strategy will help you to be seen by nursing professionals. Education, experience, and potential are components of employment. But, networking and luck can be contributing factors.

This process seems lengthy, but it works because it streamlines employment (in my opinion). I've experienced both of these methods - the traditional course and the process mentioned above. The traditional route can have unexpected complications. For example, I've applied for employment at various institutions, and on some occasions, I've received no response. It's only until after I've gained employment that I found out that my resume was in a pile somewhere. I've even had managers tell me, "Don't go through HR, they take forever. Just e-mail me your resume, and I'll get the ball rolling quicker." With this game plan, the nursing dream team has their eyes on you and work in your favor from the inside out. Nothing motivates a human resource associate better and faster than a nurse manager calling about a particular applicant.

Oh, and here are some e-mail tips:

  • Obtain a professional email. Booty69@hotmail.com is problematic and tacky. When some random person sends me a message, I immediately judge their email name. 
  • Create an email template and get someone to proofread it for you. Spelling and grammar errors aren't cute and distract the reader from the message.
  • Don't harass the recipient. If you get no response, you could send a short follow-up message. But, understand that the more you initiate unsolicited contact, the stranger you seem.