The Nursing School Chronicles

A RN student learning the way. Following in the footsteps of her mother. I love to share my nursing school experiences and my knowledge gained. I hope this blog benefits you in some way. Please don't use anything I post to dispute your instructors or healthcare professionals. I am human too and am at risk for making mistakes. Feel free to ask me anything! I don't bite :) Tweets by @TexasNurseToBe !function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+"://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs");

[thernursingschoolchronicles]

(via First Week in the ICU (+Downloadable Report Sheet))

[thernursingschoolchronicles]

(via Things I've Learned Being a Float Pool Tech)

[thernursingschoolchronicles]

This week I experienced my first patient death along with every emotion you could think of. Fortunately it had happened before I had gotten to the unit that morning. Resuscitation had been ceased 1...

[thernursingschoolchronicles]

TheRNursingSchoolChronicles Has Moved!

Hi guys, I just wanted to let my amazing followers know that I have switched platforms and am now on WordPress. WordPress will enable me to interact with my followers far beyond what I’m able to do here. It will also allow me to have a more user friendly for those of you who use laptops to view my blog posts rather than an application on a mobile device. A key feature that I’m very excited about is the ability to categorize my posts for easy searching. A quick tap on “Fundamentals of Nursing” will allow you to see all my posts within that category. My posts will continue to be directed to this blog with a link to view the entire post for those of you who are not quite ready to make the leap to another platform. However if you are already a member of WordPress or if it’s something you’d be willing to consider I have a link to my new blog here. Send me a message if you have any questions or concerns. I appreciate your support and I’d like to thank you for being the best followers a blogger could ask for!

[thernursingschoolchronicles]

Final Semester: Orientation to Critical Care

Final Semester: Orientation to Critical Care

Luckily we didn’t have class on Monday which gave me some time to look over ABGs (blog post coming soon) which will be on the first exam. We began on Tuesday orienting to our Critical Care course. (more…)

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[thernursingschoolchronicles]

Contraceptives: The Basics

Hormone Implants: (Nexplanon, etc…) 99% Effective Single rod, effective for 3 years. Advise patient to check implant site regularly. Side effects: bleeding irregularities, emotional lability, depression, weight gain. Risk for infertility and ectopic pregnancies. Hormone Injections: (Depo-provera) 98-99% Effective Effective for 14 weeks, advise patient to return every 12 weeks for their IM. Advise…

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[elsevierstudentlife]

NCLEX Exam Practice Question of the Week - 8/12/15

Question: The nurse provides instructions to a female client regarding the procedure for collecting a midstream urine sample. The nurse should tell the client to perform which action?   

1. Douche before collecting the specimen.  

2. Cleanse the perineum from front to back.  

3. Collect the urine in the cup as soon as the urine flow begins.  

4. Collect the specimen before bedtime, and bring it to the laboratory the next morning.  

Keep reading

[thernursingschoolchronicles]

aphasias

Broca's, Wernickes, Global?I do not understand your question.

[caringintensely]

How different drug classes affect the body. Via sketchymedicine.com

[thernursingschoolchronicles]

Cardiac Structure & Function: A Basic Understanding

In order to better understand cardiac defects, it’s best to start off reviewing how a normal heart works. First, the Superior and Inferior Vena Cava carry deoxygenated blood into the heart (Right Atrium) from other parts of the body. The deoxygenated blood then passes through the Tricuspid Valve into the Right Ventricle. The deoxygenated blood is following the pathway through the heart in order to get to the lungs to gain oxygen, next the blood passes through the Pulmonary Valve and enters the Pulmonary Artery, the pulmonary artery is special because it is the only artery in the body that carries deoxygenated blood. Once the deoxygenated blood passes through to the Lungs it becomes oxygenated. The newly oxygenated blood then flows back to the heart through the Pulmonary Veins and into the Left Atrium. It then passes through the Mitral Valve and into the Left Ventricle. The blood is then contracted through the Aortic Valve into the Aorta and to the rest of the body.

The Fetal Heart: During the fetal period and some time after birth, the circulation is quite different. The heart has more, holes, if you will in order for the fetal blood to bypass the lungs that are unable to oxygenate blood while the fetus is in utero. - The Foramen Ovale is an opening that allows passage of blood from the Right Atrium directly into the Left Atrium. The blood passing through is already oxygenated from the placenta.  - The Ductus Arteriosus is an opening that passes oxygenated blood from the Pulmonary Artery directly into the Aorta to get pumped to the rest of the body.

Normal changes in the heart after birth: 

- Ductus Arteriosus closes - Foramen Ovale closes - Ductus Venosus (connection from the umbilical cord) closes

[getfitnurse]

Some pretty important things to remember when it comes to answering NCLEX questions. When you read the question you have to decide what the question is asking, then you can decide what skills to use to answer it.

[even-more-nclex-questions]

During a vaginal exam of a client in labor, the nurse palpates the fetus’ larger, diamond shaped fontanelle toward the anterior portion of the clients pelvis. Which of the following statements best describes this situation? a) The client can expect a brief and intense labor.

b) The client is at risk for uterine rupture and needs constant monitoring.

c) The client may need interventions to ease back pain and change fetal position.

d) The fetus will be delivered using forceps or vacuum extractor.

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[nurse-nightingale]

Pass your interviews and get hired by familiarizing yourself with these commonly asked nursing interview questions and best answers.

[thernursingschoolchronicles]

I've heard that nurses are more of the work force but have zero percent of the power. With that in my ear, to the best of your knowledge how well does nursing school prepare students in law and regulations that guide and govern nursing practice?

I’m currently in an ADN program as opposed to BSN or higher level education. I’m sure that as you climb the latter, your teachers will educate you in the laws and regulations of nursing practice. Especially becoming a practitioner. However, in my program we have not yet addressed these issues in detail. I’ve learned through field experience that, yes, we may have less power than some of the other members of our collaborative healthcare team. But, we as nurses are taught to be very persuasive in our communications. I have seen that this often gets us where we want to be. But you bring up a very valid point, nurses are a lot of the force with less power. We don’t educate our students well enough on how to handle politics in the workplace. 

If anyone has any additional thoughts they would like to add please submit a post (here)

[even-more-nclex-questions]

The nurse is providing care for a client who has a sacral pressure ulcer with a wet-to-dry dressing. Which guideline is appropriate for a wet-to-dry dressing?

a) The wound should remain moist from the dressing.

b) The wet-to-dry dressing should be tightly packed into the wound.

c) The dressing should be allowed to dry out before removal.

d) A plastic sheet-type dressing should cover the wet dressing.

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[thernursingschoolchronicles]

Were you nervous starting nursing school? I feel like I need to know everything before starting! Any tips or books to read up on would be much appreciated!

Of course! No matter how prepared you think you are for the next step in your life, it’s still something completely brand new. I was the same way starting nursing school about a year ago. I asked a bunch of the same questions that I get asked now. Here’s a couple things I learned:

Get a planner, trust me it’ll give you a sense of organization. Which is great in the (manageable) chaos of nursing school.

Try not to hang around the most anxious people before an exam. I used to be one of those people and I realized that my anxiety was transferrable and it had the potential to really throw people off their game.

Take care of yourself. Your family and non-nursing friends may not understand but this is an important, if not necessary, part of nursing school. You will be stressed and you may find yourself overwhelmed. It’s okay to take a mental health day for yourself. It’s okay to do whatever you need to do.

Be prepared. Set out your scrubs (or whatever you’ll be wearing) for the next day. Set alarms and backup alarms for clinical if you’re one who tends to oversleep.

Seize opportunities. Sometimes you have to be a shark so that you can practice your skills. You never know when the next time you will start and IV, place a foley, remove sutures, or even make a trip to the OR.

Ask questions. In clinical you may find yourself not knowing what things mean or why they are being done. This also applies to lecture. People may moan and groan if you ask questions but don’t mind them. If you don’t understand something you deserve clarification. 

Never say. “Just” and “student” in the same sentence. Your role in healthcare is still important. Don’t listen to people who try to put you down by insisting that it’s “only nursing” or that “it’s not like you’re in med school”. I like to call nursing school “baby med school-for people who like to touch and care for their patients”.

Have fun. Clinicals are great. There’s medsurg, OB/Newborn, peds, mental health, critical care…etc. You’ll find your niche but not if you come into clinical with a bad attitude. 

Things change. You may find that you hate children in everyday life but you love caring for them in emergent situations. You may think that you wanted to do critical care but realized after a rotation in the ICU that it’s not for you. Be open to the change, don’t force anything. In addition things in real life change too. You may lose some friends, but you’ll gain longer-lasting ones in nursing school. People who truly understand what you’re going through and what you’re life looks like.

[even-more-nclex-questions]

The nurse is caring for a client with schizophrenia who experiences auditory hallucinations. The client appears to be listening to someone who isn’t visible. He gestures, shouts angrily, and stops shouting in mid-sentence. Which nursing intervention is the most appropriate? a) Approach the client and touch him to get his attention. b) Encourage the client to go to his room where he’ll experience fewer distractions. c) Acknowledge that the client is hearing voices but make it clear that the nurse doesn’t hear these voices. d) Ask the client to describe what the voices are saying.

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