NurseZone Blog: Ask Cassie

First Day on the Job as a Registered Nurse

2010-03-08T09:46:00.000-08:00

The first day of starting my new job as a Registered Nurse was a lot like my first day of nursing school. I hardly slept the night before, could barely swallow my breakfast, and showed up nearly an hour early just because I was afraid I would be late. As it turned out, I was not the only one. Many of the other new graduate nurses were early and voiced many of the same feelings. We all felt as

My Nursing Dream Job, Finally a Reality!

2010-03-08T09:43:00.000-08:00

The day before I left to take the NCLEX-RN exam I received exciting news. A nurse recruiter from my dream job (which I was previously told I did not get) called and informed me that they would like to offer me the job after all! I was so excited. It turns out that the person they originally picked for the position was unable to take the job. They told me that I was their alternate pick but

A Nursing School Loss

2010-03-08T09:42:00.001-08:00

Recently I was made aware that a freshman student at the nursing school I just graduated from committed suicide. I happened to be present at the university the day the student’s class was informed and it was such a sad environment to be in. The professors and president of the school decided to wait until the end of the day to break it to the remaining freshman class and I can just imagine the

I am a Registered Nurse!

2010-03-08T09:28:00.000-08:00

I passed! I am a Registered Nurse. The day after I took the exam I repeatedly checked my state’s board of nursing website for my license. In the afternoon my license went from “pending exam” to “active.” I was VERY excited to say the least.It was a very interesting and exciting experience. As mentioned in my last blog, I drove to the testing site by myself. In hindsight I think that I would

NCLEX-RN Exam Jitters

2010-02-03T15:30:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow morning I am driving by myself to the nearest city to take the NCLEX-RN exam. I opted not to take this trip with friends or family members, because I knew that I would need to focus and internalize my thoughts to the big test ahead. The whole nursing school journey I have made to this point has all been due to my own hard work and ambition. It seems fitting that I will once again be

Thoughts on Mandatory iPhone or iPod Touch for Nursing Students

2010-02-03T15:24:00.000-08:00

Recently in the news I read that nursing students at Ball State University in Indiana are now required to purchase either an iPhone or an iPod Touch for nursing school. The purpose of this is to have current and easy access to medication information and medical terminology without the need to carry books around. At my nursing school we were strongly encouraged to purchase a PDA with a drug

Facing Rejection as a New Nurse

2010-02-03T15:15:00.000-08:00

As humans we all face some sort of rejection in our life. Those of us in the nursing profession, I believe, experience rejection a little more frequently. Some of you may have been disappointed when your number one nursing school choice did not accept you into the program, or you did not get your number one choice for your senior preceptorship. As students we may have experienced rejection

Pursuing a Nursing Master’s Degree (or Not?)

2010-01-20T12:12:00.000-08:00

Recently, I have been considering my future options as a nurse. Finding it difficult to get a job right out of nursing school I have seriously considered going to graduate school right away, rather than waiting several years like I was originally planning. Instead of landing my dream job as a labor and delivery nurse (which is extremely difficult to come by as a new graduate) I have considered

Volunteering as Student Nurses

2009-12-29T13:08:00.000-08:00

Volunteering is often not a task that student nurses need to be told to do. We just do it. Whether it’s helping out a family member, neighbor, friend or classmate, we tend to jump right in and do what needs to be done. Going into the nursing profession we generally already have the innate urge to do good and even seek out those opportunities willingly. So why am I even talking about this?

What You May Not Have Known About NCLEX Testing

2009-12-29T13:00:00.000-08:00

After graduating I had this image in my head of studying for a few weeks, then taking the NCLEX, then working shortly thereafter. I had no idea that there would be a several month long waiting period before scheduling to take the NCLEX and then taking it. Let alone applying for jobs, interviewing and having a job.I’m writing this because I wish that I had more information prior to graduating.

Graduation from Nursing School, What Now?

2009-12-22T12:25:00.000-08:00

The big day that I have been waiting for finally arrived—graduation!I had been waiting for this day for nearly four and a half years. When it finally arrived it felt surreal. Friends and family kept asking, “Aren’t you excited?” I was but a part of me just felt like it couldn’t possibly be happening. Something would happen to ruin it, like me not passing my classes and failing in the last

Nursing School Stress

2009-12-22T12:24:00.000-08:00

If there is one thing I have learned over my entire nursing school career it is stress. Stress and I have become intimately involved during nursing school. I was never a person who stressed out before in my life. In fact, I was the calm and collected person who found absurdity in other people speaking of “stress.” But here I am.It was interesting to me the things I found the most stressful

Are Nursing Students Prepared for Their First Patient Loss?

2009-11-20T10:56:00.000-08:00

Death is a part of living and we will all have to face it in our lifetimes at some point or another. I have dealt with very tragic losses in my personal life and seeing other families go through that process is heart-wrenching and brings back many deep wounds. In nursing school we will all take some form of "Death and Dying" class, but will it really prepare us for our first patient loss? My

Avoiding New Graduate Nurse Burnout

2009-11-20T10:49:00.000-08:00

As the end of nursing school draws near, the fear of being all on my own with a patient load becomes more and more scary. Will I really be able to handle it without having a mental breakdown every day? It seems that hospitals are also considering this concern, as the reality of new graduate nurse "burnout" is becoming a problem for staffing and resources. More and more hospitals are turning to

Test Taking Tips and Strategy for Nursing Students

2009-11-12T09:55:00.000-08:00

Alternate item formats are generally the most dreaded questions on exams. Usually instructors will throw in one to two of them into the majority of multiple choice questions on exams. They are usually the questions that students get wrong.So what are alternate item formats? Alternate item formats are pretty much any question that is not multiple choice. They include multiple response questions

Transformation into a Nurse

2009-11-12T09:53:00.000-08:00

Today we had our senior/sophomore experience. A senior/sophomore experience (for those of you who do not have this clinical at your nursing school) is a day where seniors get to develop their delegation and leadership skills, while assisting sophomore nursing students on their first clinical in the hospital. I was in one of the first classes at my nursing school to start in the fall semester, so

Practical NCLEX Tips

2009-10-01T11:17:00.000-07:00

Preparing to take the NCLEX-RN exam is a very scary and stressful place to be. It is a time to transition from being a nursing student to a nurse. How is that accomplished? How do you make that leap?Here are some very practical and simple tips to use while you prepare to take the NCLEX:1. Start soon! When is it too early to start studying for the NCLEX? Never. Most nursing school books

TB Infection from a Patient? The Community?

2009-08-31T08:52:00.000-07:00

Every semester in nursing school we are required to get a PPD skin test to determine whether we have tuberculosis or not. Every semester my PPD skin test has come back negative - until this summer.This summer in order to work at the hospital I had to go through all of their procedures before acquiring the job. I had to be cleared by the occupational therapist, show my current CPR certification,

NCLEX Study Material Piling Up – Where to Start?

2009-07-30T14:54:00.000-07:00

As my summer ends and my last semester of nursing school looms near, I have become more and more overwhelmed by the pile of NCLEX study material that has accumulated in my house. I have put this pile near my bed in an effort to remind me to study when I wake up, but instead I see it right before I sleep. This has led to numerous stress-related nightmares where I can never remember the right

Confidence in Nursing School

2009-07-06T15:05:00.000-07:00

My biggest fear while I have been in nursing school has been starting my first IV on a real live patient. I have had plenty of time and practice on mannequins with plastic arms and red water, but even I knew that a plastic vein was a lot different than a human one.While I have been doing my externship in the labor/delivery department of my local hospital I have had numerous opportunities to

Nursing Journals, Do You Keep One?

2009-05-26T11:02:00.000-07:00

Recently I've been seeing fliers around town inviting nurses to join a weekly meeting where their journal entries are shared and discussed. I found this idea of sitting around with other nurses discussing work-related journal entries very exciting. As a nursing student I think it would be a wonderful idea to get other nursing students together and do the same thing.Along with all of the joys of

Are You Marketable?

2009-04-18T12:56:00.000-07:00

In nursing school we are taught ways to become a well-rounded nurse and we learn a wide facet of skills to cover every dynamic field within nursing. But how are we outside of the classroom? As I sneak closer to my graduation date every day, I have come to ask myself the question, "Am I marketable?" Sure, I get good grades in class but is that all that it takes anymore?In the current state of

Concerns About the Nursing Job Market for New Grad Nurses

2009-03-25T09:14:00.000-07:00

When I first started nursing school two years ago, the local hospital had pages and pages full of positions for registered nurses. Now that list of jobs has shrunk to less than a page with only part-time or PRN positions available. The hospital has also done away with loan repayment for new hires and has also temporarily frozen personal paid leave. This had scared most of us who are graduating

Career Fairs Helps Ease Post-Graduation Concerns

2009-02-27T09:43:00.000-08:00

A career fair is a great way to see what health care institutions are available in your area and what opportunities you will have when you graduate. It expands the possibilities outside of the scope of just the hospital setting—which is often the focus during school. Some participants may include local prison facilities, schools, companies, government agencies, etc. Recently my school held a

Balancing What We Learn With What We See

2009-02-09T11:18:00.000-08:00

In nursing school we are taught textbook nursing and how we should practice our evidence-based nursing skills. Unfortunately our clinical experience doesn’t always back up and support this information. But that’s where “do as I say and not as I do” comes into play, right?When nurses do something in our clinical experience that is not “by the book” it is, for the most part, very obvious. Such