Death in Nursing

Death: it is the subject of conversation that makes new grads and nursing students quite uncomfortable.  I have thought up several theories to why this is – why would such a natural part of life make us inexperienced nurses squirm?

First, because we are new to the nursing game we already feel inadequate starting from scratch and being surrounded by seasoned nurses- some feel that when a patient dies it is a failure on the part of the nurse and we are all afraid of failure!

The rationale I use to make more sense of things pertaining to this is EVERYONE started as a new nurse- although some nurses don’t remember and think they were born with a steth in their ears, well, they WERE NOT. Don’t feel inadequate- I know that is hard to swallow, but you are in a learning process that will never end.  Death is not failure, death is a part of the life cycle, it is natural, it is inevitable.  As long as you help your patient and their family to the best of your ability- you have succeeded!

Second, we don’t want someone to die because of us! We don’t want that blood on our hands- that is our jobs worst-case scenario!

Again death is a part of life.  Obviously a person will not die from actions your have made as long as you are doing safety checks and when in doubt ASK SOMEONE!!! Make sure that you are well versed on your hospitals rules and policies and you will not be held accountable as long as you act within your guidelines.

Third, it is hard to help a family in mourning.  Everyone grieves differently and it can be intimidating from time to time.  In nursing school they never really tell you (at least in mine) to what point you are supposed to proceed with the patients requests to pray with them and do certain rituals. 

I am a strong believer that the family of a patient that is dying or has passed are also my patients.  They need help, they need education, they need teaching, they need support- everything a nurse can provide! I will always participate and help a family when I can or when it is asked of me. You don’t have to believe in the same things or have the same religion to be present in their lives or even just be helpful.  Always ask if there is anything you can do to help and use your therapeutic communication!

Finally, death is sad.  When you have a patient for several shifts you start to really connect and build a strong rapport, the memories that they leave you with can last in your mind for a long time, causing you to grieve as well. 

If you have grown fond of your patient that has passed away, it is common that you will go through the grief process as the family does.  It is important to put the family first.  You are aloud to cry with them and you are aloud to attend the funeral if you are aware of where it will be.  It is also very important that you receive the help you need- since nursing is a very stressful job, most nurses benefit greatly from therapy.  It can also be helpful to discuss your sadness with other (keeping HIPAA in mind, of course!)

I remember the first death I experienced during clinical.  It was a four year old little boy who shared a room with the patient that I took care of for over a month- my friend in school took care of him.  I felt so bad for her when she arrived at clinical one day to see that his bed was empty and all I could do was be there for her.  This first experience of death will always be in my memory, but after a short time I made my peace with it, knowing that he is in a better place now.

I hope that this has brought you to a less intimidating view of death as you start your nursing career. 

Has anyone in your family passed away? Can you remember the nursing care that person received? Did the nurse care for you and your family as well?

Support Systems

Support Systems

In nursing school, it is truly important to forgo your journey with a solid support system.  Since you may will encounter hard times, whether it is failing a test, a patient dying, trouble with lab, or even trouble with your own health, it is very important that you know someone has your back.

Though out my nursing school adventure I had many supporters. I could always envision them on the sidelines cheering me on- wearing our school colors, waving pom poms, jumping up and down chanting “Go Casey!”  At our pinning ceremony, there they were- literally cheering me on.  It was so rewarding.

My biggest supporters were my mom, my husband, my grandmother (who passed away my senior year), my close family and a few select professors (especially one named Mrs. Fluellen- she is the type of nurse I want to be like most!)

I was very blessed to have this many supporters!  Some people had family hundreds of miles away and rarely saw them- it made me feel like I should encourage them more, be their supporter. 

While you are in nursing school, I feel like it is so important to reassure and boost the confidence of your classmates.  They are just as scared and stressed out as you are- so why not spread the love rather than spreading negative vibes?

Joining together to help each other will help each person ‘grow into their own scrubs’ as well as make your class stronger and closer as a whole!

So, the next time you are in class/lab/clinical make sure that you pass on nice words or inspiration to your peers! You could just make someone’s day- and isn’t that our goal as nurses? 

NCLEX need to know!

NCLEX: What You’ve all been Preparing for!

Eligibility: First things first! Late into your senior year you will receive a packet of information that will tell you how to register to take the NCLEX after you graduate.  You are able to register with the state board of nursing to create your account, after this is done you have to wait for your school to send the board of nursing your final transcripts- this takes a while!!!! You may want to fill your time waiting with a review sesh or review things that were previously not your strong suit.  After the State Board of Nursing gets your transcripts you will receive your ATT letter ( I received mine electronically and in the mail)- this tells you that you are now aloud to sign up to test! YAY!

Preparations: At this point you are most likely waiting (and waiting and waiting) for your ATT letter to grace your inbox- while you wait, I STRONGLY suggest taking a review course.  My school offered Hurst and Kaplan reviews at a discount.  Hurst was known for being a content review, whereas Kaplan is known to be a strategy review.  I chose Kaplan and I really recommend it! Both Hurst and Kaplan will have presentations at the campus- this is a great thing to go to if you plan on taking one of these courses.  They give out FREE stuff and everyone loves freebies!

Bottom line: you know how you need to study- so be sure to pick the review that best suits your style of studying!

 

Rules of NCLEX: There are very important rules when taking the NCLEX- here I am going to TOUCH on some of the ones that always stuck out to me the most.    

1.  The NCLEX questions take place in a “perfect world”- this means that you always have a script for a drug that you may need and you always have doctors’ permission to administer medications! In other words, you don’t need to question whether or not the doctor would approve what you are doing. 

2.  The NCLEX ranges from 75-265 questions.  The amount of questions you do does NOT predict whether you are going to pass or fail.  The NCLEX is a computer adaptive test (CAT) which means that if you get a question wrong, the next question will be a little bit easier (and vice versa)!  There is, however, a threshold that you must stay above in order to pass.   You will not be able to see the threshold, but you will be able to figure it out if you take the Kaplan course because they really lay it out for you!

The Threshold is the line running through the middle; Anything above is passing, below is not considered passing

Anything above Application is considered above the threshold!!!

3.  You get 6 hours for the NCLEX and yes, there are 10 minute breaks.  If you run out of time it does NOT mean that you have failed- your score will be calculated by the last 60 questions and that will determine whether you pass/fail. 

4.  The testing center you sign up to go to will provide you with dry erase boards for math problems or anything else you may need it for! While I was doing my Kaplan review I bough a dry erase board to practice with!!

The night before:  Get to bed at a reasonable hour! And DON’T study the whole day prior to the NCLEX- if you don’t know it by the day before- you don’t know it, and you’re not better off trying to cram!!!

The morning of:  Wake up earlier than you usually would- eat breakfast, after all, you could be there for 6 hours!!! Wear comfy clothes, no one wants to be testing for 6 hours and uncomfortable! On the way to the test, listen to whatever music gets you revved up!!! I remember blasting Kelly Clarkson’s “What Doesn’t Kill you Makes you Stronger” the whole way there! It got my blood pumping and I was ready to go!!!

What to expect:  There will not be any more than 50 people at your testing site- don’t worry about too many people! At my testing facility there were only 20 computers!  Once you get there you will present your ATT and reservation that you set online and they will give you a key to put all of your belongings into a locker.  Then you are off to the test!

I remember being SOOO nervous the days leading up to my NCLEX, but then it hit me- I can take this over and over if I fail.  As opposed to nursing school tests, if you fail, you fail! Although I had no desire to fail, this helped me to relax a bit and really, really read my questions carefully J Too much anxiety is not your friend, especially on this day. 

Once you have finished you can go home and check on the State Board of Nursing website to see if you have been issued a license number (this is a cheat way to figure out if you passed without having to wait the weeks to get your letter/license).  I remember RACING home to log on to their website and seeing my name next to my licensure number- I was GLOWING … yeah, there’s no better word for it, GLOWING!  I was so proud and couldn’t wait to get my license in the mail!!

Finding my Nursing Niche

Finding Your Niche

People often ask me what area of nursing I plan on entering.  What a loaded question.  I’m not sure if I am the only one who doesn’t know quite where I belong in the world of nursing- but I have a few great interests.

I feel like it’s a challenge to figure out what area of nursing best suits me.  I am interested in pediatrics, oncology, NICU, labor and delivery, women’s health, psychiatry- the list is almost endless. 

How do you figure out where you want to spend your life’s career? I find myself looking through job openings saying “yeah! I like that one- no that one- wait! This one sounds awesome!” I realize that it is possible to change jobs- but I don’t want to be job hopping until I find whatever it is I am looking for in a career. 

Luckily, I have had time to really think it over while I have been healing from my surgery, but the time is quickly approaching where I must make a decision.  I had an idea to play my own little version of Russian roulette and hand out my resume to all of the jobs that I found interesting and chose whatever one(s) I get an interview for- I‘d like to name this strategy ‘job fishing’.  I am not sure if it is effective or even the best idea I’ve had, but it is what I am going with for now because I am so indecisive!

Do you know what area of nursing you plan on going into? If so, how did you come to that decision?  For those of you already employed, did you get the job you really wanted or did you settle for something else?