Ah, those were the days...

I felt a lot of relief when I finished nursing school. To date, it has been one of the hardest things I've ever done, childbirth included.

So tonight, I raise a glass to all the graduates of PrivateU, my alma mater, who are getting ready for all the festivities coming up. If I were in charge of the nursing school commencement, here's what I'd tell you all, nurse to graduate nurse.

1. Enjoy waiting for your ATT (Authorization To Test). It'll get there when it's darned good and ready.

2. Take an NCLEX prep class with a guarantee if you can afford it. If not, plan on studying full-time for at least three weeks (Monday through Friday like an 8 hour job). Enjoy the weekends to digest everything.

3. Follow the instructions exactly when taking the test. Know where to go and get there a little early.

4. Breathe and count to 10 if you get the question from hell.

5. Do the same even if you get the TV commercial Viagra (Cialis, fill in your drug of choice) slam dunk easy question.

6. Do not throw up when you're done taking NCLEX. Relax and enjoy. You'll have to wait however long no matter what for results.

7. If you have a job, work hard and realize, yes, you really do need to keep studying those things you don't know on your own time. You need to do them at work.

8. If you don't have a job, make your search your full-time job, Monday through Friday, eight hours a day. Three words: network, network, network. Join a nursing organization if you have to (many have new nurse discounts) and volunteer if you can. Don't despair. Been there, done that, many moons ago (and waited over a year for a full-time degree-appropriate job).

9. Use every resource available to alumni of your institution for your job search. Register with them (if needed) even if you have a job. You never know when you'll look for another one.

10. Nursing is hard and there is a reason why (you'll soon find out) many new grads (somewhere around 50%) quit nursing after one year. Think of it like Survivor. Learn to outwit, outlast and outplay whatever madness comes your way. Always wear good shoes and use the rest room whenever you can.

And finally, make time to have a life. Have friends you can count on, in nursing, and outside nursing. Have family relationships of value. And most of all, take care of your physical and mental well-being, even if it means you get your toes pedicured once a month, get that monthly massage, or have that lunch with a friend monthly. Live so that you may have something to give to your patients and your coworkers at work and to the people you love when you get home.

This is just the beginning. Enjoy the trip. Congratulations!

Don't try this at home...

To all of the graduates still looking for jobs because the market is slim, take heed!


Eight mistakes job hunters make (from www.wsj.com)

Nuggets for May 19

Yes, it's Tuesday again, and I'm waiting for my car today. So since Starbucks is so lovely, I remembered the ear buds and am listening to intermittent Christmas music, yes, on May 19, thanks to Adore Jazz.

Here are a few goodies I've run into in between reading for my cert exam and writing an essay.

From my ANA SmartBrief (via e-mail)
Hospital secret shoppers looking for handwashing violators (at wcvb.com)
Just use that hand sanitizer or wash please!

Just another reason to get your red dress on...
Gender disparities seen in EMS care for chest pain (from reuters.com) I was thinking about this the other day when I was talking to my grade school friend who just got a new mitral valve (along with a free CABG x 4...yes 4)

On the job hunt
Okay, all you nursing school grads, and general job hunters, here are a couple of great articles on things to do for your interview and things not to do for your job interview (both from nursinglink.com)

'Tis the season
It's getting warm in our neck of the woods and sunny, too. Memorial Day is right around the corner, and you know what that means...the pools open and you spend more time out in the sun.

To keep your skin in shape keep an eye out for the signs of skin cancer. If you're high risk, like yours truly, stock up on your favorite sunscreen and stay out of the sun if you can avoid it. If not, use that sunscreen liberally and cover as you can. You'll avoid scars and wrinkles that way, too.