Since graduating and being that I don't have a job yet, I have been doing some leisurely reading. It feels good to not have to read books that was assigned to me, lol. I just finished reading The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. It caught my eye when I was browsing Barnes and Nobles the other day. I first heard of Henrietta Lacks in nursing school, when we were learning about informed consent and basic rights. This book is absolutely amazing!
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is an intriguing book about a woman who was diagnosed with cervical cancer and died at the age of 31. The book begins by chronicling her life and how she become Henrietta Lacks or by what some people know her, HeLa. Her cells were taken from her without consent, they grew in a lab, and have been used to help science, the world and even helped to develop the Polio vaccine. Her family never received any funds from the money made off her cells and they have been without health insurance. This book takes you on an emotional rollercoaster while you go on the journey with the author and the family as they discover more information about Henrietta Lacks. This is definitely a must read.
As a student, I experienced a great deal of lateral violence during my preceptorship. Lateral violence are behaviors and actions of hostility from one person to another. Behaviors such as backstabbing, bickering, gossiping, withholding information, etc can be exhibited. I consider these actions to be immature behaviors that adults in a professional environment exhibit. I made a Youtube video about my experience and tips on how to deal with those issues as a student and as a new graduate RN. Enjoy!
I wanted to help out you guys that are preparing to sit for NCLEX very soon. Do you know the steps to registering? I am glad to share the steps, just in case you are confused on how to go about registering. ******Remember each state is different in their requirements so make sure you read all the information thoroughly.*******
The Process:
Register with your State's Board of Nursing (BON): You will need to pay for a few things. Upfront you will have to pay $100 to register. A criminal background check that may cost any where from $60-75. You then need to register for fingerprinting. Depending on your states requirements you will need to send in your transcript and/or a 4x4 (passport) picture.
Register on Pearson-Vue: Here you will have to pay $200.
Receive your Acknowledgement of Registration.
Wait for your Authorization to Test (ATT): This ONLY happens when you are cleared by the BON. In other words the BON has received all the information they required. When you receive this information, you are now allowed to schedule a date and time to sit for NCLEX.
It is that easy!!! If you have anymore concerns you can always log onto www.ncsbn.org and there is a ton of information there for students.
So this is the life of a new grad RN. Waiting. Waiting for what you ask? Waiting for a J-O-B.
I just recently moved to a different state and it is so hard trying to get a job when you are the new girl on the block. I had a better chance of getting a job where I used to live because I had a job in a hospital but change comes with life. 90% of my classmates have a job already. I try not to compare my life with others, but I am getting impatient. It has been a month and a half since I graduated and a week since officially receiving my RN license, but I am going crazy. I was only able to apply to one hospital because there is only ONE major hospital in my area, ugh. I started volunteering at the free clinic in my area to keep busy, but I need a job. I am very blessed because my fiance is able to take care of the important things but I am really about to go crazy. I try not to change what the future holds for me and I know that God has something insane in store for me. This is one of the major things keeping me calm. I actually came across a great quote the other day, it said: "Never compare your journey with someone else's. Your journey is YOUR journey, not a competition." So although my journey is a little bumpy at the moment, I think it will make me stronger in the end and I am thankful. I hope to have something by the end of February. If not, I will figure something out.
As always, thank you for reading. Positivity Beckons Positivity
