Hey! i am new here!

RNbrat · Jul 16, 2002

oh and... Do they still have candy stripers?

Dr. Kate, BSN, RN · Jul 16, 2002

What a breath of fresh air you are, RNbrat.

It's tempting to suggest to you things only related to nursing and healthcare. That's not fair to you or the profession. For sure, nurses need to know about science, but they also need to know about how people think, how they react in different situations, what things are important to them and why. Nurses need to know how to ask questions and seek answers to those questions. They need to know how to interact with all kinds of people in all kinds of situations. Most of all, I think nurses need to know how to care for themselves as well as for others.

How do you do all that? You get a broad education. You read as much and as widely as you can. You volunteer not only in a hospital but maybe in a day care center, a senior citizens center, a homeless shelter, an AIDS hospice, wherever you can work with people.

When you go to the library, talk to the librarian, not the clerk, but the librarian. Tell her or him why you're there, that you think you want to be a nurse and you want to know more about the profession. The librarian can also help you find places to volunteer. Just be sure when you talk to her that you don't limit the question. You don't want to ask for information just about being a candy striper, but information about places where you can volunteer where you can work with people in different situations. The same goes for reading materials. If you can get to know one librarian. When you do that she will know what you're interested in and keep an eye out for things you might be interested in. (You think I'm kidding. Librarians are a lot like nurses, they like to help people, but are often too busy to do it as well as they would like. But, if you wait until they're not busy and ask good questions, they'll do more for you than you might expect. BTW, I'm also a librarian, so I do know what I'm talking about. If by some chance you run into a grumpy one, try the children's librarian if there is one. They know about the grown up stuff as well and can be more receptive at times.)

Oh, I was one of those nurses who had never stepped foot in a hospital before I went to nursing school and I lived to tell the tale and am still working in a hospital. What I had done was read my Mom's nursing journals. Magazines like RN, American Journal of Nursing (AJN) and Nursing 2002 can be great ways to get a glimpse of what drives nursing as a profession.

Good Luck.

RNbrat · Jul 16, 2002

thanks! i tried going to a library last night and they really didn't have much of things that i was interested in. i will ask a librarian some time.

micro, RN · Jul 16, 2002

hey, thirteen going on.......

I am impressed.........

read the hard stuff, read the easy stuff......

just stay away from the fluffy, coffee, tea or the nurse kind of books.....

shame that you learned more in fifth grade science than now, because of your teacher's belief system.............

dissection is cool.......

I remember.........

older than dirt here and

yes, I was a candystriper also in my young days, mattsmom.....

people probably thought we painted candycanes for x-mas.........

older than dirt micro

SmilingBluEyes · Jul 16, 2002

welcome and good luck! no better advice here than what you already got....just wanted to warmly welcome you!

RNbrat · Jul 16, 2002

thanks micro! do any of you know if they still have candy stripers around?

Dr. Kate, BSN, RN · Jul 16, 2002

Some places call them junior volunteers. And, they don't wear those cutesy red striped pinafores.

thisnurse · Jul 16, 2002

hi rnbrat and welcome!

we dont have candy stripers where i work but we do have volunteers. some of the things they do (they are about your age)

work in the gift shop, take the gift cart around, take the book cart around, help feed patients, run papers or xrays or whatever from dept to dept...things like that.

i cant give you any better advice than whats already been given.

RNbrat · Jul 16, 2002

originally posted by thisnurse
hi rnbrat and welcome!
we dont have candy stripers where i work but we do have volunteers. some of the things they do (they are about your age)
work in the gift shop, take the gift cart around, take the book cart around, help feed patients, run papers or xrays or whatever from dept to dept...things like that.
i cant give you any better advice than whats already been given.

thanks a bunch thats what i really wanted to know:) i might try doing that when they open this hospital here:)

adrienurse, LPN · Jul 17, 2002

Hello there! You sound like you're really smart and determined. You should be a great nurse when the time comes. When I was your age I got to know a lot about nursing and hospitals through my mom who was an RN. It there any one you know who is also a nurse that you can use as a mentor. See if your school or a local facility has a junior volunteer program. Where I work, they have a program for people your age that takes you from unit to unit and other departments to expose you to all the areas of health care. You could probably learn a lot from something like that. Good luck!

Rustyhammer · Jul 17, 2002

Welcome brat,

I am glad to see you on the boards.

When I was your age....who am I kidding, I can't remember back that far.

Hope to see more of you here.

-Russell

RNbrat · Jul 17, 2002

originally posted by adrienurse
hello there! you sound like you're really smart and determined. you should be a great nurse when the time comes. when i was your age i got to know a lot about nursing and hospitals through my mom who was an rn. it there any one you know who is also a nurse that you can use as a mentor. see if your school or a local facility has a junior volunteer program. where i work, they have a program for people your age that takes you from unit to unit and other departments to expose you to all the areas of health care. you could probably learn a lot from something like that. good luck!

my school is a little weird because they dont really have that much around to do. so its kinda stupid in a way. :stone