Lvn Vs. Medical Assistant Help please

Nursing Students LPN/LVN Students

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Hi i am currently in a ma program .. well barely it just started. Well yesterday i found out i was accepted into the Lvn program at the college i just left. I am really confused on which i should do. I would really appreciate all the advice or suggestions you all could give me i am kinda on a time crunch to let the schools know so any help please!

hmmmmm, i'm curious as to what this nurse pak is. i have to say - i paid $50 for a litman lite se stethoscope for my phlebotomy class and it definitely keeps background noise to a minimum. i didn't get my paperwork yet but i know we have to have all of what you wrote but not sure of the cpr - sheesh, that would be another course i guess.

since i'm in school now, shots, fingerprints and criminal check has already been done so i'm ahead with that at least. since i'm 46, i had to have titers done because i have no clue where my immunization records are. i also had the tb done. we don't need the drug screen - i don't think so anyway. our books are $225 and i don't know what the uniforms will run. i'll let you know when i get my paperwork in the mail :-)

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i have similar instructions telling me what i need to do before school starts. this is what my paper says:

you will need varicella, mmr, hepatitis b, and tetorifice immunizations or proof thereof. a copy of your immunizaton record/card will show previous vaccinations. be sure to ask for copies of any lab results (titers) or a lab record from your provider. you muse bring in titers showing immunity to mmr, and varicella if your last vaccination is more than 1 year old. shot records or titers are necessary for hep b or you may waive the hepatitis b series by checking "no" on the hep b. waiver. tetorifice requires shot records only.

i also have to fill out a health history (already done) that asks me questions about my health history like any diseases or serious illnesses i have previously had, any allergies, etc. if i answered yes to any of the questions, i had to write in details what i'm allergic to, what surgeries i recently had in the last five years, etc.

the school i'm going to has specific time requirements for each immunization:

  • last varicella immunization can't be more than 1 year old. (according to my shot records, i never had a varicella immunization because i had chickenpox when i was really young. so i have to get that immunization done.)

  • last tetorifice immunizatio.n can't be more than 10 years old. (my last tetorifice shot was done in 2003, so i need to get titers for that.)
  • last mmr immunization can't be more than 1 year old. (my last mmr immunization was done in 1993, so i have to get titers done for that also.)

  • i have to get a recent tb test done, since its been at least five years since i last had one done.
  • i'm thinking about waiving the hepatitis b immunization. i only had two immunizations and only need one more done for it to be complete. but since its been awhile since i had those immunizations done and my paperwork doesn't say when the most recent immunizations are supposed to be done, i don't know if i would have to redo the hepatitis b series and i really don't want to. i don't want to have to start that over again and not have it finished before school starts.

with all the immunization problems i need to take care of, i still need to find a general practice doctor that will do a physical exam that includes systems review, head/neck, cardiovascular, respiratory, gastro-intestinal, endocrine, genitourinary, nervous, and musculoskeletal. a few days ago, i called a general practice doctors office to find out if the doctor there could do a physical exam on all of those different areas and they said he won't do a few of them. what kind of general practice doctor doesn't check everything when doing a physical exam?? ***?? lol! also, when i get my titers done, will my doctor do tests for varicella, mmr, and tetorifice all together or will they all be done separately as an individual test? and will i be sent to a lab or will one of the ma's do the tests? lol! sorry, i ask way too many questions. but i need to have everything done by july 24th, which is the day of my orientation and the first day of school is july 27th. any suggestions would be very helpful. thanks! :D

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Specializes in EMS, ER, GI, PCU/Telemetry.

the school i'm going to has specific time requirements for each immunization:

  • last varicella immunization can't be more than 1 year old. (according to my shot records, i never had a varicella immunization because i had chickenpox when i was really young. so i have to get that immunization done.)

you can get titers drawn to prove immunity to varicella. i had the chickenpox when i was really little and when i started nursing school, i just had my doctor write a requisition for me to have labs drawn to check titers. if you have had the virus, you should show immunity already :)

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if you have a carenow clinic or something like that around... there pretty reasonable.. my school gave a price list a places close around

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hey everyone... blah heard today i had something pop up on my drug test which came out to be .. one of my migraine meds.. fioricet.. so now im having to get all this paperwork from my doctor to clear me.. blah so much crap

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Hello..Im new to this site but have been a Lpn for almost 2 yrs now. I have an associate degree from a tech school which has proven to be little help in the field. The school I graduated from was very expensive but i did get an excellent education! My only reget is not just going for my RN to begin with. Although I have gained work experience I now have hit a dead end where I currently live due to lack of lpn positons. Nursing homes I will tell you are in my experience hell on earth! The other lpn's have been nothing but nasty to me and always try to tower over me when it comes to my nursing skills and knowledge. I am now currently looking into returning to a university to get my RN but I now will have to take yet another associate degree because I already went to a tech school for my lpn so now I will have 2 associate degree's in nursing. I wanted my BSN and now i will still have to do the 4 yrs to get it because i did not go to an university to begin with for my lpn. None of my courses count towards a BSN from my tech school. so now I will have to go to school a total of 6 yrs to get my BSN. I now have to complete 2yrs at a university to get my RN and then return another 2yrs for my BSN. I just wish i would have looked into how this whole degree thing worked before going to a tech school. I would suggest that you look into how much you want to advance in your education later on in your career. If you want to get your RN and dont mind having the associate degree in place of a BSN then Lpn is the way to go for you. If the school you pick gives you a certificate from LPN school then your not missing out if you go back later to get your RN cause then you will get an associate degree anyhow. I on the other hand feel ripped off by obtaining an associate degree as an lpn because it has not help me in any way during my career i dont even get more per hour with the degree! I just thought I would let you know just in case....I wish someone would have done that for me!! Good luck to you in whatever route you decide!! CONGRATS!!:yeah:

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