Every once in a while I would use evernote for miscellaneous notes. My professors would post the powerpoints ahead of time, so I would download and save the current powerpoint into my dropbox storage with assigned folders for each class. Then, the powerpoint would transfer to an app called CloudOn and I would open the powerpoint and type in my notes on the actual powerpoint. It was just my preference, just a suggestion.
I am a recent graduate of Kennesaw State's accelerated nursing program. Personally, I loved this school and the time that I was able to spend there. Every program will have it's "flaws", but I felt that I received a fantastic education from Kennesaw and I feel prepared to enter the nursing world as a new graduate nurse. I thought that the professors were fantastic. It seemed as though they really cared about their students and were always willing to meet during their office hours to answer any questions or clarify a subject. My clinical rotations were great. Our placement coordinator tried to place us at locations as close to our homes as possible. The campus is great: lots of areas for students to sit, read, socialize, study, whatever. Like I said, every program has it's "flaws" and there may very well be students that went to Kennesaw that had a totally different experience than I did. My personal experience was great. I may even continue my graduate studies there as well! I hope this can help to provide some insight. Good luck on your journey!
I was a teacher for three years prior to deciding to go back to school. It wasn't so much the schedule for me, it was what I was teaching. My first degree is in Elementary Education and upon graduation, I moved states, which made it very difficult for me to find a teaching job. I ended teaching for a public pre-k program and just realized that the specific type of teaching I was involved in wasn't for me. I enjoy teaching; empowering others to be self advocates and providing the knowledge needed for them to do this, but that isn't the kind of teaching I was doing. I simply wasn't getting that, so I did some deep soul searching for what I really wanted out of life and my career. The teaching hours are amazing. I loved having a M-F routine where I left the school, went to the gym, made dinner and had time for ME. I haven't yet started my nursing job, but I know that having a steady routine will be difficult. The hours are longer, so on my days off I may be too tired to workout (hopefully not), but it is going to be a real change. I'm married, and I don't have children yet, but when I do, I still don't plan on changing my schedule or finding a new job because I know what it took for me to get where I am. I am determined to make it all work because of what being a nurse means to me. I may sound like naïve, but I will truly strive for a balance when that time comes.
I'm sorry this post is kind of scattered, but from my experience, the hours teaching are wonderful for having a family. The routine is great, even though many hours are spent lesson planning, gathering supplies, grading papers, and working on the classroom. I think you should think about what it really is you want out of your career for YOU. Besides the extra time spent on outside projects, teaching may be fulfilling for you. If it is, which I believe a career should be, it may not be worth leaving behind. Yes, many nurses may work 3 days a week, but those three days are long, mostly nonstop, and possibly emotionally draining.
Rob4546, that is a given! I definitely plan on being a person for her to vent to, talk to, and just be that supportive person during her time in school. I felt like a proud parent when I heard that she was accepted, haha! Thanks for your input!!
Okay, so here is what I came up with. We're having dinner on Thursday to celebrate so I will give it to her then. I made kind of a clinical/nursing school survival box. I got a clipboard, stethoscope, multi colored pens, highlighters, Chapstick, hand lotion, elephant post its (her first degree was from Alabama), a pocket sized note pad, page flags, gum, a stethoscope id badge, and I also gave her three of my Davis Success books for extra study questions. I included fundamentals, pharm, and med-surg, and I'm going to give her my OB, peds, and psych when she gets to those semesters. Thanks for your help ya'll!!
Thank you all for your kind words! Love the personalized tag RunBabyRN! I'm going to look into it now. I think what I am going to do is combine all of your ideas into one. I did order a classic II stethoscope and I think I am going to decorate a box and fill it with some "essentials" for clinicals: a pocket guide, a small pocket sized notepad, an NCLEX study guide, a clipboard, and some pens. I'm going to skip the planner because I, myself, am SO picky with planners and I think she will want to choose her own to be able to find one that fits her needs the best (I know I would want to at least). Thanks again, you guys are great!
Thanks for all of your suggestions!! I'm going to take all of them into consideration; a lot of the things mentioned I didn't even think about!! You guys are awesome!
I know I should probably know this, considering I just graduated from nursing school myself, but I'd love some insight from others too!
My very very dear friend has finally been accepted to nursing school. She has been applying for years, became a medical assistant and took over my position when I began nursing school. She re-did some of her prerequisites after being rejected a number of times and she took the teas over and over until she got a score that she and her advisor were happy with. She has worked so incredibly hard to get into nursing school and has finally done it! I couldn't be more proud or happy for her. When I was accepted she had our medical office all chip in to buy me an amazing cardiology III stethoscope. She's always been supportive, even though she's had her own difficulties. I want to get her a really spectacular congratulations gift, but I'm unsure of what. A doctor we used to work with said she would chip in and help me. We were thinking a great stethoscope like I received, but I was also thinking maybe a really great planner or a gift card for a bookstore...what would you have liked to have before starting nursing school?
Okay, awesome. Thanks. I'm not sure what the ratio is yet. I have to meet with HR in about 2 weeks, and I planned on asking all of those questions then. I should have asked when I received the offer, but I was too shell-shocked to think straight!
Thank you both so much! My mom is a nurse as well and she agreed with the both of you; she said that I will be able to really refine my nursing skills and become confident with my time management and priorities. I think I was mostly thrown off because I was told, "step down" but like I said, found job postings and such which read, "post surgical". I wasn't sure if there was a step down post-surgical unit! Haha! Thanks again, it's appreciated!
I'm just looking for some input from more experienced nurses. I am a new grad, just licensed (yay!) and will be starting out on a post surgical unit. It is a part of an acute care residency program and when I was offered the position I was told that it was a step down unit, then upon further researching I saw that it is post surgical.
My question is this: if it's not PACU, not SICU, what types of things might I see? I want to prepare myself beforehand and I'm also wondering if there are specific things I should brush up on?
Ambianco9, do you mind me asking where you will be starting your new stepdown job in July? I'm also starting a residency program in July and will be on a stepdown unit as well!
I need some help understanding the process of doing an online program based out of another state. I live in Georgia and am looking into several online FNP programs. Once you are finished with the program, what happens as far as testing, licensing, or certification? I know that there is an exam once the degree is completed, but what is this for? Is it a nationwide exam that will be reciprocal in the state I want to practice in? I have tried asking the schools and haven't exactly gotten very far, so I figured AN could help!
Anyone have any idea what I'm asking and how to answer?
Thanks! I feel like I've definitely relaxed over the past few days. I called the recruiter and left a message, but no call back, which I had expected. So, at this point it is just the waiting game. Thanks for your response!
Every once in a while I would use evernote for miscellaneous notes. My professors would post the powerpoints ahead of time, so I would download and save the current powerpoint into my dropbox storage with assigned folders for each class. Then, the powerpoint would transfer to an app called CloudOn and I would open the powerpoint and type in my notes on the actual powerpoint. It was just my preference, just a suggestion.
I am a recent graduate of Kennesaw State's accelerated nursing program. Personally, I loved this school and the time that I was able to spend there. Every program will have it's "flaws", but I felt that I received a fantastic education from Kennesaw and I feel prepared to enter the nursing world as a new graduate nurse. I thought that the professors were fantastic. It seemed as though they really cared about their students and were always willing to meet during their office hours to answer any questions or clarify a subject. My clinical rotations were great. Our placement coordinator tried to place us at locations as close to our homes as possible. The campus is great: lots of areas for students to sit, read, socialize, study, whatever. Like I said, every program has it's "flaws" and there may very well be students that went to Kennesaw that had a totally different experience than I did. My personal experience was great. I may even continue my graduate studies there as well! I hope this can help to provide some insight. Good luck on your journey!
I was a teacher for three years prior to deciding to go back to school. It wasn't so much the schedule for me, it was what I was teaching. My first degree is in Elementary Education and upon graduation, I moved states, which made it very difficult for me to find a teaching job. I ended teaching for a public pre-k program and just realized that the specific type of teaching I was involved in wasn't for me. I enjoy teaching; empowering others to be self advocates and providing the knowledge needed for them to do this, but that isn't the kind of teaching I was doing. I simply wasn't getting that, so I did some deep soul searching for what I really wanted out of life and my career. The teaching hours are amazing. I loved having a M-F routine where I left the school, went to the gym, made dinner and had time for ME. I haven't yet started my nursing job, but I know that having a steady routine will be difficult. The hours are longer, so on my days off I may be too tired to workout (hopefully not), but it is going to be a real change. I'm married, and I don't have children yet, but when I do, I still don't plan on changing my schedule or finding a new job because I know what it took for me to get where I am. I am determined to make it all work because of what being a nurse means to me. I may sound like naïve, but I will truly strive for a balance when that time comes.
I'm sorry this post is kind of scattered, but from my experience, the hours teaching are wonderful for having a family. The routine is great, even though many hours are spent lesson planning, gathering supplies, grading papers, and working on the classroom. I think you should think about what it really is you want out of your career for YOU. Besides the extra time spent on outside projects, teaching may be fulfilling for you. If it is, which I believe a career should be, it may not be worth leaving behind. Yes, many nurses may work 3 days a week, but those three days are long, mostly nonstop, and possibly emotionally draining.
Rob4546, that is a given! I definitely plan on being a person for her to vent to, talk to, and just be that supportive person during her time in school. I felt like a proud parent when I heard that she was accepted, haha! Thanks for your input!!
Okay, so here is what I came up with. We're having dinner on Thursday to celebrate so I will give it to her then. I made kind of a clinical/nursing school survival box. I got a clipboard, stethoscope, multi colored pens, highlighters, Chapstick, hand lotion, elephant post its (her first degree was from Alabama), a pocket sized note pad, page flags, gum, a stethoscope id badge, and I also gave her three of my Davis Success books for extra study questions. I included fundamentals, pharm, and med-surg, and I'm going to give her my OB, peds, and psych when she gets to those semesters. Thanks for your help ya'll!!
Thank you all for your kind words! Love the personalized tag RunBabyRN! I'm going to look into it now. I think what I am going to do is combine all of your ideas into one. I did order a classic II stethoscope and I think I am going to decorate a box and fill it with some "essentials" for clinicals: a pocket guide, a small pocket sized notepad, an NCLEX study guide, a clipboard, and some pens. I'm going to skip the planner because I, myself, am SO picky with planners and I think she will want to choose her own to be able to find one that fits her needs the best (I know I would want to at least). Thanks again, you guys are great!
Thanks for all of your suggestions!! I'm going to take all of them into consideration; a lot of the things mentioned I didn't even think about!! You guys are awesome!
I know I should probably know this, considering I just graduated from nursing school myself, but I'd love some insight from others too!
My very very dear friend has finally been accepted to nursing school. She has been applying for years, became a medical assistant and took over my position when I began nursing school. She re-did some of her prerequisites after being rejected a number of times and she took the teas over and over until she got a score that she and her advisor were happy with. She has worked so incredibly hard to get into nursing school and has finally done it! I couldn't be more proud or happy for her. When I was accepted she had our medical office all chip in to buy me an amazing cardiology III stethoscope. She's always been supportive, even though she's had her own difficulties. I want to get her a really spectacular congratulations gift, but I'm unsure of what. A doctor we used to work with said she would chip in and help me. We were thinking a great stethoscope like I received, but I was also thinking maybe a really great planner or a gift card for a bookstore...what would you have liked to have before starting nursing school?
Thanks for your help!
Okay, awesome. Thanks. I'm not sure what the ratio is yet. I have to meet with HR in about 2 weeks, and I planned on asking all of those questions then. I should have asked when I received the offer, but I was too shell-shocked to think straight!
Thank you both so much! My mom is a nurse as well and she agreed with the both of you; she said that I will be able to really refine my nursing skills and become confident with my time management and priorities. I think I was mostly thrown off because I was told, "step down" but like I said, found job postings and such which read, "post surgical". I wasn't sure if there was a step down post-surgical unit! Haha! Thanks again, it's appreciated!
I'm just looking for some input from more experienced nurses. I am a new grad, just licensed (yay!) and will be starting out on a post surgical unit. It is a part of an acute care residency program and when I was offered the position I was told that it was a step down unit, then upon further researching I saw that it is post surgical.
My question is this: if it's not PACU, not SICU, what types of things might I see? I want to prepare myself beforehand and I'm also wondering if there are specific things I should brush up on?
Any advice is appreciated!
Ambianco9, do you mind me asking where you will be starting your new stepdown job in July? I'm also starting a residency program in July and will be on a stepdown unit as well!
Hi all,
I need some help understanding the process of doing an online program based out of another state. I live in Georgia and am looking into several online FNP programs. Once you are finished with the program, what happens as far as testing, licensing, or certification? I know that there is an exam once the degree is completed, but what is this for? Is it a nationwide exam that will be reciprocal in the state I want to practice in? I have tried asking the schools and haven't exactly gotten very far, so I figured AN could help!
Anyone have any idea what I'm asking and how to answer?
Thanks!
Thank you all for your thoughtful and encouraging posts...just to keep you updated, I was offered the position today! Woohoo!
Thanks! I feel like I've definitely relaxed over the past few days. I called the recruiter and left a message, but no call back, which I had expected. So, at this point it is just the waiting game. Thanks for your response!