Nursing student needing some input

i am a nursing student and am needing some help for an assignment. i am seeking input from lpns, rns, and arnps about the following questions:

1. please describe the # of years/ type of educational experience

i went to a 24 month diploma program. 1973-1975 next obtained both my bsn and ba anthropology (former was distance program, latter was on site, both at the same time! don't know if i could replicate that now:d) 1991-1998 was thisclose to graduating from a fnp program but september 11th happened and i dropped out 1999-2001.

2. please describe the different roles in which you have worked in health care.

have worked primarily in critical care. when my parents were ill and dying i left hospital and worked in hospice and palliative care. once parents died went back to hospital, worked telemetry/step down and then back to the icu.

3. how is professionalism incorporated in your role as a nurse?

gee that is a hard one to answer: it is such a large part of who i am, how i identify as an rn. it is my "public face", if you will....are you asking about the development of a professional identity?

4. what advice would you offer to a person beginning in the nursing profession?

life is a learning curve. you aren't expected to remember everything. learn to cut yourself some slack. continue to develop professionally by joining professional groups (aacn, tcns, ons, etc) and subscribe to a few journals and actually read them!

5. what advice would you offer to a nursing student as they work toward the completion of their degree?

see # 4 above

thanks so much for your responses!

good luck to you!

athena

I am a nursing student and am needing some help for an assignment. I am seeking input from LPNs, RNs, and ARNPs about the following questions:

1. Please describe the # of years/ type of educational experience

2. Please describe the different roles in which you have worked in health care.

3. How is professionalism incorporated in your role as a nurse?

4. What advice would you offer to a person beginning in the nursing profession?

5. What advice would you offer to a nursing student as they work toward the completion of their degree?

Thanks so much for your responses!

1. I first got my ADN. 18 yrs later, I got a BSN. Now I am working on a MSN. In between the first 2 degrees, I also got a BS in social science just b/c I enjoy history, geography, economics, etc.

2. I have been an RN for almost 26 yrs. I worked med-surg for 6 yrs, home health for 6 yrs, pediatrics for 2 yrs, cardiac step-down for 1 yr, army reserves for 5 yrs and LTC for 12 yrs. Obviously, I did some of these things at the same time.

3. Not sure how to answer this one. Now I am the DON at my nursing home. I work closely with physicians, hospitals, residents, families and my staff. I must maintain a professional attitude no matter what the circumstances. I have to remember to see things from everyone else's point of view. My decisions and actions effect everyone. My staff look to me for their example, their advocate, their confidant. Residents trust me to make the best decisions for them, to make sure they are getting the care they need. Our physicians expect me to protect their license as carefully as I protect my own.

4. My advice is not to do this for the paycheck. It is often a very stressful career, and one should not do it unless their heart is in it. And remember to always treat others as you would want to be treated. That sounds childlike, but people seem to forget it easily.

5. Try not to work any more than absolutely necessary when in school. (Oh, that I would follow my own advice there!). Do not be afraid to ask questions, even of the physicians. Many love to teach. Nursing school is hard. It is easy to become discouraged. Find a mentor and find a good friend with which to study. I never had anyone to help me study b/c I always had children. Even when I got my ADN I had 2 babies. When the other college students were going on dates and getting together to study, I was walking the floor with babies, changing diapers, fixing bottles, and feeling incredibly alone. A friend would have helped so much.