Sassyrose

Swacho, there's nothing wrong with using Saunders. It's the same info though there might be a difference here or there between that and your textbooks. Less can be a lot more if you learn that info. It's still pretty dense material but much more doable compared to reading a few hundred pages of your textbook. Why don't you try it? Go through it slowly and really learn the info and see if it's better than the approach you're using that's killing you. It helped me a lot, plus it gears you towards the nclex. I would use additional sources for questions though. The more of those the better.

Get saunders nclex review book.. the comprehensive one. Teach yourself from their outlines and then do the questions. You need to know the info not read every page of every chapter assigned to you. Helped me immensely in school when time was hard to come by and I needed to know what was important.

Your coworker was wrong. You were the nurse at the time. Besides, if she was such a drug seeker, she probably wouldn't have rated her pain a 3.. it still would have been a 9 or a 10. Addicts usually want more.

You're right. Valley view does offer a very good wage, considerably higher than most other places. However, there seem to be a lot of CNA jobs to choose from. Valley view is a county job and comes with benefits I believe.. however I don't know about their overtime or if you can get mandated, etc. The "problem" with the LPN in my eyes is the cost and job opportunities. LPNs don't have a lot of options compared to RNs or CNAs- hospitals are phasing them out, so that leaves medical offices (middletown medical hires them I believe) and nursing homes. They make more than CNAs but there seem to be a lot more CNA jobs. Like I said before, if there is any interest in getting your RN, look into it. You may save money and time going straight for it (note: If you don't finish, you likely will NOT be able to get your LPN. They did this years ago, don't really do it now) I really don't think this nursing shortage actually is what the media make it out to be, but there certainly are RN jobs out there. I think it's a good idea to keep in touch with BOCES and see about the informational session. Although a CNA certification isn't a license, having that credential may help if you decide to move (not certain on this). Regardless of what you do, even if you get the job you took the test for, I'd encourage you to get some sort of a certification, be it CNA or a nursing license. I'm single and in the area too, I know how difficult it can be. I just interviewed for a job that's going to pay $30-$32 an hr which is way more than I've ever made before and the only reason I can get this is because I now have my RN. I don't know if $45k is reasonable for a LPN in this area (or others to be honest). You might know better than me on this, but I have some friends I could ask that were LPNs if you are curious. Let me know. Good luck, feel free to ask anything else that comes to mind.

Cultivate your options, all of them. Call boces and see if you can still apply or make up the info session. Also look into their CNA classes, I'm pretty sure they have them. They are somewhere around $1500 or $2000. However, jobs seem plentiful. Valley view in Goshen hires CNAs at $17-$18.50 an hour last I checked. Being unemployed *may* allow you to get some help from workforce development (that's what they are called in Sullivan county, not sure if it's the same name in orange county), anyways it can't hurt to ask and talk to them. LPN programs can run 10 or 12 thousand dollars. I got my RN from a community college for less than that (but I had a lot of credits transfer). If you have any serious interest in being a RN, you should know that, at least at my school, it only cut out one semester of RN school, so going straight for the RN could save you a lot of money. If you have experience in working with disabilities and can travel, maybe try the center for discovery in Sullivan county (just past Monticello). I can't say what it's like to work for them, but they are huge and seem to recruit continuously.

I know this isn't what you are asking. I'm not a school nurse and have never been one. However, I thought I would add some practical advice. I had bed bugs several years ago when a neighbor decided to bring in a suspect mattress that he got from who knows where. It is very, very worth your effort to contain this problem, whether it really should be on you or not. Turns out I am very reactive to their bites. I'd scratch past bleeding and the only thing that helped was a hot shower, and that was only for a few minutes (probably should have tried benadryl, lol). I slept like I was a ninja, with every bit of skin covered as I could manage. I cleaned my apartment thoroughly and threw out a lot of paper and cardboard, etc etc. What really helped though, was that I put rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle and hunted them down. When I found them, and even when I didn't, when they are little they are hard to see, I saturated the crap out of them with the alcohol and let me tell you, they died right there. THAT is what got rid of my bed bugs. So, if you can get away with a spray bottle and lots of rubbing alcohol, anytime someone suspect comes in, spray the seams of furniture and maybe the clothes too. It was a life altering experience getting bed bugs, really. I never wish to go through that again. Horrible. I'd take lice or fleas any day over bed bugs.

Mine did it as part of the background test. It can stay in your system up to 30 days. Can they random test? I imagine every program is different. However, your employer certainly can, and you can bet your sweet bippy they check for THC.

My suggestion to you is to look into getting credit at your college for the sociology CLEP!!! I found out about this from one of my classmates. Basically, you talk to someone in the school who handles credit transfers, or maybe the chair of that department, see if they will take a CLEP score in place of having to take the course, and if so, what minimum score they will take. I did this, my school would take anything over a 50 (out of 80 or something, I forget). Anyways, I had no classes, studied in my spare time, paid about $100 for the test, took it ten minutes from my house and BAM I had credit and didn't have to pay hundreds for the class, go to it, take tests, or write papers. I STRONGLY suggest it. A study guide is very useful, but theres a lot online that can help you, especially on youtube. I wish I had done this with more courses. It can't hurt to take a look into it!

It can be done. Every school is a little different and every person is a little different in what they can make work. It can be done, but the more you have going on, the harder it will likely be. A lot of people cannot take the pressure and pass the course or quit themselves. It's all about perfecting time management. The more together the school, the better. The best source is students from the program you want to go to.

As another poster said, saving money and relaxing are good strategies as well. However, I am of the mind that if you want to get ahead, might as well try, but I'd urge you not to knock yourself out. This is your last time to relax for a while. I also concur about the NCLEX prep book, I wouldn't use it now. I don't know if I am understanding your question or not, you asked if all of them are pretty similiar- do you mean are all fundamentals text books similiar? I don't know, unfortunately, but I would assume so. HOWEVER, some texts use Maslow's hierarchy of needs, some use Gordon's functional health patterns, and that can make a major difference in how the info is set up. Our school used Maslow but the text was Gordon's, so information wasn't aligned as well as it could have been. I'd suggest seeing what books the school uses and buying a used copy (not too old) of that online. If you are going to learn it, might as well get it from the exact same source you will be tested on. If you were asking about review books, again, I'd say they probably more or less cover the same info, and which you choose is largely a preference in how it is set up and how easy it is to understand. If you are going to get a review book for fundamentals, I do suggest getting one with NCLEX style questions. Again, cheap option is to buy one online (I like half.com, but be sure to know exactly what you are buying).

I wonder if that was me that wrote that, lol. Yes, I did use Saunders, but the comprehensive nclex review one (they have more than one). Saunders is great, Pearson is good too, they are both similar, I found Pearson perhaps a little harder, but they make the NCLEX. :) You don't need both of them. However, I found them a GREAT resource DURING school. I didn't use the nclex review books really when I was doing my hard core studying after graduation and before taking the nclex. In fact, I'd say it is way, way, waaaay too much info to learn and use before the nclex. However, during school it was wonderful! I am pretty sure I would have been the first reading related death had I actually read all the assigned chapters in school. I relied heavily on Saunder's and worked my way through each topic by using their outlines.. they hit all of the really important stuff. So, I'd say once you are in med surg, YES absolutely, get and use saunders. In fundamentals, maybe (I don't remember if they have a fundamentals section, but I think they do). But, for now I think it's too much. I think the best use of your time right now would be: #1 brushing up on math skills (I recommend dimensional analysis), #2 taking any required course(s) you can during the summer (bio, a&p, chem, micro) that are co-requisites a lot of the time (you said pre-requisites are done, but have you taken all the other courses that are required?) #3 having a life, seeing friends and family and, last but not least #4 get yourself a copy of the text they use in your class and start reading it. Probably a fundamentals text. Use that and maybe get one of those fundamentals NCLEX style question books (I *think* Davis makes one, but there are others too), and use those. That is exactly what I would do if I had to do this over. Fundamentals are, well, fundamental, lol. Getting a good grasp on them, AND the material you will be required to know, puts you way ahead of the game. Read the info and test yourself with the nclex style questions, you will be off to a good start, im my opinion.

Nothing wrong with reviewing old information while learning new. Especially as old and new are probably related anyways. However, if it comes down to a choice, learn the new material. I don't know if you are in danger of failing or not, but remember, you must pass and graduate in order to sit for the NCLEX, so new info should take priority. I used hurst, they have videos and a workbook/worksheets and question banks, as well as extra material you can print out (their info on precautions and diseases was simple and effective, that was in the extra stuff you could print out). Videos were easy to understand and follow. What I didn't like is I found it hard to study from their worksheets. However, their little tips are absolutely on the money for the nclex. In fact, I am certain one of their tips for questions, which I had read immediately before walking in, helped me on my test. I also used Kaplan. I hated it. However, I had access throughout school to their tests and taking them was basically helpful. However, in my opinion, their questions are harder than the nclex and it can be very demotivating (or perhaps panic inducing) to use right before the nclex. I used Saunder's comprehensive nclex review book, but I used it DURING school, not really as part of my nclex prep. I also bought mometrix flash cards. They were helpful but overwhelming too, so I didn't use them much. Also used NCLEX mastery app, the free one. Surprsingly useful! La Charity was absolutely a great resource and I used this as well because I didn't feel I got the prioritization and delegation down pat in school. I *think* Kaplan and Hurst both have gaurantees, but I am only certain about Hurst. If you watch all their videos and do their tests, if you don't pass you get your money back ($300+). Of course, you have to look that up to make sure I'm right and they didn't change anything. At any rate, Hurst simplified things for me. I think Kaplan is just overboard. I hate them, but they are useful if you just want to proud the crap out of content, lol. My suggestion would be to make sure you know what the NCLEX tests. They test the things you need to know as a new nurse. So, think: what am I going to run across every day and what are the complications that can kill/hurt my patients super quick? Where do you listen for heart sounds and where are the valves? How do you do skills? These are the things you need to know. I wrote down my kaplan scores somewhere, I don't know where and I forget what I got on them. However, I think I ran from 50s to 70s and I got 75 nclex questions and passed. I know there are many postings about people's scores on kaplan, hurst, uworld, and maybe others, I'd suggest trying a search on allnurses.

I'm not sure if you are talking to me or not, so I will just assume you were. During the first and possibly second semester, I worked some evenings, it was rough. Fortunately, at that job, I COULD (and did!) study on my down time. But there were a few occasions where I was so tired, I slept in my car at campus waiting to go and practice skills or whatever. I busted my butt to take no other courses during the semester other than what I had to. Our first semester we had nursing lecture a couple times a week, lab once a week for a couple/few hours, clinicals (two shorter days first semester, one full day later semesters), and clinical calculations once a week, not counting lab practice. Doesn't sound like much, but trust me, it was. I think that was 10 credits. I took all my sciences before getting into nursing with the exception of micro and chem, which I took during the 6 week summer session (11 credits that summer, crazy, but I did it!). My days were not full from sun up to sun down, no. I lived far from campus but worked near campus, so I'd stay there pretty much all day, using my free time to work on things for class, study, whatever. I'd highly suggest not taking any other classes with the nursing courses if you can manage it. Helped me a LOT! I'm very glad I did this. However, if you have to take other classes at the same time, your days will certainly be more full. Night time is a good time to study, do homework, and sleep, lol. When I shifted my hours to weekends, things were easier. You sound like you have a good head on your shoulders and are already trying to make things easier for you, I understand wanting to pay that car off now and think it's a good idea. Do everything you can to give yourself as much time and breathing room as possible in nursing school... they will keep you plenty busy for the most part. Feel free to ask any questions you want. I'm snowed in. :)

I think relaxing and enjoying your life is good. However, if you can manage to not stress yourself out AND use this time to your advantage, why not? Brushing up with A and P might be good. I'd see if there were any summer courses you could take to get out of the way. Other than that, I'd say begin by finding out what book your first class uses, probably a fundamentals textbook, buy it or a recent edition, and read that thing! Get yourself an nclex style question book on fundamentals (Davis may make one, I"m not certain), and begin doing nclex questions on the material you are covering. Don't go into too much med surg stuff (the individual body systems etc), I think it will be too much at this point. Build your foundation! However, balance your study with rest, relaxation, and FUN! Perhaps you can get the syllabus from an instructor?

I second another poster, I would not suggest being full time, with a child/children, and taking nursing. It CAN be done, but those that make it with these demands on them the entire time are few and far between. I worked part time and have no children and found it very difficult. I'd suggest working on someone to care for your child and speak with your boss about cutting back on your hours in the future if you need to. Options are good. The material can be challenging, but the real difficulty with nursing school for me was how much was expected within such a short time, the competing demands (and the constant frustration of never knowing what was going to change at any given moment.. prepared me very well for working in a chaotic environment, let me tell you). A LOT of people failed or quit our nursing program because they had way too much on their plate. I was offered full time jobs with my employer but turned them down due to being a student (I worked 20-25 hrs a week on average), and knowing that more might just be enough to sink me. My grades were very good, but it's unrelenting... it wears on you. Good for you for being determined, but I highly suggest making some contingency plans now.