LAM2005

Sunnyjohn, Thank you for your kind words and enthusiasm, this subject has really been quite an issue for me.... LAM2005

Tencat, In regards to taking time off, yes, if you fulfill your contract obligation and go to your scheduled work days, you can take as much time off as you need. I do this sometimes myself. For instance, this past summer, I worked 27 days from the beginning of July until the beginning of August on a contract, after I completed the contract, I told my agency that I was taking 14 days off to go to Myrtle Beach...it works out great. I guess personally, you don't have to ask permission with agency, you don't have to put in for time off, etc., however...the disadvantage is that you do have to be disciplined because you take the chance of being cancelled by the facility that you were scheduled with and that means that you have to do make up time. I find myself, that if I get cancelled during the week one day, I might have to pick up one day of the weekend. But it doesn't bother me as I don't do it all the time. Hope I answered your question ok, if you have anymore, please write.

Somewhere on this site I found questions regarding the NCLEX-RN and how many times you should take it. Personally, I agree that it should be limited, and honestly, I am one of those students who have taken it multiple times and have failed, and to my embarrassment have not been able to achieve the RN license. Its disappointing to me as I have a ASN for Registered Nursing and go to work on a daily basis as a LPN wishing that I could have just passed that exam. For me, I have extreme test anxiety, every time I walked into that testing center, I would shake, become anxious, hyperventilate, and cry all the way through the exam, sometimes so hard I could not see the screen. The quietness of the room, the people walking in and out of the room through my exam making me wonder if they were taking the same exam as myself, the anxiety I felt as I wanted the computer to "just give me one more question" and not knowing when it would just shut down, would make me panic. Its a terrible feeling. I passed the RN course with A's and did exceptionally well in all my courses. However, when it come to the exam itself, I WAS TERRIBLE!! And I am not afraid to admit it. I have taken the KAPLAN prep-class, with no avail. Still failing the exam, even though I passed with flying colors during the KAPLAN review. Now I am at my wits end!! What do I do from here. I am a practicing LPN in the state of Michigan, I love what I do, I am a confident nurse, what I don't know, I ask, and everyday when I leave work, I am satisfied with a job well done. I gladly learn new things every single day, and contrary to popular beleif, LPN's envoke the same detail in the hospital I work at as the RN's, but the RN's make the LPN's feel very incompetent because of the title differences. Is this fair to those of us who want to be RN's but have difficulty passing the exam? I don't think so. So now, I wonder, and yet to find out, where do I go from here? I am not sure, although I have looked online for the steps to find out, in the state of Michigan, how can I accomplish getting my RN licensure and pass that test? Where do I go from here? I have thought about going back to school to redo my RN courses, to try again, but it is very difficult to do when you have already done this, but I am not afraid to. Is there others steps out there that I can take without having to go back on a waiting list and going through all of this again? I need some advice and some facts, and if anyone out there can point me in the right direction regarding this I would be so thankful and appreciative. This is very important to me and I take what I do very seriously. And personally, I don't beleive that just because I was one of those LPN's who couldn't pass the RN NCLEX, doesn't make me a incompetent or bad nurse. I am a good nurse, and my patients get the utmost care from me, and if that alone is all I have, then I will take that with a smile any day of the week.

I have worked agency nursing for the past 6 years, and although it has its disadvantages, I LOVE IT!! Being a single mom of 2 teenagers, it allows me the freedom I need to spread my time with their schedules as well and of course to decide when I need a break for myself. In my experience as an agency nurse, I find that you need the confidence to go into strange and unfamiliar settings and do your job. Most of the time, the staffing at these settings are wonderful with helping you out in the areas that you are unfamiliar with, such as the paperwork or computers. These facilities also offer an orientation to familiarize you with their facilities. I have only been "thrown" into situations without an orientation per my choice, not often, but a few times, and believe it or not, you do survive. The one important thing you have to remember when you are an agency nurse and you are walking into the unknown is that your patient is TOP PRIORITY. Always ask when your not sure, for such things as, and what I find the most important, it knowing who your patients are, especially in a long care facility setting. Also remember, your a nurse, you were trained to do your nursing skills no matter where you work...the only thing that changes with agency nursing is the faces and the paper work, charting, etc....and those come to you easier than what most people think. GOOD LUCK TO YOU!!!!