tesa0414

I was diagnosed bipolar I several years before I went to nursing school. I was stable on my medications, and seeing my psychiatrist and a therapist regularly. I did fine throughout nursing school and haven't had any issues as a nurse. I worked 2 years in a cardiac surgery step down (as well as floating/covid floors) and now in a busy level 2 trauma ED for 7 months. There have been bumps like anyone could expect but none related to my diagnosis. I take my medication religiously, see my psychiatrist every 3-6 months, and my spouse is very supportive. I have not told any coworkers about my diagnosis.

Besides stethoscope and shears, I use a watch with a second hand, a small notebook that fits in my pocket, a penlight, and I carry like 3 pens and a sharpie.

I was waiting to see how many posts it would take before the autism "argument" surfaced. That's the most crazy-making aspect of the anti-vax argument to me. As medicine is a constantly and rapidly evolving and progressing field, the "more vaccines explains more cases of autism" makes no sense to me. Vaccinations have improved and evolved. Diagnostic criteria, application of the correct diagnosis of autism (it was previously diagnosed/documented as "intellectually disabled"), and parental/provider awareness of autism has improved and evolved. Not related, just two completely separate examples of the wonderful advances made in medicine. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-real-reasons-autism-rates-are-up-in-the-u-s/?redirect=1

2 year ADN program, we started with 26 in my specific cohort. Lost 6 in first semester, 4 of them within the first month of class. They didn't realize how intense it would be. Lost 1 last semester (he failed pediatrics by literally one exam question, it was so sad) and 1 over the break to medical leave. We're down to 18 and I hope we don't lose anyone else. Having such a small class has really bonded us. Our program has lost enough students that they're splitting up a cohort and shifting them to other cohorts since our classes were so small. It's a community college program but really rigorous. I don't think many were expecting it to be so tough.

I'm currently in nursing school, 3rd semester, and our clinical policy is that the first time we perform certain skills in a clinical setting (IV insertion, foleys, etc) we must do it with our clinical instructor. Once she has seen us perform it correctly, we can then perform that skill under the supervision of the patient's primary RN going forward. It can be hard to catch the instructor quickly if something needs to be done urgently, so I will typically observe or assist if I can't grab my clinical instructor quickly enough. But my instructors recently have given us their pager numbers so we can get in touch quickly, and there are 8 students total, we're split 4 to a unit but the units are next to each other, ex 4E, 4W, and she spends all day moving between us. We also try to look at orders in the morning so we can set a sort of "appointment" with our instructor to meet us so we can perform the skills, and inform the RN. I normally like to talk with the primary RNs of the patients I've been assigned with that day, a few min before/after huddle and just let them know what skills I can perform, what our schedule is for the day, and to just let them know I'm there to learn and work, a sort of please use and abuse me today. My instructor is so enthusiastic about getting us opportunities to see/do new things, so if a nurse lets her know she's got something cool/interesting to do, or a complex patient and invites the student to participate, our instructor finds a way for us to get in there and take advantage of it.

Agree totally. We had to purchase one as a supplement to our regular textbooks. It's super helpful. Many books have a pretty comprehensive list of NANDA diagnoses, possible related factors, and defining characteristics. You can pretty much just pick from each section what relates to your patient, put it together, and theres the diagnosis. The one i use also has outcomes/evaluation criteria, action/interventions, and documentation guidelines. So like the entire care plan basically. I definitely recommend you pick one of these guys up, they're great. Nursing dx can be so tricky.

I'm sorry you're struggling with OB. I'm currently in the same class and I can only imagine how difficult it must be for you. I'm a cis woman but I am in a same-sex relationship and have PCOS. I always wanted children when I was younger, but my partner of 5 years is adamant she does not want children and I no longer feel the strong desire to have children as I once did, so we have made the decision to not have children. The fact that we would need fertility assistance because we are both women and on top of it, my PCOS has cemented the decision for us, but I do worry I may one day feel like I missed out. I can only suggest that maybe you keep your heart open, as painful as it may be, to your clinical experience. Maybe working labor and delivery will be the best place for you if you enjoy it. I was hesitant going into the peds clinicals, but I found I absolutely loved spending time with the kiddos, and am now thinking that may be the best place for me. I still get to have my home life with my partner and traveling, etc. But i get to spend time at work caring for children. Maybe this class, and your time in clinicals, will expose you to all the many ways people become parents, and give you some ideas of options that you could feel comfortable and fulfilled with. If possible, try to get assigned to/step in on births that involve adoption or surrogacy and see how the parents/family/birth parents navigate these experiences. I wish you the best of luck!

I'm in my second semester of nursing school at my county's community college. I did very poorly when I first started taking college classes years ago, before I even considered nursing as a career. I went back to school two years ago, decided on nursing and finished the core pre-reqs and then applied. My school judged applicants on overall gpa (minimum required 2.0), core pre-req gpa (minimum 2.8), and teas score (minimum 60%). I know that seems low standard, acceptance was based on the applicants applying for a particular semester. So if the majority of applicants had 3.5 or above, 3.5 would be the unofficial standard. If majority had gpas closer to 3.0, then that would be the standard. Core gpa and teas were considered first, and overall gpa was judged as a tie-breaker if needed. They didn't accept personal statements, cover letters or recommendations, just the numbers. My overall was 3.2, my core was 3.6 and my teas was 86.7%. So almost exactly your same GPA and I got into two community college ASN programs around me (I'm in Tampa/St. Pete Florida area). I picked the one that had the best reputation and was closest to me, and it's the same college I took my final pre-reqs at. I think you most definitely have a shot, just be flexible and creative, and look in depth at the requirements of the schools you're looking into. I'll also add that I applied to start in the spring semester and the gpa standard was lower than it was for the fall semester.

I'm a student and I have hair that goes past my waist, and it is in our uniform policy to keep long hair restrained and away from our faces. Even on the few clinical days I've worn it in a ponytail, I end up tying it into a bun within the first hour. I definitely don't want my hair flopping onto a patient or into any fluids, and I'm sure the patient doesn't want that either. I've noticed a few nurses on the floor who leave their hair down but it's normally not longer than chest length. Having to flip your hair back while wearing gloves is not very hygienic.

I'm currently in nursing school, and I know that while we were given the option to "waive vaccinations" through the school, none of the clinical sites my school works with will accept vaccination waivers. No clinicals, no nursing school. One single site would allow for students who medically were unable to receive the flu vaccine, but they would be required to wear a mask at all times. All clinical sites require the rest of the standard vaccines.