CoffeeKeepsMeSane

I was wondering if anyone who went to WGU for their RN to BSN could tell me if it's truly feasible to complete the program in 6 months' time? I've heard and read varying stories, some of which said WGU intentionally is slowing students down because students were wanting to complete the program sooner to avoid paying more money. Is this true? Thanks for your help! ?

Hey all! So I've got an interview coming up tomorrow for an RN position with an occupational medicine clinic associated with our local hospital, and I'm SUPER excited as this is an entirely new field for me. My primary background is LTC as either an aide or an RN, so yeah, huge difference but I'm so willing to learn. My questions are these: does anyone know of what I could possibly expect to be asked during an interview like this? Remember it's not a job at like a plant or jobsite or anything like that- it's actually where they do drug tests, physicals, fit testing, lab draws etc. Also, with this being a very different area of nursing for me, do you think that would be a hindrance to them possibly picking me? And of course, do you guys have any advice on how to ace this??? I'm seriously so interested in this I can hardly contain myself LOL!

Hello all! Got a question. I've been asked by friends if I could complete a TB Skin Assessment form (not the actual PPD test) for them as their jobs require these, but they don't have in-house nurses to complete these where they work. I'm kinda iffy about it as I'm not too sure whether it's really necessarily legal to do this but wanted to double check. Any one know about this? Also, I'm in KY if that helps any. Thank you!!

Hello all :) Just a little update! First of all, thank you all so much for understanding where I was coming from! That means so much and your advice has helped quite a bit. I finally took the NCLEX and passed the first time with 75 questions!! So obviously I know *something* about this nursing stuff, right? My biggest problem was feeling very out of place in the hospital setting, and it got so bad that I quit. It was just a gut feeling that I needed to leave. Nurses on the floor told me to stick with it to gain the med-surg experience and to use my skills, but it just was not at all where I needed to be. The money and benefits were amazing, but those were not why I went into this field. So anyway, two days after I quit, another facility called me in for an interview. The DON loved me and I was hired. She is a military nurse even, and she has been a nurse for several decades, working in almost every area of the hospital. What hooked me in was before I ever mentioned how bad it had been for me in the hospital setting, she even said she would sit in the parking lot of the hospital and cry before every shift because it just was not for her, which is exactly what I would do. Then she found this facility (she isn't originally from my area) and fell in love. She said in all her years of nursing, she has never loved her job more than she does now. They work with people with developmental disabilities and it is by far the most welcoming place I have ever stepped foot in. The nurse training me is much more understanding than the last one about the fact that I am brand new and do not know everything, and the residents are so amazing to be around. Hopefully it continues to work out, but so far, I really think I have found my niche!

(Ok, so I am not yet licensed. I take my NCLEX on Monday, but as of now I am training with my Provisional License and honestly do not know where else to post this.) As the title says, I am utterly and completely terrified of being a nurse. I second guess EVERYthing, all the time, and I dread going in to work, even for training. And it is getting me down, because this is something I worked my butt off to achieve, and now that it is *right there*, it is almost as if I'm second guessing if this was the right career choice. So a little backstory: For about 10 years or so, I have had this dream of being a nurse and set out to prove that I could do it. I do have an anxiety disorder and literally doubt every step I take, I am also very shy and softspoken, which does not help matters at all. Nursing school was rough, primarily because everyone else was in it to be ER/ICU/open heart surgery nurses and wanted to be in the midst of all the chaos, and all I wanted was to take care of the elderly. So from day one I felt really out of place and lonely. Clinicals and skill check offs were horrible for me due to my anxiety levels, but by the grace of God, I pulled through and graduated because there were times the teachers even wondered themselves if I was going to be all right. Also, before my third semester, I was hired on at a local hospital for a Nurse Extern position, which led to the floor manager personally offering me a CNA position, which I accepted. Then the manager personally offered a nurse position to me, which blew me away, but I accepted. So right now I am working with my provisional license until I take the NCLEX. I have never felt more out of place and anxious in my life, which says a lot coming from someone who was practically born anxious, and it is very troubling to me. I am so scared of missing a symptom, or not putting two and two together, or missing critical labs. It wears me down every night I go in. The absolute LAST thing I want to do is to ever harm any of my patients, but it feels almost inevitable. Being on the floor is sooo different from nursing school that it makes me wonder if I even learned anything at all! The floor I'm on has patients nearly ready for discharge but are there for more PT/OT and to finish IV antibiotics, so it isn't a really chaotic floor most days, so it isn't like the ER or Cardiac where people could code any second. I wear my worries 24/7 and my family is now wondering if it is too much for me, if maybe I should just remain a CNA and drop the RN. They mean well, but it hurts because once again, I am all alone and unsure if this is for me. I guess what I'm asking is if anyone else went through this amount of fear and anxiety, and doubting their ability to be a nurse? How did you handle it?