MomRN20082b

Thanks so much for the advice and information. I will definitely take it and run with it! I feel so much better now!!!

I am currently in month 12 of an 18 month ASN program. I have been doing clinicals since the first week of nursing school and I don't feel like I've really done all that much. Other than passing meds, I feel more like a CNA (which I already am in my job) than a nurse. Is this common or am I just not getting the clinical experience I need? I recently started a new job as a Nurse Tech. The description stated that only current nursing students could apply and that it was designed to give more experience to the students. I have been there for 2 months and I don't do anything different than the CNAs. I guess I'm just wondering if the experience you gain comes after you graduate and start as a nurse... that scares me a little bit. Any opinions?

Hi Soldierswife - I'm really glad you posted this. I can relate, but unfortunately not to you... I have, regretfully, been one of those people you spoke about. :chair: I am not a nurse yet, I'm a Nurse Tech and had to go through a similar orientation except it was geared more towards the CNA aspect of my job. I thought it was a ridiculous waste of time because it covered things I had learned in my CNA class so I b*tched the entire 3 days of it. (If I can give myself any credit, I wasn't gossiping and so forth, I just didn't want to be there :uhoh21:) I didn't even give it a second thought until I read your post and realized what a jerk I had been. So I just wanted to say thank you for bringing this up because it taught me a) you never know who is listening to your comments - good or bad and b) just because I was bored it doesn't mean everyone else was. Thank you again and I'm sorry on behalf of all the morons in our profession :imbar

I think it boils down to respect. You give respect, you get respect. There are certainly exceptions to the rule, but I think for the most part it's true.

Thank you very much :)

cool topic

That's a great idea and one that I've considered as well, but I guess one of my questions is - once you're an rn, does it matter if you have your associates or bachelors and does it matter where you went to school? The schools in my area (extentions of Purdue and IU) used to offer the 2 year program, but have changed to only BSN because they say the hospitals only want to hire RNs with a bachelors degree. From what I've heard from the RNs that I know (some with a BSN, some without) that's a load of crap. I'm sure I'm probably making this harder than it has to be, I just want to make the right decision for me.

I do have 3 kids which will make it difficult to work, go to school and parent effectively. It's not that my finances would be stretched terribly, but we need health insurance. Plus I've been a stay at home mom for 13 years so I guess I'm ready to dive right in;)

I am currently enrolled in a CNA program and plan to continue my education while working part time as a CNA. There are several colleges in my area that I could attend, the "better" schools only offer a 4 year BSN, the junior colleges offer the 2 year ADN or 1 year LPN. My intention is to get my bachelor's degree in nursing, but I'm really stuck on not wanting to be a CNA for 4+ years. So my question is, should I go to a junior college for my LPN or RN in a 1 or 2 year program, then continue going for my bachelor's or should I just suck it up and go the 4+ year route all at once?