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Hi Nancy, You might try Macys (unfortunately, I don't think you can sort by price or color like you can at Target or Kohls), Target ($17 and up) or Kohls especially this week where many stores are having Memorial Day sales. You might check online and also in the store since they often have different merchandise. Other suggestions include 2nd hand or consignment shops. Sometimes you can even find brand new dresses that people have not worn for one reason or another. I understand your dilemma about spending the money. When I was graduating from college we had a parade for grads/alumni that you had to wear all white in-only time I ever wore the white dress I bought and I sear it was an ugly white dress. Good luck.

I have a few questions about PPD testing. I went to apply for a job at a major teaching hospital and before I can be considered for a job I have to first have a PPD test done. I am used to being hired for the job and then having to have a PPD test done and the hospital PAYS for it. This hospital required that I pay for it and I debated whether I wanted to work there. It wasn't so much that it cost $20, it was the fact that if the hospital requires it and isn't willing to spend the money on something preventive, what can I expect from them if I get injured on the job? Is it normal for a hospital not to pay for the test? I finally sucked it up and had it done today. My insurance said the only way they would pay for it was if I was a drug user or had HIV which to me is a surprise since you can get TB if you are part of a susceptible population. My other concern has to do with the statement the nurse giving me the PPD made which is that I shouldn't have the test done yearly (or every 6 months) because I was going to have a false positive reaction eventually from being tested. This is a concern of mine and I guess a concern of others on this board from old posts I read but seeing how HCP get tested so often I would think this is a very low risk. I was really surprised she made this statement. Has anyone else ever heard of this? I didn't think you could get TB from a PPD or get a false positive due to too many tests over the years. (By the way, I am assuming it was a nurse who did the test but I am not positive.)

I volunteered several years ago in a teaching hospital where they had me changing gurneys that might have blood or anything else, pushing gurneys. Most hospitals I know of require now that the volunteers have Hep B shots. Even one of the hospitals I am looking at volunteering at now says volunteers can transport patients. What you have to watch out for is your own safety. I was asked to push a gurney with someone weighing 300 lbs and at that time I only weighed 100 (I wish that was still true). Also I am only 4'11" and I'll never forget someone saying to me how can you push that gurney with the pateint sitting up and still see? I haven't as a nursing student had to push a gurney yet but I am sure at some point I will. A lot of hospitals today don't even supply their own staff with scrubs so just wearing your own scrub pants won't affect infection. My suggestion, have a dedicated set of pants and shoes that you clean with your polo shirt seperately from your other clothing. Also do you really have to wear dress pants or do khakis cut it? I would hate to have to wear expensive pants. I would try getting some pants from TJ Max or Kohls on sale (Kohl's is always having sales) that you can get for about $15. Where I am now it is very hard to volunteer. It seems everyone wants to volunteer. I had a volunteer meeting scheduled back in December that due to a snowstorm was cancelled. I finally get to go to the intro meeting at the beginning of April. I want to volunteer not only for the experience but also to interact with people outside of school and feel like I am giving back to my community.

Thanks Sharylnn I will look into Silkies.

Can someone explain what ppc means?

There are socks/knee highs especially that exist without a heel, they are like tube socks but I haven't found any that are compression gradient. They basically stay up due to the band at the top. The lack of a heel doesn't affect this, think of most knee high nylons, usually they don't have heels but they also don't act as compressors. I don't know of anyone who makes compression gradient socks for kids. I have looked in the children's depts to no avail although I didn't expect to find any there.

I am looking for stockings/knee highs that don't have a built in heel. Does anyone know if they exist? I have a tiny foot and all the socks/knee highs I look at have the heel built in which would end up half way up my calf. I looked at several by NurseMates and other brand but didn't have any luck. Also, I noticed some people say they wear total support/light support pantyhose. Do those work as well for compression and do the knee high pantyhose work? Finally, do compression stockings make your feet feel better or can anyone recommend socks that help cut down on aching feet, again they have to come without a heel or in children's? Thanks.:)

Beth, As others have stated great job. I agree that it doesn't matter what your job is in the hospital, all healthcare professionals should (are?) required to report abuse and take action. I am glad you didn't get hurt. Can someone define POA? Is it Point of Action? Thanks.

Another thread about diabulimia with more information can be found at https://allnurses.com/forums/f8/diabulimia-252903.html

From one lefty to another, have you ever found the notebooks that are made specifically for lefties? I have never used one since I have gotten so used to the spiral binding being on the left hand side. These "special" notebooks are also more expensive. There used to be a store called the Lefty Store in Boston but I believe it has gone out of business. You might also try flipping to the back of a spiral bound notepad and start writing from the back toward the front so the spiral is on the right hand side.

My impression of second degree programs is most take people who have a wide range of majors in their first BA/BS. The point of a second degree program is for those of us who decided we wanted to be nurses after we got our first degree. If you look at almost any school that has a second degree program you will see they discuss this idea that people decide to become nurses who didn't work in a related science field or take science classes the first time around. A lot of second degree students end up taking their prereqs after they graduate with their first degree. The point of a liberal arts education is so you can critically analyze anything and are well rounded. I was a psych major and all of my jobs outside of college have had nothing to do with psych-although one of my college profs would say any job, especially retail, you use psych in. When I started college, I thought I wanted to go to med school and my advisor said I had to major in bio or chem but I was convinced I could get in to med school, even if I majored in Psych since that is where I was interested in having my major. In the end I never did apply to med school. I say major in Japanese. You may change your mind about nursing. Japanese will be an asset when you apply to nursing school especially if you are fluent since you will be able to help people who only speak Japanese. I wish I had better luck learning a foreign language. I studied Japanese culture in college and enjoyed it.

Thanks, I just checked and it was indeed the AHA class.

strange how a standardized class is still so different. we didn't have to roll a classmate onto their back from a prone position. the aha i thought got rid of abdominal thrusts when a person is unconscious (i don't believe you ever did them on a person when they were conscious). i was told now according to the aha has you go directly to mouth to mouth when a person becomes unconcious from choking and has added before each breath, you need to check the person's mouth to see if the foreign object has come up for you to remove. however i just checked out their website (see below for the link) and it still lists abdominal thrusts. i guess i better see if i took an aha class or red cross class. i swore it was aha that was being taught at my local hospital that was labeled for the healthcare professional/provider. is the book blue for the aha class for healthcare providers and only covers cpr, aed, and choking? the professional course no longer includes information on heart attack prevention or any prevention. for a look at what changes have been implemented take a look at the aha's link to their winter 2006-2007 ecc currents quarterly issue http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3043844

I just took the AHA class on Sunday at my local hospital for healthcare providers and it was easy. Granted I have been certified in the past in CPR and just certified in the Fall at work in community CPR. My class was about 4 hours and covered adult, child, and infant CPR; choking/Heimlech Maneuver; and AED (the AHA website says the class should last ~4.5 hours). The class doesn't cover first aid. I think it would have been harder if it hadn't all been a review for me. For example, people are now certified in using the AED but we never actually used it, we had 2 but neither worked, so we just watched it on the tape. Luckily, I learned how to use it when I took an EMT class. We didn't have to straddle the manniquin but we had the "little Annies" that were just the torso and no legs to contend with, so when we did the two person child CPR you basically had the mannequin in front of you-on a real person you would be straddling them. The class cost $75 and the cost depends upon the person/organization teaching it. Sometimes they are cheaper if the person teaching the class teaches it for free. I took it in order to apply to a certain nursing school. Most of the programs I have looked at just require you to take the class before school starts, but one program I am applying to requires you to submit your healthcare provider CPR card with your application. According to the person who taught my class, the AHA has put out a video for the instructors to follow while teaching the class in order to try and standardize the class across the country, so that what you learn in VT is the same in CA. Something I learned in this class is that the compressions to breathes for adults is now 30:2 and I believe it used to be 15:2, darn now I need to learn to count higher :). Supposedly research has shown it is more important for adult victims to have more compressions than breathes, but for kids the breathes are more important since most kids who stop breathing and having blood circulation have a breathing issue, than a heart issue.

Hello, I am trying to apply to UVM's Master's Entry Program for people who have a bachelor's degree in a field other than nursing. Does anyone know what term the program begins? I was guessing it begins in the summer but I am not sure if it may be the fall. I have been to the website and looked all over but I must be missing where it lists the term the program begins in. Thanks.