Elysium_Won

Amen to that! Welcome to the profession, Mindy.

Reston Hospital has a "tuition reimbursement" program. Sibley Hospital in Northwest DC also has a similar program. Sibley's is on their website but Reston's is not (not that I'm aware of anyway). Both require about a two year committment. Good luck.

If our census is low, we can either be floated to another unit, cancelled, or put "on-hold". Our "on-hold" policy is NOT required - they call and offer it and you can say yes or no. I don't know what happens if everyone says 'no' because so far, to my knowledge, someone always accepts it. While "on-hold", you're paid $5.50/hr and can be called in if needed. I work 7p-7a and the times I've been "on-hold" have always been 7p-11p when we have extra nurses leftover from the 3p-11p shift. If you are cancelled, you're basically given the shift off and are not paid. You're not on-call so you're not expected to sit by the phone. Working overnight, I haven't noticed many cancellations for the 11p-730a part of the shift since we have less staff as it is. The worst scenario, for me, is to come in and get floated from 7p-11p, then have to go back to my unit and start over with a new group of patients. It's pretty much impossible to get to report by 11p when you're still trying to chart out on another unit. That usually equals complete assessment and charting on a total of 11-13 patients for your shift. :angryfire

I graduated from a PCT program prior to going to nursing school. I lived in Florida at the time. We had a CNA course as part of the program, then learned injections, EKGs, lab tests, phlebotomy, Foley insertions, etc. It was a 6 month program followed by 2 months of clinicals and then a 90-hour externship. When we finished, we took the CNA exam to get that license, earned a Home Health Aide certification, and a PCT diploma. In the area I lived, the hospitals would hire PCTs and they would function at a level between CNA and LPN/RN. Some medical offices would also hire PCTs to serve as Medical Assistants. After moving to Virginia, my experience was that most PCTs served as CNAs though some hospitals have them do more. Hindsight being what it is, if I did it over, I probably would have saved the $8,000 I spent for PCT school. I've since learned that many hospitals hire nursing students as PCTs and will train them for more advanced skills, thus creating different clinical levels of techs (Tech I, Tech II, Tech III).

Thanks for the replies folks. Pretty much confirms what I thought/knew. I have no worries about job references and I know the "old" unit & staff very well so I have no fear about it not working out. They truly are great. (I was the idiot to leave in the first place! Lesson learned.)

When I applied for nursing school it was 17 years after I graduated high school. I got the TEAS practice book and there were things in it that we never learned in high school - things I'd never even heard of. I took the practice test cold and did not do well. Then I spent exactly one week with the study guide, focused on the things I'd never heard of and then reviewed stuff I already learned (and likely forgotten). I scored very well. So I would definately say the TEAS was easier than working on that GPA for four years.

I graduated from nursing school in December 2006. I had three job offers, one of which was to remain at the unit & hospital where I worked as a tech during school. It was a great place and I truly loved the people I worked with. However, I opted to join a much larger hospital in a completely different type of unit because A.) I thought it would be a great learning experience, B.) they painted an wonderful picture of their environment and culture and C.) they offered a fantastic tuition repay program (which has to be repaid w/ interest if you leave). After going through the classroom orientation/classes and the outside training course they offered, the new orientees hit the unit for unit specific orientation. There were two of us on my unit. It was the most needlessly tense environment I have ever worked in. People would cheer when they found out the manager had left for the day or wasn't coming in. There was a lot of talking about people behind their backs (comments on personal life as well as professional). Many other "little" things also occurred. All of this, I could have gotten past but at the end of the day, the type of unit was not my thing and I realized this about 3 weeks into my unit orientation. However, I thought I needed to give it a fair chance and I wondered if I felt this way partly because of the newness of it all, given that it was my first nursing position. After 2 full months on unit orientation (and a total of 4 months at the hospital) I knew I would not be happy there. I was coming home miserable and making others miserable at home. When an opportunity came up to return to the place I had worked at in school, I carefully thought through all the options and it seemed like a no brainer - return to the place where you were happy & fit the unit, liked the people, and knew they were all outstanding nurses. I even considered the repayment of the tuition money and decided $ does not = happiness and it was worth repaying it, interest and all. It definately was not a lightly-made decision. I went in to tender my resignation knowing that the manager would be dissappointed and frustrated (the other orientee left weeks earlier w/ no notice and they had lost many other orientees in the previous year) but I was not prepared for what happened. She told me I was "unprofessional" to let them put me through training just to leave. She was going to mark me as ineligible for rehire and that would be a red flag to anyone who called for a reference. I had always been told before that the orientation process was a chance for both parties to see if there was a good fit or not. If I had not been working out well, they sure would not have hesitated to let me go. When I explained the main reason I was leaving (not having a good fit with the type of unit) she said I should have realized that early on. She told me I was letting the whole team down because it was so close to the end of my orientation (it was scheduled to end in 1 more month - which is 1 month short of what they promised to begin with because they felt I was progressing well enough) and I asked if she would rather someone stay and not be happy and have that come across to their patients. (I wouldn't be the only one..) I realize my part of the blame here is in not speaking up about every "little" thing that was wrong. (Evidently, nobody that works there ever does either, they just sit complaining behind the scenes.) But honestly, if the fit were good for me, I could have been able to work with the other issues. So I guess my reason for this post is to ask - how long DO you give it before you decide it's not a good fit? I thought two months was almost not enough time to really know, but evidently it's a good thing I didn't give it longer! I really would have been blasted.

Are you talking about a Process Recording? We are doing these in my psych clinical this semester. We were given a form to use for these. Basically, it is three columns: #1 we write down the dialogue between ourself and the client, #2 we record any non-verbal communication by the client, #3 we record our thoughts/reflections on what is happening. There are also guidelines for listing the setting of the conversation, length of the conversation, etc. If you google "Process Recording", there are several school that have posted sample forms and sites with more in-depth information. Good Luck.

I have to throw in my 2-cents' worth! I grew up in Illinois, just across the river from Missouri and then lived in St. Louis for 10 years from the age of 22 to 32. St. Louis is great for culture and the arts. The Fox Theatre, the Muny, Riverport Ampitheater, Powell Symphony Hall, Sheldon Concert Hall, and many other places for live theatre and music. Plenty of Museums, the science center, and historical attractions and many of them free. For outdoors, you have Forest Park with the outstanding St. Louis Zoo, Six-Flags is nearby, plus Grant's Farm... so much to do! Plus: quaint neighborhoods, historic districts, art-house type movie theaters, several parades & festivals throughout the year... I could go on, but you get the picture. It's definately a place to consider moving to.

1. If you "really can't explain it well", don't refer me to the book and then expect me to be able to test on it! I probably won't be able to explain it well either! 2. If you admit YOU have to carry a cheat sheet on "Topic A", even after all these years, why am I expected to know every minute detail about it? I'm already responsible to know topics B through Z in depth! 3. If you insist that you don't test on things you don't cover in class, please define what it means to "cover" something in class. It appears that mentioning one fact about a specific condition is considered "covering" it. I have a few others, but these are the main ones!

This is exactly what my school does currently. I'm in the AAS Nursing program and it transitions into the RN-to-BSN program with no further application, etc. In essence, it is a 4-year BSN program with the opportunity to get your license and start working half-way through. As a "returning" student to school, I could not, in any way, afford to take a 4 year leave from working to go to school full-time and a part-time BSN program would have taken me until retirement to complete. This way, I can deal with full-time school/no-or-little working for two years, then get a job and continue my education part-time. Of course there are those who will consider me a second-class nurse until that point (such as the clinical instructor who told our AAS class that BSN students were smarter than us) but that's their problem, not mine.

This is loosely medical-related, though not exactly nursing... My brother & his wife and kids moved into a rental house out in a rural area back in the early 90's. While they were unpacking (in the summer) the furnace kept turning on. They also kept hearing a voice coming through the vents and thought the kids were outside yelling; but the kids were playing quietly. When my sister-in-law was unpacking in the bedroom, she found a metal assistive-bar (like you'd put in the tub or next to the toilet) in the closet and a bunch of orange specks in the carpet by the window. She said it creeped her out for some reason. After they settled in, she said whenever she would turn the t.v. off and go to bed, she'd hear what soundling like somebody shuffling across the carpet. My brother worked early mornings, so he was always asleep and, therefore, didn't believe her. This went on for months. One day she was babysitting her niece who was about 2 or 3. Sis-in-law was in the bedroom folding laundry and the niece was standing at the door and would not come in the room. When my sis-in-law said, "Come on in, Jessie.", her niece shook her head, pointed across the room and said, "No, that man over there." Needless to say my sister-in-law decided she had to find out what was going on. We had a spiritual channeler come to a relative's house a few months later. When asked if there was a ghost in my sister-in-law's house, the spirit, through the channeler said there was. She said he was a very athletic man who developed a very crippling disease and he couldn't take it, so he shot himself in the head while lying in bed. He also said to tell the spirit he doesn't belong there anymore and that he should move on. My sister-in-law went back to the realtor who had rented the house to them and he finally confirmed the story. The man had been an athlete, developed some crippling disease (assitive bar in the closet) and could barely walk across the room (hence, the shuffling sounds). He asked his wife to go out for orange juice one day and shot himself while she was gone. After a few more encounters, they were able to get through to the spirit by telling him that his wife had moved and he didn't belong there anymore. My brother, by the way, did end up witnessing some events over the course of the year this went on - but he still says, "There must be some explantation other than a ghost." haha

I had a self-care patient on the BSC. When she finished, I assisted her to the sink so she could do her ADLs. She was able to stand & walk fine on her own, so I took the bucket out of the BSC to empty it in the bathroom. However, since she often got SOB, I left the BSC near the sink, next to her, in case she needed to sit down before I got back in the room. She did. Need to sit down, that is. And she DID. Thinking the bucket was there, she relieved herself again - all over the floor. She was quite unfazed, but I was embarassed. I THOUGHT I had made it clear I was taking the bucket. Needless to say, that won't happen to me again!

I was another baby with spina bifida. They flew in a specialist to do surgery on me when I was 3 days old. Afterward, my parents were told I wouldn't live past the age of 2 or so and wouldn't be able to crawl or walk and could have other complications. That was my last surgery - I'm 36 now and able to walk. (Not going to win any awards for grace and agility, but I have almost non-existent issues and realize how lucky I am.) I first thought about nursing at age 25 when my six-year old niece was diagnosed with neuroblastoma. She was give Started out in a PCT program in 2003 and last year decided to bite the bullet: left the old career, took a tech job (finally) at the hospital, and started full-time nursing school. I'll be finished in December. With over 10 cases of cancer in the immediate family, I've always wanted to go into oncology & hospice but now I'm being pulled toward peds/PICU/NICU, so we'll see where I end up. Good luck to my fellow student nurses! Congrats to the graduate nursess! And THANKS to those who've been out there through the years!

I have to get back to studying (haha) so I didn't have a chance to read all the replies in this thread, but I have two positive things that jump to mind immediately. #1 - This is especially true the evening or day after a clinical: I am so thankful for what I have - health, family, etc. Seeing patients who have poor health and then nobody to visit on top of that, it's heartbreaking. When you see those eyes light up with gratitude over "just" a sip of water or a fluffed-up pillow, it puts so much in perspective. I go home & cherish the big and little things and count my blessings. #2 - Nobody here will argue if I say this is one of the most difficult and challenging things we've ever done. There are a couple of classmates that I've been through the good and the bad with and we have a bond now that will last a lifetime. We've known each other 11 months (almost) but it feels like a lifetime. We can encourage & support each other in ways that other friends & families can't, because "we know". There are plenty of other positive experiences that come from this endeavor as well, as I'm sure the other posts will prove. Whatever way our paths go after this, we are all changed for the better.

Thanks for the feedback, Eric & Daytonite! I especially appreciate the referral to Medline Plus - great information there. Why haven't I found that site before?! Take care!

Hello! I'm relatively new to the boards here but I've been reading them for awhile now. I need to do a Teaching Plan and Presentation on Spinia Bifida for my OB clinical. Since it's OB, I'm focusing more on teaching geared toward parents expecting a baby with Spinia Bifida. I thought I would cover things such as "What is Spina Bifida?", "How does it occur?", "Can it be prevented?", and then talk about ongoing care after birth (mobility issues, self-esteem, bladder control, etc.) Since this is a theoretical case & not based on a specific client, I have a fairly free reign on what topics to cover. That seems to make it more difficult, especially when you get into all of the complications that could occur. Are my ideas too general/broad? Should I pick out a few more specific topics and just stick to those? Or just focus on what to expect in the first year or so? Would appreciate any feedback. Thank you!

I made comparison charts for similar disease processes. Since many diseases have similar symptoms & interventions, I focused on what was different for each one. I'd list the diseases across the top, then down the side I'd have rows for S&S, diagnostic tests, patho, treatment, etc. (This also really helped for all the different rashes in Peds.) I also took extensive notes in class, retyped them, and then read them into a cassette recorder & listened to it whenever I could. Repetition is key for me on the memorization stuff. The NCLEX review books also a help as someone mentioned. Going over the rationales is especially beneficial. You can only memorize so much, but if you get the concepts, you can apply it in many situations. Another thing that helped was doing case studies. Even if I couldn't even begin to work them out, just reading the answers & rationales helped. Lastly, one of my instructors suggested studying everything from the basis of a few questions: "What is normal? What is abormal? What will I do if its abnormal? Why will I do what I do?" It sounds very basic, but it helped to a certain degree. I'm in Peds & OB for summer & will have Med Surg III and Psych in the fall and plan to keep with these formulas. Our program has a 78% cut-off to pass.