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I went in 2000, and part of 2001 when I had to drop out (switched to Del Tech) due to my teenager sons needing me more. You will have so much studying to do but I know the end result will be great........If you can commit you should go..they used to have dorms, but I don't know if they still do. I highly recommend it. Eileen

Hi Ivy, funny thing I have only worked in private practice..........first job was at an OB/GYN practice with about 9 docs to take care of. I got alot of my confidence in that job, learned a little more about myself as a nurse and moved on towards a Pulmonary Practice, and this was probably the best experience as far as juggling everything since I dealt almost 100% with the patient from intake onward, the only thing I did not do was make follow-up appts for them..........I scheduled all their tests, triaged the phone calls, did your basic vitals..performed spirometry, walk studies, allergy injections, and acted as the key liason between the doc and pt, as well as Durable Med Equipment Companies,,,,,,,,I was a the sales person as well as the service person!! Right now I'm working in Internal Medicine......love it. While we only deal with adults the contact with the various family members is constant... You sound like you can multi-task, and as long as you like people, private practice is very rewarding........Your patients become a part of you and when they are doing great you laugh and give them high 5's and when they aren't you cry and offer yourself as a listener...Clinical experience is great but you may not see as much in private practice, but that just depends on what their scope is....Good Luck, its fun!! Eileen

Let me tell you that this is not a "piece of cake" position, especially at a Family Practice which I am assuming is from birth thru the dying process. Having a back ground in Phych is a great tool,,, you will definitely speak to a variety of pts, family and other medical professionals, and understanding the complex backgrounds will make you a definite asset. (imho) What you bring to the table is most important, confidence in your abiltiy to assess the complaint whether on the phone or in clinic, and to streamline that info to the physician is the most important. I can't speak for everyone, but your skills as a "customer realtions rep" is key in your sucess in a private practice. I found that I used my "therapuetic listening" training a whole lot more in private practice. As for the $$, I can not say, I am an LPN and make comparable to LPN's in LTC, with guaranteed hours, holiday pay and no week-ends. The practice I work for has been here for 30 plus years. Try to find out a little history about the practice and make sure you ask them questions pertaining to that, find out how many pt's the docs see each day, learn who is responsible for the phones, if you must do everyones job, then you need to be compensated for it.............It my opinion you wouldn't be out of line for asking for what you make now,,,,, especially since you are an RN.....What ever you do, Good Luck! Eileen

Beebe is a great school, tough but you are so prepared when you graduate to take the NCLEX and start working. You have so much clinical in comparison to the other programs.....since the are affiliated with the hospital you can do nurse extern, so look at the Beebe Hospital web-site for the School of Nursing info. I didn't graduate from there, I actually did my first sememster of nursing school there but had to switch to Del Tech (still a good school) to get my LPN since I had some issues with my kids. They require total committment, but they are with you every step of the way............if I could have I would have continued there. Hope this helps Eileen

http://http://dpr.delaware.gov/boards/nursing/documents/SchoolList_0109.pdf If you go to the Delaware Board of Nursing site, you will find the schools listed there that are approved Nursing Programs in Delaware. I've given the link, but you should still look at the web site. Eileen

I remember it being drilled into us to answer as the question as the NURSE, in this case the LPN,,,, not the MD or CNA or RN. Give the BEST answer as the NURSE, even if the true best answer isn't given, you still need to pick the best one out of the four given. I read the question, and paid attention to what they were asking for, then I read the answers and looked for the right one, then I read the question again. Don't hesitate because you know you KNOW this right!! Keep us posted PLEASE!

well the preceptor your're with now could give report to him, that way he would know that you've been doing things independently or with assistance. i would greet him cheerfully and let him know that what exactly you have been doing and hope to learn more from him. flattery is always best!! lets us know. eileen

I worked for a multiple (9) doc practice in OB/GYN as my first job out of school for about 8 months. What I remember most is needing to be fast on my feet because they were seeing anywhere from 25 to 35 pts/day and you generally had to be in the exam room with them to assist with any procedure, such as colposcopy or uro-dynamic or just doing plain old pap/pelvic exams. We had a telephone triage system in place that we worked one or two days a week, depending on the need that day. I had excellent training and great co-workers. You'd be surprised at what you learn about the female body and what some women will do with it!! The real joy is when your OB pts bring their little ones back to see you! Hope this helps a little

I finally got my insurance after being at this job since August, I was told I would have it after 3 months, but someone goofed up, then it seemed that the office was changing insurance companies and had to go with one to make sure there was no lapse in coverage............today I was informed that the office would pay 280.00/month and my share was 305.00/month. Needless to say without a payraise of about 500.00 a month i can't afford to work there any more! I will be turning down the insurance and looking for other employment..........which is sad because I love my job and was getting pretty comfortable with it. Hope you have better luck! Eileen

:monkeydance: Boy can I relate to all of this, most of the time I have to do the front desk and med records job as well, I can't even get them to have our new patients fill out paper work which IS THEIR JOB. I work in a multi-physician office,3 GP's and one specialist whom I am the nurse for, needless to say that my doc brings in more money for the practice than the other docs, and they can't even get the insurance cards copied, something is definetely wrong with this picture. I have got to say that our main problem is that we have a high turnover rate of office personnel, so when they hire someone to replace, they hire someone either with no experience or they are immature. Personally I'm sick of hearing about this ones boyfriend troubles or that ones anxiety troubles, nothing much will ever be done about it...........I can only hope that my doc decides to open his own practice in the near future;) , since I love working for him, and that's why I stay. Take good care of yourself! Eileen

Hi, You will find a great deal of difference in pay in the 3 different counties in Delaware with New Castle paying the most, Sussex the least. Kind of hard to believe with only about a 100 mile difference between them! I work in Dover now, live in Rehoboth and have been looking for a new job closer to home, I will be taking a cut in pay, but right now I'll be saving about 70 dollars in gas, so it all evens out. Anyway, the other poster was right about Seacrets, great place to go, and all of the beaches here are really nice, great restaurants, and of course tax free shopping! Let us all know what you decide to do. Eileen

Hey now we have one from each campus!! I'm from Owens Campus, just started this Jan, have been in clinical 3 weeks now. Graduate this Dec. This is the first time that Owens has started a class for LPN's in Jan, how does your campus work? Which hospital are you doing clinical in? I'm at Nanticoke in Seaford, and I really like it. Hang in there! Hey Terry campus, Owens has a great RN program!! :) Keep in touch!