Irishowl

I work in a hospital in California as a PCT. I have 10 years experiance and I make $22 an hour with full benefits. I work 3 - 12 hour shifts per week. Shannon

I went from being a CNA to a PCT because I moved to a different unit in the hospital. I was already EKG trained because I worked on a telemetry unit. I was already a monitor tech for the same reason. The unit I was hired on to work as a PCT hired me specifically to pull arterial lines because most of our patient population comes from the cath lab with lines in. So yes I can do more than a CNA. They trained me to pull lines and also to do unit secretary work. Shannon

I work in CA as a patient care technician in a hospital. I have 10 years experiance and I make $22 an hour. On weekends I make $1 more per hour. Shannon

I was finger printed at the begining of November and by mid January I had my license. One month later I had a job and I've been at that hospital over 6 years now. Good luck! Shannon

I'm a patient care tech on a cardiovascular interventional unit of a hospital, I do a little bit of everything. I enter orders, watch the monitors and answer phones as needed. I discharge and admit patients and do ADL's. We ambulate and reposition patients. We pull arterial lines when patients come up from the cath lab with them. We also do vitals and pretty much whatever needs to be done. Shannon

I work as a patient care tech in a hospital. I have my CNA as well as basic cardiac monitoring class and unit secretary training, both are required for my position. I have over 8 years experiance and I make $22.10 an hour. My hours are 10am-8:30pm. On weekends I make $1.40 more per hour. I started out in Vermont as an LNA in a nursing home making $5.75 per hour. Shannon

I'm not a nurse, I'm a patient care tech with 8 years experiance. I'm also awaiting entry into the respiratory therapy program. I have been out at work for a very long time and it's a non issue. Everyone knows I'm a lesbian and when my partner and I got married this summer everyone was very excited and supportive. My partner used to work at the same hospital so many of my coworkers know her also. When patients are making small talk and ask if I am married I say yes! But, I do not elaborate. I have had a few gay patients who have flat out asked me about my orientation and I have been honest with them.

Sher - Thank you for posting that! I appreciate it. Today is the big day! Respiratory AP exam with urinary anatomy thrown in for fun! I spent about 7 hours yesterday studying and I'll probably get another 3 in this morning before I head in to school. I don't know if I feel confident but I feel ok. My professor gives exams that have several differant portions. There is a practical portion, a power point identify portion, a multiple choice portion, fill in the blank and short essays. I plan to go very slowly and focus on 1 thing at a time. It's very easy to get distracted in that room with people changing stations every 40 seconds, the powerpoint slide changing every 40 seconds. Shannon

Sher10 - I am a visual learner, I think. I have no problems remembering anatomy. I can literally see the page in the book in my mind. I have problems remember the physiology, the big picture concepts. I am trying to focus my study on those things primarily. Another issue I have is we always have enormous homework assignments before exams. I've decided that some of my homework may not get done before this exam. I need to be studying. I'm not going to sacrifice my 200 point exam on a 10 or 15 point homework assignment. My exam is Tuesday at 1pm and I have a study schedule up to that point. I work F,Sa, Su from 10am - 8:30pm. But, I'm bringing my printed out lecture slides to work with me to read on breaks and slow times. When I get home I am working on rereading the chapter. Monday I plan to study for 8-10 hours, broken up into 1.5 hour intervals. Tuesday I'll be up early reviewing anatomy and concepts that may still be a tad fuzzy. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can...............

I am 32 and still doing pre reqs for the nursing program! I will be nearly 35 when I graduate, and that is IF I get in the first semester I apply. I guess it helps that I have alot of friends who are around my age doing the same thing. My only regret is that we are waiting to start our family until I graduate and the clock is ticking. But, we all make sacrifices. At 32 you could be doing the same thing you are now, or you could be working on your dream. The time will pass either way, it's what you do with it that counts. Shannon

I'm hoping to get accepted to the nursing program starting January 2009. To prepare I'd like to: ~Deep clean my whole house ~Get my every inch of my house super organized ~Spend lots of time with my partner - I couldn't do this without her love and support! ~Freeze some casseroles ~Make sure all my car maintence is up to date Shannon

My current position as a PCT requires me to work as a CNA, cardiac monitor tech and also a unit secretary. I've learned alot such as meds and common dosing for many medications. I've also gotten the chance to have alot more contact with physicians than I would normally have as a CNA on the floor. It's made me feel more comfortable around Dr's and I think that will serve me well in nursing school. Also, once I work in that hospital as an RN someday, I know so many of the procedures and how to order things, and get things done. Shannon

I am taking AP2 this semester and I'm really struggling. I've never struggled this much with a class before. We have taken 2 exams and I have a 72%, I need an 80% for a B. We have 3 more exams in the next 7 weeks so I do have time to redeem myself. I just feel like I do not have enough time to do homework and it's affecting how well I retain information. I did take 1 big step to help myself, I changed my work schedule. I was working all day long on M, W, F with school T, TH. I now work F, Sa, Su with school on T, TH. I feel that will give me 4 days in a row and hopefully the consistent repetition will help me remember better. Does anyone have any tips to help me study more efficiently? I am NOT going to repeat this class. I am very determined to work my butt off these next 7 weeks and get through. :uhoh21: Shannon

I'm pre respiratory therapy and 31 years old. This is my last semester doing pre reqs! I work as a patient care tech at a hospital. I'll be so happy when this semester is over! :balloons:

I was able to transfer my certification from Vermont to California through reciprocity. It wasn't too difficult to do. What took the longest was getting my finger prints and background check done. Good luck!