scucer

you can't say "nursing school" made you fat. it's the unhealthy eating and no exercise. that's like saying McDonald's "made" you fat, when in fact it hardly stuffed it's food down your throat. I recommend weight watchers. Perfect balance of teaching you the right amounts of different food and how much you'd need to exercise to burn it off

Hahaha it's like that darn "orangejello and lemonjello" names in the Weirdest Names thread!!! Some one posts that name on almost every page!!!

they may be very, very ugly, but my crocs solved any back/foot/knee pain my reeboks had been giving me. i also know i can spray them down at the end of the day with clorox and feel like they'll be clean for tomorrow.

you will find gossiping everywhere you go. it's not right, but it happens. the best, although sometimes hardest, way to deal with it is it just ignore it. my theory is "if they have nothing better to do than talk about me, then i just feel sad for them". these people have kids, hobbies, and everything else in the world to talk about, but for some reason won't. I'll bore you with 20 minutes talking about my cat before you'd hear me say anything about someone else. Just remember "this too shall pass" and by next week, they'll be talking about something, or someone, else.

in my school health clinical we had a third grader who would get sick every tuesday morning around 9am. come to find out that was spelling test time, and he just hated spelling.

i went right into a PICU. They did on the job training with us for at least six months (some need to go longer, it's a comfort-level thing) and i feel like everything i do, i've learned since starting. I'm a firm believer in you have to DO nursing to learn it, you can't just read it. You can read all you want to about starting IVs, but only by doing them can you get good at it.

In the PICU where I work you'll have one or two patients, two being the max. It's funny to hear the old nurses talk about patient ratio though, and how things have changed. Our hospital has gotten so full recently with really higher-need patients and with low staffing, a lot of time all the nurses are paired. Before if your patient was on any type of pressor it'd be a one-on-one. Now unfortunately it's not uncommon to have two ventilated patients who are one three or four drips. I'm sure some floor nurses will never understand how "only one or two" patients will keep you so busy for twelve hours, but there's been many, many days where my butt's never sat down!

i took it june of last year. had about 115 questions, and took just under 2 hours. i used the NCLEX "made easy" review book, and told everyone i knew to use it to. wonderful, tons of questions, and put the rationales on the same page. I also used a cd review, but only to get used to looking at a computer. I found out my results that night, and got my license the next day in the mail. This was in WV, maybe it was a slow day!

i went to a regular liberal arts university right after high school. i was immediately enrolled in the nursing program, no tests or waiting lists at this school. Put in my 4 years and graduated in 2006 with my BSN. I studied for a month and took my boards June of 06, passed on the first try and have loved being a nurse for the past year!

i work in a PICU in one of the top children's hospitals in the country.I came here straight out of school (got my bsn in a typical 4 year liberal arts college) and can't imagine ever working anywhere else. maybe one day i'll go get my PNP, but for now i'm happy!

My thought is "how do you even know you like nursing enough to get your doctorate in it without ever really experiencing what it's like to be a nurse?" I have my BSN, and this summer will complete my first year in a Peds ICU. I would like to one day get my masters, but right now i enjoy where I am, and I also wouldn't know what to get my masters in yet! I had several friends who went right from getting their bachelor's in education to masters programs without ever actually teaching a class. Sadly, a few realized after the fact that teaching wasn't for them. I'd hate to waste 3-4 years of my life on something i thought i wanted, only to find out it wasn't what i thought.

UPMC Children's ICU offers new grads an $8,000 sign on bonus and a 6 month orientation. trust me you need all 6 months there

I just graduated with my BSN in May and starting workin in the PICU at Children's in July. Yeah, it hasn't even been a full month yet, but i love it. It's by far the hardest thing i've ever done, but is already so rewarding. I can give you more specifics if you'd like, just lemme know!

I know a lady who did CAMC's CRNA program. I just graduated nursing school and am working in a Pittsburgh PICU so i can go to CRNA school too. She informed me that next year they are changing their program, along with many other in the country, to a PhD program. Just something to think about, if you want your doctorate or just a masters.