hemlok2

Congratulation to all of you who have been accepted into the accelerated program for this fall of 2008. If any of you are interested in buying your books used and saving some money, I am selling most of my books for the first semester courses: Pathophysiology, Pharmacology, Nutrition, and Health Care Delivery. I am selling the books at 10% below the price the bookstore on campus sells them for. Let me know if you are interested. You can reach me at [email protected]. My name is Paul by way. Once again, congrats to all of you, and I look forward to meeting you in a few months!

Can anyone tell me how to go about finding money (grants, scholarships, loan repayment programs) to help pay for nursing school. I will be starting an accelerated BSN program in January 2008 and need to figure out how I am going to pay for tuition and living expenses; this will be my second bachelors and I have not finished paying off the first, ouch. I have heard that many hospitals offer loan repayment plans to graduates if you contract to work for them 2-3 years. Can anyone help me out here? Thanks.

The next time I run into someone, whether it be doctor, nurse, patient, or family member who disparages my desire to become a nurse, I will remember the inspiriting and supportive posts that so many of you have made. A person's work should be judged by its quality and consistency alone; his or her gender, age, ethnicity are immaterial. While I know this to be true in my mind, it is encouraging to hear it from others who share the profession I am preparing to enter. If anything, I am even more determined to become a nurse and join the ranks of such excellent and admirable people as those on this site. Thank you for your support!

I really want to thank all of you for sharing your thoughts and words of encouragement with me. I am sure nursing, just like any other profession, has its old guard who hold on to the ways of the past and who are averse to change of any kind, even if it be change for the better. They meet every change or innovation like an angry mob brandishing pitchforks and torches. However, after encountering people of that kind, it is always nice to know that there are wonderfully open-minded people such as yourselves who see things differently. cheers, Paul

I have begun observing and volunteering at a hospital before beginning nursing school and had a negative experience this weekend. When asked by a very senior and experienced nurse why I was on the ward, I replied that I was learning as much as I could about nursing before heading to nursing school. She responded that males should be doctors not nurses and said it was not appropriate for me to be observing what other nurses did until I was a student--she said this to me despite my showing her that I had been authorized by the hospital administrator to observe. Is this a common reaction to male nurses or those who wish to be nurses? All of the nurses I have worked with and observed so far have been very kind and helpful. Perhaps the one I encountered is just an anomoly--at least I hope. But I just wanted to get feedback on this. Thanks.

What was your best experience as a nurse? and what was your worst experience?

I was wondering if those of you who have been accepted or who have completed Duke's BSN program would be kind enough to post your stats and your background experience? I have put in an application there and am curious to know what kind of applicants they typically admit. I am a rather odd candidate, but here is my history: I just finished up working for the past five years as a professor of English Literature. I finally decided it was time to pursue my dream of becoming a CRNA! I have a cum 3.6 GPA from Pepperdine (way back in '94) and did my Masters at Villanova. I finished my Ph.D. in 2000 with a 4.0 GPA. I did not have any time to study for the GRE so my scores are somewhat poor : 690 verbal and 570 quant. Perhaps I will take it again when I have time to go through a study book. Its been a dozen or so years since I took a math course and it shows! I have done some volunteer work for the Red Cross and humane society over the years plus some tutoring of non-native English speaking students out here in the western Pacific. I am currently a speech writer and research analyst for a senator. Not sure if I am competitive for Duke's program, but figure I'll give it a go and see what happens.

I intend to become a CRNA and was wondering what character traits make for a good CRNA? I know this is a rather nebulous question, but was curious to hear from CRNA's, SRNA's, and prospectives about what they think. What personality types are generally suited for this line of work, what kind of people are more likely to succeed or fail in NA school? Is there a particular kind of person you would seek to dissuade from entering this field? These are, of course, value judgement questions but nonetheless important ones in my humble opinion. Thanks in advance for your input. Paul