asnmann

We already get education enough to make us forget we're not in medical school. Why not do away with nursing all together. All care givers will be doctors, except the CNA's maybe they can slide by with a master's. Ha Ha I for one hate this concept. For a country with a so called "nursing shortage", this is a step in the wrong direction, though it still seems like a good OPTION for those who would like the extra education.

I'm no expert, but I've been researching schools and various advanced medical programs myself...so, Depending on your own desire(location/educational route), and your experience there are still a variety of paths to become a PA. Some schools actually still offer a "diploma" program for PA but I imagine, for obvious reasons, this will fade quickly. There are both Master's programs and certification PA programs. If my info is not outdated, there are even several schools at which you can earn a BS of your choice and the curriculum runs with your PA school. Like I said, I'm no expert and I'm still learning but keep in mind the path and degree YOU would like to obtain(after learning all of your options) and try to match it with the school that best suits you. I am actually still working on my ASN at this time, but upon graduation, I will work as much as I can for a short period of time(mainly to pay debt and save money) and then I will knock out my BSN which should only take me about 1 year because I am already taking classes that will be part of that curriculum. After that I will work for experience and will probably seek a PA certification(perhaps a master's program) and eventually I would like to work on a doctorate(just to have the title-ha ha). Really though, I've been interested in a Doctor of Medical Science degree for various reasons. It appears to be an interesting field of study and I will be able to teach and practice medicine without being an MD. Good luck with your search. I know my info was kind of vague, but we do have our uncertainty in common so let me know if you find any good, concise source of accurate information. I'll do the same for you if you'd like. BS

I need to come up with a teaching plan for a patient with COPD/emph. One idea I have is breathing exercises, but I need to be cautious to not impose anything that is not PhysTher approved. In addition I need to make sure that it will acutally be therapeutically benificial to the patients problem. If any one has specific ideas from past experience, please share. I am very open-minded concerning this and am willing to look into anything related to his respiratory problem. Thanx

I, as a nursing student, am also hearing alot of inappropriate subjective babble from several instructors who for some reason have a personal hate for narcotic pain treatment(particularly with the recent rise of the "pain industry")by way of walk-in pain management clinics. There are no doubt crooked things going on in this arena and more than likely always will be. However, I do not see that it is an instructor's place to teach of pain as a physical hardship of life and the treatment of it and substance abuse as a parallel curriculum. I believe suspicion of abuse is a FAR secondary to pain and comfort. It disgusted me to listen to some of the things I heard in the classroom setting and through it all keep my mouth sealed as though I am a lamb of their own feelings. In the end, I will listen to the crap that might get thrown my way, but I will in future practice let my own beliefs and values guide me in my decision making always keeping the patients welfare first. Pain is SUBJECTIVE and MAY be accompanied by objective observations. Regardless of my thoughts or objective findings in assessment, it remains my duty to provide comfort within reason to a patient who may or may not be suffering. I could go on for days, but to cut it short- don't let the gray areas that allow room for personal opinion, mold your own mind to do anything other than what you feel is right. The opinions that some of these professionals have developed are probably based on bad/disturbing scenarios that they have been personally involved in, so like them-let your experience guide you, and hopefully your path will leave you more open-minded.