casey12873

thank you all for your advice. I refused to give the gent until after the dr ordered a random gent level. He was due for a trough level in the am (tomorrow would have been his third dose.) However, his level was high last week, so they've adjusted the dose twice thus far. It's also going to be held until after he sees an infectious disease specialist. I was worried that I may have been overreacting about the ringing in the ears, but I'm glad I stood my ground and got what my resident needed!

I have a resident on gentomycin (sp?) IV. He began complaining of his ears ringing yesterday. He says it starts usually after his IV has ran for about a half and hour, and will usually subside within an hour and a half after the IV is finished. He gets 360 mg/109ml over an hour via pump once daily. Is this just a side effect that will go away when his therapy is over or does this mean the ototoxic capabilities of the drug are possibly happening? He has no stop date ordered yet as they are going to reculture next week, and then decide whether to continue the antibiotic. The other nurses I work with have suggested I only monitor the symptoms for now. How long do I just monitor before it could be permanent? Help!

Best of luck on your test!

I don't remember exactly what day I got my results, but it was pretty quick. In Ohio, you can go to the state BON web site, click on licensure verification, type in your name. If it showed up (which mine did!! ), you passed. I think I even got my license in the mail before I got my test results back if I remember right. Good luck on the test!!

"Got any pizza for me?" as he walked over towards me and

I graduated from PN classes a little over a year ago. I started out on night shift--hated it!! Got a day shift position, ended up hating the facility, lol. I'm glad I had to work nights for a while, though. There definitely is a huge difference between the shifts!! Days you have to deal with dr's rounds, family, meals, activities, therapies, pharmacies, management, etc. Nights you pass pills, do your assessments, chart, maintain equipment, etc. My girlfriend from school started out on days, though. I remember her screaming every day after work about "how in the world am I supposed to get everything done in 12 hours when I've got the dr giving orders, family asking questions, activities stealing my residents, and the phone ringing for me every fifteen minutes?" (Of course, that's paraphrased, but you get the idea.) Good news is: eventually you learn to manage your time. My best advice for you is determine if you function better during the daytime or night time. Either way, congratulations and best of luck!! :yelclap:

This one wasn't intentional, but ended up being pretty funny... When I was doing my IV sticks to get my cert, the nurses would tell the patients that I was a student and ask their permission for me to do the IV before I went in. This big ol' honkin' guy had a great vein and I got it on first try. However, I pulled the needle out too quickly and got blood all over the place. When that happened, I said "OOPS!" Lol, I thought he was going to pass out when I said that! :roll

isn't that false imprisonment??

Hi, everyone! I just wanted to share this little joke a family member told me the other day. There were 3 people walking on the beach. They came upon a jeanie's lamp and were granted one wish each. The first person said, "Make me the smartest person in the world!" Poof! The jeanie made her a family doctor. The second person saw this and was amazed. She said, "Make me 50% smarter than her!" Poof! The jeanie made her into one of the most brilliant, finest surgeons on Earth. Now, the third person was watching both of her friends as they made their wishes. She said, "I want to be 100% smarter than both of them!" Poof! The jeanie turned her into a nurse! Hope this little story makes you smile as big as I did and feel just as proud as me to be a nurse. Have a blessed day, everyone!

OK, so I've read the first and last page of this loooong thread. Maybe some of you will laugh (please be my guest--I love laughter), but here are the main reasons I chose nursing: 1) My husband is a 45 year old factory worker. He didn't graduate from high school. I needed a job I could count on in case something happens to his job. 2) I want to move to Kentucky. When we do, my husband can retire/quit and become my house husband!! (What a lovely dream!! ) 3) I wanted to be able to afford a Dodge Durango! lol--still hasn't happened--probably could afford the car payment, but not the gas....

I was the last class to finish before they added their RN program. (They added just before we graduated.) I would have to take pre reqs, since they didn't have our courses planned out for the bridge program. After 15 months of PN classes, (I took night classes) I am not so willing to go back to a classroom. Actually, I had a pretty negative experience while at RETS. I've considered going back there since it is such a quick course for RN, but I think I'm going to go through Excelsior instead. I think it will work out better for my family. Good for you, though! How much longer do you have to go now? Are you working somewhere also?

Rachel, where are you looking for a job? I thought it was pretty easy to get a job once I graduated. Congratulations on graduation!!! Lori, what do you think of RETS ADN program? I took LPN there, graduated May '05.

Texas, you are so supportive!! What would I do without you?? The CN guy was here. I have decided I am going to try to take my pre-reqs on my own, test out, then try nursing through EC. If that doesn't work, then I will go back and sign up with CN just for the nursing aspect of it. To everyone who left advice/tips for me: :thankya: THANK YOU!!!

it IS pretty weird all the things we have in common.... The CN guy is coming out today at 1:30pm. I'll let you guys know what all he has to say. I have been up since 3:30 this morning!!! I need sleep!!!! I had to go an hour away from home this morning to try to get my IV sticks in so I could get my IV cert. I tried 5 times, got one, blew two, and just plain missed on two. So, now, I have to go back again!

Sheesh my thoughts are that I've had 3 full semesters of LPN school and the second year RNs that I want to join only have 2 semesters under their belt...they are the ones that need the "bridge program" to catch up to me, lol. :yeahthat:

I'm in the same boat! I have talked to EC, CN, Rue, and other various community colleges about the same thing! I have a husband and 2 teenage boys I want to be home with, so I am leaning towards CN. Alot of people have told me not to do this, but as far as I can tell, it will be the most painless way to bridge into RN. Maybe someday, I can go back (again) and earn a BSN. Hang in there!!

I am really surprised by how many people won't share their notes.... I had loads of people ask me for my notes simply as a study guide, especially at finals. I was always willing to give them out. Actually, after first term, I made notes on all lectures for the whole final, copied them, and gave them to the whole class. I thought part of nursing was education--whether it is for the patients, their families or classmates... I even gave them to the ones who didn't show up for class. (There was one girl and one guy who chose to spend their time out in the parking lot together during class, even though they were both married.) The ones who didn't put in the hard work didn't pass anyway. Maybe I am too nice?

OK. I had to reschedule my appointment with the CN guy due to scheduling conflicts with my son's orthodontist. However, I did get to talk to him on the phone for about an hour. I asked all kinds of questions. He is rescheduled to come out on Friday, so in the meantime, I thought I'd post everything he told me and see if anyone has any input. (I think he hated that I had been doing research and talking to all of you because I kept saying, "Well, everyone on allnurses says...." lol) He told me all about the differences between ASN to BSN. With ASN, yes, I could get all of the info on my own without using CN. (He said all of the stuff you buy on ebay is "Buyer beware".) I would have to do all of the research myself, whereas, CN sends a condensed version to study which will show me what I need to know for the tests. (I asked him if that meant they are spoonfeeding me vs. learning on my own, lol.) Also, regarding the gap between the time I finish my nursing classes to the time I can actually take the CPNE, he said I should schedule the CPNE when I start my nursing classes, which would leave about a 2 month gap between the time I finish and the time I can go for the CPNE, which would also leave about a one month period to schedule a practice CPNE, which he strongly suggested. The money is all paid as you go and you cannot get your LPN loans on hold since they are not considered a title IV school (no government funding). If I were to go straight through for my BSN, it is scheduled through Indiana State, which is a title IV school so all of my loans would be on hold until 6 months after I graduate. It is time sensitive, which is different than Excelsior (do it on my own time). He said that it would take about 3 years vs. 15 months with EC. He also said that since most hospitals are trying to get magnet status, it really helps to have a BSN under my belt if I wanted to work in a hospital setting. He said I could still get a job in a hospital with an ASN, but the hospital may make that position contigent on me earning a BSN in the future. ASN is approx $10,000 vs BSN is approx $26,000. (The one year traditional school ASN here in town costs $23,000, so I would still be saving money.) He also said that insurance companies for our employers are pushing them to hire all BSN due to risk management. Since I have no prereqs, (according to him) I should start taking them at my community college and through them so I can get them all done by next August when I would be eligible for entrance at that time. He said with my GPA of 3.98 from LPN school, it would not be an issue of me getting in at that time. (I knew I was working so hard for a good reason back then!! ) OK, NOW what should I do??? I'm 32 years old, don't want to be a career student, have a husband who is 45 years old, with two kids--Mat is 15, and Tater is 13. All I want: be an RN, be hirable, be done with school before my kids start college and before my husband is too old (no offense!!!) to enjoy the rest of our lives together, and make more money. Any advice, anyone??

I'm not so sure I want to go on for my BSN right now. I'm sure that may change someday, knowing me, lol. That is a very good point, though!!

I've been reading the other posts about EC vs. CN. I think I get what everyone is saying now, but I still am not sure how to go through JUST EC. The stage thing is important to me; however, I'm willing to just get through it and sit for the NCLEX. I live in Ohio, and as far as I can tell, OBN does accept EC grads. To clarify, I want the whole college experience soley for myself (which is why I feel guilty for even considering it), but I think it would be much better for my family if I go through EC considering no time away from home, if the kids have a game or concert I can go, if hubby needs wifey time I can stay home, etc. UGH! I really, really want to move on to bigger and better things, but hate trying to figure out the best way to do it! You all have been so very helpful with all of your input. Please keep inputting, lol!

OK, so I'm looking on ebay and I see all of these study guides. How do I know which ones I need to purchase? How does Excelsior know I am taking their courses? Do I just buy these study guides, then sit for NCLEX? (I know I may sound stupid, but when it comes to this, I really kind of am! :uhoh21: )

why shouldn't I sign anything?

Thanks for the advice! I'll look into all of this later this weekend. The guy from College Network is coming out Monday morning.

Hi, everyone!! I need some help deciding how to get an ADN. First, a little background: I graduated (as valedictorian of my class :monkeydance: ) May 2005 from practical nursing. It was one of the hardest things I or my family has ever done!! My husband and I have been married 8 years almost and are buying our first house (we close Oct 20). He wants me to be an RN, but doesn't want to go through the whole school thing again. I also have to work full time for obvious reasons. So, we've been thinking that Excelsior would be the way to go for us. However, (more boring background), I had my first baby when I was 17. I graduated top 10% of my class a year early and had been accepted to every college I'd applied to. Of course, I had to give all of that up to start raising a family. I really, really want the experience of going to a real college! I feel really guilty for wanting to actually attend class again because I know the hell my poor kids and husband went through while I did that the first time. I don't know much about Excelsior. I've heard good and bad things about it. Will my student loan from LPN go on hold until I graduate? Will I have a hard time finding a job if I go through there? How quickly can I get through the classes? I have an appointment next Monday with a College Network guy to discuss this further, but just wondered if anyone could help me out with some of questions before I speak with him. Thanks in advance for any and all advice! P.S. I love this website!!

CONGRATULATIONS!!! :pumpiron: :studyowl: :smiley_aa :cheers: