amyk_ncsu

I've met many many orthopedic surgeons on a professional level as well as on a patient level. About half of them are arrogant and the other half are some of the most compassionate docs I've met. I agree with some of the above posters that it doesn't depend on the specialty, it depends on the person.

I don't think she got the overseas nursing home bit from The Onion. The childcare outsourcing part did come from there though. Or am I missing something?

Awesome, you'll probably learn more than most people doing the same job. You sound just like me... learn quick and learn lots. For example, I have learned how to set up patients on the table, how to recognize certain aspects of the mris (tears, fluid, etc), how to talk to radiologists, etc. There is always something to learn, you just have to want to. I'm sure you'll do great in nursing school, and hopefully your new job will be beneficial!

I am currently working in a doctors office and currently in nursing school. Actually I'm at work right now, haha. Anyways, I think it depends on what kind of practice you are working in as to whether or not you will benefit from it for school. Personally, I work in the MRI dept of my office, and I have learned lots about anatomy, different joints, nerves, different orthopedic problems, as well as relevent medical terminology. You would probably gain much more experience working as a CNA or unit clerk at the hospital, but it isn't necessary experience. Lots of people go through nursing school and have jobs in restaurants or starbucks or whatnot. Personally, I like getting paid twice as much as the average CNA, having set hours, and being able to occasionally study at work (or post on allnurses!). Good luck in NS! :) Edited to add: You will probably learn more if you act interested. I am an atypical "receptionist" as I like to help the mri techs out and ask questions and look at the images when I have time. If you just sit at your computer, you may not learn much. The experience is what you make of it. PM me if you have more questions!

I'm an INTJ based on one website... I took the real myers briggs test a few years ago when getting my psych degree, but can't remember what it scored me as.

I don't have much relevant information, but I plan on applying for a new grad position in a peds ICU at Wake Med when I graduate. I have heard wonderful things about how Wake Med treats their employees, and their turnover rate is pretty low. As it gets closer to my graduation (12/08) I will probably look into other area hospitals, but I pretty much have my sights set on Wake Med. Good Luck to you!

Wow, I am almost crying. Absolutely beautiful story. I hope that I can be even half as compassionate a nurse as you will be. Amazing...

A lot of CNA/PCT courses are a couple of months long. You could always take that now and not wait until after the first semester of nursing school. I took the course three evenings a week for a whole spring semester. Some of the other hours offered were 8 hours a day for a couple of weeks and you are done. It would also look good on a resume or nursing school application to already have experience in the medical field. If you would like more suggestions, feel free to PM me, I did a good bit (excessive maybe?) of research before enrolling in NS. Good Luck, whatever you do!

They told us that it would be very very very hard to keep a job while in school. I have not only kept my job, but I still have enough free time during the week to not go nuts.

I can't tell you not to worry too much, but I can say from experience that it is still possible for you to get in with a 2.6 gpa. My gpa (though I hate to admit this) was around 2.6 or 2.7 when I graduated from a university with a BA. It would look much more negative on you if you had that gpa and failed to graduate at all. I had a great high school gpa, and a good SAT score, so I can only assume that these three together were competitive enough. So, I think that all hope is not lost. They will likely look at your college gpa, hs gpa, sat/act scores, and probably take into account your grades in your pre-reqs (A&P, micro, etc). My best advice would be to talk to an advisor or the admissions coordinator at your school. This was something I did, and I showed a lot of enthusiasm and talked to them about why my grades were what they were in college. Whether or not this had any impact on my admission I don't know, but it certainly didn't hurt! Good Luck!

Our first peds exam was last week, and it was pretty much the same. A lot of non-specific material that wasn't lectured on. At least it was a learning experience and we all know how to study better for the next one. Good luck to you on your next one! Mine is next week!

My dr's office sent the lab results to my house and they said positive HBV (or something to that effect), which was a little scary at first. I can see how this can easily be misintrepreted as a positive for Hep B. Hopefully this is the case for you!

I will be 25 when I graduate December 08. Sometimes I wish I had gone in right out of high school and I would have been 21, but I'm not always sure I would have made it being that young.

Don't worry, I'm not going to be unsafe. I am currently under the impression that it is already accessed and prn adapted, so my questions are answered. I was just confused on the term "accessed." I didn't realize that it was something that could be adapted, as I had never worked with one. We learned all about the different kinds of central lines, but noone really told us that there are such things as prn adapters for implanted ports. Thanks for all your help guys!

Completely, thank you! In reasearching how to do this, I found a lot of info on how to access it, but nothing really about it being able to have a prn adaptor. I didn't know that an adaptor was possible, I mistakenly thought you had to access it with the hueber needle every time you wanted to use it. I also emailed my instructor, and she believes that it is adapted as well, so I should be good to go. I think they are hep locked with 5mL of 100u strength heparin since it is a central line. Thats what I'm preparing for at least. Thank you soooo much for your help! :)