Trinh

I'd call and verify what you think you heard. You may have some negotiating room if they are having difficulty hiring nurses. Here in Maine nursing homes hire day shift at 20 per hour. Still crappy but it's almost impossible to get into a hospital here as a new grad unless you are already employed there. And even then positions are few and far between due to this recession. Good luck.

Where are you located? Seems low but nursing homes do pay less and it also depends on where you are.

Runner 12 Congratulations about UMFK. I am just finishing up the accelerated program there. My experience has been alot like Freedom's experience at USM. My experience in the program here is that you are responsible for teaching yourself because they cover huge amounts of information in a short period of time and it is impossible for them to cover it all thoroughly in a semester. If you are unmotivated or want to do the minimal you will have a rough time. Doesn't sound like that is the case with you. They also have an instructor issue. New, unexperienced teachers, although it looks like things may be a little more stable when and if you get here. A major drawback in my opinion is the length of the program here. I will have been here 2 1/2 years when I'm done! How accelerated is that?! I think they have tightened things up a bit for new students, maybe 2 years? USM being 15 months is a major draw if you ask me. We also have Hesi exams which are brutal but really nobody fails NCLEX if they get through Hesis. The clinical experience is lacking due to lack of patients! Did a peds rotation at TAMC and there were no Peds! But it sounds like USM has clinical issues as well. One more thing about Ft Kent, rents are cheap and there is absolutely NOTHING to do here so there are no temptations to avoid school work. (I'm from Portland) All in all, it's been an interesting ride to say the least, nursing school has been the most challenging thing I've ever done but I've enjoyed parts of it for sure. Best of luck to you. Hope you get accepted at USM.

happy body where ever you are, what ultimately happened? Did you end up in nursing school? I've been a massage therapist for 16 years and now have one more semester of BSN program. I must say I miss my practice terribly. Nursing school for me was also the hardest thing I ever did and a 180 degree turn from massage school! One of my frustrations has been the lack of exposure alternative or manual therapies get related to nursing care and nursing education. I also found myself biting my tongue during a nursing externship in the ER this summer when the docs addressed patients' various pain complaints, finding nothing after all sorts of workups, labs, CTs ,x-rays etc. Pain meds and muscle relaxants to beat the band. Some of them were open to hearing about soft tissue work and the benefits of massage relative to pain. Anyhow, I'm happy to be done with nursing school after this semester and look forward to returning to my massage practice as well as incorporating my work into my nursing. Still thinking about how to get creative with that. Have lots of ideas. If you are still logging on let us know what you ended up doing.

Favored, CONGRATULATIONS on passing Hesi! I agree with all your advice. We take a total of 6 Hesi's in my program and I have been in the 1100's each time using pretty much your strategies and would never have had success w/o the hesi book. If anyone wonders if there are differences between the new Hesi book and the previous green one, there are none in terms of content. Only layout differences. The newer one has "select all that apply" questions on the new CD but I haven't encountered any of those on Hesi yet. NLEX is apparently putting alot of those questions on the exams theses days. Anyhow, good luck to all. TAKE YOUR TIME on these tests. You must be willing to process thru each question. It can be painful but can lead you to correct answer.

Hermosa I'd just add that I struggled with pretty much the same thing. I am currently an accelerated BSN student with one more semester to go. My debt will be considerably less than if I had chosen to go right into an NP program. I like the idea of working as a BSN and perhaps continuing on. There are hospitals, at least around where I am, that offer baylor hours (work 24, get paid for 36 or some variation of that) which would be great for continuing in school. Perhaps you can find something like that,while gaining experience and clarity about the area of nursing you are interested in. Just curious, how long is the accelerated program? Best of luck.

I Love this site!! Here is my concern. I will be 55, almost 56 when I finish school next year and am ready to hit the trenches. One of my professors thinks I'm too old for med/surg or bedside nursing; she thinks it will be too difficult and is encouraging me to consider other areas. I have this thing about having to do med/surg to be "legitimized" as an RN and learn as much as I can. My first career was in social work, I'm not interested in psych anymore. Have been a massage therapist for the past 15 years and still love that work and will keep practicing part time. I am currently interested in cardiac stuff, more specifically womens' heart health. I am trying to obtain an internship this summer to gain experience. Any other baby boomer new nurses out there with feedback would be appreciated. I'm also a bit concerned about hiring difficulties due to "ageism". (Spelling?) Thanks for any feedback given.

Momof4, congrats to you. My question is what do you mean when you say you wish you had taken a position on an easier floor that would afford you more time for patient care? What type floor are you referring to? I'm still in school but am paying close attention to the experiences of us older nurses. Thanx

I agree with you Loco. Hesis are the most stressful exams I've ever taken but are a good indicator for Nclex passing. I have felt enraged, angry and all of the above like so many of those who have posted, but at my school Hesi is not going away. I chose to focus my energy on how to pass them. I've had more concern with them than with regular class exams. I study the Hesi review book very hard and do the practice questions. I supplement with Saunders as well. Hesi is an experience that hurts your brain while taking it and you click off with no sense of passing it. I have scored in the 1100's on 2 so far and have been shocked each time. I have 4 more to go, can you imagine? I really think knowing how to approach each question is important. SLOWLY. The beginning of Saunders talks about approaching questions and is worth reading in my opinion. My heart went out to the student who had to take a Hesi after a final and had logging on issues for an hour!! That would have put me over the deep end! Students should INSIST that Hesis are NOT taken on the same day as a final exam. That is sadistic in my opinion and a set up for failure. Anyhow, I had to get the mindset that I CAN DO THIS and studied Hesi hard and did practice tests on the CD. We are all bonded in Hesi misery but we can prevail! Rock on.

Great discussion since there are many of us boomers entering nursing now. I will be 55, almost 56 when I Get my RN, BSN next year and am also concerned about job ops. Everyday I think, is this worth it? I have a social work degree, tobacco treatment experience and am a massage therapist so I hope this all will be useful in nursing. I do not know what kind of nursing I want to do, but I know it's not psych, been there done that as they say. Anyhow, thanks for all the posts!

Hey Kristin Hesi's are evil, but if you pass them, you are all set for Nclex. Anyhow, I take a Hesi after every clinical course and have been during well so far. (even tho' I felt like I failed miserably each time). Anyhow, I use the Hesi Nclex review book to study from. It is pretty true to what is on Hesi except maybe meds. I can't emphasize strongly enough the need to use this book (my experience). It condenses things nicely. Take the practice exams on the cd also and do lots of Nclex questions like Saunders questions. I don't know of anyone who did not pass a Hesi on the second try so with study and remediation you should be all set. And please read each question SLOWLY so you don't miss a word. Then think about what you know about the question before looking at the answers because Hesi LOVES TO THROUGH YOU OFF! And if you still get stumped, remember ADPIE! I empathize with all who have the experience of Hesi! Good luck. Trinh

FYI, we are not masseuses, we are massage therapists or practitioners. I am a licensed massage therapist pursuing a BSN/RN. Specializing in pain relief due to injury and/or stress, it is my perception that nurse massage therapists receive referrals from docs more frequently than massage therapists w/o a medical background. It is unfortunate that as nurses, there is no time to provide massage therapy to patients, however, many hospitals are now providing optional massage therapy services which the patient must pay for. However, you must be an RN to do it. Nurses are everywhere! Nice to have so many options.