LaShell

I'll be done with RN school in May and I'll be 42. I too am not the oldest in my class, I'd say at least 1/3 are my age or older. Hang tough! You have to live your dreams otherwise you'll be unhappy and get bitter and that will affect your life. I bet you'd support your wife if she wanted to make a change and she should do the same for you. If you can show her you can balance the school and taking care of your family, hopefully she'll be more supportive.

Oh, I just feel for you so much, that awful feeing of not wanting to go into work, ish!!! Have you only been working for a week? Take my advice with a grain of salt, but try to give it at least 7 or 8 months. I quit my first several jobs too quickly, I think it takes almost a year til you feel really comfortable so that you can see the situation for what is is. But you have to trust your gut, if you can't stand it, you can't. Maybe 12 hour shifts are too much. Around here in Minneapolis, I don't think they start many people on 12 hour shifts, even if someone really wants them. Good luck to you!!!

I started LPN school at age 36. Now I'm in RN school at 41 and it feels like I've been going to school forever!! However, I don't regret at all that I have chosen the "ladder" route, there's no way I would have been able to get through the tougher classes I have now. LPN school was hard enough and I learned so much, now I'm learning more but I wouldn't have been ready then. Maybe LPN is all the further you'll want to go, it's YOUR choice. I hope your family gets on the bandwagon and is more supportive to you!!

Definitely, well said!!! I just started my LPN to RN program and after only half a semester, I have learned sooo much more. It's like I have a huge lightbulb on the top of my head "oh!! that's why I did that" and also think of the things I didn't do very well previously! I can't believe what your teacher said in school, sooo unprofessional. She really shouldn't be teaching anyone with those kinds of closeminded attitudes.

oh minnib, how awful, you are definitely in the right about your report. nobody wants to hear these really long reports with info that is not out of the ordinary. If anything "vital signs stable" would sum it up. She has to do her own assessment anyway, and that's why we all do them every shift-they can change! duh! I love the idea about doing an extra special report for this particular trouble-maker but then that would be stooping to her level. I have found that some places of work tend to encourage this poor behavior and others don't. Where I work now, gossip and bullying is really discouraged, although there's still one in particular who takes joy in other's misery..... Hold your head high, she is definitely not a super nurse.

I had a ton of stress when I was in LPN school, you can do it!! and still have a bit of a life too. My suggestions 1. don't work too much, it's great experience that will solidify what you're learning at school, but more will tire you out, make you feel guilty for not spending time with your son, etc., etc. You have your whole life to work when you get done. 2. go to school part time if you have to. take the classes that are available while he's in school so you're both gone at the same time. 3. any free time at school between classes, study! the material is still fresh in your mind and you have the time. I saw way too many students waste their free time at school sitting around b--tchiing about the instructors when they could have been doing something productive. 4. if you have time to cook a meal, double the portions and freeze half. then you'll have some healthy food stockpiled for your busy nights. 5. hey, you've got a kid to practice on!! head to toes, developmental papers, etc.!!! my sons got a kick out of helping me. You can do it!!!!!

yup, true true granny nurse. It takes a second for a person to aspirate, as long as it takes the liquid to run down the trachea, but it may take a couple of days for an infection to develop. You may hear rhonchi or rales immediately after someone aspirates just because there's fluid in the airway. If that person was healthy and could cough it up, they could avoid infection.

The school where I go to now has the option where people can test for LPN after their first year of nursing school, or they don't have to and can just keep going for the second year and test for RN. All the prerequisites are the same, they have to be completed before beginning the first year of nursing school whether you plan to quit after getting your LPN or staying on to get your ADN/RN. I'm there on the LPN to RN mobility program. I got my LPN at a vocational school a few years ago, then took all my prereqs like Biology, Chemistry, etc. I was then slid into the second year of the the program. A lot of the people I go to school with could have gotten their LPN and even planned to after the first year, but chose not to because they're so busy with homework and school schedule, and didn't want to make a huge job change while they're still in school the second year. I honestly like the way I've done it. It seems I've been in school forever, but I sure did learn a ton working as a LPN for a couple of years first. I really think it has helped me in my RN classes.

8 weeks in a long term facility 8 weeks in a medsurg unit of a major hospital 8 weeks in a clinic setting floating to various departments 8 weeks on our own basically somewhere of our choosing--some folks did rehab nursing, I ended up in another medsurg unit. I think all my clinicals were very real life, except for the long term care. We only had one or two patients at a time and did everything for them. In real life, a nurse may have up to 30 patients at a time and spends majority of time passing meds, doing some treatments, and paperwork.

Hi! I've been an LPN for almost 3 years now and had a bit of the same experiences you are having. I too was at the top of my class, I think that maybe had something to do with it, I tend to be impatient and perfectionist... I quit my first job after only a month. It was on a subacute unit of a nursing home. The people there were "not pleasant"!! and the environment was not horribly safe. However, I learned a lot there... I then worked at another subacute facility for almost a year, the people were not real professional and there was some theft of narcotics that no one seemed to care about. I learned a lot there too. I also did some flu shot gigs, and learned foot care for a few months. Now I've been at an urgent care clinic for 1 1/2 years, which I really didn't like at first but that I've grown comfortable with. I'm also working on my RN currently. Being a new LPN, I think you need to concentrate on learning to be a nurse and getting good at the skills you learned in school. You're not going to do that in an insurance office. I wouldn't concentrate on the money at this point, you'll get your raises, but the most important thing is to get good at being a nurse. I think some of us (me!) had this idealistic impression of what nursing would be, but when we get out there we see so much stuff we didn't expect. Nurses beating each other up, low pay, rotten shifts, rotten management, bad facilites, etc. I guess I've learned that the first couple years are just plain hard no matter what, but we need suffer through and it's really unbelieveable how much we learn. Unless you stay somewhere for awhile, I don't think you'll get to know a place very well, the more you know about a place it will give you a better idea what you want to do in the future. Do some research on different places, often the places that don't pay as well are better places to work, at least from what I've learned.

I've never had much luck finding free info online. Best to buy a book, you'll get a lot of use out of it. Or go to your school library, lots of careplan books on shelves there I bet. Check your med/surg book for sample care plans for these types of diagnoses too.

True true true. I thought I knew so much when I got my LPN. Now after 1 1/2 years of science and prereqs for RN and just starting these new classes, it is very obvious that we are thinking at a whole different level. I feel like I really see the patient in a different light now, and know sooo much more what can go wrong and that I would be the one responsible when it did. It's not just memorizing steps for putting in a foley... I wouldn't go the short route either, you'll learn so much more in school and do a better job as a RN someday.

Definitely just have your sis buy a kit from the drugstore, they're very accurage early on. I work in a clinic and it is policy to not call patients if their tests are negative (I think this is not appropriate in many situations because the patient is left hanging). They seem to think, no news is good news.... She can certainly call the nurseline. Urine preg tests come back within 10-15 minutes and an hcg blood test takes 30 minutes where I work.

there is this icu nurse who is very friendly to me such as telling me i smell good and i look pretty in pink. are those the reasons you want a man to love you? how about your brains and personality? why would he be instered in me with the age gap being so far apart? as you age (and mature) you will learn that all men like younger women, whether they're 40, 50, 60, 70, or 80. he hugs me too and rubs the middle of my back. this truly is sexual harassment. even if he were your husband and you worked side by side, he should not be doing that at work. it's unprofessional and you can bet that all the nurses notice and most likely think it's pretty rude and disgusting, especially us middle-aged ones who don't smell so good, haha. he is married but his wife and him just live as roommates. are you really interested in a man who would treat his wife like this, and disrespect her by discussing her with workmates in this manner? it could be you in her shoes, getting pregnant and then losing all your cuteness in his opinion!! i will tell him tomorrow when i have to work that i just wan to be friends. i really doubt he wants to be your friend. how much would you have in common as friends? stick to people your own peer group. be prepared for a very cold shoulder from this guy, and live and learn.

Usually there is just a general assessment test to get into any school/college. It covers math and reading, results help you determine which class level you should start at (basic math or algebra...). Really isn't much to study, it's just to help determine where you should start. If you just want to review what is on the test, ask the testing people at your school. Sometimes they'll have sample packs of the typical questions asked. It may jog your memory for any pre-algebera you may have learned in high school but forgot. If you score lower on these assessment tests and need to take refresher courses, don't feel too bad. I know it's time and money but you'll be better off in the long run really feeling comfortable with the material as things only get harder as you progress along in school.

Thank you! That's what I thought too. Even if you didn't know, it takes two seconds to look it up, then 'wallah!"

I have been an LPN since June 2003, started my RN prereq a year ago and now will be starting the real RN courses and clinicals next month. I've heard both sides... one is that LPN's have a slight edge because we're much more comfortable and experienced with patients and so clinicals are a little easier. The other side I've heard is that LPN's jumping in halfway through the program have a tough time because teachers will refer to something the other students learned the previous semester (the example I was given was the teacher referring to a "bruit" and the LPN's didn't know what it was). I had a short LPN-RN transition course and clinical which I think most colleges now offer and it warmed us up a bit. They advised reading the textbooks and subject materials that were covered first year. I am doing this and find it's mostly review (and good to review!). I'm not too worried, just plan to be on my toes and open-minded... like a sponge!!

I feel for you! I graduated with LPN 1 1/2 years ago with honors too, and after working in an ICU as an NA during schooling and seeing and learning so much from great coworkers, I felt pretty knowledgeable. My goal was always to work in a hospital but none was hiring LPN's at the time. I thought my closest bet was a sub-acute unit in a nursing home. My first two jobs were terrible, unsupportive coworkers including a DON who I know was dipping into the patients' darvocet, no support, no supplies, dangerous environment, 6 hours of orientation at one of the jobs..... I felt like I was back to square zero, I lost my knowledge, my self-confidence, etc. Now I'm in RN mobility program and am trying to regroup. I work pt at an Urgent Care clinic which is much easier and am trying to relearn what I lost and start over. When I choose my next job, I will be much pickier and look at orientation programs much closer and ask more questions. It sounds like you jumped into a super hard job. It's sooo tough to be a new grad. It's hard to believe how green we are, especially when we graduated with good grades and thinking we knew so much. Hang in there, you'll find your niche. Maybe the hospital environment isn't where you'll fit best, if you love OB, maybe a clinic would be a good fit for you. It's less stressful but you still provide an incredible service and will learn and gain experience. Then if you still wanted to try a hospital you could. It really just sounds like you got in over your head temporarily and that your job didn't provide a nurturing environment for a new grad.

22,000 WBC is pretty high, and too long to be running a fever imho, even though it is low grade. Also the bruising.... How are her platelets, how about a blood culture, liver tests? Have you had those done? Good luck to you!

I work in an Urgent Care and we have seen a lot of kids this last season with high fevers lasting about a week. My own son got it too, very scarey. Or docs were treating many of the kids with zithromax and it helped them. Hope your babe gets better soon!

I am an LPN just starting my RN transition. I too really hated clinicals, I guess it was mostly nerves and feeling soooo out of place. We sometimes had a teacher we had never met before (too many students so the class divides up) and that was nervewracking. I enjoyed my patients, but never really knew what my place was, especially as an LPN. I never really understood the line between being the "real" nurse?, how much to do myself or let the staff nurse do/direct/teach, etc... Most times I felt totally left on my own, the staff nurse would take the opportunity to focus on other patients or whatever.... My teacher would have a line of students waiting to ask questions so didn't have much time for me.... the skills I was supposed to get checked off on would never happen when the teacher was available (me to staff nurse "uhh, I need to and want to do that dressing change but my teacher needs to watch me so can you wait for me????" Big frustrated sigh from staff nurse....) It felt like how you feel on the first day of a new job every day of the clinical. Plus a really ugly, stiff, starched uniform that I would never wear in real life and that made me look really fat!!!! haha Now I'm starting the whole process over again as an RN transition student and am dreading clinicals all over again. I'm hoping they'll be better as an RN student... And yes, I LOVE nursing in real life, it was just the clinicals.

Wow, exciting and scary, you'll do GREAT! I've been an LPN for 1 1/2 years. I can't believe what I've learned in this time and didn't even realize it when it was happening! Don't worry about your knowledge base. Every job is special in its own way and requires knowing certain things. When you don't know something, a disease or med or treatment, do some reading on it. Usually there's decent reference books at the nurse's desk, or refer to your old school books when you get home. Be open, and learn from others (good and bad!) And don't spend too much money on scrubs until you work a few shifts and know what kind you need/like, haha. I've spent lots of money on cute scrubs and then realized I needed that third pocket, etc.... Good luck!

eeer, memories of rehab... nope believe it or not it's the state that's concerned with their dining experience. when they are doing surveys, that is one of the things they look for--that we aren't giving meds in the dining room. from my experience, many patients didn't mind getting meds during their meal, and many of them preferred to take meds with food to help get them down. I worked at two subacutes and it was on a rare occasion that meds got done on time. also, we couldn't always start passing meds right at the beginning of our shift because residents didn't want all their meds on an empty stomach before breakfast, or they're stuck in the bathroom, or they don't want to be woken up so early...... Many bad habits were done by the staff, like putting meds in cups and taping them shut with the pt's initials on them and then passing them all quickly before breakfast. so sad we don't have the time/staff to do our jobs correctly and risk our licenses..........

I'm one of these "crazy" moms (now an ER nurse) who brought in their kid for seizures for two long months before getting a diagnosis... I heard it all from several lousy docs "oh, it's been 5 years since you've had a baby, don't you remember they jerk???" "oh his eyes are just rolling back in his head because he's light-sensitive..." and this was the best one when he had a diaper full of blood after being on the ketogenic diet for several months "you're probably just feeding him lots of red jello, bring the diaper in and let me look at it". What wonderful satisfaction I got when she opened that diaper and went pale and quickly admitted my son. Yes, we do get lots of ridiculous reasons for visits, but let's all take our patients as seriously as we can..........

I agree with Dave, not a big deal. I wonder if there are just as many folks on police and teacher websites upset with their stereotyped images. All professions have good and bad stereotypes associated with them. There's always been the 'sexy nurse' stereotype out there in the tight white dress and stockings in movies, videos, advertisements, art... it's nothing new. and yes, I'm a liberal feminist goddess worshipping man-hater type, haha Plus, WE'RE the ones who get to see naked people!! Whoopie!!!