Blessed2BeMommy

Loved K12, used it successfully throughout nursing school. I did end up putting my older kids (15, 12, 9, 7) in charter schools this year (due to my husband's poor health) but I homeschooled all through nursing school and had the third highest GPA. I think organizing them actually helped organize me! We all had study time. (Oh, plus, I am the breadwinner and was working 5+ 12 hour shifts every week during the same time frame).... When my kids went back into school this year my oldest daughter (15)tested into the community college honors freshman program (she's in a dual enrollment high school/community college) and my oldest son (12) was chosen for a special advanced science/math program for the top 6% of all sixth graders... so I'm very pleased and feel that K12 provided an excellent education for them.

The daycare is horrible. Many of my friends had to go pick up their kids who were not watched properly and they got bitten or hit. In addition, you cannot use the daycare when you are in clinicals, only when you are in class onsite. I wouldn't put my dog in that daycare. I like my dog.

LOL, I found one of my own answers. Hypothyroidism is only a disqualifier if it is uncontrolled (mine is not) and ADHD is only a disqualification if I'm on meds (or have been within a year)... so, time to get off the Adderall. I only went on it because I had a psychotic instructor in nursing school (seriously, she was, she took a shotgun to herself a few weeks after my rotation!) who heard me joking with a friend about ADHD, for which I had never been medicated and graduated with honors from ever yprogram I had ever been in and made it a stipulation that I get medication to remain in her class. I did it because it wasn't worth the fight to not do it. Honestly, I've only stayed on it because it has helped me with a stubborn metabolism to take off extra pounds from the last munchkin and at this point I only take it about once or twice a week.... so, time to go off of it completely. It will be just over a year before I graduate BSN, so that's perfect.

First of all, I want to thank everyone who participated in this thread. It has been extremely informative and has definitely let me know that I'm making a sane and rational decision. I've kind of chuckled over some of the comments about how hard the med/surg floor is or how pay isn't commensurate, etc., etc. I work at a major inner city county hospital on the pediatric floor. It's a really tough gig and we run our orifices off all night. (Yup, I'm a night shifter.) In addition, although the pay is pretty good, there are no guarantees for anything. For example, we're supposed to get 3 weeks paid time off every year. Well, that's all fine and well, but if you get cancelled for a shift and want your paycheck not to lose an entire shift's worth of pay, you have to use your PTO. In addition, as a night shifter, by using PTO I'm getting paid straight time, not shift differential, so it's a $3/hour pay cut. This summer has already been tough and I am already out of PTO. That means the next time I get cancelled (and I will get cancelled if census doesn't go up) I'm out an entire shift's pay. As I am the sole breadwinner for an 8 person family (yup, my husband is a SAHD and we have six beautiful children) this is a pretty horrifying turn of events. In fact, I have a job interview this afternoon to pick up extra hours opening cases for a pediatric home health agency. I finish my RN to BSN program next summer. I'm already studying for my GRE. Does anyone know if for the DUINS program I need to take any of the specialty GRE exams? Would any of them be helpful in distinguishing myself from "the crowd" so to speak, even if not required? Also, do I need to take the ASVAB again (yup, at 18 I almost went enlisted in the Army. I have no clue what I was thinking! Much better to go in at 36 as a nurse and an officer in the Navy!!)... When I took it at 18 I got a perfect score in all areas... will they still use that information or will the two intervening decades (I feel so old! LOL) require me to prove myself again?? Oh, and here's a really big question... what about medical waivers? I have hypothyroidism and ADHD (yes, I am living proof that God has a sense of humor! :chuckle). I take Armour thyroid and Adderall. I've been on them for years and have no issues in terms of it affecting my job performance or my health. In fact, I graduated from an accelerated ADN program while working full time plus and caring for a then-disabled husband (thank heavens for some wonderful surgeons who put him back together) and six kids... and had the third highest GPA in the class and was awarded the Nursing Chair of Excellence Award, which is the highest award my school handed out. I want to make sure that my medications don't become a sticking point. (They were a no-go for the Army 18 years ago as an enlisted soldier. Obviously, being an officer in the Navy will be different, but I don't want to get my hopes up if I don't have a shot at this.) I would very much like to be stationed at Bethesda for my first rotation. I will have over a year of Peds experience at the time I graduate with my BSN and that will include being cross trained in PICU/NICU and Peds ED. I will also come in with BLS/PALS/NRP/ACLS and my certifications in both pediatrics and Peds ED. I have prior experience as a tech in SICU, CVICU, L&D, postpartum and newborn nursery. I'm also a certified breastfeeding counselor. A major goal for my family would be to be stationed in Italy for any length of time... my husband is Sicilian and very much wants to have the children experience what Italy has to offer. Also, I have family in Poland and friends throughout Europe and it would be very nice to be able to visit them on my time off. I agree with what was said previously... if you have never been outside of the United States it is hard to understand why anyone would be so passionate about the amazing country we live in. I've traveled a great deal... I even got to go through Checkpoint Charlie as a child before they tore down the Berlin Wall. (Not a military brat, but my mother's family is Polish Gypsy and it shows... she can't handle not traveling, and I reaped the benefits of that!) I got to visit East Germany (at the time), Hungary, Poland and Czechoslovakia (at the time) during the time that Communism still had a stronghold over the area. I got to go to southern Poland and meet my cousins (the non gypsy side of the family) who still live in the little farmhouse my great grandmother was born in. I'm very proud to be a U.S. citizen and would love the opportunity to serve my country in this way. In addition, I see it as a chance to better provide for my family (sorry, but by the time you add BAH to the salary, even an O1 makes more than I do, plus a guaranteed salary), serve my country, and with the humanitarian emphasis of the Navy Nursing Corp, serve the world. I don't have any rose-colored glasses here... but after 7 years experience in civilian hospitals I can tell you, it's not sunshine and roses over here, either! I put in a request on the Navy website to be contacted by a recruiter. Thanks again for all the info here and Dan, I particularly hope you're not on deployment right now and I get to hear from you!

Actually, I had the third highest grade in my class and received the Nursing Chair Award of Excellence, the top award the school offers. I've worked in the healthcare field for over 8 years and in many different areas... from SICU to med-surg, to postpartum and labor and delivery and now in peds. I work at MIHS which is a really tough place to work, but rewarding. I am extremely good at getting along with other people, even those often considered "difficult", and can get along with pretty much anyone who isn't out to backstab you no matter what you do. Those people, no one can get along with. As to how I know? I keep my ear to the ground and have my sources. I have first hand experience with some of the teachers who are still there. Anyone considering going to that school should seriously reconsider.

I am attending UoP right now and I agree, I'm learning a lot. I have friends who are already signed up with Grand Canyon. Technically I believe they don't take the "credits" but there is some sort of a matriculation agreement in place to accept the RN as a block of credits. As I didn't intend to go to Grand Canyon I am not familiar with the ins and outs and I know that this is new as of last October.

I am aware that the director left for health reasons. However... teachers? All the best teachers have left... In reviewing what teachers are still there, there is only one that I would trust what she says at all. She is wonderful, but it is only her. And no, no one was given the tools they needed to succeed, not by the school at least! We spent hundreds on lab time we never received... I am not griping because I didn't pass NCLEX, I passed it on my first try after only 75 questions. But not because of EBSN. Because of my own individual effort to learn from the nurses I worked with on my own time with my own resources. EBSN? It was a really expensive, time consuming way for me to buy the right to sit for NCLEX. One or two didn't get the tools they needed? What a laugh.

Let you know ahead of time??? They changed one girl's schedule three times in ONE DAY! Granted, she didn't have kids, but does that make it right? They never understood anything about us having families. We were told tough, deal with it. If you do this school, you will do weekends, you will do weird shifts, you will do what they say, jump when they say, and pretend to like it or you will be labeled a trouble maker and they will do everything in their power to try to force you out. I made it through, I have a family, but I swear I have PTSD from that place. I got a good education.... because I fought for it and with my classmates banded together and taught each other.

Okay.... now I can post from the perspective of a recent grad... I passed the NCLEX on the first try, as did most of my class. I do not have exact statistics on our particular class and I don't know how that will affect the overall pass rate. But I can tell you that the people who made the school worth going to are gone. My favorite teachers, administrators and staff have all gotten fed up and left. I am just about off orientation on my unit and I feel very prepared for the job I am doing... I passed the NCLEX in 75 questions.... I am thrilled with the level of education I received... but I also know I had to fight to get it, that a lot of it I taught myself and friends and classmates who also did well did the same thing. I think our class did so well because we got fed up and started studying in groups on our own and taught each other. If you are considering EBSN at this point... I sure wouldn't recommend it. The reason I went to EBSN was the ridiculous number of pre-reqs at the community colleges at the time... but I just helped one of our CNAs look up the new pre-reqs (because I knew they had streamlined things) and I am happy to say that if it were under the current rules, I would have gone to Rio Salado in a heartbeat. The class directly ahead of us, apparently, had an utterly abysmal pass rate and several members of that class have failed the NCLEX a second time. Think hard about where you go to nursing school. Make sure you will get the education you deserve and are paying for.

Like a pp stated, you may be able to do a CNAs job, but the CNA can't do yours. When I was a CNA, I tried to make sure that I did everything I could do so that my nurses could do the things only they could do... and I made sure they knew that was my attitude. In return, my nurses were always willing to be helpful when I was swamped and they were having the rare easy day. Now, as a nurse, I caught myself the first time that I walked out of a room to call the CNA to clean up a mess... and I thought, wow, I never thought about my having to do that. But I HAD to do it... I had things that had to get done that only I could do. And the CNA could do that... Now, obviously, if I didn't have things that had to be done... I would be right in there with my CNAs doing what I can to help. But they can't pass my meds and they can't do my treatments. I have to do those things. If your CNAs see you working your butt off they won't resent you. If you are just sitting on your butt they will. And I ALWAYS always always always thank my CNAs at the end of the day.... and I try to always bring a bowl of chocolates that I plop onto the table where all the CNAs sit to chart near the end of their shift. The CNAs I work with make it possible for me to do my job.

Look, if you have to work you have to work... To update from my post above, I am now working full time as an LPN in a pediatric long term care facility. I get home from my 12 hour shifts and practically pass out on the couch because I'm so tired. But I HAVE to work and I HAVE to support my family (six kids and a disabled husband) and I HAVE to do well in nursing school.... so I do. It's not fun, I'll never say it was fun! But it is doable. Just be prepared that it is going to take every ounce of strength, energy and organization that you have.

I would be more worried if you approached every step withOUT any fear, thinking you were kick-ass, as you put it, all the way through. Overconfidence can lead to as many errors as timidity and self-doubt. After an initial OHMIGOSH you should settle into a happy medium where you know what you know and know you don't know more than you do know!

Edited because my views have changed.

Well, I take my NCLEX-PN on Thursday, and when I finally become an LPN, I will NOT be apologizing for it in the least!!!! I am working full time as a unit secretary right now and I have six kids and a disabled husband to support. I am going on for RN because that was always the plan.... and I will then get my BSN and my FNP... because that was always the plan. But I will never look down on LPNs or regret my time spent as one, anymore than I will look down on RNs or regret my time spent as one once I am an FNP. Some of the most amazing nurses I know are LPNs, and I have to say, the P for practical is right on. The LPNs I know who have been LPNs for years are some of the most practical, down to earth, to the point, hardworking women!

1) Get some rest! You can't think when you're exhausted. 2) Did your foundations book come with a CD? If so, many of them have NCLEX style questions with rationales that you can practice for each chapter and learn more about how the questions want you to think. 3) It's time for a sit down with your instructor. Find out if she has time to sit down with you and go over the exams you've already had. Have her explain to you WHY each question is answered the way it is. If she doesn't have time, find out if she will let you and a student who aced the exam sit in her office and go over the material. Sometimes it's just a matter of learning HOW the questios want you to think. 4) Get a good NCLEX book and practice the NCLEX style questions from the chapters that correspond with what you're studying. There is an art and a science to answering NCLEX style questions. You can learn it. Best of luck to you.... !!!!