hobbes

I also was a programmer for 12+ years before I decided on changing careers at the age of 35. I saw the writing on the wall as programming positions were being shipped overseas and increasing instability in the tech sector made the future very uncertain. That's when I decided to start my backup plan - nursing. I was working for a small company at the time and had the luxury of "working from home". In practice, this often meant carrying my laptop with me as I went to class during they day and logging in to work between classes to keep in contact with things while I finished my prerequisites for nursing school. I sold my nice sporty car for a bargain basement pickup, refinanced the house to pull out equity to live on while going to school full time after I was layed-off. I already had a previous computer science degree so I qualified for an accelerated program that I just completed this past December after 16 months of intense schooling. I just passed the NCLEX and am working on a cardiac telemetry floor and love it. It can be done.

I work on the cardiovascular stepdown unit. I worked on this floor during my senior practicum in nursing school so was familiar with most of the people and the work flow. I didn't attend one of the residency programs per se but just went directly into orientation after I was hired. However, there are a number of specialized classes that we attend since we are a cardiac floor: ACLS, dysrythmias, heart transplant, ventricular assist devices (VAD), temporary pacing, etc. So far I really enjoy it and will be off of orientation in a couple of weeks.

I just graduated from nursing school in December and currently work at Emory University Hospital. One of the reasons I chose Emory is that they pay for 80% of your school after you work for them for six months so you may want to consider working for one of the Emory Healthcare hospitals.

Okay, I'm missing something...what does passing your boards have to do with your decision to quit smoking?

If you've never ridden a motorcycle, it's very difficult to explain the pure joy and excitement one gets when riding. In 1999 I bought a motorcycle (Kawasaki ZRX1100) when I was in my early thirtys because I had always wanted one. When I got it home and my wife, pregnant with our first child, saw it the resulting arguments and turmoil almost resulted in a divorce. My parents thought I was crazy. My friends tried to dissuade me. Shortly after I bought mine, a neighbor bought a Hayabusa and was dead within 6 months after racing with friends. I usually rode by myself to avoid the temptations and dangers of group riding (especially with newbies). I continued to ride my bike for the next 6 years until I sold it this summer on eBay before starting nursing school full time. The irony is that both my wife and my parents were against me selling it - they realized the joy it provided me and that I was a responsible rider. I often wonder whether I made the right decision everytime the stress builds and I can no longer hop on the bike and take a spin to relieve it. Every person needs to decide for themselves what risks they will take in life. (I wonder how many that so quickly condemn motorcycle riding for it's inherent risks, don't have a second thought about risks posed the activities the undertake like smoking, overeating, drinking, etc). I personally think it's a waste of time trying to scare people into not doing something. The majority of motorcycle fatalities involve riders with less 2 years of experience and those that haven't taken a motorcycle safety course. So, if you are going to ride, make sure you learn how to ride correctly and protect yourself when you are out on the road.

Hang in there newgrad2005. I am also a first semester nursing student that will graduate December 2005 and my first clinical is on an oncology floor where I will be for the remainder of the semester. I originally had mixed feelings about starting clinicals on an oncology floor but I must admit that I have learned a great deal. Like you, out first day was a scavenger hunt just to get oriented to the floor and find things. The next time we went, though, I was assigned to an end-stage patient with head and neck cancer. When we first went in to his room in the morning to get his vitals he was very listless and in obvious discomfort and pain. He also had a tracheostomy so could only communicate via gesticulations which added to his frustrations. He basically refused most of the care we tried to offer and just wanted to be left alone. To make a long story short, we found out that he was in a great deal of pain and in need of his medication. After receiving his morphine, he allowed us (I was paired with a fellow student) to bath him, change his bed, change a dressing, and take his vitals. He was in a much better mood as well. At the end of the day, he gave us the "okay" symbol and smiled, so we felt that we had accomplished something that day. Unfortunately, the next time we came for clinicals, we learned that this gentleman had died just as they were about to transfer him to a hospice. It was sad to have my very first patient die, but it does get you to thinking about things and I was comforted in knowning that the care we provided him was positive.

half.com was bought by eBay several years ago and it has been eBays plan to combine half.com and eBay. They were going to do it a couple of years ago but half.com sellers made a stink and they held out until now. I've not bought any books on eBay, but from a sellers perspective I prefer half.com over eBay anyday.

I personally am one that has no qualms about skipping lectures because I don't believe I have to be dependent on the instructor to learn, especially for prereq classes like chemistry, A&P, psychology, etc. If I've determined from the first couple of classes that the instructor is not going to offer more insight that what I can get from the book, then I'll just learn from reading and save the commute time. On the other hand, if most of the instruction is from notes or the instructor is actually teaching then by all means I'll be there. Now, when I start actual nursing classes in the fall, there will be no missing of classes.

THANK YOU!!!!!! Someone, like myself, that has actually been there in IT and knows. If you only listen to one poster on this thread, this is it. Thanx ClimbingNurse!

Melly, I'm in the same boat as you and I would take with a grain of salt some of the responses you see hear. Only you truly know your situation and what will make you happy. Most nurses here who don't know someone in the IT field don't have a clue about how tenuous your 6-figure salary truly is. Yes, it may be nice but you can't count on it because any given day you can be out the door without any good prospects of making that kind of money again. That's just a fact of life. With that in mind, I made the decision a couple of years ago to pursue nursing with the full realization that it would be a big change in lifestyle but also realizing that I may not have a nice 6-figure job in a couple of years. I immediatlely started cutting back and getting my familiy used to living on less. I started taking nursing prereq classes on the side, while putting away extra cash to tide me us through my nursing school stint (I'm the sole provider). Now, two years later, I will start nursing school in the fall with an expected graduation date of 12/2005. It hasn't been easy the last couple of years, but when I got my layoff notice a couple of months ago my wife was very greatful that we were prepared and had plans in place. I know that I will not have the flexibility of an IT job in most respects (i.e. working at home at will, laptop computer, etc) but I also know I will be able to separate work from family life as a nurse. No more working all hours of the night and weekend on miscellaneous projects that bring no satisfaction. So, just follow your heart and do what you feel is best. Good luck.

Here, here. I couldn't agree more. No, I haven't wanted to be a nurse for my entire life and my primary motivation is driven by the needs of my family and the fact that there's some stability. This, plus the fact that I have a genuine interest in medicine and enjoy helping people, make the decision logical for me.

:rotfl: As I've been reading this thread, that exactly what I've been doing - rolling my eyes. I think many of you have been too far removed from your biology and psychology classes and want to cling to the belief that everybody is the same and it's just a matter of changing your attitude. Yes, to an extent, but men and women are "wired" differently in many respects. Why is it that so many people were especially appalled at seeing that female MP in Iraq engaging in those horrendous acts? It's because it's not considered natural. Women generally don't have the propensity and inclination to violence that men do. How many times do you hear of little groups of girls torturing animals? Not too often. Yet if its a group of boys, then it's not considered unusual. What would the perception be of one of your male collegues if, after being berated by a doctor or fellow collegue, broke down in tears? The honest among you would probably consider this abnormal behaviour. So, why is it so mind-bogglingly hard to accept the fact that, in general, what can be described as "catty" behavior is often present in a female dominated environment? Similiarly, in male dominated environments, there are going to be characteristic behaviors. These are just the facts of life.

Keep up the good work.

Wait a second...are you in my class? Oops, guess not, you're in Califonia. Anyhow, this sound exactly like my statistics class. There are, what I call, the "whiners" who are constantly complaining about every little thing. This last test the teacher, graciously IMHO, had all formulas we need for the test available on the last page. Well, after the test, one of the principle "whiner" complained that "next time could you put the formula's in order? It took me forever to find the one I needed." Good Lord. Our grading is set up based on the student(s) with the highest score in the class. So, the professor will give A's to those that make 90-100% of the highest score in the class, etc. So, whenever someone aces an exam there is much moaning and *****ing about there being "no curve". The bottom line is that there are always going to be those that try to get by with minimal effort and are going to resent those that put in the extra effort to learn more and consequently get better grades. At first I got pissed at this behaviour to the point where I was going to go off on some of the "whiners", but then I just realized that it would be counterproductive. Don't let yourself get worked up about it because it's not worth the bother. If people don't want to put the effort in their own education, then let them reap what they sow.

Interesting theory, but I doubt your "sample" of Indianapolis nursing students will allow you to make any generalizations about the nursing population in general. I think the political views of nurses is representative of those of the general public. You'd probably get a much better sample by posting the same question somewhere on this board.

Yes, you're right on

Totally agree here. If you are going to shell out big bucks to go to nursing school in Atlanta area, you can do so for probably half as much at Mercer and probably get a better education. As I mentioned in another thread, I have a friend that goes there and she loves everything about it except for the price. Good luck

Emory is one of the schools I looked into, including Mercer, Kennesaw State, and Georgia State. I will be attending Georgia State in the Fall for their accelerated program. Emory is a private school, with a very good reputation. Their NCLEX pass rate, I believe, is around 91%. However, nothing comes for free. I doubt with a 2.75 that you are going to qualify for an academic scholarship, as most of the nursing students there probably have at at least a 3.0, so you are going to have to find some way to fund around $24000 a year. I talked with Emory last year about financial aid since I was coming from peculiar circumstances (I make a lot of money right now and was concerned about financial aid options) and they told me that most of the students have agreements with hospitals to pay some fraction of their tution in return for working after they graduate. That said, the average debt burden of their students is $20,000. Well, just me personally, I'm not going that far in debt for a nursing degree at this stage in my life so that made my Emory decision fairly easy. I know that their program prides itself in producing nursing leaders and they encourage and prepare you to pursue graduate level work. I think the typical Emory nursing student is very motivated and probably plans to more than "just a nurse". Just my opinion.

I didn't realize that they were going to offer both programs starting in the Spring. In that case, even if you don't get in in the fall, you can take the HHS and other non-nursing classes in the fall and apply for Spring admission. This will reduce your load once you start the nursing classes. Best of luck.

Well, the best I can do is tell you about myself as I don't know all the variables they use for admission, but my guess is that my pre-req GPA and letters of recommendation were what did it: I'm a 36 year old married father of 2 children. I have a BS degree in Computer Science and I've worked in the IT industry for 14 years and am switching careers. I don't have any prior experience in the health care field. I started prereqs at Georgia State in fall 2000 and have taken, am currently taking, and will take the following classes: A&P 1 & 2 w/labs, General-Organic-Biochemistry 1 & 2 w/labs, Microbiology w/lab, Physiology, General Chemistry 1 & 2(*) w/labs, General Psych, Abnormal Psych(*), Psych Statistics(*), Growth-Development(**), Research Methods(**), Communication/Diversity (**). Those classes marked with (*) I'm currently taking and those with (**) I will take this summer. My first undergrad GPA was probably around a 3.0 from a very good school and I've gotten all A's in the above courses that I have taken or am taking. I purposefully took the extra Physiology and Chemistry classes because I felt the "nursing" chemistry was watered down and I wanted to learn more about physiology and function without all the bother of memorizing anatomical structures. Now having said all that, my gut feeling is that I'm probably not representative of the class. I know that they pay close attention to your grades in A&P, Micro, and Chemistry (in that order I think), so anything below a 'B' in those classes may be damning. If you are currently taking any of the sciences mentioned above, that may have put you at a disadvantage to applicants that have already completed those. You mentioned that you were a Biology major. Did you also take A&P? I know that they allow you to apply and will accept a General Bio sequence in lieu of A&P but may look more favorably if you have taken A&P. Are you open to the traditional program or did you only apply to the accelerated? Anyhow, just random thoughts. Good luck to you.

I can't really tell you what your chances of getting into the program will be but I can tell you that I was accepted into their accelerated program for Fall 2004 and had to have my acceptance letter and deposit into them by 3/24. So, right about now, they have an idea of how many accelerated applicants accepted so possibly you can check with them to see where you stand in the waiting list queue. It will be a while longer for the traditional program because I think they accept application through April or possibly May.

http://chhs.gsu.edu/nursing/

Georgia Baptist School of Nursing is affiliated with Mercer University and is a private school. Georgia State is a public school in downtown Atlanta

If money is not an issue, Georgia Baptist ($7000/semester) and Emory($14000/semester) are both private and have very good BSN programs. Kennesaw State probably is the best in terms of value and quality of education for a BSN. I'll be going to Georgia State this fall, which, truth be told, has problems in its program regrading NCLEX pass rates, but it also (as does KSU) has an accelerated program and is affordable.

I was just talking to a friend of mine who just started the nursing program at GBSN this spring. The classes are very intense. She absolutely loves it but it is accelerated and very rigorous. She is a mother of three, so she understands about juggling school and home. It definitely won't be easy because they have one of the best nursing programs in the area, but if that's what you really want - go for it.