acorvette

Congrats on all your hard work and the upcoming graduation! I am so glad I'm not the only one who feels like I know nothing after this crazy year of nothing but studying and test taking. I graduate on JUNE 11th! At the first of the school year I had planned on going straight into RN school, but I really believe I'm gonna hang out at LPN for a long while, catch up with myself and everyone that I've sort of hid from this past year. I've even changed my mind about working at a long term care facility, I think it might be the place I want to work at. Things are being put in place now, but there is still the long road to passing boards....just one day at a time. Congrats and Good Luck to all!!!

Hi there. I do believe that i will be staying an LPN for a long while. I just don't really have alot of confidence in the RN's. Most that i have worked with all are doing it for the paycheck, which is fine, but you also have to like your job for the most part, and being an LPN seems more meaningful to me because your there for your patients more. I guess it all really depends on what your wanting to do, like a L&D nurse, or something that requires an RN. I don't know if it helped, but that's what i hope to do after i graduate in June. GOOD LUCK

it's been awhile since i've posted, as you know there isn't a whole lot of time to do anything other than study. i've made it through the first 8 months and will be GRADUATING on JUNE 11TH!!!! that is if i can keep my head in the game for a couple more months. we have begun level 3, we just finished mental health and now all we have left is pretty much med/surge and already i'm feeling bogged down with tooooo much info and not enough time. i had been working our topical outlines and doing the definitions to the chapters and of course reading, but with the first 2 tests of med/surge this hasn't helped a whole lot. i feel like i'm wasting time doing that instead of what i really need to do to study. this stuff is so much more in depth and all the disease processess are so similiar how do i keep them seperate? we had to sign a paper saying we will keep an 85 average or else, so i need some advice or study hints....anything will be appreciated. as of right now we are back in the class 5 days a week, we start level 3 clinicals in april so it is really hard to cover that much info. it seems like it all runs together. i can't wait for clinicals to start again, i really love the hands on more than the book stuff. hopefully we will be getting our preceptor info soon. i'm pretty anxious about that too, because i've heard that on top of preceptor you also have a 3,000 + questions test that you have done in a very short amount of time too. i've been pretty good at keeping the stress level down throughout the first few months, but i think these last 3 are gonna give me a massive MI! anyways that's my rant for now, if anyone has any study hints that would be awesome, thanks. GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE, HANG IN THERE IT WILL BE WORTH IT!!!

Okay, i've been in school for 4.5 months, clinicals have started and i'm loving it so far. However, there was one thing that made me almost not go back...it was my first day on the 3rd floor and my pt. was an awesome, not needy or complaining. In the room in front on my pt.'s room was a 4 year old little boy, when i went to get my pt's vitals @ 7 a.m., the little boys door was open and he was setting up in the bed talking with his mom. Everything was good for about an hour then all of a sudden they called a code blue to his room. It just went down from there, more of his family showed up and were all outside his room, they got him back but he coded again a short time later and they had called MEDFLIGHT to take him to a bigger facility, when the copter came for him, he coded again as they were prepping him to go and they never revived him again. The hardest part was walking past that family to get to my pt. and not knowing what to do. I offered chairs, tissues, drinks but that was all i could do. I felt awful! His mom wanted an autopsy to see offical cause of death since it was so sudden and i was there when the ME showed up and watched them wheel the little boy into the elevator. All the nurses on the floor had a hard time as well as me and my fellow classmates, when we got to post conference we all broke down. I know death is part of life and i've seen a couple of the older pt's pass, but this hit me hard and i still cannot get past it. That little boy was up and talking, then all of a sudden he was gone. How do you process this?? Our instructor appologized for us being subject to this so soon into clinicals, there was nothing she could do though. Has anyone else had to get past something like this? Everyday when i'm in clinicals and i see a child in the hospital i feel like i'm gonna have a heart attack. Is this to much for me?

I know what you mean about studying more in the last 7 weeks than the 4 years of high school. They weren't kidding about having no life other than school. My program is an 11 month program, we started in July and graduate(hopefully) in June!! We start clinicals in a little over 3 weeks, so that will really put some of the stuff we've been learning in perspective. Good Luck to you in your program and hopefully we can talk about our upcoming graduations soon!

It's already been 7 weeks since i've started school and i love it!! This week we got our stethoscope and other needed things, we are getting our handheld computers tomorrow and our uniforms should be here any day. All the while i'm thinking this is really real, i'm here and i'm going to be a LPN! We also found out that all 7 alternates get to stay, so we are going to be the biggest class so far. We start clinicals in about 4 weeks and i'm getting a bit nervous about that. I am a little stressed lately, i'm wondering if i'm just retaining what i know long enough to pass the tests, then since we cover a new subject pretty much everyday, i'm not really remembering the info. so when i need it in clinicals or for a real job, i'm not gonna know what's going on. Does anyone else feel this way?

We have been in class not even a month and already had our first final test... it was over the concepts part and i did pass with a 91 (go me) , it was nice to get that out of the way but it also brought about our current studies, now we are doing 2 chapters a day. We have 2 teachers and one teaches one subject then the next day the other is teaching their subject, so as of last week we have started with 2 chapters a day. We have already done our uniform fittings and we will be getting our hand held computers in a couple of weeks. We are the first class to get to have them and i can't wait! A couple of heads up.. 1. get a backpack with rollers, all the books will kill your back, so the rollers are so easy and works wonderfully! 2. be ready for random drug testing!! i don't do that anyways, but in our class they also do breathalizer tests along with the urine sample. we had our first testing last week and a few of the kids in the class were scared of the breathalizer, one even started to cry, they had stayed up drinking till almost 1am, and apparently, alchohol will show on the test up to 8 hours after your last drink. so be smart and avoid the drinking all through school. by the way, the kid who was crying did pass the tests, (that we know of) in our school, even a slight reading would've been grounds for automatic dismissal. school is hard enough anyways, don't add drinking and hangovers to the mix. our instructors put it in a nutshell for us....WE ARE DOING A LIFETIME OF LEARNING IN 11 MONTHS....BE PREPARED FOR ANYTHING!! That's all for now, be back later with more fun tales of LPN student life!!

Well, I've survived the first 2 days of class! Now I have a mound of books and have no idea what to do with all of them. The first day all we did was talk about the school rules and rules of the class, then we moved on to things the last years class did and how some of those students handled some situations. Then pretty much listened to our teachers gab at each other, so it was pretty boring. Then on day 2, we were met with a ton of books and a very confusing explanation on how to use them, for example, today we had to read chap.8, in one book then use module 4 book that went with chapt.8, then had to look at unit 3 in another book to tie it all together. Why couldn't it all been in the same spot? They all said the same thing! But no one in the class has the reading schedule figured out, so tomorrow we are gonna get it explained hopefully. I hate things to be unorganized and this is totally unorganized so i'm trying not to have a panick attack just trying to figure out how to get my stuff in order, but when i do it will be alot easier for me. Family wise, i'm still feeling some guilt about not working and leaving my kiddos with family so i can go to class, i have never been away from my girls since they were born, in my head i feel they are my responsability, not anyone elses. I hate to ask for help, i'm always afraid that i'm imposing on that person and the things they need to do, so this is really new to me and i'm doing my best to make the most of it. I need a way to let go of the guilt i feel when i drop my kids off at my aunts or grandmas on my way to school, i leave feeling awful. I know they are in good hands, and they love going to visit with them so what's my problem? I guess i never really saw how wrapped up in being a mom i am until now. Anyways, way off course here, tomorrow will be day 3 and a friday and i know we have a test on monday so i'll spend the weekend studying. We're just getting started so it's bound to be a wild ride, but one i'm gonna enjoy. Good Luck to everyone else in the same boat and pat yourselves on the back for getting as far as you have!!

Well, the time has come, almost, my classes start on July 9th and i'm super excited and very, very, nervous. i don't know what to expect and i'm already having doubts that i can make it thru and pass while trying to raise 2 small kids and try not to have to work while going thru the classes. this is a huge step for me and i'm very proud of myself for getting this far, but now that i've quit my job to attend school, i feel like i've let my family down because i don't bring home any income and won't for awhile. i know in the end, if i'm successful in passing, it will open up alot more opportunities for me and my family, and right now that is the only thing keeping me going. maybe i'm rambling because i'm nervous, so thanks to anyone that can read and understand what i'm trying to say. anyways, i will return on wednesday with an update on the first day of class and if i've had a panic attack yet.:chuckle

hey there, i too have been counting down the days, my classes start july 9th, in one more day!!! i have been working for my in-laws for over 8 years now and soooo glad i've finally found the path i want. it is so nice to know that i will be out from under their thumb once and for all and now i can really feel like i'm accomplishing things on my own and my husband is totally supportive so that really helps. good luck with your classes and i guess just enjoy the free time till it turns into study, study, study time.

Grayson is a good choice, i live in southern oklahoma and considered grayson, but thankfully i was accepted into the kiamichi vo-tech program in my town, so i won't have to drive so far. anyways, i ordered the 'Nursing School Entrance Exam' book from amazon.com, it was all i used to study for the NET, it covered everything and broke the math down into very simple terms. it even has a cd to help test you and to practice with. i think shipping and everything it wasn't more than $20. the company that makes it is called Learning Express. and it worked--i start class in july! so i hope this helps, you might give it a look. good luck with your quest to get into school!!

Yeah me! i got my acceptence letter last week and have been busy getting all the financial aide and shots and everything on the home front lined up. I'm in the full time program for 1 year and it starts July 9th(my granny's b-day!), i have tried for 2 years and i finally did it. The only question i have right now is about my shot records. I found what I could, I went to the Dr.'s office and since it was before the computer times, how do I get my full records? My mom can't seem to find them and i don't have them, what do I do? Other than that, I have a 4 year old and a 2 year old and i'm filing for daycare assistance while i'm in class and could possibly be getting some other financial assistance to help with the year that i'm not going to work while in school. It will be hard, but it will make it that much sweeter when it's time for graduation. I will be back soon....... :redpinkhe:redpinkhe:heartbeat:heartbeat

hey everyone, just a quick question, i've gotten my medical assistant certification and haven't had any luck landing a job, they all want experienced ma's around here, so i signed up to take my NET and i take it april 2nd, which i'm really excited about. well, i've got an interview this next week for a ma position at a office with good hours and pay that i've been looking for-i've got 2 kiddos, so i can't work crazy hours- well, do i take the job if offered or not even worry about this and hold out on the chance of passing the NET and getting a spot in the class, there is only 12 openings and about 80 applicants. i'm so confused right now, working as a ma would get me great office experience and let me know for sure that nursing is absolutly what i want, so do i take the job if offered and wait until next year to take the NET? any ideas would be great. thank you.