WVlpn2b

Good luck to you! My fall semester starts Monday. I, too, subscribe to this thread to remind myself that I am not the only one (I'll be an RN in 2010, when I'm 45).:redpinkhe

I'd cut it -- I did, actually. :) You can always grow it later. Mine is chin length -- a "graduated" bob: very short on the nape and wedged in the back and a little longer in front. Very little layering, and I've grown it out before -- there's no awkward stage at all with regular trims. I can't wear ponytails or buns, because the weight and the pulling of all that hair just kills my scalp. Just my

Absolutely not.

I'm so happy to see this thread! I'm scared out of my mind -- actually even posted a thread about it yesterday. I start in a month, "cold" as well. I have a CNA license as a requirement for the LPN program I was going to go into before I applied and was accepted to the RN program, but I've never used it. At the very least, though, some of the more basic procedures won't be entirely unfamiliar to me. But I have enormous anxiety about approaching patients and being watched by my instructors. I hope we can all look back in a couple of years and see how far we've come! Hopefully, that anxiety means we'll be extra-good nurses! Good luck, everybody.

I am 43. I will be 45 when I finish my RN program. It's never too late!

I have it this summer, too, and it is going to be a bear! We just started Monday. My advice is to hit the ground running! What helps me learn is repetition, repetition and repetition. Each evening, I re-write my class notes and place them in a binder. I also rewrite each chapter's summary -- I am amazed at all I know from this week, just in doing that. Our professor also told us to go through each chapter and really look at each figure/table, because they are often the most concise, clear explanation of whatever the chapter is about. Good luck! I also agree with the others -- attend every time the doors are open.

You can probably buy it online but the college bookstore carries it so it's easier to get it there (for me).

Thanks to both of you -- I have three weeks after this semester's finals before summer classes start, to study. And I am going to really buckle down... I'll be sure and post how it goes.

I'm sorry if this has been discussed elsewhere -- I can't even find the thread I started on it a few weeks ago. I'm scheduled to take the NLN-PAX on 6/5 for admission into an RN program. I see lots of info on the NET, etc., but nothing on the PAX. I am buying the study guide today but any insight/info anyone who has perhaps taken this test can offer would be GREATLY appreciated. I am completely freaked out!

Thank you! Actually, the examiner led me to believe that I did very well, and I am pretty sure I did well on the written part also. But I was SO nervous; my legs felt like cooked spaghetti! I was incredibly anxious and my brain was spinning with all the thoughts of what I was supposed to do next. One of my skills was denture care and she actually stopped me halfway through and said she was pretty sure they'd never been so clean by that point -- lol! I'm so glad it's over!

I'm 43 and just finishing my pre-reqs -- will be 44 (if LPN) or 45 (if RN) when I graduate, and I'm not even the oldest in my class. Yay for us 40-somethings (and beyond)!:heartbeat

I've finished my STNA course at the comm. college where I plan to enter the LPN program and our State test is tomorrow -- part written, part skills. I'm petrified. I'm so nervous I can't even look over the material. I have an A in the class and have been really confident up until now, but I know that I can fail if I make stupid mistakes. If I don't pass, I can't enter the nursing program. Plus, I hope to work as a CNA some while I am in school. I just wanted to vent a little to folks who know what I am going through -- thanks!

Thanks, both of you. I think now I am terrified.:uhoh21:

I have been on track to begin an LPN program this fall with the idea of transitioning to RN later, but now I am leaning toward a local ADN program instead -- I spoke to an advisor this morning and I have an excellent chance of getting in this fall, even though it's already March. I downloaded the applications and see that a PAX (?) test is required. I am at a loss -- I see references to NET around but not PAX. Can anyone shed any light? I go a little green at the idea of having to take a test just to get in, but I will if I have to. Anyone who has taken it and can tell me what to prepare for, I will be grateful -- thank you in advance!

Hi - I just finished my clinicals for the STNA course required by my college for the LPN program (I hightly recommend this to anyone going into nursing; not just LPNs). We spent two days at a local NH. One of the most rewarding and eye-opening experiences I have had... Anyway, the aides seemed to be the ones who did the "nursing." The three LPNs I saw during my time there were always behind a med cart. The idea of actually working in a nursing home (especially in an Alzheimer's Unit) appeals to me to a degree, but the thought of parsing out medications for 8-12 hours a day does not. Is this what it's like for an LPN in a nursing home? For what it's worth, this place is sorely understaffed, but still...