Deneb

I'm a tech dufus, so I'm no judge of the best. I'm wondering though if you won't end up doing your EMR work on the clinic's computer. I don't know how much word processing I'd do in clinic, either. (I can do that at home on my big laptop.) I don't know how limited the ipad mini's capacity is, but I wonder if you couldn't put your extra's on icloud and draw 'em down as needed. I do like the mini as opposed to the regular ipad, just for weight and pocket-fit convenience. Anybody more tech savvy have an opinion?

If you have the $, a classmate of mine just bought the ipad Mini. Unlike the ipad it fits in your lab coat pocket, doesn't weigh much, and the screen is big enough to really read text--I find phone screens give me a HA. She has some awesome apps, including an MSK one that strips a joint down layer by layer, then shows it in motion. Definitely on my Christmas list.

During my women's health clinical last summer, they were offering the hcg diet. My preceptor had done it and lost a lot of weight. I sat in on the initial counseling session, and was shocked to learn that besides the injections, (for $350), the patient is told to eat only 500 calories per day! (Seems that should be sufficient for wt loss in itself.) I was also dismayed to find that they were giving no LT advice on how to eat healthy. Possibly the diet works, but I imagine the typical patient will simply regain what she loses, if she isn't taught to improve her diet. The whole thing struck me as pretty sketchy. For what it's worth . . . Deneb

Thanks, David. I never heard of anyone in my class who had one, but people tend to be close-mouthed about this. Can't hurt to try. I was actually speaking about general scholarships that you hear about online, from guidance counselors, etc. Those tend to require an awful lot of effort for a pretty small return--$1000-2000 is chicken feed, given a private school's tuition--and it's very long odds that you'll get one. Seems to me the country should be financing loans for all qualified applicants. When it's a lottery where a few win and the many lose, then we all lose in the end. An investment in student talent pays off for the country, too. (Okay, I'll get off my soapbox.)

I HIGHLY recommend that you apply for any federal loans you can get. They have very merciful pay-back terms, which can be adjusted depending on your circumstances, such as: lost a job, went back to school for another degree, got pregnant, got a low-paying job, became disabled, etc. If you get a private loan, I think the payback terms are probably very inflexible, with little concern for your circumstances. In reality, you'll probably need both federal loans and private loans, but GRAB all the fed help you can get. Deneb PS as to scholarships, I went in naively assuming I'd be eligible for all kinds of scholarships--had the grades, the unusual circumstances, the accomplishments. Didn't get a penny anywhere, and I spend a solid month doing boooring essays. If you're a left-handed, cross-eyed, descendant of Comanches with a father in the steelworker's union and Mom in DAR, go for it. Otherwise . . . ?

Check out the Watts-Hillendale area, north of West Club Ave. It's gorgeous, and people stick here for generations. Plus it's only a mile, roughly, north of Duke. You can even walk it. Deneb

Hey, Mom, I wouldn't. I was accepted at both UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke, and chose Duke, and now wish I hadn't. Great program, but NOT worth the loan paybacks, given this economy and the payrate for new nurses. I don't see that improving anytime soon, do you? Plus my guess is the Duke Hospital loan reimbursement program will be reduced next year, given the surplus of new nurses needing jobs. Wish I'd gone with a great state Univ for the ABSN, then if I could afford it, go for my MS with Duke. But even for that, does the pay scale return match the prestige? good luck! Deneb