vetiver

Asheville is great! I have to tell you right out of the gate that there is not a huge amount of money to be made here, however. Life here in the mountains is really swell; lots of local organic food, outdoor activities abound, and it is a nice place to raise kids. The people with the money, however, brought it with them when they moved here. I work for the largest hospital system in the region and I enjoy pretty good benefits. Mission hospital has close to 8,000 employees, last I heard, and is growing every day. They are very education-oriented and have numerous education assistance programs. The in-house classes staff include yoga classes, healing touch, and holistic nursing. The Peds dept is terrific and there is a specialty children's hospital, as well. They are always hiring. NewGrad RN's begin around $23. Compared to the cost of living, not stellar. It all comes down to the type of life you want to have here. http://www.missionhospitals.org/ http://www.missionhospitals.org/PediatricSpecialties There are tons of other specialty offices as well, not affiliated with Mission. Hope that helps. BTW, there are many, many big-name golf courses here, too......Tiger Woods, Tom Fazio, the Grove Park Inn.....

I've been reading about this program recently...I live 2 hours from Nashville. Are you provided a place to stay on those weekends that you're required to attend or do you have to get a hotel? How often do you have to go to campus?

I am soon beginning the upper division nursing courses for my BSN. I have congenital unilateral hearing loss that is getting worse over time. My last screening results were called "moderate to severe mid range loss" by my audiologist. I have recently developed early signs of Meniere's Disease as well, which has been causing slight dizzyness without warning. I am very concerned about how this will affect my performance in school and at work. I have never disclosed my hearing loss to any teacher or employer. I have been able to adapt well so far. My question is this....What, if any, is the protocol for this type of disclosure? Do I simply say, I have hearing loss, or is there a more official way of doing this with a form or letter from my Audio/ENT? Also, at what level of loss is this considered a disability? That may seem like a simple question, but I want to be clear about the boundary. Thanks in advance for any info.

Meladori.... I'm so sorry if my post sounded parental....It sounds like you have been working hard so far and your instructor may have some issues. I hate to say this, but I have been in class with some really lazy people this year at Calhoun and it has made me a little angry. Some of these people chatted and texted all through class, tried to just memorize everything, and then halfway through the semester they go complain to the Dean that the instructor was going too fast or their tests were too hard. I really hope they either don't make it through nursing school or that they are never responsible for me or my family in an emergency. *sorry to rant* I hope that UAH is better than Calhoun. (can't wait) I hope your situation isn't the norm. I've heard really great things about how the nursing intructors really care and make an extra effort for each person. If you do decide to go to Calhoun.....I'll be happy to give you the inside scoop on intructors. :wink2:

I took all of my pre-reqs at Calhoun and am transferring into UAH's nursing program this year. A&P I & II were the most time-consuming, as far as studying goes, and by no means easy. Don't assume that it's gonna be easier than UAH just because its a CC. It all depends on who your professor is. Try to adjust to her teaching style if you can, with the help of other students. Ask the A people how they study for exams and ask your prof for clarification. Remember, you pay her to teach you. At the same time, it is your responsibility to learn it by whatever means necessary. Read every source you can, not just what is provided in class. Research online, Google everything, watch videos posted on other school's sites....there are great sources listed on the Student / A&P board here at Allnurses. You really want to have a foundation for your NUR courses. Your A&P knowledge will be used every day in nursing school & on the job, so you need to work hard for it. You don't want a cheap substitute for solid understanding, or your grades later on will suffer. If you don't think you can pull up your average by the end of the semester, maybe try again this summer. But a summer A&P class is much more intensive. Good luck to you!

I'm a SAHM to two toddlers. The only time I get to study is after they go to bed at 8pm. I have have two notebooks for each subject, one for lecture, one for writing everything in again. When I sit down to study, I go over everything I did the night before first, just to settle it in even more. (It's been proven that you retain information better if you sleep between study sessions and revisit info the next day.) Also, as I go over each detail of my notes, I use Google to get a different perspective of each term or concept. You can find images/videos and definitions that are different from your text that may make more sense to you. (particularly helpful for A&P, Micro, Chem) By the time the exam rolls around, I can recite my notes out loud during my drive to school. Don't just memorize though; understand. Good luck!

Is it really as bad as CNN makes it out to be out there? Anyone having trouble finding work? So many of us looked to nursing for stability. We keep hearing there is a desperate nursing shortage. How is that holding in this economy? Any thoughts?

Heya, I can't tell you anything about licensing and working as an RN in Huntsville. I'm still in school.. I can tell you that the cost of living here is way below the national average and way, way below CA. If you move here from CA you would have access to really nice property. There are some beautiful neighborhoods here, all for sale of course. Huntsville schools are great in most parts of the city. I can give you more details if you like. The RN pay here will definitely be less than in CA, but like I said, you won't need as much here to survive. The city itself is nice. I moved here a year ago from NC. It's very family friendly but somewhat lacking in cultural activities and things like Whole Foods stores and small businesses. Its all pretty corporate here. Lots of Olive Gardens and big malls. Hope that helps.

Good question OC85. I've been wondering that.

Thanks to everyone who replied. I plan to get my BSN, and by then I should have a better idea about which way to go. I've read that a BSN is a bad undergrad to have before applying to med school, which seems strange to me. I know the nurse/med approaches are different, but at least I'll have had contact time with patients by then as opposed to the kids right out of a biology degree. Occasionally I have to step back and reassess my plan to make sure it still feels good. Don't be surprised if you see me fretting over the same thing next year. Or next semester. Or next week.

I'm currently pre-nursing. I have been interested in being a doctor for many years, but all the chemistry scared the bejeezus out of me. So I have planned to go for FNP, instead. The trouble is....I have this nagging feeling that I am not a nurse-person. I feel very strongly about healthcare, treating the whole person, educating patients in disease prevention, and NOT throwing pills at every symptom, which is why I thought NP would be a good fit for me, but my proffessors keep telling me to go to med school instead. (No offense to anyone please, I've gotten great advice from some of you here over the last couple of years, which is why I pour out my guts to you now.) I have figured that by the time I get my DNP, I can be finishing Med school and beginning a residency. I'm 33 with 2 year-old twins...adding to my stress over which way to go. I don't want to abandon my family to go to med school. The NP program I'm heading into can be done mostly online. Luckily, I have a very supportive husband who is pushing me to go MD as well. Any advice from other mom's or NP's out there? Do any of you wish you had gone MD?

I am beginning nursing school next fall after a change of careers. I really, really want to be an NP with training in holistics and nutrition, maybe even herbalism/homeopathy...but how do you get ACCREDITED training in holistic medicine? My husband is a locum tenens recruiter for NP's and MD's. He says that if recruiters or employers see anything "holistic" on a CV, they toss it. How can I get this education without hurting my chances of employment?! I guess it all depends on where you live... Any thoughts?

Spidey's Mom posted some great resources! The no cry sleep method worked for me and my twins within a week. I was up every 45 minutes with them for a few months and I thought I would jump out the window. This is some great advice that my LC gave me at the time: If you resent it (or your child)...you're not doing it right. That goes for a lot of parenting, I think. If you don't HAVE to work, don't. Let school be your job. It's hard enough. If you have to work, then get your girl's sleeping in order first. What they say about giving your child the gift of being able to sleep through the night is true. Good luck, mama.

I'm a SAHM to 22 month old twins. I haven't started my nursing program yet, still doing prereqs. I'm getting ALL non-nursing and Bio classes done at a CC before nursing craziness begins, then I plan to transfer to a university BSN-MSN program. The CC is 1/2 the price and I'm doing most classes online. My Bio's and labs are on campus, but the rest I do online after the little people go to bed. Most CC's have schedules that are very mom-friendly and online classes are terrific. I had planned on an LPN or ADN, but I thought, if I can stay at home now and I don't have to rush to work, I can take FEWER classes and spend LESS time getting my Bachelors than going through all the steps in between. I look at it this way...Kids + school= really hard. Kids + school + new job= no thanks. I'd like to see my kids before they go to college. Just me thoughts... PS. to all those ladies out there who work full time and have kids and go to school, I am in awe. You are some tough cookies.

I am working on my pre-req's at a CC where I had planned to get my ADN. I figured that I could start working sooner that way, then get my RN-BSN-MSN through UABirmingham. Should I rush to get a license and a job, or just focus on getting through school? I thought I had it all figured out, until I learned that my CC has moved the Nursing school facility to another campus an hour away! I could do a University BSN program 10 minutes from home! GRRR. Any advice? I know people ask BSN or ADN all the time. I guess I need to know if rushing to get a job is worth it, if you still have to go to school while you're working. I can use my finaid money for now, so working isn't a huge priority. But 6-8 hours per week of just driving cuts into the gas and childcare budget a lot. Thanks in advance.