CoCo Queen

LOL!! So it's true that once you start your clinicals that you have to let a pleasure such as keeping your house clean go!!! I hope I can deal with that becasue I am a neat freak!!

It's normal to be a little jittery knowing that you are actually about to be put out there in the work force. My advice, for information forgotten, is to ALWAYS keep your nursing notes, handouts, etc... I still have my notebooks from my high school nursing courses that I refer to from time to time.

If I was in your shoes, no kids, and a new graduate, I would begin my career first. I don't know how your financial situation is or will be looking by 2011, but I do know that two checks are better than one. Why not save up money to carry you when you do decide to stay at home with the baby(ies)? You never know how long you are actually going to want to stay home with the baby, so why not get your feet wet and stack up emergency money BEFORE you child gets here. You will have more to fall back on, literally...

When I started my pre-reqs and went to my first nursing seminar, they made it VERY clear that working and trying to do clinicals were near impossible. I was told that at the most you could get 16 hours because of all the studying and how time consuming clinicals are. Then they said if you have kids, send them to Grandma's or another family memeber, dn't worry about keeping your house clean, and to try to cook meals that would last a couple of days because cooking everynight will get exhausting.

Yes, becoming a CNA first does gives you a "leg up" on what is to come as a RN. Plus it looks grat on your resume to see that you had humble beginnings with nursing. Being a CNA is a humbling experience: the pay, the duties, etc...

You remind me of Elliot from Scrubs!! Just a lil humor... ANYWAY, you having knowledge should give you confidence. Maybe you need to do a little mediation before the start of each clinical or pray that GOD helps you with your confidence at work. When it comes to asking questions, think of a more creative way to get your questions answered instead of rasing your hand and then asking a question. Start with an example or do a comparison to try to get your teacher to answer your question without her realizing it. That will REALLY build your confidence and also show your instructor a "new found" independence!!

Maybe some of the NS in the program really wern't or aren't prepared for what the nursing program entitles. The difficulty of the whole program I mean. Just becasue you have been wantung to be a nurse for as long as you can remember doesn't mean that everything will come easy to you. That's why we as NS should take advantage of ANY extra amenites that are available to help. I'm mentally preparing myself for the ride, I know I will need all the asisatance I can get in order to be the best nurse I can be. That's how we should perceive it. AND if you do fail, try and try again untill you get it correct. If it's your passion, nothing will stop you!!:loveya:

I would recommend going to a community college and consider online classes. Take one just to try it and see if you like it, becasue they aren't for everyone. BUT if you want to have your cake and eat it too (meaning spending invaluable time with your brother while moving forward in your education simutaneously), this may be the option for you. Go ahead and get those pre reqs out the way, but know where you want to go afterwards. I wouldn't sit around and wait untill 2011 for a certificate/degree I could have gained a year or two prior!! I totally understand that you want to jump into the field A.S.AP. and thats fantastic!! Keep that passion about nursing!!:w00t: Whatever happens, don't loose sight of what your goals are. Your young and you have OPTIONS, so use them girl!!!

I would reccomend a two year program. That way if you decide to go ahead and get your BSN or MSN, the tuition would be paid by what ever hospitial you work for. Yes since you work from home anyway, you may prefer online classes. If you do online classes, it's up to you how long gaining your degree will take. You can go to a community college and take all your courses online. This may be a better choice than taking the full online university route because you have tangible resources to gain from: Counselors, tutors, library, study groups, and the fact that you may be able to buy your books used (which equals cheaper) rather than paying for a new book, that you only use once, and you can resell the book when your done!! P.S: I don't know if you're a single parent, but if so you will have MANY scholarships and grants available to you. And PLEASE do your FASFA to get free money for school.

I thought about becoming a CNA, but then decided to get my Associates, then Bachelor. If you do decide to take the diploma route, you are going to endure more hands on experience and become more relaxed in the hospital or nursing home setting. It's just a proven fact. Be proud of whatever route you take, just do it and jump in the field because were needed out there!!!

The best thing to do is to pray for your family member who has the addiction. Don't be a crutch for that person either, or they will ALWAYS run to you when they hit rock bottom. Tough love and prayer helped me with this situation. You can talk to them, but when you hear yourself being "redundant" year after year after year, you just have to step back and realize that you can't help someone who doesn't want to help themselves, even if it is your family. Support them emotionally, not finacially, spiritually if possible.

Your job, whatever it maybe, should be enjoyed from the time you clock in til the time you leave. You have tried to stick it out for a VERY long time. 6 months?! You have my upmost respect for not waving the white flag already. I'm sure there are other fields of nursing, like psyc, that you can go into. Don't forget that you have NUMEROUS options!!

I was a crew trainer @ McDonald's, the Avon & Mary Kay Lady, and was the manager of a beauty supply store before I became a student nurse. My back up plans, if nursing doesn't work out, are event planning, business administration, and motivational speaking. Nursing is my 1st love since I was 4, so I'm going to do my best to make it work!!!

Your state may offer aid to you and your church, if you're involved, will help also. My entire college education, so far, has been paid by grants that were made possible by the FASFA. Do the FASFA as early in the year that you can so you can get more money. I do the FASFA on my own w/o my mother's help. You're older than me so you can do it!! Take pride in yourself and what you have to offer. Stay prayed up and everything will fall into place...

That was mean to say that because it was very inconsiderate of the "ugly" nurse's feelings. The bottom line is that we live in a very superficial world. That was unprofessional to make the comment in the first place and very out of place to even mention it at church. It was said during a testiomonial? NOOOO!! God teaches love, a laugh @ someone's emtional expense isn't cool. What would have been funny was if the nurse said, "Fine, I'll leave. Just know that your health is worse than my looks. Hope you make it to the new year." The family would have been speechless. Would that have made the Sunday morning testimonials?