Lake201

Professors, may a conscientious not-yet-in-training student ask a question? I came up with similar answers for both parts of the first problem posed. But may I ask a question about the second problem? Here is the question. We are given the following question statement: "The pharmacy dispenses a piggyback with the medication in 50 ml labeled for the drug to infuse in over 20 min. What rate would you set the IV pump." In the question statement, the pharmacy specifies the medication to be infused in OVER 20 minutes, which, if I read this direction carefully, indicates the infusion rate should be slightly LESS than 50 ml per 20 min. So to be most precise in following the pharmacy directions, should not the pump rate be set at Setting the pump rate at 145 ml/hr would decrease the infusion rate just 3.3%, probably not a significant difference to the patient. But is this the most precise reading of the pharmacy directions or am I mistaken (most likely the case!) and reading too much into the question? Thank you.

After posting this question, I have been fortunate to receive some great information from each of these nurses. Please join them in sharing your great experience on these questions with me. Thank you very much.

Sharon, Thank you for your very nice post in response to my questions. You provided a really nice description of a hospital floor nursing shift. You're a good writer. Thank you again. Lake

Considering a career change to nursing, I have been reading this site for a while. While I have been impressed by the experience of the nurses posting here, I have not found the combination of information I personally need. So I thought I would reach out for some of your incredible experience. Are my impressions of nursing correct? I am an older, married male with young children who has been working in technology businesses. I have undergraduate and MBA degrees. While I enjoy any work, the experience of children has changed me. Nursing seems a more significant work. And it seems a work available just about anywhere, nice for me, since I live in a fairly rural area. What exactly do nurses do during a shift? I am thinking here of hospital floor nurses, but I would appreciate hearing from any nurses. When I read posts on this site, nurses usually speak in general terms, like "charting," "giving meds," and "checking vitals," that don't translate as clearly to me, someone who has never done these things. Is nursing physically demanding? Dangerous to family? I'm in very good shape physically, but I haven't had to be on my feet for long periods in a long time. Also, I probably don't have the bullet-proof resistance of a veteran nurse. Would I expect to be sick for the first few years of nursing? Would I bring home conditions and illnesses that would create health problems for my family? Are my nursing career interests appropriate? Though I don't have your experience to define these interests, I would probably choose to do hospital medical-surgical nursing for a while. Later, I would probably enjoy doing nurse management or administration. I might possibly be interested in case management or hospital administration. I would probably have difficulty with pediatric nursing over the long term because it involves seeing children suffer. Like any male, I might not be appropriate for maternal nursing. And since it is specialized and probably would require working in a larger city, I might not select psychiatric nursing. What would be the best training for me? A community college not far away offers an ASN. That program would require a commute, the lightest course load, and just under two years to complete. A large state university in a city slightly farther away offers a second-degree BSN and MSN, neither of which assume nursing background. The second-degree BSN would require a longer commute, heavier course load, and greater cost but, surprisingly, a semester less in time to complete. The second-degree MSN would require that longer commute, even heavier course load and even more cost and time. Finally, the state university offers both practice and research doctoral programs, which would allow me to do teaching and research, which I like, but which would take me away from my family for more time, though the example of my work might be good for the kids. What is nursing academic work like? In glancing through nursing textbooks, I see the material is very information rich, and the books are very large. The material is not usually tied up with a few conveneint formulas or concepts but is very detailed, much different than previous subjects I've studied. How much does one have to memorize to be able to do well on the NCLEX-RN? Everything and the whole book. In reading through NCLEX-RN prep books, I do fairly well on questions, though I have no nursing background beyond common knowledge about medicine and certainly know that does not reflect any ability to think like a nurse or perform nursing duties. Finally, how might I be treated as an older male nurse? Would I be isolated from my colleagues. Are male nurses considered unsual today, as they might have been in the past? Please feel free to address any of the questions I've raised. I would deeply appreciate your valuable experience as I think about this issue, which is important to me and my family right now. Thank you very much.