JamesJr.

I am not sure where exactly I see myself after school, just somewhere in medicine. Whether it is beginning to open my own practice, giving anesthesia to patients, working with pediatrics, anything. Nursing: Work 3-4 days a week, not on call. Tons of opportunities and a wide variety of places to work. Contact with patients Medicine (Doctor): Being able to open my own practice Possibly doing research Family practice - being personal More $$$ Being able to diagnose patients

So I am a freshmen in college (19 years old) and will be entering my sophomore year in August. I am very fortunate to have been awarded provisional acceptance to a medical school as long as my GPA stays above a 3.5. I have been debating over the past few weeks whether I really want to go to medical school or follow through with my previous plan, nursing. Nursing was originally my dream career, but then when I was presented with that acceptance, my mindset changed from becoming a nurse to a doctor. I am now wondering if I should actually do nursing and forfeit my acceptance to the medical school. I realize the vast differences between the two jobs, but I cannot decide which I would rather do. Seven more years of schooling plus residency seems grueling. I just really do not want to forfeit the acceptance and then always think, "What if?". My goal through this post is to get some advice or assurance that nursing is the right path for me...I know that only I know which path is right...but I really don't! At this point, my whole family expects me to go to medical school. Schooling wise, I am having to take a lot more classes (Organic chemistry, physics, etc) to fulfill the requirements of the medical school acceptance. In the Fall, I am planning on taking both of my pre-requisites for nursing and medical school. ...it is daunting trying to do both. Never in my life have I not been able to do something, which is one thing that makes me want to keep on the medical path.

I have a pretty random question, I guess. I see some of yall saying that you charge like $4 for a sick call, etc. Who gets this money?

Hello! I am a volunteer at NHRMC (highschool junior) and I will tell you that NHRMC is a completely awesome place to be. They have just opened two new buildings (surgical building and womens and childrens) and each Christmas they give presents to the volunteers and staff. They take care of their employees and go out of the way for them. I know very little about Brunswick, but New Hanover is just so awesome. I plan on becoming a nurse and hopefully working there one day. Sorry I could not provide more info.

Hello. I am a a junior in highschool, so my answers may not be as reliable, but I have grown up in NC for all my life. (Also, no one else has responded so I will try to provide some info) Is this area of NC family friendly? The take on friendliness is different between people in my opinion. You will be classified as a Yankee, especially if you have an accent. Most of us do have "southern hospitality", so we try to be friendly to everyone. Almost everyone loves kids and the like, so family friendly is abundant if you have kids. Depending on your neighborhood is how friendly people can be. If you happen to live in the ghetto...sorry. What is the job market for nurses like? Nurses are very much needed everywhere in NC. You will find a job. And most importantly what kind of salary can I expect? You will make about 60,000 a year according to Salary.com. This is varying on your experience, credentials, overtime, etc. I'm only in highschool so I can't answer this adequately. HOWEVER, please know,as you mentioned, the cost of living is vastly lower here. I remember someone came down and bought a 2-story house (pretty big) for the same price as an apartment up north. In my city, a two-story house, pretty good shape, is 150k. What kind of Mortgage/rental payment could a nurse afford if I was the sole provider? Not long term but initially. I can totally not answer this.

Congratulations! All that worrying for nothing!

Hello. I am a highschool junior taking AP English. This is what I would change if I was peer-editing: I am proud to say that I have accomplished a lot in my life considering my childhood and family background. I had my daughter at the age of 16, and I have been caring for her since the day she was born. After having my daughter, I felt that college was not a viable option for me. I felt my first priority was caring for my daughter; now that my daughter is older, I am ready to tackle my life long desire of becoming a nurse, with her full support. I take pride in the fact that I am the first one in my family to ever attend college, to own a home, and to soon graduate from college. When I was 18, I joined my local volunteer rescue squad and obtained my EMT-B. From that moment on, I knew I wanted to become a nurse. I also worked as an oral surgery assistant for 3 years. I loved my time as an oral surgery assitant; I enjoyed meeting new people, listening to their concerns, and caring for my patients. However, I wanted to be able to provide a variety of care for my patients, not just oral surgery. Currently, I am enrolled at J. Sargeant Reynolds and have satisfied most of the non-nursing classes in the Bon Secours curriculum. I am choosing Bon Secours because it is a hospital based program. I like the fact that it provides a lot of hands on learning. I think that the learning environment and hands on training can only enhance the skills being learned. Furthermore, I have a cousin and several friends who have graduated from Bon Secours and they all speak highly of the program. The flexibility of the evening classes that are offered will work well for me. After completing nursing school, I plan to transfer to VCU and obtain my Bachelors Degree through their weekend program. Upon receiving my Bachelors, my goal is to obtain my Masters Degree. I have really enjoyed being back in school and hope to never stop the continuation of my education. This is also a wonderful opportunity to set an example for my daughter. At this time, my top priorities are to become a nurse and to ensure that my daughter goes to college and has all the opportunities that I never had. When my education is complete and my daughter is self-supporting, I would love to venture into the field of a traveling nurse. I also have a strong passion for teaching. I currently work for VCU School of Dentistry, were I teach the clinical portion of radiology to dental and hygiene students. I can ultimately see myself teaching nursing students and sharing the passion and drive that is within me. (Why will this help you in nursing? What skills have you learned by teaching; eg provides preparation to teaching patients) Throughout this essay, I hope to shown you how I have a lot of interest in different areas. I think that becoming a Registered Nurse provides endless opportunities. It’s a career that offers variety and not to mention, the satisfaction of caring for those in need.

I have been an extra on One Tree Hill and a pilot show called East Bound and Down. I got paid around $60 each time for standing in the stands and they fed us lunch/dinner. Pretty nice except for the long wait inbetween shots.

I just wanted to update everyone. I discussed all of your ideas with my English teacher who is currently in charge of the projects. I really wanted to do the teaching thing where I went to a pre-school and taught kids how to wash hands, do some activities, etc. Her response was that it was "wimpy" and too humanitarian. She wants everyone to learn to do something. So I am learning to swim. I am so disappointed. Oh well. Some other students are learning to make wedding cakes, how to dance, how to play the chello, and I'm learning to swim...Oh well! I appreciate each of your responses and thanks so much for your help!

No way! I was researching this today and contacted my local community college about it! What a coincidence. Your idea about teaching kids something also sounds great! Maybe teaching preschool kids the importance of handwashing or something similar? Everyone above has posted some really valuable information and I appreciate it all! One of my closest teachers at school is a nurse, and I am hoping she might be mentor for the project. I will discuss your ideas with her and see what her input is. Thanks everyone, I really do appreciate it all.

Thanks so much for your ideas!

Hey everyone. I am a junior in high school and we have one week to decide on a topic for our senior project. We will have to write an eight to ten page research paper on our topic and then in our senior year present it with an actual product. I am extremely interested in nursing, and was wondering if yall had any ideas about what I could do. The only hard part is actually having a product to present to a group of judges. My other option is to learn how to swim, and I would video tape/take pictures of my "struggles" concerning about learning different swimming techniques. This is something that I do not want to do and would appreciate it if yall had ideas on something I could do with nursing or another medical-related subject. Thanks everyone for reading.

I highly recommend http://www.salary.com/ for finding out your expected salary.

Hi. I am in highschool and so I do not know anything regardng the legality of the issue. My question is, is nicotine received by second-hand smoking? My mother smokes, so I am always breathing in her smoke. Is nicotine in my blood system, or do I have to be physically smoking to get the nicotine?

This will vary from across the country due to the cost of living. Your best bet is to check http://salary.com

Thank you all for your suggestions and help. I decided to write down pediatric nursing, operating room nursing + CRNA, and critical care nursing. I will be sure the check out the specialties forums to see what it is really like in all the different specialties.

I'm applying to a nursing summer program for highschool students and one of the questions on the application says to list three nursing specialties that I'm interested in learning about during the program. I just want to double check that the following are nursing specialties: Pediatrics, Emergency, Operating Room Also, could I include CRNA or is that not a specialty but more of an advanced thing?

Hello! I guess this may be coming from a patient perspective because I'm a highschooler who is looking to become a nurse after graduation. I feel that a nurse who is caring for me should not be in a t-shirt. This isn't solid evidence or a lot of information, but really, the no t-shirt policy sounds good in my opinion. Even as volunteers, we wear a polo-shirt with the hospital logo. I could not image working in a hospital wearing a t-shirt...I don't even recall being in a hospital where I have seen someone who worked there wear a t-shirt. While the color-coding by department sounds good in theory, how are the patients going to know who is who? It isn't like each patient knows what the colors mean or anything unless a chart is provided. Even then, most people would refer to the nametag, not the shirt. I personally feel that a name-badge and what you are currently doing is good enough. Just my opinion on it, which probably doesn't mean much but I don't have anything else to do, so why not!

This may help: https://allnurses.com/forums/f125/online-nutrition-class-170112.html

I don't know if this will work for you, but you can try Quizlet to study: http://quizlet.com They even make test for you to take and it will grade it for you.

Congratulations on passing! Being a highschool student, I have no idea what ACLS is, (a google search shows that it is a Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support, is that correct?) but congratulations! I am sure it is a great accomplishment.

I have received some patches from volunteering at the hospital and had no idea you could soak them! Thanks for the tip!

I am not a nurse or anything but I do think that nurses need more credit for all that they do. You rock!

I am just a high school student, but I would call the admissions office and ask them. I don't know if that is possible or anything....maybe I shouldn't even be replying since I have no experience and know nothing about college admissions....I dunno! Sorry!

Hello, my name is James and I currently live in the Wilmington area. I am a high school student and wish to pursue a BSN degree after high school. I visit this forum every day and absolutely love all the advice yall give each other and everything.