AZSamiLPN

I wholeheartedly agree with the above comments! My father was a patient in the Burn Unit a few years ago. I was constantly there to visit and get updated on his condition. The staff treated him and the family with respect. They were also very accommodating to our religion practices as we tried everything to help my father recover from his wounds. He was finally discharged from there about a year after his accident. Now that I am a nurse, I often thought about applying there, but I'm not sure if I could even come close to the compassion, respect, and commitment that those nurses showed my family.

I have a funny story about MGA. I was hired about 7 months ago by them and they already had a couple of cases for me. I was very excited because this would've been my very first nursing job as a LPN. I went to do my drug screen, but I was more dehydrated than I thought. I didn't offer enough of a sample, so I had to wait a few more minutes and drink a lot more water to get things going. I was also under a lot of pressure to get the sample done before they closed, which was in 15 minutes at the time. I did my sample, but it still wasn't enough. The lab tech that was with me laughed it off and assured me that it happens frequently and not to worry, but I had to get another drug screen form from MGA. I called MGA and explained the situation to them. They simply chose to not to believe me and said I would be notified at a later time when they got the official report from the lab center I went to. The lab center did send the report a few days later, and I called again to get the drug screen forms, but I was put on hold for a very long time. I finally gave up on them and resumed sending out applications/resumes again. I'm wondering if I should call them and ask if they ever looked at the official report from the lab center and see if they would hire me again?

I applied for and got into an ADN program. I had planned on getting my ADN and work those student loans down before applying for a BSN program. Now, I kinda wished I had done the BSN route because I would be done by now. I guess it depends on your situation, both financially and with your family. I have 4 kids and a husband, so taking a few classes at a time seemed to work out better for us. I'm also told that you have an advanced placement when you go back to school to get your BSN and don't necessarily have to start back at the beginning.

At my nursing school orientation, we were allowed to bring one person that you considered to be your rock. I brought my husband. Everybody there also brought along somebody. I would strongly suggest you call the school and ask if it's okay. I'm glad I brought my husband because he was able to hear first-hand how difficult and busy nursing school was going to be and he has been doing everything he can to help me get through it. I don't know if things would've been different if he didn't hear it for himself, and I hope not to find out! Good luck!

I'm finishing up my third semester and I have 4 children with a husband. So, needless to say, I haven't really seen them for over a year. Haha! I told my kids flat out that I wouldn't be able to do some things with them because I needed to study. I told them that if I didn't study, then I would fail. I was so stressed about not being around my kids as much as before and I worried about my marriage. Fortunately, they all understood and didn't think it was such a big deal for me to be gone. They knew school was important. They knew how important it was for me to finish because it meant that Mommy could buy them stuff without worrying about being able to afford it when I finally got a job as a nurse. I was surprised at how they told me too. "Mom, you've been in school forever. Nursing school is no different. Just do your homework and we'll see you on Saturday." LOL! As for my husband, he made sure I did not have anything to worry about at all. He took complete control of our kids, the finances, the meals, the family obligations, and our time together. We schedule everything down to the minute, so that has helped so much. If I could do anything different, then I would definitely have joined more study groups away from the house. The kids can only be quiet for so long before my husband or I are growling at them. I guess just schedule time with your kids. Put them on a strict bedtime schedule or else you'll never get anything done. And schedule "Date Night" with your husband at least once a month, preferably after a test, so that you two can reconnect on an intimate level. Date Night is my all time favorite and it's kept me sane. Good luck to you!

I would so rather be playing Rock Band 2 with my kids all day throughout the weekend instead of studying. I have been known to do this and it drives my husband nuts! There's just so many times you can belt out "Wonder Wall" by Oasis without getting sick of hearing it! I think I've worn out that song and "Come Out and Play" by Offspring. LOL!

In my psych class earlier this week, we were talking about Anorexia and our instructor asked if anyone of us had ever dealt with someone that had gone through it. I said I did, and some student said out loud, "Well, apparently she doesn't have THAT problem anymore!" I don't think she meant for me to hear it. I didn't mean I was the one that had anorexia, but I had dealt with it before. I stood up and glared at her. I was quickly escorted out of the classroom by some of the other students while our instructor had a talk with her.

Walk into a room full of recovering drug addicts and say out loud, "Man! I really needed my fix!" while holding a 20 oz bottle of Dr. Pepper!