quiet_one

To be completely honest you will not find out if you are 'cut out' for nursing until you have graduated and are working on the floor! However you have seen a glimpse of nursing with your CNA experience and seem to have enjoyed it. I would encourage you to just survive this chemistry class. Over christmas break get your hands on a dosage calculations for nurses book (I learned from 'dosage calculations' by gloria d. pickar) however any book that teaches you the basics step by step will do. If you can find out which one your desired school uses that would be ideal....could be one less book to buy in the future You could also buy an older edition...the math doesn't change! Work through the first couple chapters. After you chem class is behind you and drug problems don't seem impossible...then make the final decision on attending nursing school!

Thanks seasoned....I'm finished :) Robbind I feel that all of the coursework was very straightforward. Each class uses a grading rubric that is easy to follow. There were many weeks when all I did was make two substantial postings and I got full credit for them (although be sure to use a reference in at least one posting each week). My courses through devry required I log in and post on 3 separate days. As far as writing papers it really depends on your instructor, but if you follow the rubric and include all parts in your papers you will do fine. Use your resources and contact your instructor if you have questions! My classes that were credited were approved prior to admission, with no changes. Good luck to everyone starting classes oct 25th!

medsurg nurses at my facility are not required to have ACLS certification! BLS yes, but the advanced stuff is done by the code team 99% of the time at my hospital (even though I am a medsurg nurse that is ACLS certified). Also rapid response would not have been called if these nurses knew exactly what to do (this is not a routine problem for them), rapid response usually arrives within a two minutes at my facility, so during that time I generally find myself trying to get vitals, crash cart and fully assess the situation and when the patient is in capable hands I page the MD. And yes medsurg nurses 'all too often' do not know exactly what to do when a rapid response is called...when that changes there will not be rapid responses!

First off congrats on your job offers, they both seem like they would be great and your years of experience and education are definitely reflected in the offers.... but i'm gonna give you my anyways. I would go with the VA position. I have heard wonderful things from people that work at a VA hospital, the benefits are obvious! I would be wary of option B simply because you will be salary and alot of travel will probably be involved (btw, will you be compensated for mileage? or have a company vehicle?) either decision sounds like a great opportunity...good luck with whatever path you choose to take.

I have less than a month until I complete my BSN with Chamberlain and it has been a great experience! I would suggest this option to any of my RN friends. For me the money was a huge concern...as you mentioned seasoned, 15000 is alot and without any debts from my ADN I was hesitant to take on this amount. However I compared chamberlain with many other programs (local and online) and chamberlain was the shortest program and considering the costs, time involvment and courses required of other programs cost pretty much evened out for me, so why not finish in a year with a school that I had a difficult time finding negative reviews on :) and I did not receive any grants, just loans. (not exactly sure what the government nursing education grant is though)

hmm...I haven't really heard anything about the shreveport/bossier hospitals giving preference to NSU grads....I would really want to speak with the specific hospitals before I factor that into which school I attended! I will say that my graduating class from panola had no more difficulty getting a job at their hospital of choice than other new grads! I think the main reason there are not as many panola grads at these hospitals is the graduating class size and also many of the students live in texas and aren't even looking in louisiana!

Well I guess i'm not the only one with a lousy schedule! The schedules are posted for a month (new schedule is only put up 1-2 days before it starts!) I really dislike this current schedule..I work 8hr night shifts 5 days a week and somehow I have managed to get EVERY weekend and I have no more than 1 day off at a time! Plus this thanksgiving week i'm working 6 days (still have my regular 5 next week though!). The schedules don't even make sense, one night there will be 6 nurses the next night 3....leaving us under or overstaffed! I am a full time staff member and when I was hired I was told that I would have to work my scheduled weekend every other week..but apparently only day shift has a set rotating schedule...nights is a whole other animal. Why don't they set a schedule...we are fully staffed on nights! lol, I feel a little better after venting :)

There is not really a place to work that is 'best'...although I would strongly suggest you start looking at your local colleges that offer programs (also don't forget to go to the state board of nursing to see what that schools pass rate is..you don't want to spend time in a program only to be unprepared for the NCLEX!) I personally chose the associate degree route to save money, I attended a community college so the tuition was cheap compared to universities that offered bachelors degrees. If you are wondering an associate (asn) or a bachelors (bsn) will both prepare you to become an RN, asn is 2 years and bsn is 4 years. There are not any immediate benefits of having bsn, but it is a good thing to have for advancing your career if you wish to be something other than a staff nurse.

Hi Jahost, I think it is great to ask questions to get a better idea of whether or not this field is a good fit for you! My biggest suggestion would be to get your CNA license and work a few hours a week, or shadowing a nurse for a day. Although being an RN/LPN does have some different responisibilities you will get a good idea of how 'nursing' actually works (and you will be a much better nurse with CNA experience..imo) I chose nursing because 1.)I have always wanted to work in the medical field 2.) I enjoy taking care of people 3.) paying for nursing school was feasible. I can't really think of any hardships I have had to face (other than nursing school, lol). I have found this career to be rewarding mentally, i love learning and there is ALWAYS an opportunity to learn...definately does not get boring! The pay is good and the job is stable... 'comfortable' financially which is a blessing. I am a fairly new RN and there are differences in responsibilities (and amount of training required) between an RN and LPN...I personally don't feel like going into these, but there are lots of posts on this topic if you dig around a bit :). Finally, I know the future of nursing will be greatly influenced by this health care bill that is currently being proposed...i mean healthcare run by the government if done poorly could make nursing a nightmare! Although there will not be a shortage on people that need nursing care with people living longer and 'baby boomers' aging, because of this I still see a bright future in nursing.

I try to stay organized (not always successful:) I started out carrying EVERYTHING know to nurses in my pockets :) but now I have come up with a fairly good system for my pockets. first of all I have a badge that clips on with a retractable string. in addition to my name badge, i also have several badges with helpful tips that i use frequently (like order of tops for lab draws) and numbers i need to remember. I also keep my key to the linen room and my pen light on my badge (really want to get a small sharpie too) I also carry around a clipboard (one with a flip cover so i can cover up when in a patients room) this has all the important phone extensions and doctors numbers that I use...i'm always adding to it! I keep my 'brain' here too :) I have a scrapbook tote that I keep next to my computer in the nurses station with everything I need that I don't use all the time (like 5 diff color highlighters, my pocket reference, all my colored pens, breath mints, extras of all my pocket items etc.) In my pockets I rotate items from this out as the night progresses to items I may need, like each time I round I write my info in a different color ink..I only need my expo marker and eraser cloth on my first rounds...sometimes I know I will be needing extra gauze or paper tape when I go in the room. Some items that are always in my pockets are: sharpie, alcohol wipes, a flush, tape, pen, scissors, telemetry stickers, and a pair of gloves. I have found this works well for me since I can usually anticipate if I will need any other items before I leave the nurses station.

All I have to say is this last month or two has been crazy.... so far i've - taken an nclex review course and acls in the same week - graduated nursing school (May 15) - got my ATT (June 5) - started working as RN applicant (June 6)...was a tech before on the same floor - took nclex (June 26) - my RN license posted on state bon website (today :) now i'm moving in two weeks and getting married in two months...so its gonna be the end of the year before this slows down some! Despite the craziness of life atm, I'm loving work! I am surprised how fast I am catching on...didn't think it was possible to actually remember information about more than 3 pts! :) (although still need experience in many areas...but at least I know I can do the basics ) There are many days I come home frustrated know that I could have done better, but so far I have been able to learn from those days. btw...studying has been such a big part of my life the last few years it was no problem to put in 6-8 hours a week to study for the nclex.

Ok, so I don't really have the answers to all your questions....but I am also considering joining the air force (after my rn-bsn is completed). If I joined I would be facing similar situations since I plan on starting a family in the next few years. So I will put in my if you don't mind :) First of all call a healthcare recruiter (they will try to 'sell' you on all the benefits...hey its their job, but you can call with a list of questions to ask..I never felt pressured during my conversation ! They will be able to answer the more specific questions for you. As far as being away for a long time, the answer is yes...prob somewhere around 3-6 months at a time, although this will probably not be constant (and may never happen). But as far as I understand you will not likely deploy in your first year and then you are put on a deployment schedule where there is a set number of months you are eligible to be deployed...so if they are deploying nurses in your unit during that time you will probably go. But the other times your schedule is not up, you wont be deployed minus a disaster/wartime etc.. (certainly verify with recruiter). Being raised around military families,working on an AF base, and my soon to be Mother-in-law being a colonel and having a family while in the military. I can honestly say you would be hard pressed to work for any company that values family as much as the military! (btw...I have NEVER met a person that regrets their experience in the military...regardless of the time served and # of deployments!)

I took my NCLEX at 2p, it works better for me since my mind doesn't wake up until at least 10a! I guess you need decide when you are most focused and alert...and honestly a week will probably not matter much if you have already been studying (could even be one week less of test anxiety). Good Luck!

Took the NCLEX yesterday...I only had one question but it told me not to enter the units and it also told me exactly where to round to (two decimals was what I got). Bet they are all pretty straightforward like that. Hope that helps some.

I took my chemistry, AP1 +2 other classes in the same semester ...could work part-time (no kids). Then I took micro and AP2 + 2 classes the next semester...no work (still no kids:) and to be honest I was stretched very thin, but I managed to pull A's in all but 1 course. Be prepared to spend alot of time in the science labs! Although i have to agree with rhodygirl, it was great preparation for my nursing classes...actually was a pretty comprable workload. I would say go for it and best of luck with whatever you decide!