Lys

Hartford, I am a huge fan of this idea...I actually picked my job based on that (and other factors)...but I start the program in about a week. (and it will be orientation for a surgical floor) I'm unsure of the standardisation of teaching in your state, but in the province where I went to school...there doesn't seem to be much. I have friends who can start IV's like a pro-star, and I've never done one. Then I can teach a health class while they've never done that. What I'm hoping my training will be is things like: here's how we chart here (computer, mar, kardex whatever), spend a day with our venipuncture team, here's how our OR works, these are the community resources that you'll need to refer to, this is how our organisational scheme works, this is our pastoral care co-ordinator, these are our wound care products and how to use them...etc. Much luck with your program!

No. I currently work with an elderly population, and I've had numerous clients tell ask me "why can't I just die?" or "why won't god just take me"...and I tell them that when it's their time, it will happen...and that all we as health care professionals can do is make it as easy a transition as possible. I do agree with some of the previous posters though, that most people do not fear dying, per se, but the pain, shame, injustices, etc that go along with the dying process. But on the flip side, there *are* some people who genuinely do not want to live...they don't want to committ suicide, but want to die because they have no quality of life (for various reasons, mostly exacerbated by depression).

I'm just going to throw my .02 in here... When I first read the post, my first thought was "look it up" also...because as a NURSE that is what one should do, we have an obligation to information-seek out our own knowledge, and to self-assess to determine knowledge gaps (and yes, that includes where to look for answers). But then...I had the thought, I wonder if this is a woman whose just had this hysterectomy and all of these drugs (because I've noticed that sometimes happens)...and is looking to us nurses for a bit of information...well then, the question would be answered differently by me. I think that we need to bear in mind, as always, where a poster may be coming from when they ask a question, etc. Also...when we're posting, ensure that you give enough information to allow others to respond appropriately (i.e. so we don't use terms like neuromuscular blocking agent and acetylcholine when responding to a non-nurse). Have a happy day folks

Hey again! Job opportunities are pretty good actually...I found a job already but not in Kitchener, I'm actually moving to Vancouver (really good opportunity, new grad training program that's 8 weeks before starting to work surgical, yay). Mostly everyone in my class of 40 has found work (the vast majority is full time), some in the US, but many around KW/Guelph/Cambridge. Some people got the specialty areas that they wanted (cardiac, obs, peds, neuro, etc)...so there's no need to worry, KW has quite a few jobs! Are you hoping to stay in the area when you're finished? I loved the program...first year though, I thought I was going to kill someone. We do this "Self-Directed" learning thing, and have classes called "PBL" (problem based learning) which is case-based (hence the name) and done in a small group 8-12. It took a lot of frustration to understand the POINT of group learning, and not actually being "taught" the material...but after I got it, I loved it. Totally great for your thinking skills, people skills, etc. Clinicals were good too, though we didn't start doing clinical work (with real clients) in first year, I've heard mention that some faculty are wanting to lobby to have this changed, but as far as I know the first year is learning totally in the lab setting (and the lab folks and materials are great!!) I did a LOT of time at Guelph General, and at St. Mary's. 2nd and 3rd year clinicals are group based, with one tutor (read: teacher, co-ordinator in Mac-speak) and about 6-8 students all on the same unit. You do the typical Med, Surg, Obstetrics, Peds, Mental Health rotations. 4th year though, very interesting. You can pretty much get any placement you want, my class had people go everywhere (public health, cardiac surgery, day surgery, palliative, etc)- and this is done you solo with a preceptor nurse, working with a tutor who you talk a lot to, but isn't with you every day. Did I answer all of your questions? *lol* Oh wait, the speciality one...I personally haven't. One thing I've learned from A LOT of my teachers, is that some nurses don't just pick one area and stay forever (well maybe some do, but maybe they just don't become teachers? I dunno) Anyway...I have no idea what calls to me, actually a LOT of things do...so I'm just going to see where this surgical thing takes me, maybe go back for a critical care course, maybe a MSN, maybe not...another thing I've learned is that there are an infinite number of paths in nursing, it's fantastic! Anyway...much much luck, hope you're enjoying your summer...and if you have any more q's...just yell!! Lys

First: contrats on getting in! I just finished the Con-Mac program...I will say, it rocked. I had some previous university as well (along with about 70% of my classmates), so we were exempt from electives (except for that pesky Psych class in first year), just make sure that you sort this out with the course co-ordinator either before you start, or shortly after. (An added bonus: you will receive tuition reimbursement for the courses, yay!) The course is a lot of work, I will say that. If you have a good work ethic and organisational skills (getting 75% in your previous degrees, I"ll bet that you do). The science courses were a bit tough, just based on sheer volume of work, but all the profs and TA's that we had were GREAT at offering help, online, in person, etc. I do agree with you though...I think that Mac needs to get with the "now" and offer some sort of condensed program (even three years would be ok) for people who already have degrees, etc. The only good thing though...is that you get your summers off. This is good for a few reasons, you WILL need the recharge time after 8 months of heavy thinking...I went through part of two summers and I thought my brain would explode. Also...tuition is *ahem* expensive...and Conestoga expects you to pay the bulk of it in JULY...so summer is a great time to make some cash. On the work issue...I think 20 hours is totally doable. Myself, I generally worked closer to 30, but didn't sleep (d'oh). Much luck!!

Tashia, Congrats on getting in, and much luck in the program! (I just finished the RN program there). You will likely get info about that the first week of classes...if you have the immunization record from Public Health, you should have that ready (if you've lost it, call the office in Waterloo...they can print you a new one, it will have all the info from birth to the end of highschool on it). The school holds clinics for the mantoux TB tests, boosters, and flu shots...so don't worry about running around before school starts to do them! Enjoy your summer, get some sleep now

*quietly closes can of worms she opened* Ether, I totally wasn't poking fun at anyone who IS doctoral prepared, not my intention at all. I just think that to your average client that we see, it would be confusing if I were to state it like that. BUT: In your quote, it was stated very clearly their title, role, and credentials, I like that. Actually, my government here in Ontario has recently increased bursaries and funding for Nurses who want to continue to doctoral level studies

Hey hey! Just wanted to put my .02 in here too... I'm just finished the program (first graduating class!!)...the program is great, loved every challenging, hair-pulling moment If you need any info, etc...feel free to PM me, I'm around a lot (now that I don't have schoolwork to fill up my time *lol*) Best of luck and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did :balloons:

I've wondered about this as well...physicians (medical doctors) here have not (to my knowledge) attained a doctoral level of degree, in the academic sense. Also, chiropractors (who only need a BSc to get into chiropractic college, and also do not attain an academic doctoral degree) are also called Doctor of Chiropractic... All of this overlap confuses the he** out of me! So what happens if I go and get a Doctorate of Nursing, am I called Doctor Campbell, RN? :rotfl: I don't get it!! *lol*

Barb, First: congrats on your plans to get healthy it's a huge step!! Second: glad you found out what was causing your pain! Just remember, any good fitness plan (totally aside from the nutrition portion) is made up of Cardio, weight training, and stretching! Keep up the good work, and keep us posted on how your progress is coming along!!

Or just come to Canada (most provinces, watch out for the very cold ones though) ;-)

frankly i'm surprised to hear of a professional medical organisation taking a stand like this...but very pleasantly surprised!! http://ap.savannahnow.com/pstories/us/20050522/3048504.shtml :balloons:

Rox, Congrats firstly on considering your career change...it is a big step, and you're certainly right to look into it before jumping ;-) I'm a recent grad, (yes female, so I may give a diff. point of view than yours...but here's my .02) Nursing is about care of the *whole* person, not just their incision site, their IV line, or their EKG strip. Just as "health" is a state of physical, mental, and spiritual well-being, nursing takes into account all of these things. Yes, you want your patient healthy from a medical standpoint, but you also want their physical comfort, dignity, emotional needs, and many other needs to be met - and you're the guy to help them be met. To me, (maybe I'm young and naive, who knows) nursing has no "cons" per se. The job is great...I love what I do. The slightly bad things are the shifts the catty co-workers, the seeming lack of respect that nurses occasionally get, and the grumpy people you can encounter (these are all deal-able). Granted yes, having to pull back someone's ucky foreskin to put in a catheter *does* suck, as does having to wipe dried-on crusty feces off of someones overgrown pubic hair (yes, I'm being overly-graphic to prove a point...but still truthful ), having to put your arm into someone's tummy "folds" to clean them, and gagging while your client pukes into the basin you're holding. BUT...it's worth it. By doing those things, you're helping your clients because they often can't do it for themselves. Often they may not thank you outwardly, but seeing them comfortable and healing says it all. I won't even venture into the areas of emotional health while people are ill (etc) because that's a whooolllee nother post, but I'm sure you get the drift of what I'm saying! I wish you the best of luck in whatever choice you make (I totally wanna plug nursing here...if you make it through school, there are SO many opportunities available to you!) Lys :balloons:

Hey... I just noticed that noone has tooted McMaster's horn yet...I'm graduating next month from Mac's first Collaborative class with Conestoga college- LOVED it. As far as I know, mac doesn't offer any advanced standing for students who already have a degree. But, the 4 year program was great (even though most of the students in my class already had university experience - myself included). We have an emphasis on self-directed learning (confusing, but it works in the end, I swear) and life-long learning. We also have somewhat of a "touchy-feely" outlook on things, with a big focus on psychosocial aspects of client care, as well as introspection into yourself as a caregiver. Much luck finding a school (southern Ontario is beautiful) *lol* Lys

Just speaking from experience, I loved mine to bits while I was a student (now grad'd). I used a Toshiba model, that ran Windows...so I could do all of my scheduling on Outlook, and sync it with my pocket PC. Since my schedule was CRAZY with assignments, work, clinical, classes, appointments, etc...I needed it just for this reason. Another great thing for clinicals was that we needed to do "journals" including pt care plans, dx, meds, scheduling, psychosocial, assessments...etc. So I created a template on my pocket PC, and did them on my computer while I was in the hospital, while my fellow students were handwriting them out then had to type them later ;-) Personally, I never got any fun software like Epocrates, or PT tracker stuff...but by the time I got my handheld, I was in 3rd year and had a fairly good base of knowledge to work from. I would totally recommend getting one, just do some homework first. Personally, the Palm ones I had some issues with (I hate the Palm platform), so I opted for Windows...but not everyone is a windaz fan. Much luck with the handheld, and with school