kadiddle

Wow! Lots of us in the same boat. I am an LPN, have been for 28 years. wife to Jake for almost 30 years, mother of 6, and two more we have guardianship of, grandmother of 5. I always said I wanted to return to school and finish before I turn 50. Well.....I am graduating from my RN training on June 7th...the day I turn 50! I finally did it! Tough road! My husband is also an RN and our plans after the last of the kids are out, is to do travel nursing and humanitarian trips! I'm excited to get started!

I am certainly not implying that we do any procedure without either our clinical instructor or the RN we are working with watch us. But once we have done the procedure effectively and with supervision, we are NOT outside of our scope to do it alone. For example, when giving meds, the RN gets the meds, checks them with me, I tell her what they're for and the route, but I go in the room and after doing the 5 R's, I can certainly give the medication to the patient without the RN in the room. Surely you don't think that schools wish to take the risk and allow students to do procedures without having been trained and watched over like a hawk the first time or two? I don't believe my school wants to take that risk. And I have NEVER as a student, done anything outside what I was legally allowed to do. We have already been warned by the school that if we are found willfully going outside our boundaries, we will get kicked out of the program.

Wow! I have been using this website for a few monnths and never looked at this forum. I am an 49 y.o. LPN and have been one for over 28 years. Wow! I am in a transition program and will graduate this year on my 50th birthday!!:clpty:I am so excited but exhausted right now. I just finished my last test for this quarter. Now I have a 2 week break and I'm on to my last quarter!! My dh, a R.N. BSN himself, has been my biggest advocate. He has just taken over with the kids, 1 of our own and 2 we have guardianship of, and loves to help me. I'm passing with great grades, but it has taken its toll. There are some days I wish I wouldn't have hit the books so hard and just taken a lower grade so I could spend more time with the family. But I'm on the downhill slope and for that I am so grateful! We are planning to sell the house, buy a 5th wheel, do travel nursing and go on humanitarian excursions when the kids are out!!! We are thrilled to have our 50's all planned out doing what we both love best!

With 12 or so student nurses under a clinical supervisor, she can't always be with the students every time they do a new procedure or give a med. That may work in a perfect world, but not in the real world. Also, if we could learn everything by watching someone else instead of doing, nursing school would be alot shorter and we would have no need for a lab!

I agree that time on the med/surg floor would be beneficial as a new grad. However, having been an LPN for over 27 years, I have had plenty of experience with floor nursing. In fact, I have done med/surg, pediatrics, step-down nursery, home health, and worked in a pediatrician's office. So I am really looking forward to something new and different. And I really don't particularly care for regular floor nursing. Just not my thing, although I'm glad there are others who enjoy it. :wink2:

Thanks so much for your input. I am really excited and looking forward to the experience. I am really a very easy person to get along with, and I have a great sense of humor. I am comfortable with myself, but I do tend to be apprehensive in new settings. I suppose most people are. I do like to learn and ask questions. I guess I am just hoping that most of the people will be patient with my learning curve! :nuke:

I was glad to see this post. I too, will be precepting in OR this May. I am excited and it's what I chose, but I am nervous too. The hospital has even offered me a job afterwards. ( I think that has something to do with the fact that my husband works there too, not because I'm an expert or have some special skill. And.... they're desperate?!?) So I'm hoping this will be a good experience. I have a few questions too. 1) Are all the doctors and nurses cutting up during surgery all the time? I keep hearing interesting stories. 2) Are the doctors and nurses grumpy alot? (I've been told they eat their young! Or is that just at this hospital?) 3) Do most of the nurses take turns being scrub nurse, circulating nurse, etc?

Wow, Karen G.!! You have a bit of an attitude! Do you understand you made your choice and that is fine, but not everyone fits into your little mold. Now I am talking from a load of experience. My husband has been working at the same hospital for over 20 years in PICU. He has been loyal, but I can tell you right now that his loyalty has NOTHING to do with the hospital. It was the need to stay in one place to raise our children, and keep a steady flow of income. His loylalty is to his family!!! But I can tell you now, that if we had known we could have traveled as nurses and taken our children, we would have done it in a heartbeat!!What an education for children to be able to travel all over the country. And all the different ways to get an online education now, it would have been a dream come true to have done this with our kids. I am an LPN and worked at a pediatrician's office for 19 years. I loved it and loved the experience. However, I am back in school to get my RN and will be finished in June. Plans?? Welll...we will stick around for a few more years to help out with my father-in-law who suffers with Alzhiemer's. But when he's gone, so are we!!! We will sell our home, buy a 5th wheel and a big truck, and off we go!!! We are so excited we can hardly wait!!! What a dream to see sights, experience working in different facilities, getting a feel for the diversity of nursing throughut the country, and even internationally! I can't believe your closed-mindedness on this matter. You need to open your horizons a bit! But, perhaps that's why you're in the administrative branch. That's obviously your cup of tea. I wouldn't do your job for all the money in the world!!!! So obviously this has nothing to do with the money. I would much rather do the hands on approach. So lighten up!!! Be stifled if you choose to, but travel nursing, in my mind, is about as open a view as ever!!!