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Thank you for your reply. I had my interview today. I was very impressed with them. I have had interviews at 2 other agencies before and I was completely turned off. Didn't seem like they cared about pt. safety....wanted to just send people right out to a residence to start. I knew I liked them as soon as I stepped in the door. I was there from 11-3. Long interview. I also had to take a test which wasn't bad. Only got 1 wrong although I think my answer was the correct choice...lol. I have no pediatric experience and that was my biggest concern. Gave me a big book to study and when I am ready I can come take a written test. After I pass that on to their clinical lab. I was told they require a minimum of 16 hrs. shadowing time but I can take as much time as I need. Going to work some of the less invasive cases first. After 6 months I am going to train for vent/trach and also start being a STAT nurse. They have cases 5 mins. from my house. I am excited about this. I currently drive 45 mins to work and the gas is eating alot of my paycheck. Although I haven't officially started working with them I recommend anyone interested in HH try an interview with them. Hopefully it will continue well. In case anyone is interested. Northern PA hourly is 22.00 for pediatric care. Thanks Again!

Hello everyone, Was hoping for some help. I have been an LPN for 18 months now. I currently work at an inpatient drug/alcohol detox unit. I have applied to Bayada and have an interview tomorrow. They are aware that my experience is not med surg. They said they are okay with that because they will train me and also have me test out on any clinical skills. I have always wanted to be a HH nurse. I have to say though I am feeling quite scared. I have no doubt that whatever training they give me I will excel at. I love learning new skills and refreshing ones I haven't used in awhile. What I am scared of is if they are truly going to give me training. I would never want to go into a home not being prepared. I searched this site for other Bayada questions but they really weren't what I was looking for. Has anyone started with them that needed refresher training? Did they really come through with it? I haven't heard anything bad about them. I live in PA and they do have a good reputation. I would appreciate anyone commenting...especially if you have been in a similar situation. Thanks so much in advance.

That would be one long song for the meds!!!! You would be singing for a few hours before you got to the medication you needed. Good Luck!

Wow....that's a great way to memorize it! If only I had it on Thursday when I took my boards...lol. I found out today that I passed....yay. The original poster is correct. My test had quite a few infection control questions. I really had to think about them. Best of luck in your up coming test!

Thanks everyone! I got my quick results from Pearson and I PASSED! I really can't believe it. Still kind of in shock I think. Now I can't wait to have that license in my hand!!! The anxiety is officially over though. Thanks again!

Thanks for that info. It is killing me. I am really disappointed in the NCLEX exam...whether I passed or not. I don't feel that it really tested my nursing capabilities. A competent nurse wouldn't just guess her patients symptoms from a medication. We would look them up if we weren't sure. Considering there are so many meds available there is no way we can be expected to know the side effects or the names of all of them. My pharm class final average was 102. It just goes to show you that how well you did in school doesn't really determine your state test abilities. I had quite a few med questions and most of them I had never heard of. Oh well, it is what it is. If I didn't pass I will just take it again. To calm myself I hate a whole box of girl scout cookies...lol. Good for my anxiety but bad for my butt...lol. I will post when I hear anything. Feels just like yesterday I was posting in the new student forum. Thanks again.

Hi everyone, I am sure there are many of you just as anxious as myself. I took my NCLEX PN in PA on Thursday. We have the quick result option available to us. Does it have to be exactly 48 hrs. from the time you took you test? I started mine at about 1030 and PearsonVue just keeps saying my results aren't available yet. I did the Pearson trick and got the good pop up but I will have to see it to actually believe it. I stopped at 89 and honestly the questions on the test were nothing that I studied. I knew only about 5 answers....ughhhh. When it stopped I wanted to scream NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...just give me a few more so I can show you that I really am smart. Anyone know if it has to be exactly 48? Checked BON and nothing there either. Thanks for your help!

I was in a similar situation last year. The wait list for the ASN RN was 2years not including prereqs. I didn't know what to do. I was 34 at the time and I didn't want to waster those 2 years waiting. I enrolled in a private LPN program and I will graduate in December. I can tell you it is not easy like I thought it was going to be. For some reason I had others telling me since it wasn't RN it wouldn't be as difficult. They were wrong. It is still very stressful and at time very difficult but definitely doable. When I graduated high school many years ago I didn't have the best GPA. So not only was there a wait list but I was up against younger students with much better GPAs. I have excelled in my LPN program and will be graduating top of my class. This will help me start the RN program. I will be doing an LPN to BSN route. If everything goes according to plan I will have my BSN the same time I would have finished my associates if I waited. My school does not have a bridge but we are affiliated with the top universities in our area and they place LPNs at top of the list for enrollment. I guess it depends on what is available in your area. I already have several job offers that I can start in December. One of these offers is offering decent pay, tuition reimbursement, and they will work around my school schedule. So I am very happy I choice this route. I think LPN, RN, or RN BSN are all titles to be proud of and you do what fits your needs. Best of luck to you!!

I know this is on old post but I thought I would pull it out of the cobwebs. I can't believe I posted this over a year ago. I am very happy and PROUD to say that I will graduate soon..only about 40 days of school left. I wanted to pull this back up for any other potential nursing students who have doubts because of disabilities. I was scared to start because of my fear of failing due to my health issues. It has been challenging because I have had some relapses and additional problems come up but I was able to push through it. I finished last semester with a 4.0 and an above average for clinical skills. I am now looking forward to continuing my education with part time classes toward my RN. If anyone is afraid that they will fail because of a disability you need to go for it. I would have truly been disappointed if I have never tried. :heartbeat

You both can do it. I quit about 3 weeks ago...I think. I feel so much better now. I really LOVED to smoke. However ridiculous it sounds it was one of my favorite things to do. I still miss it a bit but I am so happy to have it done. I don't panic anymore when I am down to my last smoke and don't feel like going out to get a pack. I don't have to stop every time I go somewhere to pick up a pack. My clothes and hair don't stink anymore. I am also going to have my teeth whitened since I am saving so much money now. You can do it!!!! If I can anyone can.

I start August 27. My orientation is August 11th. I am anxious to get my schedule and find out about our uniforms. What do you think would be appropriate to wear to orientation? I was thinking business casual. I know that when I went for my interview there were several other people there and they were dressed like slobs. I felt way over dressed but you can never tell if your being judged on that. What do you guys think?

I live in PA too. My school is in Wilkes-Barre. My ride is 30 miles one way. Winters get tough here. It is pretty rural where I live so the roads aren't tended to the best. Hopefully we will have a mild winter and won't have to worry about it.

I hear you duranurse, I just turned 34...have a little one starting kindergarten and a son going into seventh grade. I am as nervous as heck. I start in August too. My orientation is August 11th. Good luck everyone!!!

I quit cold turkey but my hubby used meds. He first did the Wellbutrin. It worked well while he was on it. When he tapered off of it though all heck broke loose. I walked into our bedroom and he was on the bed crying. I asked him why and he said he didn't know why. Withdrawal from the med caused him to have depression for several days. It didn't work for him anyway and he started smoking shortly after. The Chantix worked really good for him. He hasn't smoked or taken the Chantix for several months now. He said it was the best thing he ever tried. I hope this helps. Smoke free for 19 days now

I quit smoking 16 days ago . I didn't want to smell like smoke or be craving a cigarette during the day. It was tough, especially the first 4-5 days. I was really nasty to my poor hubby and my kids steered clear of me...lol. I did it cold turkey. I also had to stop drinking coffee. I couldn't handle having a cup without a cigarette. I had my first cup this morning since quitting. My husband used Chantix several months ago and it worked great for him. He hasn't re-started even though I had continued smoking. You can do it...it' hard but after that first week it gets alot easier. Good luck...

Wow...that is alot. I live in PA and I am going to a technical school. I think my total is around 14,000. I thought my tuition was a little high. What school is that?

Count me in. I am starting August 27th. My orientation is August 11th. I am pretty excited but really nervous too. I start the day after my little girl starts kindergarden. I have waited 12 years, since the birth of my son, to have some alone time while the kids are at school. I only have 1 day....LOL. If anyone else is in PA and going to the Wilkes-Barre Technical school I would love to hear from you.

Thankyou..and I understand how you feel. I can't just sit her in idle wondering if I am going to be well enough. I dediced awhile back not to go for my RN just yet. I applied for LPN instead. I figured I should test the waters before I dive in. I know I love working in the health field so I know I will be happy being an LPN. I took my entreance exam, had my interview and just received my acceptance letter yesterday. I will be starting this August 27. Yay....I am proud for making in this far. The only down side is I am having a relapse of my lyme symptoms. Apparently I wasn't cured afterall. I will push forward though. I start back on some low dose doxycylcine tommorow. I think I could muddle through the pain of it but the constant fatigue is a barrier. Hopefully this will be nipped in the bud before my start date. Thank you all so much for your encouragment. It really means alot.:redpinkhe

Hi, Sorry to hear of your recent health issues. I am kind of in the same boat. I applied to school and have already taken my entrance exam. I have my interview next week. If all goes well I should be starting at the end of this August. I have been really ill for the last several years. I was wrongly dx'd with MS and it ended up being Lyme disease. I was so so sick. I still have multiple health problems because of it. I no longer need a PICC line though and I have been off of oral abx for about 5 weeks now. I have been really stressed, scared, anxious..you name it...about starting my LPN program. It has been something I have wanted to do for so long. I am concerned about being able to handle everything due to my illness. I have decided to stop worrying about it and go for it. I think I would feel like more of a failure if I just didn't try. I really know where you are coming from. I say GO FOR IT. My new life motto is...The only way out is through. We will get through this and we will be nurses. Good luck to you and I sending healthy wishes your way.:heartbeat

I think it all depends on the school you apply to. Some of the NET or TEAS. My school in PA had the Arnett DET exam. It did not include Science which I found to be strange. Actually, the English was the hardest. Your best bet would to be find the school you want to apply to on-line and search thier site. It will usually tell you on there plus they might mention some good study guides. You could always call the school too. I hope this helped. Good luck to you. By the way, whichever test you take brush up on you fractions and conversions.

I am just getting ready to start LPN school and I thought I would share what my plans after graduation are. First of all, before deciding to goto LPN school I checked out all the hospitals I was interested in working in. I called many human relation depts. and found out that the hospitals in my area still utilize LPN's in most every dept. except for critcal care. That was good news. The starting pay rates weren't to bad either. For myself personally I don't really want to work in LTC. I did that for several years and it is just not my thing. I will do it if I have to but I would rather not. I really want to work in Med Surg after graduation to gain all the experience that I can. I think if I went right to the psych hosp. that I want to eventually work in I would lose alot of my skills that I learned in school. I am willing to take pay cuts just so I can really learn what I am supposed to be doing. The State Psych hospital here pays really good for LPN's. I eventually want to work there and take advantage of there scholarship program. Just my . I feel the more experience we gain the better off we are. Especially if we continue to RN. I am hoping that it will make my schooling a little less grueling. Good luck to you.

Thank you for that support. It made me feel like I can do this. I also have generalized anxiety disorder. I personally think it is post traumatic stress from everything I have been put through for these last 11 years. I do take medication for it but I just had to switch to Cymbalta. I have been taking it for about 3 weeks and it is not working out so well for me. I wake up in the middle of the night with panic attacks..they just come out of the blue. Plus, the med is making me feel really strange. On a better note. I have some good news to share. I PASSED my entrance exam!!!!:bowingpur I have never studied so much in my life. I took it on Monday and got the results instantly since the test was on the computer. I scored an 88% combined score. It wasn't as good as I hoped for but the instructor giving the test said it was a very good result compared to alot of other people. I feel so proud for taking the first step. Thank you all for letting me come here and share. I have often looked at nurses and that of how strong they must be to handle all of the stressors in thier jobs...never realizing that many of them are struggling with thier own health issues. Best wishes of health to all. :heartbeat

I don't know yet if I am accepted. It send on the schools web page that in order to be considered you had to have aat least a 50% in each main part of the DET. Both of mine were in the 80's so I know I am good there. When I was leaving yesterday..after I got my results because they were done instantly on the computer..the instructor who gave the exam told me that I should be hearing from them through the mail shortly for my interview. She also said that they look at my high school transcripts. UGHHH...I have been out of school for 15 years and my transcripts are not that great. Hopefully between my good DET score, my letter of recommendation and my interview I will get in. If I am accepted I will begin the weekend after Labor day and go until July. There is a break from then until end of August. I believe I would graduate in December. Thanks for the congrats..

Hi everyone, I took my entrance exam for LPN school yesterday. HOORAY.. I PASSED!!! Thanks to all those who have responded to me before and offer some tips. I thought I would share some info with others. If anyone is taking the same test I did..which was the Arnett DET exam..there are a couple of things to know. The study guides that the website for this particular test did not include everything on it. There were a large number of graph and chart questions in the math section. I have to say that these were pretty difficult for me. Also, you should know how to go from Celsius to Farhenheit and back again. I hope this helps someone. I would have scored alot higher if I study some graphs. Thanks again to everyone who helped me. :bowingpur

Thank you for those words of encourgement. I keep telling myself basically the same thing. I don't think I would ever be content in my life if I didn't try. I am not even worried at this time about being able to find a job after I fininsh. My priority is just to be able to goto school and tell myself I was able to do it. I am tired of being the sick person. I know that I will have health obstacles ahead of me but the only way out is through.