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i am parent 2 of 7 kids! i say i am parent "2" because my hubby is older than me!!

:jester:there is just so much you could say about little spoofs at work. my favorite one that i did, was ask someone why there is an order for oyster shell calcium, if they have an allergy to shellfish. i forgot that oysters are a mollusk, not shellfish!! my favorite one from another nurse was asking for help in turning over a 72 lb gentleman, who did not have a rigid body tone!!

:lol2:Hello. I personally wear my make up to work, just about everyday. When I don't, my residents & families ask if I am ill. I have never been one to wear foundation, only because it makes my face itch. I love my eyeshadow, mascara, and a little eyeliner & always putting on my chapstick! I don't wear lipstick to work, cuz I am a constant water drinker!! I agree with the idea we should look fresh and nice. Personally, it makes me feel better and I smile more! As for my hair it is mid back length. I wear it up because I don't think my residents would like it falling onto them.

Hello to all. I am a newer nurse.

hello. when i went thru this part of school i had a wonderful teacher who who made us a chart. she listed each gland in a box, then we would put what hormone it secreted what the disease process was that followed it and what the level of that hormone was (high or low). that really helped us!! try thinking of it as a ripple in the pond effect. it sets off a chain reaction when one gland secretes too much or too little. you literally have to play it out like a movie. i wish you the best! kudos for not giving up!!

You will have to pay for your state test. The draw back is that when you go to a LTC facility you will not have any experience behind you. I seen a student do the same thing and the other nurse assist fed her to the wolves. She actually thought she would be working next to the nurse handing her things as she needed them!!! Good Luck!!

yes, i understand. you are stuck in two worlds. you are a nurse assist and nurse student. your co- workers are jealous that you are making a bold new life for yourself and the nurses see as someone who does know jack!! it sucks even more when you grad are waiting to take your test, and you still have to work as an aide! i love being an aide! but i hate that there is a distinct difference in how each are treated with the lil clicks!! i am stuck between both right now. i have one co worker who has taken four years and is still no where near finished her rn and still works as a aide and tells me all the time not to forget where i came from! i reply by telling her that i know where i started at and what i am becoming. i know i will not work as a nurse where i am now. i need to make a fresh start. i also did my precepting there also, so it is very hard. i have a lil more respect from my nurses. sadly some nurses see aides as glorified butt wipers or people who can not cut it as a nurse and they are beneath them. i feel it makes you a better nurse, unless you forget how hard of a job it is to be a nursing assistant! some nurses sadly grow cold from not enough patient contact, others just turn into donkeys. the good ones, they still know they should be helping the entire health care team. that is who i am and who i will be. have a great day. good luck.

:heartbeat hello. we had to use our nclex once we finished all of our fundamental classes. it was very helpfull for exams. we also had an exit exam on our saunders nclex, which is the best, that you had to pass before you could graduate!!!! i suggest using one now. it has just so much helpfull information. it also shows the type of format you will be using when you take the real thing!!! good luck! :)

:nurse:i can not begin to feel your pain, not to mention hers. it is sad that even when a person goes to the extent of making their own decisions about their life and their wants that there are those among us who still believe it is their decision. they are selfish people. god bless you for talking to her and letting her know it is ok. i wish for the daughter that no one to ever take away her right to choose.

It is never too early to start your Nclex studies. It is a different way of applying the information you have learned and knowing how it comes full circle. Best wishes!

:cheers: ((((cheers)))) to better days ahead!

congrats

I would only like to say, please don't let the drama get you down! Sadly, as women it will happen. Always, smile. Always. FEAR = False Evidence Appearing Real.

congrats!! I used highlighters alot!! Black sharpie, red pen, index cards (b/c I am addicted to flash cards). Calculator. I liked pens with a cushion on the grip d/t all the writing you will do. It is so much fun to buy the school supplies! Gets you excited about what you are about to enbark upon!! Have fun. Kinda jealous. But so glad to be done. Love your name!!

Oh I so agree with Jules A. It is so worth it!! My kids have gotten the biggest kick that their mommie had homework, takes tests, can't stay up late, and is going to be a nurse. I had to work also. We are family with 7 children. Actually, there were times when I went to work that it was like taking a break. I could leave everything else behind me and focus on my patients in long term care!! It is a chance of a lifetime to go to nursing school. Enjoy and congratulations on you and your families new journey.

that is awesome! thank you so much for sharing. i have not heard of that. i am graduating in one week from lpn school and i plan on going back for rn. just not right now. as for working, yes it is possible. i have a family of 7 children, a husband, two dogs (children is more like it) and a cat! (sorry for the weird humor). you give up alot, but what you get back, is worth so much more! :anpom::bdyhdclp:

from my experience it is not only the field but the facility. some ltcf pay new grad lpn/lvn at lower scale. where i live your pay is less than if i drive to larger area only 30-45 minutes away. i could actually increase what i would make by 5-7 dollars/hr. now is it worth it with rising gas costs and nasty winter roads ahead, i don't know. if you get into a specialty field, i do believe you may make more. as for a "visiting nurse," not so sure. i do know that for my area, an agency nurse gets paid more, sadly recieves the worst assignment and is sometimes treated poorly by other staff d/t the fact that the agency nurse makes more. that is not the agency nurses fault, that is d/t staffing and the facility not being able to be staffed for whatever reason. myself personally, i want to ge in a place where i am always learning. as a nurse, there is always something you have not mastered or learned. it is a never ending field of oppurtunities just waiting for someone to step up and challenge themselves to do it!!

:heartbeat :pwhen you are in lab and learning physical part of how to do it, as in taking blood pressures, wound irrigation, iv insertion, injections, etc., those things are generally practiced on a "dummy." (not a fellow student) when you "are in the field" at your clinical sites you will apply what you learned in your classroom theory and put it to use. it is vital that you are paying attention in both. sadly some students use lab hours as social or goof off time. when in clinical you will do alot a personal patient care, such as adl's, and basic vitals. i was able to go into surgery with one of my clients and watch a dessection and decompression of the 5th and 6th lumbar. the surgeon put his view of the surgery on a large screen tv for me to see when i could not be next to him during the surgery. he allowed me to come and look into the surgical opening to see my clients spine. it was amazing! i was on cloud nine, for quite awhile!! all that i had learned in the class room, in lab, i got to see it happen. i was able to see the prep work done just to the or and the actual surgery, and then the breakdown of the room, and i was with my client in post-op.. i am graduating in one week from today. there are so many things i would probably do different, but there is nothing i regret. you are going to love this adventure. at the end of the day, there is always something new you learned. best wishes.

ok, so i understand your reserve or should i say also your fear of what may happen if you do report her. instead think of this will you, what if she reports you to the board of nursing! she could lie and say you gave her "drugs" it really won't matter what it is, if she is brazen enough to ask, she is brazen enough to say that you gave her narcotics on a daily basis! you are on thin ice. if don't report her and something does happen, your facility may report to the board and see that you are put onto review. this may be frightening, but she also should consider she has a license also that demands respect. you are the person in charge of you and your med cart. that demands you do what is best for your patients, your facility, your co-workers, and your self. don't ever fool yourself into thinking that at any time will you have an oppurtunity to expect that just because you have a higher degree in the nursing field that you will believed more than someone who has a lesser degree. i hope you make the right choice. if you are still in doubt, you should look at the nurse practice act and laws that govern your state. i wish you courage to do what you know is best.

first thing you need to do is take a big deep breath. now, relax. you do sound a lil paranoid. in school you will see so many changes in everyone including your self. these people do not deserve the time of day you are giving them by stressing about them. look at them smile and turn away. as soon as they see they are not "getting to you" sadly like any bully-type, they will go to the next person in line. sadly as i am about to graduate i have seen these types and some of failed, dropped out, and worst of all, the worst of them have slipped through the cracks and made it to the end. they will get "weeded out" keep your dignity with them, they are not worth you reacting to their misconceptions. they are just one your lifes lil speedbumps, get over it and on with your education. put your energy into the fact that you can be confident. when you are confident, others will respect you. hold your head up and have fun. don't forget to laugh when your having a bad day, trust me, it helps. good luck. ps remember that all fear is just false evidence appearing real.

:nurse:i am very proud to say that i have given everything i had to spare and then some to graduate as an lpn in just 9 days!! it has been a very long, arduous battle. worth it you ask, hell yes. i have a family also. i am the very proud parent to seven children and i am married to the most supportive husband. i have lost major time with all of them, but what i have gained for myself and from them as a 39 year old is more than words can explain. sorry to go off topic. i believe every nursing program should require at least 1 year as a stna/cna in a skilled facility before you are accepted. it will make you a better nurse. you will understand the meaning of delegating in a professional manner, respect of your co-workers, and most importantly respect and understanding of your patients. the worlds biggest population is going to overrun our long-term care facilities now in the next 5-8 years, we do not have the staff or the facilities to care for our baby-boomers. remember that no matter what field of nursing you go into, their is always patient care. that is what we do, who we are, and what we love. best wishes to you. good luck and have fun on your journey to becoming a nurse.

best of luck!!! congratulations.

the sad fact of reality is that some nurses eat their young! others have realized that you are the person who will be taking care of them during their twighlight years. think about that will you...who do you want to take care of you? the student who "just had fun and got by" or the student who was pushed and expected to be the best. personally, if your not on the top of your game and are not prepared, i am sure that instructors is hoping for a quick ending instead of a bafoon to take care them. the best thing you can learn in the field of nursing is confidence if you do not have that in yourself, your patient will know it and so will those around you!! people prefer confindence in what you are about to do, instead of what should i have done.

[color=sandybrown]i am 39 and i graduate in 21 days. it has been a very long road and with many a struggle. life will happen. you will do this. it is a means to an end. good luck. your the nurse, remember that.

ok. this is how it will be for you (sadly). you will have several books, pens, paper. portfolio's, highlighters, pencils, calculators, colored pencils to carry. now, if your purse is big enough more power to ya! i agree that a rolling backpack with an extending handle is the way to go. also, make sure it has straps to use as a regular backpacks for the days when a multiple floor college has a elevator malfunction and you have to carry that bag more than 3 flights! have fun school shopping! don't forget to get the binder you will need for almost every class to put all your work in! schedule yourself for "quiet time." best wishes. congratulations. you can do this. life will never be harder than was for you to learn to walk, talk, and cry. ~sunni.