erin3900

By the way, would you mind posting a copy of your "brainsheet" that you carry around with you? I'm constantly on the lookout for a good way to organize this information. I would really appreciate it!

Hey -- I LOVE your idea about writing down things that I've learned on 3x5 cards. I'm going to start doing that myself! That way I can easily carry them around with me on the floor while I'm at clinical. I'm always worried that I"m going to forget what I need to take with me when needing to do certain procedures (e.g., IV starts, NG intubations, etc.) Thanks for the great idea!

Thank you so much -- that actually really does help!! I'm going to follow up on this then and see if we can have a WOC nurse do a wound consult on him. Even though I'm a nursing student and usually feel pretty confident in my assessments given certain situations, I always hesitate at the thought of "making waves" -- but there are times (such as this one) where I feel it really is in the patient's (in this case, my grandpa's) best interests to take this a step further to possibly prevent other complications. Thanks again for your help!

I would like to ask a question about whether a referral to a WOC nurse may be appropriate in a particular situation. I am currently a second year nursing student; so while I do know something about wound care, my knowledge on this subject is not particularly specialized. My grandpa spent 4 weeks in a Cardiovascular ICU and was transferred to the Burn ICU here about two weeks ago. He has no burn injuries, but the cardiovascular ICU had to make room for additional surgical patients, so my grandpa was moved at that time. He has been suffering from a variety of conditions (seizures, pneumonia, etc.). The burn unit nurse told my mom yesterday that my grandpa had developed pressure sores on his back, and the RN said that she was putting "cream" on the sores to treat them. The nurse is not putting a dressing on the sores, because (as she says, and perhaps rightfully so) my grandpa moves around in bed a lot (although he's not fully conscious) and his moving around would keep pulling the dressings off. (I have not seen the sores myself, and the nurse did not describe the sores in detail to my mom; however, I would assume that they are at least stage II ulcers if the nurse took the time to even mention them to my mom). When my mom described this to me, I told her that I thought it may be prudent to have a WOC nurse take a look at the sores in order to give an assessment about how best to treat them. So when my mom went in to the hospital today, she did ask the same nurse if it would be possible to have a WOC consult done. The burn unit nurse replied, "Well, we are the wound experts here. After all, this is a burn unit." The nurse seemed very put off that someone would even ask her such a thing. Can you tell me what you think? I have a hard time believing that "cream" in and of itself will be enough to promote sufficient healing. Am I wrong to think this? In a home health position I used to have, when I used to help with dressing wounds for a quadriplegic, I used a variety of different wound dressing techniques and types. My grandpa has been on an air mattress for the whole 6 weeks that he's been in the hospital, but I'm concerned that if these sores continue to get worse that his prognosis will continue to decline. My intent is not to upset the burn unit nurse by pursuing this further, but it does seem to me that we should be able to get a WOC consult if it is requested. Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated.:bowingpur

The answer depends on where you're located and where you're interested in attending school. I am currently doing my clinicals at Memorial Medical Center (MMC) in Springfield, IL. A recruiter for that hospital (that I was speaking with last week) told me that MMC will reimburse for BSN training, up to $10,000. That's the hospital where I'm interested in working after I graduate, so I don't know about any other tuition reimbursement programs. Are you located in the central IL area?

What I have to say probably won't help you much....but I am currently doing my clinicals (I'm a 2nd semester ADN student at Lincoln Land in Springfield) at St. John's (7th floor, MedSurg). The Carol Jo Vecchi Center (which is what I believe you are referring to) does appear to be very, very nice. I haven't worked there, but I have been inside -- and I too am very impressed with what I saw (it actually is nicer looking than the OB/GYN floor at Memorial, but otherwise, I think Memorial is a more "pleasant" hospital environment, if you know what I mean). The Carol Jo Vecchi Center is about the only part of St. John's that I'm impressed with (speaking only in terms of the general facility environment). Much of the rest of the hospital is very dated-looking (1950s-1960s era) ; honestly, it can be incredibly depressing (just because of how dated it looks) in some parts of St. John's. I've talked to others who've said the very same thing -- but then some other students I've talked to really don't seem to care one way or the other. Personally, I can't wait to finally get out of St. John's and start my clinicals at Memorial here at the end of the month. For what it's worth, I enjoy going to Lincoln Land. If I had it to do over again, I'd definitely get into the day program -- rather than their evening program (just b/c I would be able to pass more meds, see more patient tests completed, see more doctors, etc.). But if you're looking to go ahead and get a 4 year degree and are able to attend school during the day (which I am not able to do right now), then St. John's probably is the way to go. Best of luck to you!

Is anyone here a student in the RN-to-BSN program through the University of Illinois' Global Campus (i.e., online campus)? The College of Nursing at the University of Illinois at Chicago recently began offering this online degree through the U of I Global Campus, and I just found out about it yesterday. It really sounds interesting, and so I'm trying to look into it further. However, I had previously looked into and then took all of my prereqs to be able to transfer to SIUE's RN-to-BSN online program as soon as I graduate from my ADN program in December 2009. Thinking that a U of I degree would perhaps be better (as my eventual goal is CRNA school), though, I'm seriously thinking that I might choose the U of I program instead. It would mean a couple of additional classes (e.g., a nutrition course and an organic chemistry course), and so I'm not sure what my best course of action might be at this point. Does anyone have any feel for the differences between the programs at SIUE and UIC? And what about the RN-to-BSN option at the Mennonite College of Nursing (MCN) at Illinois State University? Has anyone heard anything about this school as compared to the other two? One of my professors told me that students going through MCN have tended to be more satisfied with the response time and help they receive (as opposed to SIUE), but that one professor is the only one who has told me that. Otherwise, none of my other teachers have given me any input as to which school is the best. I don't mind a challenge; and, in fact, I want one in order to be well prepared for graduate school....:) Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

I would suggest that you look into applying for a "scholarship" through the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) program. I'm in Springfield, and I learned about the program through my local community college. There are hoops to jump through in order to get the money, but trust me -- it's worth it. I'm a single parent, and I am only able to work a very minimal number of hours while in nursing school. WIA funds, which are made available through the county office at the Sangamon County building (in Springfield), is paying for all of my tuition, as well as gas expenses, textbook purchases, uniform purchases, and some child care expenses as well. No payback is required. It's definitely worth a look. There is no service commitment after you graduate either, so this will free you up to be able to continue your schooling if you wish. Keep in mind that WIA will only pay for 2 years of school, but my understanding is that it will pay for an ADN program OR a BSN program, depending upon the school you're going to.

Is anyone here a student in the RN-to-BSN program through the University of Illinois' Global Campus (i.e., online campus)? The College of Nursing at the University of Illinois at Chicago recently began offering this online degree through the U of I Global Campus, and I just found out about it yesterday. It really sounds interesting, and so I'm trying to look into it further. However, I had previously looked into and then took all of my prereqs to be able to transfer to SIUE's RN-to-BSN online program as soon as I graduate from my ADN program in December 2009. Thinking that a U of I degree would perhaps be better (as my eventual goal is CRNA school), though, I'm seriously thinking that I might choose the U of I program instead. It would mean a couple of additional classes (e.g., a nutrition course and an organic chemistry course), and so I'm not sure what my best course of action might be at this point. Does anyone have any feel for the differences between the programs at SIUE and UIC? And what about the RN-to-BSN option at the Mennonite College of Nursing (MCN) at Illinois State University? Has anyone heard anything about this school as compared to the other two? One of my professors told me that students going through MCN have tended to be more satisfied with the response time and help they receive (as opposed to SIUE), but that one professor is the only one who has told me that. Otherwise, none of my other teachers have given me any input as to which school is the best. I don't mind a challenge; and, in fact, I want one in order to be well prepared for graduate school....:) Any help would be greatly appreciated!!