FluffyNipper

In some states it is possible to "expunge" (more or less erase) the record of a conviction. If a conviction is expunged you can say that you have no convictions. Expungement can usually be asked for "x" number of years after the conviction. You might start by googling the words "expunge criminal conviction + (your state)." If expungement seems possible, get the help of an attorney. Under certain circumstances you may (or may not) be asked about expunged convictions, e.g. by a state nursing board. I am not an attorney; sorry if I don't have this 100% correct.

I never had any problem with the psychiatrists with whom I practiced. In fact, they trusted my judgement with decisions that I was supposed to review with them, e.g. hospitalizations. ("Just write up the patient, put him in an ambulance and send him/her over -- we trust your judgement, " they said. -- These are real words that I heard repeatedly from ER psychiatrists in the system in which I practiced.) If I had problems of any kind they regrettably came from staff level RN's and from the nursing administration whose jealous collective thinking seemed to be in the 1950s and who thought that the only place for an RN was at the bedside!

Nurses writing up other nurses usually means that the "writing up nurse" doesn't have enough to do and his/her unit is overstaffed. It's also the reason that I will never work for another nursing unit again in my life.

I'm going to check out the Barclay & Assoc. group that you cited in one of your earlier posts, too. Looks like my reviewing and studying might be interrupted to have an artificial cardiac pacemaker "installed" (is that the right verb?). I've been bothered by HR's as low as 40, so I guess it is time to have it done. I'm afraid the procedure and the anesthetic will further interfere with my studying and concentration and the cd's that Barclay offers will allow me to study at my own pace. I might be about 75 before I get around to taking and hopefully passing the test!!!!! Once again, good luck 2 u! Bob

I feel bad for you. My heart goes out to you. . . . After such a long preparation to fail an examination is a crushing defeat. I am dismayed at what I face. Here is my story: I am 66, retired, and contemplating a return to work as a PsychCNS after a long period of employment in a state that did not previously require the CNS exam. I got my MSN in psych in 1988 (Pittsburgh) and worked in a variety of MSN-CNS jobs including Nurse Manager (6 years), clinician (12 years, some of them while in school), and a variety of CD positions. I want to relocate to another state that requires the CNS certificate (Texas did not require it when I registered here in 1995.) I am taking ANCC's online preparation course for PsychNP since it seems to be about the same as psych CNS. The course seems helpful. I also gave a first try at their online set of test questions (150 of them, I think $99; you can take these tests as many times as you want to for a period of 3 months.) I was dumbfounded when I scored about 63% on each of the two 75 item tests. A lot of the questions made no sense to me or they referred to theories or factual issues that I have never heard of in spite of my having read extensively since I got my MSN (plus I took 15 more post-MSN credits at a local university (Incarnate word)). I found a lot of the questions vague and poorly written. Sometimes several answers seemed correct or no answer appeared correct. (I have written professionally but not in nursing.) A lot of the answers could well be a matter of opinion. The stem of the questions often lacked essential facts for making a good decision. A lot of them I found to be tricky and I wonder if they were designed to trap you into giving the wrong answer. I have two bachelor's degrees, one in liberal arts and one in nursing, and none of my tests in the liberal arts even approached the vagueness or elusiveness of the ANCC test that I just took a stab at. I am fortunate that I can "take it or leave it" as it is not necessary for me to return to work as a CNS (and I could always stay here in Texas or go to one of the other states that don't require the ANCC exam to practice as a CNS.) I wish you the best of luck in your future preparations for another possible exam. The ANCC practice exams and review course(s) are probably good preparation for the real test. They at least should give you and idea of what to study. Good luck!

I doubt that hot or cold washing with detergent would kill germs on scrubs. Hot water at home is not THAT hot. Using a small amount of chlorine bleach or an H2O2 based additive (put into the wash water, agitate for a few seconds, and only then put in your things) should not harm your clothing and should probably kill most common hospital germs.

Go for it! I don't think you will find discrimination - i didn't. I suggest you try to enter the profession with as advanced a degree as possible - MSN if you can find a program that admits non-nurses, otherwise a BSN program. There are lots of nurse-attorneys around who might have an interesting slant on the nursing profession for you. Incidentally, I did not find the nursing profession as free from the adversarial stance as you hope you will find it. Conflict is inherent in just about all human undertakings. I got my BSN in my 30s, MSN in my 40s, took post-MSN courses in my 50s.

Being a male RN will make you MORE desirable as a boy friend/fiance/husband/father/whatever: better salary, more job prospects, more prestiege, more girlfriends. You're listening to the wrong people! Where I live, ALL nurses, male and female alike, are respected PROFESSIONALS. Gay is not much of an issue; gay people are EVERYWHERE, you just don't see them. I seem to notice a lot of -- ahem -- gay medical students and doctors.

Following the advice of instructors and others, I spent some time working med-surg before I switched into psych nursing. I personally found that my med-surg year gave me experience unrelated to and irrelevant to psych nursing. If you want to work in psych, get a job in psych; if you want to work in med-surg, get a job in med-surg. If you are at all inclined to school, considering getting an MSN degree in psych mental health nursing, either as an NP or CNS. Graduate school in nursing is not at all hard -- it is more of a gigantic endurance race!!!!

TheNipper is retired. I spent most of my life as a floor nurse or nurse practitioner. I think you are making a big mistake. A BSN/MSN will take you where you want to go. I know people who got the degrees you seek, then they go back and get the MSN.

I have seen few RN's benefit from getting a BHA degree. In fact, the last one I knew (a nurse manager) was shown to the front door because of unprofessional conduct, probably because she treated "her" RN's with contempt. Clinical expertise is the sought after area right now. Go and get your BSN and do consider getting a CLINICAL MSN (think NP or CNS) after that.

I've seen little in the way of written instructions about how to taper one med and then how to start another. When you taper a patient from a given medication you consider many factors including such things as (a) the half life of the medication, (b) how the pt is tolerating the taper, © whether or not you are replacing it with a similar medication, (d) whether both medications are sedating (vs. is one sedating and is one sedating), (e) the extent to which the pt is tolerating the med to be discontinued, (f) the urgency of getting the first med stopped vs. the urgency of getting the second med started, (g) DON'T FALL INTO THE TRAP OF THINKING THAT ONE MED MUST BE DISCONTINUED BEFORE YOU START THE SECOND MED IS STARTED. (h) incidentally, pts regularly will misunderstand your instructions and think they are to d/c one med before they start the second med. Remember, you won't know for weeks-to-months if a change of medication is helpful........

Hello Nurse2Work: Congratulations on your success, passing the NCLEX and coping with the ordeal of getting your RN from any American nursing board. In the past I have taught and counseled American nursing students, so here are some suggestions based on my own experiences: (1) call, or better yet, visit several local BSN programs to see how they can accommodate you and help you in your goal to earn the degree you seek. How much credit you get for your 3 year nursing program depends on the policies of each individual university. In general,you can expect to get about 2 years of credit (out of the total 4 year nursing program.) (2) contact (call/visit) the local Social Security office to see if you qualify for an American social security number. Since you are in the USA legally, they can only say Yes or No! (3) See if you can't befriend a local RN who can help orient you to our mutual profession as it is practiced here. (4) Always keep in mind that you are a highly sought after professional person. It is possible that a hospital might help you with any immigration issues that arise in connection with employment. GOOD LUCK!!