RNMBA

All of the schools you list turn out good graduates. I have an Associate's from UALR and finished my BSN at UAMS. I've worked with, trained, and hired graduates from many programs over the years and it doesn't matter what kind of degree you have or where you got it. Everyone comes out of school at pretty much the same level and starts to gain experience. In choosing a program there are many considerations but these two should be the first ones you resolve: 1. All post-graduate nursing programs (APN, CRNA, etc.) will accept a BSN while many do not recognize diplomas or non-nursing BS degrees. If you plan to continue your education into post-graduate work then a BSN will make live easier. Many schools have a bridge option for RN's who have a non-nursing BS or BA but it cuts down on your options. The vast majority of CRNA programs will accept only a BSN. Probably not fair but it is a reality. 2. BSN programs are intrinsically longer and don't, in my opinion, include much more clinical experience than the AD or diploma programs. If finishing school fast is important then UALR or Baptist are good choices. You might consider talking to advisors from the different schools to get a better insight on admission requirements, time committment, etc. Nursing is a great career with almost limitless opportunities. I've worked in several specialties, worked as a pharmaceutical rep, and now I'm in a CRNA program. The fun never stops. Good luck with your decision and your education. Brian

I use Morgan and Mikhail a lot. It's a great starting point for almost any question and it has many great illustrations and graphs. The Mass General handbook is also very good.

I use an mp3 player with voice recorder to tape lectures. I can burn the file to a cd for the car or leave it on the player for later listening.

You are a moron. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that you have trouble tying your shoes in the morning. Get your head out of your ass and pick another career.

The easiest way to set thresholds is to start low and increase the MA until you get consistent capture. Patients capture at different strengths due to individual differences as well as placement by the surgeon. You'll even occasionally get some that capture with reversed polarity and others that won't capture at all.

I've done 7 and 7 with 12-hour shifts before and it wasn't too bad. Gotta love that many days off in a row.

Your cardiologists and the Femostop reps are telling you to DC the Femostops because of several very nasty lawsuits that happen every year and get talked about a lot at professional meetings. Besides, manual pressure is still the safest and most cost-effective way to remove a sheath (personal opinion).

A friend of mine is a tech rep for one of the monitor companies. She says that telemetry equipment and cell phones are too far apart on the radio spectrum (her terminology) for interference to be a problem. I've got very little experience with telemetry equipment but we let families use cell phones in the unit and haven't experienced any trouble.

One clinical site for my school has a separate interview and the others do not. It seems like a way for the MDA's and CRNA's at the facility to have a little more control about who comes through their facility.

That's a good idea unless there are abnormal heart sounds. S3's and S4's would triple or even quadruple the number of sounds without increasing the number of cardiac cycles. Don't stress too much about the learning. You will learn the same way we all did, one experience at a time.

You don't have to worry about counting both sounds. The "lub-dub" of normal heart sounds is counted as one pulse. The two normal heart sounds (S1,S2) together make up one cardiac cycle. The peripheral pulses are caused by cardiac systole which actually occurs between the two heart sounds. Counting the apical pulse is important because the heart may be generating pulses that are too weak to detect by counting peripheral pulses. Like most of our clinical skills listening to heart sounds takes practice. It may sound easy in theory but you can hear a lot of strange sounds in someone's chest and it takes experience to know what you are doing.

I agree with the previous postings. It is a matter of respect to address a patient by their last names until they indicate another preference and I don't believe age is much of a factor. I will ask children if it's okay if I call them by their first name.

This sounds like a good question for some MSN student to take on as a project. I can't imagine the small amount of fluid normally used for irrigation to be of any great concern. The lack of research on this topic means that individual practice is based on opinion instead of evidence.

Nursing professors certainly have your best interest at heart but that doesn't mean their instruction is always correct. The final authority on what you can and cannot do while working as a nurse is the state practice laws. Each state has a nurse practice act that defines actions that are allowable (and punishable) in the performance of professional duties. I would not advise arguing this or any other point with an instructor but you are responsible for your conduct and therefore you must be willing to read and understand your states practice laws. I seriously doubt giving a friend an aspirin will put you in violation of any laws.