chupacabracore

question for accepted students past and present: did anyone else have a really difficult time scheduling a photo ID session? my work schedule doesn't allow me to attend one of the mid-week mid-day sessions and dealing with the woman who takes the photos has been HORRIBLE. the school doesn't seem to mind that she is treating me like crap and making this really difficult, they just keep saying she does this as a "courtesy" to the school. am i alone here?

thank you all SO much! you don't know how much i appreciate every word of advice given here. we'll see how it pays off next week!

hey everyone. i'm about to start a new job in a doctor's office that will require me to regularly perform phlebotomy (every nurse rotates through one week in the lab and then the next 3-4 weeks in the other part of the office). i just graduated in june and while we did have a phlebotomy course in school, it was brief and we didn't get any live practice. i've been working in a hospital for the last few months, so of course there was a team of phlebotomists on staff to do all of our draws. i'm NERVOUS! the rest of the staff is well aware of my skill level and prepared to train me thoroughly on this. still, i would like to brush up on it a little before i get in there and start sticking patients. i've gone through my books and i'm looking for some online resources. any help (and encouraging words) are greatly appreciated. thanks!

thank you all for the information. time to get those applications out!

hello everyone! i hope this is an appropriate forum for my quick question. i took the NCLEX on friday and my name and license number appeared on the PA state website yesterday (yay!)... my question is: can i go ahead and use the license number given to start putting in applications or would it be smarter to wait until i actually receive my license in the mail? thanks for any info you can give! (i searched for this subject but nothing popped up, sorry if this matter has already been covered)

thanks for the input! it was very helpful. i did find and apply for a job that sounds similar to what you described - a clinic in a hospital setting. it seems this would be my best bet right now. again, thank you!

i can definitely relate to feeling like i don't know anything since i graduated over a month ago. i did really well on the tests we were given to predict if we will pass NCLEX but as i am studying i'm quickly losing that confidence. i can't even imagine trying to start a new job on top of that. hang in there though! we'll make it. i got my ATT at the beginning of this week. it took about a month to get here.

yeah, i already know about the limited nature of LPN travel nursing, but thanks. i'd really like some input on doing whats great for me now instead of what will benefit me in the long run. will this research position even help me at all in my nursing career? i wouldn't technically be working as an LPN in that job. also, will i really lose a lot of my skills if i don't go directly into an environment where i will be using them frequently? anyone else? please?

hello everyone! i'm a first time poster but long time reader of this wonderful forum. i just finished nursing school and i'm looking forward to starting my career. i have a couple issues rattling around in my mind lately that i was hoping you guys could help me with. i'm about to move two hours away from my hometown to a big city with lots of hospitals. my goal there was to find a med-surg job so i could get my skills really tight and see lots of different cases. eventually i want to do travel nursing after i get some experience under my belt. unfortunately, the med-surg jobs in my new area aren't as plentiful as i had hoped (although there are still more opportunities than in my hometown). i did come across a listing looking for an LPN to work as a "clinical research associate" at a cancer center that is walking distance from my new place. it starts out at $3 more an hour than the med-surg jobs and the hours are great. what i'm wondering, though, is if this experience will count when i decide i want to travel and will it be as worthwhile as med-surg experience? i guess the issue is... do i go after a job that will be great for me now but may limit my opportunities in the future or do i make some sacrifices now that will benefit me in the long run? i'm also terrified that if i don't "use it" i'll "lose it" when it comes to a lot of the skills i just learned in school. any guidance or advice would be greatly appreciated! thanks for reading.