Dash4JW

Gotcha Maybe you could see if you could visit a morgue sometime in advance before school so that you can freak out and get it out of your system a little, without having to be in front of your instructors/classmates. It also might be a good idea even if you don't use cadavers in school. Best of luck to you on your acceptance to nursing school

Just curious, why do cadavers freak you out? For nursing school, they are a great learning tool and you will probably see more than 1 dead body during your career.

My program req'd C's in all pre-requisite coursework, but if you didn't have upwards of a 3.5 gpa, you probably wouldn't get in. Then, you had to have an 80% in each nursing class to continue with each course during the 1st year and an 87% average to move on to the 2nd year.

Wow. That is so sad for those babies. That guy better get a job (or three) because it sounds like he's got a lot of child support he'll be paying for.

It sounds like your background is almost identical to mine. Don't worry about what other people tell you. When I was first an EMT, a very good friend of mine who is a flight medic and CCRN told me that if the ED is where you are most comfortable and would perform the best at, don't let anyone tell you that you should have 1 year med/surg once you graduate. My advice is choose the area you are most comfortable with and where you will be able to do the best job for your patients.

I am wondering the same thing. I live in KS and would like to move back to CO in a year or two. I figure I have plenty of time to find a job before I need to move, so I am not too worried about it. I have heard that up in the Greeley/Ft. Collins area they are hiring a lot of nurses because of the new hospital in Loveland, but that may be old news. Colorado Springs also has a new hospital. Good luck to you, I am sure you shouldn't have too much of a problem.

There is Penrose and Memorial and I believe that Memorial just opened a new branch on the east side of town. Rent is going to be higher in CO than KS. I am originally from CO and now living in KS. A friend of mine is an LPN at Penrose hospital in the ED and makes about $16 as a tech.

1. Eating well 2. I don't drink or smoke 3. I ride horses and there is nothing to get rid of stress like jumping on a horse and taking a nice ride in the country or heading to a barrel race. It also counts as my exercise. 4. Spending time with family and friends, especially with my 5 year old son and my 3 year old niece. 5. Writing cards and letters to family. 6. My Corgi dog. 7. Obsessively cleaning my house when I get mad. 8. Taking a long relaxing bubble bath. 9. Realizing all the hard work will pay off very shortly. :typing

I resisted buying crocs for a long time, but finally broke down and got a pair. Oh my goodness, they are the only shoes that don't make my feet hurt by the 10th hour. I also wear the Urbane clogs that don't have the holes on the top. Nike Shox are my 2nd choice depending on how I am feeling that day.

I was really interested in sonography for a while, but nursing was my choice (I was an EMT and ER tech, prior to nursing school). When I checked into sonography, I found I would need a 2-year radiology technology degree and then another year for sonography. I have a friend right now who wants to be a sonographer and she is in the state of CO and can't get into a school. Of course nursing schools in CO are hard to get into also. I moved out of state and got accepted on my 1st try to a program. If I was in CO, I'd still be on some waiting list, I am sure. Anyways, there are so many roads you can take with nursing. With sonography, you are pretty much stuck doing the same thing. As far as a BSN versus ADN program, a BSN makes you more marketable, but an RN is an RN and you shouldn't have any problem finding a job. If you are worried about stress, again there are so many different jobs you could do besides jumping into trauma nursing or ICU. If you want something low-key, there are many opportunities available. With nursing, you can move up with more schooling. Go for a BSN, MSN or even DON. I am not aware of anyway to move up in sonography, except maybe a radiologists asst. But, I believe the starting pay is higher for sonographers than RN's. (At least where I am at). There are a few sonography schools that are 1 year long and will accept you if you have a previous 2 year allied health degree. If you decide on nursing and want to do ultrasound later, you could apply to one of those and switch to sonography. I would think doing sonography first and then trying to get into a nursing school would be a longer road. I hope all this makes sense, if you have anymore questions, feel free to e-mail me.

I love, love Urbane scrubs. I get the cargo pants. The pants seem to run big, so be careful if you order online. The tops seem to run true-to-size or even a little smaller, so again, check your measurements. I get compliments on them a lot because they are so professional, yet trendy looking. I love these scrubs though and haven't been able to completely wear out a pair yet. Of course that may be because I have so many

I live in Hays, KS. Let me tell you, Kansas City & Wichita are completely different worlds than western KS. It has its perks though. The cost of living is very, very low here. Low stress and friendly people. Hays has an excellent hospital http://www.haysmed.com. I can't tell you much about pay for home care or doctor's offices, but new grad RN's start around $18 and someone with your experience could probably make around $23-25, but the cost of living is very low here. Between Hays and Colby, you can buy almost any house for way less than $200K. In the town I came from where RN's made around $30 an hour, you couldn't hardly buy a house for $200K, so there is a difference. If you need anymore help, let me know. Western KS is a great place to live.