serenity729

SL2014, thank you. I think I am nervous about how pregnancy early on in an employment arrangement would impact getting my job back if I had to take leave, or "quit" in good standing, for me to take 3 mos off (even if it were unpaid).

Hello everyone! I posted a few months ago about whether it would hurt my career to take 6-9 months off of work. We decided to go for it. I am an L&D nurse with 2 1/2 yrs FT experience at the time I left my position due to my husband's job loss. Since we are young with no kids/no mortgage, we decided to spend a once-in-a-lifetime winter in a ski town while we wait to see where my husband ends up getting into grad school. We originally wanted to start TTC soon, in the hopes that I could deliver well before my husband's required internship during summer 2015, which could take him even overseas. But would being in early pregnancy diminish my chances of getting a job, seeing as I've already been unemployed for 4 months? Should I wait and get the job first? I don't feel like I want to put off starting to try just to benefit from FMLA... I turn 30 this year, which is why I would rather not wait another 2 1/2 years until my husband has graduated. I'm taking this very seriously as I do not want to hurt my career long-term nor do I want to take chances with my fertility. I'm interested in hearing your experiences and advice!

I'm an L&D nurse with 2 years' experience. My husband and I want to move out of the area we're in, and are interested in taking 9-12 months off to travel around the country before we settle back down somewhere. Will this negatively affect my career? This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, but I want to feel confident about doing it.

As an L&D nurse I've gotten to see a lot of naming going on. The interesting ones that I remember off the top of my head are: Royal Princess Areola Kal-El (that is Superman's original Krypton name. Her other children are named more "normal" names. When asked why she picked such a far-out name, she said well, we're planning for him to be our last, so we just said screw it let's name him something awesome!) the best name that I've heard lately is "Valentina." I think it's elegant.

I worked with a male L&D nurse at my old hospital. He was great! There are plenty of male OBs, why not male labor nurses and Midwives? I applied to Class 118, have yet to hear.

I feel the same way, so I don't think it's "abnormal." I too want to be the one working with the mother and participating in the decision-making. It's my plan to go back to school and become a CNM. I'm going to wait a few years before doing this because I know so little, and L&D in a hospital can be a great place to learn. I feel like I need to know what goes in hospitals and with OB/GYNs as much as I can because as a new grad I know so little! Unfortunately I have to do things I'd rather not do - like support policies and interventions that aren't evidenced-based practice and not in the interest of mom and baby - in order to get to a place where I can offer women something more.

I finished in 75 questions, got the "good" pop up. Congratulations to all my fellow nurses. We worked so hard and this is truly one of the happiest days of my life!

Oh wow, this thread is awesome. I take my NCLEX on Sunday morning. When I wake up bright and early to study tomorrow, I'm hitting my knees for you 8am test-takers! You've learned, you've practiced, you've endured, and tomorrow you get to SHINE. That computer answers to YOU. Show 'em what you got! Actually, I hope you are all in bed right now! Haha.

Haha, no, I know the Hippocratic Oath is a doc's thing, but I figure it could apply to nurses too... You're right, there was probably more going on that I don't understand. I know I have a lot to learn...and as someone just essentially said, my best action is to watch and learn, which I will do because yes, nobody will listen to me, hehe. My own bias is probably playing a role in how I look at the situation. I'm just really surprised at how often pitocin is used. And another thing that put me off about this particular situation is that the nurse I was with didn't tell the patient any more than she told me about why she was giving the pit, nor did she tell the patient of any potential risks or side effects. So I think it was more than just the pitocin that was concerning. Thanks everyone

Is there any other field of nursing in which medications are administered to patients without a medical indication? I'm thinking, first and foremost, about Pitocin. I know there are situations in which Pitocin should be administered. While on my OB rotation, however, I saw the nurse administer it to patients just to "get things moving." I am about to start working as a Labor and Delivery nurse myself. It is my goal for my practice to be based on evidence, not on convenience or tradition. Can I refuse to administer a medication without a demonstrated medical benefit to the patient? I feel as if to do otherwise would be to compromise the Hippocratic oath of "first do no harm." It seems that Pitocin increases the chance of operative delivery, so why would you give it to a healthy patient who doesn't have any problems yet? I would appreciate hearing your thoughts/experiences. Thank you.

Lucky you...what if we never learn that in our nursing program? I work at a large Boston hospital and there are many limitations on what I'm allowed to do in my clinicals. Nurses working there don't even put in their own IVs or draw blood. There are special nurses who are paged to come to the floor to do that. If I am assigned to a preceptor at a community hospital, and he/she expects me to be able to do that, like you seem to, I deserve to be failed?

I had the same experience, MsPontiac. How much I learn is entirely dependent on my instructor and site. I'm about to go into my last semester. I've put in a foley once, and I've never started an IV. I think I've hung IV medication twice. I assist my patients with their ADLs, take vitals, and sometimes pass meds with my clinical instructor. I have fewer practical hands-on skills than the PCA on my floor. She can draw blood and perform dressing changes, and I don't know the first thing about drawing blood, I do know a lot about dressing changes but I've never had the opportunity to help with one or perform one myself. I do my own thorough head-to-toe assessment with every patient though, just to keep those skills fresh. I research a lot on my own and read my textbook from nursing fundamentals so that when the time comes I might have an idea how to do these things. My preceptor this spring is going to think I'm a complete idiot. I'll just have to deal I guess!

Someone who goes into nursing for the "wrong reasons" or who doesn't have a "passion" for the work may end up being a better nurse than someone who feels she/he was born to do it. I've always known I wanted to work in the medical profession, either as a doctor or a nurse. I have a passion for helping people and I'm a whiz at science. I volunteered for years in an ER and then on a Labor and Delivery floor. I earn excellent grades in my classes. On my clinical rotation I'm great with my patients. I love working with them, helping them, watching them improve. HOWEVER, I am also absent-minded, a klutz, I forget how to do things I've learned a number of times, and I'm deathly afraid of making a mistake. When I fall short in these ways I lose confidence. Some of my classmates seem to always figure out the right way to do things and aren't so puzzled by IV pumps and don't still sweat through their scrubs when they go to insert a foley catheter. Someone can have the best of intentions and not be able to cut it. I hope that my intense preceptorship this spring will provide me with more opportunity to improve. Otherwise my "right reasons" may get me nowhere! Hehe. Naw, I think I'll be ok.

Amyjay, I agree with you about the community colleges - I have had some great professors in my classes at Citytech in Brooklyn. That's quite a dilemma you are having with picking NYU or waiting. From what I have heard, this year was incredibly competitive and applications for nursing schools are only going to go up because of the recession. I got into NYU, but I got waitlisted at SUNY Stony Brook. There is a chance that you may not get into SUNY Downstate's program, or may be waitlisted. Can you perhaps defer at NYU for 6 months or a year, until you get your SUNY decision? A bonus for NYU is that once you're in, you can go right on and do your master's if you'd like to, or you can go back when you want. That's a nice option to have. I'm not interested in Psychiatry so I don't know if they have the program you're looking for, but they have the first Holistic nurse practitioner program which I'm interested in doing.

Agh, at the last minute I sent in my deposit to NYU. I hope that they accept it! There's so much going on in my life right now, and I don't want to make a bad decision. I have heard mixed reviews about NYU, but I've heard mixed reviews about ALL accelerated nursing programs. Kelzy, Are there any networking/connections for jobs in other cities? I'm not sure that I want to begin my professional life in NYC. Thanks, A

1) How many accelerated students are in your class? Are your 200 person lectures all second-degree seekers, or are you mixed in with the undergrads? 2) If someone likes a more nurturing environment, might it be a bad idea to go to NYU? Is it easy to sort of "get lost" in the shuffle? 3) How are the simulation labs? What sort of aids do you have? 4) Do you feel like you have time to take advantage of everything that NY offers while you're in school? 5) Do any accelerated students have time to take part in student organizations, community outreach, or study abroad? Where were you originally from, coming to NY? Thanks SO MUCH in advance for helping me out. When I visited NYU, there were multiple students who told me that they weren't so enamored with the nursing program, particularly the quality of teaching and how impersonal it feels.

I agree, we've all got to weigh our options and see what's most important. The other program I got into is about 45 minutes away from Boston and my family. If I were choosing btw NYC (my current home) and somewhere I had no connection to, I think that weighing the pros and cons would be quite different!

I am rethinking whether or not I will go to NYU. I visited, and every lecture has 200 people in it. The only time you're in a smaller group is in clinicals. You don't know where your clinical is, its assigned to you. Could be in Brooklyn or Queens, and at most an hour and a half commute. Some students I spoke to said that the professor basically just reads from slides, and that you have to teach yourself everything. One girl even told me that if she could do it over again, she wouldn't go! That is just the opinions of a few students, but I can't ignore their comments. NYU is a lot of money! Personally, I think that considering that the city already is big, I wouldn't on top of that want another huge educational environment. I love NY and I want to stay here, but I think I'd do better in a smaller, more personal program for 15 months. It's such a short time, and I'm not going to have a life during that time anyway because it's so intense. I know that I wouldn't be able to take advantage of the things I've usually done in the city while I've lived here (rock shows, the ballet, etc). That's where I'm at right now.

I remember during the information session that there are a number of scholarships available that we can apply to while we are in school. So UCDavis, don't count that out as an additional source of funds. I would also contact the government of your home city or state and see if there are any other scholarships to which you can apply. There are others based on region, religion, ethnicity, etc. Do a search and see what you can come up with. Just an idea, and an avenue that I'll be pursuing as well. I'm floored by the amount of debt that we'll be in, but if we budget well and are frugal, we WILL be able to pay it off intelligently. It's a struggle, but don't let it bog you down I guess... I'm trying not to let it get to me either!

Mehr, The rents in NY that I'm looking at right now, for 2 bedrooms are between $1700 and $2100 depending on the area and how nice the apartment is. Rents have dropped considerably since a year ago because of the economic downturn and it is a great time to move to NY. I live about 40 minutes away from NYU, in Brooklyn. Now, I can move to a place that is closer to school and has a lower rent. A monthly Metrocard for the subway/bus costs $82, and will probably be increased to $100/month because the transit authority is doing horribly financially and needs to raise funds. We're going to need a metrocard for our clinicals anyway, so even if you plan on living within walking distance of NYU, I would budget for this as well. I've lived in Brooklyn for 2 years now, and yes NY is an expensive city, but it's also more easy to live in inexpensively than one would think. There is amazing cheap and healthy food, farmers markets, not to mention sample sales, thrift stores, rummage sales, free yoga and pilates (!), etc. For every rip-off, there's a bargain to be had. For instance tomorrow morning I'm lining up at Lincoln center at the crack of dawn (7am) to get $25 orchestra seats for the NYC Ballet.

Kelzy - what do you mean by "competitive?" I'm considering attending NYU, but because the experience is so intensive, I don't want to go to a school where the students aren't joining together, helping one another out, and nurturing each other. To what degree does this happen? Thanks in advance.

I live in Brooklyn and I'm getting an apartment in Williamsburg, across the river on the L train, to be closer to school. I'd like to share my place with a classmate. If you're interested, please email me at [email protected] I'd likely get the apartment for June 1, but I can sublet for the summer if you will be arriving in September.

I had a deadline to put down a deposit for another school, so NYU worked with me to get my decision by phone. I'm accepted! The admissions counselor told me that my packet will be arriving in about a week. It seems like they are accepting people in batches. I thought that because they'd already sent a big batch of letters out, that I'd have less of a chance of getting in. I was seriously doubting I'd be accepted. Hang in there! Best of luck to all. My prerequisite grades were all straight A's, with an A- in Chemistry. My undergraduate transcript, however, was less than stellar (not even a 3.0) and I had some explaining to do.

Flash cards, flash cards, flash cards! Learn EVERYTHING the teacher says. I took A&P 2 at Citytech last summer. I worked my butt off. Expect to eat, sleep, and study for 5 weeks. Good luck!

Does Pace have an accelerated 2nd degree? I've only seen that they have a combined BSN/MSN which requires a GRE. I haven't taken the GREs...