LydiaNN

I got my MPH in 2007. If you're interested in epidemiology, I believe the MPH is more useful for your career than the MSN. Although my specialty is not epidemiology, none of my colleagues who specialize in it even have nursing degrees, so I don't believe not having a license would be a barrier. Editing to add that I am in the US, so this whole post is probably not helpful at all! Sorry!

Maybe it's just more the vanity of the celebrities, honestly believing everyone knows (or cares) who they are?

Honestly, I'd be amazed if he turns out to be unlicensed. I guess that it could happen, but HR departments tend to perform due diligence on these matters. I'd be much more inclined to believe there's a logical explanation.

In the book Interns, one of the doctors includes a story about a patient who named her twins Winston and Salem. Since the book is non-fiction, I assume that's a true story and not urban legend, but who knows. Weirdest name I've come across (and it's a doozy) is M'K'N'Z'Y. McKenzie. Why would you do that to your child? It wasn't a patient; I saw it on a birth announcement or Christmas card that was tacked up on a friend's fridge (was years ago, so I don't remember which). I also have a high school friend who named her son Dan'l. She is Czech and apparently that name and spelling have been used in her family for generations. We were invited to a graduation party for one of my son's classmates. Her name is Whitney, but she has a sister named Lybia. Can you imagine? Ugh.

I've never had one that was used in connection with detemining merit increases. I would be very upset if I did. Once, during an evaluation, my supervisor included a comment that there were staff members I didn't get along with; she was basing this on remarks from one person that in fact I didn't get along with. I told her the criticism was based on gossip, in my opinion was untrue and wouldn't hold up to scrutiny and that I would rebut the comment in my response to the evaluation. She deleted the comment, but was ***** to me ever after.

There are 2 different aspects of obesity being discussed here. The first is the one made by the OP, that super obesity is adding yet another challenge for nurses striving to deliver quality care. The second is the endless debate about the roots of obesity and why it continues to rise in this country more so than in most others. Shouting in the form of caps makes a point no more valid. Whether obesity is or is not a choice, in the end it makes no difference to the ethical nurse charged with that patient's care.

I think the basis for the claim probably goes back to childhood, when someone, their Mom or a teacher or maybe the school nurse, said that the "normal" temperature is 98.6. I know a lot of people who have heard blanket statements like that once in their life and hold to them as if they're gospel.

It seems to me like every time a thread starts about the challenges of caring for obese patients- a perfectly legitimate nursing related topic- deteriorates into a sidebar debate about character flaws and moral weaknesses. We are all just huge tossed salads, made up of our genetics, experiences, traumas and influences. If conquering obesity were an easy fix, it would be... fixed.

Do you think there could be age discrimination? Given your background, I am thinking you and I may be around the same age, and I must say that over the past couple of years, I have had a few instances where I just had a bad vibe about a situation. I'm not job hunting, but I work for a large organization and there are politics involved in everything we do, from who participates on which interview panel to who gets their first choice of interns. I don't see to have most favored status any more, and I definitely used to on the A team. My performance reviews are still positive and there haven't been any disciplinary or interpersonal issues to explain the changes. There are certainly lots of young new grads that are experiencing the same situation as you, though, so I'm not saying this is what's going on. Just curious if you think it's a factor.

OP, is the woman you spoke with from the school you're considering attending? If so, please consider that she has an incentive to paint a very rosy picture of the job experiences of graduates. Some LPNs make a bit more than $20, but I've not heard of any that start at more than $30. I'm not saying it isn't true that they found such a job for one of their graduates, just that it isn't likely to be the case for you or anyone else. I've also heard of many LPNs that make just $11-$15 an hour. I know that right now, any raise would be an improvement, but consider too how much financial aid you'll be able to receive. It could be that you'll do better with a RN program at a community college than a LPN program at a private school, where you may end up taking out loans that you'll have to repay over many years. In the end, only you'll be in a position to decide which move will be better for your family, but these are a couple of the things I'd consider if I was making the choice. Good luck.

I am in San Diego County and I got my MPH in Los Angeles. Some of the places my local cohort-mates work are for the County Health aHuman Services Department (in an obesity prevention program, as part of a longitiduinal child development study and coordinating a broad health and development program for children 0-5), in the Title V program as part of a pilot program for children with cystic fibrosis, at the local medical school as project coordinators and for a university (not the same one I work at) coordinating a Medical Home for Children project. I know that some of my other cohort-mates work in a variety of sponsored research projects, for a genetics study, overseeing the distribution of our state's Welcome Baby kits and with a home visiting program. There are also a number of MPHs that work for our local chapter of the AAP, primarily coordinating projects and I know that the national AAP also hires MPHs for that purpose. I am sure that the CDC and NIH hire MPHs, too, I have just never looked into those positions directly. There really are so many directions you could go!

If it was me, I'd wait, just because of the expense. Good luck; I hope you got in to the program you want most and enjoy your career. I really have enjoyed mine (even though you'll also find posts by me kvetching about work!)

I'm sorry I can't help much in that regard, as I work for a university in a position that was specifically looking for Community Health expertise. I also live in a large County that has a huge health department with many different opportunities, so I'd say they probably base their preferences on the individual positions. Since my job is tied so closely to our state budget and it is perpetually in crisis, I tend to start worrying every April or May that I won't be employed come July 1. That's when I start browsing the County listings. I've noticed positions for both Epidemiology and Community Health; what I don't know is which positions tend to draw more applicants or be harder to land. The County also has a habit of lisiting positions that may or may not end up being furnded or filled, so there's another monkey wrench in being able tot offer any constructive advice. I'm sorry I don't have very clear information for you. Good luck with whatever you decide. PS- I probably should have gotten a D in the first semester of Stats myself. I tend to believe the prof just wanted to be rid of me, after I practically stalked him during office hours all semester! The second semester, I had a tutor from the start and did a bit better, but ended up with the same C grade; I just actually earned it that time!

Like you, Math courses were my weakness. In my case, Stats were particularly difficult. I have a MPH with a Community Health specialization, which was my preferred and intended specialization, so I can't speak with any authority as to what an admissions committee may or may not decide based on your Math GPA. That said, I'd suggest that you consider carefully if you even want to specialize in an area that relies so much on a skill set that isn't amongst your strongest. I didn't feel that I was going to do well academically with an Epidemiology specialty, but I also didn't feel like I would enjoy basing a career on it, so that point was moot. Just my $.02.

If you don't already have a degree, wouldn't you qualify for higher financial aid if you weren't working? Maybe the rationale behind not allowing students to get food stamps is that they are already getting government assistance that way? I'm just asking... that's the way it used to be, but I know things have changed radically. Who really loses out, I think, is people who got a degree that has turned out to be useless, wants to go back and make something of their lives, but can't, because they enter the Catch-22 reflected in this thread. Government assistance is so convoluted. In CA, families who qualify for Section 8 housing can send their children to state funded preschools, scotfree, no tuition required. It doesn't matter if their Section 8 voucher is worth $3000 a month (I'm not just throwing that number out there, either; I know a family that gets that much!) BUT military families are required to add in the value of their housing allowance to their income, which disqualifies even the lowest paid members from benefiting from the free preschool for their children. How is that fair?