momofsix, SN

Not to sound depressing or anything....but the class at our college that graduated this last May, the 'original' group (not counting class repeaters or LPN transitions) started with 60 and graduated 15. No, that is not a typo. UGH!!!!!!!

Never always. Never never. And DEFINITELY NOT like yours or how we do it here. A nurse at one of our clinical sites told us that....it can take you a long way in theory class. If it does not apply at "NCLEX General Hospital" leave it for the lunchroom.

So today was our last day of the semester...no classes for 15.5 weeks! Does anyone else have absolutely NO IDEA what they are going to do with all of their 'free' time, or am I the only one? We were actually given the pseudo-syllabus for next fall's reading, but seriously..... AUGH! I exist again!!!!!! Only ONE YEAR left! Enjoy the summer, everyone! Shan

I just gave birth to our sixth child on the first day of my maternal-child clinical day 4 weeks ago....HA! That was the only day I had to miss that counted. I was pregnant the entire first semester of ADN school and working full-time as a patient care tech....it was doable, and that was with the 5 other kiddos, 7,5,4,3, and 18months...Number 5 came during pre-reqs (which I did all online, so THAT helped out a lot...) You can do it if you WANT to do it. I did it because I HAD to do it....well, you know what I mean-I decided to do nursing school after already having 4 kids and having just become pregnant, and I did not want to wait. I've always been the 'full steam ahead' type, though. I feel that you really have to evaluate yourself and your learning style to determine if you could perform on VERY LITTLE, if ANY sleep! Also, you have to learn to put your power point lectures where you will read them...even if you have to tape them to the top of the box of wipes or the kitchen cabinets! And if coffee isn't your friend yet, well...get ready to enter a rather intimate relationship with Mr. Folgers....he can look and smell downright sinful at the 38 hour mark! You will learn about diurnal rhythyms, but will not HAVE one! Many days I have found myself out of sheer exhaustion.... There is also the truth that if you wait for "the right time" to do anything, you will never do it. If you have the support and the strength, I say go for it! Both nursing and motherhood are wonderfully underappreciated careers, but the return on investment is UNBELIEVABLE!!! :heartbeat Best of luck to you deciding! Shannon

Well....where do I begin?! I am-as the name states-mom of six and I'm currently a 2nd semester ADN student. Our children are 7,5,4,3,18mo, and 4 weeks tomorrow! I had number five while doing prereqs-all 3 semesters of which I did online... I was pregnant through all of first semester of nursing school and still working full-time nights at the hospital as a PCT, and then took 'educational leave' this semester. I only missed one clinical day 4 weeks ago...instead of attending my first day of L&D clinicals as a student, I attended as a PATIENT!!! Oh well, at least he had me in the right situation! :chuckle My husband is very supportive and helpful with everything. We do not do daycare, as it would break the bank! He is also a PCT at the hospital and is currently an EMT/Paramedic student. We work opposite nights and try to work our schedules around each other as much as possible-we are very lucky to only have to utilize his father as a babysitter every once in awhile. Thinking about it, I really don't know how we do it, or how we managed to find the time to HAVE all these kids! It is do-able.....we are living proof. It is exhausting, and the upkeep of the house sometimes suffers for it, but our kids are happy, we have a good marriage, and we are getting the educations that will put us where we want to be financially. Do I wish that I had done this sooner? Heck yeah!!! Would I have done it if I had known how crazy it would be? Absolutely. The time was going to pass anyhow....at least at the end now I will have a degree and a money-making career that is interesting to me. Good luck and have faith in yourself...and the little ones...and Chef Boyardee...It will all be worth it in the end!!! Shan

Don't forget to check your meds list and labs for the patient. These will help you to prioritize as well. If your patient is on 5 different forms of pain medication (yes, it happens...) then Acute Pain trumps all! As for the rest of the dx, well....what do YOU see as the pts primary problems? What are the most important things that need to happen before discharge? As for the diarrhea, are you sure that your pt isn't already in fluid volume deficit? Check your Intake/Output. It's all the little things that you can find in charting that will help you along the way. Care plans stink simply because of the "Official Mighty Nursing Diagnosis Format" that they must follow, but break it down. Use your assessment data, your conversations with your patient, and your intuition. I tend to see care plans as 'math'.....You have 'X' because of 'Y'.....you can see these from 'Z'..........now for the ABCDs of how I'm going to fix this! I hope that wasn't more confusing...... Shan

Just my own personal thoughts on this...I am currently pregnant with my sixth child. Our other children are 7,5,4,2, and 1. Both my husband and I are employed by one of our local hospitals-night shift as techs...we work opposite days of the week so we don't have to find babysitting. We are also both in school. I will be entering my second semester of a 4-semester adn program in two weeks and he will be pursuing EMT/paramedic. I am actually set to deliver 2 weeks before spring break, though I think it will be sooner...Is our life difficult? Heck yeah, it is! Is it and will it be worth it in the end? ABSOLUTELY. We are doing this for them! The only thing I am cutting out is work this semester, and I felt that student loans could be used to make up for my income....Payback's a #%^$ but I will be in a position to pay back loans in 16 months and 1 week! You just have to stay strong and realize what you are working toward. You never know what (or who *wink*) life will throw at you and it makes no sense to put everything on hold until the 'timing is good'.....And really...who can better pay for the tickets to Elmo Live for that toddler? A nursing student or a Nurse?! *grin* Off the Eternally Pregnant and Crazy Soapbox.... Shan