Sarah Kat

My brother has had epilepsy since birth (he had brain trauma during birth) and had seizures often when he was little. Once after a seizure he called my mom a monster and threw a dining room chair at her (he was only 3). Another time he tried to throw himself out of his bedroom window... while it was closed.

I got 31 out of 35 89%. I probably would have done better if I weren't watching tv!

Here's a direct link in case you have trouble finding it. You may want to go back (further than the past 5 days) to see all of the discussion. Welcome Becky and I hope you find the info useful. I most likely will be utilizing Excelsior to bridge from LPN to RN when the time comes.

I think that maybe your friend wasn't clean for as long as he says. It is possible, but if he was, then he would have to have been a heavy chronic marijuana user. A search on google for "drug test duration" yielded this page. (a drug testing company) Don't forget, a web search is always a good idea. Not to pass judgment, but if your friend is a nurse, he should know better. And yes, you might want to distance yourself -- there is such thing as "guilt by association".

I agree. I guess we need to press congress on this one...

:chuckle

Yeah I know, I plan to utilize them once the program starts. In fact, I used them to decide on supplies for school. Good luck with your program!

Where's purple??? I have always been purple!

I have never been satisfied in any job I had so far (all non nursing). That's why I am going to go back to school to be a nurse. Maybe I won't be satisfied, but there's a lot more room for advancement with further education then say waiting to be promoted to assistant manager of the KFC...

IMHO it's important to honor your parents, but in the end, you live your life, they don't. I went to school when I wasn't ready and studied a subject I wasn't really interested in and was bored beyond belief. I ended up dropping out. Now at 26 I am going back to school to get my LPN and persue my dreams of eventually getting into CRNA school. It's a long road ahead, but I have a lot more life experience now than when I was 18, and I know what I want and where I belong. No offense to you, but I wouldn't want to have a nurse treating me (if I were in the ICU) who didn't really want to be a nurse to begin with. On top of that, unless you are a great actress, they will recognize that when you go to interview for CRNA school. I know what it feels like to be doing a job that you aren't into, and going to school for a subject you didn't want to study. Both bite the big one, so to speak. I really hope you make a choice that you will be able to live with, and not just a decision to placate your folks. They love you, and even if they are pushing you into nursing, I am sure they would rather see you do something you enjoy rather than be miserable.

Yes, a mandated reporter has to report anything whether you are on duty or not. It's a 24/7 thing.

I was a psych major straight outta college (psych is kinda like undecided nowadays I think) in 1995. I was working 30 hrs a week supporting a deadbeat abusive boyfriend and taking 15 hrs of classes. I quit a wounded tragic mess. I went back to school a couple of years later after working in a medical billing office, still persuing psych. I got some good grades, but I still didn't have the motivation I needed. I was happier to work full time at a dead end job and party (great career decision!). I then went back to school again a few years later at a third college, got straight A's for two semesters, then went to FL to get 3hrs of credit while I worked (and played) at Disney World. My main purpose for going down there was to get away from all of my friends and family and figure out who I was and what I needed. I came back, started dating a friend, we were married a year later, then a year later his mother died from colon & liver cancers and I finally figured it out. Nursing! Duh! What took me so long? Well, I had never considered it. I was supposed to be a Dr or a lawyer but not a nurse... Funny how nursing used to be one of the only available career choices for women and now so many women don't even consider it... My husband and I are struggling financially, we're still a young couple. Most of the classes I have under my belt will be good to apply towards a BSN, but I can only take 1 year off to go to school full time. I am doing the LPN so I can hopefully get employed with the local "medical center" and get them to pay for the rest of my nurse schooling through ASN and BSN. I will be a nurse this time next year, and will keep on progressing up to the master's level (I hope).

My dad got LTC insurance. It's really expensive, but it will allow him to stay in his home and have a home health nurse. He's in good health now, and that's a ways away, but he's being honest with himself about the future. Part of it is his parents are totally stubborn and are still at home without any nurse at all and my grandfather is in his 90's. He worries constantly for them and doesn't want me to have to go through that.

Yes, and truckers aren't the only ones working long hours with lives in their hands...

I start my LPN program on Jan 26th. I also plan to lose the weight I gained when I quit smoking last June (last year's resolution:D ). Hubby and I are going to join the Y to work out. I'd like to take a yoga or pilates class. I won't be working while I am in school, so I should have enough time to study and work out. I will be attending my baby brother's wedding next month in Parkersburg. Ummm... that's about the nuts and bolts of it right now... Clinicals start 3 wks into the program -- I can't wait. The closest I have gotten to the health care field was when I was 18 I worked for HP Urgent Care in their billing dept. All of my patients were over the phone. I have lots of customer service experience but no practical hands on clincal stuff, so it's all gonna be new to me. I am really excited. Oh yeah, I used to do daycare, so I do have some experience with bodily fluids... Happy New Yeah WV Nurses!!!

My husband and I are both a part of the video game generation. We still play games now. I am generally a very easy going loving person, but when I get stressed, it's nice to blow off steam by blowing away someone with an RPG or a flame thrower... But I am an adult, and when I was a kid, the violence was not graphic (the graphics were barely graphic ). I do know that SOCOM and SOCOM II were developed in cooperation with the Navy and are basically used as a recruiting tool (a very profitable one). The Army is in the process of developing one based on the war in Iraq. I am not a parent, but I am a violent game player (the games are violent, not me). As such, I recommend that kids under age 13 should not be anywhere near these games. If a kid is immature, then possibly up to 15 or 16. I don't believe young children have the ability to seperate the fantasy from reality when the fantasy is so real (and with the increasing technology, it will only get more real).

Honestly, the drinking worries me more than the marijuana use. My father's cousin was a FAS baby and he spent his entire life in an institution because of severe retardation. A good friend of mine had a hippie mom who smoked pot the whole time she was pregnant and during breastfeeding. The only side effect I have seen on this girl is that she chose philosophy as her major (she is now in grad school, teaching undergrad and still maintaining her 4.0). I do agree that the mother's ability to care for her child may be impaired. As a mandated reporter, of course you would need to report this. I do think that maybe with some education she would possibly change her ways. There's nothing like the fear of losing one's child to straigten one out...

Yeah, ditto! Yeah, and working 84 hrs a week (which is literally HALF the hours in a week) can endanger those people as well as yourself and your license. It can be done, but I imagine it shouldn't be done week after week on a regular basis. I don't want to be discouraging, I think being a CRNA is a great goal (it is my eventual goal as well). I just think that all of the other posters are correct in recommending that you slow down and smell the roses. Don't get me wrong, I wish I had been a bit more motivated when I was your age, but I would never trade all of the real life lessons I learned. You have the whole rest of your life to work your butt off. Remember if you start working your butt off that young, they'll be no butt for you to rest on when it comes time for retirement!

What a great idea... but then again, it wouldn't be in the best interest of the credit bureaus, and they are the ones that matter, not us. Heaven forbid we have that much control over our credit reports...

Well, at least one benefit of having bad credit is no one wants to steal your identity...

I second this. Not to mention a few here are close to a TOS violation. Maybe we can all calm down a bit before the mods say something...

I am thankful my parents got divorced when they did. In fact, it's a shame it took them so long. I think it is more traumatizing to a child to have their parents constantly arguing (and when not arguing, not speaking at all). I feel there are many reasons for divorce being so prolific. One is a lack of self-actualization. For instance, my mother was never self sufficient. She went from the safety of her parents to the safety of a marriage. She never lived on her own, had to stand on her own two feet, find out who she was independant of others. The same can be said for my father. They were too young and inexperienced to really know what they needed/wanted. Of course, people just giving up when the going gets tough... that is another reason. Many people are serial monogamists and they leave whenever the thrill is gone. They are more in love with falling in love than with being in love. Less strict religious beliefs also play a part, although that can be a good thing. Unfortunately, many abused spouses would stay in a bad marriage because it was their god's will. I don't think it has much to do with one's job... I am sure there are plenty of happily married nurses. But then, what do I know... I am still on my first marriage...

Check out this thread.

My family's prayers are with you, the rest of your nurses, and the patient's family.

My friend left her husband about 6 months ago, after being an LPN for a year. I think one of the contributing factors is that she spent her shifts complaining about him to her coworkers and listening to them tell her she should leave him...