Ned the Red

I'm trying to put together a list of schools that offer distance learning for an ADN. In addition, the school will need to offer it in a self paced format. I'll need to continue working full time and need a school that will allow me to take six credits per semester. I know that Deaconess, for example, offers an on-line ADN (they call it an ASN) but it looks like it's structured so that the classes taken each semester are predetermined. Any ideas out there? An alternative would be someplace that would allow me to use credits from my BS toward a BSN.

I'm doing exactly what your husband is thinking about. Difference is that I'm taking some night courses to get ready. Took A&P I with the intention of getting into an ADN program. I still want to do that but discovered that, even if I never go full time and even if I never get the ADN, I really enjoyed being back in school and giving my brain a workout that different from the day-to-day grind in my little cubicle here. So, my suggestion would be that he take a few of the preliminary courses before jumping into it with both feet, shadow someone (as previously suggested), and give it a shot. As far as the bedpans part - in my wife's words "Hey, you've helped raise three kids. Cleaning up poop and vomit shouldn't be any problem for you for a couple of years in nursing school." You might also suggest that he log on to these boards and look around a bit.

And there may be a difference in benefits. That may be a cost the employer now has that they didn't when you were with the agency.

Because I am a woman I am different from a man. We may look like the same species, but there are different "rules" for each of us. Because I am a woman, I need to spend 20 minutes outlining my lips before I put on lipstick. Even though you say I have a big mouth, my lips are too thin. My hair is too flat/curly/dark/light/wavy. Whatever my hair looks like, I want it to be the opposite. My eyes are too small, and my skin is too blotchy. Thus, all of the time I spend in the bathroom getting ready to go out is an essential part of my routine. I need all this makeup so that other women will think I am naturally pretty. Because I am a woman, I will get up at 6:30 in the morning to go shopping if the store is having a sale. It doesn't matter that I don't need any new clothes, they are on SALE. Besides, I have three kinds of clothes in my closet. There are "fat" clothes for my PMS days, "dressy" clothes for the dancing I keep asking you to take me, and "thin" clothes that I will never get into again without liposuction. I will, however, keep all the "thin" clothes, because tomorrow I am going on a diet. Therefore I need exercise clothes too. It takes a lot of shopping to fill up so much closet space. Because I am a woman, I need many shoes. I need work shoes, dress shoes, three kinds of athletic shoes, sandals, slippers, open-toed shoes. I need high-heeled shoes, mid-heeled shoes, low-heeled shoes, flats, and boots. I need shoes in every color of the rainbow to match my extensive wardrobe (see above). Because I am a woman I will get annoyed if you come to me and announce that there is no food in the house. In all likelihood there is plenty of food. I am not falling for the trick and making you a sandwich. However, I will stand in front of my full closet and complain that I have nothing to wear. This is not the same thing. Because I am a woman, I will spend hours on the phone with my friends. Even if I just saw my best friend today, I need to call and tell her who is on Oprah. Especially if it is Tom Cruise. Because I am a woman I will talk about you to my friends. We will discuss your underwear, your bathroom habits, and your childhood. However, if you even mention my middle name to your friends I will be angry. Because I am a woman, I need to talk about "the relationship". I think about "the relationship" far more than you do. I will pick the worst possible time ( 2 minutes left in Game 7 of the NBA playoffs) and tell you, "Honey, we need to talk". If you ask to wait until the game is over, you will find yourself sleeping on the couch. Because I am a woman, I will have mood swings. PMS is a medical condition. So, when I scream at you and call you an SOB, and then cry and want to cuddle within an hour, I am not crazy. I am a woman. Because I am a woman, I have strange eating habits. I will order only salad on our first date, and lobster after we are married. I will buy candy bars and wash them down with diet soda. I will put artificial sweetener in my double mocha latte. And any food eaten while cooking does not count as food. Because I am a woman, I expect to have "girls night out" once in awhile. If you want to go bowling with the boys, I will pout and ask why you don't want to be with me. I will then assume that there is a problem with "the relationship" and will want to talk about it before you leave.

I really didn't have any particular questions. Just hadn't seen any posts from any down there! I lived in Brasil for a couple of years. Visited Argentina and Paraguay and have always kicked myself for not getting to Uraguay.

All I'm trying to say is that there are many things that make a good (or bad) first impression. I'm not the most "snappy" dresser, for instance, and sometimes show up for work a bit on the wrinkled side. I know that this works against me when meeting people for the first time. It doesn't mean that I don't know what I'm doing but it can still hurt me. Good grammar skills are much the same. They don't mean the person is unqualified (unless they happen to be an English teacher) but they can surely color that first impression. I'm old enough to remember the uproar when Winston aired their commercial "Winston tastes good like a cigarette should" and people said it should have been "Winston tastes good AS a cigarette should." Everyone has relaxed a lot since then. But (again) like it or not, if you tell someone you "I ain't gonna" or you write "There cars was broke" you may create an impression you don't want and that is difficult to change.

At an open house at my daughter's school one night, one of the teachers kept asking "Is there any more questions?" At least she wasn't an English teacher!

Just realized that there's no thread for nurses from South America. What's the deal?

I knew this would happen. Let me clarify my position a bit. Think of it this way - right or wrong, it's more difficult for a person to be taken seriously if they don't look the part and sound the part. I know you take care to make a good first impression in person by coming to work ready for action, dressed appropriately, and with all the right tools. Why is language any different? Right or wrong two people who are identical in every respect will be received differently based on how they speak. So, there it is. Like it or not that's the way the world works. And, unfortunately, sometimes people who DON'T know what they're talking about are believed over those who do just by the way the "come across" to everyone else. And I guess there are two different areas of concern. Verbal: Would you say "There's (THERE IS) twenty apples" or "There're (there ARE) twenty apples?" Written: The problem of their, there, they're. And, Tweety, I've read many many of your posts and can't think of anyone I'd rather have for a nurse. Didn't mean to slam you. OK, that's it from me!

I almost hate to get involved in this but as an ex-English teacher I find I can't help myself. My concern/gripe isn't the occasional typo or the fact that folks "talk" in a forum differently than they would in a formal document. What bothers me is the use of English in such a way as to discredit the user. Me and her instead of she and I There WAS twenty five patients instead of there WERE... For better or for worse these things reflect on your abilities. As someone said earlier it's hard to have confidence in someone as a professional when they don't take the time to get the basics of the language right. Having said that, for me it's a different matter with someone who is a non-native speaker. I give them a lot of credit for speaking a second language. Ok, let the flaming begin!

I'm currently working on the pre-reqs for a local nursing program - trying to get out of my current field of contracts, sourcing, procurement. What I'd like to try to do, as a bridge, is land a position in purchasing at one of the local hospitals. Does anyone in the Dallas area have any thoughts on the best way to go about this? Contacts, direction, etc? I'm great at what I do and believe I'd be great at nursing so, I'd like to get "closer to the action" while I'm working on it. Thanks in advance

Y'all should be great. I haven't started the program yet (but have two nurses in the family) but did teach for a couple ofyears. But, you'll have a lot of transferrable skills that you can take from teaching to nursing. Keep it up and don't lose site of your goal!

I can tell you that the FBI takes a VERY dim view of people who say they're affiliated with them. It would only take one call to get their attention!

Do you stay in touch with your contact at the agency? A friendly phone call from time to time wouldn't hurt. The sqeaky wheel and all that... Besides, the recruiter is more likely to place you if they know you and are comfortable with you as a person rather than just a number. If you don't know why you aren't getting called just ask them!

Way back when I enjoyed hiking. After carrying a 45 lb pack for a few hours I'd pull the boots off and spray my feet with some spray powder made by Dr. Scholl's. It dried and cooled them and felt really good. New, clean, socks and ready to go for another few hours.

Interesting show on NPR last week. They talked about testosterone. This probably isn't news to y'all but I (just getting started) was amazed. Among other things they said that because men generally have more of the hormone we tend to focus better on one thing and ignore everything else going on around us. It also makes us less sensitive (no news with that) than women. Does that mean that women are naturally better suited for nursing? After all, you assess, assess, assess - and look at the big picture of what's going on with the pt and are more sensitive to everything. Of course, that also makes you more sensitive to your co-workers! As someone else said, most of us guys don't even notice half the time when we've been insulted. And, if we do we either assume they're joking around or just blow it off. That can also be a problem when someone (like my wife) WANTS us to notice something. Don't need to explain that one! Anyway, I guess to some extent we're all prisoners of our hormones and we just need to be aware of the fact and deal with it. I'm with Tom - I don't want women to be like men - I like (most of) them just the way they are. And, I hope if I can eventually make it through nursing school I'll have the privilage of working on a floor where the talents of both sexes can be used well - as a team. Ned

I'll strike out in a different direction with this thread. And, this idea just now came to me so, it isn't fully formed and I'm not sure even I understand what I want to say. But, bear with me.... again, as one who's not yet in nursing. Working in the field is high stress for everyone. And you need to work well as a team. Your team can begin to develope an "us vs them" mentality and sometimes one of the people on the team becomes "them" because of the stress. In the "heat of battle" it's difficult to be introspective and see how your actions might impact others and how the dynamic of the group can get off base. And, is it possible that a group that's all women (or all men for that matter) might react less well to the stress than would a mixed group? I know I'm rambling but I guess what I'm getting at is that it isn't a men vs women thing as much as it is a question of needing a group that has varied backgrounds, perspectives, etc. Hope someone out there can find a kernal of truth in all that!

Not sure if it runs past that hospital but if DART light rail can get you there it opens up a few other possibilities. You can jump on the train from the airport area and be downtown in about 1/2 hour. Anyone know if there's a stop near Children's?

I plan to take this one and have been reading the various posts and here's my "take" on it - the material itself won't be too difficult but you need to be mentally prepared and understand how to take this kind of test. For what it's worth here's the short version of how I approach these. And, I have to tell you I'm pretty good at this type of test (not that I'm all that smart - just good at test taking!) 1) Answer only one question at a time. Sounds goofy but, don't think about the question you just answered or look at the question coming up. 2) Don't read anything into the question. Back to number one but just answer question 23, put it COMPLETELY out of your mind, take a deep breath and read 24 calmly, answer it and repeat. 3) If you are unsure about the answer or feel you'll need to really think about it a while just pick the answer you feel best about. You can always come back to it (assuming it's on paper and not on a computer). I'd rather answer all of them and take my chances that some are wrong than to answer 1/2 absolutely right and leave the other 1/2 blank! 4) Along the same lines as number 2... not only don't read anything into the question but make sure you've read the whole question and not what you think is the question. Take your time but be like a machine. Just nail one at a time. 5) Make sure you're putting the answer to question number 183 on the answer line to 183. I'm famous for this one! Panic time when you realize that somewhere back there you skipped a question!! 6) Never ever look at the clock. It doesn't matter how much time you have left. If you get into that groove and start knocking the questions down with a clear mind you'll more than likely finish up early on the test. 7) Of course, they give you some tips like wear comfortable clothes, go to the bathroom before you start, eat a good breakfast. Do all those things. 8) Stay calm. It's a Zen sort of thing. If you know the answer you KNOW it. Don't defeat yourself on this thing. Guess that's about it. I know none of this is rocket science but, if you're like me, it helps sometimes just to hear it. Good luck to all of us!! Ned

I plan to get one from the company that wrote the test - http://www.eriworld.com

I think I speak for all the guys when I say we'll take a pass on the dresses, hats, and especially the panty hose. But, what about scrubs with a white lab coat? Lots of pockets for all the gear and you can always take it off if the going gets too messy....

Actually, correct punctuation would dictate that it be: Eats, shoots, and leaves. But, I really like dumb jokes!!

If the students are all failing it doesn't sould like the program is dumbing down at all. It would be dumbing down if they were making it through the class. Or, am I missing something here?

Seems to me that we have two distinct cases here. First - Details are posted about me that would allow my neighbor do determine not only what the problem is but that I'm the one who has it. Like, "I have a pt who lives in Flower Mound Tx with ........ " This would be a clear violation. Second - Details are posted in such a way that the only way my neighbor would know you're talking about me is if he already knew about my problem (and the fact that I have a problem). So, if the details are specific enough that someone with periperal knowledge of the incident could indentify the pt you have just violated HIPAA. To discuss cases in general shouldn't be any problem. Something related that I've seen that could cause trouble is when someone comes on the board and says "Something happened on my unit last night." and then goes to talk about how a Dr. or administration (or another nurse) really messed something up. In this case, anyone who knows that the problem happened might be able to figure out where it happened and suddenly gets more details. You've just "spilled the beans" and allowed for a potential lawsuit against your employer or another worker. I'd be more concerned with someone else from, say, administration putting two and two together. Make sense?

Brent, I looked at NCTC too (I live in Denton County) but somewhere I heard that their clinicals are in Oklahoma, or at near the TX OK border. Too far for me and I'd rather be in the Dallas area hospitals - better training.