rockstarn

One place I really like to go is www.noeptexas.org. It's all cancer and pain related, but it's for nurses in any specialty...and everything online is free.

I have two young children myself. I was working night shift full time and going to grad school when I had both of them. It was hard...and it still is. You have to do what is best for your family. That's why I love nursing so very much. It's really flexible. I don't know your nursing specialty/background, but there are numerous flexible nursing positions that may prove good choices for you. There are more and more telecommuting nursing jobs now (where you work from home) such as call center/e-nurse (online healthcare support services), insurance case manager, etc. Just some thoughts.

Yep, this is "usual." As long as TO/VO signed off by MD thereafter II believe it has to be within 24 hours) - it's good. If I may ask, what in particular about this practice makes you and the other nurses uncomfortable? The MD IS being notified of all the meds, right? (It would be a completely different story if nurses were writing "TO" per an MDs request when, in fact, it wasn't a TO...

Man, oh, man...do I ever remember those feelings! You'll be in nursing school before you know it...and out of it even faster. It's a great profession. Don't discount those prereqs. They're the foundation (literally) of everything you'll learn in nursing school. If you understand them...nursing school will be a breeze. Best wishes to you all!

I agree with Pineapple Devil (interesting name!). My personal story is that I wanted to go to med school and I entered nursing school knowing that I would work as a nurse, get some experience, and go on to med school (while able to earn some good money). That was the plan, and I had all the med school qualifications down to do it. However, once I got into the nursing profession, I really did like it. I was able to see the difference in the scopes of practice b/w nurses and physicians. For me, it wasn't the stress or responsibility that deterred me from nursing school - it was the bedside care that sucked me in. It sounds odd, but it's true. Yes, the doctors make patient decisions every day, but so do nurses. We are at the bedside 24/7, and we are the advocates for patients. It sounds like you are certain you want to be in the O.R., but I'd encourage you to feel that out some more. Nursing has so many possibilities, which is rockin'. I'm so glad I made the decision to stay in the profession...it's an awesome one.

I did a couple of different things, which likely helped solidify everything even more. I was part of a study group which met once every week starting 4 weeks before a test. We chilled, ate, and quizzed one another on everything we knew would be on the exam. One thing that REALLY helped was we made up funny sayings or mnemonics to help us remember. For example, benzodiazepines are the drugs of choice for status epilepticus, so...we said if you had "status" you usually drive a "benz"...and just silly stuff like that. I've never forgotten those things, though!