jc3015

I was on a night shift at my hospital and put in an application for an RN opening in same day surgery. I went for my first interview and after listening to the manager, seemed to be near top of their list. I went home and thought it out more. I would be going from 3 12hr shifts a week to 4 10hr day shifts, desirable for me. However, they were expecting another day on-call weekly. Personally, I’d rather sign up for an extra shift than sit at home for a possible phone call… not like having a day off. The next day, I sent the manager an email thanking for her consideration and explained the reason for reconsidering and declining the position. She thanked me for letting her know, as well as my reason for changing my mind. Not to mention, my current manager was happy I’d be sticking to my shift (a diificult time of day to fill). I think honest communication goes a long way in a situation.

No, the watch came with a clumsy cloth band, the holes of which were either too tight or too loose. The expanding band, an add-on, is narrow silver-looking sections, ~$10 at Walmart.

I have a $29 Timex. I replaced the stock band with an expanding band so I can just slide it up my forearm when I need to scrub.

I recall, during an RN clinical, asking asking an RN how long it took her to feel comfortable coming onto her shift. She replied, “any day now”. Honestly, I worked SNF as an LPN for a couple years before getting a hospital job as an RN. By that point, I was fairly comfortable during that orientation. However, there’s always going to be one of those days. Buck up.

Relax. I don’t know how long I kept referring back to a cheat sheet just to be sure I documented the right lung sound. I wound up having to get a much better stethoscope because I had so much trouble hearing sounds in very overweight or obese patients.

I was always told that nursing school prepared me to pass the boards, that I learned to nurse on the job. That has definitely wound up being true. I wouldn’t want to be ‘taught’ by an instructor with no real experience. If you only want to teach, pick another field. If you want to teach nursing, suck it up, get your hands dirty and really be a nurse.

Ikve worked 12 hr nights, 7p-7:30a for the last 8 years, but I’ve always been an afternoon/night person. 12 hrs wasn’t a main problem, having a single day off was a wasted day of my life. I asked my manager if I could get 3 days in a row. I’ve wound up doing a weekend option, F/Sa/Su, and that’s been great for me. Not to mention, there was a pay bonus. Friday night is a bit rough at 0200-0400, but the rest is OK. Oh, and I’m 66.

School prepares you to get a job as a nurse, you actually learn to nurse on the job. Which of the two jobs (or any other opportunity that might arise in the meantime) will best prepare you for the career you obviously want, in peds?

I graduated nursing school at the age of 53. I get some double takes on the phone, but mostly from family members. Since clinicals, I usually was mistakenly called ‘doctor’. My clinical instructor thought that was a real hoot... until one day, with a group of other students (mostly in late 20’s) a patient asked me if I was their instructor. The others didn’t let my instructor hear the end of it.

In 2006, I was laid off after 34 years and became a nursing student at the age of 53. Ten years l'm working Med/Surg in a hospital. Going back to school wasn't bad for me, however being a male in the program of mostly 20-25 year old women took a bit of adjustment.

I turn 63 next month, and I'm having no difficulties. I plan to work until 66 at least. Then how much longer I work will depend on my knees and ankles... everything else is fine at this time. In my spare time I photograph, read and design computer programs. Pushups for my brain.

I have mine engraved with my name and it's in my pant's cargo pocket when I'm not using it. It doesn't make much sense not to have it with me, as I'm not always sure when I'll need it.

Job availability will vary with your location; When I got my LPN I needed to work a year before I went into my ADN program. The only jobs available (in Southern Illinois) for LPNs were LTC, clinics and giving flu injections. At our local hospitals the only LPNs that were hired were those who were already employed there (CNA, tech) or were able to get into an LPN/RN bridge program. Since the hospitals were in the process of going to all-RN staffing, their existing LPNs got the choice of get an ADN or retire by a deadline. Needless to say, not a lot of jobs there. Last year I graduated with my ADN, passed my NCLEX-RN and had to remain in the LTC I had worked at part-time during ADN. I've received a couple interviews at the hospitals, with no luck. In fact, two of the women I graduated from LPN classes got hired. They had failed out of some classes the previous year and graduated in my ADN class, while I went straight through ADN and passed my NCLEX-RN, first try, minimum questions. Still... good for them! One even offered to be a reference for me on my next application. Still, they're good people and they'll be good nurses. At my LTC I'm not in the work situation I really wanted (getting much more med/surg experience), but I'm enjoying the residents I care for, and they seem to enjoy my work. I'll bet there will be a job out there for you, even if it's not what you originally visualized. Besides, getting that LPN or RN license will certainly keep your mind occupied for a while. If you want to care for people, go for it. It wasn't my prime motivation (sorry, I needed job security), but I really have been enjoying what I'm doing. Besides, I'm planning to keep submitting applications to the hospitals until I wear them down or they plead with me to stop. j

I had a few instructors that lectured from the Powerpoints, claiming that all their test material would come from them, claiming their intention was that students would spend less time copying what they said and could pay attention to the lecture. BUT, they were afraid that it would promote absenteeism, so they would delete words, phrases, or even entire sentences from the Powerpoint outlines. Problem... some omitted sentences were so lengthy that everyone was scrambling to copy down the material, causing the instructor to stop or return to previous slides that it really wasn't an efficient use of time.

I was a 3.8 GPA student going into my LPN program and pulled straight As. Then I went into the ADN program. Different beast, altogether. I was studying way more and barely managing mid-Bs. However, when we took the ATI exams for each class at the end of the semester, I was doing level 3s on each, so I felt a lot better. I got a high score on my mock-NCLEX exam, needed to exit the program. I was doing moderate on the class exams, but doing much better on the actual "thinking" exams. I think those will be the most important. Can you apply what you know? j.

I had great admiration for my classmates who were in a similar situation to many of the respondents here, those working full time and those with heavy family responsibilities. I breezed through A&P , Psych and Micro, ut those were pre-reqs. I've seen many persons with 'relaxed' study habits hit the wall in ADN or BSN studies. I studied as often as possible (I agree that more time is, indeed, a luxury). Many in class would talk about what was happening on 'Big Brother' or 'Dancing With The Stars'. My TV remote had a film of dust on it when the semester ended. I admire others who can do it, but I had to go the total immersion route, so that I can be a good nurse on the job. BTW. Four of the ladies who were often commenting on TV... they're repeating Pharm or MedSurg 2 this semester. j

I studied, maybe 2-3 hours daily for my LPN program and pulled a 4.0, NCLEX-PN in 85. My ADN was a different beast, altogether. Our program recommended 3 hours study per credit hour and I felt as though I was having trouble retaining information at that rate, put I pulled through with a 3.70, and wrote my NCLEX-RN first time in 75 questions. Funny thing; one of my classmates was some kind of savant, photographic memory, or something. Remembered EVERY detail. Was Harry Potter's "Hermoine in class... always was waving her hand at a question. Straight A's, really nice lady. Complete pain in the butt in clinicals, though. She couldn't apply anything she'd memorized. Being an RN is ALL about critical thinking.

I always read my texts, although with that much to get through, I was reading at a speed WAY beyond my comfort level. The books that ATI provided us accompanied me everywhere, as they gave a really good synopsis of the text material. I was an A/B student and passed my NCLEX-RN at 75 questions. Since I took the NCLEX, I've been rereading all my Pharm and Med-Surg texts, at a somewhat more relaxed pace.j

I just had my first interview as a new RN this week. Overall, I think it went OK, but like other comments here, I'm not going to get too bent worrying right now. I did enough of that waiting for the NCLEX results. The floor manager tried to get me to relax (mostly successful). I'd gone through one of those canned surveys ("I work well in groups...Strongly Agree/Strongly Disagree" types of questions), and the manager said she wanted to ask some questions of her own. One was a typical interview question, "Where do you see yourself in five years?" Seeing as how I turn 57 later this month, that's a relevant question. Another question: "Give me an example of how you went above and beyond what was expected of you on your current job?" I actually had a couple really good answers for that. Unfortunately, I was brain-dead at that particular moment and gave an OK answer, but nowhere as good as the other two. [sigh]. Google 'job interview questions'. I saw a few of my interview questions in there. j

Wow. This thread sure grew in a hurry! I'm a male LPN, I'll be 57 next month, and I just passed my NCLEX-RN last Thursday. In the last two years (almost) I've had no problems at all with respect to my age. I had plans to try this back in 1990, but I wound upgrading my job at that time and let it slide to the back burner. If you think this is a type of work you want to do, 30 means nothing. j

Yep. Sounds familiar. I liked the practice tests we took throughout the semester, but I hated the day we took the real ATIs. My final RN predictor was reasonably close to the structure of my NCLEX and told me I had a 97% chance of passing... which I did; first try, 75 questions. That didn't keep me from spending an agonizing weekend until my unofficial results were posted. I'd recommend ATI. j

My program requires all ADN students (PN program, too) to do all kinds of ATI exams. We do several in each different class, and are required to pass at a prescribed level to actually pass the class (regardless of what our grade in that class was), and we're required to pass a mock-NCLEX to successfully exit the program. Overall, I think the ATIs helped a lot. I think the ATI materials they provided us with helped me more than the review books. I worked the Saunders stuff to death, but the ATI stuff was more like my NCLEX questions. I also had the little app on my iPod. I like it, but whatever the randomization algorithm that iOS uses, it kept giving me the same questions over and over. j

I just passed my NCLEX-RN last Thursday, I'll be 57 next month. I've worked the last 18 months as an LPN, and I've not run into anything that has hindered my progress because of age. Between age and the fact that I'm 6'3"... well I get my share of double-takes. j

I've been working two years as an LPN. I just graduated my ADN program last week at 56, and I'm reviewing prior to taking my NCLEX-RN exam. I've had several offers from the local hospitals for when I get my license. School's really tough, but I haven't seen any problems getting hired, yet. j

I really like the Zebra Z-grips fine points, but my hands are too big for them. My current favorite is a giveaway from my hospital's ED admission desk. It's not a fine point, but it's a ballpoint that writes like a gel, and has a nice rubber grip. Seems like it comes with a month's worth of ink, though. Even better, my bank has the very same pen with their logo instead. They're kind enough to provide me with one every time I go to the drive-through. Enough to keep my larcenous CNAs well-stocked. j