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it is the company that owns the morton plant/mease hospitals, to include st. anthony's in st. pete www.baycare.org

i am so sorry i even started this post. i did so, because this site was one of the reasons i decided to try nursing as my 2nd career! i had so much help and support from fellow nurses, but this post is now out of control! yes, i tried and decided it was not for me. did i fail? no, i did not. i proved to myself and my son - who by the way is only 8 - oh, but i'm old -- i proved to both of us that no matter what, it is never too late to pursue your dreams! i thought i wanted to be a nurse since i was 16 years old. my sister, six years my senior, became an rn by starting as a unit secretary at our local hospital and working her way up. 30 years later, she has retired from the hospital, but enjoyed nursing so much, she is now an elementary school nurse, as well as spends her entire summer as a camp nurse. so, as you can see, she was always my inspiration. my junior year in high school, my paper was written on "what i want to be when i grow up" as that of a nurse. i did not come from a wealthy family, but my family made too much money for me to qualify for school loans/grants. i was an illinois state scholar and had a full 4-year scholarship to the university of illinois, with hopes of obtaining my bsn. but the scholarship did not cover the expense of books, fees, costs, and dorms. my parents struggled to help me afford to go there, but being that i'd have to move over 500 miles from home - sadly, i could not afford to take the scholarship. so, at the age of 21, i moved to florida with my parents when they retired here. i've lived on my own ever since. i've only had me to take care of me and had to work to survive. i was unable to attend nursing school at that time for several reasons, but mainly because i had to work and could not afford to go to school full-time -- which was all that was offered to us "old folks." so, say what you will .... there were some on this post who were very supportive and to you, i thank you. i know not all nurses are as cold as some of those posting on this, but i still believe and have more respect than ever for nurses. it's like the saying, "walk a mile in my shoes ..... " anyway, thanks for the kind words and to those who only have mean, hateful things to say, "god has a way of dealing with you!" the nurses i have met on here are some of the nicest, kindest, people on the earth -- and yes, some are actually real friends who i speak with on the phone, via email, etc. and to those who think i burned bridges: my nursing manager called me today and wants me to come back to work at the hospital! so, again, i must re-evaluate my life, but as you can see - i did not burn any bridges. my personality, work ethics and the caring/compassion i have shown to not only my patients, but my co-workers, speaks volumes! so put that in your pipe and smoke it! and may god bless you!

and i hate to tell you, but just as all the other overweight people on here are thinking ... YOU ARE WRONG! i am physically fit, work out 5 times a week - to be a cop you have to be fit! and i am 5'5" and a slim 118lbs .... but hey, thanks for thinking i was "fat" just shows how much you really care about your overweight coworkers ...... unreal!

i am responding to the only kind person on here .... thank you. but while i am not a "spring chicken" as some of you like to call it, i was a paralegal for my first half of my career, police officer for the 2nd half of it ..... i figured it i can hop over a 6 foot fence chasing crackheads down, then i should be able to stand the physical demands of nursing! and i am not old by anyone's standards ... i am only 46!!! but sitting behind a desk and sitting in a patrol car are way different than standing on your feet for 8 hrs/ day. and i did speak with my nursing manager -- who told me to reflect on the day i had and get back to her ..... she understands .....oh, and by the way .... i also had zero sleep the last two weeks wondering if my own mother would live or die! so, hey ,,,, thanks to all of you who i thought were professional for your lack of compassion! my mother spent 5 days in the icu the week prior to me starting, and i still went to work as scheduled! 5pints of blood later, she is finally on the long road to recovery! so, again ... thanks ... it's nice to know all of the fellow nurses on here have so much compassion for someone just looking for others to help them out in their time of need! i have no family here in florida -- i'm all she has, so i had to do it all ---- by myself! i am just so irritated that i came to this board for help and support, and yet i got none! oh, and to the "hater" who said, "good luck finding a job"..... i had one starting today! the judge i worked for hired me back -- on the spot -- no questions asked. so, as you can see, i do have high morals and standards - and excellent work ethics as well. but when you can clearly see that your body cannot handle something, the key is to get out before you sink .... not stay and let your fellow co-workers suffer ...... thanks again!

has anyone quit after their first day on the job? i just did! i thought i wanted to be a nurse - my whole life really - but never could afford to not work and just go to school. then, as luck would have it, i was offered a position at a local hospital, who also paid your way thru school and a stipend to live off of while attending school. perfect! (or so i thought) so, as luck would have it, i had to drop out of lpn school the very first week, due to my mother being hospitalized. the stress of taking care of her and trying to study was too much/stressful, so i dropped out of the program. to my surprise, the hospital wanted to keep me on as a cna - which i have never worked as before but had recently obtained my license when i decided to pursue nursing. so, i had my first day of orientation and quit that night! i feel like a loser, but i didn't quit because of the job really, but more on the physical demand it took on my body! i could barely get myself out of my car after an 8 hr shift! now, i've always had issues with my back because of numerous car accidents, but it has never bothered me like this until now. i really think it bothers me more because for the past 25+ years of my working career, i sat behind a desk -- and not on my feet for 8+ hours. has anyone else dropped out of nursing all together for these reasons? does it get better? should i have stuck it out and tried to make it work? it just kills me that i've given up on something just like that ..... when it i was something i thought i've wanted to do my entire life. thanks for listening and thanks for any advice or for anybody else sharing their experiences to commiserate with me!

morgan .... i am so happy for you i knew you would get in! congrats again and see you in the hall of baycare soon! (i'll be at mease countryside starting this week -- can't wait!) :anpom::anpom::anpom::rckn::dncgbby::hpygrp::dancgrp:

the lpns just started this week - so i know it's been hectic there for d..... she is out of the office until friday, so you may hear something then.

i feel the same as you do! doing this at 46 .... very exciting, but nervous at the same time. gave up a good paying job to do this - but it's what i've always wanted to do, so i'm hoping for the best good luck to you as well

morgan: it is not as good as baycare --- they don't pay as much as baycare and i've heard negative things about it. plus, the few i know that work for hca said baycare is much better to work for. i'd hate to see you get locked into something and be miserable and besides ...... you will be a baycare employee soon ....keep the faith sista

they need to be wearing non-skid shoes -- and they stay on.... good luck to you

thanks .... never got a chance to work as a cna ... got my state certification on 09/09/09 -- said when i rec'd the date in the mail, it was a lucky day for me .... the very next day, i rec'd a call from the hospital offering me the earn as you learn lpn position - they pay me to go to school and i sign a contract agreeing to work for them after i become licensed. win/win situation for both of us really. school doesn't start until the 29th. i'll keep you posted if you'd like. my sister has been an rn for the past 32 years now and loves it. she just retired a few years ago, and is not a school nurse for the local school in her neighborhood. her summers she spends as a camp rn and loves that as well. there are many avenues for a nurse to take nowdays ... much more than for a cop

cause i'm 46 now and gave up being a cop when i had my son - my husband is also a deputy. now that my son is older, i decided i could either go back into law enforcement, starting at the bottom of the ranks, or go into nursing, which is what i have wanted to do since i was in high school. that is why i chose nursing. i really didn't feel like starting over as a cop and deal with all the physical abuse you take on the street. now, if i could have gone back and straight back into what i was doing, as a detective in the vice and narcotics unit, then i might have considered it ...... but when my son asked me a question about "mommy, what did you want to be when you grew up?" and i told him "to be a nurse" and he said to me, "then why don't you become a nurse then?" it was at that moment i decided he was right and decided to pursue my dream of becoming a nurse. i'm slowly climbing the ladder from the bottom ... CNA first, now in school for LPN, then RN, then BSN. and i'm much happier now knowing i am doing something that i've always wanted to do. TMI? if so, sorry

i cannot comment in the nursing field, but as a female cop - doing an all male dominated job - i was not given any advantages. in fact, i had to actually work harder to be accepted. the only thing i could think of would be hiring .... since you are considered a minority in the field. i got my job as a police office because i was a minority - white female. sorry i can't offer you more help on that one.

yup - i am first career was a cop .... i'm 46 and ready to start over

some will require either the net or teas .... and if you don't have a degree, some also require an additional test called the tabe