NursingStudent50

Yup.. the frieds I met at Motlow are my very best of friends.. I miss them so much this summer and plan on seeing them soon ;-) See you in the fall!!!

I'm at Smyrna too ;-) You will be driving to Tullahoma at least twice a week for the first few weeks of school and then about once a week the rest of the semester for CCL's, CNL's and your Return Demos and that continues for the 2 years.. at least gas prices went down a little, huh? My suggestion: Car Pool there is 4-5 of us in a car pool and it really helps... might as well because you will become Family! Best of luck!

Congrats and get ready for an intensive, crazy, bull definately well-worth it year! Definately buy all of the required books and use the Fundamentals book to study for each test.. VERY helpful. I bought ALL of the recommended books and only used that Fundamentals book and the Care Plan book- definately came in handy. Those are my recommendations, along with any study guides that come along with the textbooks. I had good intentions of using the recommended books I purchased but barely had enough time to read all of the required information! Hope this helps. Be sure to sleep now, and spend time with your loved ones now.. your life belongs to Motlow in the fall!!!!! But again, totally worth it. Which campus will you be at?

I am only in my second semester of nursing school, but all that I can tell you is DO NOT GIVE UP!!!! If nursing is where your heart is, then stick with it. I began college in 2003 as a prenursing student and basically was told that I was not good enough, not smart enough and all of that- so I eventually changed my major. to Community and Public Health. Well, among the next 4 years, I excelled in my other major and realized that I am smart and I can do anything. So, amongst finishing that degree, applied to many nursing schools (12), and here I am- I am in a Wonderful RN program and am also working on my BSN too (crazy, I know). And.. turns out, I want to either get my EMT or EMT-P and hopefully become a flight nurse one day. I did not mean to make this about me at all, but I don't really have much other advice! Make the best out of your EMT license (my dad is also EMT), be proactive, work hard, and again, DO NOT GIVE UP! You may be taking a longer path, but it will work! Best of luck. Plus, being an EMT is AWESOME as well!

Hey don't give up. I am 23 as well but nursing is all I ever wanted to do. I have found that the majority of students are not the "traditional" students. Many of my classmates have other degrees, had other careers for a long time, a have extended families, some being grandmothers. I have a lot of respect for those peers especially because of their family responsibilites and other jobs. I am younger, no kids, no job, and only have to take care of myself and find it difficult to get everything done. I can also tell the "immaturity" factor in my younger classmates, but even some with older one. Nursing school takes much hard work and dedication and I believe it takes responsibiltity and dedication to succeed. but, no matter your age and what you must to, DO IT!!!

Like I said before, the LTC is the only place I have experience at so far and the ratio was horrible. It effects not only the pts there, but the staff themselves. Do you guys find that this is common??? Is it more common in certain areas more than others, like the LTCs? Not only is it the nurses, but the techs. Is it mainly due to lack of staffing, lack of adequate pay, or both? Thanks for the insight... Its nice to have a heads up before entering the working field.

I don't have much experience in a LTC but my clinicals last semester were at one. I saw many errors, and many things that just "urked" me. So did my clinical instructor. We spent a lot of time during our post conference "correcting" the errors that we saw made by the staff. It is sad to me that these places are so understaffed. There was 1 tech to 10-12 pts and 1 LPN throughout the floor of 40+ pts and the LPN spent all of her time passing meds. There was many tasks that needed to be done, but didn't due to lack of time and staffing. Although there is an obvious lack of staff, that still doesn't leave room for neglegence or plain disrespect that we saw on many occasions. I left there feeling so terribly sad for ... everyone. I also found a lot of info I read in the charts were just simply "mistakes" ex: I saw a lot of complete incontienence dx, when, in fact, the pt felt the urge, needed help to the bathroom, functional, but couldn't get any help in response to the call light. Which, could in turn lead to UTIs or lead to falls if getting up alone. This is only one ex of many. I wish something could be done to improve the quality of life for the residents.

I just finished my first semester. My first day was an overwhelming feeling of joy, excitement, nervousness, and terror! But overall, it was just a feeling of "thankfullness". I have been in school for quite some time trying to get to where I am. It is a lot of hard work! Just study hard, work hard, and as long as the passion is there, you'll be fine. I believe I am in the best program, with the best instructors possible. Many great things have came from my first semester including becoming vice president of my class, working with great clients at clincials, passing with all A's and B's, and just two days ago, I won a gift certificate to pay for my books for next semester. Not to mention, the wonderful friends, more like sisters, that will last a lifetime! Best of luck in your program and Congrats!!! It is the best thing that has ever happend to me and it keeps getting better. I can only wish you the same, if not more! Oh, and I don't know how spritual or religious you are, but on my way to school each morning, I was sure to thank God for the wonderful gift that he has given to me. His gifts seem to never end!

No, I don't think it is any less stressful. Many of my classmates are married, and have children. But when it all comes down to it, we are all there for a reason- to become a nurse and do the best we can. Needless to say, I don't have any kids and live with my finace', and I have a hard enough time taking care of myself, I want to be a nurse. Period. Some of my friends have spouses that understand and are very helpful, while others are not. But...like I said, we are all stressed out to the max but we could not get through it without each other. But, it depends on the person's stress level. Some people allow things affect them in different ways- so just try to remain calm, kids or no kids.. Ha!

I just want to say that just because it is a RN program at a COmmunity College, doens't make it any easier.. not at all!!!! I attended a 4 year university and graduated with a degree. Now I am attending a Community College for my ADN and I am also in the RN-BSN program at the 4 year college... My classes at the community college are wwaaayyy harder. I have friends in the 4 year college and they haven't even came close to doing the things I have, and I just finished my first semester. This college has a 94% first pass on the NCLEX. I also spoke to a lady who stated "My daughter just left the "community college" and now she is attending the "4 year univ" because the "community college" was much harder. I am not meaning any disrespect, but from my experience with both colleges, the community college is much more difficult. They expect us to be perfect in everything. I am so grateful for the learning experience there. It is a great opportunity. So, what I am trying to get at is that--- don't think the communtiy college is any easier, find what is "right" for you. But most of all, don't give up. If this is your passion, keep going. It will work out. Best of luck as well!!

If I may add, nursing SCHOOL is stressful as well. It is all totally worth it because this is all that I have ever wanted. The tests that you study for hours on end, Return's you practice for where you should have just brought a suitcase in the lab, and the looonnngg days, clinical paperwork, etc... it's stressful. But, it is all worth it when you hear wonderful compliments from pts in clinical settings and have them singing ;-) It is also great passing your first semester and being one step closer to your dream. If this is a passion, like it is for me, the stress is totally worth it. But, if I didn't have the passion, this semester would have been a lot more stressful.

I can say that the info you learn in A&P I and II will come very handy in nursing school. There is not a lot of time spent going over the info from A&P, as you should already know it. Its a great program, but you MUST know your stuff! I have also taken online classes through MTSU and I can't imagine taking A&P online and doing as well in the nursing program as I have. Best of luck. Hope to see you there next year!

I am also in the Middle TN area and one of my very good in Nursing school is the tech that performs the drug screens for our school.... Anyways, I am pretty positive that as long as you have a prescription for your med, you'll be fine.

I just finished my first semester of nursing school, and we were taught to give at least 1-2 minutes between breaths and between different inhalers. If using multiple inhalers, use the short acting first. Hope this helps:wink2: Never said 5 minutes, just 1-2.