soupermom

Congrats to those of you that got your start date. I'm also finishing up 4th semester (3 weeks of lecture left to go) and I have to say, it went faster than I thought it would. You'll be getting info about "Boot Camp" from SNAP (Student Nurses' Association at Pima) at orientation. I really recommend attending it. You'll get some helpful tips that may set your mind at ease before starting the program. I've helped with 3 of them and this next one will be my last. If you have any burning questions, post them here and someone will answer them. Don't get your shots and CPR done too soon, because then you'll have to do them again before you finish the program. And be sure you'll pass the drug test on orientation day. :)

Can you please tell me what of this info is not true please? I've been receiving info from the NRTW group for over 2 years and I don't see them the way you characterized them. They are trying to inform workers that their rights are about to be trampled. Voluntarily joining a union is one thing, being forced is another, and it's wrong. Do you understand what can happen to you if forced to join a gov't mandated union? If they need to make that health care program "deficit neutral", they will cut whatever needs to be cut to make it work. And if you are in a union that is controlled by the gov't, they can cut your pay or your job. Don't be fooled into thinking that this super union is going to be on the side of the nurses. AARP and the AMA endorsing something that majority of their members don't want should be a clue. Super Union: http://nursing.advanceweb.com/Editorial/Content/Editorial.aspx?CC=208883&PRG=18 Federal Jobs: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/oct/07/obama-puts-union-strings-on-job-center/ Firefighters Unionization bill (HR 413)(would override states' rights): http://righttoworkcommittee.org/pfmbb1.aspx Drafting doctors (would nurses be next): http://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/blaylock_healthcare_draft/2009/10/12/271348.html Forced union dues diverted: http://www.nrtw.org/en/blog/compulsory-union-dues-linked-to-acorn-09172009 SEIU and extortion?: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=110751 Have you seen what's in the latest draft of the health care bill? If they can cut doctors out of something as simple as hospice, don't think that they won't do something to you as a nurse. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704795604574519671055918380.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Sorry to revive an old thread, but I recently went to our state nurses' association convention. The new CEO of the ANA was there and spoke about a new super nurses union that will be forming in December, in Scottsdale, AZ. The federal gov't is working to force unionize firefighters and first responders on a national level. They just made it law that people working on new federal construction jobs have to be union, or else pay union fees in order to work the jobs. There is legislation in the works to over-rule state laws that make unionization voluntary. If that happens, nurses and other healthcare workers will be forced to join a union in order to be able to get paid or even work. This is coming and if you don't want it, you need to speak up now before it's too late. It doesn't sound like the ANA is going to be on the side of the average nurse. http://nrtwc.org/

Congrats on getting into the program! I'd be very, very surprised if it took you that long. Do you have all of your co-reqs done? If not, work on getting those knocked out. You won't have time during 1st semester to add anything extra. You'll have more than enough on your plate with lecture, clinicals, skills, drug calc, and pharmacology. The less you have to do in the other 3 semesters the better it will be for you too. Something to consider if you do have all of your co-reqs done, and now it's just a waiting game for you. If you want to go on and get your RN->BSN when you are done, go talk to a councilor at Pima and see what you need for the NAU transfer degree (or whichever program you want to consider) and work on knocking those out. There are 6 or 7 classes for that. You could graduate with your ADN and transfer degree at the same time. Let us know when you actually get in. I got a 2011 start date last August but started in Jaunary. Good luck!

:yeah: mrsshifflette09 :yeah: Congrats to you new RN!!! After my first semester with my Dansko's I have to say that I really like them too. I have the Professional version. They are pricey, but I figure if they last most RN's about 3 years, I can wear them for my 4 semesters of clinicals and then have a year or two still in them.

The wait at Pima is not that long anymore. People who applied last fall got into the Jan. '09 classes. If your pre-reqs are done, apply immediately as they are working on the admissions for fall. We had a number of alternates get into our skills group because people dropped out, didn't get their paperwork in on time, and various other reasons. They have pretty strict paperwork rules. I applied last June ('08), got a letter stating that I'd start Aug '09. I was happy about that because it was 18 months sooner than I was told it would be. Then 3 days later I got a letter saying there may be room for me in the Jan. '09 class. There was and I'm just about to finish up first semester. Please don't get discouraged by mis-information from the admissions office. They say that as a standard but it's not necessarily true. Also, if you have pre-reqs done, apply right away and then work to finish up all of your co-reqs. That way you don't have the added burden of that to do. There will be plenty of coursework to do without it. If you plan on doing a transfer degree, get those out of the way quick too if you can. Then you can go right to NAU (or wherever) and get the BSN. If you plan on being a NP, you'll need to be accepted to a MSN program before 2012 as the rule is changing and you'll need a PhD after that. Good luck!

You don't lift heavy patients by yourself, you use a lift and get assistance. No one wants a nurse to throw her back out. You'll be taught proper body mechanics in skills labs.

I would suggest that you skip the HS guidance counselor and go to the community college and talk to an advisor. Tell them what you'd like to do and have them help you plan what classes you need to take to achieve your goal. I am doing an ADN program at the community college and can test for RN when I'm done. I have a couple of additional classes to take on top of that degree to get the transfer degree. When I get the transfer degree I will go to the university and do the RN-BSN program. Most of those classes are done online and I'll be able to do them while I'm working as an RN if necessary. What you may want to do is work as a PCT or CNA while you do your pre-reqs and you'll get your feet wet. Wish I had done that. Good luck!! Don't let anyone tell you that you can't do it.

I'm doing a 2 year program at the local community college and after all fees are paid, including tuition and books, it'll cost about $5,000. I would never do it if I had to pay $75k.

I didn't post the entire thing for Gardasil from my Davis CD...I didn't want to get into some kind of copyright issue. But that should help answer the question you had...or at least confirm/deny something.

We just went over this in lecture this week. There are some states that require you to do their licensing program. http://www.op.nysed.gov/nurse.htm The states on the following site all will accept the others' licenses. https://www.ncsbn.org/158.htm

quadravalent human papillomavirus (types 6, 11, 16, 18) recombinant vaccine (hyoo-man pa-pil-lo- ma) gardasil classification therapeutic: vaccines/immunizing agents pharmacokinetics absorption: well absorbed following im administration. distribution: unk. metabolism and excretion: unk. half-life: unk. time/action profile (antibody response) route onset peak duration im unknown 1 mo* unknown *after third vaccination contraindications/precautions contraindicated in: hypersensitivity thrombocytopenia/bleeding disorder ob: pregnancy. adverse reactions/side effects * *capitals indicate life threatening; underlines indicate most frequent. local: injection site reactions. misc: anaphylaxis (rare). interactions drug-drug: immunosuppressants or antineoplastics may ↓ antibody response. route/dosage im (adults and children--females 9-26 yr): three 0.5 ml doses at 0, 2 and 6 months. nursing implications assessment assess vital signs prior to administration. do not administer to patient with a current or recent febrile illness; low grade fever ( patient/family teaching provide information about vaccine and the importance of completing immunization series unless contraindicated to patient and guardian. inform patient that vaccine does not replace routine cervical cancer screening or prevent other sexually transmitted diseases; such screening should be continued as usual. advise patient to consult health care professional prior to taking rx, otc, or herbal products. advise patient to notify health care professional if pregnancy is planned or suspected. women exposed to vaccine during pregnancy are encouraged to call manufacturer pregnancy registry at 800-986-8999. instruct patient to report any adverse reactions to health care professional. evaluation/desired outcomes prevention of cervical cancer, genital warts, cervical adenocarcinoma in situ, cervical, vulvar, and lady partsl intraepithelial neoplasia caused by hpv. view list beginning with this entry -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- copyright © 2009 f.a. davis company. all rights reserved.

There are other stories about it. I didn't link them all on the other post because I figured people would do a search on the site. But just in case people didn't, here's more (and there are more to be found if one looks for it): http://holyhormones.com/puberty/cbs-news-others-in-the-media-report-concerns-regarding-gardisil-vaccine-safety/ http://holyhormones.com/puberty/new-worries-about-gardasil-safety-2/ http://holyhormones.com/womens-health/cervical-cancer/new-concerns-over-safety-of-cervical-cancer-vaccine/ And it's not just going to be for girls if they get their way: http://holyhormones.com/men/wall-street-journal-examines-potential-use-of-gardasil-among-young-men/ From the reading I did on the vaccine when it first came out, I didn't get the impression that they did do a very good job of testing it before subjecting an entire generation of young women to it. They have no clue what the long term dangers are of it. And now they want to hit young men as well? As a mother of 2 girls, I can tell you that we won't be getting it anytime soon...if ever.

I'm doing an ADN program at the local community college and will be eligible to sit for the NCLEX-RN when I graduate. I plan on doing the RN-BSN after that through a local university that offers a primarily online program. I didn't do one of the hospital programs because I didn't want to be tied to anyplace in particular when I'm done. I didn't want to spent all of that time doing an LPN when for a few months more I can do the RN. If you do a 2 year RN program and at the end of it find out you don't really want to do it, you haven't spent all of the time and money to find that out. Lots of pros and cons to all of the options. You have to figure out what meets your needs.

I bought Dansko Professionals on the recommendation of my friend who's been a nurse for years. I wear a women's 10-11, have a high arch and kind of wide feet. I bought size 44 and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them. Granted I am only in my first semester, but my feet do not hurt at the end of a clinical day. I'm 6' tall without them so the extra 2" make me a real giant but I don't care. I have no pressure points with them. I'd definitely buy them again.

Steph, I'm with you on that. And seeing more things like this don't give me warm feelings about the vaccine. http://holyhormones.com/womens-health/cervical-cancer/two-more-girls-die-after-receiving-gardasil-cervical-cancer-vaccination/

The PCT that helped me with the patient, she was telling me how infrequently they get their Depends changed, and sometimes soiled clothing doesn't get changed, and her words were "It's really sad isn't it?" I just looked at her. I didn't know what to say to keep from getting myself in some kind of trouble. My patient has dementia and forgot what room was her own so when I asked her about where her bra was she just said "Well, I don't know, I usually wear one." I didn't see one though. I've just seen those kind that can easy slip over the head and don't have hooks or velco and thought they might be a better choice than nothing or traditional bras. I'll ask them this week but I just wanted to know if it was standard practice for that type of facility. I really feel for these people and I know I couldn't work at a place like this when I'm done with schooling.

We are currently doing clinicals in a LTC facility that has 2 floors, 3 wings, and from the looks of it, is understaffed most days. In our skills lab they talked a lot about the bathing process and how to look under folds of skin for rashes, etc. So working with my patient yesterday, I noticed that none of the female patients wear bras of any kind. Is that a safety thing or just lazy on the part of the staff? My patient had visible redness from her shirt rubbing on her breasts and causing soreness. A bra would go a long way to keep that from happening. Obviously I haven't been at this very long but our instructor didn't have an answer since she's mostly worked cardiac in the past. If it's just a matter of too lazy, then I'm going to advocate for those poor women. How miserable. If it's a safety thing, then there probably isn't much to be done. Thanks!

Physiology...especially the endocrine system. I did an accelerated course and we took 2 weeks for each system, covering both A&P at the same time. I loved the anatomy portion and was told that maybe I should be a surgeon instead of a nurse. LOL! A tip for studying for anatomy if it's difficult for you. Take a camera to class and take photos of every chart and model that will be used for your exams. Print 2 copies of each onto an 8.5"x11" page and on one copy, label every structure that you have to know. On the other, just put a dot on the structures that corresponds with the one labeled. Then insert each into a plastic sheet protector so when they are inserted into a 3 ring binder that they face each other. I put the one with answers on the left and the blank on the right. Flip the answer half to the back and use a dry-erase fine tip marker to write what each structure is to quiz yourself. When you are done, flip the answer half back over and check how you did. If you misspelled something, write it over and over and over until you get it right. I aced nearly every one of my exams for anatomy. I could probably take a photo of what I mean if someone needs a visual.

I'm in first semester at Pima CC in AZ so we haven't gotten to needles yet, but I feel the same way you do. I just tell myself that it's just a bunch of cells squished together and I'm just pushing them apart to make way for the needle. I'm hoping it works when the time comes to put it into practice. Good luck and congrats!

There isn't a long wait at PCC at all right now. There are people in our Jan '09 class that applied after the summer '08 session ended. I was told 2 years back when I started in Fall '07. I applied to the program June '08 and started last week. It was only a summer and fall semester wait. Also, you don't get to pick your schedule and you don't get to switch with someone else. You get what you get. Many of the coreq classes can be done at night/weekend/online but they aren't the NRS or HCA classes. Those classes would be the PSY, ECE, FSN, etc. They are moving people through fairly quickly, so having those done before you apply would be a benefit to you.

I'll place a bet that NIDGM is offered a start date of Fall '09 or Sp '10 :)

There will be a recruiter fair at PCC West campus on Tuesday, January 27 from 10-1 down by the bookstore. It's open to students of all levels. Might be helpful to some.

I applied to the PCC program end of May 2008 and I started the program last week. I originally received an Aug '09 start date. I was bumped up within a week of receiving that assignment. There will be no summer classes this year because they are doing building remodeling and they aren't scheduling classes. So those of us starting in Jan '09 are graduating Fall '10. If you have applied to the program, you'd be a safe bet to start this coming fall or spring. Get your co-reqs done if you can so you don't have to worry about them later. I was originally told a 2 year wait from when I first went in to talk to the advisors and it wasn't anything close to that. A summer and fall semester was all I waited. PCC has done a tremendous job getting the waiting list cleaned out. If you apply and get accepted, get ready to start sooner rather than later.