j_audrey

I am going back to school! I found myself in the Coastal Bend of Texas, new man in my life... who is extremely supportive and fully expects me to decide to get my PHD at some point. Guess things worked out ok!

An update: My Husband and I split in April, and are currently in the process of divorce. We just couldn't move past things. So school is on the sideline for awhile, I've moved and found a new job... and I'm ok.

I am starting a new job with a new facility, and needed a Tdap booster. I'm getting so I really hate vaccine/TB test time of year. I was given the Tdap on Tuesday, ran a low grade fever for a couple day with the extreme fatigue and injection site pain. My only concern is I have swollen lymph nodes under my armpit, and am not sure how long this should take to go away. Anyone else had this issue? Employee Health made it sound really common, but I haven't ever heard of it before, and can't find anything online. Second Question, How do you all handle TB test reactions? I am allergic to the preservative in the test and get a giant hive where the test is given. I tried to explain this to the outside company that does the testing for the facility (Employee Health reads it) and they made me do it anyway. I have had the QuantiFeron test done at my previous facility, along with the chest Xray, and Employee Health pulled those records and noted my employee file. How do I handle this at my next facility? I am going to be moving again at some point, and as I understand it, the TB test reactions only get worse. (They are for me) The worst of all this? I'm having to take a break from nursing school due to some personal issues... and I just work in the Central Office!

I've been there. Thank you for writing this... it's beautiful.

I'm 29, pre-nursing, and am still asking myself the same question. I'm going to do my nursing degree, and if I kick myself and want to pursue an MD. title down the road, I will. Only you can make that choice. Check out a shadowing program at a local hospital, and see if you can spend a couple of hours on the floor with a nurse. That will give you a good idea if you are headed down the right path.

Our children's hospital has room-ins... it's wonderful, especially if your are taking home a high risk or special needs child. It takes some of the pressure of Mom and Dad, and lets them get used to the thought of going home and being the sole caretakers of their child. They also have separate rooms for the parents in the ICU area that are almost hotel like, for parents of extremely sick children. It allowed one of my good friends to be able to stay on the floor her son was on for the week he was there before he passed away, and allowed her to have a space where she could nurse her infant and spend time with her while not leaving the hospital where her son was at. I think those options should be available in more facilities.

Do the LPN. I have a friend in my Bios class that paid way to much for her MA and is now going into the nursing program. Don't get me wrong, she likes being an MA, but it does not afford the same educational opportunities and she doesn't make near as much as an LPN. Keep looking! :)

Don't drink it so fast. I know it's nasty, and it's hard to not want to get it over with, but it will upset your stomach if you do. I've never heard of anyone getting dx'd with GD if they couldn't keep the solution down, I've seen lots of people have to go back and do it again three or four times.

Move to Omaha! :-) Smaller city, good teaching hospital (UNMC/Nebraska Med. Center) and PLENTY of job opportunities... New facilities opening all over! Not to expensive to live in and we have a great social scene, especially if you like music. I found myself in the same shoes you are in when my first marriage ended, and Omaha gave me plenty of space and anonymity to start over. http://www.nebraskamed.com/careers/nursing/Index.aspx Good luck with your brand new future! (BTW- My parents are from the east coast, and moved here 31 years ago, I don't think they would ever leave.)

She has every right to be scared. :) I bet if you give her some time and just love her and support her she'll go back when she is ready. It's hard to deal with the emotional aftershocks of a bad marriage and not expect the same thing to happen all over again, even if current hubby is the best (which you sound like to me). She's listed some valid (in her mind) points, but I bet there are things she has left unspoken.

I have a 4.0 GPA- have not done A&P yet, doing my CNA and TEAS this summer. I was told there is no way to get into the program without A&P, and you would not succeed in the program without it. That's why I wondered if you had been waitlisted for awhile and maybe got in before the reqs changed. http://www.mccneb.edu/catalog/programs/transform.asp?program=LPNCE That is the list of core reqs, and I called to verify just to be sure, since I could get in without them if they were included in the coursework. It's interesting how all of that works. Are they letting you transfer straight into the RN program the following semester?

How did you manage to get in without the core classes being done? Were you on the waitlist? Did you have a previous bachelor degree? I guess I am confused. :)

I actually called and made an appointment to go speak to someone today. I need it for me to be able to deal.

Congrats!

Shadowing prior to nursing school.

Just a quick question- Do you feel shadowing a nurse before starting your nursing program would have been beneficial? My Facility has this option, and I just applied today to shadow. I wanted to be able to get the feel of what i am walking into before I get excited about it. If your facility has a shadowing program, how does it work? Do you enjoy the time you spend with your shadow? What ways can the shadower make the experience easier? Thanks!

Second that... our facility is for sure. I think because we don't have as many nursing programs to churn out as many grads for the region we are in. (Edited to add) Plus, we have Cancer Centers and Children Centers opening out in the western part of our city, which opens up new spots, and a new hospital in Bellevue, NE... Omaha is growing!

Well said RNsRWe... :)

It's the red tape machine again. I would have had to tell him the VA wouldn't pay his bill if he had come to my facility... I'm glad Sen. Brown stepped in. I agree... it's terrible.

Quick question on this same vein... Does Apollo offer both the LPN and RN? The website makes it sound like it's only the LPN program at the Boise campus.

HAHAHAHA... There are days I would like to forget. Don't get me wrong, I love my hubby, but I am getting sooo frustrated. Whatever will be, will be though.

As much as I think that idea is so very cool (my xMIL has her cape, and her class picture was beautiful), I have to agree that people are not going to want to sew them, and may not want to buy them. (EBay has them for around 60-70 dollars) Why not get your portrait done with one that you purchased, or if you find a pattern, one that you make? Do they even do portraits when you graduate anymore? I think if everyone agrees and you can find them/make them, it would be beautiful, and probably very sentimental to anyone who has a parent/grandparent that has a cape and would pass it down. Let us know what you all decide! :)

To Jackson145- That sucks... I can't believe that. I don't know what I am going to do. I guess the only thing is to wait and see how he handles the transition. I hate to put it this way, but like I have told him the past, I don't need him there, but I want him there. I don't need to have him around to pay bills, or whatever else, but I want him there with me, and for me. I guess if he can't handle it, he'll know the way to the door. It would be heartbreaking... so I hope he doesn't do anything silly.

Hello! I am a pre nursing student, so this may be a little premature to be asking, but I tend to think things through very early. :) My dream is to be a nurse in the NICU. I have been think about this for quite awhile, but I had a very rough period of time between high school and now that kept me from even starting nursing school. I have done a lot of reading and research in this area for nursing and feel very comfortable with being able to handle it. Granted that is without any experience, so that could change. My fear lies here. In Feb. 2004, I gave birth to my son Jamisen at 22 weeks. I handled it well (or as well as a Mom can, I guess) because I had already known a lot of statistics and the like for the survival rate at that time for a male 22 weeker. I think I knew all along something was not quite right, so I needed the infomation. I had wonderful nursing staff and a wonderful Dr. that were very supportive. This same Dr., along with my family at this point worry that being a nurse in the NICU would not be an ideal situation for someone in my shoes. (A little add'l info, I have not been able to have another child since, and am pretty convinced this is my lot in life, to remain childless. I'm glad I have lots of siblings! I also have been thru some harrowing NICU stays with other peoples kids, and they are all so beautiful and grown up now!) They worry that it will continually bring up this sad situation for me. I am curious if anyone out there has been in my shoes. I think it is an ideal postion for me, as I have a very different perspective than someone without my loss. Any thoughts?