lumberjack

From what I've seen at KRMC folks are mostly fairly happy, in terms of labor and managment, though as someone else said, nurse pay in MT is on the low side, no more at kalispell than elsewhere. The hospital has it's newer and older areas, but things are being upgraded all the time (as I imagine it is the same all over). Definatly more laid back than some west coast and big city places I've seen, friendly people (if a little suspicious at times of foreigners from kalifornia or out east). Nice place to be, as long as you like doing things outdoors. Everybody here hunts or fishes or picks huckleberries or hikes/bikes/rafts/climbs/etc. And everyone skis.

nothing within 100 miles of missoula, that much I can say with certainty!

University of Nebraska Medical Center is 11 months. They have 3 campuses: Lincoln, Omaha, and Scottsbluff.

Sure, no problem. Scottsbluff is in the western part of the state, actually only half an hour from the wyoming border, about an hour north of colorado. This is not the stereotypical flat corn country most folks think of when they think nebraska, though some people do raise corn. More is beets, beans, and cattle. What SB has going for it is the Scotts Bluff Monument, as well as the Wildcat hills, providing some topographic relief. Town is about 10,000 I think, maybe more if you count Gering/Terrytown which are contigous. As for the hospital, I did my nursing school rotations there and was shocked at how modern and nice it is. There is EMAR and electronic charting throughout, 24 hour (I believe...) pharmacy support, and generally good staff relations and esprit de corp. I assume you would be going into NICU; FYI it is not, from what I have heard from others, a traditonal NICU, in fact complicated pregnancies typically get shipped to Denver. That said, they still get full on complex babies there too from time to time. But the NICU is contigous with the nursery, it is all the same space. L and D and nursery/NICU nurses all work 3-3 shifts, although there is talk of this changing. Occasionally they may (?) float to the peds floor, but peds is usually pretty quiet there. Not sure what else I can tell you...the cafeteria serves great food, the cost of living in SB is very low, it is about 3 hours from Denver (major airport), though Great Lakes Air does fly into SB as well. If you have other questions, let me know.

A few thoughts from someone nearly done with their accelerated BSN (11.5 months): Accelerated may not be any cheaper, as most schools charge based on credit hours rather than semesters, and since you are taking the same number of classes and credit hours, you pay the same rate. Depending on your program, accelerated BSN is very nearly all consuming. granted, 15-16 months is a bit easier than 11-12 months, but it is still tight. Don't plan many vacations, etc. You'll need a supportive and understanding wife for all this. Re: grades, I find my grades are likely better in the accelerated program, because it is all I do, think, eat, sleep, etc. If I were in a traditional program I might be more inclined to slack off, etc. But that is just me. To a large extent getting good grades in nursing school is about punching tickets; actual learning may or may not a central component of getting good grades. Oops, do I sound jaded? Sorry about that. The point about getting a summer extern/internship is well made, I imagine that to be a big boon job wise post graduation. But some acclerated programs do allow for enough time in the summer to do that, my fiancee did in her 16 month accelerated BSN. Either way I imagine you'll find a way to make it work... I'd have to second the opinion of the previous poster who advised asking your wife-to-be what she thinks, since her support is so crucial. good luck!

Regional West in Scottsbluff, NE hires new grads and is a pretty darn good hospital. Don't know much about CA except the situation varies incredibly by location all over the state. AZ is tough right now, a friend with 7 years experiance had a tough go before landing a job in Phx. Flagstaff is even tougher.

One more thing to consider...will the hospital you are a CNA at pay for you to become an LPN? Would ease some of the financial pressure... Maybe a hospital further afield than where you live? But is that worth it? (Compare cost of school... is it worth that much money to move/work full time and loose your sanity/take out loans/live with your mom/other options. I'm all about comparing costs, both financial and other.

You mentioned that when you opened up with your preceptor that she would slow down and explain things... maybe letting her know what you told us will help. She may not get all soft and fluffy with you, but at least she'll understand how you're feeling and can tailor her teaching style to best effect. I say teaching style because I hope she is doing this to you on purpose and knows what she is doing (you are learning a lot by your own admission). Of course, experiance does not always a good instructor make... good luck and hang in there.

Since you have to have the pre-reqs done before applying to community college (2-2.5 years) or university accelerated BSN (11-18 months), I gotta recomend the BSN accelerated. More likely to be with people of his same mind set and cohort and life experiance. Mean time, pre-reqs can be done at commuity college and online, at what ever pace suite him.

I'd say you'll have a leg up in terms of anatomy/phys background and pt interaction. Adopting the nursing process will be differant, but totaly do-able. The only concern I'd have, echoing a previous post, is what you are "allowed" to do and under which lisence and when. For example, you can't practice (even using your chiro knowledge) as a chiro when in nursing clinicals. Just like as an EMT I can't do EMT things in clinicals if I am there as a nursing student. Once you get out and start practicing, just be clear on what you can and can't do and under which liscence you are practicing at any given moment. Kind of a shame that we have to do this song and dance, since I'm sure your experianace can only help in a practical sense, but I'd hate to invest the time and energy and money only to find out later that I couldn't practice the way I wanted. Just my two cents, ultimatly you'l find a way to practice the way you want one way or another.

Of course, one thing that may help me is that I don't see myself as taking orders from a physician, rather, I tell the physician what orders I need. Just a more collaborative, less hierachical way of practicing.

My fiance and I are both nurses... makes it easier to talk to someone and decompress after a rough day, and they understand the wierd schedules, etc.

In our program they have just started tieing progression to ATI...for the first two terms they were just for practice, now a level 2 is required for progression in some classes...but not all classes. Not thrilled about it, as ya'll know, a good test score does not neccesarily a good nurse make...

Had friends in nursing school in Flagstaff, AZ (NAU) that had to go over a hundred miles, sometimes 200 or more for clinicals all across the state. Sucked big time, made me glad I'm at UNMC and a 5 minute walk to 90% of my clinicals.

Agree with nanagose, I'm at UNMC in their BSN accelerated, it is intense, but doable with solid time managment skills. Personally would rather do this than the traditional track, I reckon I'm getting better grades because I'm always surrounded by it, than in the regular 2 1/2 year track. It is h**l on my relationship though. And I've never heard so many people tell me "you're crazy". Well, almost never...