1RNTutor

Hello, and welcome to the start of your journey in Nursing! As a former long-time resident of Southern VT, actually Southwestern VT, I know that Vermont requires nursing assistants to be licensed, unlike many other states where certification is required. Have you checked out the Vermont State Board of Nursing website at http://vtprofessionals.org/opr1/nurses ? On the web site you'll find a framed section divided into three columns, in the right-hand column, or the third of the three, you'll see "Nursing Assistant Programs in Vermont" just below "Nursing Education Programs in Vermont". Click on the NA program link you'll connect to a .pdf document showing all the NA programs in the state listed alphabetically by the name of the training facility. The table includes the address, phone number, the county, and director's name for most. If you are on the southeastern side of the Green Mtns. you'll see that the American Red Cross- Green Mtn. Chapter in Brattleboro is one of the facilities. Fortunately as I-91 runs up that side of the state you'll have an easier commute if you should choose a program in a county north of Brattleboro. On the southwestern side there are three sites in Bennington: one at the Bennington Health and Rehab Ctr., one at the Centers for Living and Rehab (near the SWVMC) and the third at the Vermont Veterans Home near the Deer Park off Northside Dr. I'd also suggest that you click on the link in the middle column, or second of the three, on the link to "Rules". That will connect you to a simpler, easier to understand .pdf document about the rules (laws) governing all levels of nursing in Vermont. There is a section on nursing assistant education and licensure that you should read carefully. Lastly, Vermont is small state and although it's no longer a case of "everyone knows everyone" it's still true that "everyone knows someone who knows someone who knows everyone or their friends". That also means that you should feel comfortable talking to the people at the VT State Board of Nursing; they can be very helpful. The same thing holds true for the nurses who direct the nursing assistant programs; chances are many of them started out much as you are doing now. Finally, if money to finance your education is an issue, look for a training program with connections to local employers who may fund not only your LNA but all the way through your to your RN. Good luck and let us know how you are progressing!

As a former biologist it literally makes my skin crawl to see healthcare professionals (not only nurses) who should know better walking around outside the work environment without either a) wearing a long smock or labcoat over the scrubs or b) wearing street clothes to and from the hospital/ care facility and taking the scrubs home to wash separately. I'm also disturbed by surgical staff who wear shoe covers, caps, and even face masks, outside while on breaks or short errands. I pity the poor patients subjected to the seasonal yeasts, molds, fungi, old gum, spit and 'tobacco juice' and all else that gets dragged back into what should be a clean environment. These threats are minor to healthy individuals but to those who are ill or immune-compromised, the dangers are real. Am I too picky? If you could see what I've seen living on 'clean and disinfected' surfaces you wouldn't think so!

In rare (and I do mean rare) circumstances it is possible to work full-time and to attend nursing school full-time successfully. I add "successfully" because I've met hundreds of students who failed one or more courses, or who had to extend an additional semester, with the consent of the School of Nursing, in order to graduate with a "C" or GPA of 2.00 because they chose to work more hours weekly than they could endure and still succeed. In fact the only 3 people I know of who did it, all needed 5 semesters to complete the 4 semesters of an upper division BSN program because, in each case, by semester #3 the individual's health and ability to learn had tanked. Each had no option to stop working. Each made the choice to reduce the number of credits to a part-time level for a semester in order to keep working and to continue progress toward the BSN. Let's do some math: the expectation of any college instructor is that you will do a minimum of 2 hours preparation time for every hour of classroom time/4 hours of lab time. In nursing prerequistes and nursing school courses the faculty's expectation is higher: 3-4 hours of preparation for 1 hr class/4 hrs lab and a minimum of 4 hrs intensive prep for each clinical day. If you are carrying 12 credit hours the prep time committment adds another 36-48 hours easily, or about 60 hours each week. If you are working full-time as well, it's not just a 40 hr work week but also the time it takes you to prepare for work, the time to travel to and from work, and some decompression or transition time between your 'work' time and your 'school' time. Say we add another 2 hours per day x 5 days per week to cover that extra time; that's now a 50-hr work week. Total so far is in the range of 86 hrs/wk to just get by and 110 hrs/wk to meet the objectives of work and school. There are only 168 hrs/week, so now you have less than 60 - 82 hrs/wk to do everything else. Time for everything else includes time for all the essentials: to sleep (6hrs/night?); to prepare and eat 3 meals/day (microwave everything or eat it cold and don't chew = 1 hr/day); do laundry including your work clothes and clinical uniforms ( 2 hrs/wk); for personal hygiene (0.5-1 hr/day); to exercise 0.5 hr x3 days (if you don't take care of the stress, the stress will take care of you). That's at least another 52 hours a week, leaving a remainder of 8-30 hrs/wk to for all the other timekillers. Think about the time it takes to get to and from school, the time between classes, etc. and you'll see that even if you are clever about multi-tasking you end up exhausted with no recovery time. Is it impossible? No, but you need to be prepared for the eventuality that you may need to attend part-time during the most difficult semester or two at your chosen school if you choose to continue working full-time. There are certain basic conditions you must acknowledge about employment as well. Your employer and coworkers have the right to expect that you will be awake, productive and responsive every hour you're at work. Creating special conditions for yourself, such as reading text chapters on the job, while others carry your share of the work load will create bad feelings and anger in a hurry. Carrying the load for a coworker whose actions benefit no one else quickly gets 'old' no matter how much you thought they supported your goals. Show some integrity: if your employer agrees and your position permits, see if you can schedule your work on a flexible schedule. If you arrange to work from home, maintain the same productivity rate or better; resist the temptation to claim hours as worked when you spend them studying. So, yes. it can be done. Is it worth it? Only you can tell. A point to remember: nursing school prepares you for a career where what you do affects others' lives. Learning well all of the concepts taught in nursing school will aid you in becoming the type of nurse you would want to have care for the most important person in your life. Finally, " 'C' may equal degree" but it does not invariably equal a NCLEX pass or the title "nurse". It's a tough choice to make, so be honest, be committed, but also be kind to yourself - whatever you decide. 'Best of luck in school -

Hello Madrn2b - I deal with at least 2-4 students each semester who have had your experience. You have already received a lot of advice and I think you'll find it all tremendously supportive. It's important to approach this as a learning opportunity, nothing less, nothing more. It is only a pothole in what is always a difficult road. If your program is like many you can apply for readmission so it is essential that you take care of a few things now. First, do not feel you need to tell everyone you failed. Something has interrupted your process and that's a different matter entirely. If anyone asks, "you are on leave" or taking a semester off. Get past thinking of yourself as failing and give yourself some room to breathe. Apply the steps of the nursing process to this problem: assess your options, analyse and diagnose, visualize goals, describe outcomes, develop interventions, intermittently evaluate your progress. Find out what you must do to re-enter your program. Go back and talk to the faculty member(s)/ student affairs staff you felt understood you best. Get input.Find out what a successful applicant for readmission must present for consideration. Look at other programs also; ask your supportive faculty if they will support your application. Not to scare you but get a medical check-up. You are probably completely fatigued, poorly nourished and not sleeping well. Make sure to rule out any condition that may have interfered with clear thinking including depression. If you do have a chronic illness it may be discovered and treated. The stress of nursing school alone is enough to activate acute and chronic illness that was not obvious clinically at the start. This includes thyroid, cardiac, diabetes, chronic fatigue syndrome and chronic low-level viral illnessess (like that from Epstein Barr) as well as auto-immune diseases, even cancer. If other circumstances were involved - illness, family emergencies, having to work, etc - make a plan with those involved to resolve those issues and write it down. Then begin to implement the plan keeping in mind that when you return, the nursing program will want assurances that the problems/other responsibilities you have will not create difficulty for you. Hold family members and employers to the agreement, especially when you return. Most programs ask you to sit out a semester before reapplication. If you do not already work in a clinical setting, preferably as a nursing assistant, try to find a full-time job like that for the interim to give you greater clinical exposure. Ask nurses in your work area, even if it's just a medical office, to explain what and why they are doing what they do. Take every training course available at your facility and get completion certificates for each. Maximize your support resources (at work, and here) outside of your nursing program. Continuing education articles with self-evaluation quizzes are available in RN and AJN magazines and many others, including online. Try to schedule and complete several CE each week. If you can afford it, take them for the certificates you receive for successful completion. If you can't afford the cost, photocopy the courses and the self-evaluation quizzes(usually 3-8 pp). Make up a readmission packet with copies of your training certificates from work and CE certificates/ CE courses with completed quizzes. This packet is evidence of your continuing commitment to learning as well as a track record of what you have reviewed. Prepare to go back. Get an NCLEX-RN prep book that you feel is easy to use and to read but check that it has outline guides for topic areas (as other posts have stated); every student is different and no guide is perfect for everyone. Use that book's outlines as you work through the CE articles and quizzes. Every few weeks, when you are feeling rested, attempt some of the questions. Review the rationales carefully. Keep a sense of purpose and focus. You can do this. You were not admitted to your program by mistake. This is a situation you can turn into a positive experience. You will care for patients who have had the world turned upside down, who will have lost abilities and faith in themselves. You will be able to offer something very special to those patients, a particular sense of understanding that comes only from having had hopes denied. Overcoming this tremendous disappointment will enable you to speak with authenicity in helping your patients back to a state of wellness. The Chinese character or symbol for 'crisis' is made up of two separate characters: one represents 'danger', the other represents 'opportunity'. You will succeed if that is your wish. In the meantime be gentle with yourself and look for the opportunity to learn, especially about yourself, and you will find that special way of thinking developing through your approach to this situation. Believe me. I congratulate 2-4 graduating students every semester on this achievement - S.L. QUOTE=Madrn2b]I WAS in a nursing program until I failed out recently. Tomorrow everyone goes back to class and I'm feeling... crappy! I never thought it could happen to me. Now, I'm really scared to go back because I know that this past semester... I studied my "behind" off but I just could not answer the questions like the professors wanted. I guess I need to be a more critical thinker but.... now my self esteem is shot. Ok, so I'm not looking for a pity party....just some advice on how I might overcome all this.