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Hi All, So I'm working on my application for the VA Hospital and they require three references and even have a form that I'm supposed to send out to them (my references) and have them fill out and send back to the VA's Human Resource Department. This may be a silly question but I am so new to this that I want to make sure I do everything correctly. I haven't worked in the last three years and have been home during that time to birth and take care of my last child as well as go back to school for my LVN. Since it's been so long and I'm sort of weary to ask my last employer for a reference letter, even though the form has an area "For Employers Only," is it okay to just ask my professors to fill out my reference form as well as prepare a letter? I've got two instructors that I want to ask that have either seen me throughout the program or has had me as a student in their class in which I excelled in. They've even offered to do so if I asked. Also, the Director of my nursing program had prepared reference letters for everyone when we graduated. Can I just use that as one reference letter and just have her fill out the form for me? What if I need multiple reference letters for different jobs? Usually it comes sealed in an envelope, am I supposed to ask them to make me more than one? I know it takes time for them to do so, so I'd hate to bother them with multiple requests but they're the ones who can give me the most up-to-date and best reference possible. Thanks in advance for your responses!

It works. My friends and I just graduated in December and took our NCLEX-PN's this past February and March and all of us that tried the PVT that didn't make it all the way to the cc page and got the same pop-up, the "good pop-up" has just gotten their letters that they as well as I have passed. But I don't know anyone that has tried it and gotten all the way to the cc page because all I know is that most of my classmates have passed so I really don't know anyone who has failed. Looks like you passed! And trust me, I cried all the way home thinking I failed because I felt like I didn't know anything!

Thank you so much! I had a friend help me since I was trying to finish this before the weekend ended but you put everything into perspective for me. My assignment was actually a case study but for some reason we had to turn in our revised dar and I forgot to ask my instructor specifically how I could do better on it. And thanks for the tip on the secretions..I had no idea!

Hi Everyone, I need help with my DAR. Since Rapid Response did most of the work, I did not know how to word it. Anyways, here goes: Focus: Pulse Ox, Respirations? D: VS: T: 99.1, P: 104, R: 58, O2Sat: 84% on 40% humidified O2, BP: 98/66. Difficult to arouse, no cyanosis noted. Slightly labored breathing (his respirations had been high all week so it was sort of his baseline), productive cough with copious amounts of thin and green secretions (this was actually bile leaking out of his trach and G-tube which had been suctioned earlier in the morning), adventitious lungs sounds heard on auscultation. A: Reported to RN. Rapid Reponse Team called. (Do I put this here or do I sort of do a DARAR?) Placed in flat position. (Ok this is where I get confused because I don't remember everything since it happened so fast..) Given 15L O2, EKG leads attached, IV fluids and antibiotics given, placed in Trendelenburg position. Suctioning and ABG taken from RT. R: T:____(I didn't get the temp), P: 97, R: 24, O2 Sat: 100% on 15L O2 trach, BP: 94/62. Resting and breathing regularly. Lungs clear bilat. Being closely monitored by rapid response team (Can I put this here or should I take it out?) I appreciate all your help and thank you for any responses! -A.

Hi DROBERTO, Thank you! To answer your questions, there are other requirements needed for the program but I guess I was assuming that the student had all her GE's done already. If you have at least a 2.0 GPA, you should be fine but you also need to meet the reading proficiency and math proficiency required for LBCC. I think as long as you took and did well on the reading assessment and QUALIFY for math 110 by taking the assessment test, then all you need to do is take those 4-5 pre-reqs. You can look at the curriculum guide online..just type in LBCC LVN program in google and click on the lbcc lvn program link and to the right it should have a list of things..click on curriculum guide, it'll take you to another website which will have curriculum guides on the left so click on that..then it'll give you a list of all the programs there..go down to Nursing: Vocational. Download the PDF and it will list out all the requirements on there. They also have meetings every month about the program so you should call the nursing office. Hope this helps..and it might take a while but just have faith in yourself. It took me a long time to get to this place but now I'm here and it will all be worth it in the end. Good luck!! If you have anymore questions, just reply back!

Well I think taking the time to do the prerequisites is worth not having to spend the 30K that people are spending nowadays..and it's only a year! 6 months less than those programs! Anyways, I was surprised by how easy it was to get in. I was totally making a big deal of it like most people do for the RN but I guess so many people are doing that private college thing that there is a lot of room at LBCC. I took two of the pre-reqs in the summer (VN 220-you can only take this after taking the rest of the pre-reqs now and VN 225-pharmacology) and currently taking Bio 60, and VN215 (CNA course) right now. There is a recommended course that isn't required but highly suggested..VN240 (Mental Health Nursing) that I haven't taken but will have to take my first semester in the program. If I had the time, I would have taken it this semester. So even with my courses in progress, I applied in mid-October and found out a week after the deadline and start in January. Quick, isn't it?? I'm still kinda shocked that it happened so quickly and now I'm anxious and kind of scared to start but I'm also really excited. So for you..if you started at LBCC in the Spring..you have plenty of time to take all the pre-reqs. The programs start in January and in June so you might not be able to apply until next January but I still think it's worth not spending the 30k. So many of my professors tell me how much of a waste of money those programs are since you don't even come out making so much to even pay the debt and it takes so long to pay it off. When I finish, I plan to finish taking my pre-reqs for the RN program since that was my original goal and want to get into the RN-LVN Ladder program. And since the LVN program is the first year basically of the RN program, when there is space, they put you in the second year of the program right away. I hope this helps and I hope you really consider your options. When I got my B.A. at CSULB, I took on so much student loan debt and it just worries me when I think about how long it's going to take me to pay it off. The jobs I got after school just weren't getting me anywhere and the money spent for school wasn't even worth it. I really didn't have to take on student loans and I did...this is my biggest (and only) regret ever. Instead of thinking about saving for a home when I finish school, I think about paying that debt off. It's like a black rain cloud that won't go away. Again, I hope this helps you and if you're young, it's only going to take you a year which isn't long at all. At the same time, since there are so few pre-reqs..you could try and take the RN pre-reqs at the same time. Just study hard and stay motivated and you should do well. Good luck to you as well!

Hey all! So I just got into the LBCC's LVN program that will start this Spring and just wanted to know if anyone is in the program now and could give me a few pointers or outlook on what the program will be like.. Also, just wanted to see who else got in? Congratulations!

Okay so maybe I need a little encouragement. I got into the nursing thing thinking I would do the RN program and took Anatomy only since I was pregnant and I didn't want to take too many classes and have the baby halfway during the semester. Aced that but decided to do the LVN program first and do the ladder up to the RN program and possibly beyond if I have enough motivation. Currently, I'm taking two of the four pre-requisites I need for the LVN program and reality is starting to hit me. I was cutting my daughter's nails the other day and accidentally cut her skin when she moved and it bled and bled and I tried not to panic. I finally managed to make it stop and bandaged it well so that she wouldn't get her cut wet with her saliva (she's only 2 and a half months now and likes to suck on her finger). She didn't cry so much but I felt sooo guilty and even with two of my other children who I'm sure I've done the same to, it hit me hard this time because I wondered what could happen if I was a nurse?! Some people make it seem so routine, being a nurse, but I sometimes forget that these are peoples lives in their hands. These are going to be peoples lives in MY hands. What if I do something wrong, what if I do something that makes them worse then when they came in? It's not like I can go back and say "oops!" and press the delete button. I am totally freaked out. And taking these pre-reqs aren't like taking pre-reqs for the RN program, these pre-reqs are almost like taking a nursing class..and they are, they are intros to nursing so it's a lot of work! My husband and I decided we would sacrifice me working right now to get these classes done and get into the program. I have my B.A. already but I wasn't happy with what I was doing and wanted to go back to my first dream (which would have been easier to do had I done it when there was only one child, now I have three and I commend all who have managed to get through the program with children cause it is TOUGH!). Sometimes I'm not even sure I'm making the right choices if I should even do the LVN or just do the RN, sometimes when things like what happened with my baby scare me and I'm not even sure if I can handle being a nurse because I wouldn't want to mess up on my patient. Sometimes when I have all these papers to write and drug cards to do, I feel like giving up. Help?

LOL! Hi Chris! Let's do it..I thought you were doing something else?? I took Anatomy and still have to take Micro and Physio. Did you have to re-take your pre-reqs too? I totally should have known it was you..I thought you were a girl and Bobby came up with some girl that I could not remember for the life of me. All I could remember was you and one of the twins..we've been trying to figure it out all day! Bobby is good! How are you??

So I posted this on the pre-nursing student forum but thought I might get more helpful answers here: Hello All, So my original goal this past January was to do the RN program. I already have my B.A. in Child Development and was working as an Infant Teacher but had to quit and stay home with my son since his daycare closed for the winter and I could not find alternative care fast enough. I was also about 5 months pregnant at the time and figured I could go to school on my husband's off days. I already took all the pre-reqs for the nursing program (since this was my original career path) at CSULB but they just barely expired last fall so I knew I had to retake them. I took Anatomy this Spring and aced it (Thank goodness because right after I had my baby, it was hard to keep up that A!). The only pre-reqs I have left would be Micro and Physio. They offer Micro during the summer but because it's almost like taking on a job, my schedule would not allow this. So I spoke to the receptionist at the Nursing office and she showed me options about the LVN and RN Program. If I were to take Physio and Micro in the fall, I could apply and try to get in for Fall 10' or possibly not be able to apply until Spring 10' and not get in until Spring 11'. But I registered for the 2 LVN pre-reqs this summer and the last two I've already registered for the fall. They start accepting applications the 10th-12th week of the semester and from what I've heard, they sometimes invite students (who are doing well) from the VN 215 class during that time which is one of the classes I'll be taking granted all my pre-reqs are done or in progress. From then on, the program would start in January and takes a whole year. At the end of the program which should be around December, I'd be ready to take my NCLEX and become an LVN. During that time, I could work and take the last two pre-reqs I needed for the RN program and apply to the LVN-RN bridge program. This would be another year and then I would be prepared to take my NCLEX to become an RN. A lot of people have told me not to do the LVN route but the way I see it, I've been told that there is hardly a waiting list for the LVN program while there are MANY (and the comptetition is great) applying to the RN program and I'd have a better chance of getting my RN done (granted I don't get stuck just being an LVN). Plus I'll already have the first year of the RN program done faster since I'd be starting in January (if I get in!) instead of waiting so long to apply to the RN program and potentially get in or rejected. Either way, if I take the classes for the LVN program, I could or could not get in January and if I don't, I could always just take Physio and Micro that spring and apply afterwards. What do others think about this plan? Sorry it is a bit jumbled and hard to understand! Btw, if anyone has taken the VN220 and VN225 class with McGill and Paunovic..are the "recommended" books necessary?

who are you cp410?

I too, was a teen mother but managed to get through highschool and actually go to college "on time." But when I think about it now, I was not mentally ready for nursing school at the time. I sort of blamed it (that sounds bad but I don't mean it in a bad way) that I did not apply to nursing school because I had a child. It made me stray away from applying to the program even though I had all my pre-reqs done because I felt like I would have no time for my daughter. But when I say I wasn't "mentally ready," it was because I did not try hard enough on my pre-reqs or even studied hard enough so had I tried to apply to the program, my straight C's (science only courses) would not have gotten me in. Now though, and still a young mother but with THREE kids, two who are still only 2 and a newborn (thank goodness for my 9-year old), I wish I was ready to do it then because I don't even know when I'll have time to study! I managed to re-take my Anatomy class this spring while pregnant and aced it but that was only one class I was taking. I'm kind of nervous of how it's going to turn out when I'll actually be taking a full load. I actually kind of feel like my baby in my belly gave me super powers to help me get that A lol. It's hard but as someone said earlier, they definitely give you motivation. I do regret (one of my only regrets) not doing it when I had a better chance to do it and have more study time and more availability for it. It is very difficult to schedule classes and study time around the hubby's work schedule, his school schedule, my child's school schedule, and my babies. But we gotta have faith.

Hello All, So my original goal this past January was to do the RN program. I already have my B.A. in Child Development and was working as an Infant Teacher but had to quit and stay home with my son since his daycare closed for the winter and I could not find alternative care fast enough. I was also about 5 months pregnant at the time and figured I could go to school on my husband's off days. I already took all the pre-reqs for the nursing program (since this was my original career path) at CSULB but they just barely expired last fall so I knew I had to retake them. I took Anatomy this Spring and aced it (Thank goodness because right after I had my baby, it was hard to keep up that A!). The only pre-reqs I have left would be Micro and Physio. They offer Micro during the summer but because it's almost like taking on a job, my schedule would not allow this. So I spoke to the receptionist at the Nursing office and she showed me options about the LVN and RN Program. If I were to take Physio and Micro in the fall, I could apply and try to get in for Fall 10' or possibly not be able to apply until Spring 10' and not get in until Spring 11'. But I registered for the 2 LVN pre-reqs this summer and the last two I've already registered for the fall. They start accepting applications the 10th-12th week of the semester and from what I've heard, they sometimes invite students (who are doing well) from the VN 215 class during that time which is one of the classes I'll be taking granted all my pre-reqs are done or in progress. From then on, the program would start in January and takes a whole year. At the end of the program which should be around December, I'd be ready to take my NCLEX and become an LVN. During that time, I could work and take the last two pre-reqs I needed for the RN program and apply to the LVN-RN bridge program. This would be another year and then I would be prepared to take my NCLEX to become an RN. A lot of people have told me not to do the LVN route but the way I see it, I've been told that there is hardly a waiting list for the LVN program while there are MANY (and the comptetition is great) applying to the RN program and I'd have a better chance of getting my RN done (granted I don't get stuck just being an LVN). Plus I'll already have the first year of the RN program done faster since I'd be starting in January (if I get in!) instead of waiting so long to apply to the RN program and potentially get in or rejected. Either way, if I take the classes for the LVN program, I could or could not get in January and if I don't, I could always just take Physio and Micro that spring and apply afterwards. What do others think about this plan? Sorry it is a bit jumbled and hard to understand!