bigboy18

Congrats! I Graduate on may 14th!! :)!

Were you expecting nursing school to be easy?... You really should have done more research and understand what you got yourself into before getting paying 30k. It's your fault for not getting all the info you needed before paying..so I wouldn't put all the blame on the school. (Most private colleges that offer the 1 year LVN program don't care about you, they just want your $$) I'm 19 years old and I have no prior medical experience or work experience for that matter. I went into the program when I was 18 right out of high school. Math is not my best subject, in fact I needed a tutor just to understand basic arithmetic which cost me $300. My tuition was $22k and I did the 1 year program as well. With that said, there are plenty of students in my class who struggled; me being one of them. But, if you put 20k or 30k into something you've been wanting to do, than you do whatever it takes to pass. I studied my butt off and so did the rest of my classmates. All but 2 out of 30 failed within the first semester. The rest of us passed and I am now in my last practicum/preceptorship. (I graduate in 2 months) If you are struggling in the first semester, I suggest you talk with your instructors or school advisers and see if you can work something out. Do not give up. I know a handful of classmates of mine that have been out of school for many years, have a family and some even have jobs and they all made it. So to answer your question, it IS possible to graduate from the LVN program without prior medical experience or no schooling in years. And no, coming straight out of high school hasn't helped me in this program. Your instructor will be your best friend in this program. They are there to guide you if you are struggling in understanding something. USE THEM! Best of luck :)

19 yrs old here.. Entered my LPN program at 18... graduating this year May 14. I could've worked as a nurses aid (RCA) when I was younger..but I really had no ambition to do anything back then...

i'm in LPN school..and my tuition cost me $22,000. I used a loan from the government and only have to pay the remaining $8000 which I'm almost closed to finishing. To all the people saying don't be an LPN/LVN because places aren't hiring or it's a waste of time, well IT ALL DEPENDS ON WHERE YOU LIVE. I live in BC Canada and hospitals are hiring and so are LTC facilities. I'll be making roughly $24/hr once I graduate along with benefits if I go fulltime. Besides, I would have been on the waiting list for 1-3 years (For RN) since classes get filled up so fast here. The private college I applied for had no waiting list and it's only a 1 year program. Do some more research. Good luck

Congrats!!! :) I graduate on May 14.

I'm on a medical floor basically. My instructor will be sending 2 of us slowly to med-surg floor and having us experience that. Everything's going fine with my acute clinical and our instructor is making sure we are not making any mistakes by having us go slow. As for preceptorship, thank you for the advice. Hopefully I get acute again, but I wouldn't mind giving Long term care a shot. I already only have 4 more weeks left of acute (It's going by so fast) and than I go straight to preceptorship. I'm excited and nervous at the same time.

Hi all, I'm an Student Practical Nurse and I was just wondering if any of you have any tips on working in these settings. I have 2 more months to go before I graduate. 5 weeks for acute and 5 weeks preceptorship (My school instructors decide where I'll be placed either LTC or acute). Somewhat nervous but I feel I can make it. The acute hospital I'm at has A LOT of elderly patients. I felt like I was back to geriatrics..but this is only because of the location the hospital is in (A lot of retired old folks live in this area where the hospital is in) Today was my 2nd day there and it was boring. A girl from a different class got sent home today cause she screwed up on her charting and flow sheet record. She also misspelled a lot of things and didn't have some of her prerequisites completed (she seemed a little too hyper..so I'm glad she's gone) and she tried blaming the clinical instructor by telling the director of the school that she didn't need to check the charts so it was okay for her to chart. The setting felt really.. laid back and it was not what I was expecting for an acute hospital. I was expecting something more like the TV shows you see on TV (ER, House, greys etc) But nonetheless, I have to pass it.. and I can't fail!!! I MUST pass...last semester's clinical, I made a huge med error which almost set me back another semester but luckily with a lot of convincing, they passed me. So far so good. I haven't made any errors nor have I shown any nervousness. So any tips would be appreciated!

damn, this is just unfortunate. that's so weird how you don't have any re-writes like my school. we have 3 "life-lines" and if we use them all up than we have to repeat the semester. but in your case, it was only the first semester.. and i know there was a lot of time, effort and energy spent during those couple of weeks but understand that this ain't the end of the world for you or your career (obviously). i'm 19 years old (with no background knowledge of anything related with nursing) and i was also nervous when it came to quizzes and tests. and in your case, skills testing really got the best of me. i literally begged my instructor to pass me one time and it was no use. they have a cold heart when it comes to finals because you must understand that you are dealing with lives. they want to make sure that you're well prepared before sending you off to clinical. so next time breathe, visualize and ask yourself if you really want this. i did this before all my finals and it calmed me down a fair bit. this was a quote i lived by in nursing school..i'm not sure if it'll help you but i'll share it with you anyways. "to accomplish great things you must not only act but also dream, not only plan but also believe" i wish you the best of luck..don't be so hard on yourself. find another school, do more research and hopefully next time around you'll make it!

Hey chubbs, I have no prior experience with the medical field as welll. I'm only 19 and went straight into nursing school, so I guess you can say we're in the same boat kinda. How long was my program? 12 months (from 730am-1130pm). I had Christmas break... but no summer break lol. What in your opinion was the best part of being a LPN student & what was the worst part? The best part for me was to finally feel like a professional and knowing that I can do it even though it took many sleepless nights and hours studying to get where I am. Also, helping people is really the best feeling in the world! The worst part for me was dealing with a lot of girls that liked to gossip (seriously, there were some 20+ year olds that acted like they were 12) and everyone picking on me because of my age (jokingly) but there were a select few that actually meant to insult me for whatever reason. Another thing that I hated, was dealing with the administration of the private college I went to. They only wanted my $$ and never once did they really acknowledge me after I got into the program. That made me mad. Do I have free time? I tried balancing everything out..but it didn't always work. It's true..you really won't have a social life unless you're really good at management. Personally, I can't do that because I tend to forget things easily and do it last minute (haha, i did this a lot in NS). Just go out on Friday and Saturday. You probably will find it easier in the first semester to go out on weekdays and what not..but 2nd and 3rd? forget about it...then again, it all depends on you. The last thing I'd like to say...know and understand what you're getting yourself into. There were like 3-4 people who dropped out because either the material was too hard, they had a family (kids) to take care of or they just weren't interested. So before you waste your $$ do some research!!! ...in the end it really pays off Best of luck!

No, but I graduate in May! Study hard..it's going to be over before you know it. Best of luck! If you need any advice feel free to message me :)

Im in my last semester..in fact my last final is tomorrow and im completely burnt out..I just want to go on a vacation asap.

I'm in my last semester (LPN) and i'm extremely nervous. we have to remember 3 problems and in each of those problems include: S&S, risk factors, nursing dx, assessment tools, pre/post-op teaching, pre/post-op meds. The three scenarios are: #1. Hip fracture with atrial fib and asthma #2. Hysterectomy with Hx of fibroids, diabetes & obesity #3. Motor Vehicle Accident (Craniotomy) My exam is tomorrow...and we gotta do head to toe assessment, and a bunch of other skills (catheterization, dressing change, IV etc) So nervous..I've come this far and theres no way I CAN FAIL....but i'm having panic attacks..as we speak...So far i've passed every single final i've had..but this one just seems to scare me the most because of all the things I have to remember Any words of encouragement??

Congrats!! But let me get one thing straight..you said you started off with 27 students and only 4 graduated? Glad i'm not going to your school My last final is tomorrow...and I head off to clinical for another 2 months and I graduate! :)

I see... well, it shouldn't be your responsibility to tend to their every need... But as for people calling you "scared"..i find that very silly of them to say.... You always gotta watch your back...in hopes that you don't get sued! Good job for being assertive :) Just keep referring them to their physician or nurse's line !!

I'm in my last semester for LPN..and I learned how to take out stitches lol....

Maybe try forming study groups next time? I've failed many quizzes and tests before..even midterms..But luckily for me, i've managed to make it to the last semester of my LPN program. The tests are hard for a reason...you're dealing with people's lives. The only thing I can tell you is to put more effort in studying. If you really want it, you'll make it. Don't put yourself down...learn from your mistakes and move on. Btw, i'm not saying this to make you feel bad or anything but..if you're having difficulty passing the FIRST semester... then think about how hard it will be for you to pass the second or even third semester. It gets harder and harder.. Good luck!

Hi everyone! quick question to all of you...do you stay home during the weekend or do you go out? I personally like having that downtime... to just take my mind off of all the stress.. I know some of my classmates who stay home...and study study study. I get the same marks as they do and i don't study as much (Staying home on a friday or saturday)

Congrats! I finish my LPN program May 14th

I'm currently taking PN and in the beginning, I did study in groups which usually consisted between 5-6 people. Now, i'm in my last semester and I can honestly tell you that you CAN make it through nursing school without study groups. But, when I say this, it just depends on your own study habits. The saying goes "two heads are better than one" which is true, but it's also personal preference. If you find a group make sure that they're the productive type not the girls or guys who gossip the whole damn time and end up with nothing. You also mentioned not making any friends in class. I find that you will cut yourself short if you don't make any friends. Believe me. Having friends in class is SO important. Of course you don't have to be friends with everyone..just have at least 1-3 who you can totally depend on (I mean like callin at 11pm at night if you need something) and you'll be fine. Just be friendly with everyone... you never know when you'll need their help.

yeah, most of my posts are similar..because I didn't get a lot of replies to the first couple of threads I made. Anyways, I passed my first final..i have 2 more written finals to go and than my skills assessment. Full time, no work. Yeah...there is such a huge difference between the first semester and the last semester. It's really really hard to absorb everything you learn during lecture. Then again, most of it is just an in-depth lesson of A&P and all those diseases. All of the quizzes i've had so far were very tricky. I'm not worried about clinical at all..I just want to get the finals/skills assessment over and done with. I know I can do it.. each semester, i've used up one re-write and I've always managed to pass. I have one left and hopefully this time around, I don't need to use it. Today, I wrote my final exam for one of my courses (health) and I scored 80%...I thought I would've done horrible..and I really didn't study that much since my class mark average in that class was 85%. I'm studying real hard for the other two courses which are Healing and Nursing Arts... those two give me the most trouble. Regardless, I'm going to try to remain positive until these 2 weeks are over. I'll post back the results...and tell you guys how I do.

Im not lookin for medical advice on this site... I'm just lookin to vent... my feelings somewhere... and just.. relate to other people in any way. But yeah, I don't know if I can approach him and tell him to do that... It's his personal choice.. All I can do now is just try to spend more time with him... by the way, our family doctor knows about this... but like I said, my dad doesn't want any treatment of any sort...

Hi everyone, I don't know who to talk to about this matter. The only person who's talked to me about it has been my mother who started tearing when telling me about it. My dad is a type 2 diabetic... and has been a long time smoker. My guess is that gangrene is starting to set in. He passed out while driving a couple months ago and he's passed out at home (Hypoglycemia). He's always had a really bad temper. But I could understand him. He used to be overweight..but over the years he started to lose A LOT of weight. He's only 53. My mom also told me that he's refusing any treatment..for whatever reason that may be. I'm really heartbroken here guys. I really don't know what to think about all of this. My mom told me what my dad told her. He said "If anything ever happens to me, you know what to do". I've never been so sad in my life. I wasn't the greatest son, nor was he the greatest dad. There are so many things that I wish I had taken back. This is now starting to affect me mentally..since I've never had anyone close to me pass... I know that I shouldn't be thinking about it.. but I cant help it. I'm only 19 and In nursing school(LPN/LVN) and his only wish is for me to graduate... according to what he told my mom. Sorry for the random topic but... I dont want to discuss this to my friends or anything.. and my mom is already stressed out.. Should I confront him? He told my mom that He doesnt want me to be in the same car as him or really go out with him. I dont know why he said that but maybe it's because his temper will rise if something happens? I know it's all confusing to some of you... but I tried my best to explain my situation

Hey everyone! I'm 19 years old, and I really can't believe i've made it this far. As most schools, you are given rewrites or "life lines" if you fail a final exam or skills assessment. Unfortunately for me, I only got 1 more rewrite left. With only 2-3 weeks left of theory; I'm starting to feel nervous. It's just I can't seem to absorb every single thing that I am learning in the 3rd. It feels like I'm back to first semester where everything seems so overwhelming. Maybe my study habits have been wrong this whole time. I honestly want to believe that I can make it. My average is good..I've only failed 4 quizzes within 3 different courses which I think is fine, just as long as I pass the finals. What are some things I can do to take away some of the stress? Tomorrow is Friday and I got school from 1-6pm. For the past 2 months, I haven't really hanged out with any of my friends or go out for that matter. I've just been struggling trying to understand and grasp all of what I'm learning. My friends understand this. In my class, I'm one of the students getting very low marks. Seems like everyone knows what to say whenever we're having group discussions about the lecture and I sit there trying to participate but I eventually either say the wrong thing or don't say anything at all. I don't know how these people memorize all of this information!! Sorry for my long winded rant...I keep telling to myself, "3 more weeks then I'm off to clinical...just 3 more weeks!!!" Then I gotta deal with my clinical and preceptorship..I don't know how I'm going to handle all of this...Anyone got any tips for working in an acute care facility? Any tips for preceptorship?

Graduate may 2010....im so excited and i pray to God that I pass everything!!!!!

bumppp