Sis123

Oh yes, I was born in Seattle General Hospital back when it was located in downtown Seattle ages and ages ago. I am a native also. Yes, it's too bad that Seattle gets a bad rap about it's weather. Deservedly so. You'd love it if you were a mushroom, or if you own galoshes. Oh yeah, it's a hip, happening place, but it's been "loved to death" since Money magazine listed it as the "best place to live" in the early eighties. Hordes of people from everywhere else flooded in, making the city more cosmopolitan, but also much more crowded. The locals watched in astonishment as people from elsewhere bought was was always thought of as "worthless lots" on steep embankments in order to build homes. Suburban crowding became the rule, and subsequent traffic got worse and worse to the point that some say it is worse than LA. The reason why it suffers such bottlenecks is that large large bodies of water (Puget Sound, Lake Washington, Lake Union and Lake Sammamish) prohibit the construction of a mesh of highways like they have in LA. The rule used to be that you had to leave downtown Seattle by 3 to avoid getting stuck in traffic, but I think it's much earlier than that now. It's simply hard to avoid bad traffic, it's just the rule these days. There are *many* community colleges with nursing programs in the Seattle area also. Just off the top of my head let me list: Seattle Central community college, Highline CC, North Seattle CC, Shoreline CC, Everett CC, Lake Washington Vocational/technical (for LPN), Bellevue CC, then the Universities, Seattle U., U of W, Pacific Lutheran U, and a christian college in Kirkland, which the name escapes me just now. That's a bunch of fresh grads on a regular basis. I moved south and east for the weather. I get approximately 90 days more of sunshine than I did in Seattle, per year now. Oh yes, we get baked for about 10 days in the summer time, but I tell you, when I drive home in the afternoon to see my sweet tame deer and their little spotted fawns lying down in the shade of the trees in my yard, and smell my fresh laundry which has been drying on the clothesline, I tell myself, Life is good. Oh yes, you can enjoy living in Seattle. I used to like it. I left when I got the chance. Your mileage may vary. Just check it out and see if you like it in the rainy season before you make a commitment to accept a job and live there.

Nice place, really bad weather. If you don't mind living under dark clouds and drippy rain for about 9 months out of the year, and then three months of beautiful, then it might be for you. If you are prone to SAD, or seasonal depression, be very careful about moving there. I moved away from there to get to the sun. I am now in a place where we have 4 seasons and I love it. When it rains here, it actually stops and then the sun comes out. It hardly ever did that in the Seattle area. Beware.

Nursing schools ARE VERY selective because so many people apply for the available spots. It is pretty tough to gain entrance without really good grades, especially in the sciences. Most schools look very closely at your grades in anatomy and physiology and microbiology because they are considered "predictors" for how well a student will do in the nursing classes. You got some really good advice from the poster who said to drop this class on the last day that you can, without this class showing on your transcript. Schools don't look too kindly where people have taken the class over and over to get an A. It's like a black mark against you, and you will be competing against lots of people who got an A or B taking the class the first time. If you have to, take Anatomy with no other classes. It's just intense, and requires LOTS and LOTS of time spent in study, there's just no way around it. Do ask other students at your college about the various instructors who teach anatomy and find out who is considered the best teacher if there is more than one. You will learn better from the "better" teacher, and this will reflect in your grade, so check out what instructors are teaching your class. LAST but not least, you might consider taking this class fall quarter instead of summer. You could take it summer quarter, but remember, summer is a short quarter, usually 9 weeks instead of the usual 11 or 12, and the substantial volume you need to learn is just compressed further into a shorter period of time. If you have good support at home, and can focus on anatomy to the exclusion of all else, then you might be able todo it. And yes, Anatomy IS complex, detailed and huge. It's also hugely important for you to understand in order to be a good nurse. Best of luck to you whatever you decide.:redpinkhe Oh, something I did was to bring my digital camera to lab and photograph the plastic models, the cats, the slices of brain, basically anything that could be used for test material for lab, and then I studied those pics, and practiced pointing and naming all the different parts. Lots of people also recorded lectures using a digital recorder, and then listened to that lecture again immediately after class, and that reinforced what they just heard in class. That works, too.

If it means making the difference between a patient having trouble sleeping at night and the patient being able to sleep like a log (hospitals are noisy at night), then why not give it? It's fairly stressful just being a hospital patient, and people recover better, quicker if they can relax and recover.

Also had a TAH-BSO for endo. Wished I had the hyst when I was 20, because endo can be such a "life-wrecker". Also went on hyster-sisters, they have lots of great advice, and do just plan on taking off 6 weeks. It's a major surgery, and a major recovery. Also use the patch (vivelle dot), it's enough to cure hot flashes and total insomnia, but not enough to re-start the endo. Best of luck to you! You'll likely wonder why (and HOW!) you ever waited this long to do it.

As soon as I am given a chance to select my uniform, it'll be a whites, with white hose, white shoes, etc. I'd consider wearing scrubs if they were hospital provided, in a nurse's locker room, and I could simply get a pair off the shelf that were laundered and pressed for me. Otherwise, I'll just wear my white uniform.

Just between you and me, I believe that the technical school that is training the young lady in the surgical tech program and the dental assistant program where the oral surgeon likely hired his assistant from are failing to uphold current law. They have a duty to teach their students the current laws that govern their practice as technicians, and a very important one is the limitations on their practice, and the scope of their practice. The students calling themselves nurses could possibly be forgivable if the school that is training them also allows the students to refer to themselves as "nurses", or their program as a sub type of nursing. In any case, the oral surgeon's office should be reported to the BON. Other posters are quite correct that other professionals would not allow people of minimal training to be calling themselves doctors, lawyers, or dentists....

It could have been an injection of kenalog, a steroid, to reduce inflammation. Those shots can stop all migraines for about a month of sweet freedom. When I had that done, it was given deep in the back of the neck, just below the skull, into the muscles/tendons there, what what I could tell. Botox can also be given, in teensy little shots usually above and between the eyebrows. Neurologists giving botox for migraine can use up to two whole vials on one person, which amounts to perhaps 35 or 40 shots in the head and neck. It worked great for me, and lasts almost exactly three months. Of course the neurologist will start with the less invasive, least expensive therapies first and work their way up. Perhaps this person is hospitalized because they want to rule out other more acute problems first?

You might want to check out http://www.craigslist.org and look under your closest city's listings. Search using Anatomy, or some key word in the title of the book. I've seen quite a few people selling their old books there. You could also put an ad up on the bulletin board at school to see if someone will sell you their old books. You could also check the work/study/unemployment retraining department of your college (if you have such a department there) and ask if they have any of the books that you need available. My college had this stack of textbooks set aside for people in retraining programs. They were available for other students to use if no one else had "signed up for them" that quarter. It was amazing that they had this program, it was virtually unknown at the college, an advisor who I liked alot and kept encouraging me onward told me about this program. Check ebay! I've gotten quite a few books from there. If you can't find the correct book for cheap, call your instructor and ask him/her if it might be possible to use the prior edition of the current textbook. Usually prior editions are quite a lot cheaper, and many many are so slightly different, it's really hard to tell what exactly was added to make the new edition. I saved a bundle simply checking with the instructor about this very thing. Last, but not least, I'll say this; You might sell or get rid of other textbooks, but you should really keep your anatomy and phys. books. You'll need to reference the material in nursing school, and later after you finish nursing school! Hope this helps, and good luck finding deal on your books! :monkeydance:

Hmmm. Looks like a newer version of my Olympus DVR. If yours works like mine, mine worked well, but I always sit in the first or second row, close to the center of the class. If this is not possible, I have asked the instructor if it's okay to tape the lecture and have my recorder near the lectern. There were usually several DVRs sitting there. I'd try this before anything else. Mine didn't record very well from back in the class.

Okay, done!

Hi Curlynurse, Send me a PM through Allnurses! I've got a suggestion for you, or at least a place you need to check out. Gorgeous...... Sis

OMG I just saw this today. How horrible for you, Haunted! What an ordeal for you, and a lot of it could have been prevented had everyone had NOT skimped on taking care of you because you are a nurse. I also think that you were in the hospital for a very short time. I really can't imagine going off MS so quickly like that. And then more of the same because you weren't treated properly in the first place. Oh dear. Thank goodness for your husband and finally encoutering some good healthcare workers. So sorry that this happened to you, but I can only imagine that going through this will make you a better nurse. Please do take it easy, it's a big adjustment for your body to make, and I hope you hear good news about your lung. Getting better seems to go very slowly, but as long as you improve a little bit each day, you are doing great...

Cetaphil cream. Excellent stuff!

Well, according to her past posts: -(S)he passed her NCLEX in early August -Needs to get a sponsor inNY or NJ so (s)he can get her green card -wonders if it would be possible for her/him to work as a nurse while in medical school -isn't sure how drug testing works, and how long drugs stay in the system and a few other gems. So, you can see why (s)he might think the way she does. !!!!

How would you like to be awakened at 2 or 3 am for an assessment and your vitals? Nobody likes it, lots of people are grumpy, don't take it personally, just get your vitals and info anyway. As for the passive aggressive CNA, I'm not sure what I'd do there, but it seems like she over-reacted to a simple request to get vitals on someone. Getting vitals is a easy quick job, and to get so angry seems odd. I guess I'd question if she really said that, or question the motives of who told me that she said that if I were you. Don 't worry if you don't "click" with each patient, because there are lots of patients in your future that you won't "click" with.

Not a nurse yet, but I would say something like "I'll help you stand here so that you can wash your hands, or I can bring you a washcloth so that you can do it too. Which would you rather do?" I know that post surgery, it can take all you've got just to get to the toilet and back to the bed. When standing after a big abdominal surgery, it feels like your guts are going to just fall out (not to mention the pain), and I don't blame people who want to quickly get back into bed. Ones with lesser problems, or ones several days post-op don't have a good excuse, other than it's a bad habit and need a gentle reminder.

In the Seattle area, we have a thing called "Doggy Daycare" for situations just like yours. Some folks leave them home in the backyard all day, and some folks take their doggy to doggy daycare, so that doggy can have fun, play and socialize. Now all we need is Birdy daycare....

How about the one about a nosebleed? Put bread under the top lip (between the lip and the teeth to stop a nosebleed. Also from friends in India, for females; Don't lift anything heavy otherwise you'll harm your female insides. They also shave the baby's head when it is a certain age (like 2 or 3 year old) to make it's hair grow in thick and strong. Lots and lots of other ones from India....

How about the one about a nosebleed? Put bread under the top lip (between the lip and the teeth to stop a nosebleed. Also from friends in India, for females; Don't lift anything heavy otherwise you'll harm your female insides. They also shave the baby's head when it is a certain age (like 2 or 3 year old) to make it's hair grow in thick and strong. Lots and lots of other ones from India....

Perhaps the man had a near death experience, "saw the place " where you go when you die, liked it, wanted to stay, but couldn't. Perhaps he doubts his ability to work and function as a nurse, providing for himself, if he came back at a 85% level. Perhaps anything less than 100% was not enough for him. I completely understand the surgeon's refusal to operate on this man, and I understand the man's refusal to have the possiblity of accepting the possible role of an person who is unable to do his profession any longer. Why is it okay for a person to decide to have an abortion without asking their family if it's okay, but it's not ok for a grown man to decide he doesn't want to be coded? I would absolutely not want to be coded after lying in my driveway for a while with a broken neck after falling off the roof of my house (while cleaning the moss off) because I would rather not be a nursing home resident for the rest of my days. I think I would like to be coded if I was in the hospital for a minor surgery. But this decision should be mine, and not my family's. They don't have the right to have me sentenced to years as prisoner in a wheelchair, or a nursing home. For me, that *would* be prison.

I'd like to see these same numbers PER SCHOOL. Also, it would be helpful (as someone selecting a nursing school) to know the numbers: a. How many people entered the program & the year b. How many graduated from the program & the year c. How many people from each years program passed NCLEX. This would give you a good idea of the effectiveness of the schools initial selection comittee, the effectiveness of the instructors. Some schools "invest" more in each student, and some schools seem to not care so much. Some schools simply give the students the HESI a little while before graduation and if you don't pass the HESI, then you are not allowed to graduate. Seems like an odd way to keep your school's pass rate high, when potential students want to know just how many people were eliminated from the program and why.

It is inflammation to varying degrees of the sacroiliac joint, which is a synovial joint between the sacral part of the spine and the iliac bone of the pelvis.

As someone who suffered severe pain with endometriosis, I am so sorry to know that you are suffering so much, and especially at 25 years old! Wish I could do something to help you, but if nothing else, I will keep you in my prayers for relief of pain!

I am sorry to hear this. I wish that this would have turned out differently. Please realize that you did much more than many, many people would have done. Your kindness won't be forgotten. Sis