whatwasithinkinglol

Awesome! You're definitely on the right track then! Good job and lots of luck!

I think mine speaks for itself... it's what I say to myself every morning after 3 hours sleep from studying and kids, while attending full time LPN school!

I love the new Off The Map on ABC. It's like the MacGuyver of the med field! lol The clinic gets robbed of all meds and they have to do a surgery, so the doc (who happens to be an exaddict) goes out into the jungle to get heroin, discovers someone Od'ing, saves their life and gets back just in time with the goods... Amusing stuff!

I'm a stay at home mom too for 10+ years (used to be!) and going through night classes for my LPN. I have 3 kids at home. I won't kid you, it's freaking hard!!! lol Accept the fact that your house is going to be a mess for a year. You will have to sit amongst the clutter and study, because YOU HAVE TO. You'll stay up til 2am studying and up at 6am to get them ready for school. My husband has been a HUGE help and it's a team effort. I love what I'm doing, and counting down the days that I can have my life back! The pace is so fast and I'm still so excited!! I've made it through the first rotation in the LTC and it's on to the hospital after spring break! yay! One piece of advice, as soon as you start the class, start working on the pharmacology math. There is a workbook that should be included with your program. Make sure you really get to that ASAP as it's a huge reason people have to drop out. Get tutoring, watch youtube videos. Our instructor recognized it right away and has had huge success helping students stay in class by addressing that need immediately upon starting. Good luck!

I'm a former CNA and LPN student. The personal care does take some getting used to, but it really does become an act of compassion. Being kind to a patient during the process is once of the nicest things you can do for them. Don't let your initial reaction slow you down. You'll get past it. :) Good luck!!!

I'm currently attending the night class in Deland and LOVE it. It is ALOT of work. 50+ hours a week of clinicals, lab and bookwork. Our instructor has a super pass rate for the state boards, and that is priceless. Class hours are Tues 4-9pm, Wed & Thurs. 2:30 to 11pm. Discussions (lecture) is all done online. I like it so much better than committing to 8-5 Mon through Thurs. With kids, I'd never be able to adhere to the strict attendance policy due to their frequent illnesses! When I was told it would wreck your life and your house would be a mess for a year, I thought I understood. OMG, it's so true!!! I have to study hours a day and have to really let things go around here just to get it all done. Then I race around and play "mom" when they get home from school. I'm only home on Monday and Fridays (and the weekend is family time) so it's VERY hectic!!! Let me know what other info you're looking for!

I don't think anyone is purposely smoker bashing OR saying someone who smokes is a bad parent AT ALL. But if you subject your kid to second hand smoke, I DO see it as a crime. That's the same as leaving a beer can on the table knowing they're going to drink it. I'm a smoker and I deal with all the new rules of not smoking here, and not smoking there. The hospital is now a no smoking zone. The entire property!!! You can not even smoke in the parking garage. I say GOOD! I hope they make smoking so inconvenient that more and more of us quit. I hope that the generations after us see us jumping through hoops, standing in the rain a block away, huddling in dirty patio "smoking areas" as ridiculous as it is! I hope they never pick up a cigarette because of it. People that don't smoke have the right to not be exposed to it, and children should be protected. I live in Florida and I've heard my Pediatrician state that he would call social services if he found a parent smoking in enclosed spaces with children, and my OB would drop you from her service if she found out you smoked while pregnant. :up: That far outweighs my "right" to slowly kill myself. LOL

I would notify the MD. Checking her weight and vitals is helpful too. Although I'm a student LPN, my mother just had a major CHF episode a month ago and almost had to be intubated due to congestion (that started with 3+ edema). It happens fast, don't wait.

YES YES YES it should be illegal!!!!!! I smoke. My husband smokes. Would I trap my child in a house full of smoke, knowing I must quit, that it is harmful to my health, knowing that CHF and COPD might be my future (and THEIRS!) if I don't.... We put our kids in seatbelts, get them immunized, educate them... We did not bring them into the world (or become nurses) to knowingly cause harm. A doctor/nurse that is aware that a parent KNOWINGLY puts a child at risk for serious medical issue is obligated to report it. If I walked into a house full of smoke with a baby in a playpen, I would remove the kid myself, air the house out while I waited for authorities to come. That is selfish and abusive!!!! Did I mention that I'm a smoker and have kids that are asthmatic? It's just wrong!!!!! Kids should not second hand smoke!!!!

So, that's my next question! How do you find a job when you were grateful enough to have been given a chance and failed? I'm risking their health, and my back! To be told "things are different on night shift" is total BS when it means doing harm to residents because no one is looking and 15 patients is a bit much when so many are total care and mandatory 2 aides... when NO ONE will help you and treat you like you're a second class citizen for even asking! How am I to word this when looking for another position? I just look and feel like a failure/troublemaker. I know other facilities are even worse . It doesn't help me much that my MIL passed away this summer due to lack of care (left on the potty too long, she fell, broke a hip, surgery, septic and died within months...) I'm extra sensitive. These aren't just "patients" to me. They are people. They are someone's mother, and father. Perhaps I'm just too sensitive?

Squirely, I love it when there is chaos and I'm an innocent bystander! LOL I wondered what the program will be like. I did the CNA and it was pretty amusing at times. The late people, the slackers, the overachievers (me!), the clowns. The girl who didn't really care, and the older women who would just break down mentally before every test. I'm sure LPN school is going to be quite interesting! hang in there, and make sure you come back here and vent some of the juicy stuff you're avoiding in person! LOL Melissa

Starting mine in Jan at Daytona State/UCF. Taking online coursework, and clinicals in Deland on the evening shift. So excited! Need to get cracking on the doc visit and background check though! Eeeeeep!

Lots of coffee, eat light and find things to do! Read the nursing books, ask questions, clean up areas that aren't necessarily your responsibility. Keeping busy helps with the "mind over matter" of 3rd shift.

I graduated almost a year ago. I worked for 4 months in home health for a horrid racist mean woman who threatened to throw things at me. She'd call me all hours of the day and night, told me she loved me then would cuss me out. I'm proud of the 4 months I stuck it out! I finally was able to get a job at the facility where we did clinicals. There was a rehab side and a LTC. I did fine on the Rehab side 11-7a. Couple of learning experiences, but I finished on time and my patients were pretty happy. Things changed dramatically once they started calling me in for LTC I would often not finish, even after starting last rounds earlier and earlier. This is how my last night went.... First rounds were uneventful, routine care. Was doing so well that I took an early lunch at 2am and even brought back a burger for my bell happy patient at the end of the hall. Cut it up for him and watched Texas Chainsaw for a few minutes. Finished charting by 3am and started my last round. 15 patients, 12 incontinent and 10 of them total care. 5 of them were to be bathed and dressed! I knew it was going to get hectic, so I made sure to help other girls throughout the night, so I thought I'd have it made! Guess what.... they were too busy . When it came time for assistance, I got help twice all through the last round. By the time I left at 8:30, I'd spent the last two hours crying, sweating and struggling to provide adequate care for these people. The straw that broke the camels back was when day shift arrived with their nasty looks and holier than thou attitude. I'd managed to get my patients ready, down to 2 get ups and one change left. My priority was getting the woman changed and she was a mandatory 2 person care due to her size. She was very aware, but blind and easily scared so she required kid gloves. I'd already tried myself out of desperation to provide care for her... Finally, another CNA who was also running late stayed and helped me with her. The day CNA announced that she should march right up to the charge nurse and report me for "dressing but not transferring" the last two patients. (I'm 5'1, 120 lbs, wasn't going to happen alone!!!) She then proceeded to grab the woman up by an arm and the seat of her pants and toss her into a wheelchair screaming. At that point I was livid and I was done. I said a few unkind words to her on my way out the door. When I reported this to the scheduler/supervisor the next day I was told "things are different on night shift, I know"... Are you kidding me?! It's ok to be harried and cruel to people? Priorities are making sure they're dressed, but not in clean bedding/depends? I knew I couldn't go back. So now I've trashed my resume and probably my CNA career that was going to help pay for LPN school. (I've been accepted for Spring 2011) Ugggh.

I'm taking my CNA while I await the application period for RN or LPN at our local state college. Our clinicals start next week! Eeeek! Considering applying to the surgical tech program too, or maybe all 3. It's really tough to get into ours, as they're limited access, with GPA's of at least 3.6 and higher.... Taking all my prereqs in order of priority, and I'll roll the dice on getting accepted!