Joyfull77

Thanks for the response! In Oregon this is surprisingly all legal since I am under a RN, even though she isn't present at all times (eve shift, noc shift). I think it may vary from state to state. I'm not sure how other facilities run in other states, however I am surprised to be honest by all I am allowed to do!

I work in an assisted living facility (I'm not a nurse) my title is Health Care Coordinator and I transcribe MD orders, order and administer meds, give insulin, provide treatments and do light wound care send collect samples for the lab...My job is....hectic most of the time, but I do like helping others. My boss told me that because of our job duties that we work at a LPN level...this scared me for a few reasons. 1) I am not a nurse of any kind, just trained on the job and feel under-qualified. 2) If this is what nursing is all about it worries me that I would get bored...I love helping others but I don't want to push meds for the rest of my life. I have always wanted to be a nurse because I love the field of healthcare however I am open to other careers too...I have even considered music therapy because it combines the two loves of my life, music and healthcare. Any advice?? HONEST advice???

http://www.sumnercollege.edu/blog/ I just read this article on the Sumner College blog website about a RN program they are going to be having there...they already have a LPN program too. I'm amazed schools keep on opening RN programs...I just want to get into one of them!!!!

Figures....even dogs have decided to become doctors because nursing school is too hard to get into...

‎A facebook friend who is a nurse posted this....I had to post it here! I'm not a nurse but LOVE them, and I thought some of you would like this! "You're a nurse?? That's cool, I wanted to do that when I was a kid. What do you make?"....."WHAT DO I MAKE?!" I make holding your hand seem like the most important thing in the world when you're scared. I can make your child breathe when they stop. I can help your father survive a heart attack. I make myself get out of bed at 5am to make sure your mother has the medicine she needs to live. I sometimes work a 16 hour day to save the lives of strangers. I make my family wait for dinner until I know your family member is taken care of. I make myself skip lunch so that I can make sure that everything I did for your husband today is charted. I make myself work weekends and holidays because people don't just get sick Monday thru Friday. Today, I might save your life. I make a difference. What do you make?"

I work in a Jewish Facility and a lot of the residents are DNR. One thing that is very important to them is pain management, and not dying in pain. Most of the families I have dealt with when their family member is dying is that they actually desire for them to go sooner then later if they are in pain. And I think that many of our residents choose DNR so that they won't have to be brought back in fear of being in pain.

No we have have four carts for all of the residents, but two people do the main med pass while there is a third person to also do the med pass and do most of the paperwork. On top of that there are two nurses on duty and another person who is within health services that can pass meds, so communication is really key among all of us when it comes to passing meds. I always make sure to sign the MAR, however, others I work with don't. To be honest, one of the reasons I sign the MAR after each pill is prepared, is so that I can avoid med errors by ensuring that I actually punched that pill. And our meds are prepared in little cups with lids, and each lid has the room number, resident name, and time for the med, on the med cup. It would be great if our building was small enough to push the cart around, but with 3 stories and four wings, one med pass would take us forever.

This is an interesting thread! I think it depends on the facility. For example, I work in an Assisted Living Facility, and we have to prepare all the meds for all the residents before we go on the floor to administer them. Our building is three stories high with four different wings and there is no way we could push around a med cart and give everyone their meds on time if we didn't prepare them (pre-pour, or prepackage) before hand. In addition to that, I sign out the meds as soon as I prepare them, because there are various people that may be working with the same MAR that I am working with and if I don't sign it out before hand, its assumed that I didn't prepare them or administer them.

Oh, and no I'm not currently enrolled at PSU right now. I graduated from there but have been taking the rest of my prerequisites at PCC, but I'm probably going to go back to PSU to finish up, because like you said, its a long process to take the prerequisites that also have prerequisites!

Yes, BI 301 and then of course BI 301L for lab...if go to nursing schools' websites for course equivalencies for prerequisites at different schools, it will show you there too.

You could always go to Portland State University, enroll as a post-bac and take the accelerated course during the summer, OR you can just take the regular course there in the fall. PSU suggests prerequisites for their A&P, but you don't need to have any to register...I was able to register for it with no problem. At the community colleges, you must do BI 112 or 211 and 212 or something like that before BI 231, but at PSU, you don't need these classes to register. However, you will need BI 112 for a Genetics requirement at some nursing schools.

There are definitely professors that teach the same class at both campuses just like SVXPORT said, and really the main difference is the use of a human cadaver, so the classes will be structured a little differently. I took A&P at PSU but then had to drop it, and now I'm at PCC. My previous teacher from the A&P course at PSU was my A&P teacher at PCC! I've heard from those who have taken the accelerated course from PSU to not take any other classes because its so intense, but I guess that also really depends on how you are as a student, and what your life is like outside of school! Good luck with the course!

I'm curious what determines a waitlisted student over an accepted student??? Is it GPA, experience, etc...or is it just space availability???? Would you mind sharing your GPA and experience??? I'm applying next year and I'm afraid I will be rejected or waitlisted for not having a high GPA!

1. What nursing home do you work at and where is it located or what kind of facility do you work at? I work at an assisted living facility (not a nursing home) and it is located in Oregon. 2. What do you see as the greatest advantage for residents in one of these settings? The greatest advantage for residents is that they are fairly independent. But when they do need help there is always someone available to assist them 24/7. 3. What do you see as the biggest disadvantage for residents in one of these settings? The biggest disadvantage is that some people need higher levels of care, and either they themselves cannot accept this or their families don't want to accept this and hire a private caregiver (much like a CNA without the training) when they need a nurse available at all times. We have nurses on site but not 24/7 on site. 4. Do you feel that residents have too little freedom as a result of living in one of the facilities? The residents have a lot of freedom and can really come and go as they please. 5. Is there much outreach at your facility; i.e. do scouting troops come to visit or do choirs or other performing groups come and perform for the residents? There are orchestra's that come to our facility and a lot of volunteer's come too. The volunteer either help out with activities or do grounds work. Massage therapists also come to the facility and there is a salon on site! (and yes, some of the staff take advantage of this service too...whether they are supposed to or not.) 6. Are the residents' families actively involved in their lives? Do families visit often or call/e-mail with their loved ones? Most of the residents have family that come to visit them regularly. Some families will spend the night with them or stay in our independent living building on our campus on the weekends. And I always see family members in the dining room having lunch or dinner with the residents. 7. Are there any other questions I should have asked or any other comments you may have for me. Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any more questions!

Hello everyone! I'm curious as to what your GPA's and other experience was for those who either got in, or are waitlisted...I plan on applying next year, and wanted to know what they typically look for in an applicant! Thanks for all those willing to share!

How long was the mhcc lpn program?

If you go to the Oregon Board of Nusing website they list all of the places offering the med aid class by location under their educational programs link.

NurseJackie2B...no I'm not in the program...I've just done a lot of research on it! I hope everything works out for you! And CuriousMe I should've been more clear....I meant that it's gaining popularity thus attracting more students to the program and therefore more students will be graduating from their program and that is what they need for accreditation, they need for their nursing students to graduate. But you're right, popularity alone won't cause a school to achieve accreditation their are tons of lpn schools on Oregon that are not accredited and are very well known.

NurseJackie2B I contacted Linfield who said that when ITT tech gets the type of accreditation that Linfield requires that they will accept the credits from ITT for their RN to BSN program. Although ITT is accredited by an accrediting body it's not the type of accreditation that Linfield accepts for transferring classes into. I didn't talk to Walla Walla because I figured they were going to tell me the same thing. However it seems like ITT is gaining a lot of popularity and I wouldn't be surprised if they receive their accreditation for transferring to other schools...but I was told they can't receive it until their first class of nursing students graduate which should be by the end of this year I think.

I'm so glad its working out so far! Keep us updated as the program goes along! Did they talk to you about the locations of where you will be doing your clinicals?

I'm curious as to how your first day went! What is the schedule like? Do you think its going to be a good program???

Pdxmama said it well! Definitely focus on Privacy and Safety. So make for EACH skill that the brakes are always locked on the bed and that you close the curtains before doing the skill, and putting the bed down and leaving the call light is key! Before I said I was done with each skill, I stopped to make sure I didn't forget anything, and of course told them if I did forget anything and that was acceptable. I also talked through my steps out loud and talked to the patient I was doing the skills on. I asked him if he was comfortable, if the water was too cold/hot for him (when I did the partial bed bad), etc. And to be honest, this helped to calm my nerves to talk to him and to talk out all of my steps. Reading all of the skills over and over to study got really old for me, so I practiced the skills on my husband and that helped a lot.

I work in an assisted living facility as one of the staff who does the med passes, blood sugars, insulin shots, eye, skin and ear treaments and such when the RN is present and when she isn't. We prepare all of the meds, but the RN is over the med room. She makes sure to visit residents when we notice they aren't feeling well and she is always available on call when someone has an elevated blood pressure, dealing with certain PRN medications, or really anytime we have a question. She basically keeps everything in order and holds the medication room and the staff accountable. She not only acts as a supervisor but as a teacher and I have learned a whole lot from her in relation to nursing and taking care of people. I'm not sure what she makes but she typically works from 9-5 M-F and of course on call also. There is one other nurse in our department too, but she is the director, and isn't over the medication room but fills in for the nurse who is over the med room when she is on vacation. Hope this helps!

I attended the ITT orientation and the articulation agreements they said they had are with Linfield and Walla Walla. So, I contacted both schools, and Linfield got back to me and said that they are awaiting accreditation (not the kind that ITT has but with an accrediting program that Linfield will accept) and once ITT becomes accredited, according to Linfield's standards, then the agreement is to allow all the credits from ITT to transfer into Linfield's RN-BSN program. The good news is that, ITT simply has to graduate their first class in order to be eligible for accreditation (like the NLN); and I believe that their first class started sometime in 2009 and the nursing program is 2 years long. And let me again state that although ITT Tech is accredited, the company that they are accredited by is not acceptable to the BSN programs in Oregon , therefore credits won't transfer to any schools other than University of Phoenix, at least for now. Hopefully that will change!

So the December start is the 6th (I think) but definitely the beginning of December, then the next ones are March 2011, June 2011 and September 2011. The current class goes to classes on Monday and Wednesday. Monday goes from 9am-1pm and Wednesday is 9-5. They said each quarter the class days will change a little, but it will still only be a few days a week. And the clinical times will be all day too. I was really worried about the price, but if you have some of your prerequisites completed then its a lot cheaper. Also, they said today that their credits can transfer into Walla Walla's BSN program and into Linfield's RN-BSN program, however, I'm going to contact both campuses to confirm that one.