ohgreat

As a current student at HPU, I would not recommend attendance here. As jpeters said, its a decent education, but the program is WAYYY too unorganized and will be the source of extreme frustration. It seems like changes occur every freakin semester and the turnover rate for staff is ridiculous. if the instructors are jumping ship, ask yourself why. Also, it might sound like youll get into the program right away, but the reality may be far from it. This place really knows how to make business. DO NOT GO HERE- save your money and sanity and go elsewhere.

just curious, how much is tuition per semester at SMU?

lol. This is me as well.

I did compressions on a code a few weeks ago in clinical. When I heard there was a code coming in, I asked the nurse I was assigned to if it was ok for me to participate. It was definitely an adrenaline rush, but it was very sad at the same time because one of the patient's family members was watching the whole time and was obviously very sad and hysterically crying as the team performed ACLS. Unfortunately, the patient did not make it. I don't know any students who would not want to participate in a code even if just for compressions or ventilation. I don't understand why any student would run away from such a great experience (trying to bring someone back to life!). CPR is something that is required to even apply to nursing school, we all know how to do it!

Hi leddle, I am a nursing student in my last semester and I also got my EMT cert before getting into nursing school. Actually, the only reason I got my EMT was because I wanted to become a paramedic. During the EMT program, we were required to put in some time at an ER in a local hospital. After seeing the role of nurses in the acute care setting and what they actually do (as opposed to what I thought they did based on TV shows and mainstream "knowledge"), I decided to change my career path and become an RN. Becoming an EMT will give you, at most, a very brief primer to a few concepts you will study in nursing. In other words, it will barely scratch the surface of the knowledge you need in nursing. The opportunities that come with the certificate, however, is where I think it really shines. With an EMT cert, you can work as a tech in an ER during nursing school and learn a lot of the skills and protocols that nurses use. You won't be able to give medications, do in-depth assessments, start IVs, or do a lot of what nurses can do, but the hospital has been the best classroom for me during nursing school! If you aren't sure if you even want to be a nurse, a CNA or EMT course will help you get some exposure. The problem is, the opportunities in nursing are so broad (OR, ER, ICU, L&D, etc.) that even these won't begin to give you an accurate picture of what a nurse can do. All this being said- if you are a smart and caring person that can handle challenges and isn't afraid to get your hands dirty, nursing may be your forte.

Thats about the age I learned to share pencils (and crayons too for that matter)

Hang in there fleurafor. As some have said, nursing school is a different beast. Tests in other majors ask you to choose the one correct answer from four incorrect choices. Tests in nursing school, however, seem to ask you to choose "the best" answer from five correct choices. Half the battle is reasoning out why the answer you chose is better than the other choices. If you are struggling to study all the content, send me a pm and I'll see about sending you some resources that helped me a lot. Don't let these exams keep you down. They are not a measure of your worth.

" I want her to be happy and self sufficient in life. But in my dreams, I would love for her to be an artist...... a singer, actress and dancer...." My significant other is an artist. Believe me it's not as a desirable profession as you might think, and hardly self sufficient.

This is very disheartening. She has had such an impact on my learning as a nursing student. Many times more helpful than my actual professors. I wish I could have thanked her for her support and encouragement.

maybe you can make some youtube videos! that would be awesome! :)

LOL this thread is out of control

My nursing class is ~20% male and I have seen male CNAs before, what does gender have to do with it? Also, Google is a great tool in finding phone numbers for local hospitals. Maybe the HR department could point you in the right direction. Does a CNA program really cost $1500? Are there no other programs available for cheaper? Also, an appointment with a career center (either at your school or any local community college) would probably benefit you a little bit. Good luck on your search!

The example of your experiences with people in ministry is a whole other discussion which I actually have some strong biases towards (I founded a successful ministry for the homeless with my church a few years ago and was actively leading until I became disgusted with this type of culture, politics, and judgmental attitude of the church and decided to leave the church and ministry entirely). This really has nothing to do with nursing. As for your considerations regarding your OP, there are people who make the call- Nursing instructors, Preceptors, The National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX), Hospital management, etc. These are all trained professionals who are able to make justified decisions on who can be a nurse and who cannot. The reason I take such an interest in this matter is because I don't believe in telling people who they should or shouldn't be, especially in the context of your work as a tutor or other staff member in the tutoring center. There are people I know who have been told they will never make it into nursing school with C's in some of their prerequisite classes who are now close to graduating at the top percentile of the class. I'm sure there are amazing nurses out there who have been told they wouldn't or shouldn't make it. And to think... if they had listened to naysayers and people who told them they shouldn't, the field would be missing out on some amazing people.

I think that's awesome! And though I may be a naive nursing student myself, I believe that every successful career started with an interest. I may not know you very well, but I think that if you could work through your anxiety and biases from your past experiences, you can become a great nurse in those areas of specialty and really enjoy what you do. I would consider making a post in the Peds and OBGYN specialty nursing forums and talking to some nurses who work in the fields of your interest.

The only way to truly know if you will enjoy nursing is if you try it out. I have read four of your previous posts regarding your concerns going into nursing and while I think it is good that you are doing research on a field you are considering, there comes a time when you need to take that step and find out for yourself. Case-in-point: I graduated high school not knowing what to pursue. I was uncomfortable with the fact that if I did not pick a major soon, then I would be spending time and money on classes that I didn't even need. The career counselor at my high school suggested I take one of those quizzes similar to the one you just took. I was advised to consider a career in law-enforcement. It seemed like a perfect fit at the time (I wanted to become an FBI agent eventually), and everyone was telling me their different opinions regarding that decision. Some were bad, most were good. It wasn't until I started volunteering in a law-enforcement program that I started to realize that the field was not for me. Two "career choices" later and I finally feel like I belong in this field. I absolutely love it. Personally, I think it's time for you to take a more proactive approach to your research. Start looking for opportunities to gain exposure to the hospital setting. Consider taking a CNA course or calling your local hospital and asking if there are any similar opportunities that will allow you to see firsthand the jobs in a hospital setting.

Did you start pursuing a teaching degree after dropping out of nursing? If so, was it partly because of some of the nurses telling you that you should become a teacher?

In my experience at clinical, contact precautions were taken with patients who were under special orders (there was an indicator/sign placed on the door and on the chart of the patient). This often required a gown to be worn in addition to gloves. This was different than standard precautions which were assumed and not indicated by a sign or other means. This includes the basics of precautions such as hand hygiene, wearing of gloves during specific skills, the changing of gloves in between certain tasks, etc.

Of course it's possible. And if you make it a little while longer, you will be living evidence! If you want to join a study group, I'd say go for it. Ask the study groups you know of if they would let you contribute in any way. If their doors are closed, consider starting one of your own. For online classes, you are usually able to communicate via a message board. Use this to your advantage when setting up a study group.

I was thinking more along the lines of in-hospital jobs. (i.e. OR, ED, PACU, etc.) There's more to nursing than the idea of being at the bedside of your patients for an extended period of time. And while I agree that all students need to spend time doing bedside, it doesn't mean they can't become RNs (or even great RNs) because of their feelings going into nursing school. Like I mentioned, we've all probably seen nurses during our clinicals that are standoffish and seem as if they don't like anyone- they are still RNs. It should also be considered that nursing school changes people. It shifts perspectives, creates discipline, inspires learning, and challenges people to become better people. The people who were never meant to be nurses won't make it anyway, and really, they should figure out for themselves if this is a field they want to pursue. If you feel that strongly about telling someone they shouldn't pursue nursing, then bring up logical arguments based on facts rather than judgments (i.e. the ones included in Ilg's post). The moment you start telling students that they shouldn't go into nursing, you are making judgment calls based on your own biased opinions of both the student and the entire nursing field. And to be frank, it's not your call.

You don't necessarily need to like people as much as anyone else to enter the field of nursing. There are areas of work with limited one-on-one communication or patient interaction. Also, I've encountered nurses during my clinical who are simply standoffish to everyone around them, yet they are still nurses.

could you elaborate a little more about what you dislike about clinicals? what specific things bug you? if it is just giving meds, what about the process do you dislike?

I have never used one or have even seen one being used in our clinical rotations. I still have no idea what they are for or why people buy them.

interesting input bethelstudent lol. :redpinkhe

Apply to other schools as well as the program at your school! Even with that GPA you can get into nursing school somewhere. Just do some digging. If you don't want to be an RN bad enough to apply to other schools, you could always major in Psychology or Health Education or some liberal arts doo-doo... i hear those majors are harder than nursing school .........................joke

I would definitely e-mail each professor AND show up to class on the first day and see if you can snag someone's seat who didn't show up. At my previous school, this is how a person in your situation would go about getting a seat. And yes, I would go to every one if you are able to attend class during those times.