slacktime

I have seen medical students faint in clinicals and nursing students get dizzy and lightheaded at some of the sights and smells that are part of the training. Nobody flunked out because of it. When I was a student and things got messy, I had a job to do and that kept me focused. I did feel lightheaded in the delivery room once, I sat down for five minutes, it passed and I stayed for eventual delivery by C-section. I was complimented for managing the problem and finishing the day. It never happened before or since. If you really want to be a nurse, you will get past this. Good Luck!

Karilin, I graduated last Dec from an Associates program. My observation is: yeah one can get through the program while working full time, but it a rare student that can do it. A third of my classmates washed out of the program, all but 1 or 2 of them left because they were distracted from their studies, mostly by work. I cut back to half time and ended up using vacation during busy times at school. My experience is that a lot of people fool themselves into thinking they can study and work but end up failing at school.

Samantha, I graduated last Dec, got thru NCLEX, and now work on an ortho floor. I suggest you start an exercise program, 30 minutes 5 times per week. You will need the extra energy and stress relief you get from exercise. Start as soon as possilbe so it will be a habit when classes start. I loved every minute of nursing school, finished with all Bs and an A, I am sure regular exercise contributed significantly to my success at school. You might also find out what text is used the first semester for basic nursing and start reading.

It has already! I graduated in Dec 09, passed boards in Jan 10, applied for two jobs, interviewed for one and was hired. I started orientation two weeks ago with 30 other new grads, 20 were my former classmates. there were 40 some new RNs in our class, all but a handful (5) have jobs. I think the job market is turned around and it will get better as Obama care is phased in.

Don't forget 30 - 90 minutes to prep for clinical experience. We had to go to care facility to get info for next clinical. It was night before or early morning before clinical.

This was something I learned in my last semester of nurses training, it really is an advanced student nurse question

Sorry, I wish life was so simple. Generally infected tissue contains more bacteria than colonized tissue but not always. If your nose is colonized with MRSA, the risk of foreign body associated soft tissue infection increases, probably to the point where it outweighs the benefits of enhanced esthetics of a nose piercing. You make that desicion. Keeping the piercing clean and hand hygiene will reduce the risk of infection but probably not to the point of no piercing. If the piercing is colonized, plan on it staying colonized until it is autoclaved, it is unlikely that keeping it clean will de-colonize the thing, every time one enters a pt room with a colonized nose piercing, they are bringing with them a dose of MRSA loaded into aerosoliztion device (nose), every sneeze or little cough dispenses a dose. The crux of the problem that the piercing is a foreign body and MRSA is an adherent, biofilm forming bacteria. They secrete a sticky exopolysaccharide matrix on the foreign body and then live and divide in this matrix. Biofilm bacterial cells have a metabolism different than free floating bacteria, they communicate with each other and do not divide like free floating cells. Cells that are not actively dividing are not killed by antibiotics, disinfectants or the immune system. Generally, MRSA biofilms are at least 1000 times less susceptible to antibiotics or disinfectants and are in fact, resistant. Pts with MRSA foreign body infections often require extensive surgical debridement, aggresive antimicrobial therapy, and almost alwys, foreign body removal. If it is an infected nose ring, take it out and throw it away, an IV catheter, pull it and use the other hand, prosthetic knee, surgically remove it (after it was cemented in to last a lifetime), fill the surgical defect with bone cement beads loaded with vancomycin, give the pt IV vancomycin for at least 6 wks, wait a month and then surgically remove the beads and replace the prosthetic joint. If it is a prosthetic heart valve, give high dose of vancomycin and gentamicin for as long as you dare (couple of days) and surgically replace the valve but plan on an extensive debridement and a high risk of relapse. more questions, send me an email and I will be in touch.

Sorry, but your theory is not completely correct. I am sure having a nose piercing increases the risk of infection, partly because of the skin integrity is compromised, but mostly because the hardware is a transcutaneous foreign body, but it does not guarantee infection. One compromises intranasal skin integrity regularly, every time one sneezes, blows their nose, picks their nose, etc, etc, the skin is compromised, often microscopically, but compromised. The immune system kicks in from several different sources to eliminate MRSA that are there. Health care workers are MRSA colonized sometimes, but so is the general public. In our community, MRSA colonization is more prevalent among high school teachers than hospital nurses, nose piercing infections are much less common than MRSA colonization. Thousands of transcutaneous medical implants (IV catheters, external orthopedic fixators, etc) are implanted every day in MRSA colonized individuals, MRSA infections is still rare among these patients. when these infections do occur, they are often a minor problem, only requiring implant removal (pull the IV, remove the external fixator) to cure the infection. Probably more than you want to know, sorry if I have been verbose.

Dearest Fmartin, Nursing is the third most respected profession in the U.S. for a whole bunch of reasons, among them are honesty and candor. Develop those habits, they will serve you well as a nurse and as a midwife. Nursing instructors can recognize deceit better than your mother and they have a deep appreciation for honesty. Your aspirations to be a midwife are admirable. Midwives are RNs, RNs are competent entry level nurses in all aspects of nursing (mental health, pharmacology, geriatrics, cardiology, etc). If you are more focused on being a midwife and less focused on being a nurse, you likely will be less competitive. If you are enthusiastic to be an RN with the hopes of being a midwife sometime in the future, you will be fine. Good Luck and keep us posted.

RN2B, I just finished nursing school and passed boards last Jan, I agree with the other posters, you need to be organized with a planner of some sort. Use whatever works for you, I used an excel spreadsheet. I also strongly suggest start and continue a regular stress reduction program (running, walking, yoga, something physical) at least 3 times / week, I jogged 5 - 7 x / week, I am not a jock, I just needed the stress management and energy one gets from exercise. If you want to read, get an intro to nursing textbook. Find out what the school you want to get into uses in the first semester and get that one or I suggest "fundamentals of nursing" by Taylor, used from Amazon for $85. 1856 pages of good info that nurses use on a daily basis. Nursing school for me was a grand adventure, I hope you enjoy it.

You are right; you just need encouragement. I think the tough last semester is just the nature of the beast. I struggled my last semester, most of my classmates struggled, most got through OK. I did, don't really know how, but I did and passed boards last month. If you have been a B student so far, you likely will do fine, probably finish as a B student. I hope I don't have to compete with you for a job!

Go the college catelog of a nursing school, look up each class, read the class description. If you want to know exact chapters, email the instructor and ask them, then look up the required texts for each class, get them from the library and there they are.

I'm in too. It has been a challenge, interesting, exciting and very rewarding. It's not for the faint of heart but neither is nursing. A few students complain loudly but they are a small minority, the vast majority of my classmates are thrilled to be nursing students.

I suggest you adjust your attitude just a schooch. You go to clinicals & perform skills that are new to you, you are going to do things WRONG once in a while. You are only human, accept it and keep going. I do things "wrong" regularly, learn from them and move on. I worried about doing something unsafe with a patient. The instructors are there to see that you are safe. BTW, instructors usually are not good at stroking your ego, don't expect it. Generally unless the instructor pulls you aside and tells you that you are a screwup, you are doing just fine.

Ruddergrl, I just finished nursing school and passed boards last month, my suggestions are: 1) start and continue a regular stress reduction program (running, walking, yoga, something physical) at least 3 times / week, I jogged 5 - 7 x / week, I am not a jock, I just needed the stress reduction and energy one gets from exercise. 2) go get certified as a CNA. It will give you a bit of insight into the world of patient care, taking nursing tests, taking skills tests, etc and when you walk into a pts room on your first day of clinicals, it won't be the first time to go into a room as a caregiver. 3. get an intro to nursing textbook and read it. Find out what the school you want to get into uses and get that one or I suggest "fundamentals of nursing" by Taylor, used from Amazon for $85. 1856 pages of good info that nurses use on a daily basis. I would not emphasize any specific science unless you really have an interest in it, most schools cover what you need reasonably well. just my suggestions