ErinRN2B

I'm sure it's a urine test. Hair tests are expensive, and I doubt any school would be willing to shell out the extra cash, when urine tests are so cheap. Personally, I've never heard of anyone having to have their hair tested, expect for those applying to police forces or government jobs. You can buy a THC urine testing kit at any drug store for under $20. 36 hours is a pretty big window to take a drug test - many drugs are out of your system naturally in that much time! Geez. Cross your fingers, take this as a lesson, and don't make the same mistake again.

I have no problems with LPNs in general. The vast majority of the ones I've met have been knowledgeable and kind. However, I've had a few issues with some in my class currently. I'm an RN student, and half of my psych class is LPN-RN transition students. The ones I haven't gotten along with are very whiny, constantly complain about how "you never need to know this crap on the job," and don't value assessment at all. But I'm sure not all LPNs are like that. :)

There are a few people that I really like in my nursing program, but I doubt we will stay close after graduation. I have a few very close friends that I've had for years before I ever started the nursing program, and to be honest, I didn't go to nursing school to make new friends. I mostly just keep my head down, do my own work, and try to be friendly and respectful to everyone else. Study groups and review sessions may help some people, but they've never really helped me.

Stop being so clique-y, you're all grown adults! This isn't high school, and acting like it is isn't cute.

Quit talking about your kids. Half of the women here have kids. I have a kid. It doesn't make me special, and it certainly doesn't make you special. Being exceptionally fertile does not make you any more interesting to the rest of us.

My ASN will have taken me three years to complete. One year of pre-reqs - A&P, micro, chem, etc. - and two years of core nursing classes. I think that this is pretty standard for CC ASN programs.

I envy you. My CC is about the same price as yours; all of the loans I have were taken out to help pay living expenses. That's what happens when you have a family headed by two full-time students.

I work part-time at Target, and they have awesome school supplies. Unfortunately I already spend way too much of my paycheck there.

I'm honestly kind of embarrassed about the amount of debt I have. Student loan debt scares me. It's not awful -

Another "chick's" perspective - plenty of women hold professionalism in pretty high regard, myself included, and this thread doesn't exactly reek of that.

From one anxious gal to another... Plenty of people have had bad experiences with this or that various psych drug. I know I did. Paxil didn't do anything to help my anxiety, but Xanax turned me into a dysfunctional zombie. Part of psychiatric medicine is trying different medications to find the one that works best for you. It sounds like you're not happy right now, and like the other posters I agree that you should seek medical advice. Anxiety spectrum disorders are very treatable, both with medications and with psychotherapy. Best of luck to you in your schooling. :heartbeat

Gorked-out = over-medicated?

Are you kidding? I'm 22 and I hardly consider myself a "late bloomer" into the nursing field. There are loads and loads of posts on this site from nursing students in their mid-40s or even older.

I've been thinking about this a lot lately. I have one year left in my RN program. I loved my pharm class and would someday like to work in the pharmaceutical industry doing clinical research trials or working in drug development. After I finish my ASN, I'm planning on going to Purdue University [hometown school] and getting a bachelor's in pharmaceutical science. After that, I'm not sure. I've also been considering pursuing medical school after that (a giant leap from nursing, I know). I love psych too, so another option I'm considering is becoming a mental health NP. The third route I'm thinking about is doing the CRNA thing. I loved the little time I spent in the OR and PACU last semester and am anxious to learn more. Whatever I chose, I know that more education is in my near future. I'm still young and want to go as far in the medical field as I can. Oh, and I'm already married and have a kid. :) No more for us in the near future. I got married/pregnant when I was only 20 and started my ASN program when my son was 2 months old. I'm very happy being a mom but I also was never the kind of person who could be a full-time stay-at-home mom... I would probably go crazy.

I love this post. I'm a non-repentant office supply junkie. Right now I am loving Bic VelocityGel pens. They feel great writing on a thick legal pad in clinical.

If I have to get up early in the AM, I shower the night before instead of the morning of. Not my favorite thing ever, but it saves time. I make sure the clothes I need are washed and folded and ready. I get my bag ready with everything I'll need and make sure there's enough gas in my car. I'm pretty low-maintenance, so it usually only takes me about 15 minutes to get out of the house in the morning...

It always shocks me too. I could have graduated 100% debt-free from my school, but I took out loans to help pay my living expenses. I couldn't juggle working, nursing school, and family all at the same time. But (thank goodness), my debt is still substantially lower than many of the tuition rates I've seen posted on this site. Personal loans aside, I would never pay > $8 - 10,000 for and ASN program. That's ludicrous.

Glad to see Purdue on there. :) It's 5 minutes away from my house. I go to a local CC, but hopefully I'll complete my bachelor's at Purdue.

I have a strong interest in psych, but lately I've been more and more leaning toward PACU. I spent a little time there last semester and loved it. I would never want to work in L&D after the few days I spent there in clinical. LTC isn't my first choice either.

That's ridiculous, IMO, I'm sorry. Having debt doesn't automatically turn someone into a thief.

Seriously - become familiar with psych meds now, because you'll see them anywhere you go in your nursing career - a lot. Half the meds I passed last semester during my Med/Surg clinical at a hospital were "psych meds." Half the pts. were on SSRIs and they all had PRN Xanax or Ativan...

Psych just isn't for everyone. I think I am one of maybe two people in my class who has expressed any interest in working in psych. Everyone likes and dislikes certain specialties of nursing... I'd say probably 30-40% of my class want to be mother-baby or NICU nurses, but I absolutely loathed days on the OB floor.

Thanks for your input. I have a really anxious personality by nature and tend to stress majorly over every little thing - especially things concerning my future. Never in my life have I felt "poor," but being a full-time student with a student husband and a two-year-old is financially draining. Some of my medical bills are related to my pregnancy, but most are from when I had to have emergency gallbladder surgery in 2009. I'm also a pretty private person, and the idea of a potential employer knowing the not-so-flattering parts of my life before they even get to know me is a little annoying. I guess maybe I should start looking into some kind of debt management services or something. At least something to think about...

I'm actually really excited about my psych clinical (start in a week) because psych is an area of nursing that has always really, really interested me. I'm still kind of in the dark about what we'll be doing in our clinical, but I'm looking forward to finding out. I've heard good things about the class from students that have already taken it.

I've recently ran across a lot of posts on this site about hospitals and other places of employment running credit checks on potential new hires. This scares me to death because I have bad credit. I probably have about ~ $1,100 in unpaid medical bills. I am sure that this looks REALLY BAD to a health care organization and it scares me to death. Obviously I never wanted to have bad credit, but for the past two years I've essentially been forced to chose between keeping the lights on and paying a $300 medical bill. Before anyone flames me or tells me what an irresponsible person I am, I didn't ever want this to happen. One of the reasons I am looking forward to my career as a nurse is so that I can get my finances back in order and work on maintaining good credit. I'm so upset over this that it's causing me to lose sleep. Does anyone have any advice on this matter? Please help, I don't want to be dealing w/ this level of stress a week before class starts. * I'd like to add that besides the negative financial information on my credit report there is nothing in my background that really worries me too much. I've never been arrested or charged with anything more serious than a speeding ticket. I thought that that's what really mattered when you are applying for nursing jobs, but I guess not...