student4ever73

I'm sure I have a lot of feelings similar to other new grads... I've been a LPN for about a month, working in a LTC/rehab facility. Most of my time so far has been on the LTC unit, though I will float between the two eventually. The orientation has been great, and from what I've been reading on the message boards here, I'm lucky that I've gotten so much time and the staff has been very supportive. I worked there as a CNA while I was in nursing school, so that has been helpful, but I'm in an entirely different role now! Last week I had the first shift on my own, which was only because the nurse I was orientating with had to unexpectedly go cover another nurse's shift on rehab. I had a brief second of panic, and then thought "Okay, I can do this." I also knew if I got stuck I could ask the RN or supervisor for help... and I ended up needing it. Four people into my med pass, we had a fall. That was enough to throw the rest of the shift out of whack. While dealing with that, a resident who has regular cigarette breaks became agitated that nobody had time to take him outside and called me and the supervisor a b****. I was also informed by a CNA that another resident, who is diabetic, was vomiting and then her blood sugar dropped. My meds were late. While I was at the med cart, a resident repeatedly screamed "nurse!! nurse!!" as if that would make me get her pain pill any faster than I was trying to. Yet another resident, who regularly calls the police, did so this shift because she felt she wasn't being tended to. She proceeded to swear at the staff and kick the nurses' station desk. (Okay, how many of you are thinking "Welcome to long term care!") The CNAs on my hall were a bit stressed out too. On the bright side, the supervisor handled the fall paperwork/family/doctor issues, and helped me get caught up on the med passes. Not only did she do that, she acknowledged that we didn't get a lunch break and grabbed a bag of fun sized candy bars so we could eat a couple on the go. I know I'll get to where I need to be, but still feeling unorganized, slow, and a little scared of doing it on my own. I also know that when I work in rehab I'll be slammed with admissions on top of everything else. I'm still adjusting to the idea of supervising CNAs and am starting to get a little more comfortable with that, but need some work in that area. Comments? How long did it take you to feel like you had a handle on the typical shift? Any tips for speeding up the med passes? If you worked as a CNA first, did you find yourself getting caught between wanting to help the CNAs out and doing your own duties? For example, taking someone to the toilet myself because it's just faster than hunting down the CNA and not wanting the resident to have an accident. I have no problem with helping transfer or change someone if I go to give a med and the CNA needs a hand. Looking forward to hearing your stories!

Congrats on starting your program. It seems the equipment schools require students to buy varies a bit. I would recommend either waiting to see what you need, or just call someone at the school and ask if they have a supplies list. Here is what my LPN program asks students to buy for clinicals: White lab jacket - full length 2 khaki uniforms tops 2 white uniform pants white shoes - closed heel and closed toe white socks penlight bandage scissors watch with a second hand Littman Master Classic II Stethoscope Now a note about the stethoscope - I didn't buy one of those and don't think anyone in my class did; we were told it was a recommendation but not a necessity, and might be better for a graduation present. I bought one for about $15 and it was just fine through all my clinicals. I also bought a blood pressure cuff just to practice with at home, but we didn't need that because our clinical sites always had the automatic kind. Here is where I bought it: Prestige Medical Sprague Style Stethoscope - Stethoscopes - Marcus Uniforms Another nice thing about our program was that as long as we had the right color of uniform and the school patch sewn on to them, we could get whatever top, pants, and lab coat we wanted. I don't think many schools let you do that.

I have lots of ideas for resources because I love to find bargains! I have also used Chegg.com for a few semesters and it's great. They've had almost every book I needed. What I've done is rent the books, but then at the end of the semester if I wanted to keep them, I just paid off the remaining purchase price. This way the overall cost is close to retail, but at least you're not paying it all upfront. There was one book I didn't want and I just sent it back; all I had to do was log in to my Chegg account and print out a shipping label. They do say on their website that they can't guarantee the books will come with CDs (if they're supposed to be) but mine did. For my last two semesters I bought my books on Amazon.com because I knew I would be keeping them and it was cheaper than the campus bookstore. My order qualified for the free shipping too. It's worth looking at Ebay, I've found some deals there but it's annoying when you get outbid, and it's a little risky if the seller doesn't have a good feedback rating. Also look at Borders.com, not necessarily for textbooks, but for reference and miscellaneous stuff. If you sign up for their email list you'll get coupons on a pretty regular basis. I bought a nursing diagnosis book there when I had a 40% off coupon... and it was incredibly helpful when I was working on care plans! (It is "Mosby's Guide to Nursing Diagnosis" 3rd edition... SO worth the money and a lot better than the one we were required to buy. I had the 2nd edition for a while and bought the 3rd as soon as it was on the shelves).

I am taking LPN classes now. In order to be admitted into my school's LPN program, we have to hold current CNA certification. Therefore we didn't cover bathing, feeding, and so on because we've already learned how to do that during CNA training. Our first semester of LPN classes started with medication administration and pharmacology, and we also learned basic dressing changes. I am at the end of second semester now, where we have been writing care plans, learning more in-depth about body systems, and going to clinicals at one of the hospitals. We take care of our assigned patient(s) including personal care if needed, and give their meds. We can hang IV meds, but cannot start IVs. Only RNs can do that here. Basically, like a previous poster said, you will need to learn those things because you may still have to do them, and will most likely be supervising CNAs at some point. Good luck!

1* what's the overall cost of your program? the minimum requirement is 46 credit hours, and tuition is currently $97 per credit hour, so the tuition is $4462. it spans over three semesters, once you are actually in the program. it may take you longer if you have prerequisites to complete or if you want to go part time. we also have to pay for books, scrubs, and clinicals supplies (stethoscope, bandage scissors, pen light, a few other small things). those don't have to be purchased in a specific place; therefore depending on how resourceful a person is, they can be found at reasonable prices. ebay and amazon.com were helpful! 2* if u qualify for financial aid than what's the remaining amount that u have to pay overall? i don't know. i didn't apply for financial aid but some of my classmates are getting aid from various programs. 3* what school r-u-goin' to? parkland college. 4* where's your school located? champaign, illinois http://your.parkland.edu/academics/departments/health/lpn.aspx