Greypoupon

I'm a male nurse. I don't mind being called a male nurse, murse, or even jokingly a mursenary. I even get called "ma'am" by accident. None of those are offensive or even annoying to me. I accept that historically nurses were women and there are still very much embedded stereotypes that male nurses are generally female. I'm still respected by nurses, physicians/PA/NP, patients, etc. Many patients ask me if I'm a doctor. Of course I am obligated to correct them and tell them I'm a nurse but none of the aforementioned bother me. Actually, being a male nurse is awesome. You get to avoid most of the politics and gossip, at least in the hospital. So I really don't care what people call me or even think of me being a nurse, and I really don't have the time or energy to care about such things, at least in a negative way.

By the time you graduate the LVN/LPN program, you have the general knowledge of how to do basically everything an LVN/LPN does. The main thing you need to focus on with a new job is to know where to look for information (what charts do you need to look at? any binders? check the fax machine for new orders) because once you know where to look, then the "what" and "when" will basically be told to you.

Exactly. If you're not healthy while you study, then you're not studying, you're reading words and letting them go out the window. Sleep, nutrition, fitness = maximum functioning body = study a fraction of the time to not only retain the information, but actually have a good overall picture of the subject.

If you don't work and don't freak out about everything, then nursing school should be pretty easy. Just keep going. Keep your hands "dirty" in nursing/medical information. Know that although new information is coming out everyday, that there is still a basic core curriculum that you need to learn, as in see light at the end of the tunnel.

LPN's know how to do CNA work as well as what separates LPN/LVN's from CNA's. However, just as it's more economical to pay a CNA to perform/assist with ADL's for clients, it's more economical to pay an LPN/LVN to pass meds, etc. than to pay an RN to do so. But all in all, if you've gotten your LVN/LPN license, why not go ahead and get your RN? If you have the willpower of course. LVN's will never be out of a job. Job requirements may change, but LVN's will definitely always be able to get a job.

If you get enough sleep, exercise every other day to 5 days a week (as in walking 30-60 min a day, etc.), eat breakfast Use the fact that I'm 23 to validate your argument but there should be no reason you need to study more than tops, tops, 3-4 hours a night, and that's if you waited til the few days before the test to study. Study a little bit every day and so that the day or two before the test, you are REVIEWING, not studying.

Wow I didn't know that pi$$ was a vulgar-enough word to be bleeped out! haha.

Get a marker board and write down your schedule for the week. Get multiple colors. I use red for tests, black for lecture/clinical, green for side notes or etc. Research on the internet using accurate sources. Medline Plus is a great source. The main thing that makes LVN school easier is just keeping your hands dirty with nursing/medical material. That means to substitute different areas of your life for keeping medical on your mind. Internet - you're on a nursing site so that's a plus. Research illnesses, youtube videos for visuals, etc. Audio to listen to in your car. Having at least something to study wherever you go in case you have the time. Relax and hold yourself to your own standards, not the standards of those around you. You know when you play a video game and get the basics down, then find all the secret levels, have a goal of scoring more points next time, etc.? Same concept with nursing or anything else you do. The more often you expose yourself to the basic information, practice what you know, look for tips/tricks to techniques you can try (nursing skills like catheterization, injections, etc.), learn about ICU/ER/OR/L&D/etc., the better off you'll be. If you make if your goal to keep learning the required material, and to supplement it with extra information, then nursing school will (should) be pretty easy. Also don't **** off your teachers or other students who can trash-talk about you to a teacher. There are students like that in EVERY class, not just nursing. As far as footwear that I prefer...I wear new balance cross trainers. They're amazingly comfortable for being on your feet all day and the colors aren't so flashy that you'd have to question being able to wear them or not. They come in all white too, but I got the white shoe w/dark blue letters. Study ahead of time. That way that a night or two before the test, you are REVIEWING, not studying. Good luck :)

It's easier to find a job as an LVN/LPN in the smaller urban-rural areas than it is in the larger cities. Generally, RN's are what facilities are looking for. Having ICU/ER experience (big emphasis on the ICU) on your resume could "magically" open up positions. EDIT: The point I was getting at was to maybe search for a job in a smaller nearby city or smaller facilities you may have passed on because they weren't lucrative enough. Other than that if you still can't get a job, you only have a few options, like either moving to a city that HAS job openings for LVN/LPN's or continuing on and getting your RN.

Look up the scope of practice for your state. If you're technically allowed to legally, learn how to cut them, but if you're not legally allowed to (both depending on circumstances such as difficulty cutting nails), then don't worry about it.

To me, there are 2 main things. First, the most difficult thing you could do as a male nurse would be to work on the OB floor (good luck ) and second, which is part of the first, is worrying about sexual harassment and other accusations. Female nurses/doctors can enter any room and perform an assessment or simple procedure by themselves, however the wise male nurse would bring a female nurse in the room with his female patient for an assessment or anything that is that personal.

The only thing I did that involved other actual students being the patient in the bed was bedmaking, just for the turning and bodyweight thing I guess. The rest is performed on dummies. However my instructors understand the huge difference between a dummy and a real person so they stressed that. Ex. Catheterizing a mannequin with a pre-exposed urinary meatus vs. a 72y female that's more like fighting through layers of warm sagging pizza dough. Or where you are told that it'd be nice to warm the diaphragm of your stethoscope before heart/lung sounds. In reality in the hospital, your hands become the equivalent to frozen bovine in a meat locker, so you may actually make the diaphragm even colder.