gallatea

The longer you're out of nursing school, the more you forget. I don't think the study book is the only source you should be looking at. That is for those that have already mastered the basics. I would review past content and do a prep program as well, and I'd study at least 3 hours/day.

FYI, things haven't changed. Brown nosing still works too. The more you have in common w/ your instructor - the better things can turn out. Some of the younger ones did not know how to finesse the situation. First win their hearts, then work your ass off. Have a thick skin too. Being competent alone didn't always work. If they saw you were weak, they would peck you like a vulture on a carcass.

Can only go by experience - what I've seen? #1 - most I've seen simply do not pass a final exam and have to retake it or take a year off or leave permanently. The program is rigorous, and stressful, not to mention long including prerequisites. Family drama - saw one drop out because of that. Stress & insomnia - some realize halfway through they are about to lose it and have so much stress they drop out. And I'm not talking about women with a big family or a job outside school. It can be that stressful for *some*. Illness - seen someone drop right away as he felt his past illness would be exacerbated by the stress of nursing school. And yes, have seen instructors ride a student so bad they drop out. It was heart breaking. One more thing - most make it, so don't put too much weight on this - with all programs and degrees people drop out for all of the above. That's just life.

Maybe the getting up at 4am detail is part of the problem. Ever consider different hours?

wish_me_luck These are reasonable questions you are asking and it's better to ask, than assume and make errors...others making statements that you have a certain personality type is ignorant. I think part of the problem is so many women go into nursing thinking it's way more autonomous than it is. And many have BS/MS degrees and other prior degrees/careers before setting foot in a nursing classroom. The higher echelon of students nowadays do ask bigger picture questions. I think a lot of the theory we learn/learned (not nurses 10-30 years ago) is elusive. On the other hand, I think instructors are vigilant about liability issues because we live in a very litigious society. In the end though, the money to be acquired via a lawsuit is not in someone making 28/hr.. Pt's and lawyers go after the hospital and MD insurance. We might have to show up in court and explain our behaviors, but we are a very small cog in the wheel. (We "feel" responsible for everything because we are taught to "feel" this way, but it's an over-reaction through pedagody in my opinion in order to get our stubborn brains thinking in a certain way - or practicing in a defensive way.) But I agree it's a confusing message - we need to know all the patho, pharm and now the trend is "anticipatory" nursing. Basically we will diagnose and presribe treatments IN our heads, but STOP at the point of total intervention (til we get the go ahead from an MD). (For example, getting meds ready because we know a certain condition is present, but we do not tell the pt. they have x dx or prescribe medicines just yet, but we def. NEED to know what's going on and get ready for it.) And yes, their training is grueling. I live with an MD and after the 4 years of med school (and med school is 9-5, M-F, not to mention clinicals full-time), there were 6 more in training with 60+ hours per week involved. He would do 24 hr. shifts weekly in addition to 5 more days work. With NO summers off in between I might add. Then he did another 3 years getting a neuro pharmacology PhD - talk about a glutton for punishment. My training or clinicals were 8-10 half days per term in the first half of my program (2 years total for clinicals) (30 half shifts per year). Pretty wimpy in comparison, and I'd never want to bear all that truly weighs on his shoulders even if it's simply represented at times in one single aspirin. It's never as easy as it appears on the surface. Kinda like how everyone says, "OH I could do that, or a 5 yr. old could" of a Jackson Pollock or Van Gogh painting. That's not really the point. In the medical field, lives are on the line.

If you can't swing an A in those two courses in one term, you'll probably never make it through nursing school. It might be a good way to gauge what you're capable of with two dependents before investing more time and money.

Amen to that.

I think you also have to realize, you're getting the bottom of the barrel in applicants. At the end of my program not one person signed up to do a LTC integrated practicum or co-op. It's the last resort for all but about 1%. Nobody chooses to work in LTC it seems, it's what you do when no hospital will hire you. Many of them may resent having to apply for your job and I've had friends that worked in LTC. After years of it, they would say a sign of a bad nursing home is that it wreaks of BM. Think about how you're presenting your place of employment to them as well if you want a really great employee. The cruise is a prepaid thing...don't take everything so personally. That person may have been looking for a job for 6 months and if no job offers, well other commitments do come up, life goes on - it's only two weeks. A lot of new grads might travel after 4-5 years of school. They earned it. I've heard similar stories from my sig. other whom owns a medical practice. Bizarre stories/attitudes from new grads or veteran nurses alike. He picked what he thought to be the best one, and was still disappointed. Now they only hire medical office assistants - easier and more efficient to train. No more RN's - too high maintenance requesting too much pay and they don't catch on fast enough. Yes big egos. I think every nurse applying for a job should read a book written by people that have done interviews to gain a new perspective.

Skip lunch and breaks, that's what I do. And if anyone asks, yes, you took your lunch or break. I think a lot of nurses finishing on time are good at prioritization - and by this, it's not a compliment - it means they cut corners big time and do what's only necessary legally and ethically. Ignore all else. In school it always felt like a rat race.

For the love of God, take it. Your family will reap the rewards of a happier Mom/wife that no $4/hr. can ever make up for. From what you just wrote, I think you also answered your own question.

Moral of the story should also be, treat the whole pt., not just the number and not just the machine. One person's normal as stated above is not everyone's normal. And if you are worried about having difficulty getting a number or feel you missed a breath - look at them as a whole. What other S/S do they have that prove they are having resp. difficulty (RR is just one assessment tool)? If all else is stable, and all other phys. exam results are good regarding oxygenation and perfusion, don't freak yourself out about getting 13, when you think it should be 14. It's going to vary from minute to minute to some degree. And ask for help if you are having trouble or truly worried. Every pt. doesn't need his resp. counted for a full minute. Check your hospital's policies and protocol, it can vary by dx, floor, etc.. And that is truly what you should be going by, not what we say.

I wouldn't worry that much until you actually get in. Most comm. college programs require a 4.0 (although they say they take a min. of a C, no one would ever get in with that kind of grade). If you do get in and actually finish, that's 2-3 years away - economy should be better by then. As we (I am almost at the end of a RN program now) are being told, just don't be picky on where you work, the shift or the hours. Be open to part-time or on call work, be ready to move out of state for a job, be ready to take a nursing home job and be ready to work the night shift. If you are open, and also willing to get a BSN later, you should be fine. Any new career has risks involved. There is just no 100% guaranty of a job after any degree. But I would be very skeptical of any group of people all being overly positive and Mary Poppins like about any degree and job potential - that just doesn't exist in this economy, so just have a strategy in place for yourself and after doing your research, judge for yourself. Good luck.

if you can't chew gum and walk, you're in trouble in the real world..counting respirations should not be this difficult that we need a page dedicated to it.

better yet who would actually say something to a non-scrubber if we witnessed it? What about the non-veralizers...that's what keeps the non-scrubbers going.

OSU (Oregon state) has an online statistics course based in psychology. It requires no pre-requisites and is accepted towards any BSN program in our state. It's online. More expensive than a comm. college but cheaper than a university.