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.

What an amazing reply. I'm contemplating OR too eventually after getting some general experience. Decisions decisions for integrated practicum.

I see it as two separate things - starting the IV, and then the IV fluids/meds themselves. We had two classes in pharm which covered IV meds constantly. Many components in lab where we programmed the pumps, primed the lines, did maintenance. But have not inserted them into each other literally yet. I think we get to practice on dummies at some poin?. We're moving onto central lines this week in lab and I am in my 1st term, 2nd year of an ADN-RN program. They do give us the option to refuse to have students do things to us though - I mean like ID injections as practice. Not everyone wants or needs that though. I would go for it though - I mean with a real IV insertion....Probably a liability thing though?

Worry about how well you care for your patients, not a grade on an exam based on some book reading. After you're in, no one cares about your B's or A's.

Most of the male nursing students in my program give me the heaves. Creepy personalities and not very attractive. I have met some attractive ones at the hospital but it's fairly rare. I probably wouldn't be interested in dating someone in the same occupation, but may not have anything to do w/ being male nurse, just not interesting to be in the same job I think.

Well stated. It's not about a lamp, a piece of paper or a pin. Why would anyone think that? Just a time to celebrate what we worked so hard for with friends, family or mentors. I was a bit taken aback that we have to plan and pay for ours in full, but such is life. It will still be worth it. People sound so bitter and jaded or maybe too cool for school? Rebels without a cause? - This will be my 4th college degree next year and I would never see it as just a piece of paper to throw in a drawer. It's what that paper represents that is important and it never gets old achieving a huge goal - I hope those embittered aren't the ones that end up being my nurse in my old age =) Also, I agree about the networking point - seriously, don't burn bridges and have a 'tude just because you can.

Stick to what your instructor's focus is - forget extra books. You'll have enough on your plate with what's assigned. I've done best when I did all the reading, reviewed the notes (took meticulous notes). I do record lectures, but only listen to them if I have nothing else to do. Study groups and 100's of study cards aren't helpful (for me) either - they are time consuming busy work. I like full page comparisons, but sometimes those are a waste of time. If you take good notes, you can just add to them, and highlight them and they serve the same purpose. I also take notes on readings. Having an overview, then memorizing is good. If I do that I never have a problem applying it to scenarios. Also my grades have not been as good when I spent too much time on going over in-class scenarios or other offerings on scenarios. For our instructors anyway - they are for practice and enrichment but they never ever make test questions referring to the concepts - maybe some fraction of a fact in one, but never do they reference the whole situation or what was really interesting about it. I think their point is to learn all the tools and knowledge 1st, then be given a totally unknown situations/scenario and see how we think on our feet with said tools.

My boyfriend lives with me, and I never see him. Get used to it. We eat & sleep together, that's about it.

In Oregon or the west coast in general where it's popular to live, pretty much all job offerings ask for a BSN - but they are open to you working on it while you already have your ADN RN. Probably just better to get it over with. I have never seen a job post specifically asking for a ADN nurse. Look in your area at the areas you desire - the jobs posts will say what's required. Check out the hospital websites. You can at least get a feel for it. I think ADN's would be more welcome at long term care facilities also.

Do a little of each - work a little, play a little, and review review review. You will thank yourself for it layer - just A&P - chemistry & biology you should've already done by now and at least in my program we aren't studying those as pure sciences anymore. It's all about clinical application, pharmacology and pathophysiology. With my program they posted materials early - 2 weeks before the term started. It's a good idea to take them up on it if they offer for you to start reading early. I didn't do that and I regretted it. Also, check with some current nursing students in your program. Some programs start off in the 1st term VERY EASY. The 2nd term is hell on wheels - and that's when the reviewing in summer is helpful. It all comes back to haunt (the things we forget). Congrats on getting in.

You will most likely get a job if you go into clinical work, not the business end like medical office work. CNA is a good start to see if you like it - it's a short program at any community college but they are getting expensive nowadays. The one at my college is 1500. Extra for the licensure. Comm. colleges don't require anything but a GED. For nursing, it's ultra competitive, you need usually an all A average to get in, and there are a few years of pre req courses before you can even apply. I'm in an RN program now - it's about 60 hours/ week of work, not a good idea if you need to work while in school, actually rather impossible. For a Associate's degree in nursing for the RN it's 2 years of prereq's & 2 years of clinical/theory and another year and half for the BSN. Most hospitals will only hire BSN's now. So it's a 5 year commitment. Start slow and check out the non-degree programs first. Good luck!