TrinCell

I am very surprised and happy you got a job in the ICU straight out of school. This is what I am trying to do too. Could you tell me where you found such a job?? At least the state you work in? I would be willing to move anywhere.

This question makes no sense to me. You specifically said you do not want to be a nurse and then you are asking if you should be one? Ummm...the first thing about choosing a career is finding one you want to do of course. If you don't want to do it then why are you even asking the question?

If they are not accredited, you may be unable to work outside of your state, and your degree will not necessarily be recognized by other schools. Another thing you should look at is the nature of the clinical experiences the students get. Do they get into the hospital much or are they in nursing homes and community locations? This could affect how easy/difficult it will be to get a job after. These questions are much more important than NCLEX pass rates IMO.

Whatever school you choose you should make sure it is accredited. If it isn't then you might not be able to get an advanced degree later and might be unable to work outside of Florida. In the worst case, you might find your degree is worthless. I don't know about whether these two schools you mentioned are accredited or not, but you should find out before you start.

I saw some people saying they sent thank you cards after an interview. Is this something everyone does which is expected? I have had a few interviews but no job yet. I have never sent a thank you card though. Is it really that important? I have another interview coming up and maybe I should do it this time?? Also, can you just send a thank you email? I have no idea what address I could send it to for some exact person within a hospital. How would you even know that?

You don't need Word. You can download Word Viewer for free from Microsoft if you just want to read (not edit) Word documents. Alternatively, you could get OpenOffice (free).

Who are you talking to? I took the TEAS IV.

It's telling of your youth that you so clearly state what your specialty will be as if it is written in stone. You realize it isn't so simple as just saying "I'm going to be a doctor. My specialty will be xx." You will have to get the right grades in medical school and the right scores on the USMLEs before you can make such a certain statement about what you will specialize in. That is granting you get into medical school to begin with. Even if you make it into medical school, you may wind up finding that primary care and a few other things you don't like so much are the only residencies that will accept you. I don't mean to burst your bubble, but if you decide to go to medical school you need to keep an open mind about what you may wind up doing. That is just something that comes along with it.

Of course it can. I did not study for the TEAS at all and got in the mid 90s. I did not even know what the TEAS was until the day before I had to take it.

Won't ever use? Physiology is very important especially for critical care. If you don't understand how the body works normally then you cannot understand how a disease affects this function. Renal and cardiac physiology are very important especially. Anyway, you shouldn't be freaked out too much about a 90. Not everyone will be a master the first time around. In fact, none will really. You will have more opportunities to learn about disease processes in nursing school and you can read more about physiology at that time. Keep your physiology book handy and go back to it when you need to. In nursing school, you will take pharm and patho and you can continue to increase your physiology knowledge as you understand the effects of drugs and diseases on these processes.

States do not have "poor wording" just because it doesn't suit your preferences. The wording was carefully defined by the Board of Nursing in that state precisely for these reasons. How about a DNP? Do they get to say "I'm Dr. So-and-So" in a hospital setting? No. They have a "doctorate" degree, but they cannot use the word "doctor" to identify themselves to patients because that term is protected legally. Now, even if a CNA makes up a silly argument like "I have doctored these photos", that does not mean that the CNA can now legally call themselves a "doctor" to patients. This is the exact same argument you are making about the word "nurse". What you think of as a common word is a very precise legal word in the health care setting. It is NOT legal for a CNA, dental hygienist , or anyone else who is not a nurse to call themselves one in a patient care setting. Mothers who are "nursing" their infants can use the term since it is not a statement of a clinical job title which is not the case with a CNA who incorrectly calls him/herself a "nurse". For example, a Ph.D. can call themselves a "doctor" in a research or academic setting, but NOT in the clinical setting legally. The legal protections for "doctor" and "nurse" are specifically in clinical settings when referring to job title. Whether or not action has been taken against someone for illegally calling themselves a nurse to a patient is irrelevant, although I would be willing to bet that it has happened or at least the Board of Nursing has threatened action to reported individuals. Anyway the legality of a law is not based on how many people have been convicted of breaking it. I think after seeing the type of erroneous beliefs some people have about the legality of the term "nurse", I will be extra vigilant about informing people what a "nurse" is. Maybe I will even put these laws to the test by reporting to the Board of Nursing. Would you still be so confident that "nothing will happen" if you worked with someone like me?

The program is not 32 credits. It is 54-59 credits based on whether you have to take an elective/research.

1) These are approximate: tuition = about $11,000 for entire program books = over $1000 first semester, a few hundred for other semesters at most uniform/shoes = about $150 being frugal (2 white tops/pants, 2 navy blue pants, $20 shoes, no jackets) rent/food = depends on your lifestyle you will also need stethoscope, watch, up to date vaccinations, physical, health insurance, CPR class, nursing supplies This could all cost a lot, but I didn't add it up. I'm sure I forgot a lot of stuff. Don't forget tolls/gas for driving because you will be driving anywhere and everywhere. 2) UCF contracts with both FL Hospital and Orlando Health so this includes basically any major hospital in the area. Arnie and Winnie are included and many people rotate through them. There is no guarantee you would get them though.