sik0123

Hello! I start nursing school this august, and was considering going to my local hospital to ask about internships and any sort of volunteer work I could do. I was specifically interested in the idea of being an ICU nurse, and I know that my ADN program would not specifically prepare me for this type of department. So, I would like to maybe intern and see if this is the type of department for me, and if so, would like to gain more experience and a higher comfort level with my surroundings. Perhaps I would even be able to work my way up to an ICU department a little quicker with this sort of exposure and networking. The thing is, I'm not sure what sort of position or duties I would be eligible to do within an ICU. I do have a CNA certification, and if the department allows me to volunteer there, I would like to be useful to them in any way I can. What would I be allowed to do? For those who are ICU nurses - does your hospital allows students to volunteer in your department? What could I do to help you the most and establish myself in this department?

I think the other people I spoke to really worried me, when they acted like taking on some sort of internship would take away precious hours I would need to pass their program. I started thinking that maybe nursing school was ten times harder than I had previously anticipated. I was just wondering if people who had already started their program thought that they never had enough time already, and if this was something they thought might harm more than help - especially starting out.

Hi everyone! This is my first official post since becoming a member, and I am excited to say that I will be starting nursing school this fall! I am very excited about the idea of starting a career in nursing, but with the current economy and difficulty of finding a job as a new grad, I was thinking of ways to make myself more marketable. I don't work and I don't have a lot of family obligations, and I was thinking it would be great to intern at my local hospital during the two years of my program, so when I graduate I will have more patient experience and will be more comfortable in a health care setting. I love the idea of shadowing nurses in different departments and observing procedures and just LEARNING more about my future career. My problem is that a few people I have spoke to (including one of the advisors in the program) insists that one day a week at clinicals is more than enough, and trying to do something like this will just be too difficult. I was thinking only one additional day a week, but do you believe they are right? I have two previous degrees, so don't have to worry about messing with any pre-reqs while taking the nursing classes. I also believe that these previous degrees have taught me time management skills that they might not be used to in their students. Am I trying to take on too much? Do you believe that even one more day of patient interaction a week will be worth it, or make me a better nurse for when I graduate?

I think it would depend where you had the drug test done. In my program, we take the drug test at our clinical site, and they never actually send the results to our school. The only thing our school hears about is whether or not the clinical site would allows us to work there, and dismissal could come from a number of reasons. Either way, since you can obviously pass the test now, that should be proof enough of your rehabilitation and dedication to the program. Good luck!