m4howie

Two things to consider. 1) I am currenlty looking into getting a Phd. At the University of MN they have NP to teach some of the classes. They also help the Phd nurses with their research. So that is an option with your current. degree. 2) I work at a VA hospital. There are always new research studies. They need nurses and NPs to monitor patients. I also know medical companies like Medtronics hire nures, nps, and doctors to help them do research and develop new products like their heart valves, ventilators and other devices. You will have lots of options. I would take advantage of you time in school to talk to your teachers about how to flex your current degree into all the things you want to do. They could be your biggest assest. Take advantage of all their connections to start making some of your own.

I am not in a Phd program so I can't answer your question. I would like to encourage you to do a few things before quitting. It is true that over time our aspirations and goals can change. I would think about why you wanted the Phd in the first place and is that "feeling" still there. Think about why you want to quit. Find the root. Is it because it is hard, trouble with an advisor, are you burnt out. I can tell you that in my life I have this habit of starting things and when I get about 75% done I quit. I made a promise to myself I wouldn't do that when I started nursing school. As an African American male I don't see people of color in management. As such, I never apply for those jobs even though my co-workers and managers keep encouraging me. I would hate for you to be blocking yourself from getting the phd because you are scared and can't see yourself as a doctor. If you truly don't want it anymore step away without shame or regret. Hold your head high and say I am done with that phase and am on to something new. If you aren't sure keep pressing on. Maybe pick back up an old hobby as stress relief. Try and restore some balance. Talk to some of your fellow students or your advisor. You can't be the only one. Whatever you decide make the decision from a position of power and not out of fear. Not from a place of what if this and what if that and I can't see how this will work..... blah blah blah. Focus on the end goal and if you goal has changed that is fine. Good luck. ?

So what happened the next time you went to work?--------- I have never measured a PICC line. I was trained to just check that the tip is intact. If the is intact than you know the whole line was removed. If you measure it you also know the whole line is removed. Every place has a different policy. I have beena nurse for 10 years and I still watch Youtube videos a reminder before doing things I don't very often.

Did you ever get your license?

A large percentage of my co-workers live more than 30 miles from the hospital. This means they are commuting 40 mins plus to get to work. Those nurses are the ones he arrive consistently 30-45 mins early. If they leave later they will hit traffic and be late so it is either arrive early or be stuck in traffic. Since they are here early they feel they might as well get to work to help ensure they leave on time. In addition to the other reasons mentioned this might be why some folks arrive so early.

I am going to assume that you are trying to come up with things to teach patients that are withdrawing and are new to sobriety. I use to work at a drug/ETOH treatment facility. The patients were in intense classes everyday that dealt with coping. AA and NA are all about coping. The nursing staff was responsible for teaching an hour class each week. We did a lot of stuff about nutrition, sleep, and stress reduction. Apparently any time a physical/biological need isn't met in the body like hunger or even having to go to the toilet, an addict starts to crave the drug. Thus, the more these needs are met the less cravings an addict will have which helps them stay sober. This makes establishing day habits of eating, sleeping, and working out very important. There are a lot of research articles that support this. I hope this helps.

Have you found a lot of groups on FB for PhD Seekers?

I have been look for an online Nursing PhD program. I will have to look into this one. I will be following this thread.

I will be submitting my application to the Nursing PhD program at the University of MN in next few weeks.

I have spoken with the admissions department at the University of Minnesota and the first two years of fully funded. After that the faculty help students find grants/scholarships to pay for their continued education. I did not ask specifically where the money comes from for the first two years. In my search for PhD programs I am finding that about 50% are free. For clarity this is only Phd programs. This does not apply to DNP programs. The creation of the DNP degree has resulted in a huge shortage of PhD educated nurses. I assume universities are creating grants to make education free to entice more nurses to get PhDs. I do know that programs with free education are extremely competitive.

I am currently looking at getting a PHD. I considered getting a masters first as a bridge but financially it is almost a waste of money. A masters on average is between 40 to 60 credits. Most BSN to DNP/PhD programs are around 70-90 credits. Most DNP/PhD programs will only accept 10-20 credits at most from people who have a masters degree. That really isn't much of a saving financially and definitely not a savings from a time standpoint (2 to 4 years to getting masters then going back for DNP/PhD). Getting a MSN in nursing and then a DNP or PhD in nursing is more likely to have credits that overlap than a general masters in education. That might be why they suggested going that route. I hope this is making sense.

This is slightly off topic but I think it will help answer your question. While in nursing school my pathophysiology instructor had a Phd in Pharmacology and she was working in a masters in education at the University of MN. I asked her why she was teaching at a community college instead of a 4 year university. She stated that there is an expectation of PhD instructors to continue research as well as teach. Research findings/results bring prestige to the school and often generates revenue if the data can be sold or leads to products being made. She did not want to have to deal with doing research. She just wanted to focus on teaching. There is a shortage of nursing educators. Universities have no problem hiring DNPs because they can teach clinicals and handle other administrative tasks PhD faculty instructors don't want to deal with. On the other hand, PhD instructions would be expected to teach as well as do research. I forgot to mention that research is funded by grants so it is actually a revenue stream for schools. My teacher stated that you have to always be looking for and filling out applications for funding. As a DNP your a shielded from this aspect of the world of academia. (Ps I am at the end of my night shift so I hope this makes sense.) :)

I agree with Saheckler. A few things to consider. 1) In general having a masters only knocks off about 15 to 20 credits from a PhD program. 2) In general a person with PhD make more money and have more job opportunities than someone with a masters. So getting a PhD leads to a higher lifetime earning potential. 3)A large number of PhD programs are basically free due to the scholarships available. This means no work attachments. Some employers require you to work a year for every year of school they fund. 4)If you really want the Masters in Public Health get it after the PhD. I live in MN. When I spoke with the admissions people they said a lot of Phd/DNP students get a masters in Public Health but it only takes about years since so many credits transfer in. I speak for other schools or programs but this seems logical. I can't comment on the GRE seeing as I have never taken it. I am currently prepping to take this summer. Good luck with whatever you decide. :)

Thanks, Have you decided on a school?

Background 1) I worked in health insurance processing claims, approving prior authorizations, and educated people about their benefit package 2) I worked as an RN at drug treatment facility where I spent my day trying to get insurance companies to cover longer stays and certain medications 3) I had a situation where my dental insurance would not cover a teeth cleaning until the claim was denied by my medical insurance. It took months to get the claim paid 4) Current theory is that over utilization of the ER is one factor driving up healthcare costs. One day I had the thought that all of these people newly covered by the affordable healthcare act don't know how to use insurance and will continue to use the ER. How do we get people in general to understand when to schedule with a clinic, urgent care, or go to the ER. This has been in my mind for several years. Recently I found an article about health insurance literacy. I want to work for the National Institute of Health (NIH) and create some national level initiative to educate people about insurance. Example: When I got pink eye I called my doctor and a RX was sent to the pharmacy. I bypassed his office, urgent care, and the ER. My friend got pink eye and lost hours out of his day in the ER AND who knows if he even spread it to someone else. Friend is an ER nurse and told me a patient who comes in several times a year via ambulance with an asthma attack. That how she refills hers RX. She gets d/c from the ER with an inhaler and when it runs out she comes back for another. When I looked at any researcher on an article close to this topic the have a MPH + something else. Most employees at the NIH have a MPH and a degree in something else. One component to Public Health is behavior medication of a group of people. This is directly in alignment with what is need for my PhD so that is why it is a big consideration in my plan. I noticed that the closer a school is to Washington DC the more likely it is to have ties to the NIH via grants, scholarships, or faculty. Considering that is where I want to work that connection is important to me. The U of MN doesn't have that. Schools like Columbia, Penn State, and John Hopkins do. I just bought a house so I am not looking to move. I have been focusing on online programs so far. Out of all the faculty at the U of MN, I didn't really find anyone researching anything close to what I want to explore. I have looked at all the schools you applied to. They all have a lot to offer.

I am in MN and one of my instructors for my ANS is now a professor at the University of MN. She is encouraging me to apply to their program and I have spoken to their admissions department which is where I learned about the funding. However, their office had a major transition and no one had been there for more than a year. I was unable to get a clear answer on what happens funding wise if you need additional semesters. I 100% agree about most "MSN" degree credits not transferring into PhD program. In my situation I looked at all the people working in the field that I want and I am not kidding you when I say 95% have a Masters in Public Health + something else like lawyer or doctor. Also none of them are nurses. My work will pay for the masters. My old professor pointed out that some students will get the PhD first and then go back and get a second degree because the Phd reduces the required credits. I guess that is also an option. I just don't want to be in a situation where I take funding and life happens and I end up in debt with no degree. That would be heart breaking. I am glad you posted your question. I just looked at the number of credits having a masters knocks off and it is only a 12 credit difference. That means having a masters only knocks off about a semester at most. I have to thinking to do. If you don't mind me asking, what schools did you apply to? Are you looking at online programs?

Hi Megstudent7 , I am curious to know what you decided to do and how it turned.

I realized I didn't actually answer your original question of "Did I ruin my chances of ever becoming a nurse?". Absolutely not!! You just might have to pick a different school.

You may want to go online and look into the schools drug policy. They may have info on what happens in this situation. As others have suggested, I think your best option is to go an RX from the original doctor that covers the date that you took it. If you can't do that get a new prescription ASAP. The program might just send you a rejection letter based off the positive test results. The other option is the ask you to account for this. I am telling you right now, If you walked into my office and said you got a Rx in another country and have no documentation to show for it I would be a hard no AND I would probably remember your name so when you applied in the future that would be in the back of my mind. If at minimum you had proof of a diagnosis for why you would need Xanax, not an RX but just a diagnosis that would help. You would still have to explain how you "legally" acquired it out of the country. But even then all these schools have integrity policies. As an instructor I would assume a person with integrity would have Rx for the medications they are taking. I don't know the whole story and don't need to know. Based on the info stated here I would extremely nervous to have you as a student. If you get a chance to explain be prepared! Good luck and keep us posted on what happened.

I would recommend getting the RN degree the fastest and cheapest way possible which includes possibly the associates RN. If you have a Masters in Public Health you don't need a BSN to get a PhD in nursing. You could also skip the nursing completely and just get the PhD in Public Health. I am curious why you need the "nursing" piece?

I'm in the process of looking at schools. I am curious if you have a BSN or a MSN. I currently have a BSN and am considering getting a masters in Public Health or Informatics before getting a PdD. Quite a few PhD programs are fully funded but you have to complete them in 3 years. Going from BSN to PhD, that is a lot credits in short period of time. I feel more comfortable going from MSN to Phd in three years. I am also curious if the schools you applied to are online or do you plan on moving?

Have you started in a PHD program? How is it going so far.

I have been a nurse for 6 years and I still get out late from time to time. Most of the time if I look back at my shift I can see where I "lost time". I work night shift and I'm a med/surg/stepdown float nurse. In general there are 3 main reasons why I get out late. 1) Poor planning or I'll do it later thinking. Ex. Pt got up twice in an hour at 2 am to pee. I thought, "Hmm I should bladder scan him. Nah I'll do it later if he goes pee again." I did scan him after the 4th trip to the toilet at 6:30am. My shift is from 11:30pm to 8am. I screwed my self. Page doc, they call back, wait to see what order is put in etc. 2) Lots of social time. If I am working with certain nurses I can be very chatty. I loose a precious hour or two by the end of the tour from just chatting. 3) Focusing to much on Pt "feelings" and not on good nursing judgment. Sometimes I decide to let a pt sleep longer instead of getting vital signs or a weight, or labs. Or maybe wait to do a dressing change because family is there. But then I will get a critical lab at the end of my shift when I have less time to hang and IV. The nurses that I see get out on time do a lot of the same things. 1) They have a do it now or do it early philosophy. If IV abx need to hung at 5am they will hang it at 4:01. If pt has a dressing change q-shift it is done in the first 1/2 of their shift. 2) These people are constantly moving. They are friendly but you won't see them constantly checking their phone, on the internet, or excessively chatting with coworkers and patients. 3) They have mastered the balance of being respectful of pt rights and following orders. I hate waking people up in general so if I have to do vitals on someone who is sleeping it could take me 5 minutes. I watched an aide do the vitals on 3 sleeping people in the time it to me to do one. I feel like I am promoting sleep when I wait to do things. It is better to just do it and get it out of the way. To go back to the beginning. I would look at your day and see where you are loosing. These are areas where I loose time. My background in work is all customer service. On one hand it makes me a well liked nurse by my coworkers and my patients. However, my customer services ways can affect my productivity. Nothing will pull my from a task at hand faster then someone asking for a glass of water.

My Entry would have been, "Hay, I'm back from break. Thanks for your help with browntown."

Hi JJ, Congratulations on getting into the program. I value SHORT COMMUTES! My recommendations are directly based off that. The U of M campus is HUGE. It covers two cities. There are two hospitals that I would consider on campus grounds. One is Fairview Riverside and the other is Fairview Eastbank. Those two hospitals would be my first choice for places to work due to their proximity to where you will be going to school. I would also try to live near the campus OR along the light rail track. The light rail goes through the middle of campus and right by Fairview Eastbank hospital. The green line goes between downtown St. Paul and downtown Minneapolis. The blue line goes from downtown Minneapolis to the Mall of America passing the airport and VA Hospital on the way. The VA Hospital would be another option of a place to work. I would use craigs list to an appartment. It allows you to pick several options like price range and pet. It has a new map feature allowing you to see where the appartments are located in the city. Using that you can scope out openings all around the UofM and along the light rail. From there you can look up the rental company and get additional details as needed. Major Hospitals Systems www.allina.com www.fairview.org www.healtheast.org Major Single Location Hospitals www.regionshospital.com www.hcmc.org www.parknicollet.com/ (Methodist Hospital)