tanna898

Thanks guys, I accepted the position at the prison and will remain PRN at the jail. My new adventure begins March 13th at the prison. I am very excited and really appreciate your feedback.

I recently was offered a job with my existing private for-profit company to work full time at a local county jail. Today I found out that CDCR Represa/Folsom is checking my references for potential employment. I have been a jail nurse for 3 years and love what I do. The versatility of my job and the autonomy is what makes me love my job. I am in the dilemma of which job I should take. I know that the CDCR is a state job with excellent long term benefits and my current job also has great benefits and pay, plus I know the job well. My questions: 1. Why do you love/hate working in a prison? 2. Have you done both and what are the differences? 3. Has anybody recently been employed at Folsom (new) prison and what is the work culture like? Thank you

Hi Cortney, I wanted to know how the program is going for you? I was just accepted into the bridge program at ARC for the Fall 2014 and Im so excited I can hardly contain myself. I applied at ARC 4 times and the bridge program once. I want to thank you for adding the little details about orientation I have been searching everywhere and your info is the best so far. :)

kingkill My letter of contigent acceptance was in the mail today. I also recieved an acceptance email from Sac City too. Now I need to decide which one to accept.

I agree wit mmtorrez89 "Fake it till you make it" Even when you are not confident act as if you are because eventually you will be confident as practice makes perfect. I remember my first day of clinical I was SOOOOO nervous but after a week that nervousness dissipated and I did become more confident… then we would change clinical sites to something more acute and the nervous cycle would start all over again. Whatever you do DON'T GIVE UP!!!!!! EVERYBODY feels that way some people just wear a more confident mask than others. you can do this.

Is anybody currently in the bridge program at ARC or finished the bridge program at ARC? I would love to know your thoughts about the program.

I am currently a LVN working at an elementary school and a jail. My acute care experience is pretty limited since in this area they do not hire LVN's for acute care. I have recently applied to 6 RN programs 3 of them are bridge programs. Yesterday, I spoke with a counselor at ARC and he was pretty confident that I would be accepted for either the fall or spring semesters in their bridge program. My hesitation is that I will be jumping into the RN program the second year with my feet running and this makes me nervous. I feel that I may be at a significant disadvantage because of this. I am trying to decide if I should go to the bridge program or if I should wait to get into a traditional RN program. When I was in LVN school I was a very strong student both academically and clinically, top in my class in both aspects. However, I know that this will likely not be the case in the bridge program or even the RN program which is fine with me. I don't need to be the best, I just want to be able to pass a program and my NCLEX and get on with my life. Despite my hesitations with the bridge program the fact that it is only a year rather than two years is extremely appealing to me. Do I go for it and struggle so I can be done finally or do I wait and take the traditional program? I would love to hear your experiences with bridge programs and how the transition is and welcome any advice.

Yes, I work at the Jail on weekends, holidays, and summers. The pay is double what I make at the school. I would leave the school job but I absolutely LOVE it and wouldn't trade it for anything :)

Program Type: BSN Adjusted Individual Total Score: 84.0% ATI Academic Preparedness Level: Advanced Mean - National: 64.3% Mean - Program: 70.6% Percentile Rank - National - 94 Percentile Rank - Program - 87 Reading Adjusted Individual Score: 88.1 Mathematics A.I.S: 80.0 Science A.I.S. 89.6 English and Language Usage A.I.S. 76.7 I feel horrible about these scores. I expected it to be higher as I have taken TEAS 4, some years ago and scored in the high 80's in both English and Math. If only I could merge my two test together. The program I planned on applying for required me to have a 92% to be competitive Now, I either have to take it again, settle for a lottery based ADN program, or apply at another (much further away) University.

I lost weight in nursing school for a few reasons. I was much more active running around the hospital and when I did eat I usually just had a salad because lets face it hospital food stinks and there is no time to run and get fast food. The weight loss was temporary unfortunately after I graduated I got a job at a school and sit around most of the day eating all the yummy treats in the office. I am now thinking I need to go back to nursing school so I can loose some weight.

Funny how some schools won't let you use a hand held electronic device while others require it. I loved having mine at clinicals. It saved me from having to lug around all those books. Plus the apps for the books are much more searchable than the actual books. I would say they are also cheaper but I bought both the books and the apps because the first year in nursing school the smart phones were not allowed then later the nursing director decided that the apps where a good idea and made it optional. This years class it is required.

Jazziepants I love this quote and you sound like an awesome nurse :)

I would check with the nursing programs you intend on applying at. I know the nursing programs here in the Sacramento area make a big deal over having W's in any of the science prerequisites. Good luck!!!

I agree with Kara there are many differences from the text book vs the ATI books. What worked best for me was to take the practice exam and then look up everything you missed in the ATI book. At the end of the test you can print off a list of the areas you were weak in and it gives you the chapters you should further study. I found in the end the ATI tests prepared me for the NCLEX. :)

Your compassion shows that you will one day be a great nurse. Sure today was emotionally difficult and there will be many more emotionally difficult days in the future but you do get used to it and realize that this is a way of life for many of our elderly and geuss what they deserve good medical care with compassion. They need nurses like you. Today you shadowed a cna, next month it will be a LPN, and next year it will be an RN. You will soon begin to learn what it is like to be a nurse and it is far from easy but it is the most rewarding of all careers and it makes it worth it. The good news is that if you decide that working in a nursing home is not for you there are several other types of nursing jobs out there. I work in an elementary school as a nurse and I LOVE IT!!! Don't give up yet.