Leda1st

It's serendipitous that you posted this TODAY. Guess where I am? In Hyden at day 1 of Frontier Bound. :-) So, I did not get into the term for which I initially applied, but I DID get accepted the next term. Unfortunately, there really isn't anything you can do to speed the process or find out where you are on the list. But, if you are wait listed, that does NOT mean you are turned down for admission. It means you meet the requirements, but they only accept a certain number of folks each term. So, hang in there and keep hoping and hopefully next term you will be traveling to the KY mountains for Bound. :-)

I just got "wait listed" for the FNP program at Frontier. After initially crying my eyes out until I could barely see, I have pulled myself together and am considering what to do next. I read some of the threads on here about folks who have been wait listed, and some of the folks seem to have actually been admitted, so I have hope. I do have a few questions, though. In the threads I read, folks talked about calling and/or emailing to ask where they were on the wait list and things like that. They also talked about doing things like emailing and/or calling their admissions counselor regularly to inquire about their status. However, based on what I read on the "Wait List FAQ" page ( Waitlist Facts | Frontier Nursing University ), it seems that Frontier no longer allows applicants to do that. Obviously, I feel powerless just sitting here waiting to see if I am admitted, and I wish I could do something to help move the process along, or at least get a "feel" for my chances. Has anyone applied recently and had the same thing happen? Did you get into the program? Did you do anything beyond accepting wait list status and then waiting for a response? Unfortunately, I really have (had?) my heart set on Frontier for multiple reasons and I have not applied to other schools. I even took the Statistics and Physical Assessment classes that Frontier requires through FNU hoping that might help my chances. (FYI: Yes, I made an "A" in both classes.) Any feedback would be appreciated. Thank you!

I can't believe no one has mentioned "vomicking" for "vomiting" yet! It's annoying when patients use it, but I had an instructor in nursing school who used it as well. She also said "scrawberry" and "screet". Sorry, if I went to the trouble to get an advanced degree, I think I'd save the "hometown" lingo for HOME. If you're going to present yourself as a professional to future professionals, then at least SOUND like a professional!

If I get my MSN from WGU online (Western Governor's University), will their nontraditional format prevent me from getting a job as an adjunct? I am a Float Pool RN who has a Bachelor's in Education. I REALLY love nursing, and I REALLY want to get back to teaching. I know the MSN in Education is what I need, but I am somewhat worried about WGU. It is a "competency based" school, totally online, very non-traditional, but also very legitimate and accredited and not a "diploma mill". HOWEVER, it is my understanding that grades are all pass/fail. When I am applying for positions as an adjunct clinical instructor, is it enough that I have an MSN from an accredited school, or do they want to see my GPA? I would hate to devote so much time and money to something and come out of it unable to achieve my original goals. I would appreciate any feedback regarding this. Thank you! P.S. When I posted this before this edit, guess which advertisement was on the bottom of my post? WGU! Hmmm....

LMAO!!!! Actually, I think you posted this in the wrong thread - it should go under "Most BRILLIANT orders ever recieved!"

ACTUALLY, funny as that sounds, it is a legit order when someone has severe scrotal edema. There is even a contraption (can't remember what it is called, sorry) sort of like a "sling" for the scrotum to elevate it. Seriously! BTW, this whole thread is just cracking me up.

I agree with the poster who suggested that you not float, at least for awhile. You should NOT skimp on your assessments (and I have noticed the same "oversights" from time to time in charting), but I think working in one area for awhile will help you get a better "rhythm" down and will thus improve your ability to be a thorough nurse AND good at time management. Little things like not being sure where things are on a unit (I float also) can take a LOT more time than you realize.

I personally don't see anything wrong with saying (diplomatically) that you felt you needed more orientation as a new grad. I'd rather have a nurse who felt she needed more orientation than one of those who thinks they know everything right away - those are the scary folks. Wanting adequate training is a GOOD thing, in my opinion!

I am a "float" nurse, so I work everywhere, but I consider ER my "home" so to speak. ER is not all excitement and trauma - lots of people use it as a free clinic and come for the STUPIDEST reasons. Because of that, I like working the floor (as I became a nurse to work with sick and injured people, not deal with BS). Having said that, I love the adrenaline rushes when they occur, and ER nurses seem to have a sharper sense of humor, which I enjoy. I also like having the doc right there instead of having to page them, and it does feel like more of a "team". But remember, even in a Level 1 trauma center, it is usually "feast or famine" in the ER: either all BS patients, or all really sick folks all at once. You have to be ready to deal with that, AND be able to take report (from EMS) and pitch in to help/be a team at a moment's notice - those things don't seem to happen as much or as well on the floor. Best of luck to you!

:smackingf :rotfl: :smackingf :rotfl: :smackingf :rotfl: :smackingf :rotfl:

As a former educator-turned-nurse, I can tell you firsthand that education is NOT less stressful. ANY profession in which your primary role is to help people is stressful. Period. The misconception that teachers have a low-stress job is just about as annoying (and wrong) as the misconception that nurses spend their days flirting with doctors and giving sponge baths. Nursing is a profession with SOOOOO many options. It's not just med/surg and long term care. I was a "job hopper" for my first few years who couldn't seem to find a specialty I liked (I did med/surg, walk in clinic, hyperbaric medicine, ER, ICU, cardiac tele, pediatrics, and hospice) and now I am a "float" in a hospital and PRN in a hospice agency, and I LOVE it! I basically do a little of everything (except L&D - I know I hate L&D for some reason). Look around, shadow some folks in different areas, think "outside the box". Check out the ridiculous number of different specialty areas on this website alone. If you made it through nursing school, my guess is you really are meant to do this "nursing thing" but you haven't found your niche. Until you have checked out several areas/specialties, I really don't think you are burned out of nursing per se, rather you are burned out of the TYPE of nursing you are in, and/or the ATMOSPHERE of the workplace you are currently in. Looke around, move on, and keep the faith! :hug:

We get this one more often than you would think: -Patient comes in, diagnosed with a mild infection of some sort (usually mild UTI or sinusitis), is given Rx for antibiotics and sent home. -Next day (or 2) patient returns to ER, same exact symptoms, states they are "no better". When asked about antibiotics that were prescribed, patient states that they didn't get antibiotics. I'm still trying to figure out what these patients expect us to do: voodoo? a rain dance? magic wand? One of the saddest things was this: 17-year-old kid walks into the ER, says he walked there because his mom went to the family shelter with his younger siblings. Turns out, kid can't stay at family shelter because he is too old (age limit for kids at the shelter is 12). However, Child Protective Services can't provide a place for the kid because, the way things work in THIS state (I'm in The South), he is considered an adult at age 17. Can't go to "regular" homeless shelter, because you have to be 18 to go to that shelter. I guess the kid couldn't think of anywhere else to go except the ER. We let him hang in the lobby for the night while the charge nurse worked with hospital social work to get the kid a place.

*SIGH!!!* Although I UNDERSTAND why hospices have "marketers", it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth that Hospice is "marketed". It is a disservice, not just to the nurses (and CNA's, and SW's, and Chaplains) to "recruit" people that are INAPPROPRIATE for Hospice, but it does the patient and the family a disservice as well!!!! Hospice is not just a SERVICE, there is a PHILOSOPHY involved, and it is ESSENTIAL that patients and families SHARE that philosophy in order to get the services they need and want!!! If a person has stage 4 metastatic cancer and has been told they are terminal, etc., if they STILL want to "do everything they can" and go to the ER and try experimental stuff, and be hooked up to everything, etc., THEY ARE NOT READY FOR HOSPICE!!!!!!! There are people on this planet who will DIE before they are ever ready for Hospice - they will die long, slow, painful deaths, and they (and their families) will CHOOSE this! These folks need home health, long term care, or another service THEY DO NOT "NEED" HOSPICE!!!! I get so SICK AND TIRED of hearing from Marketing and from the ED that we "just need to educate the patient/family" when we get these kind of admissions. B*##!T! Yes, I think that education needs to be done, but at some point, out of RESPECT for the patients and families (as well as respect for the folks who work in Hospice), there are folks who, no matter HOW MUCH education is provided, WILL NEVER BE READY FOR HOSPICE! NEVER!!!! And these folks need to be referred to another agency/service to help them. Sorry, I know that makes the "census go down", but it's the RIGHT THING TO DO. I love Hospice, and I think it is a WONDERFUL thing (if I didn't, I wouldn't do it), and it makes me sad sometimes to see the choices that some folks make for themselves and for their family members - but I just have to DEAL WITH IT because that is THEIR CHOICE!!! And, as wonderful as Hospice is, IT IS NOT RIGHT FOR EVERYONE WHO "QUALIFIES" FOR IT PHYSICALLY! Somehow, there needs to be a way to educate and market to the public in such a way that the folks for whom Hospice can be of benefit, they get it - but without essentially forcing people to take/accept a service they don't really want. :spbox:

As a nurse who works PRN for a Hospice agency, and does Med Surg, Tele, and ER for a hospital (also PRN), I can tell you that the biggest thing I have learned is never to "judge" other areas of nursing. The friction between the ER and the floors is a primary example (I won't go into all the issues). I do my best just to educate people as best I can - to a certain extent. If someone were to use the phrase, "What kind of a nurse are you?" to me, I probably wouldn't bother to try to educate them. They don't want to hear it, because they are probably "always right" anyway. If someone ASKS me, "Why are/aren't you going to do that?" I will explain. One of the biggest things I get regarding Hospice is this attitude that I am somehow Kevorkian-esque. I personally don't advocate assisted suicide, and I make a point to explain that very firmly. And I always make sure to inform people (especially other nurses) that we are ALL going to die someday (including myself and them), and that I think we should ALL be able to decide if we want to die hooked up to everything (which some people DO want to die that way, and although that is not MY preference, I respect a person's right to make that decision) or to die at home as peacefully as possible given the circumstances of the illness. Somehow, reminding people that THEY TOO will face death one day can sometimes help with their perspective. Very few people that I work with in ANY setting say, for example, that they themselves would want to have a feeding tube placed - most people say they would NOT want that. And, as some folks in this forum have pointed out (and that most folks in Hospice know from experience), it is really, really hard to "shift" from the "saving lives at all costs" mentality (prevalent in hospital settings) to the QUALITY of life mentality that prevails in Hospice. After my rambling, I'm not sure what my point is anymore - I guess to say that nurses need to try to understand that different areas/specialties in nursing have different philosophies and foci, and we all need to try to respect each other (even if we don't agree with or understand each other).

Hospice is not (necessarily) a PLACE, but rather a type of nursing / service. To qualify for hospice, a patient must have a life expectancy of less than 6 months (there are specific guidelines/ways to determine this, but I won't get into that). The difference between "regular" nursing and hospice nursing is, in my opinion, the ultimate GOAL for the patient. In most areas of nursing, the goal is to "cure" the patient. In hospice, the goal is instead to make sure the patient is comfortable and is able to have the best QUALITY of life they can for the last part of their life. So, instead of attempting to "cure" the person by treating the "disease", the hospice team treats/manages the SYMPTOMS caused by the disease. Hospice care can be provided wherever a person lives - be it at home, assisted living, a nursing home, or wherever. A "hospice house" usually provides care to patients on hospice whose symtoms (for whatever reason) can't be effectively managed where they live, or to patients who are dying and don't want to die at home (but don't want to die in a hospital "hooked up to machines" either). This is a very basic explanation, and doesn't begin to describe all the things hospice does to help patients at the end of life have good quality of life. But, I hope it helps clear things up a bit.