chuckster ADN, BSN, RN, EMT-B

Nearly all employers in the US have moved from defined benefit plans (pensions) to defined contribution plans (401k). Since your odds of having an employer-provided pension are already low and likely to go even lower, you should expect to fund your r...

Let's address the BSN question first. As others have already pointed out, it is an increasingly essential requirement to work in nursing and I second those who suggest that is the route you take. That said, there are several ways to get there. Folks ...

I think that what Smartnurse is hinting at above is that the the BSN debate is a distraction from a more basic issue, namely that it's hard to circumvent the laws of supply and demand.For some time now, anecdotal (and some preliminary) evidence has h...

Most of the roughly 32 students in the Eve/Weekend program at DCCC when I attended several years ago worked full-time. We lost only 2 students - one of whom ironically was not working and was essentially a full-time student - and nearly all of us pas...

Interesting article on wages from a frequent contributor to Politico. The thrust of the article, is toward hourly, rather than professional workers, but it provides a good explanation of wage stagnation in general. It also goes a long way toward e...

This is not quite true. In relative (rather than absolute) terms, total compensation for the broad middle and upper-lower classes, which had been increasing since the end of WWII, began a precipitous decline during the Reagan years. The decline flatt...

Judging by the election results, it looks like many folks in WI are happy with union busting. Gov Walker's popularity seems to be increasing and it appears likely that he will be be campaigning for the White House in 2016. "Walker/Brownback 2016" wou...

I agree wholeheartedly with almost everything said above but wanted to add my two cents. It's quite true that the police and to a lesser extent, firefighters, unions still wield enough power to ensure a comfortable retirement for their members. That...

My advice is to limit the amount of your student loan to the absolute minimum needed. Borrowing $60k for school will put you in a pretty big hole nearly immediately upon graduation - your payment will be roughly the same as that for a for a small mor...

You are really asking for legal advice - something not many RN's are qualified to dispense and I would urge you to instead contact an attorney. Spending a few dollars for a qualified legal opinion is in my opinion, a very worthwhile investment, espec...

I've been looking into the various on-line RN-BSN programs for a few weeks now. There are dozens of such programs but I've managed to narrow the candidates down to just two: Ohio Univer and UT-Arlington. These 2 schools make my shortlist because each...

You are definitely not alone. My background is similar (BSN plus BA and MBA, significant time in pre-hospital healthcare as an EMT) and my experience with the nursing job market is also similar - many applications, a handful of interviews and no nurs...

I don't think there has been much change in nursing employment in most urban areas around the country the two years this posting has been quiescent. If anything, the situation has deteriorated in and around the larger urban areas in PA because nursin...

Both FNPs and AGNPs are providers of primary-level health care services. The difference between the two seems to be that the FNP works with the "family" including infants & children as well as adults but with little or no emphasis on caring for o...

Both the Drexel and the adjacent UPenn campuses are well-lit with a significant security presence and are as safe as any big-city college campus can be. The city of Philadelphia is actually reasonably safe overall but it is a large city and there are...

Welcome to all new members of the DCCC nursing program. As a graduate of the program myself, let me first point out that while the program is not particularly difficult, it does require quite a bit of work and a very serious time commitment. That sai...

I was quite a bit older than you when I completed nursing school and like, already had both a graduate degree and another baccalaureate. Your sex is not a barrier but contrary to some of what you see on AN, it is not a help. In my experience however...

I wish the Crozer nurses all the best. I know from firsthand experience that the hospital is woefully understaffed and has been for a good number of years. It's also unfortunate that CKHS has turned to reducing (and ultimately, probably eliminating)...

I know this is an old thread, but wanted to bump it to check to see if there's been any change in the SLC-area job market for RNs.

From just under $21k to just over $33k, if this recent posting for a hospital position in the Research Triangle area of NC here on AN is to be believed. The low end works out to about $11.75 per hour and the high end to about $18.50. I suspect that t...

Your local CC is likely to have an open admission policy, and your high school diploma should automatically qualify you for admission to the college. Most CC's have separate, usually more stringent, admissions standards for special programs such as n...

I don't doubt that is true in your area however, it is not the case in the metro regions around the country that I've looked into (NYC/NoJersey, Phila, WDC, Seattle). In these areas -and from what I've seen on this forum and elsewhere also in places ...

I also don't doubt that this may be the case in your area but that has certainly has not been my experience as a male RN. This is not to say that I have not faced discrimination: I am certain that I have, but I believe that it is age, rather than sex...

I used the previous edition of texts exclusively throughout the OU program, rarely paid more than $10 for a book, and often less than $5. Amazon is a good place to start, and you can at least find the ISBN of the edition you're looking for there, but...

I am a second career RN interested in becoming a PMHNP. While a number of universities in my area offer the MSN-PMHNP, all are too expensive for me to attend (I will likely not quality for financial aid and so will need to self-finance). There is one...