wldcard

@ESME: Thanks for all that info... that is a very constructive and helpful response. @OP: I work in EMS too and encounter the obese, morbidly obese, and super morbidly obese all the time out in the field. (And don't flame; a year and a half ago I was in the super morbidly obese category; now I'm just morbidly obese :)) ESME's post covered what I was going to bring up on cuff sizes; there are large (or extra large) and thigh cuffs. I regularly use the large adult and have on a number of occasions used the thigh cuff on people's arms. Use what is the right size. Palpate for the brachial BEFORE you start your BP and make sure your scope is over that point. It is amazing how much artery and vein location can differ from the norm and from person to person. I have found asucultation points at almost the elbow for some people. As mentioned by others, a good scope helps too.

LOL nice

Im thinking about adding Esquire to the end of my name.

"The average man walks around with a toddler in his pants." Can anyone tell me where thats from?

@tinamarie, I would check into the chem thing. I can almost garuntee they will tell you the same thing they told me. Don't worry about the A&P grades; I got a B in both and they took me. I dont remember my exact TEAS scores at this point but I was well over the min that they required (somewhere in the 93-98th percentiles for all areas except one I think). Dont let the TEAS freak you out; its cake. Get the official review book and brush up on the basics. I havent heard too much about the accelerated program itself but I have had a few friends who graduated from the generic program and they loved it. I havent heard anything about orientation as of yet. I can tell you that the anticipation is starting to kill me though lol.

It took them about 5 weeks after my results came in for them to send my acceptance letter. I think the delay was that I was in the very first batch of applicants and there were a lot of us sitting for the exam PLUS it was getting towards the end of the semester so they might have been busy with other things as well. I ended up having to take all those classes because I had never taken child pysch, never took intro to soc, somehow I finished my BS without taking more than one transferrable humanities class (which is sad but make me LOL because I am taking MUSIC APPRECIATION), and the chem ticked me off because I had taken CHEM 123 and 124 at MCC years ago. I was within the 10 years BUT since it was not the same exact class material as Chem for Health Sciences they will not accept it. So my higher level chem doesnt seem to cut the mustard for some stupid reason. Other than that specific gripe I expected the rest. I had only decided to go for nursing about a year ago. I was a little too late to register for anything in the summer so I started with A&P I at MCC last fall. (If I had know about chem I would have taken that as well). I applied while I was still taking AP II and Micro this spring. Like someone else already said, as long as everything is done before you start in January there is no issue. But if you are taking classes up till that point like me, make sure you dont slack off and you meet the requirements to pass those classes. That being said, I'm not too concerned. I mean... music appreciation? REALLY? LOL

Applied and accepted! I actually have a few prereqs to get out of the way in September because I got a little screwed, lol. (Chem for health sciences, intro to sociology, child psych, and a humanities) But I start the nursing classes in January. I am taking my NURM 100 challenge exam next week too. I cant wait until January when I can quit my current miserable job and go to school full time.

That last line made me LOL. Thank you.

I know a number of people who had to repeat a class or two. The commonality between all of them..... they slacked off and got lazy halfway through the class. Just keep yourself disciplined and on track; you will be fine. Dont procrastinate because the continuos stream of work will bury you and then itll be that much more difficult to catch up. But thats really it. Oh, and as previous posters have commented, you could expect to lose a 4.0 gpa pretty easy. But remember, your final grades dont really matter as long as you achieve the passing scores of your program and you do the same on the NCLEX. C=COMPLETE=RN Dont let ANYONE try to tell you differently. Its not worth the added stress, believe me.

I have been a CPR instructor for years and I HATE the fact that you can take your initial this way. Its great for recerts, but the first time around you should be required to sit through an actual class so you have a chance to become confident. I will say that the last recert I did in this way was done by a great group that did take the time with people if they were shaky on something. We were able to complete as fast or slow as we wanted for the most part as long as they were satisfied we had the skills down. CPR is really a very easy thing if you can get the whole process down. There are a lot of little things to remember at first but it all becomes second nature and automatic the more you do it. I am speaking from 13 years of EMS experience and countless codes in the streets. If all of yours are in the hospital it will be far more controlled and less chaotic than what I deal with on a regular basis. In the hospital you will have a whole team backing you. Dont sweat it too much. Just concertrate on doing the best you can.

I agree totally. But I get around that obese thing with my witty charm and sense of humor. If that fails I can always bug the crap out of them until they hire me so I leave them alone. If you find yourself saying "PFFFT.... that wouldnt work," think again. A good rule of thumb for interviews is to dazzle them with your brilliance, entertain them with your sense of humor, or baffle them with your BS... all valid tactics. A combination of all three works quite well I have found.

Or a kindergarden teacher.

Actually I would have to agree that it does not play a CONCIOUS part in decision making. However, most of the studies give credence to the theory that there is a definate subconcious link between looks and hiring practices. This seems to only be a generality though and usually on in cases where the two contenders for a position are neck and neck on all other attributes. It sucks but it does still work. Oh and they find that a male screener is far more likely to hire an attractive female candidate then an equally qualified male candidate. The same can be said in reverse. Again, generalities at best but there is a correlation.

I would have totally applied... and my headshot would have been Brad Pitt or Peter Griffin.

And it was serious?