Mike R

I agree with the sentiments that our chosen profession has nothing to do with our hobbies at home. That being said, I am a ED RN and firearms enthusiast living in a large metropolitan area in southern CA. There's a fairly decent following with the staff I work with. At least half of them are open about their ownership/acceptance of firearms. There's there's always the small amount who are against it overall, but the rest really seem indifferent where I am. Personally, I'm more into it for the sport. While I do have my Concealed Carry Permit, really I just enjoy unwinding by punching holes in paper. To those who state we may be over rationalizing about perceived fears, I liken legally owning/carrying a firearm for personal protection to wearing seatbelts. I pray that I never need it for it's intended purpose. But I always find myself using it just in case.

Shoot, I waited for two years... It worked out in the end for me because I was able to land an orderly type job at a hospital while I waited; which in the long run enabled me to easily get a job once I passed the boards.

After I passed NCLEX, the first thing that I bought was Subway Haha!

I could never solely interact out of job necessity. It's hard to build strong trusting professional relationships without knowing what lies beneath. That and I can almost guarantee you that I'll subliminally treat a coworker differently if they appear to be an antisocial robot.

The eating disorder is debatable. But the details of your drug abuse may be where your timeline hangs. In my state, yes it can slow you down a bit. But it's not guaranteed that it will inevitably deter you from achieving your goals. Here if you have a proven history, there's tons of hoops you have to jump through. They require you to write a detailed personal statement stating how you've changed, any diversionary/rehabilitation programs you've completed, any retribution you've repaid and why you'll never do it again, as well as personal and professional recommendations. Your state's regulations may vary, however. Good luck!

Ditto but I used Kaplan instead. Though most would say I should have probably studied more. Oh well, I passed! Graduated 5/19 and sat for the boards 6/16. I was one of those who thought: Well, I just graduated and I'm currently the smartest I'll ever be. If I don't get this over with now, I'll just forget everything!

Odd. If you were sure the caps were tight, I wonder if the catheter itself was cracked outside of the body?

Hi Ellie, There's a couple of things I would like to touch base on. First, I'm sorry that this RN was unprofessional and rude enough to belittle you in front of others like that. She should have pulled you aside in private and had a respectable conversation with you there. May I ask what kind of questions you were asking? I've caught myself several times asking questions that I could easily of answered myself if I just opened my eyes and looked what was right in front of me; leading me to start to annoy the nurse I was with. I agree with Gina, that a student should be able to ask any question they want. But they should know which questions to ask and which ones to do a little footwork on. I know, I'm guilty of it. (I'm saying all this without knowing what you said, so please don't infer that I'm inferring anything about you). Given what I just said, I really think you should throw your "coupon" idea out the window. If you have a good question, by all means ask it!

If I may ask, what do you think your weaknesses are? It's hard to overcome a difficulty if you don't know where to begin.

I use algebra all the time: I can walk on average of 4mph. It takes me about 20 minutes to do a bed bath. Assuming the patient in 2A takes three times as long as the patient in 4B to put on their gown, how much time do I have to do 8 patients before I have to start vital signs all over again? But seriously, what the others said. All we do is simple addition and subtraction. Again, to reiterate what the others said, Algebra is only necessary if you decide to go further in your career beyond CNA.

Oh man, I've been pondering this for quite some time now. It's between a new camera lens, a new shiny S&W .357 or a new Honda Sabre 1300. My wife wants says I should go for the later; I say all three! (I realize this actually depends on landing an actual job...)

I was hired by my school to tutor groups of up to 6 at a time. What I like to do is have the students do most of the talking. I'll ask them what are the most important details of each disease, what do I assess for, what labs do I check, what interventions, meds & s/e, etc. I'll give them situations and they need to tell me what they would do. And I'll have the students critique each other on what they think would be best and why. They all keep coming back to me, so I'm doing something right

You know, I argued the same point as pneumothorax to an ICU nurse the other week. She just said you can lower BP without any explanation behind it. Therefore, I didn't want to believe her. You however, put it quite succinctly!

I really think you're just over thinking this. Looks like a TKO sort of thing. It's 17ml/hr. Get some rest!

My sister had a classmate who was 68 by the time they graduated their ADN. She retired from her previous career and finally had the time to fullfill her life long dream. High marks in all her classes and clinicals. Age really is only a number. Definitely do-able! :)