maisyLPN

Checking in...how's everyone doing?

So frustrated by this program!

Hello! I've been locked out of the site for a while and really busy with work so I haven't had time to check in. To respond to the question from the other thread: I rented all of my books from Amazon. I couldn't afford to buy them outright at the time. The total was $130. I bought my other supplies, although I'm not sure when we're going to start using them. I'm very anxious about finding out when we can enroll for the fall and also about the lab we have to do. I've started reading the transitions book, it's interesting.

I'm not sure. I was wondering this as well. I guess we'll find out tomorrow!

The system is down so I can't log in to sign up, not until midnight 😔. I'm so anxious and have so many questions now! How much did they charge you for this course?

No, I went to school in another state, transferred my license here three years ago.

Got the official acceptance letter for the LPN bridge program! Woohoo!

I've been emailing Dr. Rice for the past week. We keep missing each other's calls and when I try to call him, I've only been able to leave a voicemail once. I got an email today saying I'll receive my acceptance letter today or Monday but it's conditional until they can confirm that I submitted my background check. I definitely did! So I'm waiting for the letter to make sure it's real. I do hope so!

Sylvia was the one to tell me that I had to have the class completed, plus the grade has to be on my transcript to be considered for the LPN-RN program. So I just emailed her to ask if anything has changed since the deadline was extended.

I'm also a LPN but I applied for the regular RN program because they told me I wouldn't be accepted if I wasn't finished with Micro 233. I'm in Micro right now. I got an email a few weeks ago however that stated I needed to make a payment because I had a past due balance but the email's subject said something about the Bridge program. I didn't apply to that. At the bottom of the application, I remember seeing the question: Are you currently a LPN or something of that nature so I clicked yes because I am but I didn't fill out the rest of the info about the two classes that had to be completed prior to the bridge program application. I plan to call today to find out my status. I hope someone can help!

A couple more..didn't happen to me, but I witnessed them! -Nursing instructor D was a super "witch." She told a student that she didn't like her, no one liked her, and if she had her way she'd kick her right out of the hospital and the program. She told this to the poor girl first thing in the morning so she spent the whole day crying off and on, whenever she thought no one was around. -Another instructor had a student change the dressing on a PICC line and the entire time he was saying "I don't know how to do this, I've never done this before." Poor woman was so scared and was threatening everyone saying she was gonna get her daughter to sue the hospital if anything went wrong. The PICC line team was SO mad! -A patient had an elevated D Dimer and the student walked the patient up and down the hall several times and when he got back in bed he said he couldn't breathe. Oh nursing instructor D blew a gasket! Poor girl. She ended up failing the cardio test and failed out of the program.

Oh another... At our school, if you got 3 med errors, you were brought down a grade. If you got another 3, you were out. Well, I got 3 in one day. 1. Pt was going down for a cardiac cath. We can't give meds without our instructor. I had my meds prepped, in our cart, ready to go. The instructor was in a room with another patient giving meds when I got the order for her to go. It was a big rush so I pulled the cart from the room, ran down the hall, and started pushing the meds. Unfortunately, I didn't sign out of the previous student's name and it looked like she gave the meds. So there was a huge holdup while we tried to fix it. Med error 1. 2. The pt comes back and it's time for her meds. She was in pain and wanted Lortab or something. We get down the hall and I realize I forgot her Lortab so we had to go back. Med error 2. 3. We're in the room, she's taking her meds, she's talking to her family and us. I watch closely as she swallows the pills. She folds the cup over and puts it next to her. Now I've given her meds before and this is the sign that she's done. I didn't look in the cup, I just picked it up and tossed it. She says AFTER it's in the trash (it tooks me like 10 secs to slowly back over to the trash can and toss it because we were talking) "there's one pill left in there." My instructor says "Oh, i thought you took them all." So I get the cup out, my instructor says I can give it to her because the pt folded the cup over and the little trash can was empty anyway. Med error 3. And then I got points taken off because I didn't document in the computer that I was checking her peripheral pulses. I was given a sheet that was posted on her wall and I was documenting it there, but not the computer. I should've known better. It was a horrid day lol. Then the next week a different instructor decided to tell EVERYONE that I had gotten 3 med errors in one day but I had had a much better day that day. So embarrassing.

3rd quarter, I was on a med-surg floor. I had an easy patient and the day was going pretty smoothly. There was a very lazy nurse on the floor who passed all of her work onto the students without even bothering to check on her patients AT ALL throughout the day. I know we're supposed to assume the role of nurse during clinicals but not checking them at all is not smart. The junior students were there for their first day of clinicals, doing bed baths and changing linens. THe lazy nurse flagged me and one of the juniors down and asked if we could take her patient to the bathroom because she didn't have time. Right, you're too busy watching soap operas in the lounge, whatever. When we got her out of bed, we noticed the large amount of blood on her sheets so while she pooped, we changed her sheets. When she got off the toilet, the bowl was FULL of blood. She proceeded to tell us she should've been discharged that morning but the MD wanted to figure out why she was bleeding suddenly. We get her back in bed and go find her nurse. I told her "She is bleeding profusely, the toilet is FULL of blood and her sheets were soaked so we changed them. I did not flush the toilet because I want you to see it. You should really check her out." She completely dismissed it and said the pt would be fine. I notified my instructor, and she tried to find the nurse but couldn't and ultimately dismissed it because she wasn't our responsibility and she had to give meds with some students. 30 minutes later, people are flocking to the patients room to prep her for emergency surgery. She said she had to poop again so she was being helped up by one CNA. When she stood, she bled all over the floor and they slipped and fell. It was SO hectic! And the lazy nurse came running like "What's happening??" When the CNA explained the blood, the nurse said "I had no idea she was bleeding!" EXCUSE ME? We told you, I practically begged you to go down to check on her, you knew your patient wasn't being discharged because she was bleeding, how can you say you didn't know? I couldn't believe it. My instructor came back to me and said "You told her, right? I know you told me, but you told her too, didn't you?" I said yea, I told her first. And then she went on a rant about how she hates lazy nurses and that's why you should do your work for yourself because when something goes down, a he said-she said situation never looks good for you. I felt bad because I was thinking I should have done more. They took her down but she was brought right back up, I don't know why, but she was fine.

When I was in school, I went with a patient to observe a cardiac cath and I had to fight so hard to stay awake. I went with another patient for an echo and nodded off for a minute or two. During an observation rotation in the GI lab I almost fell asleep watching a colonoscopy (uneventful, 5th one of the day lol). I work in a peds office that has frequent slow periods (no patients, work is all completed) and I've been extremely close to dosing off. It probably wouldn't happen at the hospital because there's usually something to do and a lot more people around watching you.

I graduated in March, licensed in May, started working in a pediatrician's office the same month. It's been difficult adjusting to things but I'm trying and I'm grateful for the opportunity.