ammonthenephite

I agree with a couple of others: The class with the lower grade you are going to completely abandon, and place all your time and effort in passing the class with the higher grade. Then you retake the other. During the two quarters/semesters you will only have one class each, you'll also need to learn more about what works best for you in terms of studying. You'll also want to get a few of the nclex practice books and just practice nursing questions and understanding the rationals behind why the right answer is actually the right answer. Learning how they test you is as important as the info iteslf, honestly. Its only going to get harder, so you'll need to up your game in the testing arena as well as the knowledge absorption and application arena. You can do it though!

Are you both working? Knuckle down for a year and a half, live only on your partner's salary, and dedicate yours entirely to your student loans (average RN salary in Seattle is about 60-65k). Just live like misers for a year in cheap, small, remote housing, and put all extra funds towards the loans. Sell any cars with payments on them and get used, paid in full vehicles, eat cheaply (no going out, etc.), and just pay them off. If only one of you is working, well, the other should get a job while paying off the loans. That would be the quickest (but also the most painful) way I would do it. If you want it a little less painful, stretch it out to three years, using half your salary. But honestly, I'd rather have 1-3 hard years, then have 10-20 years of always stressing about the payment. With two of you, its very doable, and after the 1.5 years of pain and diligence, you'll have the rest of your lives to live without the burden of the loans always looming over you. For more good info, visit daveramsey.com and check out all the good info he has on becoming debt free. As far as the military is concerned, I wouldn't do it. Especially if you want to start a family, the military is going to make life difficult, you don't know what war our government may decide to start that you may get sent off to, and by just knuckling down you can pay it off faster than the time you would spend in the military. Just my opinion though.

Failed the second quarter of our 6 quarter program. Mentally I was in a fog, couldn't concentrate, etc. Went to my doc, turned out I had sleep apnea with anxiety (I had gained a good 15-20 pounds since starting my pre-requs part time while working full time, food was my best friend:)). With a cpap machine and a glorious scrip for welbutrin in hand I was able to soldier on through the rest and pass the NCLEX on the first try with 140 questions (it was a nail-biter!). I later learned that about half our class was on some kind of med for depression, anxiety, etc., lol.

Older thread, but the for cardiology purposes I've read really good things about the Welch Allyn Elite and DLX. In one comparison they rated as having about the same loudness as the Littmann cardiology and master cardiology, but with much less distortion and greater clarity.

Along the same lines of the luminox, I went with the Seiko 5 sport Monster. They have the same level of brightness as the luminox, but at a much more affordable price (for me at least:). I like them because, as with the luminox, you get constant and very useable luminance from the watch, which means you don't have to keep hitting a button to light it up. The second hand is also very well illuminated, which makes taking vitals in those low light situations that much easier. Waterproof to 200m and has the adjustable diver's bezel for timing things.

Cool. Excellent ideas all, thank you! I've picked up a couple containers of those costco mini brownie things, very dense, very chocolaty, but nice and clean! I'll be doing surgery center and a few others for just one day each, but I thoutht it would still be nice to bring each unit i'm in this quarter (5 in all) something for their troubles. And if it buys a little extra patience (which I'm sure they will need with me) then all the better, heh:)

Excellent. Doughnuts are good, but can be sticky......cookies are good, but are crumbly. As nurses, what are your preferred snacks?

Is it ok to bring something like a box of doughnuts for the unit I'll be in, as a thank you? I know their day would be a lot easier if I weren't there poking my head in everything they do and grilling them with questions all day. If not doughnuts, is there something I could bring, or is this frowned upon? Thanx!

Though I'm not yet in the nursing program, I too have had money issues. However, it was a great opportunity to pear down all the unecessary from my life and keep only the essential things I needed. At 32 I swallowed my pride and now "rent" for 200 bucks a month my old bedroom back home. Even if family is not near, when living in Utah I found a few places that had rent at 175 to 275 a month. They were dives and had roomates, but it worked! Consolidated cellphone plan, downgraded my car to something that works and is paid off that requires only the minimum of payments for insurance. My monthly needs dollarwise are now down to about 550 bucks a month. So at 10 bucks an hour I only have to work 55 hours a month, or about 12 or 13 hours a week to break even. I say no when my friends want to hit the movies or go out to eat, but in 2.5 years (one quarter of pre-reqs and the nursing program) it will have all been worth it!

I heard a congressman (or senator) had come up with an idea that would allow people not to have to buy insurance, but would force them to agree, in exchange, to accept complete and full financial liability, regardless of how much it is, and said debt would, like student loans, follow the person and remain even after bankruptcy. I liked that idea........personal accountability for actions and INactions. Edit-this was supposed to be in reply to a post much earlier in the thread in regards to those who choose not to purchase insurance while they are healthy.......not sure why it ended up at the very end, miles away from its intended location:-O

So what if they are trust fund babies? The fact they have money does not mean that you cannot make money yourself. Sounds like jealousy and envy to me. Apparently you didn't follow the youtube link where a member of the board of trustees of social security admits that social security it paying out more than it takes in, that that the "trust funds" actually don't exhist, but are a fabrication? No, I don't watch Fox too much. Fox is hardcore republican, and I am not. I watch them all, anderson cooper, BBC, CNN, yes, some Fox, but most importantly, I DO MY OWN RESEARCH and consult MULTIPLE POINTS OF VIEW from MANY EXPERTS across the board rather than take the word of what a news channel or the government tells me to believe. Yes, public education is socialized, I do not dispute that. Yes, we are turning into a socialized country, I admit that. However i will educate as many as I can to prevent my country from becoming the bankrupt welfare states that are Greece, Spain, France, and a host of others that have stagnated or are now in decline because of that. This country was the leader in technology for many reasons, perhaps the strongest of which was capatilism, allowing people to be rewared for their research, production and ingenuity, not because the "government came up with all the answers". Even our military outsources all of its research and developement to the private sector. Private sector does it better. And medicine hasn't been socialized until recently. All those advancements in medicine? A result of capatilism and free market sir. So, as you told me, I will tell you, you are free to believe whatever you want. If you want to continue to support and delegate your future to the very poloticians that are selling out your future as we speak, by all means go right ahead. While I will continue to obey the law, I will also do my best to change a broken system. And yes, there are numerous spelling errors here, I'm on a net book and don't feel like fixing them all:) But either way, I do respect your opinions and don't think your a bad person for holding them. This country is so great because we can have differing views while still being fellow citizens of the greatest and free-est nation on earth. So thank you for engaging in civil debate without it downspiraling to name calling and personal attacks as it so often does. Have a great day and if you like, you may have the last word.

"This obligation is related to the fact most of us recieved public education and accepted , that with that education we would then pay to educate the next generation by paying the taxes necessary to educate them". Wrong. It sounds good, but its wrong. We were legally REQUIRED to go to school, it was not up to us. And no one EVER came up to me in kindegarten, first or any grade, and said "even though you have no choice in being here, by being here you hereby agree to pay for the next generations' education......please sign here". Forcing someone to do something then saying that by doing it they agree to pay for the next group? Sorry............ "So are you saying although governments were democratically elected and perpetuated social security , are we now to renege on that agreement and stop paying social security to those who have already contributed ?" No, but we should no longer be forced to pay our money into the ponzi scheme that is social security. If your government has squandered the money you paid to it your entire life, well, thats between you and the government, not between you and me. Should I have to pay my entire life into a system that is broken becuase "democraticly elected" people went behind our backs and spent it all? No. If you delegate your future to someone else or something else, you deal with the consequences of that. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NI5L7vQ4cU "That s the price of democracy you get some of what you want and a lot of what you feel unnecessary" Correct. That is why I still pay my taxes and into social security rather than running into the street with an ak47. I respect and obey the laws of the land, even the ones I don't agree with. However I can vote and I can engage in debate and convince many around me that a system that encourages a lack of personal responsibility and accountability is hardly the best system. "What even after the most recent gyrations of the stock market , you want to be wholly dependant upon the whims of the stock market !" Wrong. I'm not foolish enough to place my entire future on the roulete wheel that is the stock market. Again, if you delegate your future to someone else or something else (even the stock market) you accept the consequences of that. "Lord help us if the future you appear to hope for comes about , we will have free ,totally unregulated corporations , throwing bones from the kings table to the scrabbling masses , who will be home schooled because there will no longer be a public education system .Fighting for jobs , given to those accepting the lowest pay , with little or no access to healthcare .If you have read Charles Dickens that is were we will end if we continue down the road you appear to advocate ." And Charles Dickens is the only authoritative source for the prediction of free market capitalism? Hardly. You seem to assume I am for total anarchy and the eradication of any and all government. That is hardly the case. I am, however, for a very small national government and stronger state governments. Its funny that people always assume that if the government weren't there, all rich people (who are ALWAYS portrayed as evil) would enslave all of humanity. The government is there to see that our right to life, liberty, and the PuRSUIT (not guarantee) of happiness is not enfringed upon. Of course there would be some basic regulations to protect those basic rights (as opposed to "wants" under the guise of "rights"). Another misconception - without nationalized education there would be NO education. Incredibly false. Even with nationalised education there are still private charter schools popping up all over the place. The free market would fill the need and would be to this day had it not been taken over by the government. Remove the subsidized goverment option and education would flourish. Only this time the private companies would have to be competative with one another, thus ensuring the motivation for quality that our current system, with little to no competition and virtual obligatory participation, lacks. Education would become to expensive for the poor you say? Well, the moment an opening in the market appears, someone would fill that with more affordable education capitalizing on that market, forcing others to compensate as their students migrated to the more affordable schools. And you would have the money you would have been paying to the government to pay for a better education than many get now. "The post war generation was so great because it struggled against tyranny , then worked together to be better educated ( through public education) , obtain better working condition ( through collective bargaining ), have better health ( through the spread of health insurance throughout the workforce )." They were so great because they personally paid the price for freedom. They personally knew the cost, and therefore cherished not having intrusive, sometimes tyranical government. They cherished the freedom to be independant, and with that independence came the abillitiy to choose to and have the ability to care for those in need. You paint it as though they all came home from war and shouted in unison "give us nationalized education!". Even if they did, it was the wrong choice, as is evidenced today. I see nothing wrong with collective barganing, so long as it is in the private sector. The puclic sector? You work for the tax payers at the salary they set for you, or you go work somewhere else. You will not take a position that I have no choice in the funding of, then hold that position hostage demanding more tax payer money. If you don't like the terms the tax payers set for you, go work somewhere else. And they set up health insurance, not universal, nationalized socialistic healthcare. Theres a big difference between the two. "That generation knew working together brought well being to all . We seem to have forgotten that lesson , only caring for ourselves and trying to ensure every penny we have we keep and that the wealthy get even wealthier off the labor of their minions even whilst we have to tighten our belts ." Key word - WORKING together. A system only brings well being to all if all are working to support the system. That is hardly the case today. 38 percent work only to support themselves (they pay no national taxes) while demanding the other half provide them everything they deem "necessary" for "civilization". And you nailed the last part of it. We only care about ourselves, and what we can get, through unjust laws, for our personal lives that we don't want to work to earn. And what is wrong with the wealthy getting wealthier? Wealth isn't a zero sum game. Just because they earn more through smart choices and sacrifice does not mean you are doomed to earn less. When you are productive you are adding to the total sum. If this were not true we would be stuck only with the possible wealth that exhisted in 1776. Hardly the case. Can everyone become millionaires? No. Not everyone has the drive or the discipline to do so. But does most everyone have the ability to make out a comfortable life? Yes. Can they squander that ability through poor choices? Absolutelty. Would we leave these people out to dry? I think you'd be suprised that no, they wouldn't. But I would much rather give through my church, where 100 PERCENT of what I give goes to those TRULY in need, rather than through the government that might see maybe 50 percent given to both those in need and those defrauding the system. Whatever the government can do, usually the private sector can do better and far more effieciently (with few exceptions like national defense, which is mostly driven and developed by private companies anyways).

Public education is socialized education, i.e. everyone is obligated to pay for it, even if you don't have any kids or were educated in a privately funded school. And thats the lie of social security. People who are paying into it now are NOT creating a savings account to retire on, they are instead paying for those who are currently drawing from it. It is a giant ponzi scheme. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NI5L7vQ4cU If everyone right now stopped paying into it, your parents would stop getting a check in the mail. They are dependent upon us being able to pay into it. The money they put into it paid for the previous generation. They money your parents paid into it has long been spent. I do think privitizing it is a better option than most. I think public education should be voluntary, and thats actually all ready beginning to happen. In my state if you want your child to attend a charter school you can divert what you would pay into the public system and have it go instead to the charter school of your choice. I would like to see that go a step further where if you decide to home school your children you can keep that money and use it at home for their education. But I hold some very non-conventional views on things like this. Lucky for most I don't ever plan on running for any kind of public office:)

I can't for the life of me understand why someone would want to be completely dependent on the government (i.e. other working people that pay taxes) for the essentials in life, why people delegate away their personal responsibilities. The very once independant generation that won WWII has been reduced to complete dependancy on medicaid and social security and a well performing stock market, all of which are subject to complete failure. Its someone elses responsibility to see that I'm healthy? Its someone elses responsibility to see that I'm educated? Sorry, it is mine and mine alone. I can ask for help, but I can never demand it. Socialism, in any form, in the end doesn't work. Look how its working out for Greece and Spain. It, in the end, doesn't work. People still think education is failing because we aren't throwing enough money at it. Education funding increases every year, yet every year overall performance drops. The problem with everything is not money, its the quality of people that now live. People simply do not want to take responsibility for their own lives, their own lifestyles, their own children, for their choices of action or inaction. Politicians see how true this is, and so they continued to remove personal responsibility with things like bailouts and using tax payer's dollars to help pay private people's mortgages. The entitlement attitude will bankrupt this country. Rather than improve themselves people find it easier to simply steal more from the rich to fund things they want but don't want to pay for, and then try to pass it off as the "cost of civilization" which, ironically, they themselves aren't paying. And, as evidenced in the last few posts, when people think that asking people to take responsibility for their own actions or in-actions is "harsh" you know you have a big problem................ That being said, I believe in VOLUNTARY charity and service for those in need and always help whenever I can. I spend time in Mexico doing serivice, I visit people in their homes to see what they might be in need of. But come up to me and DEMAND that I educate your child for you or DEMAND that I pay for your health care costs or demand anything that you yourself should be providing and are able to but won't because of messed up priorities, and you won't get the same response. If you think personal accountability is harsh that is unfortunate and I feel bad for you. If you confuse "harsh" personal accountability with being cold hearted and unfeeling and assume that those who believe in it aren't charitable and loving of their fellow brothers and sisters, that is truly unfortunate and I really feel bad for you.........

Oh, I know your not. But some of the reply posts did, mentioning wanting to recall the Gov. and such. It was posts in the thread i was referring to, not you directly. Sorry, sometimes what I type isn't what i was thinking and I'm not as clear as i should be on things:) There is no denying that scaling back funding will have effects that, if not handled correctly, could indeed cause harm to people in the medical feild, both patients and staff alike. Hopefully institutions will recognize their limits and work within them rather than try to over-burden staff, and hopefully staff will recognize their limits and stand up to the institutions if they try and institute the over-burdening to dangerous levels..........