TF4L10

I worked through the same dilemma. I was looking to enter in the Spring and Hopkins starts in May. I was accepted to UMB but ultimately I went to Georgetown and despite a killer commute, I got a killer scholarship which garauntees me a job and I couldn't be happier.

I am a second degree nursing student in my last semester in an accelerated program. I had once envisioned a career as a doctor in the early days of my first undergrad. But ultimately came back to study nursing because it was a better fit. Although I felt medical school at this point was not an option (too much of a time and financial committment. I'm almost 30, married and want to start a family), I knew I also felt very connected to the nursing perspective. I am getting my BSN in 16 months after taking prerequisites and using credits from my previous degree. Ultimately, aside from the logistic details I mentioned I also realized it was the right choice for me. As other posters have mentioned, you have to do what is right for you. If you are worried about not knowing enough of the science, that is up to you. I am deeply interested in the pathophysiology of my patients and as a nurse I feel like I have to understand what is going on in my patients' bodies. There is no limit to what you can learn. You can and should learn as much as you can. Find a good program that fosters critical thinking skills and prepares you with the science/patho knowledge to make good clinical nursing decisions. Read, ask questions, continue to expand your understanding throughout your entire career. Nursing is full of opportunities!

It seems that alot of hospital require nurses to wear navy and/or white. I personally have never been to a hospital where nurses wear all white and it seems a bit antiquated to me. White doesnt seem to fit the idea of the modern nurse professional...just my opinion.

I am currently in my last semester of nursing school and the hospital I will be working for when I graduate is now going all one color for nurses (color tbd). Already techs wear royal blue and PT/OT wears navy. Aside from that there doesnt seem to be any color differentiation (besides OR). I understand that in hospitals these days everyone seems to wear scrubs and that can be confusing but everyone also wears large color coded badges that clearly say RN, physician etc. Im not one for printed scrubs but I would like to vary the colors so I'm kinda bummed about this. I think there is a way to look professional without looking the same.

Wow! A Peds patient and narcotics unsupervised. Now that's a lack of clinical judgement even a student should have. School is only the beginning. I know I only have acquired a fraction of the knowledge I will need as a nurse and I will probably not retain all it. But I believe that I will be competant enough to make sound clinical judgements regarding the safety of my patients, probably most importantly knowing what I don't know. Although I hope that story is not the norm (i certainly have not experienced a situation with myself or my classmates) it is none the less an important lesson.

I'm not an LPN but I am in my last semester in nursing school and I have found that, in general, clinicals are set up in such a way that you are not doing anything out of your scope of knowledge. Your clinical responsibility grows according to your knowledge and progresses with each semester. As an LPN you will probably feel pretty comfortable with a lot of the beginning clinical skills and just being around patients in general which will help. But you shouldn't be expected to just jump in there and work, because you need to learn the RN piece. My first semester was vitals, bed baths, head to toe assessments, etc. on stable patients and then you build on that. For legal purposes meds should be given with an instructor (even if you are licensed as an LPN) And as always, if you are not comfortable doing something, don't. Ask for help. And yes, you are technically working under your instructors license so it shouldn't affect your LPN license in any way. Good luck!

i know this thread is old but Im curious as to why you say that. I am in NS right now and will have my complex med/surg clinical on one of the 4th floor cardiac units next semester (dont know which yet). What's the deal with that floor? I thought WHC was known for cardiac?

Hi Everyone, I will be graduating with my BSN in May and I am having a hard time figuring out what I want to do next. Growing up my areas of interest were always either NICU/OB or Trauma/Critical Care, different I know but I always want to be where the action is. In school my favorite rotations have been mother baby and to some extent peds (although I was at a hospital without a very diverse patient population). I just seem to feel more confortable with the babies and kids. My thoughts are that I want to go into either PICU or CVICU (working on getting on a shadow day in the PICU b/c I'm only assuming I'll like it right now). However, the thing is, I am commited to a hospital for 3 years and they do not have any peds patients. They do have a Level III NICU but its really just a medical NICU. Anyone requiring surgery gets sent to the local childrens hospital. I thought that I would use this opportunity to try adult critical care and I submitted my request to be in one of the ICU's for my senior preceptorship (also following the line that I am also interested in trauma - there are several level 1 trauma centers near me). There are limited spots available in the ICU's however and I may very well not get in. My second choice was ED. I am begining to rethink my choices and want to include NICU as one of them. I still think I want adult ICU as first choice. My problem is that I am scared of going to the NICU first because I don't want to limit my career choices in the future (even the unit manager said she thinks NICU is limiting) I am very indecisive and I love all that nursing has to offer. I feel like my instinct is probably telling me that I feel most comfortable with kids but I want to experience it all. But I also dont want to take 10 years to get to where I want to be. SO I have some questions.... 1. Will a preceptorship in the NICU limit you in trying to apply for an adult ICU position or any adult position for that matter? 2. What happens if I work in the NICU for a few years and decide I want to work with adults? How difficult is that transition? Does anyone regret going straight into NICU/PICU/gen. peds? Nobody ever says they do! but someone must have switched from peds to adults at some point. 3. Where would I get more experience that is relevant to the PICU? Adult ICU or mostly medical NICU? (I've heard so many conflicting opinions!) I was leaning toward adult ICU, now I thinking NICU. Howver, in a medical NICU I imagine I will work alot of the same diagnoses over and over, with a pretty similar patient population, as opposed to a PICU where you never know what you're going to get. Thanks for your help!!