veggiegarden

Having gone though a bit of med/surg--which I was not interested in at all, but knew it would be "good for me"--I say go with what interests you. True, I learned a great deal in my short stint in med/surg--and anyone who goes the "med/surg-first-route" will have an opportunity to learn and practice many different skills (much to their advantage)--I have found it has gotten harder and harder to work in a specialty I truly do not enjoy. Unless you have to, I don't see why *anyone* should tough out a year or two in a specialty they hate--be it med/surg or whatever. So, if you end up enjoying med/surg or are able to tough it out for the benefit of your career, by all means do so. But I am no longer of the opinion that med/surg must always come first.

CaseManager, thank you for your support and insight. :) It seems you have made quite a career of nursing in your 38 years of service, and that is certainly commendable! I quote the above because I often hear from others to "hang in there for a year," but right now that thought is a dreadful one for me. I don't even want to go back to work this Friday, much less stay for a year or two. I actually *do* know what I would like to do, but it seems that the job opportunity does not come up very often. I wonder if I should quit now, while in my probationary orientation period (where either party may let the other go for whatever reason, no strings), and hope this short stint doesn't ruin my job history and resume, or hang in as long as I can, pretty darn unhappy and stressed out but learning a lot... *shrugs.* I don't take leaving a job lightly--unless the job situation is horrendous--and do not want to look like nor be a job hopper. It's something that is always on my mind. Juicyfruit, don't mean to take over your thread. Hope you are doing OK and come to a solution that is satisfactory to you. You are not the only one having these issues. GL!

I've been at my job for a couple of months and I could have written this post, especially the bolded part. I'm really not happy in the area I'm in (med/surg), but in my experience that is where most resumes are forwarded to from HR...hence, that is where I took the job. Other units/specialties were not biting at the time. I have feelings of wanting to quit all the time, but I have issues with that as well (e.g. they are taking the time for me to have an adequate orientation--so I'd feel a bit guilty quitting, mgmt seems good--which *is* nice, don't want the short work history to reflect badly on my resume, etc.). I have a *wonderful* preceptor and most of the staff seem pretty cool. And I'm learning a lot. But I'm just not happy there. I'm new, this is not my passion or my true interest, and it is hard psyching myself up for work each day. Wish I had an answer, but I guess only time will tell.

As someone who has personally gone through a fetal demise in the hospital, I came to post something similar--but now will just reiterate this point. After the devestation of what happened, I would not have been happy to have had to pay for yet another service if it were not covered by insurance. I'm remembering the mountains of bills I had to pay after the experience. I think the service is a great idea, but would hope that the hospital would foot the bill or that funding would somehow otherwise be covered. Best of luck.

I would ask what was being said about me as well. It is your right to know. I asked for and ended up getting placed with a new preceptor in orientation, and learned that someone (or more than one) person was starting rumors about me and my perception of my old preceptor that were complete untrue--and I had been there less than a week?! I was very disappointed and this behavior truly shocked me. I mean, theses people didn't even *know* me but it apparently behooved someone to "start something." I'm sorry you are having to go throught this. Although we don't have the exact situation going on, I can empathize.

Yep, I hear you. Feeling the same way, too. Many (((((hugs))))) sent out to all.

ITA. And as for the OP, I would *not* let my husband influence the 'circing of my son. I think it is a very unnecessary procedure. In this instance, not my body, not my choice.

No, I don't think that is right for you to be responsible for both of those duties. That is crazy. Your instincts and common sense are telling you that this is not right or feel comfortable. I hope your DON takes your concerns very seriously.

I found it challenging physically & emotionally (on my feet for long hours at clinical, sleep deprivation-which can make anyone nuts) and intellectually (in a good way). I'd like to echo the poster that said it was demanding, because demanding it was. A lot was expected of us, and the scope of knowledge to synthesize in the (relatively) short amount of time in school was what made it hard.

The pay in Austin sucks. New grads are starting off at $18 some odd/hr, and I hear experienced nurses don't make too much, either. The only one I know of is through the St. David's S.N.A.P. program, which offers a perioperative program, I believe. I think it's something like a year of mentoring/training or whatnot, followed by a two year work commitment. It should be on their website under "Careers."

1. I was at an apt. which had a shuttle to the med center. Very handy. Many people I knew personally who commuted did ride the bus. 2. They are offered during the day. Patho was indeed offered in the summer during the evening. 3. It looks very nice :) 4. No, they are NOT all in the med center--you may very well have to do some driving (I sure did!). Clinicals are chosen lottery-style. 5. Ug, tried the rolling backpack and hated it. Too cumbersom for bumps and curbs and stairs, etc. Definitely a regular backpack. Good luck!

Yep, been there, done that. It was fast, intense, and I thought of quitting many times, but it feels soooo good to be finished! However, if I had the money (e.g., if my partner made good money or I had a nice savings acct so that I wouldn't have to worry about finishing school quickly to get a job/stable income) and putting off starting a family was not a concern to me, I would have preferred the 2 year program. Depends what your own personal wants and needs are. GL deciding! It is certainly doable.

What horror stories have you heard about Ben Taub? We've (we=nursing students in our clincal) have had clinicals there and generally had a good experience. However, this may be totally different from a CNA working there (which is what you are looking for) vs. nursing student, and of course things may differ depending on the floor. As for Methodist, I know someone who works there as a nursing assistant, and while he says it is a lot of work, he did mention that he felt that overall they took care of their employees. Good luck!

I think it depends how much money you would like to spend. Apartment living is much more expensive than just paying for gas, and the Med Center area is pricey. However, if you can get a roommate, that would certainly help with the costs and would be nice and convenient to your school. Lots of students that live in the area take the bus, metrorail or live in an apartment that has a shuttle bus to them to the medical center. However, we have *a lot* of commuters at our nursing school, and they seem to take it in stride. But then again, a lot of them have families and own homes so moving isn't really an option. Actually, a lot of our clinicals are not in the medical center, so some people who live on the outskirts may have clinical right down the street while others (like me) have to commute way out to clinical. Lol. But it's only one to three days/week or so. All in all is works either way. Good luck with your decision!

Well, that is dissapointing, but it doesn't shock me at the moment. I am from Austin and moved to Houston simply to go to nursing school. I'm starting to apply for jobs around the state, and noticed that the Seton website no longer has the extensive information on new grad internships that it had several months ago, and St. David's website is only slightly more helpful. Strange. It makes me wonder if the market is saturated or if primary new grad spots are being held for ACC/UT grads, or if something else is going on?

Students that whisper loudly or actively talk during lecture. SO. ANNOYING. Cell phones going off in class, usually the same people over and over again. Working with disgruntled nurses during clinical. Group projects, or any projects for that matter.

Bump. I'd like to hear more people's responses. I'm getting low 70s on NCLEX reviews, but did wonderful on our first HESI

I've heard new grad pay is generally in the $21-23/hr range in the Medical Center (central Houston), which is a bit higher than what I've seen for other places in Texas.

You seem to have made your decision, but here's a bit more to chew on if others are lurking and weighing in on this decision. I go to TWU-Houston, and it has been fine. I've heard that UT has a slightly more "hands-on" approach in clinicals, but that is only rumor (I can't compare them realistically b/c, obviously, I'm not in their program!). However, the amount of 'hands-on' experience in clinical can depend heavily on the students themselves (their ambition, initative & confidence), the clinical instructor and the clinical site. So really take that with a grain of salt. Yes, there are a lot of group projects. Ugh. I honestly don't know how we compare to other schools in this arena. The first semester we had one group project (a group pres.), the second semester 2 group projects (a long group paper and another group pres.), the third semester 2 group projects (another long group paper and different group pres--but that one is fun) and about a million different journal entry type-papers, and the fourth semester there are 2 group projects (both pres., I think one is like a senior II project worth a hefty portion of the final grade). I don't enjoy the group projects, but I kind of expected it as part of the whole BSN process. I do wish they were optional, as in, in lieu of a test if one is strong with projects than test taking. I'd be just fine and dandy with strictly a lecture/test format. I know, I should dream on, right? It is a lot of work, epsecially factoring in tests, clinicals and clinical paperwork. But, like I said, my experience has been generally quite positive. They have some really great instructors, for the most part. There are a couple that I have heard of or personally found a bit questionable, but the majority are great. We also have clinicals in the Med Center, but clinical sites are spread out all over the city. It depends what section you get. Many people really like the "distant" clinical sites b/c their are closer to their home. Again, I do think TWU is a good school. I've also heard UT is a good school. I'm sure they both require a lot of hard work, so in the end, the differences may not be all that significant. Good luck to all NS candidates!

I'm sorry :icon_hug: That is irritating.

Good luck! Yes, NP and CNS are both APN, but I *think* CNS is more of an "educator"....at least that is the distinction that my friend gives. I'm not sure, but I found a good link that explains some of the differences: http://www.nur.utexas.edu/studentaffairs/new%20grad%20pages/cns_np01.html Maybe you've already checked the site out, but thought I'd throw it out there anyway :)

What about The Menninger Clinic or WestOaks?

I don't know about the validity of the perfect GPA deal. The are both good schools, but I've heard that ACC especially has an excellent program. It has been said that hospitals have sometimes preferred ACC grads to UT. That being said, I really do think that either one is fine in the long run. I mean, a masters degree will provide more opportunities than an associates, but you can still be an excellent nurse and make good money either way. A friend of mine is doing the UT accelerated masters/CNS tract, and she hasn't had many complaints. I have heard some of her classmates complain that: 1. they wished they had done the NP instead of CNS route and 2. that several wished they had just done the BSN route, and decided to do masters or beyond at a later date. I am from Austin and applied to ACC with about a 3.7 GPA during Spring 2005, and was offered a place in the program for Spring 2006 start date. I definitely was not in the top 100, more like top 300 or something It didn't matter anyway, b/c I ended up attending college out of the city to do an accelerated BSN. Good luck with your decision!

Enjoyment of the healing arts + job opportunities.

Ooo, we just discussed this in post conference last week! If there isn't another obvious cause like immunodeficiency, one explaination that it could be low is that WBC diff. counts are often expressed as a percentage. So, for example, if your neutrophil % is high, then the lymphocytes would subsequently be low (perhaps abnormally low)--cause it all has to equal 100%. Make sense? When I heard this I was like, doh!