winniecooper

Does anyone know much about the PCCTI LPN program in Chicago? I'd begun looking into but now I see there's a class action lawsuit against them and apparently they don't have good clinical sites. Not sure what's going on there but if anyone has the ...

In my CNA class, we had a student from a different class sit in for a make-up. During lunch he told us his teacher said Illinois is doing away with LPNs at the end of this year and all LPNs must either become RNs or they will be downgraded to CNA. ...

At my clinicals site, the students wear all white, CNAs wear a uniform, and nurses wear whatever they want. And who is the worst dressed? The charge nurse. She walks around in beat-up, ill-fitting street clothes with a consultation jacket. And se...

Thanks for all the good info. Can you focus on areas while you're going to school and if so, how? All the programs I've seen have a set course list so just wondering how you can focus on areas if you're just in school.

Yes, I have seen this all over. For many years I didn't know what I wanted to do, but now my heart is set on nursing. If it's what you really want to do and you've tried other things, then I guess all you can do is pursue it and hope for the best. ...

Thank you for the great information. I'm glad they weren't thinking of just doing away with LPN programs because that's all I can really afford right now.

I will be finishing my course and clinicals soon but will not be able to take the certification exam for over a month after I complete the course. I've heard many nursing homes will still hire you as long as you've passed the course and clinicals an...

i know, right. i see tons and tons of RN postings.

I also forgot to mention WIA. To apply for WIA you are supposed to be unemployed through no fault of your own and receiving unemployment, but I've heard of so many people getting WIA who were not in that situation. There's usually a WIA office in o...

If you can get into a nursing home that will train you, that's definitely the best option. If your area is like mine, then it will be hard though. I called one place and they said they get about 100 applicants for 20 slots. Also if you have a cred...

Wow, you guys both have small classes. My classroom has about 30 students, but for clinicals we only have 10 students per instructor. I like having a large class because there's such a variety of students but my teacher is making us do a presentati...

Ya, I'm so glad that many nursing schools (at least in IL) are requiring applicants to complete CNA training. Even though they may only do the dirty work for 5 days in clinicals, it's still better than nothing. There are a couple people in my CNA c...

Hey girl, I'm not from there so I couldn't tell you but have you looked at the candidate guide? It has some sample questions and also a topic list with the percent of questions from each topic. http://bostonredcross.org/pdf/Nurse%20Aide%20Candidate%...

Congratulations girl! It's such a bummer that LPNs are losing their status during what I thought was a nursing shortage. I wanted to become an LPN but I'm rethinking it.

I've heard the Red Cross training is good so I would go for it. Unlike with many careers, in the nursing field the school name is not really all that important. As long as you have received the appropriate certification, that's all a potential empl...

Most of the people who sue are like you said, "sue happy." They see court as free lotto tickets with better odds. With patient loads and lack of cooperation from many members of the team (*cough* doctors), it's unavoidable most of the time. You ju...

I think we're talking about different agencies. Some people are talking about home health agencies and others are talking about hospital and LTC staffing agencies. I didn't know there were CNA staffing agencies either. Guess I'll have to look into...

You can get all the training programs here: http://www.nurseaidetesting.com/trainingpgms.asp

Lydiahope, there are schools all over Chicago including the community colleges. Then ask your clinical site if they will hire you when you complete the course. Most of them will hire you after successful class completion even though you haven't com...

I'm getting ready to finish my CNA class but my school currently does not have any CPR classes scheduled. I went to the Red Cross website but they have so many choices of classes. Which one do I need to take? Just adult, or adult, child, and infan...

I think they look very nice but don't forget about hosiery! Summer + hosiery = YUCK!!! You'll be much cooler in scrub pants. :)

I'm doing agency and still completing my clinicals at LTC. If you get a good agency, you'll always have plenty of work assignments. Live-in is in high demand, so if that works with your situation I highly suggest it. You can do just two or three d...

I'm surprised she answered the phone when you called her.

I think white scrubs look hideous. Back when nurses wore white, I believe many wore dresses which look much nicer. Matching white scrub tops and pants are blinding and look unprofessional if you ask me. Navy pants and a white top or vice versa is ...

Thanks caliotter3!