MamaSquared

I'm not sure about the PA's. That would only be fair, I think.

That's a very good point. I agree.

I'm a natural born night-owl, but I had trouble adjusting to nights at first, too. Blondy2061h and Aliakey had excellent points/tips to try. I have tin foil over the mini-blinds in my bedroom (over the blinds so my house doesn't look like a crack house from the street), I sleep with a fan and I don't hesitate to turn off my phone. The best tip, IMHO, is the one about staying with some type of routine, like taking an afternoon nap, or sleeping 2a-10a on your days off. That works the best for me! Good luck! It sucks that you love your job, but hate the schedule! Don't forget about talking to your supervisor. They may be able to help, and they may not, but it won't hurt to ask!

I took a job as a nursing assistant while in nursing school and while I was eligible for a nurse extern position. The NA position was at the hospital, in the unit, I wanted to work at after I graduated. So, I agree. It's good to get your foot in the door! Plus, (my hospital, at least) the hospitals are REALLY REALLY good about working with you regarding your schedule while you're in school. They WANT you to stay there & work as an RN after you graduate!!

I'm in KY and here, the BSNs & the ADNs make basically the same. The BSN's might make $0.50/hr more, if that much. They don't have any advanced standing, either. KY is changing their requirements to be an NP or a Nurse Midwife from having a Master's in nursing to a doctorate in Nursing. If you aren't planning on getting your doctorate, and you don't want to be a nursing instructor, the BSN is pretty much a waste of time & money, as far as Bachelor's degrees go....IMHO.

Our lectures and our exams are two totally different things. If I only studied what they covered in class (only about 10-20% of the lecture material ends up on our exams) I'd be out on my head, LOL! I'm glad there are instructors out there somewhere that think they should lecture on at least some of the things they are going to test us on!!

I have the same exact problem. I study for hours pretty much daily and then I barely pass the test. I have Psych nursing this semester along with my second semester MedSurg course. I got a 98, 94 and 92 on those 3 exams & couldn't figure out why I was ace-ing the psych exams and scraping by in MedSurg. I realized it was because I would actually go to bed the night before a psych exam instead of staying up all night saying, "I just need to go over one more thing!" I went to bed the night before my last MedSurg exam and got an 86. Try just getting some rest the night before, if you're an all-night crammer. You may be doing yourself more harm than good, like me!

Hi Elizabeth! Congrats on your sobriety AND graduation! NEITHER of those things are easy to do! I don't know the answer to your question, but I sure do wish you all the best and prayers that this won't be a problem for you. IMHO, since it was back in 08, I would *think* after they make you sweat, they'll say it's ok. I mean, most everyone has some kind of misdemeanor somewhere in their background. There would REALLY be a nursing shortage if they didn't let anyone with a misdemeanor practice nursing! At any rate, congrat again!

I'm in the same exact boat, content & all, except it's 2nd semester I'm dropping. I have a 76.35 and need a 77 to pass the course. BUT, I didn't do well on the HESI last semester & have no reason to believe I'd do even that well this semester, so I'm just going to drop & try again in the spring. What tipped the scale for dropping was when I had the thought that even if I manage to scrape by and pass this semester, will I be able to pass the NCLEX at the end of it all??? Putting off graduation 5 months isn't the end of the world & another advantage is it's bound to be easier the second time around, giving us time to rest up before we barrell along into the next semester! I wish you the very best of luck in what ever you decide to do!

You know, I hate to advise you to "break the rules" but if you really are having trouble taking notes, digital recorders are so small, who would know? It's kind of a "greater good" thing, IMHO. If it helps you succeed and eventually become a nurse.......... Does your school use Blackboard? Our instructors put all of their lecture info on Bb for us to print out & use. Also, if you have a couple of friends in the class you trust, you guys can get together after class and make photocopies of each other's notes. Forming a study group helps. 4-6 is a good number, but I've found any more than that & it turns into a gossip/complain-fest party. Another trick I've picked up on is to not even TRY to read every word of every reading assignment. Pay attention to things in bold face, things in text boxes and any questions at the begining, middle or end of each chapter. Honestly, though, I don't remember ANY of the nursing theorists being on any of our exams, but I'm at a different school, too. We covered that stuff, but were never tested on it. It wasn't on the HESI, either. Last (but not least!) DON'T be afraid to go to your instructor and ask for advice on how to take better notes and be better prepared. The one complaint all of our instructors have had is that we don't utilize them enough. Most (but not all) are there to see you succeed, not fail, and will do whatever they can to help you, but you have to tell them you need help, first.

I don't think it would hurt anything to send your interviewer a "Thank you for your time" letter, but I wouldn't add anything that you may have forgotten to say during the interview. I think it would be ok to say something like "I just wanted to thank you for allowing me to interview for X position on X date." etc. If nothing else, it will keep you fresh in their mind as they sift through those last interviews and it could be what tips the scale in your favor. In my non-medical experience, anytime they go to the trouble of checking your references, that's a good sign so why not give them something else to make you stand out? But again, I could be wrong.

I guess when I say, "They're only doing it for the money" I don't mean that they're doing it because they have a family to support or anything like that. I think that's noble, too. The ones I'm talking about are the ones that just picked nursing because they could get a job fast & make more money and have no concern for people in general. I guess I'm naive, but I think nurses should care about something other than themselves. It's just their general attitudes that bother me at times. Like, for example, a bunch of us signed valentine's for kids in the hospital. It wasn't something the student nursing org or the school organized, it was just an idea some of us had. We bought the valentines, all they had to do was sign their first name to a couple & they wouldn't do it because there was no one to see that they did it. That sort of thing is what bugs me. When I say I don't need the paycheck, I don't mean I'm rich, because I'm far from it. If we wanted to race out and buy a bigger house and newer cars, then I would need the paycheck. But, we live within my husband's salary & I can comfortably work a day or two a week prn for spending money, the kids' college fund, etc. We aren't planning on changing our lifestyle, so I'm fortunate that I can give back to those in need. I'm not really judging anyone, it was just a real eye opener that nurses could be so selfish and self involved. I guess I was just venting more than anything. Although, I do dread getting stuck in clinicals with about 6 (out of 50ish) of them. So, those numbers aren't too bad. I'll do like 0402 said and be professional, courteous, and polite and then come home and tell my husband what idiots they are (I'm joking!) I just mainly wondered if anyone else didn't just LOVE all their classmates & blowing off some end of semester steam! Thanks for all the replies, I appreciate it! Have a great Mother's Day!

:) You're right. I don't necessarily HATE them as much as I wish they'd develop a new life plan and change majors, LOL! Although, the tutu bunch I could label as "strongly dislike" now :)

JustMe, thanks! I appreciate that. It helps to know I'm not the only one who sees a problem with this kind of attitude in this profession. I really do appreciate it!

We get our rationales at the end of the exam, so they would just say we wrote down the answers then. I do have one instructor on tape saying she knows there is a problem and then basically says, "That's just the way it is!" As far as the class goes, I'm well aware that I'm not perfect, but the juvenille, self serving attitudes are a bit much to swallow some days! I mean, who puts a tutu before someone's job while professing how much they want to be a nurse? Thankfully, I'm not planning on going to a doctor's office or a hospital, so I'm sure I'll never see any of them again after graduation. I don't need the paycheck, so I'm free to do what I want (and that's in a free clinic, shelters, etc) and hopefully, most of those attitudes won't grace us with their presence! I just dread the thought of being in clinicals with "Oh, I just can't stand the smell of poop! It just makes me sick!" I guess basically, I just wanted to vent a little :)