emjunk

I graduated from the LPN program at Bevill- Fayette Campus this past December. While there were problems occasionally with the school/program I have to say at the Fayette Campus they were relatively minor, one of the big things to consider when going to Bevill is that all the campuses are almost completely different schools. While there is a single woman over ALL the nursing programs, each campus has it's own head also and each has it's own staff that only works at that campus (with the exception of a few satellite campuses such as carrollton, al which is combined with the Fayette Campus and has the same instructors). So in essence each program is a little different. They do all have the same ugly uniforms, though i have to say the new uniforms are slightly better than the ones I graduated with. As for getting your LPN and bridging to RN, I don't know about the other campuses but at Fayette campus it's definitely worth it. Pretty much everyone in my graduating class that applied for the bridge program got in as long as they get the 500 hours of work experience. I like it because now i KNOW that nursing is what i want to do because I'm already working in the field and i really see what I am getting into and know it's what I want it also gets you experience that people who go straight to RN don't get, for example I have no problem passing meds now because it's what i do all day. Also I work in a nursing home where I have to give lots of meds and this has helped me improve my knowledge of drugs, their trade and generic names and what they do, which will help me a lot when i go back to get my RN in the summer. To me it's also something to fall back on just in case the worst was to happen and i didn't pass nursing school or had to drop out for some unforeseen reason.

I am also a new nurse and I would say go to a hospital if possible, it's a much easier transition from school, however if you're like me and live in an area where there aren't a lot of nursing jobs you can't be choosy. I personally am working in a Nursing home with the 20-30 patients per LPN... But a lot of it isn't as hard as people make it out to be, of course that is mostly determined by the nursing home. For example, where i work, during the day when we have the most meds there is a treatment nurse that does all the wound care, colostomy bag changes, etc. All the med nurse has to really worry about is meds and flushing tube feeders and doing breathing treatments. At night when there are less meds you have to do it all, however like i said it's much less meds, the majority of patients have the most meds in the day time. At night that nurse has few meds, mostly the occasional pain pill in the middle of the night and the 6 am meds, which are mostly things like nexium, protonix, synthroid, etc. And this is all still extremely overwhelming to begin with though... Especially your first day when you have 20 patients lined up waiting for you to give them their meds and complaining cause you can't get it done fast enough and you have to go set up a breathing treatment for the woman down the hall and someone's wife/husband/daughter/son is coming to you complaining that their whoever hasn't gotten their meds yet and they pressed their call light 20 minutes ago... lol but it does get easier with practice. So far I have to say I really love my job in the nursing home. It's very rewarding when I'm able to visit and help the elderly and disabled where I work. Many of them just want someone to talk to or listen to them. But it's not a job for everyone... But to reply to your comment about losing your license, unless you really do something stupid and really get someone hurt, the likelihood of losing your license isn't that great. If it's a good nursing home than the staff will most likely help you, at least at first, and they will keep you afloat enough until you get the hang of things, after all if you're not their working they have to fill in your job until they find someone else to do it. Just remember what you've learned in nursing school and regardless of what they all say, do what you know is right and not what they say is easy and you'll be fine.

I live near columbus.. I dislike baptist and I refuse to work there because it is somewhere that i don't want to be taken as a patient. NMMC is an AWESOME system, my sister in law works for them. Their main hospital is in Tupelo but they also have a small hospital and a good many clinics around Westpoint and i think there are 2-3 Clinics in columbus. There is also OCH hospital in starkville.. I don't know much about it though, but when i was looking for a job recently i think they had some RN jobs.

I just graduated in December and passed my boards in January. I'm working at a Nursing Home and making base pay of 17/hr for working 7-3, 18/hr for working 3-11, and 19/hr working 11-7 . We also get a pay raise each year of up to 3%. Also full time employees get health, dental and vision insurance for a very small price. Right now I'm working weekends, once a week and I can get called in if someone calls in sick. It's a pretty good job, downside is having anywhere from 26-30 patients.