kristyw4

:angryfire I just graduated from the Dakota Practical Nursing Program at Williston State College and I have never been more pleased with the "technical" education I received. I am quite offended by your "step backward" comment and I can tell you now, compared to the BSN RN students that we shared the floor with my first year of school, we blew them out of the water. This meaning: our nursing skills, assertiveness, communications skills, and our great attitudes and our "jump right in" confidence. Our charting skills were better and our spelling and writing - better! We understood our terminology much better. We had a few RN students asking us for help with their care plans on one of the floors we had clinicals on! We gladly helped them out and enjoyed working side by side with them but we really knew our stuff and I am proud to say I am a graduate LPN. There are many diploma nurses out there that have been around a LOOONNG time, can you say the same for them? Does all that extra time taking theory and professional development really improve your "technical nursing skills" that we all have to learn, no matter what route you pursue? I wondered when I read your post if you were a "new" RN. You are one year in, just as I thought. I hope your attitude changes someday and I hope you never become a clinical instructor because that is just the type of attitude that is detrimental to nursing morale, whether you are and LPN or an RN. Shame on you.

I thought in some states that you had to have your Masters and be an RN? Not sure though. :imbar That would be fun to work with kids even though the pay is probably low. Good job to have if you are raising school agers because the hours are similar!

I will be double majoring with a degree in art as well as BSN RN. I started off as an art student (hoping to do something with interior design, my lifelong dream). Then as I took more sciences for General Ed courses I realized how I liked them and decided Nursing might be more fulfilling than the pretentious superficial world of interior design that I had been working for (believe me, it is not as fun as it looks on Trading Spaces!) I finished all my stuff for my art major, went into pre-nursing and now I am just waiting on a clinical space! Art is a great way to create and unwind. I am sure I will use it well as a nurse!