Shelbster

I have bought a lot of my scrubs from thrift stores. They are usually quite inexpensive, and I just look them over first to make sure they are in good shape and that there are no stains on them.

I really like the scrubs that have a bit of stretch built in. There are some cheap ones from places like Walmart that feel like I'm wearing a paper gown . Then there are some that are made of a stretchy kind of fabric, not sure what, but they are very soft and easy to move in. I always test them out in the fitting room before buying them to see if I can comfortably squat down all the way and can give myself a big bear hug. I go to school in Alberta, and we don't have a specific dress code, we can wear whatever colors we want, but they says it's a good idea to stay away from really crazy bright patterns. Leave those for peds . Hope this helps

We had to brush each other's teeth too. It was kind of weird but it only took a couple of minutes and then we were done, so it wasn't so bad.

Well I'm still a nursing student, so I don't really know anything about the 'right' job yet. But if I were you, I'd go to the bigger city. I personally think that life is too short to sit where you're most comfortable and dream about 'what ifs'. Just go for them! If you can't stop daydreaming about it then it says that it's something that you really want to do. Don't wait until it's too late and regret not doing what your heart told you to do. Also think about if your current hospital would hire you back if you left and didn't like it. Plus there's gotta be more than just one really great hospital out there. Hopefully this helps

I'd definately agree with this. I just finished my first year of the BScN program, and I am absolutely physically and mentally exhausted. Before I started we weren't given any direction on where to start preparing anyways. The course manuals with the reading lists are all made over the summer at my school. But once you start there are TONS of reading (like every night and every weekend). Now that summer break is here, I plan on laying around doing nothing, and enjoying every minute of it until the fall. So yea, just enjoy your summer while you're free. You may want to start with buying a good quality stethoscope, BP cuff, a penlight, and black pens (about a hundred will do), a medical dictionary, and maybe a couple pairs of scrubs for clinicals. And like jmira said, some basic medical terminology would be good idea. It drove me insane when I over-heard (a few months after a two month gerontological course) "what's gerontology?" Some must-haves that got me through was coffee (start stocking up now), and some friends I made who were also in the program. Sometimes you just need a good rant with some gals who are going through the same stuff as you. :hug:If your school has a nursing student society or group, join it! The people that are ahead of you have great tips, and the ones in mine organized parties and stuff so we could let loose every now and then. Try to find some good online resources like this one All Medical Animations it has tons of animations on diseases and treatments and things like that. This one Listen to Heart Sounds - Lung Sounds Audio - Breath Sounds : 3M Littmann Stethoscopes: 3M US has stethoscope sounds you can listen to. There's tons out there if you just google them. Good luck! It is a ton of work, and there will be some times when you will want to quit every day that week, but stick with it! It was pretty stressful for a while, when I was getting used to the process, but now it's all good and I'm excited for next year when we get to learn more advanced skills. You picked a great career my friend!