RachieH

Peer support is/was huge in my accelerated BSN program. I am due to graduate in August and the support of my friends and classmates has been instrumental to my success. The key for me was focus. If I had three hours to study, I used those three hours. I knuckled down, minimized distractions, used every resource I could find and stopped at the end of those three hours. I scheduled every aspect of my day, from time with my kid to the gym to eating to napping, to internet surfing, to classtime, to study time. I stuck to this schedule and it worked beautifully. I have a 3.7 GPA, am being inducted into Sigma Theta Tau next week and have not stayed up past 11 pm a single time doing schoolwork throughout the entire course. I have classmates who procrastinate and nap in the afternoons and then find themselves up at 3 am trying to finish an assignment. They then show up to class sleep-deprived, which means another nap that afternoon, with another three hours wasted. A huge part of success in an accelerated program is attendance. Showing up for lecture was half the battle for me. Further, I paid very close attention in class and asked questions when I didn't understand something. I used classroom time productively, unlike some other students who surfed the net, texted, or napped. They then found themselves behind with regard to reading and studying. My schedule does not work for everybody, and my situation is unique because I am a single mother of a toddler. His needs had to be scheduled in with mine. I still have had time to have a social life. It's been a wild ride and a great run and I have loved almost every minute of it. My favorite courses were OB/Peds and my least favorites were Critical Care and Research. Best of luck to you!

Thank you both for the information. How about the sign-on bonus for two years' NICU or ICU experience? Any ideas? Theoretically, the smartest thing to do would be to serve out my commitment, get the experience, save up some money and then move to Houston. So I'd like to know what I can expect once I start this process in two years.

Lots of questions that I hope some of you can answer for me. I will be graduating from an accelerated BSN program in August. I was born and raised in Houston and lived there until I was 23. I am now 37 with a young son and want to move back. I have a fairly major problem (major to me, at least) in that I accepted loans from a local hospital here in El Paso (I literally had no choice; needed the money) in exchange for two years' worth of work. I have been told repeatedly that having another hospital buy me out of my commitment is not a big deal and that it is done all the time (basically, whatever sign-on bonus I got could be used to buy my way out of the other commitment). I have some minor issues with the integrity involved in this but basically, I want to get out of here and get back to Houston and I don't want to wait two years to do it. Any thoughts? Secondly, do the satellite/suburban hospitals in Houston hire new grads? I know the Med Center is the place to be for all the rock star nurses () but I really would be content to say, live in Katy and work at one of the new hospitals going up out there. Are there any nurse recruiters in Houston who would be willing to help me and walk me through this or do I have to do the whole dance with HR myself? Thanks in advance for any advice you may have.

Hi everyone, This has been a valuable read. I have a few questions. I am 37 and will complete my BSN this August. Am I eligible for loan repayment and sign-on bonus? What is the maximum age the Navy will take nurses? Also, and this may be the kicker here - I am a single mother. Does the Navy make you sign over custody of your child when you go in? I read something like this on an Army enlisted board...but here we are talking about the Navy commissioning an Officer. If I were to become a Navy nurse, my mother would more than likely come live with me to help me with my son. Does the Navy even allow single parents to join? Thanks in advance

My father said it to his nurse he day he died. He also told my mother, who didn't believe him. He coded 3 hours later...and died.

Holy God. You WALKED to WBAMC from Bliss???? God bless you. You couldn't pay me enough to walk that - it's uphill! And you had to cross Dyer to do it! High Point is the complex you saw up at WBAMC on Alabama - it's nice. Definitely check it out. And welcome to El Paso.

Oy, athena. You might want to google El Paso, TX. We are 3500 feet above sea level and very mountainous!!!! I fear for you and your bike! Ft. Bliss is located in the NE side of El Paso, and is buffeted to the west by an enormous mountain range, which runs alongside Hwy 54. Ft. Bliss is sort of bordered by I-10 to the south, and Montana Ave (6 lane major, major street) to the east. There are apartment complexes close enough to bike - mainly on the east side - but you might find it really hard to get around post and El Paso without a car. Come to think of it, I am not certain you would be allowed to ride your bike on post - I don't recall ever seeing bicyclists on post. Motorcycles, yes. Are you a nurse? Which part of post will you be working at? I can recommend some apartment complexes that are outside the Bliss back gate which might work for you. If you need me to recommend them, let me know.

I am not a soldier or a nurse - yet...I start a 2nd degree program at UTEP in May - but I was married to a soldier here and am very familiar with Fort Bliss and El Paso. Do you have any specific questions?

Me too! I start UTEP's Fast Track program May 12. Now I have to figure out how to pay for it...

I am a single mom to a 4 month old son - I do it all. I work 40 hours a week, and attend classes from 5:30-8:30 pm MW and 6 am-8am Tues-Thurs-Sat. Yes, you read that right - I have a 6 am class on Saturdays. But for the precise reason that I am a single mom, I want to make my son's life better by becoming a nurse: highly employable, useful skills, good pay, and setting an example for him that hard works pays off. Also, if you value something, (him), you take care of it the best way you know how.

I don't have the specific scores in front of me, but overall 98% percentile. "Post High School," I believe it's called.

In addition, typing in all caps is the same as yelling. Would you burst into a room full of strangers and began screaming? I would hope not. So please go easy on the all caps as well. Typing in all caps should be reserved for emphasis, stress and extreme emotion.

Thanks for bringing this up - correct language usage is a HUGE pet peeve of mine. Coming out of lurkerdom to say...I have been a little surprised at some of the atrocious grammar and spelling skills from time to time here at allnurses. Those are skills that ought to be paramount in nursing; after all, communication is a huge part of a nurse's job. I am also a firm believer that if one wants to be taken seriously in the workplace, one ought to pay careful attention to the way one communicates and this includes writing. For those who will say "but I come online to relax and don't want to worry about my writing skills!" I say to you...read the original poster's post. She won't read your posts if they are a huge run-on paragraph. In addition, good writing skills should be a habit - not something that goes out the window once you're off work. And for those who say "But I have x amount of kids, am always busy and don't have time to proof-read my posts!"...I have a three month old son and I'm busy too. But I always take time to proof posts. It's all in perception and perception is everything if you're being considered for a promotion, or special projects, or a leadership position. Food for thought.

GS positions = Goverment Service positions? Can you elaborate as to what kinds of jobs those are and how one obtains them? I've seen USPHS posted about a couple of times here...can you elaborate on those jobs as well? Are the benefits the same as the military? Where does one get posted? Are there loan forgiveness and signing bonuses as with the various nurse corps? Thanks in advance!

I am interested in military nursing. For the record, I am 36, will have my BSN by the time I'm 38 or so. I know the age cutoff for the Army AMEDD is 47. Pretty much guaranteed deployment to Iraq is why I am really no longer considering the Army (single mom to young son). So can I ask you all how Navy and AF are different? Do you know the age cutoff and what kinds of Officers' Schools they have to go to? What is deployment like and am I nuts for even considering the military with a small son (I would take him to live with me wherever I went)? Please be honest. Thanks