VolunteerCPR

Congrats on the baby :) We are actually TTC and I'm planning to take a semester off if it happens. In my opinion, school and a job will always be there. (Heck, maybe even more jobs the more you wait if the economy continues to improve.) Your fertility and your baby's first couple of months will not. It's not a rush to the finish line, take a little time to smell the flowers. You can still finish school and have your baby, too :)

You just had a bad night, everyone makes mistakes. You will land an RN job, and the economy is not likely to stay crappy forever. There have been ups and downs in the economy for decades, and nursing has always rebounded. You're also almost done (assuming you're in a 4 semester program), so just stick with it. Also, many women have cried at work, and we all get through it.

I would say no, CNAs really don't make that much, at least in my area. Most CNAs I know live with parents, husband or someone else sharing the bills.

I won my uniform vest and patches for free at mine :)

It shouldn't, if you go to another school they will give you transfer credit, but they won't figure the prior school's grades into their GPA calculation for your performance at their school.

Yes, with four days off I've done lots of celebrating with family and have time to work on a paper and study today.

No, I wouldn't want to hear about it from a coworker. I would want to hear it from my boss. He'll likely be hurt that other people knew before he did if you tell him.

I was unsure about nursing and took a 2 year break from school. I went back to my previous job outside of nursing. The idea of nursing always sort of nagged at me and I found myself missing it, and wishing I had finished, and now I am back in school. I am still taking my time and putting my family first, but I'm working my way through, and really glad I am. Sometimes you just need to step back and take a break to figure out what you really want. The other careers you mentioned are great, too.

Nursing school will ALWAYS be there. You can be 30, 40, 50, 60 and go to nursing school. Taking a semester off is not the end of the world. On the other hand, you cannot have a baby at 40 without worrying about the 1:2 chance of Down's, or at 50, or at 60... There's a difference in advice that should be given if a person is 21 in school wanting a baby, or 35+ wanting a baby in school.

Congrats :) :) We are TTC now and I'll take my 3rd semester off if I end up being due in Aug. I think nursing school would be an easier time than 12 hour shifts, on the feet all day on a new job. Jobs will always be there, I'm not in such a rush to the finish. Keep me updated, maybe we will both be due in Aug :)

You can take a semester off if you want, that's what I'm planning to do. (3rd semester). If you tried & conceived right away you'd be due in late Aug/early Sept. Your job will be there your entire life, your fertility won't. This is my 3rd, so I know what to expect. I agree with the above post that the first few months you are REALLY TIRED, but you'll have motivation to keep going.

A patient has the right to refuse any care they want, and they should still never be talked about in the hallway outside their room with a statement like "The medical professionals always know the right things to say to get them." when the pt is in extreme pain. I'd write a letter, too. Whether or not anyone is happy with whatever you did or didn't take or tests you did or didn't want, medical staff cannot stand in the hallway (within earshot!) and chat about how they think you're a drug seeker.

There is a lot of misinformation in this thread. I am a Red Cross CPR instructor. The Red Cross offers CPR for Healthcare Providers, and for the lay person, just as the Heart Association does. The Red Cross also requires competency demonstration and a written exam. Not only that, the Red Cross is more thorough in many areas. I am certified from the Red Cross and the Heart Association, and the Red Cross classes are typically twice as long - many are 6 hours where the Heart Association is one or two, not that longer = better. Some real differences are things like AHA teaches abdominal thrusts only for choking victims, and the Red Cross teaches 5 back blows and then 5 abdominal thrusts. There are small differences like that in the two programs. I have done a lot of research on this issue and there must be some kind of lobbying from the AHA or something like that for them to have such a market hold on CPR certs, b/c there is nothing that makes their class above the Red Cross's.

What prevents someone from just saying No, they've never been treated for a mental disorder? Health records are not public information. It's not like a criminal record that would show up on a background check. I don't understand the whole 'the information would be attached to the license' concept, because unless someone disclosed it on the application, I don't see how they could ever find out. Am I wrong?

OP, do you have any updates? I've read this whole post and I hope you finally got your baby and a job you love :) :heartbeat I agree, having a baby while looking for a job or the first year of working isn't the greatest either, so for some, nursing school makes more sense. You're also not on your feet as much in school, which makes that aspect easier.

You do need to know angles to measure with a goniometer to measure a decreased ability to extend an arm or something like that....I've used a lot of algebra and ratio/proportion so far. It is important to be really skilled with math to double check peds and infant dosages b/c their lives are in your hands, but it sounds like maybe you are not reviewing algebra

^ That's another good point, if you were 'a kid' under 18, shouldn't the records be sealed? It may be different in different states, but look into your options.

See if you can get it expunged. Look up how many years to get a misdemeanor expunged in your state. If its expunged, you don't have to report it. It'll probably cost you around $500.

I would go the cheapest route -- the MSN will be expensive in the future so you'll want to start w/as little debt as possible. You can also work as an RN while you get your BSN. As someone already paying on student loans, it makes it a lot easier if your student loan payment in the future is small, as opposed to $500+ a month.

There are plenty of ways to assemble and practice free speech without getting arrested. My husband works inside one of the buildings targeted by occupy Wall Street, and has been having to listen to banging drums and people yelling for weeks, and what specifically their goals are besides getting arrested as the OP plans to do, I don't know, and neither do they, as they've been asked and have a laundry list of complaints, but don't know specifically what they want. Some of the reforms they are looking for (such as taxation of gains in the stock market, BEFORE people sell their stocks) - have been that way in the past, but people were actually committing suicide b/c they'd have $200k tax bills when the money was made in the market, taxed, lost in the market, and they never saw a penny of it. Makes zero sense to tax theoretical money someone never had. Wouldn't it be a lot more effective if all involved went to work, stopped standing on a sidewalk banging drums, and didn't do things like planning to go get arrested? Its not corporations keeping them from getting jobs, its the fact that they are standing on sidewalks instead of going to look for jobs. OP will make it a hell of a lot harder for herself to get a job by purposely getting an arrest record, then she'll blame it on a corporation. Ridiculous...

I faced a similar decision, and talked to the nursing department chair at my school who said that if I missed a semester to have a baby, there would be no guarantee there would be a spot for me when I came back (if none of the incoming students dropped), and said that only about 1/2 of the pregnant students in the program were successful at finishing. I would talk to your school to find out what they require in terms of doctor's notes, find out if your doctor will give you what they require, and find out if you'll be guaranteed a seat when you go back. If I missed more than one semester, I would have had to retake exams and revalidate all skills.... hard enough as it is without having to redo things. Not to mention daycare for an infant so you can go to school runs in the $250-$300/week range in my area and my school only offers daycare to children over 2. Hope that info helps...

Really research the CRNA if that is the only aspect of nursing you're interested in, because you'll need at least a year of ICU experience to get accepted into a program (which is another 3 years of f/t school on top of the BSN). New nursing grads are having a hard time finding jobs anywhere, many are taking years to work their way up to ICU.

Sometimes things happen for a reason, maybe nursing is not your calling in life. You sound like you've become burnt out on nursing. Is there something else you could do that would be fresh and new to you, and make you happy? Maybe take some time to look around at what other options you have, and maybe you will see a door you hadn't noticed before that really peaks your interest.

I realize this is a long shot, but I thought I would check to see if anybody knew of an Illinois school with a DNP program that offered daycare to children under 2. I saw that UIC has DNP programs, but for children over 2 years and 9 months. OR... does anybody happen to know of any hospitals that offer on-site childcare? I saw Resurrection had a daycare facility a few blocks away. Is that the only one in this state? Thanks for any insight =)

Your GPA is good, you could probably go free to a community college with one of their scholarships.