vcannon

midwest (iowa)....i started out at $17.96 an hour, 10% diff from 3p to 7p and 15% diff from 7p to 7a during the week. on weekends the day diff is 10%, 3p to 7p 15% diff, and 7p to 7a 21% diff.

My kids are 6 and 9 years old. This schedule works out great for my family. Both of my children are in school during the day. I get home in time to get them on the school bus and then I sleep during the day. I get up about 30 minutes before they get home and then I have a good 3 hours to spend with them, fix dinner, help with homework, and get things ready for the next day. I work every other weekend which is nice because hubby is home. I have a part-time babysitter that comes in from 6:30 until about 10:00 pm during the week when hubby is working. I work 3 shifts a week with occassional on-call hours because I work on a closed unit. If I worked during the day, I would only get to see my kids maybe a half an hour in the evening. So, if you can handle working nights....this would be something to consider. Valiere RN

You have NO idea what a nurse does until you have walked in our shoes! CNA's are not NURSES....they are important to the health care team, but they have no where near the responsiblity or education that nurses have. When you have been through school and taken the boards then you will have EARNED the title of nurse....until then you are a nursing assistant. :argue:

NO! A CNA is not a nurse. They are an essential part of the health care team. CNA's report to LPN's and RN's and only do what is delegated to them. They cannot assess the patient, give meds, or do teaching with the patients. The CNA's that I work with are allowed to do ADL's with "stable patients" only, do vitals, collect I/O, help stock supplies. Please remember that what a nurse delegates to a CNA is still the nurse's responsiblity to check and make sure the patient is receiving proper care. Plus I believe that CNA's are considered to be "non-licensed nursing assistants", their program is only 75 hours and they receive a certificate, not a license when they are finished with their program. CNA's do not take the same boards that LPN's and RN's are required to take, plus we have an actual degree from college when we are done. Again, CNA's are great help to the nurse's, I couldn't do my job with them, but they are NOT nurses. Valiere RN

I had no experience in the health care field when I started my nursing program. In the program I went through, we caught up as far as learning what the CNA's knew within the first six weeks of the program. I believe starting as a CNA or going right into the program is a personal choice. Best of luck to you. Valiere RN

Do the assigned reading and if you have any questions about the material...don't hesitate to ask your instuctors. Another good thing is to form a study group, it's always nice to hear other nursing students ideas and methods of studying. Good luck to you. Valiere RN

I am from Iowa. Thanks on the congrats.

Good luck! You can do it. Valiere RN

I reviewed with Kaplan, Saunders, and Mosby. I did at least a 100 questions a day and really looked at the rationale behind each answer. Another thing that one of my instructor's told me was not to over analyse the questions. Read through each question at least twice and take your time answering the questions. This is not a race...you worked hard to get to this point so take your time. The night before my test, I took a nice hot bath and only reviewed my lab values. Getting a good nights rest will help, if your able to do this. Good luck...you can do it!:)

Congrats!!! What a happy day for both of us!!! :balloons: I can't stop grinning :)

Thanks everyone! :balloons: :rotfl: Hooray, I did it!!!

I just logged onto the Pearson website and paid the fee to find out "unoffically" if I passed and I DID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This feeling is so awesome, I AM AN RN!!!!!!!:chuckle Thanks for everyone ones support on this website during my schooling and while I was reviewing for the boards!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Good luck to everyone who is still waiting to take their boards. Valiere RN

Heck yeah! I thought Kaplan questions were very hard! I have been doing questions on the Q bank from Kaplan and those questions are even harder than on the Kaplan CD. I took my NCLEX exam today....my computer shut off at 75. I had a variety of questions...so I think the important thing is working on strategy and content. Good luck to you.

Congratulations! I took my NCLEX today - shut off at 75 questions. I am hoping to know unoffically by this Sunday. Go out and buy yourself that big cake and make sure you have a big slice!!

Well...good luck to you and let me know how you did!! Nothing can be done about it now....best thing to do is too try and relax and have a restful weekend. Valiere

Okay I am really weirded out! My NCLEX shut off at 75 questions this morning. I felt confident with alot of the questions and other I took an educated guess on. I had a variety of questions mental health, pharm, OB, priority question! I just don't know! I am keeping my fingers crossed!

Ugh! I am taking my NCLEX on 6/17/05. I have been doing my practice questions with Kaplan and Saunders. Is there any easy way to try and remember all the drug names?? Pharm is by biggest weakness and I am scared that I am going to get all Pharm questions on my NCLEX. Any help would be appreciated!!

Hi Kacy...I am in the same boat. I am taking Kaplan currently and I am averaging about 62-64% on their practice tests. With Saunders I normally do around 75% I am just going to keep taking the tests and reviewing the questions. Good luck with your NCLEX exam. I am still waiting for my school to mail out my transcript so that I can setup an exam day. Valiere

As if men don't go into our nursing forums! She was only trying to give you some good advise. Get over yourself!

I have heard that the Kaplan prep test is a good way to go to review for NCLEX. Is this true?? The employer I am hoping to hire on with once I have passed my boards will reimburse the $300 expense. Any thoughts???? I have also purchased a Saunders Edition 2 NCLEX review with a CD Rom, is this a good study guide??

Where in Iowa do you live? May I also ask, did you take Health Assessment and Patho online through U of P? Please let me know.....thanks!

I live in Iowa....no hospitals around here will help pay for a BSN at UOP.

Hi everyone! I am currently looking for a creditable online BSN program. I have heard bad things about the University of Phoenix - degree does not hold much water from the area of the country where I live. Is there a website that I can go to to research online programs. Clinical hours are not a big issue because I believe you need the clinical time for your BSN degree because it is different then RN clinicals. Please advise. Thanks

I am a second year RN student, I will graduate in May 2005. What I have found helpful is reading the tables in each of the chapters and going over the objectives that are listed in the front of the chapter. Also, if your nursing books have a CD with them, there is usually some kind of break down review of each chapter, like vocab, questions to answer, etc...... Good luck and hang in there!

Thank you so much for your help!!!! :)