Piggles

I took an online EKG course through the AHA and that sufficed for my tele position.

I'm a senior nursing student and I just started working as a telemetry technician in the ICU. I did an internship in this department and expressed an interest in working there after I graduate from nursing school. They have a great training program f...

Thanks so much for all of the helpful info. I am graduating from nursing school in a few months and I think I have a good lead on an ICU position after I'm licensed. I plan to start taking physics and chemistry next fall. My question is how much wil...

Wow, what a great read! I plan to read this at least three more times. I am 3 weeks away from my first preceptorship and I want to make the most of it. I have a background in education and I think what preceptors do is so vital to this profession tha...

My class of 60 has only lost 2 so far. One due to pregnancy, and she came back the next semester with the class behind us, and another by choice. We are almost 75% done and graduate in May. My school has a great reputation and I am just lucky to be i...

I am in a similar situation and would appreciate any advice. I am also graduating May '13 with 4.0 and I am doing 2 different preceptorships in the ICU. I have heard that it helps to precept in the ICU if that's where you will be applying. However, I...

Congratulations to you for all of your success. You persevered despite personal tragedies you could not control. Your story sounds a lot like mine. My mother-in-law has been a great support to me too and I look forward to seeing her at my graduation ...

I have a hard time with this too and I am still trying to find ways to deal with it because I assume it will happen from time to time no matter where I go. My strategy so far is to carry myself with an air of confidence even when I am feeling somethi...

I think that the first semester is the hardest because it feels like culture shock. You probably don't know anyone in the class yet and you aren't sure how to organize or study for your classes either. Nursing school and clinical is such a different ...

Thanks for the response guys. In the first year of nursing school clinical was so scary and stressful for me, but now I am learning so much more from them and actually looking forward to it. It could just be that my last rotation had a very student f...

I am graduating from nursing school May of 2013, and I have been lucky enough to secure a preceptorship during the winter break. I elected to work noc shift in the ICU in a rural hospital. I would love to hear from anyone who has experience in this t...

Thank you for sharing your perspective. I am just about to start my preceptorship in my senior year and I am trying to prepare myself by imagining what concerns and goals my preceptor will have. It sounds to me like you have high standards and you kn...

Where I live, if you have had a clean record for a number of years you can go down to the courthouse, fill out a one page request form and have it expunged in a matter of a week or two. I think the wording "have you ever been convicted" is confusing....

I am super excited to start my final year of nursing school because I am finally working in a decent sized hospital with supportive nurses and clinical instructors. Well, my instructors have always been supportive, but now they seem to know that I am...

Thanks, for your comments Mikeicurn. What you say makes a lot of sense!

I am a nursing student who will be graduating at about this time next year, and I am anticipating having to make the same decisions soon. Last week I spoke with a 2009 graduate of my nursing school (Santa Rosa Junior College, about an hour's drive no...

This school is more affordable and closer to where I live. Also... I didn't get accepted into the UC program. I just went to the info session today and I am going to go for the BA first for sure! It looks like a great program. I take some online clas...

I'm just finishing up my first year of nursing school and making plans to get that first job when I graduate. I have a bachelors in another field, so I'm thinking I can save 7K$ by not going for the bachelors (the course starts this summer) and just ...

Thanks for your feedback. I think it might be best to get the BA, but that means the next 2 summers and the year after nursing school I'll be in school for the BA when I could be focusing on work experience. Plus I'm so tired of school right now! Wel...

Our class was advised to avoid ponytails in clinical because an aggressive and/ or demented patient could wrap it around their hand and pull you down. A safer alternative is to french braid it. We learned a way to escape if someone grabs a handful of...

After the first semester we have lost 1 person out of 60. Our program has a 100% NCLEX pass rate. I feel lucky to be in a program where the faculty is very supportive and lets us know that they really want to see us all succeed. They keep saying that...

I scraped by with an A by the skin of my teeth! Our 1st semester consists of 12 units all together in one class, one grade. I calculated the number of points that I needed to score on my final in order to have that 90% and I got exactly that score. S...

The timing is crazy i know. I keep thinking we should wait until nursing school is over, but time is really of the essence here. I am curious to hear your opinions based on your own experiences. Here's some background info: I am just coming to the en...

I think about these increased risks a lot too. I also worry about autism. It's such a sticky situation. My partner and I always planned on not ever having children. Now were more mature, have a different perspective, and finally feel ready for it. I ...

I appreciate all of your comments so much. You have given me some things to think about that I never considered. I decided that I'm going to wait until nursing school is over. Getting that acceptance letter last summer was such a big deal! For all ...