SJW

Maybe he just played tennis in the heat and has heat stroke.

I know 4 months seems like forever when your days are stressed out in MS, but it took me more like 10 - 12 months before I quit feeling dread everytime I came to work. Lots of people (much younger than I am) told me that it took them at least 6 months to start feeling more comfortable. Maybe you will start to feel better at the 6 month mark and decide to stay. Whatever you do, good luck to you. LTC is a worthy calling, too, especially since no one is getting any younger!!!

I am about to start "precepting" a student nurse. Any tips/suggestions?

Hey Tencat - How long into your nursing career before you switched over to hospice? I am a brand new nurse and I have always been interested in hospice and wonder how long I need to be in med-surg before I can entertain thougts of changing to hospice?

You're asking an awful lot of yourself just to go to school full time and work full time. Add dealing with grief to all that and you could be heading for trouble. You could start it and drop a class if you had to. In our school, you could drop within a short amount of time and not have it count against you - and you could even be reimbursed for part of the fee. That way, you'd be able to test the waters and see how you feel. Nursing school is demanding in the best of circumstances, maybe especially so for over-achievers (I am one, too!). Don't be too hard on yourself if you don't get all A's. That's just that much more pressure! If you shoot for doing the best that you can at the time, that might be okay, too. Good luck in whatever you decide.

I don't know about anyone else, but I had the same thoughts when I started my LPN job a year ago. In fact, I dreaded going to work because of thoughts just like those. After a short while, I got more familiar with my job and my co-workers, and many of those feelings went away. I don't think it hurts to keep a healthy fear of hurting patients in the back of your mind, because I think it keeps you alert and aware of what you're doing. If you become complacent about caring for a patient/resident, you are at risk for endangering them, in my opinion. Be patient with yourself because there's a lot to learn and if you expect too much too soon you're setting yourself up for frustration. Now, a year later, I received my RN license and am about to embark on a new job at a hospital, and while I am certainly a little nervous about it, I know, from recent experience, that much of my apprehension is due to the "newness" of the job and that I will get over it once I start. You will, too. Good luck. You'll be awesome!

Is the hospital where you could work as a CNA one you'd like to work in when you're a nurse? If so, working there as a CNA will give you an advantage when it comes time to work as a nurse. One more thing to think about!

Does the school that offers the ADN program in your area allow you to enter the second year as an advance placement student? That is, if you have an LPN license, can you step in to the second year of the 2 year ADN program? Also, could you get right in to the LPN program at your school? Our school has the advance placement option, but it no longer offers the LPN program. Suppose you'd have to check to make sure all your credits transfer from LPN to RN if you have to go to 2 different schools. Sounds like you have lots of good options. If you can get in to an advance placement situation, I don't know why it should take any more than 2 years to complete (if you have lots of credits that transfer from your other degree and if you can get all your pre-reqs in a timely manner). It could be a pretty full load though because you're getting lots of education in a condensed time frame.

You aren't really a brand new grad anymore if you graduated last year and have 9 months of LTC experience under your belt. And since many, many of the patients hospitalized are geriatrics, you have lots of experience working with that population. I'd get in there and start applying at hospitals while your skills are still relatively fresh. Unless the NH you're in has lots of complicated residents, you aren't able to keep up with all the skills you'll need in the hospital, and you know the old saying - "use it or lose it!" Go for it. If you get too comfy at the NH, you might wind up working there your whole career. And if you don't like the hospital, you can always go back. I was in a similar situation (except I was LPN at LTC) and I was just up front with them and told them that the hospital is where I saw myself, but that I had learned much and appreciated all the guidance and encouragement I'd received at the NH. I will begin my RN career in a small hospital and certainly view my LTC experience as an asset.

I took mine on the 27th of June, got either 75 or 76 questions, and I passed. My test was on a Wednesday and I hoped to be able to look the next day and get my results because one of my classmates found out the day after she took hers, but I wound up waiting 2 days and having to pay for the information ($7.95 for quick results through Pearson Vue). The information didn't come up on my nursing board web site until July 3rd. What bugged me a little bit is that 2 other classemates took their test on Monday, July 2 and found out the next day on the same nursing board web site - so they didn't have to pay to find out in a timely fashion. I think it's a ploy to test your sanity! I'll bet you know by now, and I'll bet you did well.

I am a brand new grad - well, as a matter of fact, I graduate tomorrow night. I applied on-line to a hospital that accepts general applications so you aren't applying for any specific job and today received a call to set up an interview for a rehab position. Do you think I will be able to do rehab nursing without prior med-surg experience? I do have some LTC experience as a CNA and LPN. Is it more rewarding than med-surg? Also, any interview tips? Thanks in advance. SJW

Ever had a needle stick?

Manna, I know that math skills should be strong when you're in nursing and I'm afraid mine aren't. I really do think I can learn what I need to learn if I get over the fear of it. I am encouraged by your response. If a patient had to wait for me to figure out a calculation on paper and in an emergency, s/he might die! Calculators sound great! I am doing great with pre-reqs and refuse to let a little thing like math scare me off. It's great to get positive support. Thanks again! SJW

Any suggestions for an Old student who is nervous about the math part of nursing? Are calculators or computers used at all to determine correct dosages? SJW