Matt799

I'm studying for boards and my review course says, "Gently milk in the direction of drainage, if needed." This was in regards to a pleural tube. Is anyone else familiar with the practice of milking a clot back in to the body? If so, what purpose does this serve?When I read this comment I thought it was a typo but then I thought I may not fully understand the negative pressure generate by stripping away from the patient towards the collection chamber. Would the result be comparable to jacking up the wall suction? Having personally had a spontaneous pneumo/hemo, chest tube, and pleurodesis, I'm not sure why I can't wrap my head around some of this stuff lol. All I know if my nurses let no one near my tube. If someone so much as repositioned it they flipped out lol.Thanks all!

This seems more a matter of semantics than anything else. I just want to add that washing your hands is a PART of being sterile but just because you wash your hands doesn't make your procedure sterile. But it sounds like you are saying washing hands qualifies us for "medical asepsis." Truly sterile environments - like the half dozen OR experiences I've done this year - are so vastly different from what we call "medical asepsis" that I would argue they need different names. Probably just the English major in me. The major issue is as we study for NCLEX, Kaplan is calling a clean-catch an "aseptic technique." Same with placing an IV, even though neither technique even requires sterile gloves. So where do we draw the line? Is medical asepsis any procedure that requires you to be conscious of microbes? See what I mean? Asepsis tends to lose its meaning in practice. That's why I like my Microbiology text and Lewis MedSurg book - they don't make this distinction. It's either sterile/asepsis or it's clean.

Does anyone have a source that says aseptic means clean? My Lewis text says they are the same and my Taber's dictionary says, "[in aseptic technique] all instruments used are sterilized, physicians and nurses wear caps, shoe coverings, sterile gowns and gloves." Clean technique is what we use when changing a stoma pouch - nothing sterile about it.

You can't get an RN in one year.I have a BA in English, it took me 5 years because I took my time so I could earn the top 5% gpa that earned me admission in to an accelerated program. Since I had no science credit, I had to take 2 full years of Chem, A&P, Micro, etc. Now I'm finishing a one year accelerated program in which I am in the hospital for 24 hours every week with no break between rotations and 16 hours in lecture per week with tests every week and projects every other. I did the SAME # of clinical and lecture hours as you, and showed the ability to learn things twice as fast...and you think I should be penalized...nice This "one year BSN" you speak of is the equivalent of 8 years of education, and the people in my program are an average age of 30 with real world experience and excellent people skills.If you want a 22 year old kid who went to a traditional program working alongside of you, don't worry, there are very few of us "1 year slackers" around.

Online programs have recorded lectures and (obviously) hospital-unit based clinicals. Please explain how this is any different. I'll take a stab at it...With online learning, you absorb things in the comfort of your home. You hear the same lecture, but when you have a question you pause it and look something up. You don't have to drive 3 hrs per day to the university, so you get more sleep and you are more awake and alert for clinical. I see what you mean, DOWN WITH ONLINE!

Anyway, I appreciate the strong opinions, I know they come from a place of concern for patients and making your work experience more tolerable, so I get it. Being 30 years old, there's a desire to accomplish things quicker, but I do agree it would be difficult.Tell me this - everyone seems to be responding from the standpoint of a hospital FNP working on a unit...but what about a private practice under a doc? Or, working in a minute clinic at CVS? One of the community clinical instructors did the RN and NP in 3 years (with no experience), got hired at CVS and said it was a great first job out of school.

One of the responders to the OP on the other thread complain that schools are letting unlicensed people in to NP programs. I know NOTHING about that...our admission is contingent upon passing the NCLEX, we just don't have to apply - we're auto accepted (except CRNA).

Correct me if I'm wrong, but this post cautioned against being a pompous, all-knowing dilettante NP, didn't it? Anyone who would act that way (and cant I.d. Pacer spikes lol) is someone I would never be. A big part of why I got in to this career is because it is a lifelong learning process. I LOVE learning, irrespective of who is teaching. I agree I should get my feet wet, but not because of what this article describes.

"i did the accelerated 1-year program and as a part of my admission i have the opportunity to go directly in to a 15-month fnp program."i thought it was implied. thomas jefferson university offers dual admission in to 8 np programs for students that are accepted in to the accelerated rn fact program. the average age of students is 28; we have lawyers, mbas, drug reps, cardiac cath technicians, emt's, and a bunch of other professionals with real world experience who already graduated with at least a ba or bs and finished at top of their class. i think tju believes this has prepared us to do this quicker than normal.upenn, which is where i did my clinical and is widely considered the best nursing school in the us, offers the same no-experience admission in to their np programs.we say "no experience," but most of us have been in clinical 24 hrs per week, every week for a year straight and many of us have volunteered in hospitals and clinics.with all that said, i still don't think i'm ready to go straight in.

Thank you Millie, I appreciate your advice and I completely relate with the idea of cementing the knowledge. I get excellent grades but I can't help but feel repetition will make it stick and make the interventions second nature, which is where I would ideally be when I start NP school. The accelerated RN is so challenging but I agree, the grades don't mean you are a good nurse. For the record, I want to work for a year. My brother and his girlfriend, both Neuro ICU nurses, want me to take a year off to work. I just see a huge benefit in going straight through - I'm already in school mode.I hope to hear from anyone who has gone straight through and what their experience entailed.

GrnTea, I go to one of the best schools in the country so if you have an issue with the policy please contact them. Im interested in career advice only.

Hello everyone!I am graduating from Thomas Jefferson with a BSN in 2 months. This is my 2nd degree (first was a BA in English), so I did the accelerated 1-year program and as a part of my admission I have the opportunity to go directly in to a 15-month FNP program. Here's my dilemma:Nurses are having a hard time getting hired all over the country and it really helps to have experience. With that in mind, do you think going straight in to an NP program is going to hurt me because I will only have clinical experience? Do you think I would be better off doing the non-accelerated program, which is 24 months that would allow me to work at least part time as an RN so I have more experience when I graduate?Are there any FNP's here who went directly from BSN graduation, to boards, and then directly in to an NP degree? Thanks so much, I'm having a hard time figuring out the best plan of action.