kukitty

You guys are the best! I do feel much better now! I went home, talked it over with my folks, and it turns out that this did work out for the best. My mom told me that since I had this extra year, I should just starting taking my gen. eds. I was planning on taking A&P, chem and micro concurrent with school (I'm going to be in an ADN program). Mom said that was a pretty horrible idea, but my decision to make and she understood that I wanted to do this as fast as possible. Well, now I'll be able to take those classes and get them out of the way. I think I'm going to try and take Spanish too, since I'd like to work in New Mexico with community outreach type programs. We also found out yesterday that my mom is going to have surgery to fuse part of her cervical spine. She's been in severe chronic neck/shoulder pain for about 5 years now, and finally got someone to do a proper work-up on her. Turns out that she barely has any disc material left, and a bone spur pinching a nerve. So, since the recovery time can be pretty hellacious (or so I've heard) and my dad travels a lot for his job, this will work out good because I'll be able to spend more time taking care of her and she won't have to be alone during the week when my dad is gone. Just needed a little perspective, and encouragement! Thanks everyone!!!

I just found out that I'm back on the wait list. They take people in order of application (if they pass the test), and they are on the 2003 applicants. I'm an '04 applicant. Looks "more promising" in 2006. I have a job right now, but it doesn't pay enough to cover my medical bills (I was hospitalized w/o insurance after an accident, also had to have P.T. and tooth replacement) and other bills. So I was living with mom and dad until after school would be over. That way I could pay my bills (with rent, that was a definite no!). Now my car is on its last leg, and I communte, so that's another potential bill looming. Luckily, dad's a mechanic, but he can't make it run forever. I know I'll get in in 2006, and I'm really looking forward to classes, and school. With my rockin' RN mom as a tutor, I'm gonna shine! But now what? I feel so lucky to have found a job now with insurance, and even though it doesn't pay that great, it's better than no job! I'm also really, really fortunate to have a mom and dad that love me enough to put up with me, because I'd definitely be either homeless, or on welfare (and I'd have to quit my job to go on that) without them. They rock! I just feel like such a loser, living at home. I pay them for food (under protest from them!), and am doing a lot of home repairs for them right now. The house is pretty old, and needed repairs, but they haven't been able to do them. My mom is also sick, and I've been taking care of her after work and on the weekends. Is it okay to stay with them another year? Should I give up on this? Try to find another career? Or accept my parents' help? Is this a dumb American question? I know that I'm lucky to live in this country and wrestle with such a dilema as this when others are struggling to find food and dying from abysmal conditions. Thanks for letting me rant, I do feel a little better now!

Thanks for the info. I currently am on Strattera and Concerta for adult ADHD. I'm going to talk to my doctor at my next visit! It's been pretty scary with all the new drug warnings coming out from the FDA.

Thanks! You've said it better than me. It's the middle class. Too rich to qualify for income-based program, too poor to afford a lot of the healthcare we may need. It extends to lots of other areas too. Like paying for college!

Okay, I'll bite. Perhaps, I just need to change stores. My local market is extremely expensive for fruits and veggies, but perhaps because we're very rural (oddly, since the produce grows right outside the town limits!) I'm taking everyone's advice and going to the store in the city tonight after work. I'm gonna take a calculator and do some smart shopping. If it works, God bless you all, and my pocket book thanks you for the saved trips to the doctor! :)

Yep. It absolutely makes you feel lousy. What's wrong with the world when nutritious food or at least naturally occuring food costs so much more than processed junk? I can already tell that by making a food sacrifice I'm a lot more tired. I think that the problem is access as well. Perhaps contrary to my angrier posts, I'm not sure what side of the debate I fall into, especially since it hits so close to home. I really do wish that there was more preventative care available to rural communities like mine at a low-income rate. Right now, if I wanted to go see a doctor for, say, an upper respiratory infection, just walking in the door hits me with $60. Or, I could drive to the nearest city (80,000 people, not exactly urban!) and go to the Med-Assist. Or just wait until I get way, way sicker and go to the ER. I'm definitely lucky to have the choice to drive to the "city", as there are a lot of elderly who don't drive in my town, and the van to take them to the doctor's office in the "city" only comes every other week (if the weather holds, and the van driver isn't on vacation). No one has a perfect system, but it does no good to make generalizations about those without insurance, or those who can't afford preventative care. This is a problem that will eventually be addressed, after some sort of crisis hits. My ideal situation? That preventative care would be affordable. That nutritious food would be cost-effective, even to a poor family of four (compare, say, a piece of fish and a salad to a box of mac and cheese and a can of tuna--I KNOW the fish and salad is better for me, and even tastes better, but $10 compared to about $1.50, well I've saved about $8, and I can buy enough gas to get to work on that). That mental health would be taken seriously, no stigma attached. That prescriptions would be affordable enough that people would no longer have to choose between medication and food. Pretty idealistic, huh? Well, one can dream!

I agree Minne! I'm not a nurse yet, but my mom is. I asked her about this phenomenon, and she furrowed her brow and said, well, there are nasty nurses out there. When she was new, she had a wonderful nurse that she worked nights with in a small hospital. She has moved on from that job about 10 years or more ago, but they still remain friends. She often gets teary-eyed when she talks about how much that wonderful nurse taught her. Consequently, she does the same with the new nurses she works with. She is patient with them, and teaches them when there's time. Not all nurses eat their young, only the mean ones, who would probably do so in any job that allowed them to get away with it.

I've done a little checking and am really getting excited about working with IHS!

Right. Big car, big TV. How about those of us struggling to make it? With a car with 240,000 miles on it that I only drive to work because I can't afford to live in the city, so must commute from the small town in which I reside. I can barely afford the basics. Food, shelter, medical bills, Rx. I've cut down by not eating as healthy (since fresh food costs so much more), giving my pets away to my parents, and choosing which Rx I can do away with. And no, my T.V. is not large, or hooked up to cable, it was free from my parents. (yep, I'm lucky to be in the good ol' USofA and have a TV, I know) No, my dwelling is not large, and no I don't drive a big or fancy car. How about that? And I'm pretty well off to tell you the truth. I'm not on welfare, I don't need food stamps, and I have a job, thank God. What about those who don't? I usually have about $100 left over after bills, and I make too much to qualify for Medicaid. How about me and the hundreds or thousands like me? I guess we should just get care from the ER for the life-threatening stuff, and mental health or chronic health be damned. I guess since my neighbor and fellow country-men/women can afford a big house, car, TV, cell phone, I should just suck it up. Right?

"but in America, those who seek healthcare receive it, the poor tend to be non-compliant but not because of the lack of effort on the part of our social workers, just whatever it is going on with the patient, perhaps ignorance."-quoted from user Tommycher I've been there. Lower middle-class, and non-insured. I was able to pay for the lower-cost plans, but was rejected because I am overweight (or was), and have a "mental illness" because I saw a therapist for a year after my mom tried to commit suicide and took anti-depressants. I now have pattela-femoral pain syndrome and can't perform my job without extreme pain (I am a coder [sitting makes it worse] while waiting to start school), which I was told would resolve easily with three weeks of P.T. Well, guess what, I am "non-compliant" because I can't afford the $800 it will cost to go to P.T. I am told that eventually I may end up in the E.R. or at least be on pain meds/ibuprofen until I can afford to go. This may also delay school, and has definitely derailed my weight loss (I've lost 50#, which, ironically led to this knee problem because I lost "too fast" and changed the way my body carries itself). So, while trying to stay healthy enough for insurance, other things popped up, and now I have yet another chronic problem which would have been easily fixed, but now is a major illness. And no, I'm not "ignorant" (I have a bachelor's degree in Human Development) I just can't financially be compliant. I fall in that unfortunate "makes too much money for medicaid, too little to pay for healthcare" category. So maybe you should walk a mile in my shoes. On edit: I'm also still paying off a $900 ER charge for a kidney stone last year. Yes, I got the care, but it is a real burden to come up with that extra $50 or $100 every month when I can barely afford rent, food and phone.

i'm not a nurse yet, but some of my older friends who've been nursing for a while, said they didn't like 12s b/c they weren't really 12s, more like 14s by the time they finished charting and report. also, since i live in a small community and have a 45m-1hr commute, you're adding 11/2 to 2 hrs on to that (round trip). which i suppose also happens in large cities (if not more). so, really you're talking about at least 16 hours, which leaves you 8 before the next day's shift. so, if you eat, or wind down before sleeping, it may be more like 6 or maybe even 5. so, it has to be an individual thing, i can't function nearly "up to snuff" on less than 6 (and that's pushing it). i suppose i could if i had to, but i know i'd be making errors. i took a grad level course during my first go-round at school called "sleep and dreaming" and we did a whole chapter on sleep deprivation (even just a few hours less than ideal per night), and the research suggests that, no matter who you are, your reflexes are slower, and it takes seconds longer to compute. the incidence of car accidents goes up (hence the rules regarding sleep for truck drivers), and you're "grouchier." seems like a poor trade-off for more money, unless you really, really need it. so, does that sound right to the practicing nurses? are the shifts really 12? sorry that was a little long-winded, i had a lot on my mind! truly hope that no one takes offense!

Thanks for the words of advice and encouragement! I took a trip to New Mexico recently, and found that what I really want to do is help people. I saw so many pueblos with extremely poor people, and I want to nurse there. I've done some research, and know how to get into this, I think. It feels so wonderful to finally KNOW that this is right for me! And yes, I've heard of nurses "eating their young." My mom is a nurse, and has warned me of this. She used it in the context of experienced nurses being mean, or refusing to help/be patient with new, fresh-out-of-school coworkers. She also assured me that there are a lot of experienced nurses who are helpful and can become mentors and friends. Thanks again for the help!

After researching this a little more, this is not what I perhaps thought that it was. What I'm looking for is an area of nursing that will help me with my goal of serving the poorest underserved communities. Not necessarily in an ER type setting, but more in the basic health care vein. I saw a job description on the Indian Health Affairs website that listed a Community Health Nurse, and the description was for someone to help the community by providing general nursing care and education on the basics of hygiene, safe sex practices, pre and post natal care, etc. This sounded like exactly the kind of job I would hope to get someday, so I thought that was the specialty I needed. Guess not!! Thanks for the input though! :)

I did mine backwards as well. I have a B.G.S. (Bachelor of General Studies) in Human Development-Gerontology, and a Nursing Home Administrator's license. I'm now going for my BSN.

I'm starting (hopefully, I should be high on the wait-list) nursing school in the fall. I am attracted to the specialty of Community Health Nursing. Anyone here a Community Health Nurse? Comments?