DanielCA

I am a new nurse, a male nurse, and a recent graduate from nursing school. Although I have only been in the profession a short time, it is clear to me that the term "nurse" is not politically correct. I know there are people who will argue against this, but that happens whenever people suggest looking for politically correct alternatives. So, the question is, what word will replace "nurse" as a more politically correct job title? It seems that "RN" has the most traction, except that it isn't really a title as much as an acronym. I don't even really know of any other words. Things like "caregiver" seem too general. I have searched these forums, and found a couple of discussions, but no clear suggestions for real alternatives. And, for the record, this is why I think the word "nurse" needs to be reimagined: - The associated definition of nursing as "breastfeeding," - The definition of nursing as "to hold closely and carefully or caressingly" - The definition of nursing as "to hold (a cup or glass) in one's hands, drinking from it occasionally" - The historical implications of nurses as submissive, non-autonomous, and following a doctors orders. (The changed waiter to server, right? - because their job is to serve food, not wait on customers. Likewise, a nurses job is much more than just to passively sit with patients and "nurse" them while the doctor does all the work.) - The sterotype of a woman in a white outfit with a cute white hat. - Most of all, because when I get home from 12 hours of work, I have absolutely no feeling that "I nursed my patients today." Obviously, much of this resolves around the issue of gender and that nursing is a somewhat gender-biased word, but even for women I don't think nursing really accurately describes what we do each day as RNs (or LPNs for that matter).

I went to the Meet and Greet in April. My experience was slightly different. It was not as crowded as mentioned above. I had 4 applicants at my table (including me). We all had about 1 minute to talk about ourselves and then a couple minutes to ask questions. A couple weeks later, I got an email for the "next step" to take the Career Battery. Today (about 2.5 weeks since the meet and greet) I got an email "congrats"... I am a "top new grad".... and I will be contacted as openings come up. But, it says not to apply to anything with them, and just to wait, and to take any other job if I get other offers. So... I'm not sure how promising that is. I already graduated and have a license and already one other interview, so I might not have time to wait around for NYP.

I thought there might be more flirting, but so far the women around me have managed to keep their cool mostly. I'm impressed with their self-control. :)

Taking advantage is not cool, but I'm fine with lifting heavy things. It's better than a 9-5 desk job staring at a computer screen.

This thread is great. I graduate next spring, and I'll move for a job. Keep the tips coming..

Congrats everyone for getting in. I just finished Q2. It's tough, but stay ahead and you can do it. Maybe I'll see some of you around in a couple weeks.

Hey Everyone. Congrats on getting in to the program. I just finished Q2, and I thought I'd just leave a couple comments. It's very difficult and many people don't pass on their first attempt (rumor is about 1/3 of the class). On the other hand, there are many people who also do quite well in the program and have time for a family, a job, trips to the beach, or getting the 4.0 gpa. It's not impossible by any means. N300 is tough mostly because the questions are tough. They are like little puzzles with small clues that you must decipher to arrive at the answer. They often require multiple layers of knowledge, so you might know half the question, but you might still have to guess at the best answer. I think a solid understanding of A&P is really helpful. Especially, it's good to know the lungs, heart, brain, kidneys and how/why blood flows between them all. This is how most people die, so these organs are the essentials. One other tip, I recommend being solid on your med-math before you show up because that's one less thing to worry about while you are here, and solid med math is an easy way to improve your grade on the HESI.

Congrats! What kind of job did you end up taking?

6 months in to the program, and I have no regrets. Yeah, there are lots of things to complain about, and a bunch of people are struggling to pass their classes, but everyone is different. It's not for everyone. It's fast, and it's a business. If you want to buy a fast degree and a satisfactory education for $40,000, and you know how to play the game, take the tests and pass your classes, then this is a great program.

CCaralain, I'm pretty sure $500 deposit means that if you change your mind you lose $500, and that's it. No extra penalties or anything. I put down $500 and may back out if I decide on another school or something.

eight pages of drama right here. Suck it up, men.

A new suit

Hey everyone, I'm planning to apply to the ETP for CRNA program. I hear that it is competitive (5 spots?), but I think I've got a shot. I'll share some of my stats, and you can tell me what you think. I did undergrad with a degree in Chemistry from UC Berkeley, 2001. My gpa then was only 3.14. Since then, I've been knocking out pre-reqs with a 4.0 in my last 30 units or so, and my total gpa will probably be about 3.35 when I apply. My GRE was 170 Math (99th percentile), 166 verbal (97th percentile), 5.5 writing (96th percentile). I think I can get pretty good LORs. I'm not sure what to write in my essay, but I know I can at least make sure it is well-written. Overall, I think my chemistry background will be a plus for anesthesia. If they give due weight to my GRE, it's definitely a strong point (though it seems like they downplay it a bit), and my gpa shows a radical upward trend toward 4.0. On top of that, I have life experience galore. I have over 100 hours of volunteer time at a local hospital, as well as other volunteer and business experience. I've already been accepted to Drexel's ACE program and think it might be my backup. However Drexel starts in January, and I read somewhere that Columbia doesn't let you know until February for your acceptance. I'm hoping if I apply by the "early decision" date, maybe that will speed things up. Does anyone know the deal with this? When do they give a decision if you apply by the oct. 15th deadline? I'm going to email them about it. y'all think I've got a shot?

Hey, I just got an email today that I was accepted. What fun! It was the first place that I had applied to, mostly because they didn't require much for letters of recommendation and whatnot. I get the feeling they accept quite a few people, and assume that people will cancel or drop out or something. Regarding emails from them, I recommend being very pro-active. I put on my application a class at a school which I am first attending this semester, and they asked for a transcript. Well, silly, the semester isn't over yet, so I don't have a transcript! My status was just sitting there, pending... waiting for my transcript, but I quickly contacted them and got it straightened out. Sure enough, a few weeks later I was accepted. They never emailed me before that though, so I could've been waiting a long time if I hadn't done something. I also (proactively) suggested to them that I send my planned course of study for the summer and fall semesters, to complete my pre-reqs. The guy responded "sure, why don't you send that to us." ... like they wouldn't have even asked if I hadn't suggested it first. So, I think it may pay to go for it a little bit. Here's my stats as best I know: undergrad GPA: 3.14 total GPA: 3.25 last 60 units: 3.6 last 20 units: 4.0 science: 3.5 -ish I have a BS in Chemistry from UC Berkeley, class of 2001. One other thing, I actually sent my application in 2 days after the April 15th deadline, but got my transcripts in asap, and wrapped it up quick, but was happy that even after the deadline they considered me and already decided. Hope that helps anyone else who is still waiting.

My application was just completed a week ago. I was a bit late. I wasn't planning on applying anywhere until a bit later, but thought I would go for it, since they don't require LOR's and the application was free.