Tragically Hip

If it is your passion, though, from what I've read, psychaitric advanced practice nurses are in demand, and paid well.

Good choice. Hopefully the stethoscope I chose will work out, but if not, I'll do what you did.

Congratulations, jasilady. You made it on on your own hard work and brains. I wish you great success.

The amount of money pharmaceutical companies pay out in lawsuits pales in comparison to their marketing budgets, which easily exceed their R&D budgets. And don't conflate lawsuits by the public with legal fines drug companies are forces to pay for misfeasance or malfeasance. Do you have any idea how much all those television and print ads for all those purple pills (that do no more than the coral-colored pills that just went generic) costs? Or the cost of the perqs drug companies have traditionally handed out to doctors in order to encourage them to prescribe the company's latest new, expensive, under-patent drug? The big money in litigation is not from people who complain about a runny nose side effect. It's from pharmaceutical companies that do things, often known by managers in the company, that either harm a lot of people, or put the public at serious risk. KPMG International's newsletter Issues Monitor (June 2011) (PDF file) contains an article entitled "Rising cost of litigation in pharmaceuticals industry" that goes into good detail about the nature of litigation against drug companies. It's sad that the propagandistic idea that all lawsuits are frivolous or are brought by only by people who want to steal money from those with deep pockets has become so common. In reality, it's often the only recourse that we have to keep a company from riding roughshod over everyone. Remember, a company's only fiduciary responsibility is to their shareholders and their equity.

When you use a lot of expensive medical services, chances are that you're not going to be able to hide the fact from your boss. In a small company, one employee with cancer or other expensive illness can cause the rates an insurance company charges an employer by a large amount. There is really no way to keep it secret. That is one reason having employers provide one's health insurance is an absurdity, a relic of wage controls from the WW II era.

In a local magnet hospital, ADN RNs are being "encouraged" (i.e., effectively forced) to get their BSN. I had a classmate from that hospital in my microbiology lab, and she hadn't taken a college class for a while. I'm pretty sure the hospital is paying for her classes. This hospital has a very good reputation in the community, and they probably don't want to tarnish it by willy-nilly firing nurses. It's too bad that the management of many facilities just doesn't care.

You can get the same stethoscope cheaper on-line, including the cost of shipping (and normally, no sales tax). I got and ADC Adscope 601 with interchangeable parts for quite a bit less than the bookstore's price Classic II SE price. It seems very nice, though it's quite heavy. I don't think there's anything the bookstore carries (other than proprietary items like embroidered clothing and name tags) that you can't get cheaper or far cheaper elsewhere. They have a very large markup on most things they carry.

Congratulations, LCinT. There are indeed a lot of good people, or a lot of good things done by people.

Propofol — there was a circus of recalls within the past few years for contamination with minute stainless steel particles, exotoxic bacteria, hepatitis C. Instead of making single-use vials, Teva used cheaper (maybe they had a lot of them) larger vials, which were then used on multiple patients, leading to hep C infections when the large vials were reused (for endoscopy, at least). Baxter was sued as well.

it's generally a prerequisite, and you will get a lot more out of the class if you take it first. my microbiology professor happened to be a chemistry freak, which for me was pretty cool. i did a little project on the metabolism and energy yield of a particular lipid, which was a great learning experience.

On this this MDC Web page it says that A&P 1&2 + labs have to be "Completed within 10 years of program entry date," but some courses (like microbiology) that should be there are missing, so the information is probably out of date. You need to call advisement for definitive information — their Web pages are sometimes out of date.

I got the lab coat. It seems to fit OK. I wish I'd had it for chemistry and microbiology labs rather than the rip-prone disposable lab "coats" I used. I'm waiting for the bookstore to get scrub tops and bottoms in more men's sizes. If the next batch is as deficient as the last one, I'm kind of hosed.

It has nothing to do with companies not marketing drugs in which there is little profit? Why would a drug company bother when it can put its funds into marketing a little purple pill that does nothing more than the previous pink pill that's gone generic does? Aside from liability, selling vaccines is logistically complex, and profits are low. Developing them into a marketable product is very complicated as well. Why bother, when there may be yet another patentable proton pump inhibitor that's no more effective than the previous one, but might be a marketing bonanza? We are paying for the lion's share of the development of most new drugs through taxes.

Most of the money pharmaceutical companies (certainly the large ones) take in goes to marketing. Their saturation advertising on cable channels, so that people are encouraged to wheedle prescription from their physicians doesn't come cheap. The fact is that, while drug companies conduct trials, and a lot of drugs don't make it through the process, most of the drugs are discovered on the government's dime, through research in federal labs or through federal money grants to universities and to corporations. I know a researcher in Maryland (where a lot of such research is done) who works for a private company that's developing a particular vaccine is getting government grants — gifts, essentially — the government will gain no equity stake. The process of validating the effectiveness of a drug is long and expensive, and it's a double-edged sword. Rapid approvals lead toward some drugs that turn out to have dangerous side effects that affect a large number of the drug's users. Slow approval leads to people suffering with a malady that might respond well to a drug that's years away from widespread deployment. There are no easy answers, but is certain cases, if the need is great enough, companies can obtain waivers a fast-track approval. The problem is that major drug companies don't want to deal with low-profit drugs (i.e., many generics) that would provide a steady but low income. The companies have the fiduciary responsibility to serve their shareholders, not the public, so they don't bother with those drugs. Among them are vaccines (low profit/high risk) or orphan drugs (drugs with a very small market). In those cases, the unfettered free market does not serve the best interests of the public. Perhaps, at least for orphan drugs, the government should finance research, as they do now, and when the orphan drug is ready to be marketed, buy the patent from the company. It would provide a good return on investment for the company, while allowing people with devastating but treatable illnesses to have access to the drugs they need. Is whose interest is it that antiretroviral therapy for HIV is so costly in the U.S.?

The Ph.D. Now Comes With Food Stamps, The Chroincle of Higher Education, 6 May 2012 A few years ago an adjunct English instructor wrote a great essay on how hard it is to survive financially on the pay colleges offered, even given the large number of classes he taught. I'll try to find the article.

On my test there was a lot on meiosis. I'm glad I reviewed mitosis and meiosis before the test. There were no geology questions on my test, but they were mentioned either in the text of the ATI TEAS V book or in the practice tests. (I didn't bother with the on-line tests. I'm a science nerd, so the science section went well for me.

It's the chair of the generic programs (full- and part-time); her office is on Medical campus. You'll have to figure out who that is yourself. I'm not sure that the school requires it, but I think that the facilities in which you do your clinicals will. See this MDC Web page for more information on a plan they recommend, but don't endorse.

Oops, I meant as an adjective. Editing time has passed, so unless an admin fixes it, it will stand. "American" is a adjective. "America" is a noun. You wouldn't say "America congressman" because it's grammatically incorrect. Likewise for "Democratic" versus "Democrat." Not only is it grammatically incorrect, but if you watch political folks interviewed on TV or listen to them on talk radio, you'll notice that using "Democrat" has become a clear insult to Democrats. It saves from having to use more adjectives, such as "unpatriotic" or "stupid." It's a dog-whistle word. "The Democrat Party" doesn't really sound right, does it?

Dr. ***** spoke to us at the generic and part-time orientation at Medical campus, mentioned that she whould conduct a test-taking seminar before and after our 4-hour test (we're divided into two groups, taking the test 9-1 or 1-5). She passed around a paper to sign up for the seminar. If you did not put your name and e-mail address on that paper, you will not hear from them. Assuming there's enough space, I presume that they would let any new student attend, regardless of track or campus. You ought to call Dr. *****' office or email her for more informaton.

The adjective is "Democratic," as in "Democratic congressmen" and "Democratic president Bill Clinton." It's considered pejorative to use the noun as a verb in this context. (And yes, my capitalization of "congressmen" and "president" is correct. :) ) While the HIPAA bill was sponsored by Republican Nancy Kassebaum in the Senate, it was sponsored by Republican Bill Archer in the House. There were 25 co-sponsors of the bill in the House, and if there were any Democrats among them, I don't recognize the names.

HIPAA was sponsored by Republican Senator Kassebaum, signed into law by Clinton in 1996, and went into effect during the Bush administration in 2003. The law has been amended several times since its creation. If there are things in it that you don't like, there is plenty of blame to go around.

I hate to say this, but TheLiberation's post makes a lot of sense. I don't mind the weather though; I enjoy the subtropical (often tropical) climate here, though many find the humidity generally unbearable. We don't have an income tax, but we have a steep sales tax, which is especially painful if you're just trying to get by. But the patient ratios in a lot of places-I don't know how it's legal, but I've come to understand that, as a society, we don't care much about the elderly. It seems that whatever social ills befall the U.S., they're amplified in South Florida.

Take a look at NYCRN16's post in this thread about finding a nursing job as a new grad, especially if you're from out of state.

Miami, LA, and NYC aren't the only places in existence in the U.S. I grew up in Miami, lived in the Boston area for a lot of years, and am now back in Miami. You have no idea what a weird place this is until you've been away. It's true that there's no income tax, but the sales tax is high, and you pay the same rate no matter how rich or poor you are. (In fact, a brief sales tax holiday for back-to-school supplies ends tonight). That may be true as well in LA and NYC, but it's not true in other locales. Also, car insurance and flood insurance are not cheap here. The cost of gasoline is about average. Heating bills are low, but air conditioning bills are high. For the most part, the quality of public schools is substandard. Compared to NYC and LA, culturally, Miami is a backwater -- and I'm involved in the arts community here. It's no intellectual mecca. Because of the devastating real estate crash we had, you can still find good deals on forclosed property if you want to buy a house or condo, though the best deals have been bought by speculators, setting us up for another crash. It's hard to make sense of the real estate market here. Rents are still fairly reasonable. There are many schools here cranking out large numbers of new RNs, so the job market for RNs is saturated. In addition, the main employer of nurses and other medical personnel, the county hospital, is suffering financial distress, to put it mildly. They've had two waves of layoffs of nurses in the past few years. I'm not trying to say that it's impossible to get a job here, but, I'm saying it can be difficult, especially for a new grad. That is why pay is low. In addition, if you're used to the way things are done in top, world-class medical centers across the country, you'll think you've stepped back in time if you work in a hospital here, in terms of process, medical record, etc. Understaffing is legion. I can't honestly say I'd like to be a patient in many of the hospitals in the county. That has an impact on the work environment in a way that will affect you quality of life. Also, we sometimes get a lot of hurricanes. Several years ago it seemed like we were getting two a year. You'll have to deal with it. If you live on Miami Beach (where there is a large hospital) or within a few blocks of the water (Biscayne Bay) in Miami, you will be in a mandatory evacuation (flood) zone in the case that a hurricane, even a "small," category 1 storm, heads this way. It's just something everyone has to deal with, but something that really affects critical emergency personnel such as nurses. But then, since traffic is as bad as it gets in this country, and evacuation of the area would be nearly impossible, at least you'll have a place to be in a hurricane. Culturally and anthropologically, Miami is one of the most interesting places in the nation. However, you'd better be reasonably fluent in Spanish to make a go of it here. Haitian Creole would be helpful as well, but unless you've lived in Haiti, that will be a long shot. There are a lot of places that offer a high quality of life, depending upon your interests, and many of them have a better salary to cost of living ration than Miami does. If you come to live here, it really should be because you really like the place, or like to party all night, or have interests that can be fulfilled here. Unless you're a doctor, lawyer, international business person, or gangster, it's hard to make a career flourish here.

You have no idea how virulent the flu can be. Some strains are deadly even among the young and healthy. I find the level of magical, non-scientific thinking among some medical personnel to be shocking. Not much anti-vaccine propaganda comes from biologists who have a good understanding of immunity, or epidemiologists. Rather they come from conspiracy-oriented folks, some of whom think hand washing a a plot by the Illuminati to control our minds through chemicals added to the soap. People without any background in the subject have strongly-held opinions. They have no statistics, and would likely not understand what they mean if they did have them. And some of these people are counseling vulnerable patients on subjects such as vaccinations. It's 1800 again. It's shocking. For those so critical of the flu vaccine: I'd like to see some objective statistics on the efficacy, or lack thereof, of the vaccine. I'm not interested in your personal anecdote (which, for what it's worth, likely contradicts my personal experience).