GingerManCCRN

Thank you for the great article! I am fat, with a bmi of 32, and I can say it is all due to my lazy lifestyle and lack of willpower. I've had all my labs done, and the only thing out of whack is my triglycerides. I can easily blame my fat on my environment, but that is not being honest with myself. I must begin to turn away from the easy-to-get and unhealthy foods, and work hard to improve my health. Thanks again for the wake-up call!

So you found a study with some schools one it, and you think this info means only those schools give the best experiences? I graduated from a community college, and I can tell you it was intense. I learned more in my ADN than I did in my original Bachelors degree, and far more than I learned in my RN to BSN degree. You cannot reliably draw conclusions from one article. Case in point: "On a number of different levels, many community colleges outperform their four-year peers." Community Colleges Outperforming 4-year Universities

I agree 100%. I respect the Drs, but I don't tolerate the yelling and insulting behavior. In fact, I had one literally rush toward me, yelling that I didn't know where my pt's family was (I work in PACU, my pt had just arrived, I was performing my initial assessment as the Dr came in, residents in tow, yelling at me)....so....I raised my voice in an assertive manner, put my hand out in front of me, palm down, directly toward him, and told him "Sir, my patient just got here, I do not know where the family is, and right now I'm going to finish my assessment. Go look in the waiting room if you want to find them. If you want to call them, you have their number." I received no reprimand, I was not further disrespected by the Dr, and he greets me with a grin and a Hello. Stand up or be stepped on.

This is exactly how NOT to view the new generation of nurses. Calling someone a BURDEN doesn't help anyone, ever. STUDENTS: you are NOT a burden. You are, in fact, going to LESSEN the burden by adding to our workforce. DO NOT let jaded nurses defeat you--you are the generation that will change the face of this industry. Nurses are the single most important, and largest component, of the healthcare industry. We should all join together and PUSH FOR POSITIVE CHANGE in our industry, and STOP insulting/degrading/deflating each other.

THIS. This is how we should view students. We should do all we can to educate them, including letting them see all the extra stuff we have to do that takes so much time. I have worked in a couple industries, and I am telling you all that nursing is, without a doubt, the worst environment for noobs. Some "Seasoned" nurses will treat new grads and students with outright disrespect and degrade them for not knowing how to perform tasks while at the same time refusing to educate the new grads/students those same tasks. Be nice to them, and help them: they may soon be your coworker...or your boss. We are all on the same team, and we all are here for our patients. Don't let a student become a nurse without getting some good clinical experience.

@Cheesepuff- I restarted my life during the '08-09 recession, in my mid 30s, with a Bachelors degree. I am in Dallas, so my results may differ from others...I worked full-time (40+ hours/week) and went to cc to get my ADN, got hired full-time as an RN in an ICU, then returned to an accelerated online BSN that I completed in 6 months while working full-time. I have not regretted any of it, and I'm now planning on moving into either management, or NP. If you want it, you can do it. If you have to work while going to school, you can do it. It's not easy, but I excelled in my job, and I graduated with a 3.9. Talk to the hospital recruiters in your area, but I think I would go the route Smartchick is going. For me, I saved a lot of money by going through cc first. Just know to take all advice, including mine, with a grain of salt--there are going to be many, many, people who will tell you you can't do this or that, or will tell you it's either super soul-crushingly difficult or a breeze, etc. You CAN do this route, work if you need to, graduate, and get a good job. Best of luck!