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!

Update: I got my ATT and my GN from TX BON finally! And it was 3 months from start to finish, from the initial Letter from the BON to my GN permit! Now, on to my NCLEX! Thanks all!

No, I have not received my GN or my ATT to test for the NCLEX yet. They told me I will wait 4-6 months to get an answer, the last time I called the Board. Does not having my NCLEX yet change the situation any? I agree, I need to contact the OK BON. As soon as I have time to, I will. I hate waiting, and I want to call the TX BON to see the status of my investigation, but they get upset telling me they can't tell me anything and that "YOU MUST WAIT FOUR MONTHS"...I obviously do not know how to work with the Board. Any suggestions on that as well?

I don't want to duplicate my earlier post, so I won't tell all the details, but here's my situation followed by my question. I was arrested eleven years ago and immediately released (license/registration issue) and it never went to court. I checked "no" on the criminal background part of the NCLEX application here in Texas. When I graduated from nursing school in May I got a letter saying I was being sent to enforcement and it would take 6 months. So my question: can I change my NCLEX application from Texas to Oklahoma, and send in all my info (statement, court doc, etc) to the Oklahoma BON? I have a job offer, they are holding it for me, but they may not be able to hold it until December...any advice or insight, or even opinions are welcomed. Thanks everyone!

Boomertx, Do the declaratory order now. Get it out of the way, and keep copies of everything (I heard when we renew our licenses we may have to explain it again and again...) and call the BON if you have questions. I didn't do the declaratory order because I am legally naive, and I passed my background checks for nursing school, the hospital I work, and Homeland Security where I worked prior to my hospital job, all with no problem. Mine was an arrest in 2001 for an unclean/dirty/fictitious license (stupid issue, and my fault: selling my car to a friend, his gf "got the paperwork done" but had actually simply put a replacement registration for her own car on the one I was selling) and I was released immediately and it never went to court. Since it never showed up again, I thought it was gone. I was wrong and now I might not get my license.

My problem was the opposite: I applied for nursing school and completed the background check with no problems. I got a job as a tech in a hospital, and that background check came back clear as well. Previously, I had worked for Homeland Security, and that background check came back clear. Now, in May, 4 days before I graduated, I got a letter from the TX BON that I'm being sent to enforcement for checking "No" on their background check. They told me I'll have to wait 4-6 months. Meanwhile, I had accepted, in February, an internship which begins now, I'm still waiting, and I call the BON once or twice a week which seems to really make them angry. I have no idea what to do, and I am extremely uncomfortable waiting on someone else to decide my fate. My arrest was a misdemeanor from 2001, and I never had to appear in court, never had to plead at all, and I was told for years that the County I was arrested in had no record of my arrest. I even completed my own background check on myself last month and still cannot find anything. I might lose my dream job over this and it is completely unjust.

Referring to my questions posted, does anyone know if I can apply to Oklahoma or another non-compact state while Texas is doing their investigation?

Morte, thanks for your questions, and I apologize if I sound just as confused as you are. I worked for Homeland Security over the past several years in two areas, and I had two background checks from them. Neither of those found the arrest. That, combined with a clear search myself when I did a public record search on myself (State & County, should've also done FBI I suppose) led me to believe the arrest was one. I forgot to mention that I called the courthouse in the county I was arrested monthly for 3 years, and they never saw anything either. I'm just very upset at myself for not reading the BON NCLEX application clearly enough and checking "Yes" instead of "No" regarding criminal history. Had I not made that mistake, I wouldn't be in this predicament.

Thanks babiiphatt, that does really calm my nerves. It sounds like a very similar story to mine, and I really appreciate you taking the time to tell it. I pray and pray that I won't lose my dream job, but if it happens as quickly as it did for you, I will definitely be able to make it to my September Internship. I doubt I'll get it in time to finish my June Internship but that's ok. Best wishes, babiiphatt, and I hope you get your ATT soon!

Per the court documents I received from the courthouse, verbatim, "there is no record of criminal Misdemeanor charges filed for...from 1990-2012...". This is all there is. No charges were ever filed. The arrest is the only record that exists! It never went to court, so there is nothing else. I feel like this conversation is missing the point: I have some very specific questions that I have asked, and I am looking for any insight I can get into those questions. If anyone can help answer my questions, I'd be very appreciative.

Per the court documents I received from the courthouse, verbatim, they read "our records do not reflect any criminal "A" or "B" Misdemeanor Charges..." I am telling you exactly what was told me. The ONLY thing in my FBI record is an arrest. NOTHING was ever done past that. I was immediately released and it never went any further. I feel we're getting stuck on a very trivial aspect of this: I've asked for advice and I've asked some specific questions. If we could please get to answering those questions I'd be very grateful.

The only thing that they found was the record of the arrest, which apparently the FBI has a record of any arrest ever made. Since it has never shown up on anything else, I didn't think it would ever show up at all.

Hello All, Here is my story: back in 2001 I was arrested for a dirty/unclean/fictitious license plate (was selling my car, and the person I sold it to put a registration sticker on the car that did not in fact belong on my car, I was driving, so I was detained). I was immediately released, and no charges were ever filed. It never went to court, no verdict, etc etc. Since then it has never shown up on a background check (even the one I did for Homeland Security where I worked in the past few years). Fast forward to 2009 when I'm applying for RN school, it did not show up on the BON's "preliminary" background check they do before you get accepted into the program. Now in May of this year, I get a letter stating that since I checked "No" to the criminal background questions, I have committed "non-disclosure" and I must provide a statement and court documents. I did those immediately and they received them May 9. I began calling the BON around May 20, only to find out all enforcement issues are initially viewed by the Director. Apparently he didnt' get my file until May 22, and he had 45 days from that day to look at it. I've since called and emailed him, and just yesterday find out my case is being sent to investigations which may take 6 months! Here are my questions: Have any of you had any similar experience with "non-disclosure"? What are the outcomes you've seen? How long is the process typically for non-disclosure? (I know the pat answer, 4-6mos, but even the BON CSRs I've talked to say it usually takes less time than that.) Is it possible to apply to test in another state, like OK or NY, and give them all my info upront? Is there anything I can do to speed up the process? I interviewed for, and was hired for, my dream job in March: Med-Surg ICU Internship. The internship starts Monday, June 18. I've been upfront and honest with HR and my managers at my hospital, showing them all the same paperwork to and from the BON, and they are allowing me to begin classwork orientation (obviously, without my GN or ATT I cannot touch paitents). Once my classroom days are done, if I don't have my GN, I go back to being a tech. My hospital is being very understanding and states they will not take away my position--they will postpone it until September or even January if need be. Of course, if I can get this done sooner I definiteley will. The most obvious statement I can make is that, had I known I needed to put this on my application, I would have done so. However, since I don't have a time machine, I must do whatever the BON decides. I've been reading allnurses.com posts for years now, and I know how valuable a resource this is. Thank you to you who respond, and have a nice day!