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One time in clinical, I took a lady's Ted hose down to check her skin and she had *the* driest, flakiest skin. A few airborne pieces went straight into my eyes. After recovering from almost screaming and vomiting, I made a mental note to never look/breathe in the general direction of freshly removed teds. Also, iron stools are so gross. You can smell those things a mile away!

I used Kaplan to prep for nclex. I studied for maybe two hours tops, mostly doing practice questions and reviewing answers. As much as I wanted to be able to sit and study for hours on end, sitting still for that long drove me crazy. I think the most important thing is to make sure to balance your studying with time to relax. I mean, how useful is all that knowledge if all you can think about when you get there is whether or not you'll pass? If you've made it through nursing school and you have done well in clinicals, you are prepared to take and pass nclex. You have all of the information you need in your brain, so don't stress yourself out thinking you need to know everything! Practice questions are good to get you ready to answer test questions on the big day, but you also need to give yourself time to decompress. Just stay positive and don't wonder whether or not you'll pass, tell yourself you *will* pass. You can do it!! Good luck!

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but personally, I am so happy I decided to become a nurse. All through high school I was sure I was going to go pre-med in college and eventually become an MD, but after I shadowed nurses in a local hospital, I knew nursing was where it's at. The reason I want to be in the healthcare field is the people. I have found that while the Dr. is the one "calling the shots", nurses are the ones who implement the orders and are in the action. In fact, because we're at the bedside, we're the ones who catch the smallest changes, have to piece together information and decide if the Dr. needs to get involved. I am constantly learning and I love nursing more and more every day. As far as your being male in a female dominated profession, my male classmates have no complaints. One of them in particular was offered a job in the ICU near his home and he turned it down to work at an ICU in Chicago. I would kill for a call back for any nursing position, let alone one in the ICU. Recruiters love male nurses. If you're on the fence and not sure if nursing is right for you, try to shadow a nurse in a local hospital. Any decision you make should be based on your own experience, not on someone else's. Good luck!