LilacHeart

If your goal is to become a nurse, don't waste your time becoming an MA first. If you end up going to school full time for nursing later on, you are not going to have time to work as an MA anyway. I graduated from a 2 year community college MA progr...

If you don't want to work LTC, then I'd go with the Surg Tech. Actually, sit back and imagine yourself doing both. They are quite different. Which excites you most? If working surgical really excites you, then that is what you should go for even ...

If your heart isn't in nursing then you should put it on the back burner for the time being. The time spent in school will demand a great deal of dedication from you and there will be times that you want to throw in the towel due to exhaustion, frus...

I detest Spragues. They hurt my ears, lots of artifact noise, poor sound conduction, etc. I currently have an MDF that gives me excellent sound. My favorite is a Littmann Cardiologist III. Saving up for one.

The same way I study everything else: Read it, write it, say it. I first read the material, then I write it, in this case also sketch it, and then I record the information. I then listen to the recording (I put it on MP3) while doing housework, coo...

I agree with MrsCuoco that writing them out will aid in the learning process and help the information to "stick". I already had to do drug cards in Pharm when I was in school for my CMA, and although we were allowed to print them if we chose, I ele...

32 is incredibly young. There is no reason you should think you are "too old" to start a nursing career. Even if you can't get started with prerequs until you're 33, do that for a year, then follow it up with 4 years of school, you'll only be 37 ye...

The entire medical field is difficult. Every position has to deal with arrogant doctors, rude coworkers, long hours, high expectations, daily stress, etc. Heck, I remember back in the 1970s (yes, I'm older LOL) when I worked as a medical transcripti...

Thanks for your kind thoughts. :) I'm glad that you have the option to go either LPN or RN first and that your budget is sufficient to handle what may come. Since the money end is handled, follow your heart. Congratulations on being accepted in two ...

Of course, not everyone has savings (meager or otherwise) to live off of while attending full time school. I was accepted to begin nursing school (was to start today *sob*). Hubby and I had the money figured out so I could go through the accelerat...

Agree! Nurses have been too busy worrying about what OTHER people think of them rather than looking after themselves.

Well, gee. I have never enjoyed any of the following: Weekends without work All breaks at work, including your lunch breaks (What's a lunch break let alone a bathroom break???) Paid vacation Sick leave (with no pay) Minimum wage 8-hour work day 40-...

I don't know your geographic location, but recently when researching what nursing school I wanted to attend I phones the DON at various LTC facilities and hospitals in my area (Michigan). I was told more than once that for MY area: 1) Oakland Commun...

In my MA program we did give each other injections in Pharm. We started out by giving ourselves subcutaneous injections which got everyone over any needle fear right away.

Wow. I'm sorry they treated you this way. I'm disappointed that your manager removed you from their area instead of correcting their behavior because they haven't learned a darn thing! As a CMA myself, I would never dream of being disrespectful tow...

In the quest to become "magnet", hospitals have tossed out the nurses who truly felt called to bedside nursing and remain there: The Career LPN. The LPN who loved her job, didn't mind "the mess", and thrived on giving bedside care has been told she...

I think the idea is outrageous! When I was in school for my CMA (community college), we practiced EKGs on each other, but each bed was surrounded by a privacy curtain, we only worked on same sex, and we disrobed from the waist up in private (were a...

If I understand what you are saying correctly, the issue is not completely about your recent car problems, nor is it about anxiety, etc. It sounds like one of your major issues is that you did not check out the LPN option completely, and are now find...

Wonderful article! I am scheduled to begin nursing school next week, but have been a CMA for years. I had the distinct displeasure of having to work under an extremely abusive RN. By abusive I mean that she was verbally abusive toward me, emotional...

I am a certified medical assistant. Here's my advice for what it's worth. If you want to work in a hospital setting, do not become a medical assistant. There are a few hospitals that hire them in my area (Michigan), but even those who hire them h...

Gotcha all beat! (Is that a good thing, LOL!) I'm 53 and will be 54 by the time I graduate. I've had several different career experiences since I've been working for almost 40 years now, but most recently I've been a medical assistant and phlebot...

24 is definitely not old to be starting and I think everyone deserves congratulations regardless of age. I'm staring nursing school this fall at age 53! Why not? I've always wanted to be a nurse, have been a CMA for years, and know what I'm getting...

Were we to pick up our schedule LivingFor08162013 ? I was just at the school yesterday brining in my health packet but nobody said anything about the schedule. I probably was supposed to ask? Would you mind sending me a PM with a general idea of...

I'm so glad you were able to get a cop of your immunization records! I'm almost 20 years older than you are and I'm about to start this fall too, so don't ever think you're too old to learn something new. Just remember, everyone else is just as ner...

You absolutely CAN have a titer drawn for Hep B. I've got a copy of mine in my briefcase.