sbear24

This one has had me laughing all weekend...I work on a cardiothoracic telemetry unit, and the other day we had the red phone ring for a lady (she was beginning to code). So about twelve of us run into her room to find her calmly lying in bed watching tv. She turned to us and said, "you need to bring me some hot men in here. I was just watching this commercial, and there was an actor going up the stairs, and he had the cutest tush..." ...we all just died laughing...and of course tried to steal a hot man or two to visit her later on.

You can do it! I went to college at 17 the first time and dicked around because I couldn't handle it, so now I'm also 25 and going back and repeating classes to get my RN. It's worth it, though, because you will respect yourself so much more for pushing through. Stay determined!

My school hasn't posted a class list yet but I want to take as many classes as I can to get these prereqs out of the way. Just think about how much sooner we'll have that RN!

So I just accepted a job as a CNA at St Francis in Tulsa to give me some great experience while I'm in nursing school. I'm still working on my prereqs for TCC's RN program, hopefully I'll get to start that program Spring 2014, depending on how many of my prereq classes are available before then. I'm so excited about this job because St Francis is a great hospital, and they have a contract with OU-Tulsa, which is where I want to get my BSN. I'll be on a cardiac ICU stepdown unit, which is going to be great experience for me. I'm so excited! Anybody have any recommendations for how to maximize my learning potential with working in a hospital while in a nursing program? I know I'm going to have a ton of information available to me, and a ton of experienced people around me, so how can I get the most out of it? I appreciate any suggestions!

Also, unless you're working in a hospital setting, CNAs are mainly utilized in LTC or home health...and that is a world away from what can go on in non-geriatric wards of a hospital...I got my CNA as a stepping stone to my BSN, and clinicals were a difficult experience for me because I'd never dealt with dementia patients before. My CNA clinicals reinforced the fact that geriatrics is not my calling. It is for many others, and I respect their strength and patience in being able to deal with that particular field of nursing, but it is not for me (I'm leaning more toward L&D or ICU/CCU). It was, however, great experience for me in terms of getting on the inside of a medical facility and getting an idea for how things work, seeing patient medical records, etc. I'd say go for it to get your toes wet, but don't expect it to be an example of exactly what you'll be doing (unless you want to work in LTC). Good luck!

thanks for the advice, i've had several people suggest home health or prn, and i think that would work best with my school/home/life

so, i keep running into the same wall with school. well, with life, really. it seems like i keep having to fight and stress to have the money i need for school, and i haven't even finished block 1 of a 5-block lpn course. i honestly have no idea how i'm going to pay for school, and i'm on self-pay because i can't get loans (defaulted from previous college experience when i was too young and dumb to know what i was doing, and i don't make enough money to pay on the loans and manage school and bills and pull-ups for our two-year-old...). i planned to make the money for my next payment while on winter break, but i missed two weeks of work due to back-to-back cases of a stomach virus and food poisoning, and just as i'm starting to get a teeny bit ahead the clutch went out on our only car. i just don't see how i can make the money for books and tuition and still pay the bills...my husband is working all he can, but they're cutting hours because of winter...so i'm really not in the best situation to be in school right now. i don't want to drop out, i don't want to postpone school any longer, but i just don't see how i can afford to go right now. i can't get FAFSA help, i can't get a bank loan...i'm really frustrated and just empty-feeling right now. any advice?

Hi, I'm an LPN student in the beginning of a 14 month program. I just got my CNA certification, and I'm debating taking a CNA job while I'm in school. I'm currently waitressing, and I make good money so I wouldn't want to totally leave my job. I'd have to probably work 2 overnight shifts a week, 7p-7a, as a hospital CNA, and wait tables a couple other days. I just don't know if the benefits of working the CNA job outweigh the pay cut I'd be taking...plus I wouldn't be getting any sleep for those two days a week since my classes are 730-245. Any suggestions?

my lpn course is divided into 5 blocks with block 1 being the prereqs (cna, med term, a&p, cpr). i'm in block 1 now and i start block 2, which is the official program start, in march 2013. it's a 12 month program so i'll finish in march 2014. i'm loving it so far and i'm really excited about where it's taking me, but my god i am so tired. trying to do full-time school and work and spend time with my husband and our 2-year-old means i'm dying for more hours in the day...i'm only sleeping about three or four hours a night once i get home from work and finish homework. thankfully i have great instructors who give lots of detailed handouts and study guides.

i'm in tulsa, ok...i'll be doing my lpn at tulsa tech and my adn at tcc. i haven't decided where i want to do my bsn yet, that'll be a few years down the road. i have orientation in two weeks so i should know more then about the pacing of my program...it's an accelerated program so the whole thing will be pretty fast.

congratulations! i just got my acceptance letter today! i know i'm taking my cna prereq class this fall and my a&p 1&2 in the spring, and i start med terminology in a week...i'm just waiting on my packet to be mailed to me with the official dates on my nursing-specific classes. i'm so excited...i'm probably going to start studying a&p on my own now though that way it's easier when it comes time for actual classes. i'm also going to get an nclex-pn book (i've heard good things about kaplan's study guide), my program is 15 months but i figure it's better to study as i go than try to cram it all in right before the test. once i finish this program i'm planning to start an lpn-to-rn program...i know i want to do med-surg and trauma care for awhile, but long-term i want to do l&d...i'm so excited to get to start this! good luck with your program, i hope you have tons of success!

anybody else starting an lpn course while also holding down a full-time job AND having a child/children? i haven't seen a specific thread for this in the first several pages on here...i know i can't be the only person attempting this...i'd appreciate any suggestions from anyone that's already pulled it off, or i'm-in-the-same-boat from anybody else about to start also...thanks!

i've applied to the tulsa tech lpn program and i'm just waiting on the deadline to pass so i know when i start school. i work about 50 hours a week and i have a 2-year-old. i'm a waitress so i plan on working evenings and taking classes during the day because i can make more money at night (although if i could find a job that would pay as much as i make waitressing that would let me work evenings i'd take it in a heartbeat, because waitressing is extremely stressful and exhausting. unfortunately, i can't afford to take a paycut to get an easier job.). i'd say do what i'm planning on doing and go through tulsa tech for your lpn as it's a faster program; i don't see any reason why you should spend 2 years on your lpn if you can get it in one, unless you really need to take 2 years to allow for other commitments in your life. tcc has a good lpn/rn bridge program with tulsa tech, which i'm also planning on taking, so you can take that option if you want to continue to your rn. i really don't have any answers when it comes to how to successfully manage your time while working/studying/having a child, but i can tell you i'm in the same boat so you won't be the only one. my plan is that once i get my cna through tulsa tech i will try to get a weekend cna job pulling three 12's on the weekends, and just pick up waitressing shifts during the week, to give myself more days off and therefore more time to study when i get into clinicals and higher tier classes; especially when i'm preparing for the nclex-pn. good luck with your decision!

i'm about to be starting a 12-month program, and i work 50 hours a week and i have a 2-year-old. i have no idea how i'm going to make it all work but i don't really have an option not to. i can't keep waiting tables forever to pay the bills. i had my program visit today and i'm so stressed out because i have no idea how i'm going to have time for everything. i can't quit working, i can't drastically reduce my hours...but i have to do this for my family. i'm just going to get alot better at time management and not sleeping i guess.

thanks for posting this! i'm about to start an LPN program that offers a bridge to an RN program after completion. I'm married but my husband's job doesn't pay enough for me to work part-time and pursue a regular RN degree. We have a 2-year-old daughter as well, so I'm motivated to get a good career that I can be good at, and nursing was the best choice for me. I know so many people that have done the regular 3-4 year RN programs and they're doing so well now that I was questioning whether the path I chose would work as well. But since I don't have time or financial leeway for a regular RN program I'm doing what you did and paying my way through a 1-year LPN program and then stepping up to an RN degree. Good to know that I'm not screwing up as long as I keep my head in the game!