brianycpht

Hey no problem, I have actually returned to my previous major of finance/accounting. Nursing was just WAY wrong for me and am much better suited behind a desk with my head in a spreadsheet than doing the nursing thing. I felt like I didn't fit in with it all and my classmates, who are all going to be great nurses, were really into it and I never got into it like they did. Overall though, it was an experience that taught me a lot about myself and the direction I want to take my life and an appreciation at what nurses actually do. I work with them at the hospital I work at and seeing things from their perspective is helpful in relating to them. Now I just have to get my life back on track to how it was before. I did give it an honest try and a semester (I wanted to quit the first week of clinical actually). It isn't a profession that's for everyone. The nurse's I know REALLY LOVE nursing though. So good luck because I know a lot of you start tomorrow. Good luck and tell Mrs.Richey I said hi! She really is a great teacher who cares a lot about your success. She is dedicated and makes herself very available to you. You'll be glad you had her for those who do. I'll be around to help if you have any questions about what to expect during NP 1!

Also see mrs Richey as often as you can to review exams and for general help. She makes herself very available in the hours after class. Just let her have a lunch break first after having lectured for 3 hours !

A little disclosure . I decided to leave the program this summer because I found nursing isn't for me after doing clinicals. I just didnt like it.That being said I DID pass and survive NP1 and wasn't having to give up too much of my regular life. That's even with working 3 days a week. Don't get hung up on "passing " the tests which is 80 percent. It's all about getting to 280 points. Do every extra credit opportunity as there are a few to give you that cushion . There are other things that count for a grade besides tests like homework activities discussions and a community service project. Me and my classmates went to FEED AMERICA and volunteered one afternoon for 3 hours so you could do that as a group. There's also an ongoing project where you interview an elderly person. Get that done early as things get more intense later on in the semester. You'll have to do 15 lab hours on your own as well. Get that done early as well to free up more time for studying. Just don't get hung up on the grades of each test as it can be discouraging at first. Just think 280. Most tests are only worth 25 points to give you some perspective. The med calculation test and the final are worth 50 points. each. A good chunk of your pints will come from things other than tests . So keep that in mind.

For you guys in DM mornings. Last semester we were in the lab the first day. We did a hand washing exercise where we went into a closet and Mrs. Richey showed us all the germs on our hands with a black light! We then took each others vitals to get practice with that. Don't worry about it if your not 100 percent done with reading just go in there rested and alert. It'll feel like a long day but you'll get used to it. Get to know your classmates they'll be your biggest help! You'll go to the hospital after 3 weeks and that's where you'll see what nursing is all about. It gave me a whole new appreciation for what nurses go through everyday. You'll have your own patient every week. Good luck to everyone!

About your Clinical Calculations Test. I took NP1 last semester and I wanted to let you guys know one important hint about the test. Remember to write out Amount, Route, and Frequency EVERY TIME. You'll get marked off for not doing it. Just don't forget that and you'll be fine. Good Luck to you all. Hope you have a good semester and great career in nursing!

I've been in a nursing program for a month now. I'm not really doing poorly or anything, I just have this nagging feeling that this isn't what I want to do. Every time I tell anyone this, they either say that they felt the same way, or I get criticized for not wanting to put the work in (I'm a month ahead on my reading and have been doing nclex questions since before class started. I'm not lazy.) The thought of going to clinical s and dealing with real patients just isn't for me. Everyone tells me that I should stick with it, but I just don't enjoy anything about nursing school. .I'm not much of a critical thinker, more of a concrete numbers guy, which is why accounting was my first path, but for some reason, in a moment of misguided reasoning decided to try and become an RN. I have all the respect in the world for the people who are and will become one, but I just don't like anything about this. I don't want to be a quitter, but I think theres a difference between a quitter and someone who's being honest with themselves. I don't want to let my wife down, who's seen me go back and forth in my career decisions without making any real progress. Of course I might fail out and my mind will be made up for me. I just feel like this isn't right for me and I should just get out now before I'm too far into this...

Yeah, I'm pretty anxious about the whole thing. Not sleeping much. I'm starting to really regretting signing up for this thing, contemplating withdrawing before the tuition payment becomes final. I don't think I'm gonna have the time to devote to this.... I'll ask the teacher the first day and get her input about what I should do. But this kinda feels wrong now..

Found some decent shoes at uniform city. They were not that expensive, so I lucked out there. We decided to at least start out on the cheaper side of things for now and if I make it through the first couple of weeks and things are going well for me in the program, then I'll invest in something better! For now though, I have to try and minimize expenses after dropping all that on books and tuition!

Does anybody know if the port wine jacket is required? Did anyone find out if port wine is the same as wine? The lady at the uniform store told me it was but I'm not sure. Also, regarding shoes, I can't get a clear idea about what type I'm allowed to wear? Am I allowed to wear anything with laces? Thanks

Does anyone have the link to the facebook group, I'm not allowed to do private messages on here and I wanted to join. I'm in the DM am class and my name is Brian Yacker. Also, this may seem like an uncomfortable question to ask, but is it frowed upon to put an application in for another program at HCC to have as a standby in case nursing doesn't work out either by failing out or just deciding it's not for you? If that were to happen, I'd want to move into something else sooner rather than later. I might do fine in nursing overall, but I just like to always be prepared for the worst just in case. Most of the stuff I'm reading for clinicals is very interesting so far, preventing infections, aspetic technique (I've been an IV RX tech for ten years so that part is review!). I got the books downloaded on my kindle fire (it doesn't just work on iPads like the lady at orientation said). Side note, the lady at the place that makes our badges says that their shutting down for two weeks for the holidays, so if you have an order pending, they'll ship it out the week before classes start!

K.2012 Thanks for the post it means alot to have someone from the last class coming on here. I'm like you, choosing to find a balance between the two. At orientation, they really have backed off the "scary" talk. They even brought a student counselor in to talk to us about stress and time management. At know point did anyone talk about having no life or anything like that. For the most part, I found the staff to be quite encouraging and optimistic. There was a lot of "when you guys graduate" not "IF you guys graduate". They even were telling us to speak up early and often about difficulties so they can get us help if need be.Nobody told us it was going to be easy,but it wasn't them trying to scare us. They stressed the importance of good professional practice during clinicals. I found the staff very helpful and dedicated to our success. That being said, it's up to us to seek out that help if we need it. But, besides registration, I had a mostly positive orientation.

My problem at first was the same as the others, then that was cleared out. Next mine and about 4 others had a "Prerequisite not met" error and we had to hang around. They were routinely clearing out peoples holds and kept telling us to do it over and over again. Then they just had to register us themselves. So yours was a HCC orientation hold? If it's still not fixed by the weekend, try and do the HCC live chat function or give them a call, I think that they have tech support on the weekends. If they aren't able to help you, you can try sending an email to the nursing department and they should be able to clear you out. I hope you can resolve it soon! In any case, your spot in the class is reserved so no one will be able to take it!

Sprmomof4I was there for almost 2 hours with them trying to get them to fix my error. They kept telling me it was fixed but it wasn't ! I can't believe so many people had problems!

Some words of encouragement for anybody who may be nervous: One thing that has been bothering me is when people tell me that becoming a nursing student is essentially giving up your life and you will have to divorce your family for the durtion of the program. I hear at orientation they say the same thing.Its as if the people I'm talking to are trying to scare me into quitting. Of course it's going to be hard work! I don't believe any of us are taking this lightly and any one of us who want it bad enough will work as hard as they can to be successful. Other people I talk to are more encouaging. According to them, all you have to do is keep a routine, set up a scheduale to study and read, and keep to it everyday. If you set that time aside everyday and study, you can be successful in this program and still have some time for enjoyment. Just don't put anything off until the last minute and keep up with the reading. Everybody goes at their own pace and everyone has different styles of learning, but just wait and see how it is for YOU and please don't let them scare you. Even so, some of this stuff may be so intersting to you that you may not want to put that book down! You may even have fun! I'm not going to let it ruin my life for sure! In the end, you're going to have one of the most valuable degrees and careers around, so just keep that in mind.

Anyone getting nervous yet? It hit me all of a sudden I guess. I'm not really sure of myself about if I can do this. The skills labs/clinicals are what bother me. It sometimes takes me a while to get the hang of things, especially if someones yelling at me. I hope the teachers/preceptors aren't mean like this. Anyone else worried about this?