ArleneD

I have to make a final decision about taking classes toward an ADN (classes start in January.) When it comes to needles, blood, and trauma situations, I'm very apprehensive. Is this normal for someone who wants to make nursing a career? I've read ...

I work on an ortho floor and do a lot of patient transfers. I wouldn't wear a cap because it would be too hard to keep it propped on my head, and my graduation pin would simply injure my patients. Back in the good 'ole days when we had enough CNAs ...

I agree with the other posters. I had the same decision to make when I started clinicals, and I'm glad I chose the 27" stethoscope. When you have pts. with pneumonia, postop bad breath, and plain old poor hygiene, you'll want the long one.

Vsummer1, You can get NCLEX books at your college bookstore or any large bookstore (i.e., Barnes and Noble). Find out from students in your nursing program which NCLEX books your current instructors like to use for their tests. I've found that Lipp...

TootyFruity, Of course it's possible! If your GPA in HS isn't what the college requires, take the SAT or ACT (whatever that particular college requirements are) to qualify for entry. That's all it takes. Once you've been accepted, start taking you...

Oramar, Unfortunately, you'll probably get your very own incident report for that visit in the mail. It's called a bill!

Hello everyone! When I'm sick, my brain is the first thing to atrophy. I had outpatient surgery two weeks ago to repair a small hernia. The doc said to remove the dressing after 72 hours, and it soon became evident that I can only count to 48. As I...

I'm in a 2 year ADN program, but it actually takes 3 years because everyone takes their prereqs before tackling the 2 year nursing curriculum. If you have the option of attending a 4 year university for your BSN, my advice is GO FOR IT! If I had a ...

I just started clinicals last week, so I have a long way to go before being in your shoes. Please give me a heads up so I can be on the lookout for the hospital Hitlers and prepare for the battlefield. What kinds of things, specifically, do they ch...

essarge, I don't know if this will help or not. I'm not very good at copying and pasting links, so you might have to type this in from scratch. http://www.biology.arizona.edu/biochemistry/tutorials/chemistry/main.html If this isn't useful, try searc...

WriteStuff, Been there - done that! Essarge was right when he/she?? said these signs and symptoms are present in every career. Once you get to the point of experiencing these symptoms, it's very hard to come back to a normal life with family and fr...

Hi, Brandy, My two cents are worth exactly that, but if even a little of what some of us say help you in finding the answers to your dilemna, then you can take what's useful and disregard the rest. 1. Learn to say no. From reading your post, it app...

CCWizard, I think your reasons are right on track. Stargazer and P_RN, you worry me with your posts about #8. Why do you say there's no balance? This is one of the reasons I've chosen this career. Looking forward to your comments.

Okay, that would just about do it for me. I wouldn't care whose toes I stepped on, I would report her. Being crabby to other nurses is one thing, but telling a patient that the aide is afraid of his disease is going way over the line of professiona...

Lynda, The next couple of days are going to be hard for you, as with anyone in the same situation. You have to concentrate on your goal, which is being a nurse. You might want to buy an NCLEX study guide (major bookstores sell them) and take practice...

I took the NLN test in February after spending several weeks reading the NLN study guide and taking all the practice tests. My advice is don't waste your time on it, because it's completely useless. This is also the opinion of several others who ha...

Hi, Shellntx... I'm 42 and will find out next week if I've been accepted to the ADN program. Thirty seemed pretty old at the time I was thirty, but guess what... now it's twelve years later and I'm just beginning to follow my dream. The longer you ...

JenKatt and Tim, Thanks so much for the information. Although I haven't seen any improvement, I'm still hopeful. I'm not as tired as I was a couple of days ago, and my ear pain is gone. My husband insists that I stay in bed, but it's so hard! We ...

Hi, everyone! Last Tuesday I had what I thought was an insect bite just inside my ear. On Wednesday paralysis started on the right side of my face. Thursday morning it was worse, so I went to the ER where the doc diagnosed Bell's Palsy or Ramsay-Hu...

I think we all need to lighten up and see a little humor in everything rather than beating each other up so much. If we need to correct one of our colleagues on a post, can't we do it tactfully? Come on, you guys - life's too short to be so negativ...

Hi everyone, I'm a pre pre-nursing student (starting A&P in January) and not even accepted in the nursing program yet. These posts are so refreshing! I initially logged on to the BB a few weeks ago and have read nothing but how overworked, unap...

You did all that and couldn't take cateract surgery? Go figure! This venture should be interesting to say the least. Best wishes on your BSN, USA987.

Hi gang, I don't want to change the topic and forget kharris' question, but just go a little deeper into the subject. I've heard that these 3 courses are the hardest, but I've never taken chemistry, did poorly in high school biology, and anatomy and...

You might want to try the site www.salary.com. It has a vast amount of information such as salaries in particular geographical areas, job descriptions, and someone to field e-mail and answer questions. Hope this helps.

These responses are just the shot in the arm - LOL - that I was hoping to get. I watched the trauma show on t.v. last night filmed at Charity Hospital in New Orleans. I tried to imagine myself at the gurney with everyone just to see if I would go e...