tcdtx

WOW...I'm so glad I found this thread. I've been an RN for a year and a half. I was diagnosed at 21, after my first semester of nursing school. I stuck with it, having flares at each semester final's time. I am now 26, taking Rebif, and have not had a flare in over a year. I'll have my Bachelor's in May 2008, and will continue to earn my Masters in Nursing Education. I work at an LTAC hospital, which is pretty physically demanding, until I was promoted to charge nurse....it's much easier on my body. No one I work with knows I have MS. I know I won't be able to do bedside nursing forever; and that's why I'm continuing my education now, while my MS is not giving me many problems.

Where was your charge nurse when you were drowning?? I always help out when I'm available.

8-12 weeks sounds more like an internship, which is recommended and usually the only way to get into a specialty area. I went right into working on my Bachelor's degree after my Associate's RN, so I didn't have time for a preceptorship. I went to work for a hospital, that once I went through hospital-wide orientation, I was assigned to work with an experienced nurse. They told me I could orient with her for about 6 weeks, then they'd re-evaluate my needs. I only orientated with her for 3 weeks, and I was ready to go to the floor. The nurse who orientated me was wonderful. She started with giving me one patient, and built me up to 6 patients as my comfort and confidence increased. Good luck!

NO! It's not like that everywhere you go. I work at a great small hospital, and yes we have our few people that don't get along as well as others, but for the most part we're a strong team. I hired on there as a new nurse, and I've never felt that anyone was out to "throw me under the bus". Everyone was wonderful in assisting me to learn the ropes and those who weren't, well I stayed away from them...lol. Don't let anyone's negative take on things keep you from pursuing a career in nursing. Good Luck!!

I work at an LTAC in Ft Worth. Our typical nurse:patient ratio is 1:5 or 1:6. We also have a Direct Observation Unit (patients with vents, etc) and their ratio is 1:2. I would find out from the hospital. We've had nurses come from LTAC's who have much higher ratios, which is not a good situation to be in. LTAC patients have multiple medical problems (diabetes, non-healing wounds, cardiac issues, etc), their diagnosis list is typically long for each patient. May I ask which LTAC you're going to work for?

Sounds like Mr. Pyxis Man was just trying to freak you out. The silly thing is a computer, and computers mess up all the time. Plus, they're stocked and programmed by humans....and well, nobody's perfect. No worries. ~T:Crash:

I work 36 and get paid for 40. That's only because I'm on the "weekend plan" (Fri-Sun). I cannot use PTO to make the 36 and still get paid for 40, though. ~T

Couldn't have said it better myself. I work LTAC and it can get tough. We all back each other up as well as back up our CNA's. Anyone not being a "team player" doesn't last long . I worked way too hard for those letters behind my name to not do a good job at work. It's called work because you're supposed to work....wow! I wish I could get paid for socializing...haha. Maybe find a way to gently bring up the importance of teamwork at the next staff meeting without being so specific. But just bringing it up puts the "bug" in the director/supervisor's ear that maybe something needs to be monitored a little further. Good Luck to you!! ~T

I saw that on the news the other night. Notice, they're always discovering things are bad for us? I just roll my eyes and pour another coke...lol.

Go for it girl!! There are a lot of job opportunities in nursing. There is always room to grow, specialize, etc. I'm an RN in north Texas. I started at $19 right out of school...and recieved a decent raise after my first year. Plus, there are shift differentials at the hospital I work at (after 3pm, nights, weekends). The hospital I work at is in Ft. Worth....I live in Wise County and the hospitals in the smaller towns north of the metroplex, the pay is lower. I am going back to school to specialize, but I feel that I can be completely self-sufficient where I am right now.

I used the Kaplan NCLEX review book. It was about $35 at Barnes and Noble. It had a lot of practice questions, practice tests on CD, rationales, and test-taking tips. Good Luck!! ~T

Wow Dusty, thanks....it's nice to get an "insider's opinion" on those things. I would never work for a MHMR, not my thing. I get enough geriatric psych in LTAC...lol.

Denton State School. We toured the facility when I was in RN school. They had great benefits, etc.

:yeahthat:I have to agree with ya. There's a little bit of something for everyone in Texas.

:balloons::balloons::balloons: CONGRATS TO YA!! Feel free to private msg me any questions. I don't mind. Just be ready to put a lot of time into studying.......that's the best advice I can give. No need to worry about how many people finished as opposed to how many started...etc. Just as in anything, people start that don't finish, and that's all there is to it. I don't disagree with all the hard work they made us do, I think I'm a better nurse for it. Good luck to you!! ~T

:w00t: THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU FOR SAYING THAT!!! Exactly what I was thinking reading this thread. I'm an ADN-RN and I have been for about a year and a half. I am going back to school for my BSN, MSN, and CWOCN. I figure with all the education, I'll be marketable to many different opportunities. It's much easier to sit around and fuss about how little you're making, but it takes a lot of heart and perserverance to do something about it.

Yea, I'm sure everything was WNL....lol.

I was admitted to a local hospital (in dallas) for "pouchitis" (an infection in my j-pouch). I was admitted on Monday afternoon, and discharged on Thursday evening. What concerned me is that I was never "assessed". Even my admitting nurse. Never was listened to, etc. I work in an LTAC, and our admission assessment is very thorough. Our daily assessments include even a quick head to toe assessment which includes listening to lungs, etc. I don't know how a nurse can chart everything WNL without assessing....it just bothered me.

I had friends that started at internships at Baylor hospitals making $19/hr. This was a little over a year ago, so base might have gone up since. That was pretty much the standard for a new RN in the DFW area.

I hear ya, Melissa...too much negativity on this thread!! That's why I've tried to point out things to ya'll that people can look at negatively and tell how they positively affected me. Every school has their share of "whiners"...you just can't listen to them or let their opinions get to you. Nursing school is HARD. There's nothing easy about it, no matter where you go. The profession is based on life and death, so I'd personally prefer school to be hard so I feel prepared. Just hang in there, ya'll will be fine!!

Yes, it always seems like an eternity waiting for those test results. And when you take Boards, it'll seem like another eternity...lol. I'm sure you'll be ok. I don't remember how many dropped out of the program. By the end of fourth semester, it was hard to recall people who'd been there only in the first semester. I'm thinking we started with 40 and lost between 5 and 8. Some of the students were "weeded" out by the math tests. Each semester, you have to take dosage calculation tests and if you score I think what made the first semester the hardest was feeling like I was on information overload! I think we had 3 or 4 nursing classes first semester. We had a dosage calculations class my first semester, which they were not doing anymore (so I don't know if that's changed again). We also had Assessment class, Assessment Lab, and I don't remember what the other one was. Then going to clinicals one day a week on top of that and learning to write careplans. It just feels overwhelming the first semester. As long as you stay organized and focused, you'll be alright. It gets easier the further into the program you go. Mainly because you learn what the clinical instructors expect from your paperwork....and that makes clinical prep go faster. You get a base of knowledge in the first semester, and the following semesters build on that knowledge so eventually, it all comes together. Good luck to you!! ~teresa

I liked the smaller class sizes too. I know our pass rate is very high. This web site: http://www.bne.state.tx.us/nursingeducation/faq_students.html shows the pass rates for all the colleges in Texas. The pass rate for 2005 was 49/56 (86.6%). I know the LVN program is set up a little different than the RN program. In the RN program, we had classes in Gainesville (3 or 4 days/week....I don't recall which). After our last class, we'd go to the hospital (in first semester, we were all at Gainesville Memorial) and pick our patients for the next day. NCTC focuses a lot on having a good careplan. Then we'd go from 7a-3p the following day for clinical. Picking a patient, and collecting information doesn't take as long once you get the hang of it. The instructors are great in directing you on your careplans. The other two semesters, they divide the students up to different hospitals with each clinical instructor. They try to assign students to the hospital they are closest to. I did clinicals at Grapevine and Carrollton. Some students did clinicals at Ardmore, OK, and Lewisville. I don't recall what the other clinical sites were. In second and third semester we did have to go pick patients and write up paperwork the night before. But, as I said before, this gets easier with time and practice. I was never up all night doing clinical paperwork, like some of the "horror stories"...lol. In fourth semester, we were assigned preceptors at the hospital we wanted to go to. Most people had picked a nurse they enjoyed working with during their previous clinical. I was able to do clinicals in my home town (Decatur). You have a set number of clinical hours to complete, and you work your preceptor's schedule. I did 1 clinicals/week at 12 hours each (a few weeks I did 2 days). I enjoyed this clinical the most because by the end of the clinical, I was taking 5-6 patients on a Med/Surg floor.....and my preceptor was there for backup. When I got out into the "real world" of nursing, I didn't have the culture shock that some new grads experience. If you do decide on NCTC, just keep in mind, the first semester is rough. I truly believe it's some sort of "hazing" (lol) to see who's going to make it and who's not. The quitters tend to give up in the first semester. It gets easier from there. As far as the (what seems like enormous at the time) amount of paperwork, I am thankful they made me do all that. At work, I got a very nice compliment from a nursing supervisor I respect very much about the quality of my first careplan I'd completed there. I know if they hadn't made me do it the long way while I was in school, I wouldn't have the skills to critically think to do the short way we use in the hospitals. Sorry this is so long. Anymore questions, feel free to ask. Good luck to you! ~T

I graduated from the RN program at NCTC in December 2005. I loved this school. The instrutors were very available to help with anything and everything, and I did get some great clinical experiences. They test with real NCLEX questions, so you get used to the type of questions, wording, etc. I passed my NCLEX the first time with no expensive review courses. I bought the Kaplan Review book, and did just great. When I got out of school, I didn't have to stay on orientation as long as my new employer anticipated, because I was well prepared. I recently have been given the opportunity to serve as a charge nurse at my hospital. Good luck to you! ~T

I had an ileostomy myself when I was 21 (learned a lot from that). I am currently an RN, working on my BSN to get my WOCN certification. I had a lot of trouble with leakage in the beginning. If the stoma doesn't stick out very far, have you tried convex bags? Also, have you tried Stomahesive Paste (it works like caulking to fill in uneven skin surfaces)? Hope this helps!

I work in a nice Long Term Acute Care hospital in Fort Worth. Our patient ratio is 5-6:1 nurses. We almost always have CNA's, and their ratio is 10-12:1. The patients we get have multiple health problems, so 6 patients can sometimes feel like 8:lol2: . But I can't complain, because I know a lot of nurses have it much harder.