napgiver

I am not familiar with the specifics of CT as I work in Manhattan. However, I would NEVER pay thousands of dollars for ANY aesthetics course. There are many education opportunities available at reasonable prices.

Completely agree with SL2014......................you will benefit most from attending a structured course which provides a certificate at the end. Most plastic surgeons will want to see that you have attended formal training. You will also benefit from the continuing education credits!

I worked in the burn ICU. It was the absolute best prep for working in plastic surgery. You will learn more there than in the OR. If you can work in the ICU, you can work ANYWHERE!

Salaries vary greatly by state for plastic surgery nurses. I currently work in Manhattan in a busy 4 surgeon ambulatory center. I function as a RNFA, nurse injector and manager. I am a salaried employee with medical benefits, 401k and a six figure salary. I earn every penny of that as I am available every minute of every day to the surgeon I work for. It's a phenomenal job, but I work hard for every penny! I am currently attempting to get into CRNA school. I previously worked in the ICU before coming to plastics. The surgeons I work for are extremely supportive of this. A CRNA in a plastics practice is extremely beneficial!

I sympathize with klone. I currently work a M-F schedule. This poses a challenge when needing time to take care of your own life. I greatly miss having more flexibility to my schedule. It's difficult to really get anything in my personal life done. It absolutely requires creative scheduling.

Having completed my LPN and then my RN, I would highly advise against your LPN. It was a waste of time and money. I have been working full time as an RN for the past 8 years. The degree has opened so many doors and paid for itself tenfold.

I applied as well. Haven't heard anything........the anticipation is definitely creating anxiety:(

I felt the exact same walking out of the interview. It was definitely not one of my better moments:( So you haven't actually heard back from them? Your post said "FIU chose him and not me". I applied to Columbia, Rutgers, Georgetown and will keep going if I don't succeed with any of those:) Have you applied to others? Good luck to you as well!

lady_stic........when did you interview with FIU? You received a decision? I interviewed on Nov 23 and still haven't heard anything either way. worried

That is a funny question!! Some of the teachers are great and others are of no help what so ever. We were just told that some of the instructors were being weeded out and if we ever had a problem to immediately contact the directors. I think that more than anything, you get out of the class what you put into it. If I need a question answered and am not getting a response from my instructor, I will take it above them. I, personally, haven't had much of a problem and received As in all of my block one courses including pathophys. Carrie

Hi Keli, Clinicals don't ever fall during the week for blocks one or two. It may change with three and four, but I don't know...haven't gotten that far yet!! I really don't know when the next class is starting, but the person to contact at Rio is Barb Miholich. I don't know her exact e-mail address, but am sure you could find it through the Rio site. Let me know if you have any other questions. I don't mind helping if I am able to! Carrie

Hi, I am currently a student in the online program at Rio Salado Community College. I have just completed block one and will begin block two on September 6th. I LOVE the program. The instructors are extremely supportive and want you to succeed. I had previously been in the Scottsdale cohort through Scottsdale Healthcare and switched due to work. I am a flight attendant and did not want to quite my current job. The Rio program has enabled me to continue working while progressing through the RN program. It has been a godsend. Clinicals are every other Saturday and Sunday from 7am to 7pm. They usually end a little early. I do think that there is quite a bit more work involved than in the traditional program, but that is for obvious reasons. I feel that one of the most important qualities to be successful in this type of program is self discipline. I felt that I was pretty good at time management before I started this program. Let's just say that I have had to step it up quite a bit!! All in all, this program has enabled me to continue working full time at a job I love while allowing me to pursue a second career. I would highly recomend this program to anyone who is self disciplined and focused on becoming an RN.

I have just completed block one at Rio and am about to begin block two next week. I am a flight attendant and the online program allows me to continue working while going to school. I LOVE the program. I do feel like there is quite a bit more work, but it is worth it to be able to do it on my own time.