Laraine

I hope to read more of your posts as you advance through the next stage of your journey. Life can be hard, it's true, but thankfully it's not like an unending disaster movie, there are good times. Your girlfriend sounds like a real gem, a blessing. Congratulations on your success so far!

Wow, do you have any friends in law or paralegal? I hope it works out for you. I find it hard to believe that it is illegal. But apparently slander is illegal. It's a good lesson on many levels for us all.

Ya I wonder if I can get through when I'm knee deep in exams! But then I always pull through (mostly with A or A+ and I'm always surprised). Even still, I guess I keep worrying about the physical side of it. My son says he doesn't worry about things anymore. (He's 24) He said he realized that it didn't help him, so he just stopped. I want to forget my 'old' hangup and just focus on learning how to be the best nurse I can be. If I wake up one day and find out I can't do it, then I'll deal with it then. Everyone's comments are really helpful.

Oh, thank you, I really appreciate your encouragement. Good luck to you as well!

I'm going to remember this! I'm a pup. Thank you for the encouragement. Everyone's comments are helping to alter my self-perception.

I never heard that before! I love it! The new 30's... YEAH!!!!!! I'm gonna go with that.

wow, thanks. I'm gonna keep this on a post-it as a reminder. I don't always take my vitamins or exercise, but I do pray. I am encouraged by your advice to keep away from self-criticism, it's just crap talk anyway right? Really, thank you!

Thank you, I will do that...

Hey everyone, I start my second semester clinical next week. I'm 54, doing Practical Nursing in Toronto. I'm nervous as usual about being so old and doing this hard work. I keep thinking it will be too hard for me and that I won't be able to get through. Honestly, if I do reach the end of the program it will be an absolute miracle. Are there any other old bags out there doing this stuff? I'd love to hear from you, about getting through this thing.

You really are an amazing writer. Some people have a natural gift, you're one of them. When you're finished caring for folks, well... you know what you can do!

One day I hope to be happy to be finished school as well, but I imagine there are nurses and doctors who make mistakes too, and what's the best way to handle it? One class I just blurted out "that's not right!" Tack is not one of my forte's. I guess this is a lesson I need to learn: what to do in the face of ineptitude with authority. A happy day to all!

ah, yes, thank you. I do think he is confused, and regrettably, he's spreading it. I also asked him if ADH was associated with renin and he said yes! Maybe he's just a little rusty. I certainly feel cautious about asking him anything else going forward. Thank you for your reply!

I took anatomy already. I am retaking because I had to change schools and the new school only gave me half a credit even though I've covered all the systems. I had an outstanding teacher before. Frankly, the caliber at this new school is distinctively inferior, but circumstances forced our relocation.

Hey everyone, I posted this in the student section, but I don't want to mess up peoples' learning so I thought I'd ask the established nurses for help here. I think my anatomy teacher is wrong about negative feedback, I think he might be making up stuff that isn't accurate. Here's the issue: I'm pretty sure that feedback systems are mostly negative except for oxytocin and LH right? My new anatomy teacher said, "every feedback has a positive and negative. The reason for this is that with every reaction there is an opposite reaction. Meaning if something has been turned on to make a change there needs to be something that turns it off. This also hold true for oxytocin- it has both because just as the body requires its release it also need it to be regulated and turned off". I think he is wrong. Here is what I read: In negative feedback if a variable changes then the system responds by making the opposite change. In positive feedback if the variable changes the system responds by continuing the change( to a point). ie: LH stimulates estrogen secretion which enhances LH secretion which stimulates estrogen leading to the LH surge which triggers ovulation. Any help/clarification is appreciated. Thanks, Laraine

You know, I appreciate your help here but I can see that even though his logic makes sense, unfortunately I'm pretty sure he is wrong and is just 'making **** up' as the saying goes. please don't get caught up in this erroneous information, I wouldn't want anyone else to get a wrong answer on an exam. It's negative feedback, I'll leave it at :)

ok so he's saying that for example with bld Ca+2 levels: if there is high Ca+2 levels, it is a negative feedback and when there is low Ca+2 levels it is a positive feedback. I say this is completely incorrect. the system is simply negative feedback, yes?

Hey everyone, So I'm pretty sure that feedback systems are mostly negative except for oxytocin and LH right? My new anatomy teacher is telling us that "every feedback has a positive and negative. The reason for this is that with every reaction there is an opposite reaction. Meaning if something has been turned on to make a change there needs to be something that turns it off. This also hold true for oxytocin- it has both because just as the body requires its release it also need it to be regulated and turned off". I think he is wrong. It is negative because if a variable changes then the system responds by making the opposite change. In positive feedback if the variable changes the system responds by continuing the change( to a point). ie: LH stimulates estrogen secretion which enhances LH secretion which stimulates estrogen leading to the LH surge which triggers ovulation. What have you been taught? Thanks everyone :)

Can you get a pardon where you are? They are available in Canada and take approx. 2 years to complete.

I'm a student and I haven't started my first clinical yet. I'm scheduled to go to clinical in September and yes, I have been wondering about how I will handle this aspect of care. My friend, who is an RN, told me that she doesn't think about the 'poop'. She thinks about the patient and what s/he needs and how the pt feels about having to have someone clean their ass and all. Therefore, she tells me, the focus is on the pt rather than on herself. Sounds good in theory, but I guess I won't really know how I'm gonna respond until I'm in clinical right? I appreciate all these posts about this topic, because I really have been wondering if I can handle it myself. I also don't like looking at scabs! Well, it's going to be a real eye opener in September.

I would definitely do something to be moving forward. Show the Universe that you know what you want. But anyway, why wouldn't you get in? Is it so competitive where you are? kindly, laraine

I am 53. I have only finished one year of practical nursing. I am concerned about starting my clinical placement in September because I'm not sure if I'll have the stamina to go to placement and do homework. So I am transferring to a school that has only one day of placement per week so that I can rest if I need to. Yikes. I wonder how I'll ever be able to do the full week of placement at the end of the program. Does anyone have a similar experience? Thanks, Laraine