phlebo2rn

My school does not require any pre-req math course. Instead, we take a 2cr "Math for Healthcare Providers" course that teaches us conversions to metric system and figuring out medication doses. I took calculus in HS and in college (because I declared a major) and they didn't transfer anything out of it. Waste of time :) We do, however, have to take a Statistics course.

Most of the NICU nurses at the hospital I work at have had 10+ years working in pediatrics or ICU before they became NICU nurses. On top of that, most of them have their Masters as well. Because their job is so specialized, the requirements are more strict. I would suggest volunteering in a NICU or in General Nursery for awhile and see how you like it. Also keep in mind it's not very likely you will get a NICU position right out of Nursing School (not sure where you are in the program according to your post?) but a thought could be aiming for a step-down unit at a Children's Hospital. Getting lots of experience will help you, whether that be being an RN on an adult ICU floor (yes, even with the "dirty older patients"), volunteering, or shadowing. Good luck!

I work in the lab at a hospital as a phlebotomist. Several of my coworkers are from Afghanistan, Iran, etc. but are fluent in English. They always speak about work stuff in English but I've noticed recently that they switch back and forth between English and their native language when I'm around. I heard one of them say my name and another coworker's name "... Leigh and Amanda..." and I started to get upset because I wasn't sure what they were saying about me. I'm all for hiring foreigners but is there some policy or something that prevents them from doing this? We have a very strict anti-bully policy where if it gets around that someone is saying bad things behind someone's back, there is action taken. I confronted one of them and said, "I heard you say my name and I would like to know what you were saying," to which she replied, "We weren't even talking about you." I am a nursing student and know I eventually need to handle conflict on my own but I'm not sure what to do in this situation! I think it's very rude for them to converse in their language when I'm the only other person in the lab at the time but it's also rude for me to ask them to stop. Help!!

I graduate with my BSN in 4 years from TOMORROW! 1,461 days.

It would only help you! If you can pay the $400, do it. Slap that on resumes and it can also be a good conversation point with future employers during interviews.

I am a phlebotomist at my hospital and I can tell who has what degree. It's pretty sad. There are about 5 nursing schools in my town and two offer ADN and the other three are BSN. I can usually guess when I meet a new nurse. However, when you get the RN job but only have an ADN, you agree to get a BSN within 5 years or you will be terminated. The old hospital I work at will not hire ASN nurses. From what I've seen, BSN nurses may be more pretentious but they also went to school for their degree longer and generally make more. They are usually better nurses. I would suggest getting a BSN!!

I am taking 16 credits next semester and working 12-20 hours per week. This semester, I tried taking 15 credits and working 40 hours per week and failed two classes (I'm going to a brand new school next semester where I don't have to transfer credits so no biggie, but still, I felt pretty bad failing). I have no kids but I can only imagine having to work their schedule into mine, too. My husband makes enough that I don't have to work but I stay for experience and benefits ($3,000/semester tuition reimbursement!!!)

Congratulations! My school is a 4-year program as well. First semester, you take mostly gen-eds like A&P, chem, math, etc plus NURS 100 which is essentially here's what nursing school is, here is what kind of job you get after nursing school, here's how this all works. Second semester, more gen-eds plus NURS 101 which is more basic nursing stuff. Then you start nursing core classes 3rd semester! You do all your 64-hours of gen-eds/pre-reqs throughout the 4 years and nursing core at the same time. Pretty neat :) Good luck! I only lived on campus for one year and I hated it. I went to a public university and got stuck with two crappy roommates so I decided to live on my own, then with my boyfriend (now husband) after that. If your school is JUST a medical professions college (nursing, sonography, radiology, etc), I would suggest living with your parents for the first year because you will save tons of money - you can even start paying a little rent or pitching in on groceries or bills . You will mingle with all types of people in school and then your second year, maybe you can move to an apartment with a classmate who knows how much work it takes and it's just another resource for help! But if you get stuck with a bad roommate, you're still going to see that person daily at home and for the next 4 years of college (awkward). If your school is a larger university, it might not be so bad to live on campus and do a random roommate selection BUT I would still recommend living with your parents. I wouldn't recommend living with your boyfriend just yet. My husband thought nursing school would be just like regular school but there is SO much work and he didn't understand. It caused a lot of fights at first If your boyfriend can see how much you are going to the library, studying on the weekends, etc. then maybe he won't be so mad that you are busy when you two DO live together. Plus it will that much more exciting when you get to see each other on the weekends!!

There's a new RN at my hospital who is 65! Her husband passed away a few years ago and she says her RNs in his final days were what influenced her to go to school.

The two are practically the same except one goes into your backpack and one stays at home. If your classes allow laptops for notes (and thats your preferred way to take notes), I would suggest the laptop. However, if you like taking notes by hand and reviewing them later, a desktop does just fine. We have both. I love Mac products! My school's philosophy is to take notes on paper and then that same day, type out all your notes to clean things up. If you take them on the computer to begin with, sometimes it's harder to go back and review them because they're already neat and when you scroll you might miss something. Another option is to take your notes on your iPad and connect them to your iMac.

I volunteered in the ER, L&D, and in pediatrics. In ER, I mainly stood around and put together binders, packets, and baggies of supplies. I also cleaned some of the rooms, took trash out, and took out the laundry. Not much nursing experience but got to see a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff. In L&D, I worked mainly with the nurses to transport patients from the room to their postpartum room and also did some filing. In pediatrics, I talked with the nurses just because it was so slow, but it was a good experience to learn random stuff about the security system!

I started working at a hospital earlier this year as a phlebotomist and my husband LOVVVEEES when I wear scrubs (I don't understand why "sexy" nurses wear little-to-nothing outfits when my scrubs make my husband drool ). Whenever we go out to eat before/after my shift, he wants me to wear scrubs in public so he can show off that his wife works at a hospital. I do not like wearing my scrubs or badge in public because I'm not a nurse (yet) and I do not want to portray that I am. God forbid there be a medical emergency in a restaurant and someone points out that I'm a "nurse" because I'm wearing scrubs and demand I help in the situation. Also, I don't want to spill anything on my scrubs before I head into work. Just my two cents!

I was 19 when I had DVT/PE. I love talking about it so that's what I would use! Nobody suspected a freshman in college would have that diagnosis and it was very scary for me.

3.85 GPA is really good! I live in Lincoln, Nebraska and the ADN at the local community college has a 2 year wait list, whereas I was accepted to a BSN program (1 of 4 here) to start next spring. I think the only reason the CC is harder to get into is because the requisites are a little lower (2.0 GPA for the CC, 3.0 for the BSN) and the program isn't as long. My GPA is nowhere near a 3.85 and I was accepted. I say apply for as much as you can!! Good luck!

I bounced back between the two, too. Both are incredibly important and rewarding. What about being a school nurse? Or if you were a nurse and did extra stuff on the side at schools. You could be a pediatric nurse or even work at a children's hospital. Being an RN has a lot more duties than being a CNA so if it's the gross stuff scaring you, just know it won't always be like that!