Lilac

I recommend ATI, also.

Thank you for the information, Dave. I'm not sure if that is the route I'm going to take or not yet. I've also been looking into St Elizabeth School of Nursing.

Hi there, Actually, I ended up not taking the TEAS, as the RN program was full with a waiting list, so I applied to the LPN program and got in. If I were you, I would buy the study guide for the TEAS. It's pretty comprehensive. If you are currently a student, you could check with your college to see if there is free tutoring available. Most colleges have it for students. If don't score well on the TEAS, try taking some math and science refresher courses, then take it again. Good Luck! You CAN do it with enough drive. I was bad at math all the way from sixth grade until my senior year, but I persisted in taking math classes, and finally it stared making sense. My sixth grade teacher told me I would NEVER learn algebra. Well, she was wrong. I not only learned it, I passed it with A's.

Hi NewRN09, The letter I received was from Ivy Tech Lafayette. They were going to partner with ISU. My understanding is that you apply certain classes taken at Ivy Tech toward your degree, and you could also take classes online through ISU. I guess I'll have to go into the campus to find out if this was just a program that never took off, or if they implemented it on the Lafayette campus. Thanks anyway

Hi All, I received letter from Ivy Tech this fall introducing their new LPN-BSN program. I was wondering if anyone who is in this program could elaborate. The intro letter was really brief. Also, what do you think of the program? Thanks

Hi Amybeth56, I never did retake the PSB, and I got into nursing school my first try on those scores, so I guess "very good"=good enough to get in, at least where I live. I've since graduated and passed the NCLEX the first try, which I was also certain I had failed.:lol2:I guess it's pretty common to feel that way with the testing. Best wishes on your journey to become a nurse, whatever you decide!

Hi All, I graduated from nursing school last August, and passed NCLEX on my first attempt last November. Due to family issues, I am just now starting to look for an LPN position. I am concerned that the gap may hurt my chances of getting hired. Would it be wise to explain the reason for my delay, or would that induce a prospective employer to think I may bow out on them in the future BECAUSE I took time to handle the issue? I personally believe that this issue is now resolved, and would seek other options if anything similar arose in the future, but I'm not sure how a prospective employer might feel. Has anyone else experienced a gap betwen their training and seeking employment? How did things work out for you? Thank You

Hi There, I am very familiar with the subject of day to night transition, since my husband has worked swing shifts for years, and has to make that transition four to eight months out of the year. Some tips I can share: 1. Prepare your environment: You are probably going to need it near total dark to sleep. Purchase room blackening curtains, or cover your window with aluminum foil. We use a combo of a room blackening liner and heavy velvet drapes to block out light AND muffle noise.Hook and loop fasteners, like Velcro, can help block out any light that may seep from around the curtains. Having a fan or some other sort of "white noise" device to help you notice outside environmental sounds less can help a lot. Keep your room a bit cooler. It helps your body temp drop a bit, which aids in being able to sleep. If you own your own place, it really helps to paint your walls a darker color. I painted our bedroom red, which is dark when the lights are off, yet emits a sense of warmth when the lights are on in the room. I also painted our ceiling gold. Carpet on your floors can help muffle noises. 2. If you have time, start gradually getting used to staying up later at night and sleeping in more during the day. 3. If you choose to use sleep aids, please consult your healthcare practioner for which ones are suitable for you. Be aware that many sleep aids require that you be able to get a certain number of hours of sleep. If you are not able to sleep for that number of hours, you may get a kind of "hangover" from them. 4. It's important to teach other family members about the difficulty of adjusting to nights, and to solicit their help. We have quiet time during dad's peak sleep hours. When my children were little, we would run errands and go on outings during those hours. 5. I really don't recommend trying to switch back around to day time hours on your off days. My husband just sticks to his routine, and I stay up with him as long as I feel comfortable. If he stays up during the day, he makes every effort to get a nap in during the day. 6. Try and simplify your daily routine while you are adjusting to a different shift. My husband limits his social obligations during this time, and we do minimal household maintenance. 7. Limit your exposure to light after your shift. Wear sunglasses if it's possible. Go straight home and perform some daily bedtime rituals that signal to your body it's time to prepare for sleep. Don't eat a heavy meal 8. Be patient, and don't be too hard on yourself. It can take up to three or four months to adjust when you first change shift. If you work swing shifts, the adjustment period usually shortens. My husband usually adjusts within two weeks now. While he is adjusting, he expects to experience higher blood pressure, "the shakes", stomach ache, and headache. We adjust our diet to foods that are easier to digest for a time,and he has discussed with his healthcare practioner which OTC meds he can use to help with the headache and stomach ache. Finally, after you've tried all of these measures and given it some time, if you just can't adjust, don't beat yourself up. Some people just don't have circadian rythms that allow them to work nights. I personally can't. The latest shift I can work is second shift. I accept that now, and work around it. I feel I am more productive by accepting it, and so do my bosses:D Good luck!

Hi There, I used Kaplan NCLEX PN prep. It's entirely online, and I could access it at my convenience 24 hours per day. This was great, because I was working odd shifts in a non nursing position. The practice exams are set up for the different areas of the NCLEX, and there is also a more comprehensive exam format. The questions are very, very similar to those on the NCLEX.It's a bit pricey, but I considered it worth every penny. I was able to identify the areas that I needed to review by using the prep, and I felt comfortable with the NCLEX type questions, after having used that program.

I say I'm an LPN. It's my chosen career. I'm not ashamed of it. I consider myself a nurse, period, but there is a distinction between LPN and RN and that is always everyone's second question, anyway. The third is always "Well, when are you going to become an RN?" I save them the extra effort, tell them I'm an LPN, I love my chosen vocation, and while I will continue my education, I have no desire at this time to pursue RN certfication.

Whoa, you scared me there for a minute:lol2: I just got my pass results yesterday. I've been carrying a copy around in my pocket just to reassure myself I really passed. I thought for sure I'd failed it when I took it. :balloons:By the way CONGRATS:balloons:

Fundamentals first semester and med/surg the last. It gets REALLY hard to keep going by the summer semester. You are in the classroom or on the clinical floor while everyone is out enjoying the summer. A lot of folks want to take time to enjoy the nice weather on the weekend. DON'T DO THAT! Stick with your study schedule, because in a lot of programs, there are more NCLEX type questions added to exams each semester.

Thank you for checking on that for me. I am really leaning toward St E. The only negative I have heard from people so far is that they don't have a summer program unless there are enough students. But that's fine with me-I wouldn't mind taking the summer off to work. I will definitely continue looking into it.

Hi There, I just gave my first injections this week. I must say, I obsessed about this through the entire year, lol. I was afraid I was going to get all the way through school without ever giving one (I have three more weeks to go). We practiced in lab last semester on practice pads. I was all thumbs drawing up the insulin, and felt pretty darn lost.I kept imagining over and over in my head that the same thing was going to happen in clinicals.And I was afraid that injecting a pad would be nothing like injecting a person. Our instructors kept reassuring us all along that things would start to "click" toward the end of the semester. I didn't believe them, because I have absolutely NO background in healthcare. But guess what-I did GREAT when I actually drew up the insulin for my med pass!I had reviewed the night before, and I couldn't believe how calm and confident I was, LOL. I even caught something the instructor had overlooked (the instructor is absolutely AWESOME, but she was subbing for another instructor and was about as familiar with this clinical site as us students are-so it wasn't anything negative against her, just a positive for me for catching it). So, if I can survive it, believe me, you can:) And FYI-if you use practice pads at school instead of humans-they really ARE similar to what the actual injection feels like.

Hi There, I'm not personally aware of any school in Indiana that has a strictly weekend/evening option for ASN.There are BSN courses that have weekend options and online options, but no ASN. I'm going to graduate from the PN program soon, and I just thought I'd warn you that nursing school is INCREDIBLY intensive. To be honest, I wouldn't recommend trying to combine starting a family with attending nursing school.Not if you actually want to enjoy both experiences. Perhaps you could work on your pre-reqs for now, then apply to nursing school later, after your baby is born. I know there are a number of pre-reqs that you could take at Ivy Tech (although none are on the weekend). Or, you could put off having your family for a few years and concentrate on getting through school. THAT is what I would do if I were in your shoes! If I could live my life over again, I would not have combined caring for family with trying to get through nursing school. I would have postponed having children until I was through school.The advantage of waiting to start your family would be twofold-no daycare to worry about, and more time to concentrate on studying. Because believe me, you eat, sleep, and BREATHE nursing when you are in nursing school.There is very little time for anything else. Good luck, whatever you decide:)

I was wondering if there are any current St E students or alumni here. I am considering applying to the nursing school, and would like to know how students and former students feel about the St E. Thank You Lilac

Hi The Commuter, Thank you for your reply (and sorry it took me so long to respond-I've been swamped with schoolwork). I am glad to hear my current feelings are normal for this stage.And thanks for the information on LTC.I really enjoyed my LTC clinical rotation, yet every nurse I've ever talked to has said "Don't go the LTC route."I'm glad to hear someone give a different perspective on it. We have only practiced injections on practice pads in lab. But, I do have one last rotation in med/surg, so maybe I'll get a chance to do an injection then. I had my clinical instructor watch me perform my assessments this week. She said I did fine-I just need more confidence.So, I'll just take it day by day. I plan to stick with school unless they kick me out-then I'll just take it as a sign that I'm not supposed to be a nurse. At least with the training I have already received, I can sit for the CNA exam without having to do the clinical portion.

Okay, so I'm in my last semester of the PN course, and I am having very, very serious doubts. Granted, we still have a couple of clinical rotations to go, but I am stressing over the fact that I don't feel even basically prepared. Is it uncommon to get to your last semester without EVER having given an injection of any sort??? Also, I figured by this time, I would feel that assessments and patient care would start clicking-feeling a little more routine. Yet, I feel all thumbs most clinical days. My grades are good, and I am passing clinicals. My instructors tell me that I give safe care. Yet I feel SOOO INADEQUATE! I know that part of it is my personality. I'm nervous about new situations and it takes me a while to settle in. It seems like just about the time I get comfortable and confident in one clinical situation, we move onto another, and the same darn thing starts all over again. I'm so worked up, I can't sleep at night, then have to operate on coffee all day. I am envious of my fellow students who have worked in health care in the past. They are moving steadily ahead, and I feel kind of like I'm starting to take steps backward. Is this normal to feel like this? I worked really hard to get to this point, but I don't know if I have what it takes to be a good nurse. Yes, I love working with people, and would like to be able to make a decent living (marriage problems are adding to the pressure to do so), but I DON'T want to press forward if I can't give safe care!!People mean too much to me! What really concerns me is that where I live, they are phasing LPNs out of the hospital setting this year. My only options are LTC-with a high nurse/pt ratio, and office nursing. It's recommended on here quite often to work in med/surg before doing office work, yet that option isnt' available here. I really wonder how effective I would be in LTC. Is this just last semester jitters? Has anyone else felt this way and survived?Should I maybe work as a CNA for awhile to get to feeling more comfortable in the healthcare setting?

LOL-I found a blue pen in my bag the other day and reflexively threw it out in horror.

Ruining tv programs for everyone in the room-like the time they portrayed a bunch of strippers spinning around a pole and I said "Ugh-they're SHARING a pole? You don't EVEN want to know what's on there!" Putting everything in my pockets (even at home now). Checking to see that pants have large pockets when I buy them. Handwashing for twenty seconds and using paper towels to shut off the water. Opening doors to public restrooms with my feet, elbows, or a paper towel.I wash my hands everytime I come into my home now. Doing a mini assessment on my 90 year old grandma every time I visit her. Trying to remember not to talk about bodily functions with the other nursing students at the lunch table at school.

Thank you! I am an Ivy Tech student, so will contact that department.

Hi All, I'm currently an LPN student past my first fundamentals class. I've read that you can sit for the CNA licensure exam once you've passed fundamentals. Does anyone know how I go about doing this? Thanks

You criticise others in the nursing profession for criticising their colleagues publically in the place they work. Yet here you are, in a public forum people don't even have to register to read, on the WORLD WIDE WEB, pointing a finger at female members of a profession you haven't even begun working in yet (yes, you may be in school, but the REAL education will come when you graduate and are working full time),and basically saying that nursing politics are all because of "gender related personality traits that permeate the profession." Of course, that automatically excludes you from the "we," you speak of, since you are exempt from the gender. Interesting. Smart. Keep publishing that rhetoric over and over, and it will eventually be accepted as gospel truth. I have a point for you to ponder. A large majority of those entering and graduating from medical school for many years have been women,so why aren't their "gender related personality traits" causing them to publicly criticise THEIR colleagues, as you claim?Could it possibly be because medical doctors have traditionally ALWAYS been viewed with more respect, as has that profession in general?Hmm, I think I'll ask my cousin, who is a medical student, why SHE chose to become a doctor instead of becoming a nurse;) Espousing your male feminist educational credentials while blaming female "gender related personality traits" as the main cause of nursing workplace strife is a bit ironic, to say the least. I don't know when you earned your masters, but many academic programs now teach professionalism as part of the curriculum (education programs and law enforcement programs are two that I can think of right now that do).In the land of reality tv, it's a cultural issue, not a gender issue. I I have worked in the business world, also. Comparing the business environment to the profession of nursing is like comparing apples and oranges. Workplace politics occurs in every profession-even male dominated ones. The difference is, in female dominated professions, it's defined as cattiness. In male dominated professions, it's "healthy competition" that weeds out those that "can't cut it." Didn't they teach you that at your progressive feminist university?

Monroe Hospital in Bloomington, Indiana had an ad in the Indy Star paper yesterday looking for Lpns for L&D and postpartum.The ad says they are a new acute care facility. I wish I was further along than almost through my first semester of nursing school (yay), and that it wasn't the opposite end of the state from me!

As a former business owner, I totally agree with Daytonite.Form your good habits NOW. Our school requires that we be on site at a certain time, no exceptions whatsoever. We can miss two clinical days in an entire semester, but we have to have a very good, documented reason.If we are late, it counts toward one of our absences.If we miss those two days, we get to do an assignment that involves about fifteen hours worth of work on top of our usual coursework,so most of us arrive on site a half hour early.If we miss more than two days, we are out of the program. I have an hour drive to get to my clinical. My clinical day starts at 4:30 am.