Trixiebell

I plan to learn the material week by week rather then in chunks before tests. I will NOT let myself get behind on my reading. I plan to ask the lecturers a whole load more questions. I will find a magic self confidence pill and start having some faith in my own answers and abilities rather then paralyzing myself with self doubting.

That was my plan, but a lot of them want something on their own form or have a questionnaire to be filled in ...

We had our last review before final last night and I asked the lecturer if they could give us a suggestion as to what systems we will cover next semester. She asked why and I (very honestly) answered that it has been two years since my A&P classes and I feel I could benefit from reviewing these systems and maybe reading my pathphys book over the break ... when I spoke to the team leader earlier in the week she said she thought that was a great idea and "showed initiative and a desire to learn" but that I had to ask this specific lecturer ... well I was most surprised when the lecturer turned and said "It is a sign of intelligence if you can cover the material in the specified time frame, any idiot can take a course over months and do just fine". I clarified I was not asking for the nursing chapters to preread just the systems so I can make sure I am firm on the assumed knowledge prior to starting class - she rambled off the systems very rapidly, tossed her head and said "I jut can't believe this!". Our school had a test this week (a lecture test) where

I am a first year student and am currently writing my applications for summer externships. I do well in class but feel I could benefit from more hands of experience as I have a hard time organizing myself at clinical - I was just wondering how many I should apply for? If it was up to me I would apply for anything within a 30 mile radius but for each application I need two references - my CI and the team leader have agreed to write me references but I'm sure there will be a limit to how many forms they will be willing to fill in... Anyone have any advice? Thanks

When I first moved to the US I had a hard time getting loans, I got my husband and in laws to act as cosigners for my first year of school and this year was able to get loans on my own... Talk to a lot of different banks, it took me a while to find someone who would work with me but I did eventually.

there are anatomy colouring books avaialble on amazon for a couple of dollars that are really good for learning anatomy...if you can get one that goes with your text book it'll help heaps... just my 2c..no idea if it applies to LNP classes, just how i learnt anatomy for med school

I have a B in Conservation Biology and got part way thorugh medical school, i start nursing in 6 months (talk about a round about route right?)... i don't think any education is ever wasted, as much as i will never be a conservation biologist i can argue about whale conservation and i'm sure that one day that will prove very handy! :chuckle who was it who said life is a journey, not a destination? thats my answer to everyone who tells me i'm nuts...i had fun along the way, met some great people, and now can't wait to start nursing and have a real job!

hi basically it comes back to the sturcture of hameoglobin. it is a protein with four heme groups (all containing an iron molecule), each heme group can bind one molecule of oxygen. it has two different states, one is a tense state (T)...in this state it holds onto its oxygen molecules really tight and doesnt want to let them go. when Hb gets to the capillaries in the lungs it is exposed to lots and lots of oxygen molecules. the Hb takes up an oxygen molecule and this causes the Hb to switch to the relaxed ® state. in the R state it is happy to take up more oxygen molecules as it has a higher affinity for oxygen. when it gets to tissues it finds an area of low oxygen...this causes one oxygen molecule to hop off...because one hopped off, others go with it...the one oxygen molecule leaving causes the Hb to shift to T state, it has a lower affinity for oxygen thus all of them leave... in the Hb-O2 curve there is a plateau portion bw the oxygen pressure of 60 and 100 mmHg...in this part of the curve a rise in oxygen content in the blood provides only a small increase in the extent to which Hb is bound to oxygen molecules. this gives us a nice sfatey margin. normally we walk around at approx 98% oxygen saturation (98 mmHg)...this number refers to the amount of dissolved oxygen in the blood...in our blood oxygen exists in two ways, dissolved and bound to HB...so between 60-100% oxygen saturation there is very little effect on Hb bound oxygen. that means if your o2 sat falls temporarily (you are at higher altitude for instance) you have some space BEFORE you start to get lower oxygen delivery to tissues. the oxygen delivery to tissues depends on the % of Hb bound to oxygen. when oxygen saturation drops under 60 mm Hg this tiggers the chemoreceptors in the medulla and stimulates the ventilation control bit of the brain. the bit of the curve (the steep bit) under 60 mmHG oxygen shows that as dissolved oxygen drops the % bound to Hb drops DRAMATICALLY...at which point you're in trouble the application of the Hb-O2 curve is that it can be shifted left or right eg. low ph (ie. acidic environment), high temp and high carbon dioxide shift the curve right. this is the environment that would be present in excercising muscles, lots of acid due to lactic acid production, lots of carbon dioxide from glycolosis and the citric acid cycle and lots of heat...therefore in excercising muscle Hb is more likeley to give up its oxygen eg2. in carbon monoxide poisening, the carbon monoxide molecules bind to Hb in the place of oxygen and cause the Hb to have a higher affinity for oxygen, ie. it holds onto what it does have much harder. thus carbon monoxide poiseining shifts the curve to the left and at a given oxygen content LESS oxygen will be given up to tissues then normal i dont know if that helped or made it worse...hope it helped elle

hi cindy i'm not a nurse but just wanted to offer some encouragment...i've been blind in my left eye most of my life...i work in a busy hospital (med student and cna) and i do bump into people and have a funny habit of walking into door frames...anyboyd who has worked with me before is used to it and it has never caused me any problem in any field i've worked in (just a lot of stubbed toes), i'm just extra careful when dealing with sterile areas etc... i have the same thing with people looking at my eyes, when i'm tired my left eye drifts off to the very edge and if it catches the light is glows (implanted lens)...if i notice people trying not to look or getting uncomfortable i joke about it and they realise that i won't be offended...the thing is because it only happens when i'm tired i spend most of the time worrying i have something on my face before i realise what they are staring at :chuckle we have nurses here on crutches, in wheelchairs, with one eye, deaf...you name it, someone is managing to be a great nurse despite (and i suspect because of) it... hope that helps elle

thankyou, i wasn't really sure who set the guidlines (them, the state etc etc)... but now that i know who to call i'm onto it! ...thanks all so much for answering innane q's from a confused person...

nope didn't complete med schoo, nowhere near, but i knew the process back to front to immigrate...seeing as i have known since before i started school that i would be immigrating (trouble with decided to marry an american really isn't it?) sorry if that sounded confusing, i think i stop making sense whenever i talk about immigration and just go into stunned mullet mode... yes i am definatly planning on coming, my fiance is american and he really wants to go home...the timing is flexible, it's kind of as soon as we can do it sort of a thing... okay so the reason for school here? it's cheaper, i can't afford school in the US, its that simple. we get HECS here which is an interest free loan and fees are approx $4000 a year (i know that the same as soon US programs, but i get a loan here and don't think i can get a US loan) ...plus i don't have the prerequesits to get into grad school in the US, i have a bio degree but not much human bio! it would take me at least a year to get prerequs + 2 for nursing school (or a three yr nursing program), i can't start till next year...the nursing program here starts in june and will finish dec. next yr...so i don't think it will take me longer even if i do have to do some catch up work there... so which areas will i have to make up and how do i do that? if i get work exp. in australia in those areas (ie. do a 12 month orientation in a hosp. here covering those areas) does that count? or does it have to be a real class, ie. at a US school? what about if i get a MSN (i can do that in clinical nursing, one of the specialities or midwifery here) or a graduate diploma say in critical care or paediatrics or whatever? would any of those options cover me? can i get a list or an overview from anyone re: number of hours in each area? is there a someone i can call to get this info? i called the school i am going to and they said 'oh of course you can go to the US...' i'm going to call them back and raise these issues with them...but i'm looking for a specific, you need X hours in Critical Care, X hours in ED, X hours in maternal etc. so i can ask specific questions, for instance i get an elective and i i could do general nursing rotations say in OR or whatever if that was what was needed... thanks ever ever so much elle

where can i find a list of hours needed in various dept by the US? and i can compare with the program here (i havn't strarted so still have time to pull out and switch my application to somewhere else)...or they have grad. diploma programs here in specialty area so if i was missing hrs in say maternal health i could do a grad diploma in maternal health and get clinical hrs that way...would that be acceptable do you think (when you say make up the hours there i presume you mean enrol in a couple of units at a college there and do it that way?) thanks (sorry again for the numerous q's, don't know what i would do without this site...)

it's not a specialist program, it's general, what they did was cut out all the science courses (ie. anatomy, micro etc) because the only people taking this course are people with biology degrees... this year i do catch up and next yr do two general nursing, a critical care unit, a pallative care unit, an elective (in paeds) and i think one science and one research... this yr i do 4 weeks clinical block then 1 day a week (5 hr days)...then 4 weeks over chrissy then next yr i do 1 day for a term, 2 days a week for a term, then 3 then 4... it sounds like most aussie programs just a condesnsed version of them with the summer block added in...its great for me, it starts mid yr (as in now) and i don't have to do the sciences for a third time (did a science degree and then medicine for a bit)... okay that makes me feel better, i was just really worried i'd get there and be told 'oh that doesn't count, it's not two years!' thanks ever so much, its so nice having people answer my many silly silly q's...i just swtiched to nursing and am still trying to get my head arouind the immigration ... cheers elle

well that would just be easy wouldn't it? thankyou for explaining what should have been very obvious to me and thankyou for not prefacing it with, look you twit...has it ever occured to you? do you ever feel sometimes you get so close to something you just don't see the easy solutions? sigh going to go and drink some coffee before i post any more... elle

hi i'm still looking for clarification on a range of issues so thought i'd start a new thread here 1. i have been offered a place in a graduate RN degree in australia, it's a 16 month course...ie. three semesters + summer...it's graduate and you have to have a biomedical degree to be accepted...my concern is a lot of places state you need a TWO YR RN degree...i will be a qualified RN in australia...is this going to cause me a prob with getting licenced in the US? 2. as far as i understand i need to sit NCLEX and get a licence (through NY i take it)...and that allows me to work in the US? i am marrying an american this year (not to get a visa, just to clarify, genuine old fashioned getting married cause i wanna, although convincing the aust. dept of immigration of that is a whole other story!)...so if i have a green card through him and am licenced through NY i am good to go for looking for jobs? 3. i was planning on coming out right after finishing college here...ie. as a new grad? good plan or would i be better off getting a yrs exp. in australia first? i think thats it, sorry for all the q's...its a confusing system! thanks elle

so another silly q for you... can i apply for jobs in the US before sitting NCLEX? and this one is really daft but i can't figure this out...i sit NCLEX after finishing school right? we want to get back asap so i'm trying to figure out the best way to get us home with our families! thanks elle

hi i'm training in australia as a nurse and will be moving to the US as a new grad with my husband...(end of 2006) i'm wondering how i go about finding internships/new grad positions in NICU or a related area? this must seem like a mighty silly question, but trying to get my head around this from here is just confusing... thanks elle

HI if anyone needs any info, help etc with gamsat, give me a yell...i did it last yr and am currently first yr med (about to switch to nursing but thats a whole different story)... so if you need help email me etc...i got 72 which was enough to get me a place and scolarship...i have some sets of notes available if anyone needs them (asking ppl to cover photocopying, postage...thats it, its a set of all the formulas, equations etc for chem, physics, bio)... good luck elle

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i used to work as a photographer and had spent a whole day photographing babies that kept spitting up on me and handeling parents who would just hand me a child and walk off while i tried to convince an 8 week old baby to smile for me. i was meeting friends for dinner and was really late... i walked in, sat down and someone asked me how work was, to which i replied 'ahhh nothing but babies, if i see another baby i will just scream, i can't stand a whole day with babies' and my friend then told me that she had asked me to come to dinner to tell me she was pregnant... i just kept waiting for that hole to open up in the floor and let me escape... :stone

hi i'm newish and just wanted to say thanks to everyone who has obviously spent such a long time posting info up here...i went to med school to be a neonatologist and 1 semester in am switching to nursing school...in australia we don't have an internship in neonat, the normal route is to become a midwife first and move over...so i've got a few years before i hit the NICU but i can't wait. i worked in an NICU in india and loved every single minute of it... i've loved reading this forum...the love that everyone has for their work is so obvious and the stories are just loveley...i've been sitting and crying and giggling and i think my housemate is a little worried i've lost my mind! anyway, just wanted to say thankyou... elle xox

i'm becoming a nurse because i love spending time with people and because i enjoy thinking, i love having the option to chnage specialty and to travel, plus its nice to have a job thats secure... im currently a med student, changing because of the people time and the option to change specialty...oh and i agree with however said most dr have awful hrs...i know some nurses do too but residency is meant to be 80 hr weeks in many places... thats all

hey im in med school and planning a wedding, my other half is still in the US (im in austalia) so im doing it solo as well my advice is delegate, make a list, call friends, fam etc and delegate...so and so organises a cake, so and so does the photographer...i guess you have to firstly trust them to do what you ask and secondly be okay with having someone else choose a cake etc...i am, just cause it makes my life simpler, i have enough to handle with med school, preparing for the upcoming switch to nursing and trying to sort the dept. immigration out... hope that helps and go small, that helps too! and try to let go of having your dream wedding, its so much easier when you no longer need it to be perfect... good luck and congrats! elle

hi i'm an australian student, finishing my RN next year and then am going straight into the one yr masters in midwifery... my fiance is american and is about to move out here till i get out of school...we want to get back to the US asap...do i need expierience to get a green card or can i come over right after i finish training and seek work? i dont know what the midwife course is in the US but here its 32 hr a week of paid work plus 8 class hours a week...so i will have a yr's exp behind me in L&D and am currently working as a CNA... also i keep hearing ppl talk about med-surg year...is this important in getting a visa? i was planning on specialising right away but if its better to get a yrs exp i could do this also... sorry for the pile of questions...we're just wrestling with the immigration dept. this end to get him in here (proving a real relationship and all that mess :uhoh21: ) and i'm starting to get the impression we will have to mess around on the way back too thanks elle

i didnt think it was esp. sexist, i suspect you guys get asked this a lot...what always drove me mad was when people asked me what i did, i said i was a med student and they invariable said, oh you'll be a nurse then? i find it amazing that its 2005 and we still think guys should be docs and girls be nurses...maybe its not so bad in america (fingers crossed) but down here i think we can be a bit, oh banish the though, chauvanistic? if people are really thinking about going into med though, think LONG and HARD...its not all its cracked up to be, i know its seen as this wonderful thing to do, but in all honesty it can be really frustrating, really long and it will take over your entire life from the day get go (i think im vitamin d deficient from never seeing the sunlight...)... off to class to learn all about lymph notes :uhoh21: