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Ooh, yeah, Voltaren gel was the thing I was trying to think of that I loved the smell of. It's been a while, though. I also love the smell of Mastisol. Piney!

I once had a patient who was "due" walk down the hall to wait for me outside the room of another patient I was calling a code on.

The cited article says, "Staffing hospitals uniformly at 8 vs 4 patients per nurse would be expected to entail 5.0 (95% CI, 2.4-7.6) excess deaths per 1000 patients and 18.2 (95% CI, 7.7-28.7) excess deaths per 1000 complicated patients." So it's an extra 1000 deaths per 200,000 patients, apparently, but some math is required.

I just wanted to say to the OP that you are being refreshingly receptive to the responses. So many posters would be crying, "Why do you all hate me/have to be snarky/eat your young?!?" after the 2nd or 3rd response.

When I was 37, I looked at my current career and knew I couldn't spend another 30 years there. Now I'm 39, got pinned yesterday (ADN), and am looking forward to 25+ years in a career that really seems to suit me better. I'll admit, I was one of the older people in my community college program, but there were a few people older than me (including one in his 60's), and 90% of us were career changers of some sort. The hardest part about being older is managing school with young kids and a FT job. That was really the only disadvantage I felt those of us who weren't 23-year-olds had.

There must be a mobile app that meets these requirements, if that's allowed.

Sorry, I forgot to check the post date before I replied -- hope things worked out for you!

I'm currently in an RN program in the Pittsburgh area, I got an official job offer at the end of September and I don't even graduate until mid-December -- HR put my start date nearly 4 months in the future from when I was offered the job. So applying 3 or 4 months in advance is totally reasonable. I can't speak to the remote interviewing except to say the recruiter will just talk to you on the phone as your first interview. After that, it's probably up to the unit director as to whether or not they want to meet you in person. The big systems in Pittsburgh are UPMC and AHN, they both have hospitals all over. If you are moving to the south of Pgh, there is St. Clair Hospital, which is independent, and to the east there is the Excela system. I doubt anyone will give you relocation expenses, but some UPMC positions have a sign-on bonus of $10,000 for RN's with 2 years experience. In general, the market is very good for nurses here right now -- my classmates and I are all getting offers or at least interviews. Know, though, that things might not go as smoothly for you, coming from outside the region -- industries are cliquey here.

Got the registration letter today -- very excited about how "real" this is becoming! Though, scheduling a this-is-your-only-chance mandatory registration in the middle of travel season seems a bit unfair. Glad our vacation is before then!

This is a big reason why I am leaving teaching for nursing. I'm tired of being expected to tell students their behavior is inappropriate when, really, it's an ENTIRELY appropriate response based on their mental and emotional state and history and biology. You're acting out because you didn't study for the test? Go to in-school. Never mind that you didn't study because you're 15 and taking care of your sick grandma who's your only guardian. You skipped study hall? Get a discipline referral. Never mind that you're 17 and it's your best friend's lunch period, and, like I said, you're 17. I've decided that I need a career that allows me to be more holistic and nurturing, where I'm not expected to be constantly punishing adolescents for non-lockstep behavior. Maybe OP would be more comfortable as a high school teacher? I understand -- REALLY! -- how frustrating it is to be charged with improving a person's situation when they don't want to help themselves. But punishment and belittlement is not the way to get through to someone who is already punishing and belittling himself.

Congratulations to you, too!

Got my letter today! So excited/relieved/optimistic! I feel like I'm 17 again!

I wonder if your friend didn't meet the minimum requirements? Looking back on this forum, the earliest anyone has ever heard was in late April.

Maybe they didn't get as many applications as they were expecting, and competition for admissions will be a little lighter?

I'm also a teacher who is going to school to be a nurse. Teachers may need to only be present at school for 7.5 hours, but there is no decent teacher who can actually do everything they need to do within that time. Evenings and weekends are spent largely on paperwork (especially if you teach special ed, like me!), lesson preparation, and parent contact. Both careers require a very heavy investment of emotion, time, energy, and physical effort. Theoretically it could be done, especially if you just nurse summers, but I don't know of anyone who actually COULD do it without burning out within a year.

Also, a lot of schools are now required to publish Gainful Employment data. These data can vary in usefulness depending on exactly what is reported, but they can help you figure out if you'll be likely to find a full-time job as a nurse upon graduation.

My plans are ADN/RN at CCAC or WCCC then work while enrolled in Cal U's online RN-BSN program. I'm a career-changer, so this is the best option for me in terms of maintaining my current standard of living. I agree, I think Pitt is probably the best program, but I'm not sure the cost/quality ratio is the same as CCAC. Also, like Elkpark said, NCLEX is only one factor. Personally, I would rather have a lot of high-quality clinical hours than a slightly higher pass rate.

It said somewhere -- I think in the confirmation e-mail I got -- that they don't even start reviewing applications until the window closes March 1st. (Oh, wait, that's yesterday!) They said it can take 1 1/2 - 2 months for all of the applications to be reviewed, and that applicants will be notified no later than May 1st. If you look at previous CCAC threads, most people found out in Mid-April to May.

What program do you want? Boyce fast track was my first choice. I submitted my application the Monday after the window opened and it's killing me to wait 4-5 months... My undergrad QPA was only 2.75 so I'm nervous. How did you do on your TEAS? Good luck!

Off-topic, but it bothers me THAT MUCH... but the number of people Eddie lets into the pharmacy really bothers me. Shouldn't the door be locked? And Antoinette! Not even a hospital employee! I know it's TV but I can only suspend my disbelief so far.

My exhaustion doesn't come from being on my feet all day so much as dealing with 30 teenagers at a time for 6 hours a day. (So. Much. Yelling...)

My daughters are the main reason I decided to go into nursing! I'm in my 8th year as a full-time teacher. I was so frustrated with my job, even after I changed districts last year, that it was changing who I was -- I was always angry, exhausted, or doing paperwork. I didn't want to be that kind of mom. So I hope to start nursing school part-time in the fall, at age 38, and just the thought of the change has made me happier and more energetic! (Still have to do the paperwork, though... )

Be specific. Why nursing and not social work or religious ministry?

Wow, I *am* 37! The specialties I'm leaning toward are basically because those are what interest me. I didn't even think of physicality, to be honest. Been teaching special ed for about 10 years, so peds and MH seem like less of a learning curve than, say, cardiac or trauma. And end-of-life / palliative care is more personal reasons. (But, who knows? I might find out that med-surg and I were meant for each other!) As to the ADN, I don't plan to stop there -- it's just the most cost-effective option. Depending on where my experiences and employment take me, I'll either work for a couple years before doing Drexel's MSN bridge, or I'll spend those years doing an RN-BSN bridge and then go MSN. The ADN gets me back in the workforce a year or two quicker and with about $20,000 less debt, is all. Although I have noticed a trend, just in the past year or two, of jobs that were once open to RN's now "preferring" a BSN.

Hello everyone, I am planning to start nursing school (ADN/RN) in the fall. It's a career change for me and I'm not able to keep my current position while in school. I have no real health care experience, so I'm considering applying to the local hospital system's skilled-nursing center's CNA trainee program. Those of you who know these kind of things -- do you think it would be better for me to work as a skilled-nursing CNA while I'm a student, or general hospital volunteer? I figure working as a volunteer would give me more flexibility in terms of hours and exposure to different kinds of units, but working as a CNA would give me income and more relevant, if limited, experience. If it makes any difference, the specialties I'm leaning toward once I become an RN are pediatric, mental health, or hospice/palliative. Totally keeping an open mind until I actually start rotations, though! Thanks.