mellowdude

If Math could embody a human form, Math would be the obnoxious, drunk person that nobody really likes. Know your med math like the back of your hand. The good thing is med math becomes easy with practice. Hang in there kiddo!

Fall 2016 College Bio Medical Math I have intro to chem, A/P, micro & nutrition left. I finished pre-algebra,intro to stats, psych & spanish.

Someone mentioned they are sick of physicians giving the RN sh&t because they got woken up in the night. If an MD ever gives you sh*t for calling them, tell them "This isn't about YOU it is about your patient." Any male MD that whines about being woken up doesn't deserve to be called a man. They are a child. I feel bad for the wives of some of these physicians. It must be a real burden to be married to a man without testicular fortitude.

I love reading the responses of everyone. I believe the passion is the desire to help people & to guide them in difficult times in their life. However, going on this alone will not make you an RN. One knows this field is right for them when they are willing to endure the challenges that come with this career like the following: Enduring 16 hour shifts, rude & obnoxious patients, fellow co-workers who have a don't give a sh&t attitude who don't care to help, witnessing the horrors that humans do to other humans are just some examples. If one can find the motivation to continue to do this career with kindness & compassion, despite all the BS, you know you are right for this career. I am a Paramedic working on my pre-reqs. I worked in a busy 30 bed ED in Chicago as an EMT while getting my medic. If I could put up with that, I can certainly handle nursing. The hours had been long, some of the co-workers had been rude, I smelled like BO & was tired beyond belief & I miss those days. I can't wait to return. I think it would be better if programs had students take a CNA or EMT Basic course before any other nursing pre-reqs. It will save many students time & money.

I've been reading lots of articles about burnout in the ED. One went so far to say it made her become a *****. I thought I would share my insight. I was an ED tech while attending Paramedic School. The experiences I had for 2 years will hopefully be remembered, for the rest of my life. I've met some of the coolest people - A cross country trucker, a wildlife photographer, WW2 vets, chefs, firefighters, musicians. I learned that I love to interact with people and I could never, ever,ever,ever work a desk job. It has helped me come closer to being at peace with death. It made me see that I am very blessed to have the opportunities that I have had in life. It has made me a very patient and calm person. It made me realize that the key to having energy in the ED is to train for endurance. My diet improved. My body improved. My mind improved. It made me realize life is short. It's too short to live a boring life. Travel. Learn something new. Enjoy art, music, nature. You only have one life. Make it yours.

Once cannabis moves from it's stupid listing under the scheduled 1 class, a lot more places will allow employees to use cannabis in the off time. Once the feds stop criminalizing it, more hospitals will allow employees to use it. Hospitals get funds from the feds and hospitals don't want to loose that. So, they play along with the feds. Remember, Cannabis is legal at state levels. Not at the federal level. NORML reported a case that has gone to the supreme court involving employees vs employers in Colorado.

Great post! Nobody should be subjected to being ridiculed in public unless they do something really stupid and obnoxious; like pull down co-workers pants.

Thanks for sharing!

Hi Crazy Fellow Paramedic here. I've learned that, unlike EMS courses, healthcare courses should not be rushed. It takes time to sink in and to apply that knowledge takes more time. Have you ever noticed how EMS students can learn something very fast, excel at it for a few weeks and then be puzzled by it a few months later? I believe it's due to rouge memorization. A very bad way to learn in this field. I suggest you lighten your load. Get the terms "Hard" and "Difficult" out of your vocabulary. Replace it with "Challenging" You'll be more inspired to find a way to complete that challenge. Don't forget you have a lab component in addition to the lecture material. I found I had to stay after class and come in during open lab to make sure I knew the material up,down,forward,backwards and sideways. It's not hard, it just requires time to do so. Time is like money, you don't have much of it so you need to know how to spend it wisely. You might want to work as an EMT but do you NEED to do it to complete your RN? You NEED to complete your A & P to complete your degree.

Never give up. This journey is like climbing a mountain. Sometimes you will face situations when you have to take a different route to get to the summit. Find a RN student who is attending the program you want to attend. Ask them how they achieved the goal of getting into an RN program. Ask them about study habits, interview techniques(if your program has one). Ask the school what qualities they want in a student. Replace the words "Difficult" and "Hard" with "challenging". It will motivate you to achieve your goals. How is the school giving you a run around? Perhaps it is time to look at a new school? If a school gives pre-nursing students the run around, they probably give the RN students the run around too. In my experience, schools and employers that do that, do not have a very good program.

Thanks for all the kind words! I'm glad to see that people are motivated by this post. I forgot to mention a great book that has helped me along my healthcare journey. The book is "People Care" by Thom Dick. He used to write many, many great articles for EMS World Magazine.

I hope this serves as motivation for nursing students and pre-nursing students. A little background about me. I'm a Paramedic. During Medic school I worked in a busy Chicago ED as a tech. I'm obtaining my BS in nursing. I will become a flight medic and flight RN in the future. Nursing isn't any easy field. Long hours, fatigue, stress, rude patients and rude co-workers. If you're looking for constant praise from patients, this isn't the field for you. If you feel that you are more of a servant, this field isn't for you. If you are planning to make lots of money, this field isn't for you. This field will challenge and test you everyday. If you think the learning process stops or gets easier once school is done, it doesn't. You will be always tested and challenged. Never stop learning. Embrace that. Knowledge will help your patients. Laziness and complacency is the enemy. If you are trained to do it, DO IT. CNAs and Techs will help you when you need it. They are not there to help you when you are too lazy to do it. They work just as hard as you do and they get less pay. Don't complain or whine about petty things. Everyone has rough days and plenty of people push past it. If your co-workers are rude and talk smack about you, don't put up with that. Call them out on it. Most of them will shut up after that. If you have a rude patient just remember that's just the way some people are. You still have to do your job and give 100%. If you are nice and pleasant with patients, they will be nice and say thank you. However, don't be upset when they don't say thank you. Why do you need to be praised when THOUSANDS of RNs around the world do the same job? What makes you so special? Cleaning a patient is part of the job. So is getting them something to eat. So is changing the bed. It's the little things that matter to the patient. Some people require more attention than others. So what? How hard is it to get a patient water or a blanket or adjust the pillow? Get the attitude of "They are demanding" out of your head. If you are always complaining about patients, you need to do an attitude check. Talk to your patients. Find out what hobbies they have, what they do for a living. You will meet some of the most interesting people if you just talk to them. I LOVE the feeling of being tired at the end of a shift and so should you. It means you worked hard and accomplished your goals. One way to combat fatigue is to exercise. Running before work helps. Train for endurance. I can't stress that enough. It will help you. If you work for a hospital that treats its employees like crap, it's time to move on. Don't be afraid to move to a new hospital or another area of nursing. Sometimes it takes a long search to find a employer who you like. I would suggest to current students and pre nursing students to become a tech to see what this field is like. If you don't like being a tech or a CNA, you probably won't like being an RN.

I agree, smoking up before work is a bad idea. I couldn't function on it. It sucks but sometimes you have to suck up the pain. 12 hours would be a long time to deal with it. Just remember, when you get home you can smoke yourself to la la land. I'm curious to know if RNs can smoke up in Colorado and Washington state. I know it is legal but I'm sure there are some policies at work.