Princess Bubblegum

I use KhanAcademy.org all the time and can't recommend it enough. I had 12 years between high school graduation and beginning my nursing school prereqs, and that site was especially helpful in preparing for math placement testing and reviewing biology/chemistry concepts.

I wish I'd been as ambitious as you! Take advantage of high school AP classes to earn college credit, and check out your local community colleges for prerequisites—you could probably get a lot of your prereqs done online through these schools, too.

"It was my pleasure" in response to "thank you" was part of the script at a hospital I used to work at. I was pretty resistant to using it because in some scenarios it sounds creepy or insincere. Scripts leave no room to allow us to use our own judgment.

I get surveys whenever I see my PCP, whose clinic is part of the medical group where I work. I send them back with over-the-top glowing reviews, because I think they're terribly unfair. One survey had questions about the clinic's decor. It's totally hideous. But I hate to think that my doctor and her staff could be penalized because of that, when they are providing excellent care, regardless of the mauve vinyl furniture. If I wanted to relax inside a Pottery Barn store, I would go to a Pottery Barn store.

Psych is a good one to take online, I think you'll like it. :) I've been able to do all my prereqs online so far except for the A&P sequence, and I love having the ability to work at my own pace. Online classes can be challenging for people who aren't good at managing their time or being resourceful, but if you're diligent and keep yourself accountable, you'll be just fine. I use an app on my iPhone/iPad/MacBook called iStudiez Pro and it has been really helpful with keeping track of all my assignments and deadlines, especially in my online classes.

I live in Oregon and our community colleges work in cooperation with the BSN program at OHSU, so that once I graduate with my Associate's, I'm eligible to do an online RN-BSN program through OHSU. So I'm wrapping up prereqs for an Associate's degree, but also taking advantage of this slow time to get any additional Bachelor's prereqs done even prior to starting the ADN program. I'm obligated to stay with my current employer for a year after I become a RN because they are currently reimbursing my tuition while I'm working as a CNA, so I figured I could work as an RN while getting my BSN on their dime.

I'm running out of prereqs to do! Next term I'm just doing A&P 2 and Writing 122. After that, I just have A&P 3 and microbiology left!

I love this thread. We had big, thick paper charts at my hospital up until last month! I was sad to see them go, I was the go-to girl on my unit for reading awful handwriting. Where I work, we do still give beer to alcoholic patients to keep DTs at bay. Lukewarm Milwaukee's Best, hand delivered by the pharmacy techs. Blech.

I'm not a nurse yet, but I'm in school and get the well-intentioned but increasingly irksome "but you're so smart, why aren't you going to med school" comments on a regular basis. I feel like nursing is the smarter choice for me. I'm 31 now, and I don't want to be in school for much longer. I dated a doctor for quite some time and got to see his lifestyle intimately, but didn't feel like the money he made was worth the wear and tear on his mental health.

I'm taking statistics this term because I thought I'd work on busting out some of my BSN prereqs prior to starting the ASN program just to have them done. This class has seriously made me consider switching fields entirely.

I thought I was going to be able to apply this winter for the program starting in fall 2017, but I had misinterpreted the application requirements--I thought I had to have Writing 122 before starting the program, but it turns out I had to have it prior to applying, and I wasn't able to take it this term. So I won't be able to apply until winter 2017 for the program starting in fall 2018, but it also means that I can take my time with my remaining prereqs and not stress too much.

I did my CNA1 class at a facility that had rehab and long term care units. I personally preferred the more acute rehab patient population, but that definitely isn't the case for everyone. Nursing home clinicals will probably better equip you with the skill set you need to pass your CNA1 state boards. I'd be tempted to go with the facility that offered tuition reimbursement, but make sure you really read through the conditions of accepting those funds--you might find it's not worth it. I might have shot myself in the foot with my tuition reimbursement.

A&P 1 Statistics Human relations I don't have many classes left to go, but the ones I do have to be taken in sequence, so it's all very drawn out. I have to have microbiology to apply, but A&P 3 is the prereq for micro, and A&P 3 can't be taken until after A&P 2, etc. I took math 111 and nutrition over the summer and killed it, so I'm hoping I can keep my motivation and grades up!

I have prior college credit from 10+ years ago so luckily I'm done with electives and humanities and got all A's back then. I'm hoping to get some of the classes that can be taken during the nursing program out of the way before applying (A&P 2 and 3, microbiology, etc), and some other classes that aren't necessarily prereqs but are awarded extra "points" during the application process (medical terminology, CNA which I did nearly 8 years ago). I tested in to Math 095 which is the only prereq math class, so I lucked out there as I only need to take that one math class. This term I'm doing an 8 credit cell biology/healthcare chemistry combination that's a prereq to the A&P series at my school. Provided everything goes well, I'm hoping to be able to apply to the program at this time next year if I do summer classes, but I'm also willing to wait until the year after that if it means I can save up more money and keep up my 4.0.

Picked up this past Christmas Eve for an evening shift monitor tech. I've been on day shift for about 6 months now and had somehow blissfully forgotten that evening shift is when the crazies really start coming out of the woodwork. I got absolutely ripped a new one by a delightful visitor because it was 9 pm and we didn't have any gift wrap on the unit. I suggested they try checking our nearby 24 hour Walmart, which I guess was entirely inappropriate of me to do. I didn't realize that gift wrap was something normally stocked in hospitals. Oops. My bad. I've secretly been writing absolutely ridiculous requests and submitting them in the "compliments or complaints" box in the family lounge on our unit because our census has been in a holding pattern for months and it gets slow at the monitor desk when I'm not being berated over gift wrap.