CanteWasteWin

I said I was going to update monthly on my progress BUT it has been so hectic, so here I am now. lol I started this journey in August 2014 and it has been a difficult and very stressful chapter in my life thus far! Before starting this program I had no prior experience in the medical field so it was a huge adjustment for me. About six months into the program I decided to start working as a nurse aide at one of our local hospitals in the float pool and it definitely helped me be more comfortable in clinicals at school with the patient care and all that. I have had anxiety since I was in junior high but it has gotten worse with nursing school. My anxiety can be crippling at times but with awesome classmates and supportive instructors I have been able to make it this far and have overcome many of my fears. This experience has been scary and stressful but I am so happy I chose this career path. I'm not sure where I want to work but I DO know I want to stay with medsurg for at least a year or so but I have also fallen in love with the ED! I hope to get an opportunity to work in the ED after I'm confident enough in my skills. My instructors have told me I'd be great in home health and hospice because I have such compassion and a gentle touch. I will be moving out of state next fall and will be pursuing my BSN in our new hometown. If you're thinking about going into LPN school or are about to start just know that you CAN do it. There will be times you'll want to give up, but DON'T! We had a couple girls quit on us in our program and I know a couple of them regret it while one of them made the right choice because nursing just wasn't her thing after all. As you get through the program and towards the end you'll be amazed by how much you have learned! It's amazing and I just love this field! It is a field you will forever learn in with so many opportunities! Well, now I must get back to some pediatrics studying. Two exams to complete before Christmas break!

Well, I haven't been able to update weekly which I think is okay because its not very eventful. I am currently finishing up the LTCA portion of the program and have done lab check offs consisting of hand washing, gloving, and vital signs. While working on the LTCA portion I am also working on Fundamentals and Concepts. With Fundamentals I have a head to toe assessment check off and a glucose check off. I am maintain an A average on my check offs. Before starting the program I told myself I was striving for straight A's, and, well... that isn't happening! lol. But, it is okay, because I am still learning a lot! My classmates and instructors are great and the "senior level" students are a big help! The coolest thing we've done so far was that we were able to attend the Oklahoma Board of Nursing hearing in Oklahoma City last week. We got to hear cases of LPNs, RNs, and APRN's getting their licenses suspended and such. It was a great experience getting to see some of the common things nurses get in trouble for. We start our clinicals at the end of October over at the VA. I'll probably make my new goal to update monthly instead of weekly. So far the experience of LPN school is just reading reading reading! But I love it so far and cannot wait to get more in depth =)

Its Monday! I didn't get to post Friday or this weekend because I had family coming into town for a mud volleyball tournament we had and a softball tournament. So it was a busy weekend! Anyhoo, it is now my second week in nursing school and it is hectic!! It is a looooot of reading! I had a couple skills check offs and I took 5 quizzes and 5 exams last week. I take two of each today and one of each everyday for the rest of this week. Prepare yourself for reading a lot of information in a short period of time. I received my clinical schedule and starting end of October I will be doing LTCA at the VA hospital. I love my program so far!! Our instructors are extremely helpful but tough on us. They just want to make sure we do it right lol And my classmates are great! We all help each other out and since it is a flex program, we are all in different spots in the program. Im glad I was placed in the flex program because it allows a lot of flexibility, hence the name. lol I can be late if I need to or leave early if I need to. Some students just come in the mornings, some just come in the afternoon. Well that's all I really have right now. =)

Well there isn't much to report on from my first two days. It is a day flex program that I attend, meaning you can work at a pace of 12, 18, or 24 months. Each month we meet with our main advisor and make a contract for which modules we need to have completed by the end of that month. There is no lecture, we just do all the reading and stuff on our own and do an assignment, a quiz and an exam for each module, which each quiz and exam are proctored. I am currently contracted for the 12 month pace and I am waaaay behind. I think I am the only one in my class without med term, LTCA, and A&P completed before the class started, and everyone else seems to have medical experience or are already CNAs. So I have a lot of catching up to do but I feel that it is do-able because I have no other obligations at the moment. I don't work, I don't have any kiddos, my fiancé is completely supportive and understanding. So I believe if I work my butt off this month to complete my modules, I should be able to get ahead next month and catch up as much as possible to everyone else. I have awesome instructors and awesome classmates and we also get to work in the same classrooms as the LPN students that started in previous classes. Some are about to graduate and some are six months ahead of us. They are really helpful and so willing to answer our questions and help us figure out how to do these module things. I'll probably update more next weekend to let you all know how its going :)

Thanks y'all! I'm going to try to document as I go! I do understand that the work load will be a lot but I've been in college for a while now and I'm relying on my time management skills to help me with this process lol it may not be a long entry but it will at least be a little update. :)

That's great!! Good luck with it! I'm so excited for this journey!! =)

I begin my LPN program August 14th and I couldn't be any more excited! I've been browsing the internet for the past six months trying to gain an idea of what to look forward to. Along with asking my mom, who is a PA, and some of my other nurse friends. So as of right now I am planning on trying my best to blog weekly about my experience through nursing school, for others to refer to and also something for me to look back on. Especially those days I want to give up, I can look at this and remind myself of how badly I wanted this! I'm 24 and engaged to a wonderful man who works very hard so I can go to school full-time without having to work. Which, now that I think about it, I have no idea how I did it before! I use to work and go to school full-time up until last December. We have no kiddos and no other obligations so I'm looking forward to focusing completely on my nursing education! I have my mandatory meeting on Wednesday to meet my instructors, classmates, and to go over all the boring stuff we have to do before class starts. :)

Still can't reply on PM lol but yes, definitely will need you on lift team lol

Congrats on getting in! I received your private message but I am unable to reply due to lack of activity on the site as of right now! Again, congrats! And we are all nervous, but I'm sure you'll do great! We need more male nurses in the field! :) Keep me updated on how it all goes, sounds like we both start at the same time :)

That is what I am leaning towards most, I guess I was just confused on wondering if the Associates in Allied Health is beneficial at all but LPN seems like the best choice. Thank you for your input!

Hey y'all, I am currently a junior at my local university and I have been going to school for longer than I initially anticipated. I was first going for psychology, I wanted to go for counseling specifically. Then, I switched to physical therapy, then radiology, then nursing, then I went back to psychology. I switched a lot because I was trying to go for money but my heart is really with helping people and counseling is more of a passion of mine. I decided that I should just pursue something I will really enjoy rather than just focusing on the paycheck. Well, I have a lot of sciences and health related courses under my belt and figured my best choice is to pursue nursing and then later specialize in psych/forensic as a SANE. I have been in school for a couple years but I feel like my grades aren't competitive enough to get into the nursing programs provided at my current university. My university offers an ADN program and a BSN program and both are highly competitive. But both also offer options for LPNs. We have the LPN to RN program and the LPN to BSN program which are still competitive but not as competitive in this area. We have a vocational school right down the road that offers an LPN program which I have turned my application in for last week, deadline for applications are April 1st and program starts in June so I can finish up this semester at my university just in time, assuming I get in. I also learned this semester that I am five classes away from obtaining an Associates in Allied Health Sciences degree... So, finally, here is my question: Should I just apply to the ADN program at my university with my cruddy GPA (2.2) (which I know this probably isn't even really an option lol), or finish up those next five classes and obtain my Associate's then try applying to a nursing program, or should I continue with the process of trying to get into the LPN program, finish that then try for one of the bridge programs? I'm told my acceptance to the LPN program is very high due to my college credits, high test scores and my CPR and FA certifications so I'm not too worried about getting into that program. I'm also wondering, if I have a "not so awesome" GPA right now but I do very well in the LPN program, will that increase my chances of getting into the bridge programs? Or even if I obtain an Associate's degree, will that somehow benefit my chances of getting into a nursing program? Sorry so lengthy, but I just wanted to provide as much information as possible. Thank you all for your time and I look forward to your input and it is greatly appreciated!