nkeele

I am now almost done with an RN program and I am just now working a lot. I did not work at all during my first year of the program, then last summer I got a job as a nurse tech and worked the summer, once school was back in session I only worked here and there. I got my LPN in January and worked full time this summer. I am working on-call but getting 30+ hours a week, this may be too much and I may have to cut back- we'll see. If I were you I would not just put in at Clark, if you can drive I would put in at Lower Columbia College in longview- you get more practical experience! You are required to have your NAC prier to testing, but you can take the LPN exam after the 1st 4 quarters, so you can work to gain experience, confidence and have extra money during your last year. At clark it is just an RN program. I am an LCC student and probably a little biased, but I do know my employer LOVES LCC grads!!! You actually should put in to all the nursing programs within driving area because you can always turn one down but as competitive as nursing programs are dont count on getting in your first time!

If you want a true range search the web for hospitals- like providence, legacy, peacehealth, find their websites and search the employment most have starting wage+ shift/weekend differentials. I am from SW washington, so I am not familiar with seattle area hospitals other than reputation- everything I have heard about overlake is good. Up there you will have to deal with trafic no matter what! I know the hospital here in town starts new RN's at $23-24 plus $2 for weekends, like $2 for eve and $4 for noc (off the top of my head- so not exact) and the starting is aprox the same maybe a little higher in Vancouver- about 35 miles S of me, but the hospitals are bigger and have 12 hour shifts. There is a lot of rain, but this is a beautiful state!!

We are not allowed to record lecture at the nursing school I attend. If I were you I would check to make sure you are OK to record before doing it. We have small classes in a small community and we some times discuss clinical experiences (no names of course), but since its a small community if the person who recorded the lecture were to go listen to it in a public place and someone were to hear us discussing a clinical experience there would be a problem. Even without names!

I think you have to understand everyones reaction to an LPN making $7.00 per hour, that is unheard of- maybe a CNA, but $7.00 wouldnt even allow you to repay the student loans it took to get through school! I dont think anyone is attacking you, I think everyone is just shocked because I know I would not work as an LPN for that!!!!! It is unfortunate that this is how it is in your area!

I checked because I was on Washington's website downloading forms to apply for a Nurse Tech certificate and I saw the link to check licences. Once you get there you can check licences for all healthcare workers- physicians to massage therapists, all you need is their licence type and their name, so I checked my own to see what it would say. It gave me my CNA licence number (that is all I have now), the original date I got it, when I last renewed, when I am due to renew, and that I have no actions against it. So- the reason I checked is because I saw the link- that I did not know existed and I wanted to know what personal information was available.

I know in Washington State all you need is their name because I checked mine. It will give you the licences held, the licence #, whether they are active or not and if there have been any actions taken against any of these licences.

$7 an hour for an LPN- I am making more than that as an CNA right now and as soon as my nurse tech certificate goes through I will make $15.00. I know where I live our LPN's make around $17.00 an hour starting, RN's over $20. I dont live in a big city, we only have one local hospital, but I do think wage is a little higher than average on the west coast.

I am also from Washington and I know when I took my test for the state there were several girls from Vancouver who were taking their test, they took the class and got licenced for a senior project. If I were you I would contact a college close by and find out if they have a class open, I know for my school we had to have our CNA in order to enroll in the nursing program.

I had to use "full precautions", possibly because I am a student and my instructor wanted me to get that experience because I did see other staff going in and out of the patients room without the mask and gown, but all of us students did the full deal!

My first experience with a patient on isolation precautions was my second quarter of school, my first patient that quarter. She has respiratory MRSA and was on full precautions, I had never had to gown, mask, ect before and I was pretty freeked out- I did not want to go in, then once I was in there I did not want to come out because I did not want to bring anything out with me. The facility I was at had all the equipment in the room, so that was not an issue for me but I understand how nervous someone can be their first time dealing with someone on precautions.