mrsoly2010

There is truth to being understaffed, overworked, and underpaid. I have been a CNA for just over a year, I did home health briefly, but I really prefer the hospital environment. I highly recommend working as a CNA to any one who plans on being a nurse. It gives you the perspective of being in that position before you are an RN using the help of a CNA. It does get hectic sometimes, and there are days that I feel like I do not make enough for some of the things I have to do, but my patients make it worth it. I have a job that not only helps me build on nursing skills to make me a better nurse one day, but I also get the opportunity everyday to make someone feel better. It is so unbelievably rewarding!

It looks doable to me. Any BIO class requires a lot of attention. Everyone is a little different, especially considering some people have jobs and families while going to school. I don't have kids, but I will still be working about 30 hours a week in the fall and taking on a course load of Microbiology, Physiology, Speech, and Sociology. If you want to succeed bad enough anything is possible.

I know how you feel! When I first started on my floor over a year ago, we were so understaffed that there would be days I would have 22 patients and be expected to train a new PCT on an extremely heavy med/surg floor. Keep in mind that this was my very first job as a CNA ever. Now things have gotten a lot better, and at worst I will have 10 patients. It is not safe for our patients though. I was constantly talking to managers about how dangerous this was when I would have this many patients! Nothing happened for months, but after some management changes things changed for the better. Hope the same happens for you!

I do this all the time! I just found out I will be starting nursing school in Spring 2015. The floor I work on currently is full of young nurses. I'm 23 years old and I chose not to go to college right after high school because I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. Then when I was 21 I decided I wanted to be a nurse, and have been working on pre-reqs since. When I first started working in a hospital, it was hard for me to see these nurses that were 20. I know I'm not that much older, but I feel like if I would have just figured out my goals in life earlier that would be me. I've learned not to let it get to me. Yes, it took me longer to decide to go to nursing school, but I've also gained a lot of life experience in that time. At this point I've been working on a med/surg floor for over a year and have learned so much just from working with patients. I know this will make things so much easier once I start nursing school. We are all in this together! It doesn't matter how long it took you to make this decision, the important thing is that you have made the decision to go in to a field where you can help others everyday. That is what I think about when I am having a "down" day.

I am getting my ADN first and then immediately after, work on my BSN while working as an RN. My employer will be requiring BSN in the near future, but you can be hired on as long as you are working on your BSN. I already have a job as an RN on the current med/surg floor I work on as a PCT once I graduate. It all works out because my goal is to be an ER/trauma or ICU nurse, and these jobs typically require you to have med/surg experience.

Thank you! And yes, I do have lab with Microbiology and Physiology. It's going to be tough, but I'm sure I can handle it.

Hello Everyone! I just need to air out some nervous/excited energy. After two years of going to school part-time to finish all of my pre-reqs for nursing school, I have finally been put on my school's waiting list. Much to my surprise, I am getting in much earlier than expected. When I first applied at my school I was told that once I finish my pre-reqs, the waiting list for the RN program would be about two years. Because I pay for my schooling myself, and this schools program is affordable and known to be an amazing nursing school, I was willing to wait. When I met with an adviser a couple days after passing my entrance exams, I was told I will probably be starting in Spring 2015! I was so blind-sided that I didn't know what to think. I've been dying to get in to nursing school since I was a teenager, but now reality is setting in that it is about to happen. Currently I work as a PCT on a fairly busy med/surg floor, and it is an amazing learning experience. Not only that, but I am lucky enough to have a manager that wants her staff to succeed to the point that when I told her that I would be able to start school early, she helped me get approved for tuition assistance ASAP and work out my schedule to give myself a good work/school balance. This fall I am going to take on a full-time load to get all the classes I can done before I start in the nursing program this coming spring. I'm taking on Microbiology, Physiology, Sociology, and Speech (YIKES!!!) I know I seem a little overwhelmed right now, but I couldn't be more excited! I can't wait for the experience of nursing school! If anyone has an advice for a working nursing student please let me know. Any helpful advice is welcome!