Balto

I work a 12 hour/minimum per month. All I do is self schedule from the open shifts list. I can do anything from a 4 to a 12 hour shift depending on my schedule. Unlike twiglette, they do not cancel my shift because my unit is always in need of PCTs. They would prefer to have one of their own come in than use the float pool. I do not know how you hired as per diem from the get-go. I have been full time at my facility since May. At the end of August when school starts, that is when I switch to per diem.

Don't come with heavy makeup or outrageous colors. The bright lights of the floor can make that stand out (not in a good way). Keep it light, fresh and natural. Personally, I don't wear makeup. My skin is too sensitive.

I love the per diem option! The requirement is a minimum of 12 hours/month but I do more hours than that. Get your foot in the door now & it'll help you in the long run as a new grad.

PCTs have their CNA and even more experience. CNAs are mostly in nursing homes. PCTs are in the hospital and do more skilled tasks. (This is based on their roles in my state.)

I started as an extern in the ER & was then hired as a tech after the extern period was over. My ER hires people with no experience & trains them. The other staff love it because when you first start working, you are supervised & have to get 20 supervised sticks before you can do them on your own. So the orientee gets asked to do all the sticks needed until then. It is a great place to learn the skills not taught in nursing school.

I did not have one until my military SO got deployed, so I created one to message him & keep in contact. I love the anonymous nature of AN. I could pass right by any of you on the street & not even know it... Facebook gets irritated with me because only a small percentage of my profile is "complete". Anytime I log on, it constantly reminds me to update where I went to high school or what my favorite movie is.

This is very encouraging, especially to me since I too am walking away from a guaranteed job. I am glad to know I am not the only one In the words of Robert Frost, "I took the road less traveled by and that has made all the difference".

Well you aren't even dating yet, so why worry? Nursing school is only 2 years. If your relationship is meant to be, then it will be. Focus on school so you can be successful in the future & allow him to do so as well. Use technology to keep in touch with him.

I made my own by following the course topics/objectives for each & typing up my own "guide" from my class & textbook notes. It was time consuming though and not realistic with the amount of material covered in med surg.

People constantly talk about the diverse career opportunities available to a licensed nurse (like educator, administrator, legal consult, etc). I love reading different opinions and anecdotes from others, so these questions are open to any nurse users on this site... Which roles have you been a part of as a practicing nurse? What specialties have you explored? Which was your favorite? What sort of advanced degrees did you pursue? Which direction would you like to unexpectedly take your career if you could?

Before jumping the gun, I would definitely wait until you find out for sure that you failed. The trick is just that... a trick.

Very true, missmollie. I don't see a point to this thread. Just reading the title will put people on the defensive. It challenges people who have chosen the ADN & demand that they justify their complaints/stress because it isn't as "hard".

I think they are swindling you. I have posted before on how I boycotted the university bookstore & refused to buy from them throughout pre reqs & nursing school. What started this? Originally, when I attended a community college for pre reqs, they created "special copies" of the textbook. So for my nutrition course, the college took the 12 chapters we covered, bound it & created a new special edition textbook. The bookstore then charged $80 & you couldn't find it elsewhere because they gave it its own ISBN. When I tried to get my other books bought back, they gave back so little that it was not worth it to purchase from there. So I started writing down the title of the book & searching for it. I bought the same textbooks (with more chapters!) for 50% or more of the original cost. I say search around & buy the textbooks elsewhere. I think your school just wants more money & is scaring students into buying from them. And the access codes? My program wanted us to have them but we never used them.

As a PP said, you should go into nursing informatics. It is an up and coming field with a blend of nursing and computer science. I would look into RN-BSN (no more tedious clinicals, just some theory courses & more gen eds) & then consider a MSN in nursing informatics. University of Maryland has a completely online program. Here is the link: Nursing Informatics | University of Maryland School of Nursing I think nursing has so many options for you even if you do not like what you see on the floor & as a bedside nurse. Not many clinical healthcare workers are additionally interested in computers so it is fortunate that you have the ability to use your nursing degree in conjunction with your technology interests.

Before nursing, I was working on a BA in gerontology. So I was required to take multiple gerontology psych ad sociology courses. These were interesting, lighter courses and helped me ace my nursing gerontology course later on. It's such a big population with the aging Baby Boomers that any course related to geriatrics will be helpful in the nursing practice.