onesmallspark

Hi! I am seriously considering getting my BSN via the Navy, but I've been reading a lot of posts on the regular boards that give me pause. Some of the posts make nursing conditions sound unbearable at best. Understaffing, pay that's a joke, bad attitudes... Is this the same in the military??? I want to work as a team with people who are going to support me and that I can support in return. I'm not into "politics" and stepping on others to get ahead and that sounds like that happens a LOT in civilian nursing. Please let me know your thoughts on military nursing in general. Is there any particular branch that is "better"? Right now I'm looking at the Navy because of their signup incentives, but are the incentives there because it's an undesirable branch? I just want to be well informed and recruiters are great, but will always put their best foot forward - I want the down and dirty!! :)

Maybe it has something to do with your dosage. I was on paxil 12.5 very briefly and never had any side effects at all - not when I went on and not when I came off.

I'm not sure where you're located, but in my area (DALLAS, TX) some churches offer Spanish classes. All the community colleges around here offer them as well.

HAAAAAAHahaaHAHAAAAAHAaaHAAAA!!!!! I LOVE IT!!

Yeah - I've heard that. *sigh* It's depressing. I've been looking in the paper and on hospital websites and it seems like they all (even LTC and assisted living) want experience of at least 3 months. Where are we supposed to get experience if no one will hire us without experience??? Sheesh! I have to echo Faeriewand's comment - this thread has been EXTREMELY informative for me (which of course was it's original intent) and I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has posted and to those who will post in the future!

Ooooo..... I REALLY like this idea! Thanks so much for the suggestion!

I don't know where you work, but you definitely need to apply for FMLA - especially if you work full time. FMLA GUARANTEES you have your job and benefits held for you a specific length of time. It also means they cannot LEGALLY discipline you for the abscences. Check with your company's benefits department. Good luck with your surgery!

I would guess that would mean cleaning up the body for the funeral home or for the family if they weren't present at the time of death. I don't know for sure.

I get the feeling you don't/didn't like being a CNA... Did/do you have more experience in a hospital or LTC setting? Wouldn't I have to take the same CNA classes to be a medical assistant in an MD's office? What does a phlebotomy tech do? Also - one thing I guess I should also explain. While I already mentioned that I would use the CNA certificate to allow me to work in a healthcare setting while I'm (hopefully) in school, I failed to mention that it's also going to give me a direct advantage over other applicants to the program since acceptance is based on a points system. I get extra points for HAVING the certificate (even if I never used it) and I also get extra points for actually working in the healthcare field (based on time worked). PS - anyone know what the general salary range for a CNA in the Dallas area is?

Ooooooo..... good question. I'm really interested in seeing what people say. My former roommate worked at a nursing home and it always ended up that I was the one getting sick from whatever it was that she "brought home". I wasn't even IN the healthcare field. She always seemed to stay well - I guess maybe she just had a stronger immune system than I did...

First of all - forgive me if I offended anyone with my choice of wording (i.e. -diapers) or if anyone felt slighted by my calling the duties "just". I have obviously displayed my naïveté with the finer points of this field of work. Please accept my apologies. :imbar Secondly - I am REALLY EXCITED about this field after reading these posts!! Please keep the info coming!

Here's a link I thought might have some good info. I found it while doing a google search. http://nursingassistantcentral.homestead.com/

Geez... that makes it sound pretty grim.

I'm a secretary right now and am thinking of becoming a CNA to get some hands-on experience in the healthcare field while I go to school to be a nuclear medicine technologist (if I can get accepted). I really love helping people (especially pediatrics) and I had a psychic tell me once that I have "healing hands" (whatever that means). Anyway I need to know the down and dirty of being a CNA. I want your best and your worst stories. I want to know what all being a CNA means - do I just clean up vomit, change diapers/flush Foleys or is there more? I want to know if you love it - I want to know if you hate it. Nurses - what do you love about your CNA's - and what's your biggest peeve? I have soooo many questions... Am I only assigned to one specific nurse all the time or do I get rotated? What if my nurse hates me? Am I assigned to only one area of the hospital or will I get to know my patients? Do scrubs come in tall sizes (I'm 5'8)? Do I have to do anything "needle-related"? Do I have to insert catheters? Are CNA's respected or do they just get dumped on? I noticed that most hospitals in the Dallas area want CNA's with 3 months experience or more - where am I supposed to get that if no one will hire me without experience?? HEEEEEEELP!!! Flood me with your knowledge and wisdom....

My grandparents had made an agreement that whoever "went first" would send a sign (if possible) to let the remaining person know that they were okay and watching over them. If the person's spirit could come back, the sign would be that a specific knick-knack shelf would be knocked off the wall. My grandfather fell asleep at the wheel of his truck in 1978, went off the road, and hit a concrete embankment. He was still alive when they brought him to the ER, but died shortly thereafter. When my grandmother returned home from the hospital (she was alone - it happened so fast none of the family was there yet), that exact knick-knack shelf was laying the in middle of the living room floor. That sign gave my grandmother considerable comfort because she knew without a doubt that it was grandpa telling her he was okay. For those of you who have been reading through this whole thread - my grandmother that I'm talking about in this post is the same one that I talked about in a previous post - she's the one my mother is convinced came to the family after her death as a huge snow white dog.

STUDENT TO STUDENT??? You mean I practice on one of my fellow students and then they stick ME??? :uhoh21: I'm not a student yet - what is an IM, SC and ID??

Oh geez.... that one really made me tear up! (but in a good way!)

This isn't a nursing story, but the black dog reminded me of something. When my grandmother passed away it was very sudden and unexpected. She was at the home she had shared with my grandfather and raised her children in and was in full control of her mind and "faculties" as she always said she wanted to go. Anyway, when the family started arriving in town (we were coming from all parts of the US) there was a HUGE snow white dog at the house. Grandma didn't own a dog and it didn't belong to any of the neighbors. The dog acted very familiar with everyone and "greeted" us as we arrived like it had always known our family. It followed us around when we were outside and hung out on the porch when we were inside. The dog sat on the porch and watched us all leave for the funeral and was gone when we got back. No one ever saw it again. My mom is convinced that the dog was my grandmother's spirit greeting her family who hadn't been together in at least 15 years.

I'm kind of squeamish around needles (which I'll have to get over I know) and I was just wanting some advice and/or personal stories on how you learned the best way to give injections/IV's and not be so afraid of hurting the patient. Thanks!

I thought shadows weren't allowed for HIPPA reasons. Is that interpreted different in every facility? I would definitely be interested in doing that. Does anyone know of a hospital in the Dallas area that allows shadows? I had the volunteer idea as well. I sent in my paperwork about a month ago to become a volunteer at one of the local hospitals, but no one has contacted me yet.

I'm not so much worried about a particular skill set, but I was thinking being a CNA would give me a strong indication of what the work environment is like for a nurse without having to have all the school.

Has anyone tried the "Comfort Clogs" from http://www.allheart.com? I have a very narrow foot and wondered how wide they are. I also wondered just what sort of quality they are since they're only $10.98

OH. MY. GOSH. I've just gotta say that reading this thread has been MORE than enlightening. It honestly never occured to me some of the stuff that nurses do - ie: clip toenails, suction stuff, deal with *shudder* vomit and poop... I figured that I could deal with the blood, but this other stuff just makes my scalp tingle! Maybe I'll go into Radiology after all... :chuckle

What is a PCT? Patient Care Tech? (I'm guessing here) What is the difference between it and a CNA? And what does "d/c a Foley" mean? I'm still a newbie and don't understand all the abbreviations yet. (Honestly I feel downright stupid trying to figure some of these out :uhoh21: ) Also - the class I'm referring to that's 4 months is a college class and is considered a "semester" but it only meets once a week for 12 weeks for 8 hours at a time. It's $500, but they don't include the cost of the book, uniform or insurance so I assumed it would be prudent to estimate another $100 for those supplies. (Just wanted to clarify that since several people commented on the length of the class)

I'm trying to decide if I want to make the effort and expense of becoming an RN (especially in light of what I've read in some of the BB posts) and I was thinking that becoming a CNA (which would only take about 4 months and $600) would be a good indicator of whether or not the nursing field would "be for me", as well as giving me a leg up when it comes to getting into school/applying for a job. Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Also - how much math is used when being a nurse? I'm not very strong in math skills.