studentnurse3

Hi! Anyone else driving a long distance to go to Fort Morgan Community College? I am looking to start in their LPN-ADN program and will be driving 92 miles one direction! They are my only option at this point because I cannot get a private loan (I was accepted to DSN) so now I need to go a cheaper route but the distance is way long! Just curious to see if anyone has driven this far or more to attend school! Thanks.

Hi everyone! I have a question I need help with. I am an LPN who wants to be an RN. I have already spent 30K on my prereqs and first year and a half of nursing school for an ADN. Unfortunately I had to withdraw from my community college due to a family emergency two years ago and then I was readmitted for the next semester and failed Med/Surg II so I am unable to reapply to this community college. I am looking at transferring to a BSN program at a college close to me and it will cost approximately 58K so in total for me to become an RNBSN, I will have 80K in student loans. My question I need help with is whether or not this will pay off for me in the long run. I am 41 years old and I figure I have 20+ years of working before I can think of retiring. Is there any RNs out there that can offer any advice on whether I should pursue this and rack up this huge student loan or if I should call it quits because the price is just too high. I would appreciate anyone's opinion on this.

Vanderth, I agree... I don't know where the defensiveness is coming from either. I, like you, am just trying to get the word out that if any current or future DSON or even Platt College students want to work at Children's or University then they better realize that they won't get hired because of the lack of accreditation. Like you said, research the schools very carefully otherwise you might end up without a job that you thought you would have!

This accredidation can take years is the point. Right now it does not matter that they are in the "process" of getting this. The fact is that University and Childrens WILL NOT hire these grads at this time. They need to have ALL the accredidations in place. The nursing manager on my floor sent out an email telling nursing students that if they are attending DSON or Platt College that if they want to work at Children's then they might want to reconsider where they are getting their education if they want to work here.

I work at Children's and it is now their policy that they WILL NOT hire anyone from DSON or Platte College as they are not fully accredited. I personally know of two DSON graduates who did get hired but they were lucky because they got hired just before their policy was changed. Rethink DSON.

Count me in too. I start January 20. We are using Microbiology by Cowan, 2nd Edition.

Why do you want to move to Colorado? Why not stay in Texas?

For any of you out there who work the 3-11 shift whether as a nurse or as a CNA or unit secretary, do you feel that you don't get to see your kids as often because of this shift? Does this shift affect your relationships with your kids and husband/wife? I'm looking for some advice on how to deal with this shift as I am feeling like I never get to see the family except on the weekends. Am I overreacting or is this really the case? I feel like I am at work more than I am with the family To make things worse, I'm constantly being reminded how sucky this shift is if you have a family!! Thanks for any advice out there!!

Trixy819: That is very interesting if it is true!! I currently am working on my last prereq. and if DSON now allows you to attend while you are completing the prereqs then maybe I could start there earlier than I thought. When you find more information out Monday, will you pass it on? That would be great!! Thanks

Hi RNs! I have a question for you that has been bugging me since I've been taking my elementary algebra class. In order to be a nurse do you need to be very good in the math area? General math I am fine with but any math that involves algebra I am just not that great with since I don't use it on a daily basis. As a result of that I am having to take elementary algebra in order to be up to standards of where my CC wants nursing students to be at. I realize that most likely if I had to do algebra on a daily basis I would probably be more comfortable with it and better at it. What type of math do you as nurses deal with on a day to day basis? Any input on what I can expect as I make this journey into nursing school regarding math would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your time and your input.

I heard the same thing about University of Colorado Hospital--does anyone know if they too only hire BSNs or will they hire ADN? Thanks!!

thank you all for easing my mind! now i can worry about one less thing!!

Hi, I have a question for the new nurses out there. How much of AP I & II are you expected to remember when you start nursing school? The reason I am asking is because where I am at there is a three year wait to get into the nursing school and I am worried that by the time my number is called I will have forgotten a lot of what I learned in these two classes. Are you expected to remember most of what was learned? I'm really worried about this as I still have about a two year wait and I will be finishing up 202 at the end of the summer and I have already forgotten some of what was presented in 201! Please advise!! Thank you!!

I totally understand and I wasn't offended by what she said and I certainly wasn't trying to offend anyone either. My point was that passing over people with Cs isn't fair to them either. Just because someone enters the program with lower grades than the other person doesn't mean that the one with the lower grades will flunk out or will not be prepared for the program. It's not fair to make assumptions like that.

That's not necessarily true, I have a friend who has been a nurse for 12 years and she got Cs in her science courses and she did perfectly fine in school. The Cs she received did not hurt her one bit. She is a superb nurse by the way.

I think the best schedule for you with kids would be the 3-11:30 pm shift since you would still be able to spend time with the kids in the morning and early afternoon and then they would only have to be in child care for a few hours rather than all day.That is the shift I will be looking for when my youngest starts kindergarten next year. Just my thoughts. Good luck!

How do you go about checking with the local hospitals to see if they will pay for the CNA classes? Just wondering since when the hospitals list an open CNA job they want you to already be a CNA and I am thinking bout becoming a CNA while I'm on the wait list and in nursing school so any information you could provide about contacting the hospitals/nursing homes would be great and saving money is a plus! Thanks

that's what i keep asking myself. how will it be to not see the kids very often and how will i handle it? that is why i wanted to get input from people who have done that shift and how it affected them and their kids. if i did take it and then decided i didn't like it i could more than likely get another mt job at home but the pay won't be as good per line as what i make now per line so that would mean i would have to do more work for less pay to get back to what i was making at the 1st mt job. so that is why i want to make sure i make the right decision and not regret it. i guess if i took the job and didn't like it, after a year, i believe, i would be able to transfer to a different department or different shift if it was available so i guess that is an option.

How long did you work the 3-11 shift? I think I would have quit as well if my daughter or sons said that. I would feel a lot of guilt. Believe me, that thought, along with many other thoughts regarding my kids and what I may or may not miss have crossed my mind while contemplating this job move. A friend, with kids, did ask me, "How bad could it be, at least you will be able to get away from the kids for a while and get benefits you don't currently get." At this moment we can't afford for me to work a day job at a hospital or doctor office basically because of the cost of daycare which is ridiculous!! My whole paycheck would go just for daycare. I don't know how people work and pay for daycare and still support themselves??? I don't want to work just to pay for daycare and it seems that is what I would be doing. Anyways, thanks for your input!

Thanks for the advice. I really appreciate everyone's advice. I didn't think I would get so much objective advice to consider.

I'm waiting to get into Arapahoe Community College, most likely a three year wait.

My husband thankfully :) supports whatever decision I make although he has told me that he thinks I would be making a mistake by not taking the job based on the fact of how much work I currently do at home and if I did take the job he feels that I would have more time with the kids when they are off from school and on weekends because I wouldn't be focused on finishing up my work that has to get done that day and I would be able to focus on the kids without worrying about getting my work done. I will go do my 8 hours and then I am done. I can leave work at work whereas working at home my work is always here. I can see his point. I've been working at home for 10 years and my work has always been here. But he has also said that whatever I decide is fine and we will figure out if some adjustments need to be made in order to make ends meet.

I took your advice and we had a family meeting and it turned out that my husband says yes take it for financial reasons, my older son says take it, my two younger ones say don't take it. So I'm back to the drawing board again. I just don't know what I will do. Thanks for taking the time to offer me the advice.

My children are 12, 8 and 4 (5 in August). I would see the two boys for about an hour in the morning before I take them to school and then my youngest I will see for a few hours in the a.m. and then take her to preschool and then take her to a drop in center until hubby can pick her up and pick up my 8 year old at the after school care. Does it get easier as they get older (to be away from them)?

Not sure if this is the correct forum to place this question but I have a dilemma that I need advice from you all. I'm currently a stay at home working mom as a medical transcriptionist who is on my local community college's nursing wait list. I've been offered a unit secretary position at a hospital which is the 3-11:30 shift and I am torn as to what to do. My heart tells me to stay at home with the kids but everyone I have talked to has said that the experience as a US would be great for when I finally get into nursing school. The hospital job also offers better health insurance than what my husband gets and better benefits than I get as a home based MT (no benefits, independent contractor) If I take the job I will only see my family for an hour in the morning and on weekends. Should I listen to my heart and stay put or do what might be better for the future and our pocketbook with regard to a more stable job and better benefits than I currently have? Has anyone been in this situation where they had kids at home and worked the 3-11:30 shift? Any advice you can offer would be greatly appreciated!!