Jamiejill7

A lot of great articles! Congratulations to all who were selected

Hey guys, all I see in the packet is the one page quiz and the signature page, so two pages...is this all we submit?

I may have taken it a little too personally before, I understand I have a long way to go and I appreciate any advice seasoned nurses can give me to get to where you guys are now. I feel like every nurse believes their specialty to be the best because it is what they enjoy the most; all specialties are important and offer a different attribute to nursing. My passion is Emergency Nursing and trauma, which may not be every other nurse's cup of tea. Thank you all for adding important points to consider.

I just now saw this, I'm so sorry!

I called them two weeks ago to ask and they said it would be today, they also said they'd send an email out..looking forward to meeting with everyone today í ½í¸Š

Thank you for not taking this article as seriously as others have. I really appreciate NOT being picked apart.

I appreciate all the criticism, and I say criticism because that's all I've received. This was an expository writing piece, not a research article. This was from my point of view, and if you don't like what I have to say, don't read it. My nursing experience is actually in hospice by the way, not a nursing home, and yes, I have seen plenty of suffering during my extremely short time being a nurse. I've also seen my mom post-CPR, hooked up to a vent with a thousand tubes and lines in her, watching the nurses perform a three hour code on her, knowing she wouldn't make it, but clinging to a miracle. I'm not stupid, I know not everyone makes it. In my opinion, after seeing that, I have seen the worst. Call me crazy, I'm still a young nurse that's excited to be a nurse and I'm not burnt out yet, but I don't think I should be ridiculed for it.

I submitted two different articles, is that all that we need to do in order to compete? Good luck to everyone :)

Hi Sanja, Sorry for the late reply, I've been out of town. I will be there and would be glad to forward some information to you. Have you ordered your uniforms from Castle, yet? I ordered mine last week and they said it could take up to six rather than four, so I would jump on that whenever you can. Congratulations! :) -Jamie

I know it's 3-5 years at least of RN experience but I also know that all six hospitals will hire ADNs as long as they have a plan for getting their BSN within a set amount of years. Although being an LPN won't count toward flight nurse experience, I'm hoping that between that and my EMT experience, it'll get my foot in the door for a trauma center. I'm still researching, though. Thank you guys for the advice!

You are transporting a patient whose only hope is you and your team. Your limited space, the weight of your equipment, and the limited time you have to help your patient are all working against you, yet you do everything you can to defeat the odds. What does it take to be a flight nurse? Misconceptions There are many misconceptions about this line of work, including a very good paycheck, getting paid to travel, and the perk of being able to work outside the normal working environment for a nurse. With so many reasons for becoming a flight nurse, why wouldn't everyone want to become one? When working hard every day you go to work, you can hope for a good pay check to reward you for all the work you've done. Often, a lot of this work can be overlooked, including the hours beyond your normal load. Many flight nurses work on salary; this means that, in a way, there is no limit of the amount of hours a flight nurse may work in a week. Picture this: you're on a helicopter transferring a patient a hundred miles or more from where you're stationed. By the time you get back to the base, you have an hour left of your shift, and you get a call from an hour or two away. Are you just going to wait for the next shift to get it? Flight nurses are considered the creme of the crop because they're willing to put patients' needs in front of their own. Have you ever wanted to see the world but wanted to get paid to do it? Many nurses believe that flight nursing is similar to travel nursing, which allows you to see new places and change your location frequently. Although this is true, flight nurses usually do not see anything besides the walls of a hospital when transporting patients. Since the patients that flight nurses transport have such a high acuity, they can't afford to waste time by sightseeing and checking out new places nearby; they must be ready to go when another emergency presents itself. When on the clock, flight nurses are consumed in the well-being of others, not play time. The many areas of nursing can go on forever: hospitals, nursing homes, rehabilitation center, clinics, etc. Although the emergency department and intensive care units can offer the driven, adrenaline-hungry individual a place to "play," some nurses don't want to stay in a typical workplace for too long. The helicopter can seem like an exciting work environment; what many nurses overlook is the small quarters of the helicopter, which is occupied by the patient, the flight nurse, and often additional staff responsible for the patient. There are often restrictions on height and weight for flight nurses, which narrows the pool of applicants greatly. A flight nurse must be able to perform life-saving procedures without much room to roam. Flight Nursing Challenges With all the challenges of flight nursing, you may ask why my dream is to become one. When I think of flight nursing, I think of the ultimate sacrifices that these nurses are making. Rather than spending time with their family, they'll miss a birthday party to treat a dying patient. Instead of getting to bed on time, they'll spend two hours beyond their shift to transport a patient who would otherwise not make it if they'd waited for the next shift. I want to be a flight nurse because I feel like it would be the ultimate job to be able to save a person's life. This patient could be someone's grandmother, mother, father, sister, or baby brother, and at the end of the day, I would know that I took a front-row seat to help them stay around a little longer. Although I know there's a chance that a patient may be lost, the possibility that I can impact a patient's life in such a large way makes me passionate about flight nursing. Considering that not everyone can do it, flight nursing is a very challenging yet rewarding line of work. Although many sacrifices must be made in a nurse's life to become one, the many lessons and what you gain from this field are well worth it.

Hey guys, I will be beginning the bridge program at GTCC in May and will graduate May of 2016. My dream career in nursing is to become a flight nurse, which I already know requires 3-5 years at least in a level I trauma center or ICU. I currently have two years' experience in the emergency department as an EMT and a year experience so far as an LPN in hospice (I just graduated last year). I also have my BLS, ACLS, PALS, ITLS, and NIHSS. Through my research, I've found that the level I trauma centers in NC include Duke, UNC, Baptist, Wake Med, ECU/Greenville, and Charlotte. Does anyone know how difficult it is for an ADN to land a job in either the ED or ICU at any of these hospitals? Does LPN and EMT experience help at all? Thank you in advance! Sincerely, Jamie

I just did too, so happy!! I will be seeing you in two weeks, congratulations to you as well, classmate!

That makes me feel better, I've heard its a really good school. Do you know what the pass rate is as far as the actually class goes?

I've applied and I'm not so patiently waiting for a letter...I heard that the ADN program's deadline had been extended because there wasn't enough applicants; I'm hoping that this won't affect how quickly we hear back from GTCC. I spoke with Tiffany Monday and she said that she hopes to send out the letters by next week. I have 59 total points and GTCC is my first choice. Good luck to all of you!!! -Jamie