plchavard

Hi, I'm a civillian, but my husband is going to be stationed in that area. I've heard that it is extremely difficult for civillian nurses to get DOD jobs there. Does anyone know if thats true? ( I currently work for the VA)

I took it there about a year ago and didn't need the CD's that came with the books. I'd say you can get by with an earlier edition, but each class is different. I took the 8 week version and have a very strong biology background,so my experience may have been different.

I'm in the same boat! I think night shift will help you learn as much as days because you have to learn to use critical thinking. Ancillary staff is not present so you will be using the critical thinking skills to decide when to call the doctor - what is a major concern vs what can wait. The more experienced nurses and management are not usually on nights- so you become more independent. At our facility we have to take on RT therapies so you may get to do breathing treatments etc. Also a lot of patients get stressed atnight because they cant sleep and the family isn't there. They are more focused on their body so you see more chest pain on the tele floor. Good luck and congrats

I'm looking for telemetry or med/surg - so I can go just about anywhere. And I really want weekend nights. Money and hours will determine where I go.

I'm so overwhelmed with studying and everything I don't even know where to start. The hospital I really wanted to go to may not have any openings for new grads . I don't know if I should be waiting until I pass boards or what. Do you just apply for an RN position and tell them you haven't graduated yet or do you apply for the intern positions? CardiacRN - you're from Tucson, any advice or info you'd like to share? You can pm me if you'd like.

Mine took about two weeks - but it was summer. Filling everything out perfectly really helps. Go ahead and send your paperwork to the BON. They will just keep everything pending until the clearance comes in.

I entered Rio in the Spring. There are rumors about difficulties finding clinical instructors but I would check directly with Rio to see if there will be a Spring Block I class.

I suggest sunrise ridge apartments. They are in the foothills at Sunrise and Swan and its around $740 a month for a 2bdr 2 bth- including utilities!!!! I have had electric bills over $300 so utilities is a big bonus. Its a slight distance about 25 minutes to UMC but the school district is one of the best in town! You'll find out that Tucson can have some pretty poorly performing school districts! Pets will require a deposit everywhere. Many places do not allow large dogs. Good luck- hope I helped

Please see your private messaging for a response

I worked at TMC as a PCT and I liked it for the most part. The cafeteria is pretty far depending on where you are but that is because the entire hospital is on one floor. Parking is more of a concern IMO. There are a ton of students mostly from PCC and U of A, but all of the charting is online which is a plus! Bid-Shift is great IMO. Lets say its your day off and you're not doing anything; you'd be willing to go in to work - for the right price. You bid on the shift and usually the person who want the least $$ gets it. Most of the time only one person will bid on a shift anyway and you get like 50% more per hour. The thing I liked least about TMC was the amount of HC I got and floating. As a PCT you can float everywhere - I think its slightly different for nurses. Lets just say my main area was with babies and I would get floated to hospice!! Its 6 months plus finished pre-req to get into the PCC program at Pima.

M.B. stepped down on June 1st from what I heard.

I also bought the constellation package from Skyscape. I love it! One thing to take into consideration is that the constellation package can be downloaded for both PDA and PC for the same price (i.e. 2 interfaces for the price of one) Davis's drug guide on PC really helps in the second semester of pharmacology where you have to type out tons of info on drugs. Just my 2 cents worth!

Congratulations you guys!! I just started block two @ Rio yesterday! I know it is supposed to be much harder, but so far I think it is going to be great - we're really getting into the details! Good luck you guys and enjoy your break.

I guess what people aren't understanding here is that there is a difference between a parent wanting to take a break - which is not a problem - and a parent who wants you to physically sit in the room and watch their child. Of course I am responsible for caring for the child and his response to his illness. But babysitting specifically for one child while the others are unattended IMO is taking things too far. As far as encouraging the parent to leave, especially in PICU where you can see the child at all times, is okay. But what about the three and four year olds on the regular peds units? The moment the child is left alone they become hysterical. Most of the three & Four year old are okay with healthcare staff until they have an IV put in thier arms or get a blood draw - after that point they lose their trust and really want and need thier parents there. I've seen a four year old get out of bed, peel off his electrodes and pull out an IV in order to follow his mom who went down the hall - in a matter of seconds. I can understand why parents wouldn't want to leave their child alone. Its sad - but true - that we get quite a few children onto our unit for anorexia. Unfortunately, someone has to be there at all times to make sure they are not purging the moment they are left unsupervised. The children on a pediatrics unit come from all walks of life, some are drug addicted, some are inmates (they come with a personal sitter), a lot are in child protective custody, some are neglected, many are alone. I'm not a bad person, or a person who doesn't care for the kids, I just simply can't babysit on demand for a parent and feel badly when the parent requests that I do and I must tell them no. (In some cases we have parents who complain to the charge because the tech won't babysit) We have child life specialists who take the children who aren't on isolation to the playroom or come to the isolation rooms to color or do puzzels with the kids. The parents should leave - if they must- during those times. We also have social workers who are willing to come in if there is a dire need for a parent to leave and the child must be watched. We also have "sitters" for extreme cases where the child is at risk of hurting themselves. There are other avenues that may be taken in extreme emergencies that don't involve asking the nurse or tech to provide one on one supervision. P.S. We also have fold-out beds in the rooms.

I'm also a "block 2" nursing student and a Tech. Here are my observations. I don't believe there is a nursing shortage in pediatrics today- as in Thursday of this week. I have noticed a huge drop in census on our peds floor since the end of RSV season. As a result many nurses get a call at 5 in the morning telling them to stay home on "hospital convienience" i.e. without pay. If this happens once a week that is a 33% drop in income due to the season. While travelers lighten the burden during the hard times - thier contracts are in jeopardy when the hard times are over. Staff nurses can be in a similar dilemma when the census falls to ten - which is now happening due to summer. I think pediatric nurses can float to units such as nursery or mother/baby but these units are so popular (as new grads may apply to them) there isn't much of a shortage there either. I think a lot of nurses do not receive a lot of respect which may cause them to leave the profession. Additionally,the wide range of opportunities in nursing make it easy to cross train into something different from bedside nursing - for example pharmaceutical sales. As far as getting more nurses into nursing I don't see there being a problem. Not only are the schools turning away ons of applicants, but record numbers of men are entering the professsion which is (unfortunately) good news for nurses! I think the problem is getting nurses to teach - a nurses salary may seem low to some - but have you seen a teacher's paycheck?

Rio salado college in Arizona offers an "online" CNA and ADN, but there are clinical requirements that are completed in person as well as exams.

This isn't about parents who have to leave to take care of the childs sibling or tend to other affairs. It's about the parent who wants and expects you to come into the room and physically sit there with their child. I have no problem with a parent leaving - so long as I know when the child was last fed and changed etc. Look at it from the other eleven parents point of view. They hit their call light because thier child peed in the bed. The light is on for a few minutes and the unit clerk answers and pages me to the room. I don't answer the page because I am fulfilling the parent's wish to stay in the room with that child- the other child is lying in wet sheets. Or a new admit comes in and thier vitals aren't taken for a half hour because I missed the five minutes between when the child first walks in and the when doctors arrive -limiting access to the child. The weight and height of the child isn't measured and then the child codes. What about the child that doesn't get to eat because you are watching another kid instead of passing out trays. As a military wife I understand what it is like to not have anyone else to care for my child. But I don't expect someone to stop doing their job in order to give me a break. We offer the parents guest trays, we bring them everything they need for thier kids, milk, diapers, clothing, toys etc. We bring the parents coffee, donuts, snacks and water. I just feel that it is unreasonable for a parent to stop and ask me to sit with thier kid so that they can go out and smoke while other children have needs that are my responsibility to care for. As for the original poster - I would have brought her the milk myself - we don't expect our parents to need to get anything for their kids - we even supply breastpumps! I love and adore all of the children that are in my care but if I babysit for one I am neglecting the others.

I feel really strongly about this situation. As a tech, I alway make sure that the parents have diapers, milk,food etc. Most times we are given around 12 patients because it is expected that the parents will be taking care of their kids. We are responsible for setting up rooms, admissions vitals, post-op vitals, Q4 vitals, Q2 Input and output, walking out discharges, collecting labs, passing out trays, bed baths,restocking rooms, walking patients to precedures and picking them up, answering call light after call light, making beds, auditing rooms , and so forth. Every time the 2 year old pulls off his electrodes we have to run to the room and stick them back on. Taking bp's on younger kids takes forever because they won't be still. The babies without parents have to be fed and changed - I'm the one who runs to the room when that child cries. Parents are constantly asking me to watch their kids for them while the go get something to eat and I do feel that its rude. If I really like the parent I will do it, but those times I do I fall behind on my charting, miss pages, and someone else's call light goes unanswered - which i have to answer for. Most parents want a "babysitter" around 12 - the same time that 12 o'clock vitals are due, the parent-less baby needs to be fed, trays must be passed and "covering" for another tech goes on. A new admit may come in while the parent is gone, another patient may need to go to radiology, another patient may need to be walked back from MRI. Many people are being discharged at this time as well. I simply do not have the time to babysit for my patients. I'd guess 50% of parents ask for this service and quite often for an adolescent. No one would dream of asking a doctor to babysit - so why should I be treated any differently. It is the parent's job to take care of their child. When I have a few moments to spare I will give the parent a break- but while I'm dedicating my time to one child eleven or more go unattended.

So now we dont have to wear the white pants??? Where is that posted - that would be so great because I am so paranoid when wearing white. Where are you getting the right color pants from? The same place as the tops? Fill me in-clinicals start in 2 weeks!!

Here is a link to info on TMC's programs - looks like a three year contract for the ADN. http://www.tmcaz.com/Working/nursing_education.html

Actually TMC here in Tucson will sponser you to go to PCC and you get in very quickly. The sponsorship thing is at TMC and Carondelet. TMC has their own BSN & ADN spots. The BSN is through NAU distance learning, I think. ADNs are through Rio Salado and PCC. I recently heard you must work at TMC for 3 months to apply - I think it was previously 6 months. After you graduate, you owe them your life! I'm not sure exactly how long the contract is for, but it is for a while. Carondelet has the same three schools I believe, I know PCC and Rio are the ADN schools. There is an "on-site" RN-BSN through NAU. As a military spouse - I could never even consider these options. I'm not sure I would if I did have several years in Tucson. breaking a contract means paying back an inflated tuition. For example UofA has an accelerated program that requires a 3 year contract. Breaking the contract costs $28,000!! (for one year of school) I've heard estimates of 18,000 for pima (but pima only costs around $55/credit). For those on the waitlists its a quick way in- but at a price.

I took nutrition online through Rio Salado college. It was a great class and used videos to suppliment the reading. Not sure about the cost. In state it is $55 per credit hour (AZ).

Exactly as stated!! Study the quizzes!

I have taken about twenty credits at Rio and there has never been a curve. Hope this helps, good luck in micro.

I will pm you