futurern118

Hey everybody! I'm currently in my second to last semester of my RN program and ever since I started nursing school, my dream has been to work in pediatrics. In fact, it's the reason I chose nursing. During high school, I knew that I wanted a career where I was making a positive impact on kids and the community. When I researched pediatric nursing further, I fell in love with it and to this day I know that it's my true calling. I have my very first peds clinical coming up (acute care) in a few weeks and to be honest, I'm pretty nervous. I know that this is my passion, but I've never worked with kids in a clinical setting outside of school clinics. I'm not too concerned because I do have lots of non-clinical experience with kids/families, but I can't help but have a little stage fright. For someone who wants peds more than anything, what kind of advice would you give me for my first clinical? I've heard it said that every clinical is a potential job interview. For those peds nurses out there who may have been in the field for a while, what's something you'd like to see more of in new grads coming into peds? What's something you wish students did more of (or less of) while on their rotations in peds? Any tips/advice/input would be greatly appreciated! Thank you in advance!

I have a quick question about anticholinergics & antispasmodics. Are those classifications used interchangeably? I'm a student and our professor listed Ditropan & Detrol as antispasmodics, and then listed Ditropan again as an anticholinergic. I know Ditropan and Detrol are both antispasmodics AND anticholinergics. My question is, is there a distinction between the two classifications? Why do those two meds fall under both classifications?

I'm a 21 year old male freshman in a nursing program at a community college in the southeastern US and one day, I would like to become a Pediatric NP. I have felt a call & passion to specialize in pediatrics since I chose to become a nurse. I've thought about other fields, but it seems like pediatrics is the winner. Since my main goal in life is to raise a family, everything I will do in the future revolves around them and I think about my future often. I am currently single with no kids. My concern is, though, if and when I am blessed with a family, how high in demand are Pediatric NPs in primary care? The reason I am concerned is because I do not want to come home after work each day and not be able to enjoy time with my family. I don't want to mentally/emotionally bring my work home with me. I don't want to worry about being called in to come examine a patient after hours when I really just want to be with my family. And I certainly do not want my future children or wife adopting the attitude of, "Well he takes care of sick kids all day at work but when he comes home, he never has time for his own kids." Keep in mind, my goal is primary care, not acute. For the Peds NPs out there, how do you manage a work-life balance? Are you required to take call, work nights, weekends, or holidays where you work? Are you able to come home from work each day and not focus on the patients you had that day? I want to be a NP badly one day, but I don't want a career that will drag me away from my family all the time. That's one of the many reasons I chose not to pursue medicine. Any thoughts? I will clarify further if needed, just let me know. Thanks!

I am a 21 year old first-year male nursing student in the southeastern United States and lately I've been hearing a lot about Child Life Specialists. I've wanted to specialize in pediatrics ever since the day I decided to pursue nursing so I'm committed to one day becoming the best pediatric RN I can be, and hopefully going for PNP one day. As I said, I've been hearing a lot about Child Life Specialists these days and thought about if it might be something I should consider. I love kids. I've been working with them since I was in high school after volunteering one summer in a poor neighborhood - doing crafts, playing ball, and we also did a clothes drive for the kids there. Since then, I've amassed a great amount of work & volunteer experience with kids. It's my calling, it's my passion. I've also heard that pediatric nursing is not easy. Peers in my class say they once considered it but dismissed it quickly because of the thought of working with the parents. I don't like parents either, but I'm definitely able to work & level with them. I mean, no parent wants their kid in the hospital. It's not a fun place, so I don't expect parents to be happy all the time. My dilemma is: should I completely cut out nursing and just go get a degree in Child Development so that I can be a CLS? Or should I go through with nursing and if I don't like it, then try to go back for a certificate or at least an Associate's in Child Development to help land me a job since I would already have a BSN? At this point, I'm really just looking for input. Those in the CLS profession, what do you like about your career? How are the job logistics -- salary, estimated growth, advancement opportunities, stability, flexibility? To nurses and anyone else, what would your advice be? I love nursing but I always worry about making the right move with education and my career. I fear choosing the wrong occupation. Any opinion or input is appreciated. Thank you!

I'm currently an ADN student (male) at a great community college in the southeast US. I worked hard for the past two years to complete prerequisite courses and apply to the nursing program. On the third try, I finally got in! I am in my first week and I want so badly to be excited and confident in where I am. Recently, an acquaintance of mine -- who is in a BSN program currently in another state -- asked how my first week was going. I told this person it was going well and a little about what we were learning. Then, this person proceeded to imply that ADN programs were of lesser value than the superior, all-mighty BSN. Normally, I wouldn't let me get this down, but it's beginning to take over my studying time worrying about it, so I have to clear my head. I hope of becoming a Peds NP one day. In my region, there's an abundance of ADN/RN-MSN program options at various universities with spectacular Peds certificate programs and that is the ultimate goal for me. My original plan was to complete my ADN, work for a little bit and gain experience, then apply for an RN-MSN program and hope to get in. If it doesn't work out, I can always go back and take my RN-BSN (I can get it at the university in my area online in under two years), and leave it at that. My concern is, as an ADN student who commits intensely to everything he does, will my learning and training be different than that of a BSN student? Will I miss out on certain Peds training that I would have gotten with a BSN education? I feel like I am selling myself short or missing out on certain experiences by not becoming a BSN student. Even though I aim to have my BSN one day, the nagging thought is that I could have already been a BSN student instead of ADN so that if I got to MSN and didn't want to do it, I would have my BSN to fall back on and wouldn't have to go back to get it. Hospitals in my area take whomever they can get. ADN is the requirement. While most prefer BSN students (it's that whole Magnet status thing), hospitals in my area will hire Associate's students and I've heard from the major hospital in my city that they actually PREFER graduates from my community college. I'm just at a loss as to what to do. Should I keep going where I am in ADN? Should I go and try to get my BSN, even though it would mean extra semesters, extra pre-requisite classes that I have yet to take for that Uni, and loads of extra money? I want to enjoy where I am, knowing that one day I will look back on this experience and say, I'm glad I did it. What this person said to me has put me in a tailspin and I can't seem to slow it down. Any advice? I appreciate you taking the time to read all of this if you've made it this far :) Thanks in advance, guys!

I'm currently in my freshman year of college, working towards my ADN and then my RN license. My ultimate goal is to graduate college with my MSN and NP license. I originally thought that working in pediatric neurology as a sub-specialty is the route I wanted to go, but now I'm a little turned around. Do nurse practitioners who work in peds neurology generally work in acute care (hospital) settings? Or is it more of an outpatient service? Or even a primary care service? I'd like to work in the hospital if I can. If it's not a hospital-type position, which department in pediatrics (in an acute care setting) would you recommend for a nurse practitioner? I hope this question makes sense. Thank you!

Hi guys, I'm a pre-nursing student in my freshman year and I'm looking to get a part time job at one of the hospitals in my area. All of them require a BLS certification for most of the positions I'm interested in. My question is, does the BLS certification include CPR/AED/First Aid training or am I gonna have to go take those classes separately? I appreciate any advice I can get. Thanks!!