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I dealt with the same problem for about 6mo after starting 12hr shifts. I started with Nike Shox and eventually had to invest in a pair of Zcoils. I really wish I had done this earlier! Made all the difference! Cost about $225 dollars and also had inserts fitted with them. Not the prettiest shoes but the benefit outweighs fashion anyday. When I get home in the am, I also take frozen water bottles and role them under my feet and I stretch really well when I wake up b/f standing. I honestly believe the shoes saved my feet. Still tender at times and I never walk barefoot. Wear slippers. Would recommend the shoes to my worst enemy cause I would hate for anyone to hurt like I was before I bought them. Good luck! Hope you find some relief!

I graduated from Hinds Rankin campus program in May of 07. No, Hinds is not easy, but nursing school is not easy. Heck, being a nurse is not easy. Anything worth having is worth working for. As a Hinds gradaute, I have to say that I feel like the program prepared me for my role as a registered nurse. It was the most stressful two years of my life, but I believe that learning how to deal with that stress prepared me for how to deal with the stress of working as a new graduate on the floor. There are pros and cons to consider with any nursing program, but I dont believe that it is very wise to base the decision on which program to attend on how "easy" others may tell you it is. In the course of two years we lost more than half of the original classmates that we started the program with. That is nursing school. I can also proudly say that our graduating class at Rankin had a 100% NCLEX pass rating. So no, it is not "easy" to graduate from the Hinds nursing program. It takes dedication, a strong work ethic, and a positive attitude. My license is proof that yes it can be done! Hinds reputation for graduating well prepared nurses is still the same. If you have a diploma from Hinds, I guarantee that any employer in the state of MS will be happy to have you on their team!

Go for it! I graduated in May of 07 and turned 32 while working my night shift on my medsurg floor. After much procrastinating, I finally returned to school to become the RN that I always had dreamed of becoming. Thanks to penny pinching and my husbands support, I made it and it has been one of the best decisions that I have ever made. It is hard work. There are good days and bad days but thats life in general. Sounds like this is something you really want. You have nothing to lose by trying and you will always wonder what could have been if you dont. I am living proof that if you believe in the possiblity, you can achieve the reality! All in all, you are not to old to become a nurse and it sounds like you are considering nursing for all the right reasons. You Can Do It!

Try looking at it this way. It sounds as if your plate if full at the moment. Congrats, you are at the end of your rough road and now you dont have an instructor over your shoulder making decisions for you!! This is your first decision of your nursing career and it definately needs to be based upon your feelings. I know the hospital I chose to start my nursing career gave us 90days from the date of employment to take boards and pass. If we did not pass we were given the postition of CNA and our pay was reduced from graduate nurse to CNA pay. We had to work as CNA's at least for 45days b/f we were able to sit for boards again. Anyway, my point is that the jobs will be there when you pass boards. If it makes you feel better to wait and spend some more time with your family b/f taking the plunge into your new career, do it because this chance will not come around again. If you feel like starting a new job and going on and getting oriented to your unit b/f boards, then hey go for it. After I started w/my orientation I began to realize that while I love the hospital I work for, ultimately my license is my license and who is better to look out for it than me! Take a deep breath, and pat yourself on the back, listen to your gut and the right decision will just happen! Good luck and keep the faith!

Just thougt I would pop in with my two cents about your question. Im here in MS and just graduated this past May. I started working in June at one of the local surrounding metro hospitals. I went through two weeks of classroom orientation b/f I started floor orientation. I passed my boards in July and was happy to have the classes already completed, but I will say that I did find it hard or even distracting when trying to work and study for NCLEX. A good portion of my time during my floor orientation b/f I passed boards was a good ole waste of time. Since I had no license, I could not DO ANYTHING. I could actually do more as a student. I dont know if the other area hospitals are the same, but it seems like I have heard that they are. No pt contact until you make RN. I do know that my friends that went to UMC were given scheduled times to study in the Library while working. They were actually paid to study!! Basically, it just depends on what you think you can handle. Boards are stress enough so take care of yourself. Good Luck

I am in my 3rd semester and I definately can relate to the way you were feeling b/f and after your first clinical day. The first day is the day to get your feet wet so to speak and the best way to start is physical assessments. I promise you it will get better! It is a totally different situation and your first actual contact with a real person!!! As far as your feelings after the day was over, I felt the same way. The way I dealt with those feelings was to remember that if we are lucky we all will be old some day. We may not be in the same situations as some of our patients are, but eventually we may all have to depend on someone else to care for us daily. That is what you are doing everyday that you enter clinical. You are becoming that all important person in their life for that day. You are making a difference and caring for them in ways that they may no longer be able to care for themselves. You are going to get the technical things down with practice, and you are going to make a wonderful compassionate nurse because you are already realizing that your "assignment" for the day is not just a physical assessment, but actually caring for another individual that can not care for themselves.

Hi Yall. I am a SNA at the University hospital on the med/surg floor. I start my 3rd semester of RN school in August. I love working as a CNA and the experience I have gained has been just another added value to the type of RN I will be in May. It is hard work but it is so worth the effort. I know that because I have been a CNA and worked my way up, as a RN I will value any CNA that I may have that works with me. It is truly teamwork. I hope you all have a blessed day. I just worked the 12hr night shift and have to go back in tonight for another. My bed is calling!!!

Just want to say that you have a head start! I am in my 1st semester of an ADN program and if you had told me last year at this time I would be on Paxil, I would have thought you were out of your mind. Needless to say, it probably has been the best thing that I have ever done for myself and every graduate from the program that I am in states that we all usually wind up on something. I just want to say, keep your chin up, laugh at your son, and follow your dreams! You sound like a wonderful person and I believe if I can do this so can you!