falcon123

Congrats to all who received the award! It looks like nurse practitioners were notified first. Good luck to you all! To those who have not gotten a notification yet: A) Know that there is still PLENTY of time! Try your best to relax, being anxious will only make it worse and will impact your studies and most importantly your health. Be kind to yourself and know that you gave if your ALL. THAT is worth celebrating. B) If you are not selected, know that you will all be incredible nurses and will have so much to offer. With or without the scholarship, nursing is an extremely rewarding career that will provide both financial and spiritual peace. Don't ever lose hope! I hope an pray that each of you find true happiness in this amazing career. All the best.

I find it difficult to believe that everyone gets a credit check but then again we have not had too many people post that they have not received one, I guess it could be true. On a side note, will the scholarship pay for a computer if needed for school?

It is also important to keep in mind that credit checks are not free. It typically costs $30-$50 to run a credit check on an individual. If 2400 applicants applied that would mean that it would cost from $72,000 to $120,000 for the government! For those who have received checks, bear this in mind as it is likely a good thing and to simply relax. Now I want those who have just read this post to: 1) Inhale deeply.............................................exhale deeply............................. 2) Repeat 5 times.........don't rush!!!! 3) Tell yourself that you have done everything you could have done, the rest will be as it will be. 4) Enjoy the rest of your day.

You can also call up CREDCO directly to inquire about any inquiries to your credit report.

As others have similarly said, be "matter of fact" about the boundaries. Be clear, direct, and concise. Their illness often impacts their ability to make appropriate social decisions. Being lovingly firm is usually effective. If they still push the boundary, be firmer still. If they keep pushing the boundary, then get you supervisor and other staff members involved. You have a right to protect your personal space.

Well said. I have worked with Axis II patients and yes they can be draining, but I have to remind myself, "The pain that I experience in working with them is but a snapshot of the pain they feel every second." This conceptualization makes it much easier to take their illness less personally.

It's important to keep in check ones motives for wanting to follow up. Sometimes I think curiosity can happen under the guise of "altruism." Am I inquiring for me or for them?

I have worked with both adults and children and I have to say that I enjoy working with children and adolescents most. Everyone is different but for me I really enjoy working with the family unit as a team and seeing the change within the family system. In the family, I get to work with adults and the kids, which gives me the best of both worlds.

Like others have said, keep up your positive outlook, empathy, and authenticity in your work. Studies have shown the importance of self-care in burnout, especially with psyc. What they have found is it is not what we DO necessarily that prevents burnout (ie. have a hobby after work) but rather it is how we THINK about the work itself. Your passion and empathy for those you serve will carry through, and as others have said you will find your niche. The field needs good psyc nurses like that!

Be authentic as possible, they speaks truer and LOUDER than any philosophical argument.

A great exercise is to take a step back and challenge our automatic thoughts, since our thought lead to feelings. For example, I I am at work and my co-worker frowns at me as I pass by, for me, my initial though would be "Why does this person no like me? What have I done wrong?" For the rest of the day I am going to feel bad BECAUSE of this automatic thought. However, when i make the choice to look at things a bit more "matter of fact" I can say to myself, "What are the facts?" Well, I know that my coworker frowned at me. That is true. But could there be another reason for it? Yes! Maybe she having a bad bad, maybe she is not aware of her face, maybe she got told some bad news. And BECAUSE I choose to think of these alternative possibilities, my feelings follow. With all the negative people out there it is easy to let them bring you down. When our internal dialogue can be "This says way more about them," it gives us the freedom to keep our own emotional response in check.

Thank you so much for the tips. I have been working to find that right balance. I usually follow this format for essays: Say what I'm going to do, do it, and finally say what I did. I am having some trouble in finding that balance of trying to integrate my personal experience into the question prompt, all the while keeping it under a page. Thanks for the insight!

As you also mentioned, having a study-buddy is crucial. i can't imagine trying to learn all the information on my own. When you can teach information that is when you know you have mastered it. Studying together makes your brain work double fast because you have both retaining information in bulk, but also forcing your brain to process it to teach someone else. Make that a priority.

Try using websites like Quizlet which provide questions and answers to common A&P test questions. I used it as a supplement and it was very helpful in preparing me for the tests. Good luck!

I have heard that the scholarship "cycle" begins on July 1st and goes until June 31st. So lets say you have start in the summer before the cycle begins, you can use your scholarship and and apply it for that time. Lets say the semester starts May 16th and goes to August 30th. The Nurse Corps will pay from July 1st until August 30 for that semester and will be responsible for the prorated cost of that period from May 16th to July 1st. In which case you can use your scholarship from the school and apply it toward that time. Otherwise the Nurse Corps takes care of everything during the contract cycle. Hope this helps.