genhen

Chadley, I am a heterosexual male nursing student. I could really care less about what the sexual orientation of a nurse is. I only care that the nurse provide quality care to the patient and also to be professional with other health care personnel. You talked about an instructor who doesn't like male nurses. My response is that she is so stupid that she doesn't deserve the energy needed to respond to her assinine beliefs. Her problems are hers, do not take her problems upon yourself. Her problems have nothing to do with you and all to do with her. 99.5% of patients, nurses, doctors, etc....love male nurses. I am currently in 2nd semester of nursing school. My current rotation is OB. My first day was postpartum. I took mother/baby assessments. In that, I checked uterine fundal heights, perineal care for episiotomy, talked extensively about breast feeding and corrent technique, POC for baby post hospital. I had some reservations about being a male student nurse in OB. I thought that mothers/fathers would not be receptive. I had four mothers that day and all of them thought I was great. I conducted myself in a professional manner. I was highly interested in palpating the fundus of the uterus. I wanted to know what that felt like. One mother commented that she never met a man who was so highly interested in breast feeding. My preconceptions continue to be shattered on a daily basis. A good part of my life I spent in destructive behavior. Now, I get to be a part of healing. In addition, I get to witness the awesome part of a new life entering this world. My instructor is awesome. She talked about how sometimes people have never been treated positively. We, as nurses, have an opportunity to plant a postive seed and watch it grow. While I don't think I will end up in OB, I am having a good time in this clinical rotation. Chadley, don't listen or take in negativity from a few. Most people look at how you are as a nurse. If you put your whole body, mind, and spirit into being the best possible nurse, you will be OK. Long live the brotherhood of male nurses. Props out to my sisters in nursing as well. Peace Genhen

1. GI Joe with the Kung Fu grip 2. Tickle Me Elmo 3. Operation (the game for possible future MD practice). 4. Cans of Goo 5. $1 toys that you buy and break before you get home. 6. A book, "How to reverse frustration back on your nursing instuctors". 7. An open fire pit to burn all related books and documents related to nursing school. 8. A muzzle to shut up some of the students who think that "lecture" is another word for "story time" and go endlessly about nothing. 9. A wheel of cheese to go with the w(h)ine that some students have about nursing school. This is a short list, all in fun, that I have. Peace Genhen

I believe that most of us have or have had anxiety over public speaking. I would definitely vote for you to take a public speaking speech class. I'm currently in my 2nd semester of nursing school. I took that speech class two years ago. That class was huge!!!! A couple of things I learned from it. If I knew the subject material for the presentation really well, then my anxiety was reduced significantly. Also, I had this big fear of what people will think of me. I believe that most of us want people to like us. By taking the class, I had to look at that aspect in depth. I got real tired of thinking that my speech and my appearance represented who I was. To a degree, this is true. But, it is not a true representation of who I am. I am just a person with problems and picadillos just like every other person on the planet. Plus, I thought about how everyone else in the class. I believe they were stressin out just like me. The end result was that I didn't care about what other people thought about me and my speech. I was going to let myself come out and people could like me or they could not. And......that's ok. Interestingly, by being myself, most people liked that. Know your subject material and believe in yourself. Speech is about trying and getting better. The more you do public speaking the easier it gets. I find it interesting, in our society, a lot of people go directly to medicating the problem. Does a problem exist if you have very little experince in public speaking? No, it's just one of the things that you have yet to experience. You might look at it like an adventure. You are going to meet new people. People that have come from far away places with interesting stories. Be yourself..... From what little I've heard, you are a good person. Step out into a broader world. Peace Genhen

lol, has anyone ever told you that you are very stubborn. To answer your question, you must pass nursing school to become elgible to take the NCLEX. Nursing school also encompasses clinical rotations as well. Someone who just studied for NCLEX and passed NCLEX without nursing school would, most likely, be a very bad nurse. The main point is patient safety. Nursing school is tough for this reason.

You ask if a person failing the NCLEX would be a bad nurse. While this is off thread, I'll take a shot at it. Failing the NCLEX does not necessarily equate to being a bad nurse. Some people have test anxiety and some people learn at a slower rate. I know of a great nurse who failed the NCLEX five times. She got anxious anytime you mentioned the word "test". She passed on the sixth time and is a great nurse. On the other hand, if you repeatedly fail the NCLEX it does raise a red flag that merits further thought about this person being a nurse. It comes down to if this person is truly ready to be a nurse. I believe that nursing school preparation for the NCLEX, nursing school clinical rotations, and passing the NCLEX, prepares you to become a nurse. Peace Genhen

"In regular college, like general education, classes will not be like nursing school in terms of filtering you out!" I can tell that your frustrated. Nursing school is tough. In general education classes, you are not taking care of someones life. In general education classes, you are not figuring out SAFE med does, drug interactions, or contraindications. What we do affects the lives of our patients. Nurses are held to a higher standard that your typical Joe business major (nothing against business majors). If I was a patient, I would want a nurse who knew what he/she was doing. I don't want a nurse that passed through a easy Nursing school because that school didn't want to hurt students "feelings" or make the work too tough. Think about the bigger picture. Look at the effect that an incompetent nurse has on society or even on a department. I'm sure that nurses already working could tell you stories upon stories about incompetent nurses. Here is one. A nurse gave a patient Pavulon (Pancuronium). This is a paralytic which is only given to a patient that is on a vent. Guess what? This nurse gave it to a patient that was not on a vent. The med paralyzed the breathing muscles and this patient died. Nurse lost her license, hospital got sued. A big, ugly mess. I don't mean to sound harsh but nursing school is hard for a reason. Peace Genhen

Funny, our house was clean at the beginning of the semester. But......now it is a train wreck. What's really annoying is the fact that I took Micro. So, I know a little about germs, etc. But, my wife and I only have so much energy and money. We can't afford a cleaning lady (yet!). So, we clean when we can't tolerate it anymore. Temporarily, we have a less than clean house. But, in May of '07, I will graduate. My wife and I will both be RN's in California making bank. They say it's not about the money. This is true but the pay certainly is cool. Nursing school does not equal clean house. Math? lol Peace Genhen

And your point is........?

I'm a second semester student and just had my first lecture on IV's. After that, we went to skills lab where we attempted to venipuncture on a mannequin. According to the instructor, you should feel the resistance when you go through the vein wall into the vein. I tried a couple of times and couldn't "feel" that although I made it into the vein. We have to do two sticks on fellow students this Friday and two more the following Friday. After that, on Saturday, we bring in four volunteers or "victims" to stick. Then, we move on to clinical in which we need to start 6 IV's. I'm ready to go back to skills lab on Monday after lecture on work on my venipuncture skill some more with the mannequin. I'm kinda nervous about starting IV's and I was wondering if anybody else was trippin about it also. Some advice from people who have already done this would be cool also. Peace Genhen 2nd Semester Student

That's crazy. I'm a 2nd semester male student. 95% of the female patients did not have a problem with me being their nurse. Those that did told me and I had no problem. Our instuctors actually pushed us to make sure that we had some opposite sex patients in clinical. It was funny to watch some of the female students shave male patients. They were terrified to do it. As a male, I thought that was hilarious. I had to remove a Foley from a female and it was no problem. Although, I have not put one in yet. Funny story though, one male patient that I had acted very strangely toward me. He was defensive and obnoxious. I still pushed forward. I told him I was going to do a head to toe assessment on him. I went to close the room door and he freaked. I left the door open and did a "cursory" quick assessment. I took vitals on him and the whole time he is watching me closely. I finished and left. I go home that night. My wife is an RN in ICU. I tell her this story and she starts laughing her head off. She tells me that my patient thinks that I am gay and he doesn't like it. At first, I told her she was crazy. But, I keep thinking about it and came to realize that she may be right. I'm kinda absent minded with that kind of stuff. I wouldn't see that for a million years. Also, I don't wear my wedding ring when I work because it interferes with putting on gloves. But, the next day, I wore my ring. I talked to my patient about family life and told him that I was married and had two kids. He physically breathed a sigh of relief. So, "All male nurses are gay", is not true. Anyhow, your instructor's elevator does not go all the way to the top. Peace Genhen

I'm confused. What has the instructor done? Has he said that he does not like homosexuality? Why do you feel it necessary to tell him that you are gay? I have not told my instructor that I am heterosexual. If you tell someone something about and they don't like it, is that a problem? It is a problem if it interferes with instructor/student relationship with respect to learning about nursing. Last semester, I had an instructor that didn't like me and I didn't like her. We still maintained a professional relationship and we didn't have any problems. You say that you are not trying to hide your sexuality. What does that mean? Sexuality should not be an issue to be the classroom or in clinical. I'm heterosexual and I don't flirt or hit on women in the classroom or at clinical. Help me to understand what it is you are trying to say. Peace Genhen 2nd Semester Student

Quote by Allen Iverson: "It's just practice". I went through the same thing. For me, getting the gauge to slow down at the right speed while deflating was huge. Also, remove any excess noise. Turn TV off, close door to room, tell fellow students to shut it, etc. You'll get it. If you have a skills lab, practice....practice.....and then practice some more Genhen 2nd Semester Student

I'm getting ready to start my second semester on 1/17. My first semester was the hardest and also one of the most rewarding things I have done in my life. Most definitely, it was the hardest semester of school. I remember the class during the first week. All the students were very serious and scared. I remember our first skills lab. Our instructor was explaining proper hand washing technique. She said that we would have demonstate hand washing to an instructor. She said that if we failed the demonstration, we would fail nursing. There was dead silence. Then, the instructor burst our laughing and said that she was kidding. All the students wanted to kill her. Most new students are kinda of tense in the beginning. But.....things changed and here is what I did. I found a study group and began to hang out with them. We studied hard but I also found it a good way to "vent" or talk about stuff. Study group, I believe, is crucial. Immerse yourself in nursing school. I used to procrastinate and really not apply myself fully in my prereqs. I had to change. I studied and then studied so more. By being very prepared, it reduced the amount of stress. The amount of stuff to study can be overwhelming. I focused on what was in front of me. Think and do nursing all the time, make it your life. I'm lucky because my wife is an RN. We talk about nursing stuff all the time. If you have someone like that, talk to them. Support group is a big help. I have a wife that supports me. I take care of the kids alot but she is an RN already and brings home the money. On top of that she does what is necessary to allow me the time to study. Plus, we have next door neighbors who help in emergencies. We have two kids. They will take care of them if we need them. Having a good support team around you helps alot. One of the things that was hard for me in the beginning was the test questions. Prereq classes were knowledge based. Like, "How many chambers of the heart are there?" In nursing, now it changes to critical thinking. There might be four answers. Which answer is the "most correct?" This was tough. I failed two quizzes. I've never failed a test in my life and can't remember the last time I got a C. I also gave up that I had to have an A in nursing. Stressing out on getting an A was a waste of time and energy. This doesn't mean that I didn't try my hardest, I did. I did my best and outcome was OK for me. Try your best and let the chips fall where the may. My study group members are my friends. I use them to reduce my stress by talking to them all the time. How often in life do you get to spend this amount of time with other people in a group? I can't stress enough about making friends in school and hanging out with them. Apply yourself totally and you will be fine. Use this forum to vent just like you have. Do not keep stuff inside. Let it out. Peace Genhen

i don't mind working with gay people (i'm straight myself) because generally, their more accepting and open minded anyways so i actually would probably like working with them, i'm very open minded myself, very respectful and integrity is a big thing to me...but i absolutely /hate/ being discriminated against or stereotyped, and i'm not very tolerant of that sort of thing, if i'm challenged i'd rather confront the issue or person then just idly take it or let the insult go unanswered. assumptions are a killer. you assume that male nurses are gay. most male nurses are not gay. i've met a lot who were medics in the military. i don't know why you felt a need to tell us this. i actually find this highly offensive. most nurses are highly professional people with normal, nuclear familes. i have a wife and two kids. i've been part of destruction earlier in my life. i picked a profession in which i was part of the healing process. i would say that you should do some serious thinking about why you want to be a doctor. be a nurse if you want to "be a nurse." peace genhen

Please continue to post in this forum. I am getting ready to start my second semester of nursing. I know that you are getting ready to start your fourth. I am also a male nursing student with a wife and two kids. So, I can relate to alot of what you have to say. I have also responded to your threads and posts. If a thread sparks me, then I respond to it. The only thing I would add about the lack of response to a particular thread is to not worry about it. Lack of response is not about you. I look forward to seeing your posts. You have, in part, sparked me to post more. All male nursing students.....please post more. Peace Genhen

Dude, I can so relate. My wife is an ICU RN. I'm 42 and had 20 year career as an electronics technian. Mainly, I worked as a service tech for a couple of different companies. My wife went back to school in her late 30's and became a nurse. She would come home and she would talk about her experiences as a nurse. I became fascinated with it. Earlier in my life, I've been apart of some destructive behavior. Here, my wife was being part of a career in which helped people heal. Here was something positive in which I could help others. At the same time, you made good money. What a killer combination I thought. So.....3 years ago I went back to school. I just completed my first semester of nursing school with 3 more to go. In this semester, we got to do our clinical rotation at the local hospital. It was awesome!! Certainly, it was a lot of work to study, etc. But, oh the connections that you make with nurses and patients is awesome. It was just awesome to take care of someone who is in need. Noodles, do it man. It will take a little bit but I believe that you will like it. Also, if you and your wife are nurses, you can call your ticket. You can live anywhere. Nurses are in huge demand. Maybe....both of you take a travel job to Australia or some place like that. The world is your oyster. I don't like oysters but I have heard of that saying, lol. Peace Genhen

- i heard from a fellow classmate that once a pre-major student is in nursing school, their gpa will fall dramatically. is this true? i don't know what pre-major means. perhaps it is undergraduate or prereqs for nursing school. i had a 3.87 gpa with my prereqs. i just finished my first semester of nursing school. this was the hardest and yet the most rewarding semester i've had in school. i got a b. i cherish this b more than any a that i got with my prereqs. short reason why is that test questions change from knowledge base to critical thinking questions. there are 4 right answers, pick the answer that is the most right. you have to use the knowledge that you have and critically think. it took a little getting used to. i failed two quizzes. i have never failed anything in my life and i can't remember the last time that i got a c on a test. it was rough. i had to give up that mindset that i had to have an "a". that thinking was consuming too much energy. i "let go" of that and things are much better. don't get me wrong, i still try as hard as i can. i would recommend that you try your hardest and be ok with the outcome. - when should i begin studying for the nursing exam (is it called n-clex?)? now? junior year? senior year? concentrate on nursing school and it will prepare you for the nclex. but....nclex material is good to use for nursing school. use nclex material to study for school and you will be prepared for the nclex when it comes. - is there any preparation i could do for myself once i enter nursing school? i'm sitting here thinking about your question. i took a philosophy class called critical thinking before i entered nursing school (rn). the class was a prereq for bsn. this class did a lot to help my think. before, it was alot about rote memorization. this class taught me alot about talking various pieces of knowledge and tie them together to come up with an informed decision. you might want to take a similar class. anything that will help with critical thinking. also, a couple of recommendations when you get into nursing school. find a good study group. study group helped me a lot. also, do not procrastinate. immerse yourself in nursing school. make it your whole life. go after it. - being that there are a few male nursing students and me being one of the youngest male minority in the class, will all my nursing instructors be watching every move i make like a hawk? no. i have not seen any difference between how instructors treat males/females/minorities. the only problem that instructors have is a student that is not prepared. also, in the clinical setting there will be a few that are not used to male nurses. but, as a male nurse, you have attributes that are beneficial. generally, males are physically stronger. nurses that i have worked under so far in the clinical setting have appreciated male nurses tremendously. if you see ignorance or stupidity toward male nurses, this is an opinion a very select few. just remember that it is about them and not you. first time, i saw this i was somewhat taken aback. but, i was supported by other nurses. the vast majority of patients and nurses like male nurses very much. hope this helps peace genhen

i found your story fascinating. i read the whole thread. i'm a recovering drug addict who has been clean for 13 years. i am currently almost finished with my first semester of an rn program. i too had to take a drug test. i found pain management a low priority in clinical in the floor that i was at. it is supposed to be a 5th vital. i could go on with different stories about this. i find it fascinating that your nursing school knew about your pain med prescription and choose not to take a more positive path. they could have contacted your doctor and conferred with him. to tell him that you are a student nurse and is their a problem with that? in addition, to get information about this situation from the alabama board of nursing. i am from california and i looked up this issue from the nurse practice act from my state. here it is. 2762. drug-related transgressions (return to table of contents) in addition to other acts constituting unprofessional conduct within the meaning of this chapter it is unprofessional conduct for a person licensed under this chapter to do any of the following: (a) obtain or possess in violation of law, or prescribe, or except as directed by a licensed physician and surgeon, dentist, or podiatrist administer to himself or herself, or furnish or administer to another, any controlled substance as defined in division 10 (commencing with section 11000) of the health and safety code or any dangerous drug or dangerous device as defined in section 4022. (b) use any controlled substance as defined in division 10 (commencing with section 11000) of the health and safety code, or any dangerous drug or dangerous device as defined in section 4022, or alcoholic beverages, to an extent or in a manner dangerous or injurious to himself or herself, any other person, or the public or to the extent that such use impairs his or her ability to conduct with safety to the public the practice authorized by his or her license. i got the above information from the california board of nursing website. check out alabama's, they probably have a copy of the nurse practice acts for your state. you were given a prescription by a physician. you were cleared by that same physician to perform duties as a nurse. don't let "the man" take you down. i believe that you will be an awesome nurse. peace genhen

Forgive me if I sound stupid. Why are you taking Calculus? Are you going to medical school to become a doctor? I've never heard of anyone taking Calculus to become a nurse. Not even an NP, I believe, requires Calculus. Enlighten me Never mind, I figured it out. You want to be a CRNA. I get it. I read your name. Peace Genhen

"Constipated people don't give a crap"? Now that is funny. After making a long, serious post about wrongful termination in another thread, I need to laugh. Thanks Marie. OK, I'm a male-nursing student. That is not any connection to breast feeding. Sorry, I digress. First of all, patients who are post surgery alot of the time have nausea. To get a whiff of "hey guy, look at me!" might send them over the edge in which they will require an emesis basin. Secondly, why are people putting this stuff on? Are they looking for a good man in the work setting? I just think it's funny that women feel a need to do it. It's so superficial and appearance based. Granted, people should not be slobs. But, who the person is on the inside is more important. Ditch the juice and have a pleasant conversation with someone. Peace Genhen 1st Semester Student Nurse Grinding my way to finals in two weeks. "I have got a quote yet....but I'm thinking

First, just let me say that I am a first semester student in an RN program nearing the end of the first semester. We recently covered legal and ethical issues. I find your story fascinating on many points. 1. When I first started my first clinical rotation at a local nursing home, the manager of the nursing home has us watch a video. In this video, a deputy attorney general for the state of California informed us/me that it is my legal obligation as a nurse (student or RN) to inform the state and supervisor of any situations that go against the nurse practice acts. I/we could be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. He personally said that he would go "after us". He also explained that the patient and the public needed to be protected from incompetance and errors in care that cause injury. 2. In my first semester, the point that a nurse is an advocate for the patient was repeatedly hammered to me. So much so that the students caused quite a stir when we did clinical rotation at a local hospital. Our instructor told us time and time again that hospital protocol must be followed for various issues. RN's were taking datascopes (vital sign machines) into patients with MRSA and then moving on to other patients with the same machine without disinfecting it. Some were using their own stethoscopes when protocol for MRSA patients was to use a disposible one. At first, we were like, "were just first semester students". But...patient advocacy, legal implications, and high MRSA rates at the hospital made us do something. One RN even was flippant about the dangers of spreading MRSA, paraphrase:"its way overblown and can't be spread that easily." We began informing our instructor, who began talking with the nurse manager of the floor. We didn't want to get anybody in trouble. We just wanted to provide the highest quality and safest care to the patients. One CNA started to come out of MRSA patient's room with a datascope without cleaning. I told her that she may not be aware of the protocol. I told her what it was. I told her that I would love to take care of disinfecting the machine for her. She thanked me. 3. With respect to wrongful termination, they must prove that they had followed the policy for termination protocol. In addition, this protocol must be one that is "reasonable and similar to other like institutions in the area." It appears that this is a personal issue with the manager. It sickens me that your manager is not an advocate for patients. She is not even an advocate for the hospital. The hospital has lost a good RN for no reasonable reason. In addition, her friend endangered patients, staff, and the hospital with focus on appearance. She perhaps thought that reorientation was beneath her. "I put my time in and I should have to do it." How selfish and stupid. The vast majority of us would not have a problem with reorientation. Most would be mortified by not doing it. Technology and treatment change. My instructor had not been on a working floor for 3 years and she was amazed at the change in tech/Tx. Please for the sake of all your fellow nurses and those looking up to you guys (student nurses), don't be afraid to seek legal counsel and pursue this. You are worth it and the profession needs to have this kind of crap removed. Good upper management should take a look at the facts of this case and be disturbed. With the RN shortage, a good upper management person will not tolerate this kind of stupid, selfish drama by lower manangement. Plus.....hospital attorneys will be livid at the possiblity of an unnecessary lawsuit. I'm sitting here thinking....I can't believe I got so worked up over your story. It seems like I have not got so worked up about anything for a few years. I'm really liking the decision I made to become a nurse. With the facts that I read, you are right. Don't back down but be professional. Don't get into the drama of all of it. Peace Genhen

I'm looking for practice test questions. These questions need to be broken down by subject. I'm looking for questions that would pertain to 1st and 2nd semester RN students. NCLEX questions are little too advanced My study group uses a book, "Fundamentals of Success". This book has been valuable for our study group to prepare us for tests. The book has sample questions by subject. In addition, it explains why the correct answer is correct and explains why the wrong answers are wrong. This helps to get a grip on the critical thinking aspect of the subject matter. I'm looking for websites and books with practice questions. If you know of any or have any good advice, let me know. Peace Genhen