ItsThatJenGirl

Don't take it personally. You won't mesh with everyone. I got "fired" from a patient for checking to see if he needed his brief changed. His family claimed I was a pervert. I mean that's literally my job (PCT). People are weird.

I've also heard it starts to come together during Adult I/II, but doesn't really solidify until we're working :)

I wouldn't.

I'm really sorry you're going through this. I'm in the midst of something similar, though we're married with kids. I'm 98% sure we're just not going to make it through the next year and a half of school. It's been incredibly difficult. I'll keep you in my thoughts.

Most of the job listings here say BSN highly preferred. If you want to do the ADN route, you might be better off going to Baptist, I think they hire their new grads often - they also have the RN-BSN program online. Where are you going now and where do you plan to go to nursing school? I'm at UT and since it's a state school, the tuition isn't bad at all.

A good water bottle was my biggest helper. And Advil.

Maybe that's an issue with your program. I had really awesome educational experiences in my first semester clinicals. I did wipe butts and clean up vomit, too - it's part of what we'll be doing when we graduate, so it makes sense that we learn how to compassionately give that care now.

I love it.

Our first day was really fun. We had a lecture for a few hours - it went over basic care like bed making, hand hygiene, general safety. Then we had a lab where we learned how to do blood glucose measurements, restraint use and donning/doffing ppe. I really enjoyed my first day/week.

Aww, thank you

Oh and we had our instructors cell phone, so we would text her and figure out the time frames.

It depended on what she was doing. Our clinical group were on two different units, so if she was close, a few minutes. If she was in the other unit, sometimes we had to decline to give the med, because it would take too long and we didn't want to negatively impact the patient. I passed meds 3-4 times in my first semester (narcotics, insulin and heparin twice).

I'm going into my second semester in nursing school, and I'd highly recommend working as a CNA. It's not necessary, but it's given me a lot of confidence and a whole new set of skills that will make me a better nurse in the long run, IMO. Plus I love my CNA job. It's hard and sweaty and rewarding. My hospital is really supportive of me and my education. Nurses on my floor pull me in to see interesting things, and allow me the opportunity to shadow nurses on other units to see how everything works. I've gotten to perform skills that I haven't in school yet. They are even sending me to a conference on CAUTI reduction. If you can find a good unit and a really supportive manager, it's totally worth it.

I got a job as a nurse extern, which is a PRN position. We're required to work two shifts per month. Right now I'm working 3-4 shifts per week because it's summer and I love money. :)

Thank you both. I feel better having posted. Guess I just needed to get it out. :)

You're not throwing nursing out of the window. You gave it your best shot, and it wasn't the right fit for you. Go get your English degree. Live for yourself, not anyone else. Good luck.

Thanks for giving me a more positive way to view the situation. Lesson learned!

I'm relatively new to my PCA/CNA position. I work on a cardiac floor and generally enjoy it. Yesterday I was pulled to 1:1 obs for a patient. As I was changing the patients brief, he/she spit in my face. My mouth was closed, thankfully. Now, being spit on sucks big time, but the part that bothered me the most was the response from the nurse. When I told her what happened, she said "yeah, he/she does that". She didn't warn me beforehand, she didn't ask if I needed time to clean up, she didn't really seem to give a crap. I get that she's busy, everyone is. But damn. A little empathy would have gone a long way in making me more comfortable - especially since I had several more hours of sitting to do. Just venting I guess.

If you register for the VA, you'll get information about their clearance. We had an orientation in early November where we signed a TON of paperwork, got fingerprinted and got our badge ID photos taken. So you can't do it before registering, but you will have to do it before school starts, as it takes a few weeks to get things in order.

I'm sorry you're feeling like this. It sounds like you've been through the ringer! I think seeing a counselor on campus is a great idea. Talking things out and getting tools to help you work through them should really help you. I got a little burned out this past semester - my first in the nursing program. I tried to just focus on why I was here, and what my goals were. I also took a few days "off" and did absolutely nothing (over spring break). I've been at this school stuff for 3.5 years now - it can be really draining. Hang in there and I'm always here if you need to chat!

My school has this. You generally meet your peer mentor the day of orientation - they are with you throughout the process. They take you on a tour of the campus and answer any of your orientation classes. There is one peer mentor for each clinical group so 8-12 students. They are supposed to help you throughout the semester - with notes, studying tips, emotional support, etc. Mine sucked, but other mentors were amazing. Peer mentors are chosen through an application/interview process. If you have any other questions, I'll do my best to answer them.

In our third semester we have 9 hour clinicals, 3 times a week in addition to 3 lecture classes every week. I think it's pretty standard. I'd sleep when you can, eat well and try your best to take good care of yourself :)

This feels like homework.

I was just looking for something to occupy my time over the summer!

In addition to looking up assistance programs, talk to your school. A lot of schools have programs to help in this area. I wish you the best of luck.