MagicalThinking

Thanks so much for all of your responses! It's really helped :) I can't wait to start and get this show on the road.

If you went to Trident Tech. can you tell me if it's possible to do all the nursing classes in a year? I've taken every single class except the NUR classes and clinicals. I got in for Fall 2009 and I'm just wondering if I'm going to have to spend 2 years only taking 2 classes a semester or if I can go through faster somehow? Also, do you know if you can transfer to more easily to the Accelerated BSN at MUSC if you're already in clinicals? A nurse I met told me she had done that.

I can't give advice on the professional aspects of your problem, but the emotional concerns me. I really think you should talk to a therapist about how you have been feeling. My sister used to be constantly overwhelmed about a situation she was in that went on for a long time and her therapist helped her see better ways of dealing with it emotionally. I think these issues of self-doubt and traumatic instructors may go deeper than they may seem. I go to a therapist myself so i don't see it as a sign of weakness, just reality really. The second thing is to get into a career, nursing or not, that makes you happy. I hope someone here can shed light in that area for you. Good luck :icon_hug:

Thanks for the advice :) there's only one direct-msn program and its not really an option. I have recently been thinking about moving away, finishing my bachelor's (would take about a year), and going to PA school. I planned on doing NP anyway. If I do get into this BSN program I'll definitely stay and continue the NP route, but if not I need to get a new plan.

thanks so much for all the kind words . Those are the only programs in my area, so if I look further out I would have to move out of state. I'm more of a city girl and the only thing here for me is my family. I had really hoped to do school here though to support my family, but I think caliotter3 was right about looking elsewhere if I don't get in. One of my friends does want to move out west...mmmhh something to think about? And to asoldierswife05. Yes, I am definitely religious I am a liberal Christian...try to love everybody. Although that can be really hard sometimes lol. I believe and appreciate what you wrote and I am always amazed when I look back at times like these how everything does fit so perfectly in retrospect. Today was just a hard day. I really wish most people could understand how hard getting into and getting through nursing school is (and of course MD's and PA's too). It's such a wild ride sometimes.

Hi, The GRE is required because it's an accelerated BSN. From what I hear they rely heavily on it in their admissions decisions. You do the first 2 years at another school, finish 60 hrs of pre-req's and then you can transfer in. The University is mainly a medical school...the only undergrad they have is BSN, cardio-perfusion, and health science for future teachers. I guess looking at this now...I'm wondering if I'm missing something? Should I bring my transcript to the admissions office even though they said not to? Basically is there anyway to handle this better?

Hi all, I need to vent and any advice would be appreciated. This is a bit complicated so please read the whole post before responding. OK J In my area there are 3 nursing programs. One is too expensive, the second is an ADN with a waiting list, and the third is a highly competitive BSN. I started at the community college for the ADN in Summer 2005 and met with my advisor who told me my placement test scores weren’t high enough to apply directly to the program, so I would first have to complete the “pre-nursing certificate” which is just some pre-req’s and then I could apply. Flash forward a year later I am done with the pre-req’s and apply for the ADN program and am immediately asked “why didn’t you apply when you first started school because your placement test scores exempt you form taking the pre-req’s?” Basically, because I was given the wrong info instead of starting the ADN in Fall 2006 I now was on the waiting list for Spring 2009. Aaaaahhhhh. I wrote a letter and met with the Dean of Nursing who was very rude and treated me like a con-artist. I was told if I got a letter from my advisor citing her error that I could be bumped up a few semesters to make up for it. I talked to my advisor who assured me she was very sorry and had no problem writing the letter. I submitted my official letter to the Dean and 2 days later received an email saying she never got the letter from my advisor so she couldn’t help me and my request to be moved up the list was denied. I tried to talk to my advisor and she completely ignored all attempts at contact. So, I applied to the BSN program. I have a 3.85 GPA, 2+ years of direct-patient volunteer experience with Hospice, GRE verbal was 570/ writing 600, 4 great recommendations, plus I have been an A&P and Bio tutor for the last year and a half. I thought I would be a sure thing to get in. Nope, I didn’t get in for this Spring ‘07 because my GRE math was low….370. Bad, yes, but I was told by the school nursing coordinators numerous times not to even bother with studying for the math because they didn’t even look at it. Stupid me! :smackingf I shouldn’t have listened. So I reapplied for Fall ’07 and was planning on retaking the GRE in December, but well….let me explain…. My dad was diagnosed with cirrhosis (from an autoimmune disorder) last year and it was very hard not knowing if he was going to get a liver or not. Basically holding his hand while he was slowly dying hoping that someone was out there self-less enough to donate their organs and yet feeling sad at the same time for the life lost of his future donor. I remember so many late nights and early mornings explaining what this or that drug did and why he was taking it…and why did he hurt in a certain place. If I didn’t know the answer I’d find it. This past October he was blessed with a successful liver transplant followed by a bout of severe rejection in December that was stopped (thank goodness!) with Thymo. Later in December I got sick and was in the hospital because I had been on my period for three months because my ex-doc misdiagnosed and mismanaged my PCOS. I am fine now, but have had an exhausting 2 months from three blood transfusions and anemia. Then last week my younger and only sister was admitted to the hospital for colitis and was having a lot of pain, fever and rectal bleeding plus about 12 BM’s a day. Nothing has worked so far, so they are putting her on cyclosporine (sp?). If that doesn’t work they’re removing her sigmoid and descending colon . I am so overwhelmed with everything right now. Now that I’m getting better I have to hold it together for everyone because my dad is still recovering, and my mom is on the edge of a nervous breakdown over all of this. Even through all of this the only thing my family wants is for me to get into nursing school...so back to that drama. I reapplied to the BSN for Spring '07, but the school I’m currently attending didn’t mail the BSN program my updated transcript. I offered to hand deliver it because the deadline was Feb. 1st , but was told that it was too late and not necessary (?) and that she would just attach a note to my application with an explanation and list of my recent classes and grades. She also wrote that I wasn’t able to retake the GRE because I was sick, but I am in a math class now and would be done with college algebra by the time I would transfer in the fall.... Is that really ok??? So here I am stressed out and hoping for good news. It would make me and my family beyond happy to get into this BSN program. My parents are as obsessed as I am about me getting in and after the year we’ve had it would be amazing to have some good news finally. I can’t help but feel why has this been such a crazy obstacle? Did I handle the Dean correctly at my current school? The BSN program said I got a 10 on all parts of my application and 9.5 on the essay so one bad math GRE score negates all of that? I took the required statistics and got a B. Ugghh I should have reviewed for it. If I don’t get in this time I will be so crushed. This fall I took 17 credits with 2 labs and got all A’s and a B while being co-caregiver for my dad, and still seeing hospice patients. I feel like I worked so hard and no matter what I keep getting shot down. My faith in God and the joy of helping people is pretty much the only thing that pulls me through all of this. I don’t even know what my question is really…I am just so stressed and rejected right now.

i don't think this will go through, so i am not upset about that...i'm annoyed at the way society sees nursing. i have never meet anyone that has said "wow you're in school for nursing!"...like it was impressive. most people have no idea how hard it is to become a nurse and how hard it is to be a nurse. i feel like people see it as a "lower" profession..like if you were really smart you'd be a doctor....that kind of mentality. uuugh.

rather than relying on people's individual opinions i think you should go to nursevillage.com they have an article on orlando under "best cities for nurses" the direct link is http://www.nursevillage.com/nv/content/personalside/travel/orlando/index.jsp , as for money stuff http://www.salary.com/ is gonna be your best bet for pay questions, http://www.virtualtourist.com/ will give you tons of info and pics of orlando and the area from locals, and check out the official sites for Orlando and Kissimmee at http://www.cityoforlando.net/ and http://www.kissimmee.org/

just a heads up...HCA only pays up to $6000 for the length of your nursing program. i know because i decided not to move back to NYC and am opting for florida instead to be closer to my dad (in SC) who needs a liver transplant. I got one of the HCA applications through Miami Dade and read the fine print.

i took A&P I last fall semester and am taking II this summer...my final semester average in I was a 100 (lowest grade was a 96 plus got all the extra credit). i also tutored 2 girls in my class and they brought they're grades up significantly. if anyone needs any help PM me the thing that helped me the most was coming up with stories for the anatomy stuff..like the condyles are circular and look a bit like dials you turn silly stuff, but it really helped.

yes. i am so sorry too for the rude response! slovenia is between austria and croatia. i have a friend from nearby hungary and the question doesn't surprise me because alot of their practices are very different from the US. just because we may not understand exactly what he/she means doesn't mean they deserved to be laughed at.

:balloons: congrats!!!:balloons:

i'm a christian, but not in the conventional sense...at the core i am christian, but i am influenced by aspects of buddhism, judaism, catholicism and being raised as a southern baptist. i love the bible, but don't take it literally. we are all unique and our individuality should be respected. i think our beliefs are very personal and nobody's business. as long as you are a good person and a good nurse that is the most important thing. P.S. for any of you science lovers out there this is a really great book... The Existence of God by Richard Swinburne...it uses science to prove that there is a God. very cool.

thanks everyone!!! we are considering the living donor option...so hopefully that might work out. his sister already offered. the "jerk" doctor has since been replaced thank goodness and now my dad has wonderful doctors working with him. the tough thing right now is that he is in a constant battle with ascetis and is on aldacton (sp?) and lasik...its giving him really bad diarrhea and he's also vomiting. they said its because if he doesn't drink enough water that will happen, but it seems to happen no matter how much water he drinks. any tips??? he asked his doctor about it, but he just said drink more water. and thanks again for all the positive thoughts ya'll.

Hi all. desperately need some help here. i'm a nursing student and my father was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver last month. he was in the hospital for a week and had 4 liters of fluid drained due to ascetis. he's lost alot of weight and is just worn out all of the time...and honestly doens't look good at all. we don't know why he has cirrhosis. he doesn't drink... not even beer...and he doesn't do drugs or have cancer or Hep. they still haven't done a biopsy because of remaining ascetis and issues with clotting, but they did a cat scan and this jerk doctor said "you're liver's shrunken up like you've been drinking for 20 years!" at which point my mom yelled at him and said my dad doesn't drink and then she burst into tears. That really hurt my dad's feeling because his father was an abusive alcoholic that deserted him and his mother when he was 11. So today he went to the doctor and they told him he needs a liver transplant and will start the process of putting him on the transplant list. Besides his liver he is in pretty good health, 58 years old and only about 40 lbs overweight. I just want to know in your honest opinions do you think he has a good shot at getting a new liver? and the doctors won't tell us what will happen if he doesn't get one. We know this will eventually kill him, but is this something that he will suffer through for years? i'm just scared and overwhelmed. so someone please help with some honest answers about what is going on or will go on and pray for him. thanks.

thanks so much i really appreciate it

Hi, i'm thinking about moving to Atlanta and I was wondering what ya'll thought were the best ADN programs in the Atlanta area that don't have too bad of a waitlist. I live in Charleston SC right now and I was going to move to NYC, but my father just got diagnosed with cirrhosis (not from alcohol) and I want to be close enough to come home for a long weekend now and then. Any advice would be appreciated thanks!

By far, in my humble opinion, West Ashley is the best suburb. It's the best deal in terms of price, safety, location and beautiful houses. So anyway in West Ashley its 15 minutes to downtown charleston and north charleston. mt pleasant, james island and beaches are 20 -30 minutes away. my parents have a 3 bedroom ranch style that's worth $150,000. there are some phenomenal neighborhoods in this area like shadowmoss, but basically anything off Hwy 61 (aka ashley river road) is where you wanna look. the other areas like mt. pleasant and such are almost just as expensive as living downtown. my grandparents and my mom's side all live there, but they're all lawyers...lol...anyway feel free to PM me

your best bet is talking to a casting agency...but extra work sucks...yes they pay you $200 -$250 but that is for the whole day which is usually 12 hours of just standing around waiting. i know lots of people who do it (non-nurses make $150) and they haaaate it. the only reason they do it is because they're looking for their big break to be famous. if you just want some extra cash its really not worth it.

Don't know about being a CRNA out there, but I spent a month in Hawaii last year mostly on Oahu. I did take an extended tour of all of the cities on the Big Island. I spent time in Hilo and it's cool, but VERY different than Oahu. Oahu is gorgeus and feels like the states and Honolulu is very busy and exciting. Hilo on the other hand is very very much a small town...so if you like the country life then that's great if not I'd stay on Oahu. Also, the Big Island does still have active volcanoes and the rare but occassional tsunami and although it would be a long shot it is possible something could happen...I doubt it, but it is possible. JUst food for thought. Good luck in Hawaii YOU'LL LOVE IT

wow...love this article. i want to be a CRNA so it gives me hope...anyway i'm moving back to NYC in august, but where i am right now in SC i've heard that MUSC is being a little more lenient than a lot of schools because not that many people are applying to the anesthesia program. they said this year was relatively easy...well as easy as it can get...the minimum GPA was a 3.5 and usually i think its a 3.7 ? ... from what i hear they lowered it because there weren't enough applicants to fill the program. so to anyone having a hard time getting in you might want to consider moving to Charleston, SC for a few years :)

hey you'd know me too...i'll be there in august.

i agree see how your schedule is first then decide. if you do get a dog i would recommend a lap dog like a chihuahua, maltese, shih-tzu, toy poodle, etc. anything small just NOT a terrier. terrier's like yorkie's and jack russells have alot more energy than other small dogs meaning they will require more attention and exercise and are usually harder to train...this is just due to their original purpose as being rat catchers/ hunters. other small dogs like the toy poodle and chihuahua i mentioned are more laid back and "most" act more like cats than dogs. my chihuahua is like that she usually just watches TV with me and if i'm reading or something she just lays in my lap. Also small dogs can be trained to use the bathroom on a wee wee pad so you don't have to walk them or take them out to use the bathroom. also on the days you work you work long shifts so why not get a kitten when you get your dog? that's what i did and they love each other and keep each other company when i'm in school because they grew up together. dogs and cats only dislike each other if they become adults without socializing with each other. i'm suggesting a kitten because it's much easier to have a cat and a dog than two dogs in terms of training. also i'm just putting in my two cents because i was a dog walker in NYC and worked at a high end pet boutique when i was younger. my last suggestion would be do NOT get a dog from a pet store. they are ALL from puppy mills and are inbred. if they tell you otherwise they are just flat out lying. reputable breeders don't sell their dogs to pet shops only puppy mills do and that means dogs in pet stores are inbred high strung and usually in poor health. if you want to get a rescue dog i would go with a breed rescue. there are rescues for every breed of dog all across the country and they all have websites. typically the rescues know the history of the dog and have nursed it back to health if he/she was sick and also alot of them will start training the dogs as well...usually you just pay a donation of a $100-$200...some are free and some are a bit cheaper. hope this helps.:wink2:

hi tinderbox, i lived in nyc for 6 years and while i wasn't a nurse in the city i can answer your non-nursing questions...btw i am in sc right now but i'm moving back to nyc in august to go to bmcc and i've only been away for 10 months soooooo as to your first question living in nyc is a love/hate experience...on one hand you will meet fascinating people, experience a million different cultures and have more opportunity but there is also alot of stress and it is expensive and the first few months are confusing when your learning to get around on the subways and stuff, but i personally think there are far more pros than cons. living in nyc is like living in a different country in alot of ways...every where you go people are speaking different languages and the way of life is a bit different...like when you go shopping you go to little boutiques and individual shops not a mall (although there is one mall in the city but it's lame) also instead of home depot for paint, etc. you'd go to a little hardware store like in europe. you'd be amazed the variety of shops there are.. you can buy anything and everything...and the food is amazing!!!...there's one street called "the indian street" it's on 6th street between 2nd ave. and ave. a in the e. village...the whole street is indian restaurants and at night they're all lit up and as you walk down the waiters stand outside and haggle prices with you...like one guy will say "hey come eat here i'll give you free wine" and the next will say "no don't go there i'll give you a free entree" or whatever...can you imagine that happening anywhere else..lol...as far as being expensive well yes it is...you can drop $50 easy just in one day and not know where it all went ( and that isn't just me ) so you have to be careful if you're on a budget...to save cash for $70 you can get an unlimited metrocard for the subway and busses. also where you live makes a big difference i would suggest living in: brooklyn- in these neighborhoods...park slope, williamsburg, greenpoint, bushwick & caroll gardens try to get as close to the city as you can get but do not live in williamsburg or bushwick if it's not on the l subway line or if it's past the 7th stop and do not live in red hook, flatbush or bed-stuy:uhoh3: ). queens- can be nice if you're in long island city or close to the city. as for living in manhattan: harlem- below 116th street and on the west side is best. harlem is very up and coming ..lots of new buildings and stores and very safe now w/ big apts.. upper west side- up and coming area and cheap with big apts. downtown/financial district- you can find somegood spots here sometimes ever since 9/11 as for being single well there are tons of hot single guys in nyc...the hottest people i have ever seen have been in nyc. it is very easy to date and there are tons of bars, the kind of guy you want determines where you should go... if you want a rocker or hipster or artist type go to the e. village, union square or lower east side bars. if you want a business guy go to the bars in midtown or on the upper east side ... if you want a guy with money go to the upper east side, upper west side, tribeca, union square (the chic spots), soho and the greenwhich village. personally i think you should just go for it and move as soon as you can, b/c the longer you wait things could come up to prevent you from moving...and look at it this way the 2 years you wait are 2 years you're not in nyc....ok i'm exhausted:rolleyes: ..lol..anymore questions just pm me- :)