questions from a pre-nursing student

diane227, LPN, RN · Oct 4, 2009

That's a lot of questions. I will try to do a little summary. I had a hard time trying to decide on a major in college so I went to the counseling center and they put me through some interest exams and nursing came up high on my exam and it sounded good so I went for it. I was horrible in math and barely passed chemistry and had to retake anatomy. I just could not cut up a cat. Somehow I managed to get the pre nursing courses done and enrolled at Texas Woman's University at the Houston campus. Nursing school for me was not hard. I was never a person who studied and I don't think I ever read one bit of required reading in school. Very rarely opened a textbook. I am no genius. But I did go to class and I took good notes. So I would read my notes over before a test and that was about it. I worked part time when I was in school. I was not married and had no kids. I went to college on grant money so when I graduated I did not owe any money. My senior years of college I worked at St. Luke's Hospital in the Texas Medical Center as as CNA and I floated all over the hospital. I would do anything anyone would let me do so I got to take care of patients in the ICU on the floor, where ever. Some of the charge nurses would let me go with them to pass meds and let me give all the injections.

In nursing school we had to wear these uniforms that were pepto bismol pink with white hose and these shoes called clinic shoes. We stood out like a sore thumb. We had a rip party on the last day of clinical and tore them up. I always made A's in clinical. It was just so common sense to me. Most of my instructors were real good and easy to talk to. I never had any trouble with any of them. Nursing school as not that hard but I was tired and glad when it was over. I slid right into a job at St. Luke's upon graduation on a 42 bed post op CV floor and passed my boards on the first pass. Back then boards were two days long. Pencil and paper exam. Four sections: med surg, psych, peds, ob. Each section 250 questions. Talk about pressure. I did not study. We took some type of pre test in school to give us some idea of how we would do on the boards. I came up low on psych because it had been my first clinical rotation so I did read over my notes. But other that that, no. You had to wait 6-8 weeks for your results.

After a year of med surg I moved to the ICU and did ICU at St Luke's and Methodist for about three years. I then moved into my dream job in the ED at Ben Taub Hospital which was the county hospital, level I trauma center. And this is the only regret of nursing that I have. That I did not keep a journal. I wish so much that I had made a daily journal entry of all the things that had happened to me during my career because it has been diverse let me tell you.

The majority of my work life has been in the ED or in management of the ED. I loved management forever but I finally got burned out. Just tired of trying to get people to do what they were supposed to do anyway. But my eternal love will always be the ED. I am a bit too old to do that now. I have a bad back and I just don't have the same energy level that I used to have. But boy when I was doing it, nothing was better. It was like nothing else. Especially at Ben Taub. It was like practicing third world medicine. We did not have enough stretchers, no cardiac monitors, not enough blood pressure cuffs, you learned to assess how sick someone was by just looking at them and taking a pulse. You learned real quick what sick looked like. One gun shot wound after the other. One psych patient after another. I worked 3-11 and it was busy all night long.

At one time I did work on my MBA for a while. I was the director of Emergency and Pediatric Services at Ben Taub and was working on my MBA via a weekend program but I finally decided that it was going to be much more costly than it would be worth. It would cost more than I would gain in salary.

I left Houston after I got married finally at age 46 or 48 (I can't remember). I was hired to be the director of the ED, urgent care, life flight, work med, and trauma services in Pocatello Idaho. Two physicians that I knew had moved up there and recommended me for the job. It is a beautiful area but after about 4 years and changes in management we moved to the Seattle area to be closer to my husbands family. I am now the proud charge nurse on the 3-11 shift of a 34 bed med surg ortho floor where we just have a blast every day. We have a great, fun manager, wonderful hospital administrator and it is just fun to work there. This job gives me some management duties and some patient care and that is just fine with me. I really love it.

Nursing changes all the time and that is why it is so interesting. Never boring and always a new funny story to tell. Something funny is always happening. And then there are the times when you get to help a family when their loved one dies or just hold the hand of one of your favorite patients (it is a small community hospital so we know a lot of our patients). Just doing something small, some small kindness for someone. That's when I come home happy at night. And hope that I will be blessed in my old age with some nice nurse who will treat me the same way.

Hope you enjoy nursing as much as I have.

kkluczynski · Oct 6, 2009

Wow thats a lot of questions... well I graduated March 08 took my nclex April 08 got my first job May 08. I remember taking the nclex, I was terribly nervous, every fear and emotion going through me at once. It was very scary but I survived and passed. I have 2 children, i wasn't married at the time but got married shortly after I graduated. I took an 18 month LPN program in the evening, i enjoyed the classes they were all nursing focused. Best thing about nursing school was I knew at the end I'd have a good career. The worst thing about it was staying up late to study even though I was extremely tired with 2 kids and working in the daytime. I have not returned to school to further my education....yet. Ive only had one job since I graduated at a LTC facility, I still work at the same facility but on a skilled unit. I work 2nd shift, advantages I don't have to get up very early and I can get my kids on the school bus and I don't have to deal with upper management too much at work! Disadvantages, sometimes I'd like to be on 1st shift just to get the day over and go home with my family. The average salary in my area is 25-35,000 for new grads rough estimate. Most satisfying part of my job is knowing that I've helped in some way with a patient/residents care and they will be going home soon. I would encourage my kids if they were interested in nursing, even though they are both boys and would probably more likely choose a superhero at this point, lol. If I could do it over I wouldve stayed at the university I attended initially when I first considered nursing, but I just had my first child at the time and my focus wasn't in school, I wouldve got my RN. But Im happy with my accomplishment now, Im a nurse regardless of the letters that follow my name, someday I might go back to school for that precious RN title, but for now Im happy where I'm at. Good luck to you...

jocdelucio · Oct 20, 2009

Thank you so much for taking time and answering my questions!! Have a great day!