shadow a nurse?

newbeginnings07,

I am looking into starting an LPN program at Mercy Hospital in Miami. After reading your posting it caught my attention that you will be attending an (LPN & RN) course combined. If you don't mind, where are they offering this program?

Thanks!

Sure,it's in Cincinnati,Ohio.There are actually two new schools to my area that are offering this program,Bohecker and Hondros Colleges Of Nursing.I know that this is very far from you but I would love to relocate to Miami if you want to come to Cincy!

To answer the original questions - yes and yes. If you know a nurse or know someone who knows a nurse, start there to ask about shadowing. Call local hospitals, too. Try the nursing recruitment office. You might need to call a couple of different places because some places have strict policies against non-employees shadowing. Ask them for suggestions about how you can find out more nursing.

Volunteering would be useful, too. Let the volunteer coordinator know that you're starting nursing school soon so that they can get you volunteering around nurses and not at the gift shop or the like.

Either way, you won't see half of what the nurses do because a lot of it is organizing, mentally prioritizing, and documenting but don't think it's useless. It's still better than never setting foot on a hospital floor until school clinicals. Once you do start school, you'll probably think "oh, that's what that was!"

So I say give it go!

Oh yeah, another possibility is to look for a CNA course that you could complete before starting nursing school. It would teach you some basics and get you into a clinical environment actually giving care. It also would qualify you for a part-time CNA job in school if you can manage it.

Rearding shadowing a nurse- this can be difficult because of HIPPA (patient confidentiality) laws.

I have been teaching nursing for 7 years now and suggest taking a CNA course- in Washington State this is 99 hours and includes CPR and HIV education. Even if you choose not to work as a CNA, just having exposure and having done some basic patient care tasks will ease your anxiety the first clinical rotation in your nursing program. It will also give you a context to apply what your instructors are talking about in the classroom.

Good Luck!

Thanks for the info,I do already have STNA and Home Health Aide Certifications and took a Phlebotomy course last year.So I have have hands on patient care experience just not in a hospital setting and it scares the crap out of me!

you will do great- remember to look at your clinical objectives, you are not there to function as an employee!!

Sure,it's in Cincinnati,Ohio.There are actually two new schools to my area that are offering this program,Bohecker and Hondros Colleges Of Nursing.I know that this is very far from you but I would love to relocate to Miami if you want to come to Cincy!

New beginnings07, do you have any info regarding the Hondros School in Cincinnati? Did you or someone you know attend? I am located in Cincy too. I am looking into going to LPN-RN school.

TIA

Before you invest your time and money into a nursing education, do some research about what is out there. You wouldn't buy a house without having a look around just because it looked good on paper. I second the recommendation for CNA. My brother tells me he is so glad of his CNA experience now that he is in med school. He is familiar with the workings of hospitals and can interact well with patients.

some hospitals will not allow shadowing because of patient confidentiality and the risk that the "student" would contract an infection or be injured. Just be aware.