1st Nursing School Assigment : Would Someone Here Be Willing to Let Me Interview Them

teensmom · Aug 11, 2009

1. What age were you when you realized that you wanted to become a nurse? about 45

2. Why did you choose the nursing profession? interested in healthcare and wanted a job that was secure

3. Where did you go to nursing school?Samuel Merritt ABSN

4. What do you remember most about your nursing program? I made many good friends, good grades and had a great time!

5. Do you have a specific nursing faculty member who made a positive impact on you? How?My preceptor at the end of school, he was very realistic and yet a great nurse.

6. What year did you pass your nursing licensure examination? 2008

7. Was your examination on a computer or paper/pencil? Computer

8. How long did you have to wait until you received your examination results? Abt a week

9. What was your first nursing position and where was it located? Labor and delivery in Long Beach, ca.

10. Which nursing position has been your favorite? Why? This has been my only job so far.

11. Which nursing position has been your least favorite? Why? I am having a hard time adapting to the bullying by co-workers

12. Have you returned to school in order to further your nursing education? Where? Not yet

13. How do you stay informed of the evidence-based practice changes for the nursing profession? I check the internet, listen to the students, read our new protocols

14. If you could change one thing about the nursing profession, what would it be and why? The nurses eat their young thing.

15. As a nurse, how do you make a positive difference in the lives of your patients? I remember that giving birth is one of the biggest memories people have so I try to make it a good experience.

16. If you could give advice to a new nursing student who has just begun the Practical Nursing Program, what would it be? Be careful on your first job, enjoy school to the fullest.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Aug 11, 2009

what age were you when you realized that you wanted to become a nurse? i was about 19 years of age when i became interested in nursing as a potential career field.
why did you choose the nursing profession? i chose the nursing profession due to the variety of jobs available, the stable income, the flexible hours, and the possibility of having employment with a deeper sense of purpose.
where did you go to nursing school? casa loma college, which is a trade school located in van nuys (the greater los angeles area.
what do you remember most about your nursing program? unfortunately, i remember the negative aspects of school, such as some of my immature classmates and the backstabbing politics of some of the nursing instructors.
do you have a specific nursing faculty member who made a positive impact on you? how? i had an instructor who taught the theory portion of the med/surg class. she made her positive impact with her level of knowledge and true interest in nursing.
what year did you pass your nursing licensure examination? january 2006.
was your examination on a computer or paper/pencil? i took the nclex-pn, which is cat (computer adaptive testing).
how long did you have to wait until you received your examination results? since my original licensure is from california, i had to wait 12 days for my passing result to arrive via snail mail.
what was your first nursing position and where was it located? charge nurse at a smallish nursing home in bedford, texas.
which nursing position has been your favorite? why? the prn position as a medication nurse at a psychiatric hospital was my favorite because of the lack of visitors. visitors and family members were only permitted to visit one hour per day (between 6pm and 7pm). because of these limited visiting hours, i was actually able to do my job uninterrupted. families and visitors can be bothersome and emit their sense of entitlement.
which nursing position has been your least favorite? why? i hated doing subacute rehab at a large, corporate-owned nursing home because i would have about 15 to 17 postsurgical patients who required a lot of care, were very needy, and constant complainers. the administrator loved to understaff because he received cash bonuses for coming under budget every quarter.
have you returned to school in order to further your nursing education? where? i'm attending an lpn-to-rn transition program in oklahoma, and will graduate next march.
how do you stay informed of the evidence-based practice changes for the nursing profession? completing ceus and reading nursing journal articles are good ways to stay abreast of changes.
if you could change one thing about the nursing profession, what would it be and why? tort reform is a must. nurses are buried in paperwork and too busy sending patients off to have unnecessary testing per doctors' orders just to cover ourselves in case a patient or family member wants to pursue a frivolous lawsuit.
as a nurse, how do you make a positive difference in the lives of your patients? i'm not always sure i'm making a positive impact in the lives of my patients. you can do 1,000 correct things and receive no recognition, but the one incorrect move is what will cast the negative attention in your direction.
if you could give advice to a new nursing student who has just begun the practical nursing program, what would it be? learn all you can. remain intellectually curious. think outside the box. emit a respectful, positive attitude toward your patients, coworkers, and visitors.

i hope this helps. :)

brettyinky · Aug 12, 2009

Thanks to both of you for taking the time to answer my questions. It really is tremendously helpful and I do appreciate it.

brettyinky

dolphin1946 · Aug 20, 2009

Dear Brett, I would be happy to be interviewed. I've been an l.p.n. since 1965. I've always wanted to be a nurse since I was about 5 years old. My original license was in California. I've lived and worked in Las Vegas, Nevada since 1989. My adoptive mother was a r.n., one of her sisters was also an r.n. When I found my birth mother I found out that she was an licensed psychiatric technician, a half sister is a licensed psych tech and another half sister is an l.p.n. So I come form a long line of nursing history. I've worked mostly in the acute care setting. But have worked in ecf settings and home health, but my first love has always been acute care hospitals. It's in my blood and my genes, I guess. I never wanted to do anything, career- wise except nursing. Right now I am working on a Geriatric-Psychiatric unit of 38 beds and just absolutely love it. I'll be 63 this september with two years to go till I retire. Over the years other nurses have asked me why I never went back to school and became an r.n. I was and still am very happy being an l.p.n. No one is ever "just a nurse". Even l.p.n.'s can be very instrumental and are still very important in the nursing profession. My advice for young men and women who wish to go into nursing is just Go For It follow your hearts. I did and I have never regreted one second of my career. The only other advice I have is to new grads..work in an acute care hospital setting for 1-2 years, develope your basic skills, develope your nursing common sense, fine tune everything you've learned then go into a specialty. It will be invaluable to you....God Bless you all Kathy