Stressed and Depressed Graduate to Be

[shining_star28463]

i graduate (hopefully) from my lpn progam on july 30 and i am so stressed out and depressed. we have just returned from our break today and out class work for the 10 week session is overwhelming, and now the whole "okay, so what's next" dread that i'm feeling now that it's almost over is breathing down my neck.

i have worked very hard to get through the program and i have maintained a 3.0 gpa (so far), but now that it's getting down to the wire i don't know if i will be able to find a job that i will enjoy doing. i am not very interested in working in ltc facilites, but that seems like the only type of experience that i have received. we are in our peds/maternity rotation and we're doing our clinicals in a ltc which means basically no peds/maternity hands on experience at all. i was so happy at the end of the last semester because i thought that we would finally be out of the ltc facilities and moving on to something else, but alas here we are again. i am supremely depressed about that. we still haven't done an ivs or trach-care and it's only 10 weeks left before we graduate and i feel overwhelmed and under-prepared. the nclex is right around the corner and then real life and i am afraid that after working soooo hard i am going to be stuck in a job that i hate because it's all that is offered to me because i am a lpn. seriously, all that we've learned is ltc care.

i am tired. i am stressed. i am depressed. i keep looking online and in the newspaper for jobs in my area to see if there is something that i would like to do, but all that i can find advertised is ltc jobs and as much as i love the elders, i don't want to work in ltc. i am beginning to feel like i have wasted an entire year of my life learning skills to work in an area that i am going to hate.

i don't know if it is just fatigue setting in but i am begining to question everything about my choice to a lpn. i am already unhappy with the way that this semester is going and we just started.

i guess i just need some uplifting words, because right now i feel really down.

[spider11]

I graduated as an LPN in 2005. 2 months before I graduated I got a job at a local hospital as a tech in the CICU. After graduation, they hired me. I have worked in CICU for 2yrs and love every minute of it. (well...not every minute, but I've found my niche) Some hospitals DO hire LPNs. My advice is to keep looking and don't give up. Regarding the OB/Peds.....I do know that virtually no hospitals in Indiana have LPNs do Labor/Delivery. I start the transitional RN program next week. I'm so excited!!!

[linzz]

You will get great experience in LTC, just stick it out while you are deciding whether to go on with school. It will give you a great foundation and build your confidence and knowledge. Also, if you go on in school to be an RN, you may find that mother/baby is not what you thought it is. We did a unit on it and some clinical time and it was either really dull or stressed to the max. I also think that L and D is no place for any new grad. Best of luck.

[midcom]

Check with your state BON, but I was under the impression that ALL nursing programs, be it practical or registered, MUST have a certain number of clinical hours in OB/PEDS.

I don't think that is the case. The program I graduated from had no peds/OB rotation at all & the BON was OK with it. They have to agree to the curriculum of all the programs so knew what we were going to be exposed to.

My program taught a class called "Nursing through the life span" It included OB, peds, mental health, and end of life. Our whole clinical experience with kids entailed going to a day care to observe babies, weigh & measure them, filling out the graphs, and interacting with the babies. We did that for 2 hours. Then we drove over to a nearby OB/GYN practice to observe them. When my grop got there, the day was almost over. We got shown around, saw how they centrifuge semen, looked at some ulrasound images, and one of my class gave a depo shot (coincidentally, the only guy in the group). I can't say this was a good way to teach these subjects but their feeling was that very few LPNs work in L&D in our area & jobs in Peds in the hospital are few & far between. However, I work in a clinic & work with Peds. I do OK but I have lots of experience handling kids ( raised 3 boys & GM of 1 little girl.)

By the way, my clinical experiences were 2 terms in LTC, one in a home for adults with brain damage or conditions that require 24/7 care, and finally during 4th term we were in the hospital. However, my group was assigned to skilled nursing; basically LTC but more acute.

Dixie