Nursing Support

[Ms.Scorpio]

Congrats to all.. :wub:
I am almost done with my into to nursing class and intercultural comminications class all is going well .

[Falon]

It's been a long while since I have posted but work, school, and family life have kept a sister beyond busy! I have less than a week to go and then it's time for the NCLEX RN. I also have completed my first year as an LPN and I am grateful for the experience and hope that it helps me with my future as an RN.

I recently found out some good news. I have been doing my research and I thought I would have to get the BSN and them move on to the MSN. Well I have found several schools in my area that will accept the BA I got in undergrad along with my ADN and accept me directly into their MSN programs. I will have to take 2-3 classes before I qualify and two of the schools require the GRE but I am so happy to know that many of my instructors were wrong and having a bachelors in a non-nursing related field DOES count.

Good luck to everyone who has been accepted into nursing programs and of course good luck to all of our soon to be new grads!

[flychicshae]

Congrats to all!! I need everyone to please be in prayer for me. I have the HESI coming up on the 1st of April and I have to pass this exam in order to graduate. My expected date to graduate is May 09'. So please, please, please, be in prayer for me. Thanks to all in advance, I will keep everyone posted on the results...

ps. Has anyone taken this exam and how did you prep for it???
[/b]

Hey everyone,
I didn't pass my HESI exam, I studied and did so many questions. We will find out our fate on Mon. please continue to keep me in your prayers. I have come so far and I am so ready to graduate. :crying:
Thanks in advance!!

[jorjeni]

I hate my job and I had always promised myself when my son graduates I will get another job one doing something I like. My son will hopefully graduate in 2010 so I have been thinking about what I want to do. It only 2 fields that catch my attention and that is Nursing or computers. I am leaning more towards Nursing. There is a school not far from me that has a great Nursing program so I am told but I have NO experience.

So I am here looking for advice. Should I get a job in a nursing home and get my CNA there or go to a school and get one do I have to have it before I go to nursing school. I guess I want to know what steps to I have to take.......

TIA
Jennifer

[sakiohma]

Hey, all! I'm currently not a nursing student, but lately I've become interested in nursing. Particularly travel nursing. I would love to travel internationally, like to Japan or England (you can do that, right?). I just turned 20 years old a few days ago and I've been attending a small, two year college for two years now, but I have yet to declare a major!

So I've been doing a lot of research on careers. Travel nursing interested me the most because, well, I love traveling and I love helping people (them making a lot of money helps too!). I'm thinking about either majoring in nursing, veterinary technology, or international relations. I'm really not sure, but I think the best time to make decisions like this is when you are young. I'd hate to major in something and get stuck in that career path only to find out 10 years down the road, after I put so much time and energy (and money!) into it, that I hate it.

My only fear about going into nursing is, well, I don't really have an interest in the medical field... Yeah, I know that sounds dumb. My whole life I wanted to be an artist and break into the fashion/entertainment industry, but, lately, I've lost my passion for art and, with the recession an' all, going into the art insustry doesn't sound like a good idea. So, yeah, I'm kind of stuck in a rut. I'm hoping that my passion for helping others will overpower the uninterest I have in all things medical. But, then again, who knows? I just might be interested in medical things if I try it out. I'm currently trying to find some good nursing internships that'll help me get a taste of the medical field before I jump into it.

[Falon]

Jorjeni, I recommend looking at the requirements of the nursing schools that you are interested in before deciding to obtain your CNA. When I first became interested in becoming a nurse over 10 years ago I had the same line of thinking that you do...become a CNA to get an idea of what the job is like. I hated being a CNA, it's one of the hardest jobs out there especially in the nursing home. A lot of CNAs don't work together and the amount of lifting and turning you have to do is insane. I literally wasn't physically strong enough to work in the nursing home setting. Next I got a job in a hospital and it was much better. There is more teamwork and unlike the nursing home the majority of the patients don't require total care. In a nursing home you might have an assignment with 10-13 residents and out of those you may have 9 that require total care. This means that you will be responsible for getting them in and out of bed, dressing them, feeding them....toileting or changing their incontinence briefs...etc. Also a, CNA does not know what a nurse knows and I know that from first hand experience. I thought I knew from observing but since becoming a nurse I am embarrassed to find out what I didn't know. In my opinion if you need a job badly then become a CNA if not then don't do it. You will learn everything a CNA knows in the first eight weeks of nursing school anyway.

Sakiohma, in order to become a travel nurse you must first gain experience working in a traditional nursing job. Traveling nurses receive minimal orientation and are expected to be able to jump right into whatever position they are hired for. In the U.S travel nursing means traveling within your state from facility to facility or from state to state not internationally. In order to practice nursing in foreign countries you have to fulfill the education requirements of that country. The minimum requirement is usually the bachelors degree and you will still have to pass the certification exam and language requirements of that country in order to practice. Some countries do not accept U.S credentials (France for example) because their nursing programs differ in structure from ours...Japan? Forget about it. Foreign nurses that go their to work usually end up working as aides and are you willing to learn Japanese to work in Japan? International travel nursing means immigrating (getting a visa and work permits) to a new country and with all of the hassle of become a foreign nurse you should expect to spend at least a few years in that country to make the hassle worth it.

As far as job security goes yes nursing is a little more secure than many other areas but currently there are cutbacks in hiring and lay-offs going on just like any other industry. It's taking a lot of new grads months to find positions and experienced nurses are being let go and those that are kept are expected to take bigger patients loads and work with less resources. At my job we lost our wound care nurse and supplies have become scare. We have also been given patients who are sicker to work with. These kinds of conditions lead a person to be burnt out. When I first started out as an LPN I was motivated to work overtime and didn't mind when they would call me at the last minute to pick up extra shifts. Now? please...the money does not motivate me anymore. The workload has become too heavy and management is too critical. Nursing is one of those careers where you rarely, if ever, get a thanks or job well done from your bosses. The only way you know you are doing good is when they leave you alone. The only feedback you get is when you forget to do something or do something wrong.

I like the "medical" aspect of nursing...the problem solving...the satisfaction of knowing that my actions have had a direct hand in saving or improving a life. Even when the person dies if I made the transition easier for them then I know I have done well. What I don't like is all of the things I mentioned in the previous paragraph. So nursing is not the rosy picture that the media presents it to be. You will make a decent living but trust me you will be working really hard for every nickel and you will not become rich doing this. So please consider carefully before you decide to go to school to do something that you don't really have an interest in. You're young and may have to work for the next 4 or 5 decades. That's a long time to do something that you have minimal interest in.

[life4evr]

Well I got into Nursing school at the Community college. Just gotta figure out how to pay for it now.