Any nursing students on NT?

[what up]

Agreed.

If you can skip med/surg, by all means do just that.

But a med/surg gig is much better than say a nursing home ...

 

[solarius49]

A nursing home sounds horrible man, my girls dad is the head nurse at a nursing home, i couldnt do it

 

[airblaster503]

What are the job prospects where you dudes are located? I applied to nursing schools but changed my course of action mainly because nobody up here in the PNW is hiring new grads unless you want to move to a small town in the middle of nowhere. There is way to many people with BSN's and no experience out of work. Now I'm thinking of doing Respiratory Therapy then in the future getting into Physician Assistant since that has always been my long term goal.

 

[solarius49]

Well i know Pittsburgh has a huge hospital system. UPMC is one of the best and biggest chains of hospitals in the country that I know of

 

[mychenny]

I would also like to learn more about a career in nursing (education, job market, career path). I'm currently in my 3rd year as an undergrad majoring in HR management but I don't feel like this is what I really want to do with my life.

 

[jt solemates lm]

I'm currently in my 3rd semester of ASN but am planning on going straight to BSN right after. Each and every day of clinicals, whether it be med surg, OB, advanced med surg, or peds, I've been appreciating nursing so much more ever since I started. That's very true what everyone's brought up from the math not really being that hard once you get the hang of all the conversion, to the wide age range, to the pure satisfaction of helping your patient out on a physical, mental, and emotional level. It's really a great feeling to know that you've helped them in any kind of way throughout their battle with their illness. But I will admit that all the poo and pee and bloare od and smells isn't for everyone, and those advanced med surg theory tests are definitely not easy, no matter how hard you study, IMO.

 

[xtianp]

Checkin in. SoCal nurses standup!

 

[grusumm18]

<<<newgrad
fml

 

[kickstart]

Honestly, if you have 2 years and a decent gpa consider PA school. More money with most likely better hours. Either way you can't go wrong.

 

[airblaster503]

Originally Posted by kickstart

Honestly, if you have 2 years and a decent gpa consider PA school. More money with most likely better hours. Either way you can't go wrong.

Late bump but this is what I am doing.  The thing is for most good PA schools they want you to have a few years of hands on patient experience.  I've recently decided I am going to finish up my Bachelors of Science and at the same time go into Respiratory Therapy(know there are a few of those on here, PaulisonTilt and KSteezy I believe).  After working a few years I will then go into PA school and hopefully be able to pay out of pocket at that point as well.  Feels like I am going to be in school forever, already 25, hopefully done before I hit 32-33

 

[dayman]

I posted this on another thread, but no response. Hopefully, I get better responses here. 

Got accepted to nursing school today, but i am having second thoughts. Im 24 and i got a full time job and if i go back to school, i wont be able to work here and my savings will be depleted by the time i graduate from nursing school. Any advice?


It's an ADN and the reason why I chose that is a very long story...but it seems like the right move for me. I already have a BS with $20k in debt and this ADN program is gonna cost around 10-12k (as oppose to most BSN programs costing between 25k-50k). If I do decide to go to nursing school then I will most likely quit my job and take out about $2-3k in loans per semester.
Once I graduate, I'm going to try and find a job (i know the nursing field is saturated and it's tough to find a job) even if it's at a nursing home and try to receive some tuition assistance to go for BSN. This just makes the most sense to me....hopefully by the time I'm 30, I can go for my masters with at least 3 years of exp in nursing.

Yes, I've thought this through for a long time and I feel well prepared, but I am still having second thoughts about going back to school....

 

[jjc6723]

My GF right now graduated from PA school about a year ago and I think it is absolutely worth it. I know you will need to have a Bachelor's it doesn't really matter what concentration you get. My GF told me she had friends with Bachelors in arts, liberal studies, biology, chemistry, and she did business. I mean they don't really look down on you on which path you took as long as you do well in your pre req's. MOST PA program's do require some hands on training in getting into there program but there are such schools like WESTERN UNIVERSITY (where my gf graduated from) where they do not require any hands on experience, but it does help to have it. Trust me if there are more questions on PA programs shoot me a PM and I can always ask my girl.

Now for me I will be graduating this June with my BSN at CSUSB. It was hard trust me I'm not really the book smart type of person but I really excel in clinical's. I wasn't as lucky as some people to say the test were easy I struggled every time I took a test. Nursing is no joke it is a different thinking I have never had to think so much on a test like Nursing test. You really have to study and sit down and open the books. You can simply understand disease process and all of that but you need to know how to apply it to the questions. I don't really know how to explain it but questions aren't so cut and dry as you will need to really think about the question.

As far as working yes most students will start at a med surg floor but trust me if you work up your connections while in school its definitely possible to avoid it. I've worked as a CNA for 2 years prior to nursing school and have been working as a student nurse for about a year it doesn't hurt to have experience. But whats important is to make an impact when your in clinicals talk to the staff and make yourself stand out. I've already gotten offered a job in the ICU and a med surg/telemetry floor and that's all because I was active in clinicals. Sometimes obtaining a nursing job is really who you know. I've seen some of the smartest students in past classes go without jobs because they didn't make those connections. If trauma is really what you want go for it and just work hard for it because seriously it doesn't come easy. Its absolutely obtainable, but it may really come down on who you know.

If you have any questions shoot me a PM