Crunchy Nurses '08 - Page 8

[mags.bubble]

Hi, I am Maggie, but my nurse friends at work call me 'Mother Earth' ! ROFL. I think it is funny. I don't care for L&D, my love is the elderly. I believe I think of hospice the way some of you think of birth. It sounds so funny and hard to explain....

Kids calling....
Maggie

[BugMacGee]

I'm glad to see more *crunchy* NICU nurses. I work with quite a few. I've found that I'm quite able to balance my crunchy self with my medical self in the NICU.
No if I could just get everyone to stop circ'ing their boys!!!

[goodygumdrops]

Hi everyone,

I am in the beginning stages of figuring out Nursing programs and prereqs. There are two programs near my home, one is RN and other is BSN. I spoke with an adviser at the university and she recommended that I apply for the Accelerated BSN program. It's a highly intensive 1 year nursing degree for students that hold a degree in another field.

I have to take the following prereqs
A&P 1 and 2 + labs
Chem 1 +lab
Microbiology +lab
Statistics
Nutrition
Intro to Psych
Algebra
Intro to Health Sciences

If I apply for next year fall 2010 then I would have to have all of these prereqs done by May 2010. I can't decide if I should try to accomplish this so I can start by Fall 2010 or if I should give it another year and take it slower. I have been a sahm for the last two years and my son hasn't been in any daycare situations so I'm kind of nervous about overdoing it.

The positive of finishing prereqs is that I would be able to finish my nursing degree in two years instead of three.

The other thing is that I am probably going through a divorce soon. We haven't separated yet but I definitely see it happening in the next year or so.

So, lay it on me. Am I crazy to try and do 9 classes(mostly sciences) by May 2010

[akayerich]

Originally Posted by mags.bubble

I believe I think of hospice the way some of you think of birth. It sounds so funny and hard to explain....

Maggie

I know exactly what you mean.

[choosewisdom]

Wow! I am impressed to see this thread. Maybe it is my chosen specialty or the area in which I live, but I seem to be the only crunchy nurse where I work. I was so sad when we had a non-circ'd pt last fall. To not only hear all of the other nurses talking about how "gross" it was, but to find out that they had retracted this three month-old!!! EEK

I brought up lots of info and printed it off for all of my coworkers!

[Ceinwen]

I posted much earlier in the thread when it first started up - but I wanted to say... I just graduated!!! :

Yep, finished it all up! My actual convocation is at the end of the month, but my grades are in, done, ta-da. I've got my BScN and I write my registration for my RN in June.

So, hang in there everyone, it is soooo worth it to get that little piece of paper!

[lorijds]

gummy--

What's your financial situation going to be like? Will you have to work? How are you going to arrange childcare?

I would think that you would have to treat nine mostly heavy classes in one academic year like a full time job that occasionally required overtime. I'd also like to point out that lab classes may only count for 1-2 hours of credit, but require 3-5 hours a week in the classroom. For example, my micro lab counted as 2 hours credit, but the lab was scheduled 2.5 hours on Tues and Thurs, for a total of 5 hours a week.

I won't say that it can't be done--but if you are going from a SAHM to a single mom AND school fulltime in a very academically challenging situation--you better have your ducks in a row. You will have to be very organized, you won't be able to miss much class, and so you will need childcare not only for while you are in class, but probably also for some study time.

You will also need childcare for when your kid is sick--nursing school in particular will not allow you to miss much class. Every clinical we missed had to be made up. If we missed more than one week of clinicals, we were kicked out of the program. They are required by the state to have a certain amount of clinical time. If you don't attend that, then you haven't met the state requirements to sit for your boards, so they have to kick you out. If you are the only care giver for your kid, and you don't have "sick" daycare lined up, you are screwed.

So if you want to try it--go for it. But get yourself together before hand. Know who is your back up (or back ups) for day care, know how you are going to fund this, and get in the mindset that, yes, it will suck for a while, but only for a while. There is an end in sight, and then you will have a great job and a good income.

Good luck.

[lorijds]

Congrats, Ceinwen. Good luck on boards! Do you have a job lined up yet?

[Ceinwen]

Originally Posted by lorijds

Congrats, Ceinwen. Good luck on boards! Do you have a job lined up yet?

Thanks! I do actually have a job - it's only guaranteed for 6.5 months (it's called the New Grad Initiative, done by the Ontario govn't). Basically I get full time work for the six months, but I'm paired with an RN. I share her workload as a supernumerary (sp?) and get the same pay & benefits.

At the end of the six months, they can offer me a full time job if there's one available - but there has to be at least a part time job available for me. I did my pregrad in the ICU and it really wasn't to my liking. I found the shift work as a single parent to be too intense and difficult to manage.

Soooo, I found this position at a long term care facility. Basically it's a management position, and I have some concerns over losing nursing skills, but with two little ones at home this job offers a Mon - Fri/7 - 3 schedule and I grabbed it right away.

I'm not sure how much I should be studying for the boards. I have friends from last year who started work right away and didn't study at all... and friends who chose not to work and studied 4-6 hours a day for the whole month prior.

Everyone passed. So who knows? I have a 3.8 average, so I'm not terrified, but I know I'll definitely be doing some review.

[gealach]

Originally Posted by goodygumdrops

Hi everyone,

I am in the beginning stages of figuring out Nursing programs and prereqs. There are two programs near my home, one is RN and other is BSN. I spoke with an adviser at the university and she recommended that I apply for the Accelerated BSN program. It's a highly intensive 1 year nursing degree for students that hold a degree in another field.

So, lay it on me. Am I crazy to try and do 9 classes(mostly sciences) by May 2010

Hi Goody!
I am currently in the middle of an Accelerated BSN program. My program is 16 months long and I'll be finished in December. So, if you have any questions about it, please ask away! First, I wanted to clear up something. This might be a typo, but you said that one program near you was an RN and one was a BSN. They are not separate things. Perhaps you meant ADN (an associate's degree) and a BSN? But, an associate's degree prepared nurse and a bachelor's degree prepared nurse are both RNs. We take the same licensing exam and everything. At the end of my program, I'll be an RN, BSN. A person with an associate's will be a RN, ADN. Both registered nurses.

Now, on to talking about Accelerated BSN programs...I'll tell you that it is pretty intense. Those 9 mostly science prereq courses that you need to do in the next year will be probably less hectic than the ABSN schedule once you start it.

A semester for us is 8 weeks long. The accelerated part means that we squish 2 semesters into one. On one day this semester, I am in class from 8 in the morning til 1 pm, and then at the hospital from 2:30 til 10 pm. That is not the usual, but it can happen and you have to be prepared for long hours of both class, hospital time, and studying.

And, as a previous poster mentioned, if you do start the ABSN, you will need very reliable childcare and childcare that will take your kid even when he/she is ill. With our program, there is a $50 charge if you miss ONE clinical day a semester. No matter the reason. If you miss a second clinical day, it is $150, if you miss a third, you are out. And, the problem is, with the ABSN program, it is hard to even schedule a make up day because the schedule is so packed.

I'm not saying this to discourage you. An accelerated program can be a great way to get your BSN. And, many parents make it work. I don't have kids yet, and I am in awe of my fellow students who do have kids. There are only a few of them and I would bend over backwards to help them out because I admire what they are doing so much.

I would recommend that you ask to speak to a current ABSN student at your school so you can get a true picture of their schedule to see if you can make it work.

Good luck and feel free to pm me if you have more questions!

[goodygumdrops]

Thanks gaelech,

The rn vs bsn thing I understand, I just meant Asn vs bsn and I didn't type it clearly. I am so not sure what to do about the whole accelerated program or not. It's super frustrating. Basically, I really need to get working so I am trying to go about it the shortest manner. But I definitely will want to complete a msn so I am just not sure if I should push forward with the bsn.

My son will be 4 around then, if I start the accelerated program. I was thinking that I would work parttime and go to school parttime over the next two years to easy us into it. My son is hopefully going to start daycare in June and so I will have some time for him to adjust before I go full time. Then I would quit work and live off student loans when I'm in the accelerated program.

I am likely going through a divorce too in the next year so I don't want to sign up for the accelerated program until things get more relaxed.

Thanks for the advice and if anyone else would like to share their experiences with an accelerated program, let me know.

[mags]

I'm late to the convo. I'm an accelerated BSN grad from back in 1999, when accel programs were still not very popular yet. I really wish I would have done a MSN accel program, but back then there were very few of those around. Yes it was intense, but totally doable and the nursing program I went to is one of the #1 programs in our area, so it wasn't an, "easy" program, we're known to have a high passing rate on our boards and for putting out new grads who have a lot of hands on exp (I think their clnicals are really strong). I already had a prior degree in dietetics and quite honestly, I found my nursing classes to be a lot easier than my dietetics courses, which were much more into biochem, chem, etc..

The worst part about nursing school, IMO are the nursing instructors. Some of them are just plain bitchy and if they don't like you for whatever reason, they can make your life miserable. The one I got stuck with for peds was AWFUL, I ended up getting IBS while on clinical with her and it was yrs before I got over that issue. Ironically, all of my other instructorswere always very fond of me. I just had that one particular instructor who (I know I sound paranoid), seemed out to get me. She was like that with other students too, those that she liked, she went go out of the way to do favors for them and would even put those she disliked in a bad situation (ie: she expected me to trade clinical spots with another student she favored and expected me to do an extra clinical day in something I had already done, and basically she got even worse after that incident, I know if I would have asked her for a similar favor as the other student she would never have even considered it), for those that they disliked, oh boy, she would go out of the way to make sure you were well aware of her dislike of you. It didn't matter if you were accelerated or not though, there are just some nursing instructors who are very much on a power trip and they can make your semester hellish...

[goodygumdrops]

Ok well, now I'm wondering if I should just go for an asn and then apply for and rn to msn bridge program. I really want to get an msn and i plan to have all this done by the time I'm forty. I'm 32 now. If I went to cc, and got my rn, I would be out in about 3 years, which is the same amount of time as the bsn, except I wouldn't been in an accelerated program. Then I could apply for work and do the rn to msn parttime. What do you ladies think?

Would having an asn and a bachelors in another field be helpful for finding a job?

If I went for my asn, it would be a lot easier because it's closer to my house, its a cc so it would be cheaper, they have a decently priced daycare right on campus, etc. Oh, and I am going to be a single mom at some point in the next year so that will be a major transition....

Help me make a informed decision please. I just want to be sure that I'm able to find a decent job when I get out.

[mags]

GGD, may I ask what you want a MSN for? I really wanted one to become an NP, but all of these yrs later, if I pursue more schooling it will no longer be in the field of nursing. I'd be more likely to seek going to PA school vs. the NP route, b/c I have friends who went the NP route and were very unhappy with it. I do not think it benefits you to have a degree is something else, unless your other degree is something mgmt oriented and you plan to go into hosp admin or some other nurse mgmt, kwim?

If your goal is to start working as an RN and making $ asap, I'd do whatever program (whether at be and AD or BSN, or accel BSN) it would take to get yourself into that situation. I don't want to put a dampner on your plans about your MSN. I thought for yrs and yrs that I needed and wanted to get my MSN and then realized a few yrs ago that it wasn't really what I wanted. If I return to school (I'm currently a sahm, worked until I had my first child), I'd go for either Occupational Therapy (which I think may be a doctorate program now) or become a PA, b/c I think it is more flexible and they get paid better than NPs. FWIW, my best friend is getting her doctorate in nursing, she already has her MSN for FNP and she hated it so much, she let her license lapse, b/c she would rather just work as an RN than as a NP. In fact, she has a lot of other FNP friends who did the same thing... and when I told her that I had decided that MSN wasn't something I was going to aim for anymore, she told me my plan to pursue OT or PA were smart and she thinks that it would be a good idea for me to change my plans to get a MSN/NP, b/c in her opinion, it's not worth it. She is not even sure what she is going to do with her doctorate after she gets out, probably teach or admin.

[gealach]

Something else to think about related to the MSN.... If you are planning to be a nurse practitioner, I have heard that practicing as a NP will soon require a doctorate in nursing instead of a master's. I believe the target date is 2015. If what I have heard is correct, if you *begin* your master's program before 2015, you can practice as a NP with a master's. If you start your program after that date, you will need a doctorate to practice as a NP. But, don't trust me on that!

I did a quick search to see if I could find the actual guidelines, but no luck. It is finals week here, so no extra time to dig. Maybe someone here knows more about it?

[mags]

Originally Posted by gealach

Something else to think about related to the MSN.... If you are planning to be a nurse practitioner, I have heard that practicing as a NP will soon require a doctorate in nursing instead of a master's. I believe the target date is 2015. If what I have heard is correct, if you *begin* your master's program before 2015, you can practice as a NP with a master's. If you start your program after that date, you will need a doctorate to practice as a NP. But, don't trust me on that!

I did a quick search to see if I could find the actual guidelines, but no luck. It is finals week here, so no extra time to dig. Maybe someone here knows more about it?

The only thing that makes me kind of go, "hmm" about that is that for over two decades now, they have been saying that they are going to make all nurses be BSNs (grandfathering in diploma/ADN nurses). Well, it's never happened, they talk and talk, but nothing ever comes of it. I will be really interested to see if they will actually go through with making NPs doctorate level only, b/c they can't even come to terms with getting rid of ADN programs and making them BSN. I DO feel strongly that the discrepancy in education is one reason why the nursing field does not get the respect that it deserves and why the pay has not improved.

[goodygumdrops]

Thanks mags. I appreciate your btdt experience. I was thinking that I would like to be a nurse practitioner or CNM. My first goal upon becoming an RN is IBCLC. I thought it would be awesome to take it step further and become a NP and focus on woman's health. I don't know that I necessarily want to be catching babies but I would love to work with woman exclusively.

However, I want to say that I know that once I get into a program that my plans could very well change. I guess my first real thing is to get my asn/bsn and get out there. I think the asn would be easier because the CC is less than 10 minutes from my home, daycare at CC, not an accelerated program,etc.

I am starting to lean that direction again with the idea that I can finish my degree through a RN to BSN/MSN bridge program.

I do really need to have some income over the next few years.

[mags]

Originally Posted by goodygumdrops

Thanks mags. I appreciate your btdt experience. I was thinking that I would like to be a nurse practitioner or CNM. My first goal upon becoming an RN is IBCLC. I thought it would be awesome to take it step further and become a NP and focus on woman's health. I don't know that I necessarily want to be catching babies but I would love to work with woman exclusively.

However, I want to say that I know that once I get into a program that my plans could very well change. I guess my first real thing is to get my asn/bsn and get out there. I think the asn would be easier because the CC is less than 10 minutes from my home, daycare at CC, not an accelerated program,etc.

I am starting to lean that direction again with the idea that I can finish my degree through a RN to BSN/MSN bridge program.

I do really need to have some income over the next few years.

Are you a LLL leader? I am, and I know that my hours being a leader can help me to pursue my IBCLC. I would love to become a LC, but the reality in the area that we live in (we have two LC's in our area and they have to fight for business), is that I would not be able to make a living doing it. For now, I am just doing LLL, b/c I have a passion to be a BFing advocate and to help women who want to BF attain that goal. Don't know if anything would emerge later on, but in the meantime, it helps to know that my hrs are a LLL leader can contribute to my professional career as well, kwim?

One of the IBCLC's that our LLL works with is a CNM and NP. I sometimes feel bad for her, she has so many services and exp to offer, BUT she is IMO not utilized enough for all that she can offer. She started out as a LLL leader, got her ADN, BSN, and then pursued her MS degrees, it's been like a 30 yr journey for her and I have deep respect for what she has done. I also see how frustrated that she gets with the, "system" and how things work, esp as an advanced practice nurse, many ppl do not value you, like you should, kwim?

Anyway, I think the best thing to do is to get your RN asap, whichever program will help you attain that and go from there. Sometimes we have this specific plan in our heads, but things change, and your plans may not end up being the same as what you originally attended. Take it one step at a time, become an RN, find out what specialty of being a nurse strikes your fancy. I thought that I would love peds when I was in nursing school and also community health. Well, I hated peds, the parents of the pts made me angry and I found myself so judgemental against these parents (many neglectful parents). I also thought I would like community health, I still think that I have the personality to do it (I enjoy working on projects like planning health promotion programs, etc.), BUT I fell in love with critical care. Never would have thought I'd head down that path originally. Now that I am a sahm, I am thinking when/if I go back to work, I may pursue maternal health/ob, and then go from there...

[ollineeba]

Originally Posted by Ceinwen

I posted much earlier in the thread when it first started up - but I wanted to say... I just graduated!!! :

Yep, finished it all up! My actual convocation is at the end of the month, but my grades are in, done, ta-da. I've got my BScN and I write my registration for my RN in June.

So, hang in there everyone, it is soooo worth it to get that little piece of paper!

Congratulations!

[ollineeba]

I have 15 days until my final exam.. and then only ONE more year until graudation. That sounds like an eternity, but I'm hoping it will fly by. Anyone else going into their senior year?