*~*November*~* Nurses & Future Nurses! - Page 5

[BugMacGee]

Originally Posted by magnificentmama

Oh hockey sticks!! Don't tell me that!!!!!! I was hoping that eventually this feeling of impending doom was going to go away soon!!!!

I think some amount of *fear*, if you can call it that, is healthy in this environment. Anyone who is too comfortable or confident and thinks they know everything (at least in critical care) makes me nervous.


My sense of impending doom did go away after a year or so and then I started attending high risk deliveries!!! Got used to that, then I started doing transport! I'm pretty comfortable where I am in my practice now. Now watch, they'll make me do charge.

[MelW]

Originally Posted by BugMacGee

My sense of impending doom did go away after a year or so and then I started attending high risk deliveries!!! Got used to that, then I started doing transport! I'm pretty comfortable where I am in my practice now. Now watch, they'll make me do charge.

A year was about how long it took me to get less "totally fearful all the time" (and to stop having stupid work dreams constantly, too). It does get better

I have a BSN from a Canadian university, but the difference between diploma/degree programs is a little different here. In BC the diploma programs are being (or already are?) phased out- community colleges have programs that feed into university BSN programs. I loved being in a university setting- getting to see and participate in new nursing research, the really academic environment and services, and the variety of career options that I was exposed to. We did less acute care clinical experience in the program, but a lot more community/ health promotion work. It was scary as a brand new grad working in acute care, but it got better

I wrote the NCLEX after I had been out of school and working in L&D for five years. My husband went to grad school in Oregon, so I wrote it to work while we were there. There was certainly some cramming of cardiology and neuro stuff that I hadn't looked at for years, but overall it wasn't that bad! I passed on my first try (and in only 45 minutes).

[marilynmama]

Originally Posted by annethcz

So give me the scoop. How much does the type of degree matter- BSN vs. ADN. I know that I've seen a few want ads that specify that candidates with BSNs are preffered over ADNs. Will I be paid less with an ADN degree vs. BSN? Will I have a harder time finding a job? Is it stupid of me to be worried about this?

I have a BSN and for *me* it was a good choice because I plan to start applying to NP next year. I just didn't want to get my associates (I already have one) and then go back for more undergrad schooling...I just don't know if I would have gone back sad to say. But even saying that I would have been happy just to get into ANY good nursing program given how hard it is to get into any of them!

No, you won't have a harder time finding a job with an ADN, most places don't care and they don't pay BSN more (well except like VA here which pays significantly more for BSN). There are some nursing specialties that do require a BSN (some state jobs, some public health, school nursing, etc) but most don't care.

As far as clinical hours between ADN and BSN I think that isn't an issue anymore. Your state board of nursing decides how many clinical hours are required so they both have to meet the same requirements. I know when I was in my BSN program, NONE of the ADN program students that I ever worked with got any more clinical hours than I did.

I would look at which programs have the best NCLEX pass rates (you should be able to find this online on your board of nursing website). And just apply to all that your interested in and see where you get accepted! What schools in your area have a good reputation?

I know I went to an excellent nursing school well know in the community (I talked to a lot of nurses and doctors before applying). For me the unit I work in, the "bookwork" I learned in school has come in WAY more valuable to me than clinical "skills". I have to do a lot of critical thinking and have had to go back and review my critical care and med/surg books a lot more than anything else. Basic skills are not hard to learn and students seem so obsessed (I know I was) with how many clinical hours they get, or how many Foleys that have put in, IVs started, etc....you will learn what you need and get a LOT of practice when you start your job. That "bookwork" is your knowledge base and it is SO important! This has been my experience at least.

Good luck finding a school that works for you!!

[Turkish Kate]

Those are some good points, Marilyn. I forgot to add in my post that in the long run, the amount of clinical time you get in school doesn't really add up to a hill of beans worth of difference. You will learn the skills you need to learn while on the job and each area has a different skills mix. Basic assessment skills are *crucial* in my opinion, because without those, it doesn't matter how well you can do most anything else. "Bookwork," aka theory is also important (and more emphasized in a BSN program) and is the foundation for understanding the "whys" of the skills that we learn.

A lot of the OP's questions are going to be specific to where she lives, like the difference in pay, hiring practices, etc. It might be a good idea to hunt up some local nurses and ask *them* for recommendations for nursing schools, the differences between ADN and BSN locally, etc.

One other area that I thought of where BSN makes a differnece is certs. I think you get credentialed RN,C for ADN and RN,BC for BSN. Is that still correct? My former hospitals paid much more for certs than they did for BS/BA.

[amnesiac]

Originally Posted by MelW

amnesiac, I notice that you're the mod for vaccinations and a public health nurse. How do you deal with vaxes in your work? I assume that it's part of your hep B prevention role.

I'm also in public health, and have to say that doing vaccinations is by far my least favourite part of my job. And I'm not 100% anti-vax (my daughter is selectively/delayed vaxxed), but I really dislike "convincing" people to vaccinate. I'm pretty laid back about it- totally no pressure, I explain our "official" stance and support whatever decisions people make. But even as I read the information that I'm supposed to give clients it makes me shutter; it's so emotionally charged and kind of manipulative at times.

I work for a municipality health dept rather than county or region so our operations are on a much smaller scale & we're not departmentalized. There are only 2 FT nurses so we have to be able to do everything - so that means sometimes I do have to see patients for vax visits, not just as part of peri hep B. I wrote this a while back but it's pretty much my feeling about most everything I do at work. I'm much less pushy than I'm expected to be but I just think people should choose to either do or not do something because they think it's the right thing, not just because someone else told them to. I don't think it's my job to "convince", I think it's my job to provide whatever answers/info a parent/patient needs in an unbiased manner. And I never share my personal views either with patients or co-workers.

[annethcz]

Thanks for the thoughts about BSN vs. ADN. I really appreciate it. I have looked at NCLEX passing rates, but I also realize that how well I do in ANY program will be directly related to how much effort and energy I put into it. And I think that I've had enough life experience now that I'm more eager to get everything I can from my life. Does that make sense?

I've decided to apply to the 'dinky community college' associate RN program for fall of 2009. After chatting with someone in admissions, it looks like that will accept all of my prereqs, so the only thing I need to do before applying is take a Nursing 101/Nursing Assistant course. I figure that I might as well try, it isn't going to cost me too much in terms of time or money. If I don't get into the community college associate RN program, my plan is to reevaluate and probably take the prereqs I'd need to apply the the local state University accelerated BSN program (for people who already have a bachelor's degree).

I'm trying to do this in a manner that is relatively inexpensive, time efficient, but still ensure that I get a good education. So many options to consider...

[CNM2B]

Hi All! I'm a BSN RN and currently in grad school working on my CNM and WHNP. I work part-time nights and stay home with my 23 month old during the day. It's busy, but I love it!

[shelleyd]

Hi CNM2B. I have a question for you. What is the difference between the scope of practice of a CNM and a WHNP? A WHNP doesn't do prenatal and birth I'm assuming. But what do they do that a CNM doesn't do? I've looked into the WHNP program at Frontier but I don't really know what that would enable me to do that a CNM can't do.

It's a long way off for me though since I'm still doing RN prereqs!

[mamanurse]

New nurses thread

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