any nurses or nursing students in the house?

[babyfaced monster]

Ive decided to take nursing next sept, i was wondering if there are any nurses or nursing students here? How do you like it? What should i expect? What books should i purchase now to read ahead? all info would be appreciated.

 

[naturally anabolic]

i believe night fly is take it away night fly . . . . .

 

[Julez]

I am a nurse here in the UK.

Where are you studying? I ask because I know the training in the US is a bit different than here.

Also, I take it you are studying general(adult) as opposed to mental health, child, etc.

 

[Night Fly]

Nursing student here.

First off...do NOT get any books to read ahead. You will be doing SO much reading in school that you need to fully take advantage of your time now. LOL.

I will tell you this....nsg school is ridiculously hard. And it's a lot of work. Expect to not have a lot of free time and to be studying a lot.

Your professors will be strict about the smallest things...BE ON TIME!!!!

I love nursing...and am SO excited to get into my career, but I HATE the school.

 

[babyfaced monster]

Ok, so dont read ahead? I have 8 months to go before i start nursing. Im up in canada, so it maybe diff or not. I'd just like to know what assignments are expected etc. What year are you in? The shortage is so bad, that texas and california are up here recruiting new graduates.

 

[Night Fly]

I will graduate in a year from May.

You will know what assignments are expected of you because you will have a syllabus in your classes. It is not worth it to read ahead, though....seriously...enjoy your time while you can. Now...if you just really...REALLY enjoy studying...go for it. I wouldnt' recomment it, though.

Yes, the shortage is terrible. I will be able to get an amazing job with really good pay when I graduate. I'm so excited....cannot WAIT!!!

 

[babyfaced monster]

can you tell me the pros and cons of nursing? Also i went to the nursing open house presentation over here and when i looked around i was the only guy in there out of 79 ppl, any males in your class??? What are your opinions on male nurses?

 

[Night Fly]

can you tell me the pros and cons of nursing? Also i went to the nursing open house presentation over here and when i looked around i was the only guy in there out of 79 ppl, any males in your class??? What are your opinions on male nurses?

Well, I honestly think that male nurses are much more compassionate and caring toward the patients. I think there need to be more of them. Patients seem to take to them better, also.

Pros:
Huge shortage right now
You get to take care of people
You help them....even when you don't know them
You can be considered their family if they have none.
You don't have to spend an arm and a leg on nice work clothes.
You can work 3 days a week and that's it.
You can work overtime if you want.
You can do so many things with a nursing degree (as in...go into so many areas).

Cons:
Nursing school sucks.
It's competitive getting in.
You have to deal with nurses who are extremely burnt out.
You have to deal with people who do not follow standard precautions.
You see a lot of bad stuff.
You accept death...and it doesn't bother you anymore.


Those are just some off the top of my head.

My nursing class has 24 people and 1 guy in it. We started with 30 at the beginning of the semester and have already lost 6.

 

[Julez]

Just about to get my head down(bloody 'early' tommorow). With reference to your post I could write for hours!

I love my job and loved my training , however, it is not an easy profession(and Nightfly, as you probably know 'school' does not end with registration).

I would advise that if possible you do some work as a care-assistant in a local hospital or nursing home to find out if nursing is 'for you'.

In this county, attrition rates for student nurses can be upto 30% in some universitys. In my exerience, those that leave are not intellectually in deficit, they either got dettered by conditions in the NHS, lacked commitment or found nursing was'nt for them.

Feel free to contant me via PM or email if you've got any questions.

Good night!

 

[Julez]

Just one more thing, don't worry about being a guy, I am and if anything 99%of people have no problem with us.

Statiscally, we do better than our female counterparts(career wise).

BTW I HATE that expression 'male nurse'.

 

[babyfaced monster]

i hear ya julez, friends and ppl are pissin me off cause im going into nursing which they consider "gay'' for a guy to be in. Hell, ill be surronded by women most of the time and the pay is good, what can be better?

 

[Night Fly]

i hear ya julez, friends and ppl are pissin me off cause im going into nursing which they consider "gay'' for a guy to be in. Hell, ill be surronded by women most of the time and the pay is good, what can be better?

The ONE guy in our class hates it too. I promise you, though...you won't regret going into it. You will be very much welcomed into the nursing world.

If you really really want to do it...I would go for it.

Julez had a good suggestion...work someplace in a hospital or something...doing CNA or something like that. If you aren't for sure whether or not you want to do nursing...you will surely know after that.

 

[Latamier]

Just a suggestion. Depending on what type of undergrad classes you already have finished, why not go one step farther and become a Physician Assistant. This is the way I did it. I was considering nursing and then did the math, on yearly incomes, and decided to become a Physician Assistant instead. I guarantee that you will make about three times the income of a RN, and you are alot more marketable. There are also different types of degrees for a PA-C ranging from a bachelors to a masters. I chose the masters and have been working now for about 2 1/2 years and am making a little over 95,000 this past year. Check it out, you may change your mind.

 

[babyfaced monster]

is that part of a nursing program???

 

[Night Fly]

Just a suggestion. Depending on what type of undergrad classes you already have finished, why not go one step farther and become a Physician Assistant. This is the way I did it. I was considering nursing and then did the math, on yearly incomes, and decided to become a Physician Assistant instead. I guarantee that you will make about three times the income of a RN, and you are alot more marketable. There are also different types of degrees for a PA-C ranging from a bachelors to a masters. I chose the masters and have been working now for about 2 1/2 years and am making a little over 95,000 this past year. Check it out, you may change your mind.

This would be good...and I probably would have done this had I not already decided what I wanted to do.

This, too, is a good suggestion.

I don't believe it is part of the nsg program.

 

[Latamier]

This is totally different than a nursing program. What you go through is essentially your first and third year of med school. Why first and third I dont know, this is just what we were told. After you complete your training you can pick a speciality and go in that direction. I chose Orthopaedics and the majority of my day is spent in surgery. You just have more options as a PA-C. You can actually see and treat your own patients, and actually have perscription rights, but not for C3 drugs. You can write for antibiotics and anti- inflammatory drugs which definately comes in handy. And like I said, your income will definately be worth it. Most nurses I know are pretty much using their degree as a stepping stone. They plan on going into a PA-C program, nurse practioner program (very similar to a PA), or a anesthesia program. All of these have very high earning capability, of close to $100,000 if not more. Just do a search on the internet or shoot me an email.

 

[babyfaced monster]

Ive never been to university or college yet, i dont think i have the prerquistes for it.

 

[babyfaced monster]

actually i did a search on it, and in canada you have to go to military medical school and enroll in the army before you can and do basic training...im not going into the army

 

[Night Fly]

Ive never been to university or college yet, i dont think i have the prerquistes for it.

If you have not been to college yet how to you expect to get into nursing school in 8 mths? You have to have gen ed classes before anything else.

 

[babyfaced monster]

Im starting university 1, (thats what they call it here in canada) University 2, is nursing.

this is what the first year consists of

anatomy of the human body
physiology of the human body
human growth and development
intoduction to nursing
essentials of microbiology

last year 600 applied to university 2, but 300 got in, must have a gpa of 2.5

 

[Night Fly]

Oh, okay....

thanks for clarifying that for me. I was a bit confused. 300 people? wow...