You have the advantage of being familiar with the hospital environment. Lots of us were absolutely scared to death on our first clinical rotation. Some of my classmates had never even been around a sick person - lol!
Starting with your BSN should be fine. I think Pediatric Oncology is a very rewarding area, although very emotional. Staff nurses bond very strongly with patients and families. Most kids do very well and end up having parties for their last chemo treatments. Others of course, sadly, do not do so well, and the staff shares their family's grief.
If you want to go into management, you need a good foundation as a staff nurse. I think managers who have never worked "in the trenches" have unrealistic ideas about how things really work. Also, if you're working, most places have tuition reimbursement. You can work for a couple of years, then go back to school part time for your Masters, on the company's dime. I didn't pay a cent for my Master's.
You don't have to be a nurse practitioner - that's only one of many areas you can get a MSN in. You can specialize in adminstration, or be a nurse clinician. However, you might discover after working, that you'd like to be a pediatric hematology/oncology nurse practitioner. They work with that population as both inpatients and outpatients, and do lots of teaching. Whether as a staff nurse or an NP, your personal life experience would bring a lot to your care, as the parents (and the children) are so desperate for hope when they're first diagnosed, and you would be that hope personified.
Don't worry about being bored in your CNA class. You will have the HUGE advantage of not being intimidated by medical terms or equipment, but you will still find it interesting, I believe. Plus, working as a CNA will be a great way to "get your foot in the door" of a hospital, and find out more about where you'd really like to work. Also you may even be able to get tuition reimbursement after 6 months of employment, depending on how many hours you work.
Good luck! You'll be a great nurse!
We had our orientation there, and I can honestly say very few of the potential students seemed to be not very focused. Which leads to my next question, what are "nursing shoes" exactly? Our requirement says "White nursing shoes only" (White sneakers are acceptable if need be).
Hello Ladies, and Gents if there are any male nurses lurking out there!
I had my Health Occupations orientation tonight. I hate to say it, but many of the future students didn't seem very focused on the program. It seemed like most of them were there because their parents made them enroll or because they found it as a good way to "get out of school". This might sound arrogant, but I hope not. I do think that I will be better than probably most of the students. But, people can surprise you.
Our uniforms are very boring. We have to where maroon tops, navy blue pants, and a white or navy jacket is optional. Good thing is that we get to pick the style, which as you know is oh so important!
Do Crocs count as nursing shoes? I love my crocs, and I'm assuming it'd have to be the closed top ones?
I feel so silly writing here because I'm only a high school student practicing to be a CNA, while you guys are all at least have LPNs/RNs/BSNs/MSNs.
Hello Ladies, and Gents if there are any male nurses lurking out there!
I had my Health Occupations orientation tonight. I hate to say it, but many of the future students didn't seem very focused on the program. It seemed like most of them were there because their parents made them enroll or because they found it as a good way to "get out of school". This might sound arrogant, but I hope not. I do think that I will be better than probably most of the students. But, people can surprise you.
Our uniforms are very boring. We have to where maroon tops, navy blue pants, and a white or navy jacket is optional. Good thing is that we get to pick the style, which as you know is oh so important!
Do Crocs count as nursing shoes? I love my crocs, and I'm assuming it'd have to be the closed top ones?
I feel so silly writing here because I'm only a high school student practicing to be a CNA, while you guys are all at least have LPNs/RNs/BSNs/MSNs.
I hope his enthusiasm lasts. 
Right now, my interests are ER and med-surg.
Hi y'all!
I'm late to this thread, but here I am
Good luck to everyone in school, and those about to take boards. You will do fine, I promise!
I've been a nurse for 21 years. I have my MSN and am an NP, but I'm in administration right now, because it works best for my kids.
I haven't decided how I feel about a doctorate being required for NPs; I can see how it would be confusing to patients. I think the idea is to better facilitate insurance reimbursement, and autonomous practice (without a collaborating physician). I do plan to get a doctorate one day anyhow, but now I can't decide in what - lol. I thought I wanted to teach one day, and I do enjoy teaching (oh - I left out that I taught for 2 years, but I did it on the side, so it's part of the 21 years - lol) but I really like administration too, and there's also a doctorate in "nursing practice" that is supposed to be more direct-care oriented. So I can't decide which one to choose. I suppose it's a moot point right now, since I have no time and no money for school at the moment. I thought I wanted to teach at whatever university DD chose, but now she's saying she wants to go out of state, and I'd have to start next year, and I"m totally not interested in a full-time professorship right now, so I'll have to figure out some other way to finance college. (I was sort of hoping for the professor discount, but I do have money saved, but it's just not enough.
People ask me why I'm not working asn an NP, but I have (at least) 30 years until I retire, so I have plenty of time to do that later if I want
The swan/dolphin gives a nurse discountHey ladies. I was thinking this weekend while I was at work... One of my coworkers' wife is a teacher. They are getting deals for tickets in Orlando. Don't get me wrong-props to the teachers...I tell my son's teacher that I couldn't do what she does. But....WE NEED SOME DISCOUNTS!!!! Mutiny time.
Hello Ladies, and Gents if there are any male nurses lurking out there!
I had my Health Occupations orientation tonight. I hate to say it, but many of the future students didn't seem very focused on the program. It seemed like most of them were there because their parents made them enroll or because they found it as a good way to "get out of school". This might sound arrogant, but I hope not. I do think that I will be better than probably most of the students. But, people can surprise you.
Our uniforms are very boring. We have to where maroon tops, navy blue pants, and a white or navy jacket is optional. Good thing is that we get to pick the style, which as you know is oh so important!
Do Crocs count as nursing shoes? I love my crocs, and I'm assuming it'd have to be the closed top ones?
I feel so silly writing here because I'm only a high school student practicing to be a CNA, while you guys are all at least have LPNs/RNs/BSNs/MSNs.
Congrats on getting in the nursing program... BTW my mother was 47 y/o when she started the nursing program and I started when I was 25..we were a semester apart.... and she helped me with every class....
Doing prereqs right now for what will hopefully be a second career. When I'm done with my prereqs, I'll either apply to nursing school for an ADN or do an accelerated BSN or MSN. The waiting lists to the ADN programs are so stacked that it may be easier to get into an acclerated second degree program. Still, I'd rather do an ADN and get working sooner. Time will tell!
I found some white leather Nike walking shoes, all closed/no holes that are super comfy at Kohl's. I was looking into getting Crocs, but I wasn't sure if a) The school would allow them, or b) Different hospitals would allow them, 'cause that would just totally stink if your school said yes and some hospitals allowed them and some didn't. Does your program take you to just one hospital? Then I think it might be less of an issue. A teacher in your program is probably familiar with that hospital's "Croc policy"
Yes, I'm pretty sure we're only going to one hospital, and possibly a nursing home.
The hospital is, IMO, a very poor hospital. I had a 25 year ER doctor try to convince me my oncologist was wrong and that we should switch to said hospital. This hospital is in the sticks. My hospital is in Philadelphia, and my oncologist has been practicing for almost 40 years and is the head of a very large Sarcoma foundation. I was floored when the ER doc told me that.
Then again, the nurses there didn't know what a port-a-cath was or what a PICC line was. They then proceeded to ask me if they could access my port.
All were on MRSA precautions, two on dialysis, one didn't know he was even in the hospital, and getting him to the beside commode nearly killed him. I'm surprised he wasn't on oxygen, but whatever.Vent away. I have ruptured L4/L5, and I feel your pain, literally!
Ok, I don't know squat abot a port-a-cath, but PICC line is 101 stuff.
) I was helping her get cleaned up, and while I was brushing her partial, she told me she was embarrassed, and never thought she'd see the day she couldn't brush her own teeth & hair. 
Well first, it's 9:50, I'm trying to study for my test on Monday, and my neighbors 8 houses down & across the street are blasting the music. I called the po-po, we'll see how they respond.
So my 1st clinical was this week. The pt I spent the most time with this week is a new dialysis patient, had sepsis, and MRSA positive. She was too weak to lift her arms, but was very alert & feisty (told me she'd spank me if I asked her her name/location/date again!
O. M. G.
I cried like a baby when I got home. Ugh.
