WIthdrawl

I withdrew from school on Monday. There were many reasons for this, but mostly it was that I was having academic issues. Maybe I could have fought my way through them, but I feel that just wasn't going to happen at CCBC. Too many problems with the staff. However, I have not given up on being an RN. I need to find a school without the things that were happening at the old school. Stay tuned, I'm not done just yet.

Namaste'

Lesko Again?

Last year at this time, I had a instructor who seemed hell bent on making the students' lives miserable. This year, same thing, different instructor. This one is disrespectful, catty, and talks to students as if they are red-headed stepchildren. (no offense meant to anyone red-headed or a stepchild or both) I'm beginning to wonder if its just not the culture of nursing school. The older the teachers are, the worse they become. She's even sunk to insulting a person's upbringing in front of their peers and the RN's. As this semester drags on, I feel even more that I am wasting my time with these people. Turning the other cheek accomplishes only that we receive more verbal abuse, and subtle admonitions in the anecdotal notes makes me passive/aggressive. I wrote the administrator of the program today, and I'm waiting to see her reaction. I must admit, however, I have little hope for all of this. Nursing may have been a very expensive mistake. We shall see, though.

Part II

I received my anecdotal for last week today and I obviously seriously pissed off the instructor. I tried my best to apologize for any mistakes I may have made, and all I got in return was venom and anger. Oh, and a meeting with administration on Monday. It may be the end of Nursing school for me, but I'm prepared for that. I'm no longer attached to the idea of being a nurse, so if I am asked to leave, or I find it's time to make that decision myself, I'm gonna be OK with that.

Namaste'

Discrimination?

When I first started this blog, I wrote an entry regarding being a male nurse and some of the "stuff" that goes along with it. I also wrote that I had not experienced for myself any of those things. In the meantime, I've talked to a number of graduates of the school I am attending, and most of them (women included) say that it is full of "men-haters" (their words, not mine). At first I was inclined to pass it off as just people talking, but the longer I'm there, the more I see it. Instructors that barely recognize I exist, much less have any respect for me. RN's in the clinical setting that OBVIOUSLY have no use for men in general, much less as nurses. (Labor & delivery) It makes me wonder about the wisdom in choosing to try and make it in this most noble and compassionate of professions. I've seen that female RN's are (only some are, the majority aren't) catty, backstabbers, and would take any opportunity to make your life miserable. I will continue my quest nonetheless. There is little I can do for those who choose to cause suffering instead of relieving it, and only control my reactions and what I do. I continue to pray for those people that they may see the effect they have, and that they find it in them to stop. Me, I'll keep trying to make this work out.

Namaste'

Why?

You know, I'm getting tired of the silly shit at school. Every time I have a different instructor, There's different ways of doing things. Anecdotal notes; something I find a bit silly, since I'm supposed to tell the instructor what I did. Or in the rotation's case, I'm not really sure what I supposed to write. It changes weekly. Care Plans, something I've complained about to administration and instructors about for over a year now, but I guess that my thoughts (and the administrator's words) mean little. Today, we found out where we were supposed to go for our School Nurse "experience". Nothing like prior notice. And our previously "published" schedule has changed twice .......today. Add on to that the fact that I worked last night, and got NO sleep, and the personal problems we're having, you end up with a VERY cranky student nurse. I'm seriously considering dropping out of the program because I'm just tired of having to ask the question......
WHY?

Part II

I accepted the job at Masonic Village since it's closer to home and pays better.

An interesting dilemna

Since the debacle @ WHHR, I've been looking for a job to replace it. I've used all the normal resources, and up until yesterday.....nothin'. Today however, is a different story. Both Kindred Hospital in Beaver and Masonic Village in Sewickley have contacted me with job offers. So which do I choose? I have to take into consideration not only money, (still a major factor) but scheduling, patient/CNA ratios, even distance from home. Crys & I are still discussing it and I'll post more when I know more.

Hoops

I have found that some folks' goal in life is to make things as difficult for others as possible. Take for instance.......Nursing School. When I received the readmit letter, there were (as usual) some hoops I had to jump through to come back. Nothing major, mind you, but some of the things I had to go through were....should I say....unnecessary. Another TB test is something that I did not agree with, however. Having tested positive for a latent TB infection in April for the WHHR job, I figured that I would have to see my PCP and have her simply sign off on it. Well, there was no chance of that happening. She insisted on me having another PPD test (although once one tests positive, that is highly discouraged), and seemed to take offense to my disagreement with this. So, after holding my readmit paperwork hostage for a few hours, I was given them back with the admonition that I HAD to re-take the PPD test. (as recommended by the Allegheny County Health office) Now I'm still not sure why Allegheny County was involved, since I don't;
1. live there
2. go to a doctor there.
3. generally have anything to do with the place.

So, I offered up another solution, seeing a Pulmonologist, which the nurse who admonished me (Dr was apparently too busy to talk) seemed surprised by, but said was OK. I made an appointment with a doctor Crys was familiar with, and he was everything my PCP wasn't. he prescribed the meds I would need, gave me all the info I wanted, and I walked out of there feeling much better about the whole situation.

Now, I gotta go get dressed & take what paperwork I have up to the school, and make sure there is nothing left for me to do (or hoops to jump through).

We'll see......

Namaste'