do y'all mind if I share with you some TERRIFIC NEWS????

Please forgive me for gloating----but I have to tell SOMEONE....

As some of you know (and most of you don't), I'm a pre-nursing student.

I've just completed my final pre-req as of February, and I've been on waiting lists for RN programs throughout the state of washington....

The general line has been that it would be about a 2-year wait before I got into a program.

That's fine. I just got my first medical-related job on Monday---I'm working at a world-renowned cancer research center in SEattle working on Breast and Ovarian cancer research---they're looking for biomarkers in blood that would help (in addition to mamograms, biopsies, etc) detect early-stage Ovarian and breast cancer.

Great job--lots and lots and lots and lots of knowledge.

BUT--that's not the great news.

The great news is that I just got a phone call--like, within the last 5 minutes---that I've been accepted to a Nursing Program starting in September 2004....that's like, FIVE FUCKING MONTHS AWAY!!!!!

My heart is beating so fast! I'm about to cry and I just want to shout it from the rooftops that YES!!! I WAS ACCEPTED TO AN ACCREDITED REGISTERED NURSING PROGRAM, and that LITERALLY in 2 years, I will be a Registered Nurse, and I WILL be contributing to the greater good of humankind.

I'm so happy. I'm so excited. I'm so proud of myself!!! Please allow me to gloat----it's the only thing preventing me from doing a dance down the hallways of a rather-well-respected office building :) :) :)

Congratulations! :toast:

Congratulations!!! :yourock:

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

Congrates!!!! And it's always great to hear some good news about anyone.

:toast:

Way to GO! I'm proud of you. Good luck! :bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce:

doing investigational work on biomarkers in blood, so I collect blood samples from women who are at high risk for Ovarian & breast ca as well as blood from women who already have Ovarian or breast ca.

As far as the ovarian cancer--when the women go into surgery to get either their ovary(or ovaries, or ovaries and uterus) removed, I take a sample of the tissue (generally ovary & fallopian tube) so that it can be used in the various studies that we're doing on these issues.

It's really very interesting and very promising for women now and in the future. If the researchers can develop a blood test that can be used IN ADDITION to currently used screening protocols to identify women who already have a high-risk, it would significantly increase the number of women who have their Ovarian Ca (specifically) detected early, since typically with ovarian ca, there generally aren't any symptoms (as opposed to breast ca, where there could be physical signs to a woman or her dr that there's a need to do a mammo, or biopsy or whatever).

It's very exciting!!! Plus, I get to stand in during surguries and watch the Dr's dig around in the abdomen and do neat stuff like that (obviously not 'neat' in the sense that a woman is getting a hysterectomy or oophorectomy or whatever, since that's a bad thing, but "neat" in the "wow! i'm watching a surgery and I'm only 5 feet away" kind of way)

;-)

Congratulations! :toast: Gloat away!

I was a CCRN for many years. Be ready for some grueling hours but it is a very rewarding profession. Hard work but good work. Nursing school is tough but with this kind of enthusiasm you will do well.

:party: :party: :party: :party: :party: :party: :party: :party: :party:

Hope school goes well, from one student to another. :hi:

Congrats!~ :toast:

I want to do that too! A waiting list, though?! What's that about? I thoght there was a shortage of nurses... I guess there aren't many colleges in your area with nursing programs maybe. Anyway...

Yay you!

:party:

I'll answer you later when I get home----I'm inputting specimen info into the database, so I don't have time to go into details, but there's plenty of nursing schools in the area, just not enough $$ to fund them.....


:)

Thanks for everyone's well wishes, btw! I'm so appreciative!

do the "happy dance"

Congradulations!!! You ROCK!

not only will you be doing good as a nurse, but with the nursing shortage we have, you'll be able to get a job anywhere... you will have the freedom to live anywhere you want...

Just think -- the sun's out just for you and your good news today ;-)!

I'm thrilled for you!

Julie

makes you wonder though - with such a shortage of nurses youd think that any qualified person would be snapped right up by a college?

as to why it's harder than one would think it should be to get into any kind of nursing program---I'm doing QC (quality control) checks here at work on Specimens and don't have time to get into the details, but it has to do with lack of funding for higher education and bullcrap like that :)

I can't wait to get started myself. :D

Your deserve to.
And you should be proud of yourself and sharing the news with us is not gloating.
Congrats! WooHoo :party: :toast: :party:

Sounds like you've worked hard to get this far..you deserve to celebrate! And, best of luck when you start your program! :)

I've always admired the nursing profession.:bounce: :party:

known nurses all my life and they are a good bunch.

Any idea on your speciality. psst- psych is a lot of fun, but so is surgery.

DDQM

It's NOT gloating! You must have worked very hard to get where you are today. Celebrate!

Congratulations and best wishes in your studies.

Lord knows I always like to hear some good news. I'm happy for you!
John
It took me 16 years to graduate from community college.

And good luck

:bounce:

That's really great! Yay for you!

in the past couple of weeks (hubby was hospitalized, then my son was last Saturday), I can tell you that a good nurse makes a world of difference.

God bless you for choosing such a wonderful profession. This is GREAT news!

I saw your comments re: hubby...

(Sorry for the slight threadjack!)

Not too pretty, but he's recovering very nicely.

Glad to hear he's getting better.

:)

I know how hard you've been working towards this .

I'm very proud of you :loveya:

This was asked a few times above, and rather than post the same response twice, I thought I'd explain it down here for everyone to see.

Yes, Nursing is in great demand--not just in the US, but around the world. In fact, it is THE most 'in demand' job in the world...seriously.

I've read numerous figures, and I believe that by 2010 or 2007 there's expected to be ONE MILLION nursing positions open IN ADDITION TO the positions that are already open.

There are numerous reasons for the expected increase in positions:

1) The average age of nurses currently is 45-48 years old---retirement age.

2) High burn-out rate which makes people not want to work through retirement age

3) Aging population that is getting older and living longer than they did 10 and 20 years ago

4) More and More americans are without health insurance (or are underinsured), which means that more and more americans rely on community emergency rooms for their treatment. Which means that more and more americans aren't able to get preventative medical care---they must wait until their cold (which could have easily been treated with medications) turns into pneumonia, which would require more expensive meds and hospitalization, or waiting until their treatable hypertension (that is, treatable if they had access to a doctor and regular Rx) causes irreversable complications that require hospitalization and costly medical care. THis puts an enormous burden on nurses and Dr's and other medical staff in the ER. That's why when you go to the ER, you have to wait for 4 hours to be seen because people who have no other option (medically) are at the already cash-strapped and staff-strapped Emergency rooms for non-emergency reasons (ear-aches, flu, constipation).

----

Now, of course these reasons don't explain why it's so hard to get into nursing school. But I wanted to let those who didn't know (and I"m sure there are some) why there's a nursing shortage to begin with. (and of course there's a PLETHORA of other reasons too numerous to list)

As far as the nursing school crunch:

I took my pre-req's at a local community college.

The local community college has one of the BEST 2-yr nursing programs in Western Washington.

The local community college only admits 30 students per quarter, 3x's a year, for a total of 90 students per year.

Applications are accepted quarterly. There is no waiting list. Admission is made solely on grades, performance, and current/recent employment in the medical field.

For 30 spots available each quarter, the school gets, on average, 250+ applications.....for 30 spots.

Other community colleges that DO have waiting lists are up to a 2-year MINIMUM wait-list time.

I wouldn't even CONSIDER going to UW for a BSN (Bachelors of Science-Nursing) because they're even MORE restrictive on admission. My local community college pretty much requires a 3.8 or better to even be CONSIDERED for admission. UW is even more strict, and has fewer spots, and only admits once a year....

Why so strict? Why so few spots?

Thank the government, folks.

Because of state budget shortfalls, states have limited the amounts of funds that community colleges and universites receive from the state.

Which means that schools like my local community college can't expand their classrooms. THey can't add new classrooms. They can't add new lab-space. THey're stuck using the same sqft that they had when the school opened in 1960-something.

Also, a major part of the degree program consists of being a sort-of "resident" at local hospitals----the hospitals are so short-staffed as it is, they can't have more than 30 students, per school, in any hospital because they just don't have the staffing available to train them properly.

Also, a major problem is attracting masters-level nurses to be teachers of the nursing program. Nurses with their Masters can earn $80-$100k a year PLUS....if they are nurses. Nurses with their masters who TEACH nursing can expect to be paid less than $30k a year (and that's if they're lucky enough to be full-time employees). A 2-year, fresh out of school, wet behind the ears new graduate RN makes more than $30k a year....

So that's why it's so hard to get into the program.

In Seattle (where I live), there are....at least 10 schools MINIMUM within reasonable driving distance that offer 2-year RN programs....and they're all full.

Luckily, I got accepted to a school in a very rural part of the state (Yakima), where most people are LEAVING instead of GOING (my gain!!). That's okay. I'm willing to live in a not-so-desirable place for 2 years if it means that I can graduate that much sooner.

I appreciate everyone's thanks in this thread. Your thoughts mean so much to me and I appreciate y'all allowing me to gloat and brag and glow like a lightbulb :)

You're on a roll!

Major Props, Girl!

I applied to two schools and my prerequisites are almost done. All my prerequisites I needed to reply are done. I've wanted to do this for 10 years now. I'm praying I don't get put on some waiting list for another year. Otherwise I'm going to literally go absolutely crazy because I don't need one more shitty thing in my life right now to happen.

fifth grade is a nurse now and a gifted one. You will be the same and save people and help them when they are low and sad and ill. What better job can you dedicate your life to, honey? Bravo for you.

And that's a job they can't outsource. :-)

You SHOULD be proud!

:bounce::party::toast:

the nursing profession should have more students just like you ... who want to go into the profession to make lives better for the people you help :)

HUGE Congrats to you on your MAJOR accomplishment!!!!!!!

:party: :bounce: :party: :bounce: :party:

:toast: :toast: :toast: