Nursing School Week by Week – Details, episodes & analysis

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Nursing is one of those few degrees that you can get for free, if you play your cards right. 
And this is one of those times when it pays to do some research, because besides paying for your first house, college will probably be your biggest expense in life. 
Paying out of pocket for nursing school is expensive. Average costs range from $12,000 to $35,000 for an associates degree in nursing; and a bachelor’s degree is $30,000 to $80,000. And if you go to a private college for nursing, you could be looking at more like $120,000! That’s a lot of money. 
But there are other options.  There are scholarships, grants, military options, tuition reimbursement, and loan forgiveness programs. We are going to talk about all of those options today, and I will let you know which ones are my favorite for going to nursing school for free, and which one I definitely don’t recommend.

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The difference between working in a hospital and working home health is night and day. I’m going to be talking about my experience as a home health nurse, what a day in the life looks like. I’m going to touch on some myths about home health nurses, kind of the reputation that they have and if I think that that’s warranted or not. And how it compares to working in the hospital. These are just things to kind of tuck in your back pocket if you’re going through nursing school right now, or if you’re about to go through nursing school. And if you’re anything like me, I had no idea what kind of nursing I wanted to do after I graduated. Some of my friends knew exactly what they wanted to do and I always envied that. But that was not me, and I think in some ways, I’m still looking. You know, but I don’t think there’s any shame in that. I think it’s good to be curious, and I hope I’m forever curious and forever learning. And that’s what I’m doing right now. I’m learning about different specialties within nursing, and that is the beauty of nursing.

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I patient comes into the emergency room with chest pain. What are you, the nurse, going to do about it? Would you recognize it? Go through this case study with us and see what to do when a patient is having a heart attack, or myocardial infarction. Learn the 5 critical actions you must take as a nurse  to prevent lasting damage from a myocardial infarction.

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Everything you need to know as a nursing student about Myocardial Infarction, or a heart attack. Know the signs and symptoms of myocardial infarction in patients, know the nursing interventions for a STEMI heart attack. And know what medications to give for a myocardial infarction.

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Not all nurses are bedside nurses, and I don’t want you guys to feel like just because you don’t want to work in a hospital, as a bedside nurse, that you’re somehow not a “real” nurse. 61% of nurses work in a hospital setting. So that means almost 40% of nurses work non-bedside nursing jobs. And do not try to tell them they are not “real” nurses. Cause that’s not gonna go over well!

In last week’s episode we talked about 5 great options away from the bedside. We talked about Home Health Nurses, Clinic nurses, Utilization Review Nurses, School nurses, and Camp nurses. So now I’m gonna go over 6 more jobs that you could get as a new grad nurse with no experience that don’t involve working as a bedside nurse.

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Alright, first up on our list of non-bedside nurses is a nurse working in an ambulatory surgical clinic. An ambulatory surgery clinic nurse is like a caring guide who assists patients through their surgical journey in an outpatient setting. They play a crucial role in ensuring the safety, comfort, and well-being of patients before, during, and after their surgical procedures. These nurses work closely with the surgical team, including surgeons, anesthesiologists, and other healthcare professionals, to provide care. They prepare patients for surgery by reviewing their medical history, and addressing any questions or concerns. During the surgery, ambulatory surgery clinic nurses assist in setting up the operating room, ensuring sterile conditions, and monitoring the patient’s vital signs. After the surgery, they monitor patients in the recovery area, providing post-operative care and closely observing for any complications or adverse reactions.They educate patients on post-operative care instructions, manage pain medications, and provide emotional support as patients transition out of the clinic and continue their recovery at home. Ambulatory surgery clinic nurses are skilled in managing various surgical procedures, from minor surgeries to more complex interventions. They prioritize patient safety, ensure proper infection control practices, and maintain a comforting environment for patients undergoing surgery in an outpatient setting.

Some pros of being a nurse in an Ambulatory Surgery Clinic are

1. Quick recovery: In an ambulatory surgery clinic, patients typically undergo minor surgeries

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Today I want to address the Elephant in the Nursing School room. I want to talk about this myth that’s out there that says you’re not a “real” nurse unless you work as a bedside nurse in a hospital. And that’s just not the case, and in a bit, I’m gonna give you 10 alternative jobs that you can do as a new grade nurse. 

Nursing is a big, huge field. There are over 100 specialties in nursing! How many other fields can claim that? That’s one of the great things about nursing. But nursing school only lasts anywhere from 16 months to 4 years, depending on what type of degree you’re getting. So, that’s obviously not enough time for them to train us in all the types of nursing. But since 55% of nurses work in general medical surgical hospitals, the nursing schools train us to basically be med/surg nurses. 

Most, if not all of your clinical rotations will be on med/surg units in a hospital. But what if when you do those clinicals, you feel so much anxiety and stress that it’s just overwhelming. What if you’ve never had a job this physically demanding and you thought you could do it, but you leave each clinical day feeling exhausted and wondering how in the world you’ll be able to do it for 12 straight hours? These feelings are real, and yes, any new job comes with a fair amount of stress as you’re learning all the new things, right? But if you know yourself well enough to know that you really don’t think you’ll be happy working as a bedside nurse, and you’re starting to think maybe you shouldn’t have gone into nursing, then this episode is for you. You need to hear this. 

Not all nurses are bedside nurses. Not all nurses work in a busy hospital. Not all nurses work 12 hour shifts. 

So, I’m gonna go over the top 10 non-bedside nursing jobs that you could get as a new grad nurse. And these are not just some things I found from a list online. Every one of these jobs, I have researched and I found actual job listings that a new grad could get without any experience.

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You are working as a nurse in the emergency department when you get a new patient. A 65 year old female with a chief complaint of altered mental status. Will you be able to use your nursing spidey-senses to figure out what is wrong with this patient before she crashes? Once you recognize signs of Sepsis, don't forget to "CALL IT"!

CALL IT = Cultures, Antibiotics, Lactate, Lactate, IV fluids, and Tissue perfusion

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With sepsis, or septicemia, it can get real complicated, real fast. But we’re gonna try to just keep it simple today and talk about what you really need to know as nursing students.

Sepsis is when the body has an extreme response to an infection. The body tries so hard to fight off the infection, that it can even damage the patient’s own tissues and organs. Sepsis usually starts with a bacterial infection, but we also see it caused by fungal, viral, or even parasitic infections.

Acronyms used in this episode:
TIME: Temperature, Infection, Mental decline, and Extremely ill

HATTT: Hypotension, Altered Mental State, Tachycardia, Tachypnea, and Temperature

CALL IT: Cultures, Antibiotics, Lactate, Lactate, IV Fluids, and Tissue perfusion

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Today I'm talking about the reasons why you will fail out of nursing school, if you fail out of nursing school.  I’m rooting for all of you, and I want you all to succeed. I don’t want anyone to fail out of nursing school. But the reality is that according to the National League for Nursing Study, the rate for students that either fail or drop out is 20%. That’s 1/5th.

So at orientation, if you look around, every one out of 5 of you will not make it. Will not be there at graduation. And that’s a pretty sobering statistic, and one that I do want you to keep kind of in the back of your mind, especially if that motivates you to work harder. Because the reality is that some of you will flunk out. Some of you will drop out, and I don’t want that for any of you.

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You are working in the emergency room when the charge nurse says, "You've got a new patient. It's a 45 year old female complaining of dizziness." Little do you know, things are about to go from bad to worse for this patient before you implement life-saving interventions.

Hypoglycemia is a condition that you, as the nurse, will see on a regular basis. Get ready for it with this episode!

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Connect with me on:

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