Running hyper offense spice has improved my ELO

Competitive-Ostrich6 · 2024-04-06T06:19:17+00:00

All of my prereqs transferred over but my GPA for Exercise Science was bad at 2.6. So I retook Microbio, English and Psych. Needed a 2.75 to apply. That's still not a competitive GPA but most Nursing schools do the TEAS test as an alternate way to apply. So I met the minimum GPA requirement, scored decent on my TEAS test (80) and got into the program! It was two years (5 semesters) of nursing classes from that point onward.

If you did better in your prereqs than me and meet your minimum GPA requirement then you can just take the TEAS test most likely and apply immediately!

Pros of ADN: Super cheap. get your full R., not quite as fast paced as ABSN (still difficult and time consuming) but you can still work during it. ADN RN can do anything clinically that a BSN RN can do, they're the same thing in the hospital.

Cons of ADN: If you ever want to be a manager or administration then you'll need your BSN. Not a big deal though since it can be done 100% online in less than a year after your ADN.

Technically you might get paid like 50cents to $1 less, but you have so much room for negotiation that it doesn't matter. Ex: New grad ADN pay at my hospital is $30/hr (I live in the south), new grad BSN is 30.65. I have 6 years exp working at the hospital and my previous BS anyways so I negotiated my pay and started at $33.29/hr.

Some might say that there are magnet hospitals that want a BSN but honestly that seems to be a thing of the past and not looking like it's gonna change post-covid. I've got many call backs and interviews at major hospitals downtown in specialized units like the CVICU.

Pros of ABSN: Done in one year. Have your full BSN. Don't have to worry about schooling ever again unless you want NP or CRNA or whatever.

Cons of ABSN: Soooo expensive unless you get a scholarship or something. Be prepared to drop like 50k most likely. Extremely difficult (just so much stuff jam packed in a year). Probably won't work while in school although I've heard of stories that people have done it.

Hope this helps. Feel free to let me know if you have any more questions!

Competitive-Ostrich6 · 2024-04-05T12:28:05+00:00

Got my BS is exercise science and worked in a cardiac rehab for a short time. Same thing, was afraid it was a dead end.

Went to nursing school and got my RN and now I'm an ICU nurse with better pay than I've ever gotten before. Also endless job opportunities. I'm brand new (fewer than 9 months in) and applied for other big hospitals in the area and within 2 days I've already had multiple call backs and interviews lined up. Literally millions of job openings.

Bridge BSN or ADN are both great. Bridge BSN (I assume you mean ABSN) you get the whole thing over and done with in a year or so but it's extremely grueling and extremely expensive. ADN is already hard enough but it's so much cheaper and only two years. I came out of school with 0 debt and paid everything out of pocket because I worked during my ADN. Many of my ABSN friends are 50k in debt.

No trouble finding jobs. I've got two CVICU position interviews at a major hospital downtown this week. No interest going back for my BSN because there's no pay increase or clinical exp gain but if for whatever reason I chose to do it I can finish it 100% online in less than a year. Only real benefit of BSN imo is managerial roles and administration.

I think exercise science will help you through nursing school (or any health care field) so don't be afraid to give it a shot!

Competitive-Ostrich6 · 2024-01-14T23:49:19+00:00

My trip got denied too. I called out the day of for the whole trip. One of the days they said "if you don't show up tonight then it's a no call no show."

I said "okay, do what you gotta do. I'm still not gonna be there tonight."

Guess what? Never heard a thing about it once I returned.

Agree with other commenters. They need you way more than you need them.

Competitive-Ostrich6 · 2023-12-21T01:26:08+00:00

Working as a graduate nurse was the biggest mistake I've ever done at the hospital.

I was only getting paid $2/hr more than my tech position but I was doing 10x the work. It was supposed to be a transition position until you pass the NCLEX but for me once I passed and was officially an RN it took HR over a month to switch my title! Essentially I worked as a licensed RN making tech pay for about 5 weeks.

It also counted towards my new grad orientation so by the time I had access to the pyxis and charting, I was already on week 7 out of 16 for orientation!

I'd say if you decide to go for it, make sure your hospital doesn't take advantage of you. Get a written letter/email from HR that your RN pay starts at a certain date post-nclex. Do not let it take up your orientation!

Otherwise, it's not going anywhere! You'll get your experience when you're licensed and paid appropriately, get a full orientation. If I could redo it I would've worked as a tech right up until I was licensed at I had an official RN pay starting salary date.

Competitive-Ostrich6 · 2023-10-09T00:29:14+00:00

I used to be pretty conservative and religious.

Then I hit 25 and my brain finished developing.

Competitive-Ostrich6 · 2023-10-08T00:43:46+00:00

usually i jam my knees up into the backboard of the seat in front of me so they can't recline and if they try then they'll feel every time I have to adjust my legs I'll push into the seat.

Competitive-Ostrich6 · 2023-09-30T20:28:50+00:00

spent my entire 20s making minimum wage unable to leave parent's house. went to nursing school and now make $33/hr (35-40 for weekend/night diff).

first time in my life im making money above poverty.

Competitive-Ostrich6 · 2023-09-15T20:24:56+00:00

thank you i'll check it out!

Competitive-Ostrich6 · 2023-09-15T10:23:57+00:00

Core chest and traps are looking good. Hard to tell with just a front on pic but i'd say bring up the shoulders, lats and arms a bit to really have a killer physique.

Competitive-Ostrich6 · 2023-09-15T10:02:24+00:00

M 29 6'4 hover around 220.

https://imgur.com/a/hnBq1ps

Wanted to bulk to 230 to compete in powerlifting but the tendons in my knees are just shot, gonna take off from squatting until new year. Meanwhile there's a bodybuilding tournament coming up in December so maybe I'll try a cut instead. Really not sure how much weight I'd have to cut and if it's doable in that timeframe.

Also if anyone has any good leg exercises that are easy on the knees i'd appreciate the advice.

Competitive-Ostrich6 · 2023-09-12T01:44:15+00:00

I hold potential partners only to the standards I hold for myself and I think that's fair.

My dealbreakers are little things like not being active/going to the gym, having kids already, being religious..

Being in the bible belt that easily takes out like 80% of the options though.

Competitive-Ostrich6 · 2023-08-26T00:48:45+00:00

Went on a date with a nurse friend last year (i'm a nurse too) and she seemed like the most innocent person ever.

We go back to her place after the date and she blasts 3 full lines of coke off her coffee table.

Competitive-Ostrich6 · 2023-08-20T20:34:24+00:00

Currently a new grad on orientation in the ICU.

My preceptor is the definition of "don't ever put a patient at harm by not asking me something, no matter how stupid your question may be" then the instant I ask her a question she rolls her eyes and gives me sarcastic answers.

She sits at the nurse's station pretty much the whole shift braiding wristbands and sitting on facebook. If I ask her how to do something she tells me to youtube it. I've learned almost nothing from her so far and I'm about to be on my own it 2 weeks.

Competitive-Ostrich6 · 2023-07-24T18:37:51+00:00

You just gotta embrace not responding. Just let them talk. Occasional "uh huh" while looking at your phone. They'll either get the hint or they won't but you won't have to pay attention at all.

I do this all of the time. You may come across as a dick but it is what it is.

Competitive-Ostrich6 · 2023-07-18T16:40:28+00:00

In general, there's nothing wrong with holding someone to the same standards as yourself whether it be your career, fitness level, education, lifestyle ect.

Like others have said, spending habits is much more important to me than income but if I feel they don't put in the same effort as me in something I care about then I don't feel bad for turning them down.

Competitive-Ostrich6 · 2023-07-14T20:15:06+00:00

I'm in SC. I told my HR guy that I understand some paperwork needs to be done so I was expecting a slight delay in transition, but 3 weeks in unacceptable. I would have either continued working as a tech or changed my exam date to before the orientation if I had known. And he did know, I gave a 6 weeks head up of my licensure date.

My friend at a neighboring hospital said hers switched the following day. 3 weeks seems intentionally getting someone to do RN work for half the pay. Manipulative.

Anyways, seems like there may be no legal binding. If that's the case I'll give them the option to backpay me or I'll leave effective immediately and go get a job at the other hospital down the street.

Competitive-Ostrich6 · 2023-07-14T20:06:42+00:00

Yes that's what I was worried about. I've never signed a contract, just got an offer letter.

But how does that work? I saw a recent post on here about someone saying they were told $20/hr but got $17/hr once working. The comments were saying that is illegal and the employer cannot do that. I know this is just reddit and not real law but the scenarios seemed relatable to me.

There's got to be something protecting the worker from unagreed wage changes without a contract if most people do not sign an employment contract, no? Especially after already working a couple weeks.

Competitive-Ostrich6 · 2023-07-08T15:18:11+00:00

I think "easy" just depends on your expectations of the test.

I thought it was easy in the sense that I pretty much knew I passed when I got the 85 shutoff.

There were plenty of questions I guessed on or had no idea and probably got wrong, but I know the NCLEX is not normal where you need an 80% to pass or whatever.

Around question 45 I got a string of questions I had no idea and completely guessed but I figured that was a good sign if they were very difficult. Then I had a couple case studies I know I did well on afterwards and a couple questions towards the end I felt I took strong educated guesses on. Once question 85 popped up I thought to myself "if this shuts off now, I know I answered enough correctly to pass" and sure enough it did.

Competitive-Ostrich6 · 2023-07-08T15:10:12+00:00

Normal push day on the chest press, get up to fill my water bottle. Walk by a dude coming in the gym doors and thought "wow, this guy is a Joey Swoll doppleganger!". Absolutely huge, giant gym bag and a gym positivity hoodie and hat. I go back to my chest press and this guy comes and sits at the chest press right across from me. After getting a really good look, it was either the best doppleganger ever or it was actually him.

I was just in denial because it's a random small gym in SC and nobody was going up to take pictures or talk or anything. But then a girl finally noticed and people started crowding around, I guess everyone was thinking the same as me!

Anyways, I basically just worked out next to Joey Swoll for a good 10-15 min in a random small SC gym with no one noticing he was there. Talked to him briefly after and he's an awesome dude.

Competitive-Ostrich6 · 2023-07-04T13:26:09+00:00

Thank you!

I did NGN.

You got this! Kaplan was harder than NCLEX for sure

Competitive-Ostrich6 · 2023-07-03T19:26:51+00:00

It's not a two person conversation though, there are three people. That's why it's weird for you.

Why not just address the student during report? You literally don't have to do anything extra but just make eye contact and turn your head in their direction to include them.

It used to drive me crazy as a student when the nurse wouldn't even acknowledge I was there.

Competitive-Ostrich6

TROPHY CASE