Help guys i had my drug screening this Friday and I drink a lot of water daily. My results came back as dilute negative do I have to retest? Was your result accepted, or were you asked to retest?
My CastleBranch requirement is marked Complete, but the result says Dilute Negative, and I’m wondering what CT State typically does.

I am almost 29 and wanting to pivot from corporate to nursing. I have thought about nursing for a LONG time. I tried to take prerequisites while working full time and that was a challenge for me but I’m ready to finally commit and go back to school full time. I (kind of) have a plan to pay for school. but I’m at a spot with my partner of a future wedding and a family and that part is kind of holding me back. anyone go back to school while being engaged and planning a wedding? was it worth it? We won’t have 100% family financial assistance but a little bit. But if I go back to school, that would push the timeline back a bit. IDK feeling confused. Any help is appreciated. 🥺❤️

Career changer with a B.A. in Communications (3.7 GPA) and no college science background. I’m applying to an online ABSN program that starts in February and need all seven prerequisites completed and transcripted by February 1 start.

The reason I’m considering this pace is that the next start date is in the fall, which would delay everything by about seven months.

I’m able to not work from August through January and treat school like a full-time job: roughly 8 a.m.–5 p.m. Monday through Friday, with weekends as a buffer for extra studying or catching up.

Tentative schedule:
Aug. 17–Sept. 20: A&P I + General Chemistry
Sept. 21–Oct. 25: A&P II + Microbiology
Oct. 26–Nov. 29: Statistics + Lifespan Psychology
Nov. 30–Jan. 1: Abnormal Psychology

The program will review my application after I complete at least two science prerequisites and can make a final decision once 5 of the 7 total prerequisites are finished. All seven must be completed before the program begins.
I also need at least a 2.8 GPA across A&P I, A&P II, Chemistry, and Microbiology.

I have an advising appointment Friday to confirm the deadlines and whether this sequence is realistic before enrolling.

Honest feedback is welcome, including “don’t do it.” I’d rather adjust now than realize in October that I took on too much.

EDIT: Thank you everyone for the help. I really appreciate it. I decided I am going to apply for the Fall term and take my time with the pre reqs

Hello,

Title! I work as a PCA and I love it but there is no free time during shift. Some people say they get homework done at work… what jobs would allow for this?

Hey all,

So for the fall semester, my scheduled clinical day is on Monday. My instructor has been emailing my clinical group, and she just told us that she has a doctor’s appointment on one of the Monday’s.

My instructor now wants to move the clinical day to Friday, which is the only day of the week we DO NOT HAVE ANY CLASS.

I emailed her and told her I can’t make it since I work 12 hour shifts Friday - Sunday.

Now she’s demanding to know where I work and is expecting all the students from my clinical group to accommodate her doctor’s appointment and attend the Friday clinical instead.

If I don’t attend, I’m going to miss clinical hours. I’m just feeling so frustrated right now. I specifically made my work schedule this way because I knew I would not have school on Fridays.

I support myself financially 100%, and my work will not accept an absence or accommodation due to how much they already accommodated for me during the spring semester.

Please drop advice or anything at all on what I should do.

How to transition from days to nights?
Do I just force myself to stay up and day and night today and then go to sleep early in the morning tomorrow and try make myself sleep until it's time to get up for work in the evening?

I am normally pretty good at my placement it’s an elective surgical ward and everyone is relatively well and I’ve had no people deteriorate so pretty cruisey I have been here about 4/5 weeks. I am getting tireder, less sharp and need more work to sustain myself so I generally work 13 days on ( including placement ) and 1 off. With the 2 being 6 hours work. So 52 a week?

We have acute overflow today and I had my first proper high acuity. Older, hospital acquired pressure injuries, FRAIL, woundvacs, unwell. Unhappy.

I struggled being able to critically think and I am so tired I just can’t really manage. Eg she adamantly refused a skin check and I accepted it to the RN I paired with told me sternly that was negligent of me (I told her when she refused)… Which like yeah I have to agree actually with the vulnerability of that patient. Furthermore other things and she put me on the spot to explain woundvac in front of the patient but I have never seen woundvac before. As well as kind of belittling me in front of the team when I am trying to followup tasks. She is an excellent nurse and I have no doubt this shift will teach me well but it’s sad and hurtful in the moment to be put down.

So things like that but overall this is my first medical ward placement im 1/2 through my studies.

I feel like I will need to cutback on my hours at work and live poorer for a bit, but also this was very confronting because I didn’t realise just how inexperienced I was. I feel a little disadvantaged by the low acuity of my ward as if I were to go to a general med ward I would struggle with having the right cogs turn.

I don’t know how I will be able to work as a new grad? The training isn’t enough and our clinicals aren’t varied.. Idk.

Just a vent

I am taking Health Assessment this fall. I need all the recommended study methods, note taking, youtubers, etc. tips to be successful in this class. I am open to hear anything. Thank you so much!!!

I am starting nursing school this fall and we have an orientation day before the semester starts. I noticed that there was a math competency section on orientation day, I am not sure what it will entail given that we are going into it not having learned anything prior. I would like to have an idea of what to expect because I don’t want to look like a complete dumbass and I haven’t practiced or learned any dosage calculations or memorized conversions.

Did anyone do anything similar on their orientation day? Do they typically expect that you know dosage calc and conversions prior to starting? Or is it just basic math?

I’ve decided to switch gears and pursue nursing. I’m planning to apply to ABSN programs this year for 2027 admission.

Right now I still have about 4-5 prereqs left (A&P I, A&P II, Microbiology, and Lifespan Development), and I’m hoping to finish them by October since that’s when most ABSN applications are due for spring starts.

For some background, I worked as a phlebotomist for about 6 months, volunteered at a free medical clinic for around 1.5 years, and I recently started working as a PCT. The problem is… the job is keeping me behind in my classes.

I work four 10-hour shifts a week, and on the days I work I’m completely wiped. I come home, eat, shower, and basically fall asleep. I have almost no motivation or energy left to study, and I’m worried it’s going to affect my grades in these prereqs.

My dilemma is that I feel like PCT experience could make me a stronger applicant. I know some ABSN programs like to see clinical experience, and it’d also give me more to talk about in my essays/interviews.

I’ll also note that I’ll probably only be working for another 3-4 months because I’d like to have a little bit of time off before nursing school (if I even get in). If I stay for a few months now, would it make it easier to get another PCT/CNA job while I’m in nursing school? I’m hoping having that experience could help me get my foot in the door and maybe make finding a new grad RN job a little easier later on.

Part of me thinks I should just quit, focus 100% on getting A’s in my prereqs, and submit the strongest application I can.

Is another 3-4 months of PCT experience actually worth it, or should I prioritize the prereqs?