I picked a teaching hospital (you have to have a PHD to teach there) with aprx. 14,000 students and 5,800 employees. My LLMD teaches there sometimes.

Believe it or not, I actually have to register to register.

I really would have prefered the Jesuit college down the street (Spring Hill College). But the language requirement would delay me 2 more semesters. But it really was my preference.

Spring Hill is just lovely.

**
I am now in some industrial, ugly building, system.

I also am changing from a liberal arts (formerly private) college:

I remember my appointed time for registering for classes - the masses turn out! I inadvertently colored in my bubble sheet incorrectly and instead of getting into a psychology lab, I found myself in Independent Study Yiddish!!!! I was probably the only one in the class - must have gotten that poor teacher's hopes up LOL!

The private university was beautiful - that's where I got my Masters. Just loved it there - much like your Jesuit college. Older institution with a lot of history. I have my fondest memories of this place.

I am fortunate that because I am in upper science classes, my classes should be limited.

And I must say, they are very organized. And adult students get their own registration night.

Independent study Yiddish!?? Now that is funny.

Things really are much easier than years ago when we had to go from table to table getting cards (before personal computers were popular).

My classes will be off the main campus downtown. I could have opted "across the bay". It would have been a drive, but the patients would have put me at less of a risk for picking up diseases.

We are a port city and thus our HIV rate is out of site since sailors come in from Haiti and such. We also have outbreaks of TB.

I am changing careers from accounting to medicine.

Right now I am listed as nursing but still may change to biomedical science and/or pharmacy.

But the more I meet nurses, the more I shunn away from that career (although I plan to teach). I do not fit in. Many are very militant atheists, drug addicts, chip on their shoulders, and basically scrapping by with 50's on their tests. Most of them I would NEVER EVER want to touch me. Period.

I lost respect for nursing students a long time ago. But the new program I will be in only accepts 4.0 students for BSN--so hopefully it will be differant.

It is also one of the strangest careers in that an associate degree makes what a BSN does. More education is looked down on. And associate programs work hard to deny BSN, MSN's from being able to put their advanced degrees on their nametags.

Nursing associations seem to work very hard to keep the standards low.

Right now I do some tutoring for chemistry & advanced anatomy.

I maintain a 100% GPA in most of my classes. I really do have my pick of careers. But I will end up teaching at the university level.

[This message has been edited by Kara Tyson (edited 20 May 2005).]

Wherever you choose to hang your hat, no doubt you'll be an asset!

Why atheists do you think? What happened to compassion that used to compel those into nursing careers, wanting to ease suffering.

I know it has become a very well paying job, yet obviously a stressful one and the pay scale definitely needed to go up. Guessing the educational standards have dropped though.

So far as courses required, the standards are much higher than they used to be. BSN's years ago didnt have to have Calculus.

However, many school no longer require interviews or references. Something that unfortunatly has been done away with. Your grades are fed into a computer and your GPA is the deciding factor.

This is also the case for med schools.

I have a good friend who scored low on a standardized med school test. She was denied into the program, but the program accepted 2 students addicted to drugs because they scored higher.

There are a select few who do still consider references and interviews as much as your GPA. Johns Hopkins BSN program is one of them. They required that I have 18 references. They also required that my teachers sign a statement that I had not been caught cheating on tests or plagerism.

The people themselves...I dont know how you make 50's and pass a course. What I see are low grades and "extra" credit to pass a class.

Hopefully, many of these people will wash out and never pass boards.

I have no problem with a person being an atheist but I have a problem with a person pushing a belief (or non belief) down my throat.

Nursing seems to also be haven for pro-euthanasia.

The pay is very very good. Especially for travel nurses who can pull in $50 an hour along with a rental car, apt, utilities, and insurance paid for.