anyone starting RN at MDC this august?

Tiff2003 · Jun 20, 2008

i am starting the accelerated RN this august at MDC, and i have some questions for anyone else who's been in the program, is in the program, or in the generic.... lots of questions.....
do you wear those white tunics only to clinicals? what do you have to wear to the skills lab and health assessment class? scrubs or street clothes?
my insurance won't cover ANY of the labs/physical/TB test/immunizations....where did you go to get yours done?
have you heard anything about the instructors for the accelerated? are they the type to fail you if you breathe before opening your alcohol wipe instead of after, or are they out to help you succeed?
does MDC really not distribute the stafford loans until after school starts??? tuition is due july 22, but the financial aid office lady told me that stafford loans won't come out until the second week of september....eek! that means i'll have to come up with A LOT of money up front that i don't have.....
soooo many questions, i know!!! thanks in advance.
dazed and confused....

Im starting the Generic RN program at MDC this fall.

As far as immunizations, the school as a place where you can go to get them, it's a clinic. I don't think that it was too expensive, but try it out. Why won't your insurance cover it, be cause it's for school?? DON'T TELL THEM IT'S FOR SCHOOL!! lol. I just went to the doctor and told them that I needed a physical and that I wanted a full lab workup, along with a drug test, and that I wanted to test my antibodies for vaccinations to make sure that I was all up to date. As far as the TB test, they did that automatically. :smokin:

I dont know how the professors are and haven't heard anything about them yet. Accelerated or Genertic:confused:

Financial aid will extend your deadline if you have the Stafford Loan so stop freaking out! lol. :no:

I live in north miami beach and I'm doing the cpr/ls cert at hallandale fire rescue cuz they're the cheapest around... only $25:yeah:

the hard part is getting in, u've done that so reeellllaaaaaax. take it easy and relish in your accomplishment

MagnesiuM · Jun 20, 2008

LOL! thanks Tiff2003!!! you sound like my fiancee :-))) "relaaax"

i'll ask about extending the deadline....the girl told me i'd have to pay it up front, but maybe she doesn't know about that....i'll talk to a FA advisor.

i realize i'm all over the place, but i've tried for so long to get into school, and now that it's happening, i just feel overwhelmed trying to get all the little stuff done....i don't remember my bachelor's being this complicated!!!

it doesn't help that i'm getting married in september, right in the middle of it all.....whew!

what's life without some mayhem thrown in amidst all the miracles? :-D

thanks again (inhale, exhale)

MagnesiuM · Jun 20, 2008

o, and congratulations for getting in!!!! :yeah:

akspudus · Jun 21, 2008

Congrats to all of you for getting into MDC's nursing program. I am currently in semester 3 of the generic nursing program. I graduate in December..I can almost taste it.

I see there are quite a few questions about the program. Uniforms...books...etc.

As far as the uniforms go, you will be wearing white scrubs for clinical. White shoes, white scrub pants and the MDC nursing scrub top. In skills lab you will need to have a MDC lab coat. Some instructors want you to wear the lab coat to lecture, some don't really care. Otherwise, lecture is normal street cloths.

Get ready to spend some money on books for the first semester. You are going to spend upwards of $1000 for books, stethoscope, uniforms etc for the first semester. It is a shocker, but for each additional semester you might have to buy 1 or 2 books at the most. All of the books you purchase for semester one will be used through till the end. Buy them all. Don't try and skip one or two...you'll end up buying it anyways. If you want to help yourself out a lot...buy Medical-Surgical Nursing Made Incredibly and casually read it during your first semester. I Aced med/surg... because of that book.

When you get into school they are going to give you another box of books from ATI. The ATI videos and books are GOLDEN. MAke sure you read along in the ATI books as you read for your lecture classes. YES READ!! Most people that struggle try and get through without reading their assignments. I don't think I read a single chapter in any of my pre-requisite classes..and sailed through with A's. Can't do that in Nursing School. Read and keep up. In fact, find supplemental sources to read for each subject. Getting through nursing school with A's is no science..nor is it impossible (well, unless you are in the AO program).

Feel free to post more questions. Put them together like a questionnaire. I'll quote them and answer them as I can.

Take care...and good luck.

akspudus

MagnesiuM · Jun 22, 2008

That is EXACTLY the kind of advice i was looking for! Yaaaay! Thank you so much, akspudus :-D

Okay, so i guess i have to get that lab coat....sigh. happen to know anyone who just graduated who is selling theirs or their white tunics? because i am.....frugal ;-) now that i'm going to be in school...

Well, i'm sure i'll think of a few more questions before school to harangue you with :-) but i really appreciate your response! i know no one in miami besides my fiancee, and i just moved down here a few months ago, so maybe that's why i feel so disoriented :-)

good luck in your final semesters!

akspudus · Jun 22, 2008

For "hand-me-down" uniforms. Check with Professor Neomi Ponce. I think she sells some very cheap. All proceeds go towards the Nursing Student Association.

Speaking of which, it isn't mandatory, but you should check into joining the National Student Nursing Association. When you join, you automatically become a member of the Florida Student Nursing Association...thence, Miami Dade College's Student Nurse Association.

Check it out at...

http://www.nsna.org/

Feel free to hit me up for any other info.

Akspudus

Nursingforever · Jun 23, 2008

Hi guys,, I was accepted for the RN program this fall,,, Do you know about the TEAS exam???? What happen iF we do not pass that test. I was really happy for entering the program, but now I am really exhausted because all the vaccines, cpr Course, etc.... I am working full time , I have 3 kids, and I am taking 2 last pre-req. I hope that all this immunization ends. Thanks for your answers....

akspudus · Jun 23, 2008

You guys have me thinking. I can remember a year ago when I was a few weeks away from starting nursing school at MDC. I had a million questions that are quite similar to what you folks may have.

What I have been thinking is that maybe we could compile a MDC Nursing School FAQ of sorts. What I have also found is that during each semester some of those questions get answered...but they give rise to new questions. I know I have been aided by a few senior students that passed back some serious advise during my time at MDC. I would like to "pay it forward" if you know what I mean.

Any thoughts? How can I help you be successful at MDC?

akspudus

auxilio/odie · Jun 23, 2008

I know how you feel. Between the background check, shots, cpr and now studying for the TEAS test. HA! Also, working full time, just had knee surgery and stress about leaving my current job (11 years), yep I couldn't be happier!

All I can think about is that I will be a Nurse. That keeps me going.

Also, this blog helps out alot.

Good luck to all of us and thank you.

MagnesiuM · Jun 24, 2008

I'm not sure if it's different in the accelerated, but in the AO, if you're in, you're in....the TEAS test is to help the administrators/instructors evaluate your weak and strong points to better assist you.....that's what they told us in orientation.

so i decided not to pound the books on the TEAS, because i kind of want to know where my weak points are without studying first.....

thanks SO MUCH, akspudus!!!!! you rock! i wish more MDC students were on allnurses.....

i guess my questions are mostly things you won't be able to answer, for me....about the clinical instructors, for example...because the instructors are different for the AO....too bad!

is it really something so atrociously time consuming that i can't work PT weekends and maybe one shift during the week? am i going to spend 8 hours a night writing care plans after each clinical? anything i should be doing this summer that will ease my semester?

any tips for remembering all those medications/effects/interactions/dosages/etc.???? that seems like the hardest part, for me, because i've done patient care already a lot as a CNA.

do we practice IVs on each other? some schools still do, you know :-)

thanks so much again!!!! you're awesome!

Nursingforever · Jun 24, 2008

Thanks a lot MagnesiuM, I hope that all of your dreams come true. One tip for memorize is read, read, and read, then start memorizing small concepts, and repeat it. Do not continue the next step, first, be sure that you are remembering the memorized before, then continue with the next concepts...That works for me. I have to read and read, then memorize. Good Luck