[jb2u]

According to the Georgia Board of Nursing's website...
in 2004 63 took the test and 63 passed...that's 100%.
From the years 2001-2004 they have graduated almost 300 students and have an overall pass rate of 93%.

Here is the PDF from the GA BON website.

[tria06]

Originally Posted by westheat

Just curious to know where you got that information about the statistics...I would be very interested in seeing that. For your other schools, I am not sure which other ones offer an ADN program, but there are some. I apologize for not knowing exactly which ones. Good luck

It's in the this form called "Truth in Advertising" that there are making me sign. I only want to take core classes but yet I have to get a Hepatitis B shot and sign this form...

[rollie]

I graduated from GPC in May of this year. It was the worst 2 years of my life and I would strongly suggest getting out now while you don't have too much time invested. It's better than getting to the 3rd semester, failing out and then having to wait for a spot at another school (but your gpa will be killed by that point anyway).

People were failed out not only for not passing tests but for ridiculous, completely subjective crap in clinicals and on check offs.

50% of surviving the program is who you get for clinicals. It's complete luck. The other 50% is how well you test and how well you do under stress during check offs (and I mean STRESS). People were having diarrhea and vomiting before and after check offs. Someone actually passed out during a check off one time.

I have a friend who started the program with me, failed out early in the 3rd sememster (she had a panic attack during a math test - you only have 2 chances to make 100% and if you don't - you fail the whole semester). Anyway, she got into N GA in Kennesaw and loves it. She says it's a whole different world.

The only way I made it thru was with antidepressants and a VERY supportive husband (and a lot of luck with who I got for clinicals). You can kiss any of your free time away.

I'm now a RN at Emory and let me tell you - nursing school does not have to be that way. My friends who went to Emory had a completely different experience - a good one.

I heard a couple of horror stories about the program before I enrolled but thought, "How hard can it be?" Boy was I wrong. I studied 24/7 and made C's all semesters except 1 I made a B.

Do not go to this school. They make you feel like crap and are not supportive.

[2klos2stop]

Can anyone that attended GPC program give some suggestions on how to approach the test questions that we have? The questions are harder than the sample or practice NCLEX questions.
What test bank do they find the answers in?

[abmsam]

Originally Posted by 2klos2stop

Can anyone that attended GPC program give some suggestions on how to approach the test questions that we have? The questions are harder than the sample or practice NCLEX questions.
What test bank do they find the answers in?

The questions are made up by the instructor who gave the lecture. Therefore, if the test is over eight different lectures given by five different instructors, those same five instructors wrote the test questions that apply to their lecture/s.

It is very hard to take a test that is written by five or six different outlooks. This is part of what my class went to the Dept Chair to express, to no avail of course.

Just read, read, read. There is no way to predict what they will test over. Good luck.

[rollie]

She's right. There is no test bank. They make up their own questions. Remember they'll all be application. Like you need to know lab values but they won't ask you straight out, it will be like you need to know the lab value to answer the patient scenario given. Always remember to apply your ABC's and Maslow. If someone can't breathe, put the head of their bed up, etc.

One thing I would suggest (which I didn't do until my last sem) is to make an appt. with *********** and have her go over test taking strategies. She is really the only one who can help you with this. The questions are way harder than the nclex. I guess this is the reason all the grads pass the nclex on the first try.

And know your math. There's no excuse for missing a math question. It's like 5 or 10 free points. Good luck and let me know if you have any other questions.

[VickyRN]

Moderator's gentle reminder:

For privacy reasons and TOS, please do not post teacher's names.

Thank you

[dmarie (GA)]

I left GPC after Med-Surg in Spring '06. Our class started with 175 people and diminished to 28 people after 2 semesters. Yes, they have a 100% NCLEX pass rate, but with the graduating numbers SO low, the odds are you won't make it through.

This school is on probation from what I understand. Their graduating numbers have dwindled every year for the past 5 years.

Instructors fail students during skills check-offs for things like, "I saw you break sterile field half-way through the check-off." And because it's her word against yours, you're screwed and subsequently fail the entire semester. It never happened to me; I passed all check-offs and clinicals, but I witnessed first hand how instructors would pick on students, bully students, and relish in the power trip. It's nothing short of abuse in my opinion.

I left GPC because the tests were ridiculous. I have several NCLEX review books and would do hundreds of practice questions to prepare for the tests. I get the whole "critical thinking" concept. But it didn't help. The tests at GPC are unreasonable. For every test, there are 3 or more instructors contributing homemade, poorly written test questions. It's impossible to get a sense of an instructors "style" because there's a new one everyday. And believe me, they don't cover the test material during lecture.

After dealing with the utter exhaustion, frustration, and stress, I decided I couldn't take any more beatings to my GPA.

To the poster who so generously offered study tips like reading the material beforehand and practicing check-offs, thank you. Under normal circumstances, this would be great advice and I'm sure you meant well. However, when it comes to GPC, you have no idea what you're talking about.

After a nightmarish 2 semesters, I decided to switch gears. Of course, there's a wait-list at all other nursing schools in Atlanta, so I licked my wounds, cried for a week, prayed, and decided to transfer to an LPN program because they could take me right away. Of course, my ultimate goal is RN, but I can bridge over.

LET ME TELL YOU: the difference is like night and day!!! I'm not talking about the ease of content.....I'm talking about GOOD, QUALITY instructors who CARE! It's absolutely amazing. My clinical instructor guides the group through relaxation exercises and guided imagery after every clinical shift. She gave each of us a journal so that we could write down our thoughts and questions, and she takes the time to answer each one. As for lectures, we have just one instructor, and she generates the test questions out of a data bank. The questions are meant to prepare us for the NCLEX, so there is plenty of critical thinking involved. If we have a concern or an area that needs clarification, she actually takes the time to LISTEN and ANSWER us! Granted, I feel like I'm doing alot of backtracking because of my previous knowledge, but these instructors do their best to challenge us and encourage us. It's truly a breath of fresh air.

In 9 months, I'll be ready to take the NCLEX-PN. Afterwards, I'll bridge over to the North Georgia LPN-RN program which takes roughly a year. I've heard great things about it.

GPC was probably one of the worst experiences of my life. I'm only recently beginning to get excited about being a nurse again. It took time to get over the blow, but I've moved on.

A friend of mine in the GPC program (an LPN) just failed 3rd semester for the 2nd time. She worked SO HARD, and received NO HELP, no guidance, no support whatsoever. She is utterly heartbroken. She tried to talk with different instructors for help, and they could care less. And now that she has 2 failures, she isn't welcome back. Let me tell you, this girl is sharp, she's good, she's a great nurse. But this program sucked the life right out of her.

My heart goes out to you!!!! I completely understand the turmoil you're going through. I still get really upset when I think about that place. My advice would be to continue working hard, but create a Plan B just in case. Get your applications into other schools before your GPA goes downhill.

Good Luck.

[jb2u]

Originally Posted by dmarie (GA)

To the poster who so generously offered study tips like reading the material beforehand and practicing check-offs, thank you. Under normal circumstances, this would be great advice and I'm sure you meant well. However, when it comes to GPC, you have no idea what you're talking about.

I agree that I do not know anything about GPC; however, as I stated, I think that maybe if the OP finds out what works for others then MAYBE it will work for the OP. I am sure that it is a tough program and maybe there are less than helpful professors there, but obviously there are graduates. According to the GA BON...in 2001 95, in 2002 64, in 2003 66, in 2004 63. That's 288 students in 4 years. Again, I truly believe that this is a tough program. I do not dought you on this matter.

[dmarie (GA)]

GPC has 2 graduating classes per year. Each class starts with close to 200 students. So if they graduate 63 students out of almost 400, the odds are pretty scary. I can tell you that last year, one of the graduating classes only had 18 people.

Obviously, to the OP, get a couple of good NCLEX review books, do hundreds of practice questions, read the chapters beforehand, etc. I recorded all lectures but found it unhelpful because the test questions have little to do with lecture content.

I just spoke with my friend who is still (barely) in the program (3rd Semester). She said that the Georgia Board of Nursing sent reps. to the school the other day to talk with students and get some feedback. She said that some students were crying they were so upset, recounting instructor treatment and the unnecessarily difficult and poorly written test questions.

It's a shame that during the current nursing shortage, with so many bright, willing, and eager students, we have to deal with incompetance when it comes to teachers and instructors, who quite frankly, don't give a damn.