[momma&nurse2B]

My interview is 9 am Friday the 23rd...I'm quite nervous as well! Good luck to you!

[sfarage]

Thanks same to you. If we both get in we will have to swap ideas on how to balance kids and school. I think that is what I worry about more than anything.

[momma&nurse2B]

Definitely. I'm with you on that! I want to be a nurse, but I still want my job as a mom to be a priority. I worry that I won't be able to sucessfully balance everything. But, alot of moms and dads have juggled it before and survived so I'm sure we can too I have a 3 year old...what about you?

[sfarage]

I have a 2 year old and a 4 year old. I also have 3 stepkids and the 15 and 17 year olds live with us so we have a full and busy house. You are right a lot of people have balanced kids and school before so there is no reason we can't. I saw you got accepted to KU. Are you wanting to go to JCCC over KU or are you still undecided? Sorry to ramble on but I was also wondering if you knew if the JCCC program was 8-5 M-F or if you have any clue what the hours are like? Have a good night.

[2bnursemiller08]

Hi!

Not sure if you are still needing a reply, but I am a current JCCC Nursing student. To answer your question, the program isn't 8-5 exactly. It depends on your clinical schedule. For example, this semester, my clinicals are 6:45-2:24 T/W, class from 1-5 on Monday's. However, there are still other time commitments such as lab time, lab demonstrations on special procedures etc. and of course LOTS of study time for tests and also clinical prep. time. It is time consuming but worth every minute! If I can help you with any questions, please let me know. Good luck!

[sfarage]

Hey there! Thanks for the reply, I am more than happy to here from a current student. I have my interview tomorrow at 2:00pm. I do have some questions about the program but my mind is so cluttered with preparing for this interview that I can't think too well right now. So if you don't mind I will post something tomorrow with some of those. Your input would be sooooo appreciated. Talk to you soon. Shannon

[2bnursemiller08]

Your interview will be about 15 minutes long. There will be some standard questions that everyone will get. They are aimed at testing your critical thinking skills. They are all situational in nature - you can't study for them. They aren't the typical job interview type of questions. Just rest tonight, relax, don't tell them that you are nervous because 1. they already know that you are and 2. they want to make sure you can handle yourself professionally while under stress. I feel your pain. I remember how I felt when I was in your shoes last year. I wish you the very best of luck. Please post and let me know how it goes, if you get accepted and if I can assist you in any way. Tonight, I need to get some sleep now so I can begin studying ALL day tomorrow for a Friday exam.

[sfarage]

Hey, I think my interview went fairly well. There were 10 questions and it lasted less than 10 minutes so I hope I answered them well enough. I feel like I did okay, i'm not going to stress, it's out of my hands now and the waiting game begins. I have a good GPA and ACT score, so hopefully it will all be fine. So do you have class on Thurs. and Fri. from 8-5 or just Mon.?, Also how do you like the teachers, I heard some bad things about the LPN teachers but have never heard anything on the RN teachers. I appreciate your input, I have two young kids so I would like to know kind of what to expect so I have an idea of how I will budget my time. I look foward to hearing from you. Thanks Shannon

[2bnursemiller08]

Most Thursday's and Friday's you will have off, especially after the first semester. But please don't let that fool you because it still is all consuming. At least for me anyway. You can do it and many, if not most, of the students in the program are mom's and dad's too. The good thing about school is that you get breaks! When you think you completely worn out, Christmas arrives. When you wear down again, well, here comes spring break. Everyone says that the first year is the hardest. The first semester is more difficult as far as time consumption. You will be doing lots of proficiency check offs in the lab, having to pass medical terminology exams, drug calculation exams etc. on top of class and clinical. For the first few weeks, you are in class a lot. But for the most part, your schedule is class on Monday's, clinical Tues. & Wed. Some people's clinical's are in the evening, but most are during the day. The second semester content is much harder, but as long as you got everything down the first semester, most do okay. The program builds. So if you don't understand something, work on it until you do! Out of the 64 students that started, we have lost 8 due to flunking out, getting sick etc. Most of the professors are great. Tough, but great. There is one that I am so frustrated with right now because of her test questions are over stuff that we never cover but like her personally. She is ultra intelligent. Maybe too smart for some of us. The whole class is sooooo upset with her right now. We just all got out of a test that the majority of us think we bombed. The hardest part about the program is the fact that anything below 78% is failing. You have to get a "C" in order to go on, and that's the cut off. In reality, it's good because it almost insures, if you are performing at that level, that you will pass the NCLEX. Why go through all of this if you can't pass the boards? Right? My BIGGEST fear before starting nursing school was the juggling of family and school. You are going to need support and organization but if you aren't working on top of all of this, you will be fine. Some do EVERYTHING (work, kids, school, etc.) and do awesome. I don't know your situation, but fortunately for me I have a husband and a 11 year old son that is very supportive and know how to make their own sandwich if mom has a test. This year has gone sooooo fast. I can't believe that there is only 7 weeks left! My best advise to you is to REALLY think about why you want to be a nurse with NOBODY influencing you. Because when it gets tough (and it will) you have to want it and know WHY you are doing it. JCCC has the best historical record of NCLEX pass rates in the KC metro area. It really is an excellent program. Let me know if I can answer any more of your questions>

[sfarage]

Thanks so much for all your info, it is very helpful. I hope you did well on your test last Friday. I do have a supportive family, my kids are 2 and 4 so I mostly worry about having enough time with them but the schedule doesn't sound too bad. My daughter will start Kindergarden in August and my son will be at JCCC's daycare so at least it sounds like Thursday and Fridays could be study time without kids around. We are also looking to buy a bigger house and my mom is going to live with us so she will be a big help. So are all 64 students in class together on class time or do peoples schedules vary? Also do you go to clinicals individually or are you assigned with a group of classmates at the same hospital? I actually kind of think its a good idea that you have to have a 78%, I wouldn't want to pass everything then get a job and not have a clue what i'm doing. I hope you don't mind me asking all these questions, I just want to be as prepared as possible. I'm stressed out a little bit right now because i'll have to figure out transportation and child care for my daughter before and after school so all this info is very helpful. Hope your day is going well. Shannon