[Ex-Dilbert]

Hi, SpudID -

I'm at Clackamas right now, and I'll try to answer your questions.

As far as the NET goes, the higher your score, the more points you get, although it doesn't add very many points to your score, so as long as you pass the NET, that's the most important thing. Your points are what determines whether or not you get an interview.

I didn't take the computer literacy exam because I took CS120, so I don't know if it's difficult. One of my classmates took it, and she didn't think it was that hard.

The interview carries the most weight of all. That's when they really try to get a feel for the kind of person you are, and how you will do in the program.

All of our clinicals are at hospitals.

As far as GPA goes, they're currently reviewing the grading. Right now, an A is a 91% - one of my classmates got a 90.4% and so got a B in the class; they're thinking about changing that. They don't differentiate between an A- and an A here.

P.S. - Michael, I didn't see your note about the NET test until now (finals have been keeping me busy!), but you are right, it stands for Nurse Entrance Test.

[hoopschick]

as a clark graduate, i just had to put my 2 cents in....this year, the positions are so few, that you must have a 4.0.gpa to be placed on the waiting list, which at the present time, is generally 2 quarters. i have a friend who lives in vancouver, but is driving up to longview where the waiting list is not quite so bad. i did really like the independent modular studies that clark used when i went(graduated in 1989) not sure if they are still using taht system, at any rate, i am still waiting to meet the nurse who actually got a "2 year degree" in 2 years....hahahah..

[SpudID]

Dear Hoops Chick,

I had some specific questions about Clark. How was the grading system? I called the Nursing Secretary and she said that grades are done with A=4.0 and A-=3.7, etc. . . How difficult is it to maintain an A average? I have a 4.0 in all my nursing prerequ's and a 3.8 cum with my BS degree. I am starting to feel intimidated by Clark's program. I am starting in April.

Also, what did you think about the teachers and staff? Do you have any advice for me? I heard that your first clinical is in a retirement home/assisted living and the VA hospital. Can you comment on your experiences there?

Any optional books that were a great help to you?

Moreover did you find the program doable? I have children and work-parttime and have been able to do school so far but am trying to figure out what is reasonable.

Thanks for any answers in advance. I really appreciate it.

[hoopschick]

hi spud,
i'm trying to remember, but it was so long ago.......
just kidding~ i actually did quite well in nursing classes, my gpa suffered with A&P, and Chemistry. if you got thru that, then the nursing courses should be a breeze, i found it to be fairly doable, and i also had 4 children at home, ages from 2 - 8. when i did the clinicals, our first quarter was actually at a nursing home, and back in those days, we had to re use our gloves!!!! it was a little strange at first, going in to tell someone that we were there to bathe them, etc., but you get used to it, plus, the patients actually thrive on so much attention, which isn't the norm for them. my teachers were all great with the exception of one, who i won't mention, she semed to have some particular issues with me personally, although i ended up with an "A" in the class anyway. the only foreseeable potential problems you might have is when you are actually doing second year clinicals, if you are still working, it can be a little hard to schedule everything to work out.

i can't think of any books that were a great help scholastically, but i do advise you to keep your sense of humor, and so i will recommend a web site to you- Qfever.com, and a nurses web log that keeps everything in perspective...
http://www.tilegarden.com/codeblog/
good luck, and feel free to ask me any questions, also if you want to write to me privately, i will warn you about the particular idiosyncracies of some of the staff.

[Annaproblemma]

Hi, I haven't read all the posts, maybe someone has already said this, but you should really consider Linfield School of Nursing. I just graduated from there Dec 19th and had an excellent experience. I would say almost half of my class had previous degrees and the faculty and administration worked really well with giving value to those degrees. We were originally called "Transer Juniors" and were able to graduate in 18 months with a BSN. Also, not to denigrate any ADN program, but a BSN if you can do it, has several advantages. You should really look into it. Linfield's Health campus is in Portland, across the street from Good Sam Hospital. The school is small, the classes are small, (my largest had 22 students in it), the faculty is very supportive and sympathetic. The clinical sites were fantastic! Some people are concerned about the tuition, but Linfield offers almost everone a huge scholarship so it ends up being about the same cost of OHSU. I was accepted into OHSU also, and had a difficult time decided between the two, but am so glad I picked Linfield. One reason, even though it may seem inconsequential, is the parking! The parking is almost non-existent at OHSU, and easy and plentiful at LInfield. I had to commute from Salem, so having that problem taken care of did make a difference!

Anyway, if you are interested and want more info on Linfield, please feel free to e-mail me. I'll tell you anything you want to know.

Anna

[SpudID]

Dear Anna,

I will look into Linfield since I already work for Legacy, I believe there is some reciprocal program with LHS and Linfield. Unfortunately, I know I won't qualify for any financial aid. Our income is too high, but it can't hurt to look. Secondly, I am assuming your 18 month stint was including summers. Because of our three beautiful kiddos I can't work and go to school another summer. I did accelerated A & P and Chem this last summer and promised my wonderful family that I would take the following summer off.

If you have any other encouragement or I am off base on those assumptions, please reply back. And THANKS for giving your two cents. I really appreciate it.

[Annaproblemma]

Dear Spud,

Okay, here's to answer your questions. First of all, the scholarship is not tied into income. My husband is an attorney, so we would not qualify for any financial aid either. The scholarship is based on academics. I don't think it has to be too high to qualify for that, I know a classmate who had it who had around a 3.0. Also, as to the schedule. We did start the end of July, but ended the end of May, first part of June, like the school kids. That was the first year. The second year We did have one month of accelated Ped/L&D in July. Just 4 weeks! We didn't start again until Sept., then graduated in Dec! So, actually we pretty much had the summer off. Of course we had to have all the pre-reqs finished first. I did all those at the local Community college.

Any more questions, let me know!

Anna

[SpudID]

Dear Anna and all those Linfield minded,

I talked to Linfield today. Their application deadline is February 15th. The lady I spoke to said that the 18 mo program is brandnew for them and what existed last year may not exist this year. She said that this year you will start in June go thru August have maybe two weeks off and then begin again and they expect that for the following year. I was beginning to think the program was doable but I am not sure. How did you feel about the class load and stress? I have a friend doing the 18 mo program at OHSU and she is a 4.0 student. She is doing great but it is VERY stressful and she is juggling a lot without having any children. She encouraged me to think about doing a two year program knowing that I work for OHSU and LHS and having children.

Thanks for the info about the scholarships though. I have a high undergrad GPA and they said that basically the scholarship is automatic for anyone with a 3.3 and above regardless of finances. That was new news to me; so thanks so much about that.

Can you tell me how you felt about the program, the clinicals and how stressed you were? If you want you can contact me directly at thedosers@comcast.net. Thanks again for all your time and efforts on my behalf!

[Annaproblemma]

No problem Spud, be glad to give you more info.

I had a great experience at Linfield. The faculty is very supportive to moms. They will arrange your clinicals to fit around your kid's schedule. I think that is pretty unheard of in most nursing schools! The faculty themselves all have kids so they know how it goes. For example, if you have kids in day care, they will give you choices of which times you would prefer for clinicals. I have children at home too and there were a couple of times a child was sick and I had a paper due. The teacher was understanding and gave me an extension on the paper. We had one situation where a classmate's brother was killed in an auto accident. The faculty kept her place open for her while she maintained a vigil at his bedside before he died (it took a couple months) they then assisted her in joining with the next semester's class. I thought that was very kind of them. Another classmate's father died and she had to fly back to Chicago to make arrangements. She was gone for 2 weeks, but was able to come back and get back in the swing of things with assistance from the faculty and graduate with the rest of us. Two girls got married, and one had a baby! Maybe that says something. I was really appreciative that since I lived in Salem, the faculty arranged for me to do as much as my clinicals down here so I didn't have to commute as much. They went so far as to open a site that had never been used before just so I wouldn't have to commute. Now that was incredible I thought!

Also, about the sites! I think Linfield has the most varied opportunities to do different things. For example, for my mental health rotation I was at the State Hospital here in Salem. I worked with the men in 32F (the criminally insane!) Now that was interesting! For my community health rotation I worked in healthy Start in Clackamas County. For my Chronic Illness I worked in Wilsonville at the women's correction facility. I also worked at St. Vincent's, Emanuel, and various other places. Huge exposure!

The workload, if you have all the prereqs out of the way, is doable. The most classes I had at a time was 3. Most of the time, I just had 1 or 2. Now they were intense classes, and paper intensive, but doable. The one I hated the most was Research Methods, Yuck!

The teachers are very involved and helpful. A couple boring ones, but that's normal. There is a good supportive system for help such as the library, a writing center, computer center, etc. The library is the Good Sam Library.

You get extremely close to your classmates. I was warned this would happen, and it sure did! These ladies are now my sisters. I will love them forever. You go through such emotional and learning experiences, that they will be part of my heart forever.

Sorry this is so long, but it was such a remarkable expererience and still fresh for me. It sounds like you are an older student as I was, and Linfield certainly values that. So, hope this answers more of your questions. I will just say one more thing which I think is really really important. Go for the BSN!!!! You will never ever regret it. Don't want to ruffle any feathers of those who have ADN's, but the BSN will be very well worth it. If you are going to do the time anyway, go the whole nine yards. Anyway, that's my take on it.

Good luck, and any more questions, I would be glad to answer.

Anna

[nwstudent]

Originally Posted by FutureRNMichael

Im not in Nursing school yet. Have not even started pre-reqs. I am considering going to Clackamas CC.

I loved clackamas - took the chemistry sequence there and nutrition - much more supportive than some of the classes I took at PCC - friendlier atmosphere -