Info on Merritt College LVN program in Oakland, CA

misscelly · Jul 31, 2009

Hi there,

I'm not in the Merritt program but I am currently in an LVN program here in the Bay Area. My advice would be to study, study, study, don't miss any classes or clinicals, establish a personal relationship with your instructors from the very beginning, and be confident! That should get you through. What I'm finding is that the program is time consuming but definitely managable. Good Luck !

Christine2009 · Jul 31, 2009

Misscelly,

What did you do to prepare for your program? Did you read ahead of time? What school are you going to?

misscelly · Jul 31, 2009

I didn't really DO anything to prepare for the program, but since my ultimate goal is becoming an RN , I had taken the prereq courses for the RN program (I'm using the LVN program as a stepping stone to get into the RN program due to the impaction of all RN programs), so that really helped. Let me know your class schedule for this coming semester and I'll try and fill you in on what might be appropriate to study ahead of time. Currently, I'm going to Western Career College, I'm in my second term, and so far so good. I've learned a lot!

Christine2009 · Jul 31, 2009

OMG! I took one semester of their LVN class in 2004 (San Leandro Campus) and was flunking out terribly! I also went there to do my MA certification in 2000. Their LVN program is quite intense, but liked the structure of it all (wearing a uniform, hair has to be tied back, shoes MUST be white leather, etc.)

Anyways, my schedule is as follows: Basic Med/Surg Nursing, Nurising Interventions and Clinical Skills, Drug Dose Calculations (the director wants us to sit in with the RN class because she likes the book they are using), and Nutrition.

I figure that I should probally read the first twelve chapters in the Med/Surg book because this all foundations stuff that cross references with the Clinical book. Then I am reviewing my Drug Dose book as we are having a test the second week of class. Also we are having a test over the Med/Surg the same week. We have to pass both tests with a 75% or higher to continue in the program! :bluecry1:

Maybe we can study together when I start school if you would like, just let me know. Best of luck to you and remember "At Western Career College ....You can do it!" :lol: (just had to add that :wink2:)

misscelly · Aug 6, 2009

Hey there,

my apologies for the delay. so different teachers have different approaches as to how they want to lecture but in my med/surg class the instructor started with CV because he felt it was one of the most mportant subjects to understand. Get to know the cycle of the heart really well, i.e. systole, diastole,etc. Then resp. and then just all the systems really. Become familiar with the nursing considerations and disease processes, clinical manifestations and interventions, as well as the labs that correlate. Get yourself some nursing care plan cards or a care plan book. I have both and I love them. And even though you can more than likely find interventions in your text, I just prefer the cards because they're so easy and convenient and I've gotten A's on my care plans! For Phram, the dosage calculations are easy! There's only a couple of formulas to remember, really. Be able to distinguish between the generic and trade names on the labels and start to familiarize yourself with the different classes of drugs. So if you have your drug guide, the back of it should list the different classes and give you a good understanding of the what that particular class does. With nutrition, I would suggest just starting at the beginning and going over the basics then move on through the chapters.

So basically try and understand the disease processes and what's happening physiologically. I hope this helps. Let me know if I can help any further. =)

misscelly

misscelly · Aug 6, 2009

Oh, studying together would be great but its so hard to get together for study groups, you know? But we can definitely try....=)

Christine2009 · Aug 6, 2009

I have been going to Borders in Alameda to study everyday! In Med/Surg, I am trying to read the first 12 chapters which go over the basics of nursing care....health care system, cultural diversity, leadership, nursing process and critical thinking, caring for the older pt, legal and ethical care, nurse-pt relationship, nurse and the family, health and illness, nutrition, and finally developmental processes.

Because Med/Surg is a 15 unit class that is what I am spending the most time on. Pharmacology and Nutrition are just one unit classes so I am not really to concerned with them. Then with the Med/Surg, I am cross referencing with my Nursing Interventions and Clinical Skills book.

I think I will have a handle on it once school starts, at least I hope I will. Thank you for all your info and advice and let me know if there is something I can answer for you too!

misscelly · Aug 6, 2009

That sounds great! Yeah, I guess I probably jumped ahead a little. For me, the subjects you just mentioned were studied in a "Nursing Foundations" class. Then in med/surg, which is what I'm taking now, goes over the sudjects I mentioned in my previous post. But it sounds like your on the right track. Good Luck !

Tina_N · Mar 9, 2010

Hi I was thinking about going to western career college and wanted to know your input on the school and also to ask which campus your going to. I was thinking about attending the one in San Leandro but am not sure if i really want to go there. 48k is alot of money and ive heard some pros and cons about wcc. i dont want to waste my money.

Tina_N · Mar 9, 2010

Hi i was thinking about attending Westeren career college too in Oct at San Leandro but isnt sure if i really want to go there. 48k is alot of money so i wanted to know your input on the school also which campus your attending to. thanks.

Christine2009 · Mar 12, 2010

Tina N,

DO NOT waste your money on WCC!!! 48K is a lot of money and if you want to go on to thier RN program, you end up spending 152K total for both programs. My advice is go to a jc which is what I am doing. It is so much cheaper and you get the same education that you would at WCC.

I attended the campus in San Leandro for LVN back in 2003 and the program was very unorganized and intense!

I now am at Merritt College doing thier LVN program and have paid $2,500 which included my tuition, books, ect. The bulk of the money comes in the first semester as you need to get your physical, titers, Hep B injections, etc. You are only in class M - Th from 8 am to 3 pm which is awesome so if you have to work you are able to. At WCC you go M - F from 8 am to 5 pm making it impossible to work if need be.

This is only my opinion on the matter and you need to do what is best for you and your situation.

Best of luck to you!