Hi there - I posted to you on the CNP thread so that all could see the info. Hope it is helpful.

Good luck!

Joy, Thanks so much for your response. I think you are absolutely amazing to be juggling work, family and Nursing school all at once! I've wanted to do Nursing for years, & just returned to school in 2006. I finished my pre-reqs last summer & immediately applied for the traditional program @ JTCC. I believe I had a good chance at being accepted... unfortunately, in a moment of self-doubt, I called and asked them to withdraw my application! Needless to say, I'm incredibly grateful for the opportunity to apply once more.

I love the idea of taking the coursework online as I did much of my pre-reqs online. Do you feel you're being well prepared for the profession in the online program (getting enough hands-on instruction & experience)? Have you heard anything about the program potentially being closed? Someone mentioned a rumor in my Chem class, & I found online that two of the colleges are no longer going to be participating in the near future. Do you happen to know how many applicants vs how many spaces the program has on average? I know my GPA (3.7) is competitive for the traditional program, but have heard it's much more difficult to get into the online program.

Please don't worry about providing too much information! I have a million questions. As a lot of them aren't relevant unless I get accepted, I'll hold off on asking more out of respect for your time.
Thanks again!
Wishing you all the best (and a bit more sleep),
Jeanna

Hi there This is Joy from the CNP thread. I got a notification in my email that there was activity on the thread - glad to see that you are considering the program!

I am now in my second semester - Med Surg I (Nur 112) and Health Assessment (Nur 226) (last semester was Fundamentals and Dosage Calc). I am really enjoying the program, and would recommend it. As with any nursing program, you have to be REALLY ready to dedicate time to it. First semester gave me a taste of this, but this semester is REALLY a whopper. I also work FT and have 2 children and I have zero free time - literally zero. I am down to 5 hours of sleep a night. BUT, for me the result is worth it. I have wanted to be a nurse for several years now and this program is absolutely wonderful for those of us who NEED to keep working! If you are not working or working PT, I think things would be a lot easier, time-wise.

We have had great instructors so far - they are very supportive and encouraging, and really do a great job of teaching. There is an absolute TON of reading, there are case studies and other written assignments (care plans, etc - not many of those 1st semester but there are a few), there are online discussion board assignments, there are quizzes almost every week. But all of these different types of assignments combine together to really help you get the material.

For clinicals, we were at the VA hospital 1st semester (our schedule was M and W 5-10 and Sat 7-4...every other week). This semester we are at Chip - W and Th 5-10:30 every week, and then we have lab for Health Assessment every Monday 5-10:30...Health Assessment is only for the first 8 weeks of the semester (thank goodness, as I feel I am barely going to make it to that 8th week).

I've probably given you WAY more information than you really wanted. I am happy to answer questions. I am very busy but am usually very good about responding to this thread, or you can PM me.

Best of luck!
Joy