calling all NMSU alumni

[bearhug]

Hi there. I just started the Roadrunner program at NMSU and can't believe how little I'm learning and how disorganized the school seems to be. It's making me very worried that I won't be prepared to either pass the NCLEX or be a competent nurse. Maybe this is normal and would happen anywhere I went to school and everything will be fine, but since I've never gone anywhere else I can't know that.

Can anyone, especially NMSU grads, reassure me that everything will be ok? If not, I'd love to know that as well. If I've made a huge mistake in choosing NMSU, I want to know now while I'm still beginning my education.

Thanks in advance for any insight you can give me!

[schlgrl]

Hello NMnursing student,

I have to admit my visit was a little disappointing. I felt as though I was "bothering" when I asked to speak to someone about the program. Perhaps it is that I am tired and ready for some quality sleep. Have you made a decision?

[PsychiatricNP]

Hi schlgrl - So......what did you decide????

[lonestargrl]

Hi everyone,

I have been reading the threads about NMSU. I beginning to get worried. I am applying to the Roadrunner(Summer09) and Pathways (Fall09).

So far, I have not been happy w/ the disorganization of their website. They have changed the requirements numerous times. They recently decided they want 3 reference letters. Basically, give me less than a month and a half during the holidays to do so. It has made me question the integrity of the program.

A fellow classmate turned me onto this program. I live in California. The programs out here are ridiculously competitive and expensive. That is what attracted me to NMSU. The price tuition waiver and less competition. Also, they require less pre-reqs!

Please help! I have been hoping to get accepted and start in May (hopefully). Is it not worth it????? I'm freaking out!!!!!!

Also, how do you recommend to prepare for the dosage calculations test and Hesi???

[BSN_DEC_2006]

To all current/prospective nursing students at NMSU,

Once you graduate from nursing school and meet other RN's that graduated from various nursing schools across the country, you will come to realize that ALL NURSING SCHOOLS ARE BASICALLY THE SAME. The same complaints about NMSU's nursing program are the same ones i've heard dozens of times from many of my coworkers i've worked at various hospitals. I'm currently a traveling RN (and a graduate of NMSU's BSN program), so i've spoken to plenty of nurses within NM and throughout the nation about their experiences through nursing school.

It's funny because the same complaints i read on these message boards (e.g. "professors are lousy and can't teach,"; "lab facilities aren't open long enough,"; "too many students at clinical sites or not enough clinical sites/rotations," "endless/pointless care plans," etc...) are the same ones i've heard from other RN's. I even have cousins who went to Medical School and Dental School who had very similar complaints about instructors and clinical rotations.

My point is, nursing school isn't easy anywhere you go. There are dozens of other students who have applied to NMSU's nursing school who were not accepted, but they would love to be in the program still, despite all the complaints/comments made throughout these forums.

Regarding the HESI, nearly all nursing schools administer these exams in one form or another. In some schools in Arizona, they have a HESI exam that you have to pass in order to even be accepted into the nursing program. And in Texas, there's a school where you have to pass a HESI exam to get into the program, in addition to another HESI exam you have to pass in order to graduate from the School of Nursing (just like @ NMSU). Taking and passing this exam only helps students in the longrun because it is very similar to the style of questions found on the NCLEX.

Nursing students have to realize that they cannot be spoonfed information to them, and they must read/research on their own time in order to digest the information thrown at them. Also, clinicals are the best time for nursing students to learn something. Many get too caught up on writing out careplans or filling out their pre-clinical paperwork and miss the big picture on what's going on with their patients.

Lastly, i think success in nursing school also depends a lot upon your classmates, too. My graduating class had our fair share of complaints each semester and we even butted heads with each other frequently. But all of us helped each other out every semester no matter what. It was like that with the semester ahead of us and with the class graduating after us. So, i thought that every cohort of nursing students would be like that, but judging from some of the comments made throughout these message boards, it seems that some classes may not be as cohesive as others.

Overall, NMSU's nursing program is a great program, and every nurse i know that graduated from there are exceptional nurses. Many of them have already made their way up to heads of their departments. So, just stick with it and suck it up... you'll know what i'm talking about once you've graduated and done your time in the nursing world.