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| No. 30 | 
Jul 25, 2008, 10:35 PM
 Re: Thomas Jefferson FACT Program
AtomicWoman,
As I said in my last reply, I graduated in May and wanted to say that since it is a second degree a lot of the people that apply to the program are older so I wouldn't worry about age.
 | | Advertisement Sponsored Links | | | | No. 31 |
Jul 26, 2008, 08:43 AM
Re: Thomas Jefferson FACT Program Originally Posted by Tay245  To chime in a little, I graduated from FACT in May and it is a great program with a great faculty. The PDA is mandatory this year but it wasn't last year and the people that didn't have it wished they did b/c it is the best in clinical. Also the second session has less classes but don't expect it to be any easier because the topics also change as well as the instrutors and each instructor has their own rhythm. As the year goes on, stay on top of your game. Many start to slack and end up stressed when it reflects in their grades. Things appear to get easier but as you enter the senior half (around November) things become different and a lot of people get lost in the mix. My class only had a few that didn't make it, 2 or 3 I think, but a lot of us were stressing around this time. So enjoy this program, try to take some time out for yourself and ask questions whenever you are unsure of something.
Thanks for your insight! I'll try to remember to keep things revved up, even in November. 
Have you found a job yet, or are you studying for the NCLEX? Were most of your fellow students able to find jobs pretty quickly?
I'm very encouraged that in over 100+ students, only a few didn't make it. That's much better than I have heard about (ahem) another program in Philly!
| | No. 32 |
Jul 26, 2008, 09:37 AM
Re: Thomas Jefferson FACT Program
Apoptotic, regarding the PDA, they strongly recommended the Palm TX. You can pretty much get any one you want; the only thing is Jeff IT only supports certain models. I know classmates of mine have all different PDAs and no one has had any problems they couldn't figure out. The software company has a good customer service dept so if you have issues with that they can help.
AtomicWoman, my first degree was in psych/bio. Degrees/former careers for people in my class include the following: bio, chem, psych, health management, finance, journalism, accounting, pharmacy, graphic design, law, teacher, artist, police, firefighter, paramedic. Just about any background you could think of, it's represented.
I'm about to turn 33. I wouldn't worry about age as a factor in the program. If you want something and are motivated, that's most important. The average age for the FACT program is listed as 32, but I've found there are a fair amount of pretty young people in my class (very early 20's). There are also a lot in our 30s and 40s, and a I think a small handful in their 50s. Much more than age, finances can be a stumbling block. Not sure if this has been made clear on the website, but Jeff stopped the scholarship program (one month before we started the program, which caused a lot of anger). I'm not sure if they are planning to continue it in the future, but as of right now Jeff doesn't need many entry level nurses so no scholarships.
Tay,
Thanks for the info. I was wondering about the rest of the program and they haven't given us much info yet. How long are each of the quarters? Are they all 3 months long? You mentioned that they consider us seniors around November, which is when I figured the fall quarter would end. I checked the fall classes we registered for though, it looks like the second quarter runs from Sept-Dec, which doesn't make sense.
| | No. 33 |
Jul 26, 2008, 03:42 PM
Re: Thomas Jefferson FACT Program Originally Posted by bailey728 AtomicWoman, my first degree was in psych/bio. Degrees/former careers for people in my class include the following: bio, chem, psych, health management, finance, journalism, accounting, pharmacy, graphic design, law, teacher, artist, police, firefighter, paramedic. Just about any background you could think of, it's represented.
I'm about to turn 33. I wouldn't worry about age as a factor in the program. If you want something and are motivated, that's most important. The average age for the FACT program is listed as 32, but I've found there are a fair amount of pretty young people in my class (very early 20's). There are also a lot in our 30s and 40s, and a I think a small handful in their 50s. Much more than age, finances can be a stumbling block. Not sure if this has been made clear on the website, but Jeff stopped the scholarship program (one month before we started the program, which caused a lot of anger). I'm not sure if they are planning to continue it in the future, but as of right now Jeff doesn't need many entry level nurses so no scholarships.
Bailey, thanks for the info. I guess I'll be one of the small handful of people in their 50s! 
I knew about the scholarship being stopped, but not because Jeff said anything officially. I noticed it had disappeared off their website, and then I was following a discussion of what happened here on allnurses. So I have no expectations that I'll get a penny from them. Which isn't good news, but I'd rather have the truth and prepare for it than have a fantasy I'm going to get money and be disappointed!
Thanks so much again for all of your time!
| | No. 34 |
Jul 26, 2008, 03:44 PM
Re: Thomas Jefferson FACT Program
BTW, do any of you current/former FACTers have a study group? Or do you pretty much do it on your own?
| | No. 35 |
Jul 26, 2008, 09:35 PM
Re: Thomas Jefferson FACT Program
No problem! I'm glad to help. Depends on the person if he/she uses a study group. I know some people who study together regularly every week. The group I tend to study with -- we usually study on our own and then get together right before an exam for an hour or two to go over stuff. Usually you'll realize you know some things better than everyone else, and they know some things better than you do. For the health assessment practical, most students are planning to get together with other students to practice on each other.
I had heard that the people in this class tend to become close pretty fast. I would say that's true with a caveat -- about a third of the class I am very close to already, a third I am friendly with, and a third I couldn't recognize by sight if they were right in front of me. (We're a class of about 100.) You'll find your niche of students, become friends with them, and you help each other out. Even if I'm not regularly studying with people, I always feel supported and like I have a group I can count on to ask questions, bounce things off of, vent, etc.
| | No. 36 |
Aug 02, 2008, 03:27 PM
Re: Thomas Jefferson FACT Program Originally Posted by Tay245 To chime in a little, I graduated from FACT in May and it is a great program with a great faculty. The PDA is mandatory this year but it wasn't last year and the people that didn't have it wished they did b/c it is the best in clinical. Also the second session has less classes but don't expect it to be any easier because the topics also change as well as the instrutors and each instructor has their own rhythm. As the year goes on, stay on top of your game. Many start to slack and end up stressed when it reflects in their grades. Things appear to get easier but as you enter the senior half (around November) things become different and a lot of people get lost in the mix. My class only had a few that didn't make it, 2 or 3 I think, but a lot of us were stressing around this time. So enjoy this program, try to take some time out for yourself and ask questions whenever you are unsure of something.
Hi Tay,
Thanks for the info Do you get any breaks from class during the program other than the few days around Christmas that I'm assuming you get?
| | No. 37 |
Aug 03, 2008, 02:10 PM
Re: Thomas Jefferson FACT Program
I have a question about student loans and the FACT program. Since FACT is a one-year program that starts in May, are you eligible to apply for one or two rounds of Stafford loans? In other words, can you get $12,500 (the new max per year for subsidized and unsubsidized combined) or $25,000 in Stafford loans. I realize you wouldn't be able to get the money all at once, but I would like to know if you can apply only once or twice for Stafford loans during your FACT education.
Thanks!!
| | No. 38 |
Aug 03, 2008, 02:12 PM
Re: Thomas Jefferson FACT Program
How nervous were any of you FACTers when you started clinicals? How long did it take you to get comfortable doing vitals and all that?
| | No. 39 |
Aug 03, 2008, 06:02 PM
Re: Thomas Jefferson FACT Program
I'll try to answer these questions. Not sure about the rest of the program (they give us info at the last minute usually so we have no idea how the next quarters will go), but for the first quarter: we started the last week of May, will have our last clinicals and class this coming week, and then finals the week after. We will then have a two week break and start back right after Labor Day. I believe there is at least a one week break between all quarters, but Tay can answer that better.
Ah money, the bane of my existence at the moment. You can only apply for Stafford for ONE year, so $12,500 for the entire FACT program. This gets split into two payments of $6250 which are applied to your tuition bill in July and then again in January. (Jeff sends you a bill in May when the program starts, and you have to figure out how much money you're expecting in loans, and pay them the balance. They'll wait for July for the loans to be dispersed, but you owe the balance right after class starts.)
Regarding clinicals, I think it depends on if a person had any previous experience in a health care setting. I had worked in hospitals before so the environment wasn't foreign. Those of my classmates who had never stepped foot in the hospital before had a little bit longer of an adjustment period in terms of comfort of being on the floor in general. Regarding comfort with VS/assessments, most of us were in the same boat and had not had much experience. I think I had mentioned before - the first month of the program you are not in clinical. Instead, they have you attend labs where you learn things like taking VS (you have to do them on at least 25 people) and you get exposure to things like giving meds/insulin, inserting foley caths, wound care (all done on mannequins/fake arms). I think most of us were pretty comfortable with VS by the time we got to the floor. For the head-to-toe assessments your clinical instructors walks you through it in the beginning (and you also observe the RNs doing their assessments) and then after a couple of weeks you do them on your own. In my particular clinical group, we also never do procedures or give meds unless our clinical instructor is by our side. (Other instructors let the RNs supervise us doing these.) As a rough estimate, I would guess it took a good 1-2 months for us to feel like we were very comfortable on the floor. Don't stress about clinicals though. The instructors are very supportive and never leave you hanging out there wondering what to do (which is what I was afraid of). Also, there are 8 students per clinical group, so there's always help around if you need it.
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