Where are all you SC nurses?

U.S.A. South Carolina

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You never here much from nurses in SC. Are there not that many on this board or have I just missed you all?

It would be nice to hear about experiences here in SC.

Perhaps we should introduce ourselves.

I am a student in Charleston, just moved here with my family to attend nursing school. We plan on staying here after I graduate instead of moving back to Myrtle Beach.

RedVaz

Huh? What? I'm not the only one at Midlands Tech? :w00t:

I'm on the waiting list...my start date is Spring 2010...eeeekkk!

Actually, I won't be waiting that long. OC Tech has NO waiting list and the average GPA of accepted students is a 3.0. Got that. And I won't mind driving the extra 30 minutes if it means I start clinicals next Fall.

Also, do you know about MTC's Merit Admissions? There's an information session on campus on the 18th??? There's a little sign on the doors of the Health Science Building with the date and time.

Either way, this future RN won't wait another 4 frickin' years to get in. By then, my A&P will have expired.

You're welcome to PM me...there are others in the MTC nursing program that know about this site...whoda thunk it?

Hey! I had the same problem with Trident Tech's waiting list in Charleston. (Although, i think i would started a little earlier than 2010, like 2008.) I got fed up with waiting, so in Feb. of 2005, I applied for OCTech's LPN program, got accepted, and started in Aug. 2005, and garduated this past July. I LOVED their program, it was such a great experience. The only bad thing was that I live in Moncks Corner, so i had to drive an hour there, and an hour back.

So, now that i already have my LPN, i can go to Trident Tech and get my RN WITHOUT a waiting list. OCTech is definitely the way to go, they don't have a wating list, they just take the top applicants who apply every year, and if you didn't get in, you just apply the next year. Good Luck!

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Specializes in ORTHOPAEDICS-CERTIFIED SINCE 89.

Hey I was born in O'burg. Does that count? I'm a USC grad myself but that was waaaaay back in the last century!

MTC has a splendid reputation for graduating great Nurses. I can't think of many or even any I wouldn't want to work with.

As far as Aiken, there's the hospital and several really nice LTC's around there.

There are 3 hospitals in Augusta 4 if you count the VAH and 5 if you count the Army Hsp in Ft. Gordon. SC is small enough that most commutes are in the 1 hour range at the most. Though we had one nurse who came to Columbia from Spartanburg.....that's a COMMUTE!

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Hi fellow SC nurses. I am very new to this forum and if this is not the correct posting place, please let me know. I have used the search tool but haven't been able to pinpoint what I am wanting to know. Here is my situation - I earned my ADN at a comm. college in Tulsa, OK in May 2005. I accepted a job upon graduation & passing NCLEX at Prov. Heart & moved my family here in July 2005. Now that we're settled, I am ready to get back to school. My career goal is to become a CRNA. USC does offer this program, which factored into our decision to make Columbia home (Oklahoma has NO CRNA programs). Today I applied to Lander's RN-BSN program. I hope to start in Fall of 07 after completing some pre-req's needed over the summer at Midlands Tech. So here is my question - are there any of you out there that have been admitted to the CRNA program after going through Lander? I worry about admission bias, since neither of my degrees will have come from USC. I would really appreciate some feedback. I am now wondering if going through Lander could be a mistake. I hope not because it seems to really fit with my schedule and lifestyle. TIA everyone! :)

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someone explain to me what is the waiting list exactly..so many people tell me different things....Ihear about all the instructers... that yell at you and so much money that you have to spend once you get in the program..Ifeel like my adviser is not telling me all i need to know...I attend piedmont tech. in Greenwood...I may transfer to Lander..or go online dont know which...right know i am going for RN..but may stop at LPN....dont know

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Specializes in general surgical, women's surgery.

There are waiting lists at most ADN programs because there are simply not enough clinical instructors to teach nurses. Once you start clinicals, you can't really have more than 8 people per group for an instructor to supervise because that instructor's license is covering all of the patient care for those under the care of the student nurses. The smaller the the size of the clinical group, the better the learning experience for the students... AND.. the SAFER the care for the patients!

The salaries of nursing instructors is minimal compared to what they could make working in hospitals, so few people are interested in teaching, therefore, fewer students can be accepted into the programs at a time.

I have a BS in Biology and began the ADN program at Midlands Tech working to become a RN. I was doing very well and was starting my 3rd semester of clinicals when I had to withdraw due to family medical problems. When I tried to later return, there were so many obstacles to overcome to re-enter (including probably repeating a semester since I'd been out the summer and fall), that I began investigating BSN programs nearby. There were several options. I decided that instead of re-peating a semester at MTC and continuing there for 4 straight semesters, I would enter 5 semester BSN program at USC-Aiken (no waiting list, requiring a 1 hour commute for classes (a little longer for clinicals). It was a choice I was very grateful for, that fit much better for my family, and made for less stress. With a much smaller class size (40 students per graduating class...max), USCA is a completely different learning atmosphere with personal professors interested in encouraging students.

Most people won't consider the universities because of money.... BUT..... If you don't already have a college degree and have the SAT scores & grades to be accepted into a university, there is a lot of scholarship money available to make up the difference between the expense of a technical school and a university. There is money out there from the state, the university, hospitals, and private institutions, etc... and... on the univeriaty level there are counselors who will actually help you find it!!!!! THey send you emails to remind you of scholarship money that comes available and application deadlines.

The other rumor I'd heard was that university programs don't prepare nurses for the real world or for NCLEX as well, but I've learned that's not true. The State Boards standardizes the same number of clinical hour requirements for all of the accreditated RN programs, regardless of if they are at technical colleges or professional universities. So... we all get the same number of ours of clinical time.. even though the curriculum looks different on paper at every nursing school in SC (regardless of which 2 programs you look at!!!). The universities have also really worked at re-writing curriculum over the past 5-8 years and they are working more NCLEX preparation into it which has improved scores. I know students at Clemson, Lander, MUSC, USC-Cola., USC-Upstate .. and all have to take (and rank at a certain percentile) NCLEX type tests at the end of each nursing course. So far, I've done exceptionally well on every practice NCLEX test I've taken, including a recent practice simulation NCLEX.... so I'm really not as nervous as I thought I'd be about taking the NCLEX this summer.

I encourage any of you who have the grades to look into the university nursing programs that are near you. You can save some money by taking your pre-reqs at local technical colleges and then make a transfer, provided you have the good grades (A's and B's). Just MAKE SURE you take courses that are in agreement with the SC Transfer Guide between the university system and technical college system. Ask for that guide from the schools and they should give it to you. Don't be discouraged by thinking it's going to take you 4 years instead of 2 years to earn a nursing degree. A lot of people end up spending 4 years and longer trying to earn a 2 year degree simply because of waiting lists or having to deal with the stresses and crazy demands of some of the technical schools who wouldn't take the time to listen to individual concerns, family emergency needs, etc.

I wanted to mention to anyone considering LANDER.....

I have worked with EXCELLENT nurses from Lander and was most impressed with the students I sat with this past January during a HURST NCLEX Review course at Lander. They had an amazing Med-Surg knowledge knowledge base that thoroughly impressed the visiting instructor from .... and I found them to be a very diginified and respectful group of students who also spoke admirably of their nursing professors.

You know... it's very rare at a technical school that you find students you like and enjoy their nursing instructors, but that's one of the differences between a BSN program and ADN program. You can actually survive nursing school with some fond memories!!!!

Finally, when hiring NEW grads these days, most of the better hospitals to work for want BSN grads. They'll take experienced ADNs, but I'm learning that regional hospitals with the better nurse retention rates are now recruiting mostly from BSN programs. The ADN grads often have to go work elsewhere for a while and then return to apply a couple of years later, after gaining some work experience.

Good luck to all of you! THE BIG THING IS>> If this is something you really want to do.... don't give up on your dream! YOU CAN DO IT! It's just going to take a lot of sacrifice and studying like never before... and you need a small support system of either family or friends to keep reminding you not to give up when the going gets tough... because it WILL get tough. My mother always said that nothing worthwhile in life comes easily. I think nursing school is a prime example!....

After raising 4 children and several interruptions & setbacks, I'm graduating in 3 months, with honors, at age 52!

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Thank you so much for that info...I want to become a RN,I have alot of things to pray about...right now I am taking my pre-reqs right now.Iwant to learn all Ican,and Ido have support Iam thankful for that..my sister-in law is also trying to get her RN degree she works in the greenville hospital system,so she gets alot of help and ask alot of questions and then she calls me and helps me out alot...so any advice would help me thank you..

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Specializes in general surgical, women's surgery.

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time! The nice thing about nursing is that there are a lot of ways to get there and several "stopping off" points along the way. The difficult part is that once you begin clinical rotations, the pressure is great.... so.... my advice is to get every other course out of the way prior to clinical work, so that you only have clinical course to take your attention. It sounds like clinicals is all about being in the hospital, but it's NOT. It involves lectures, tests, paperwork to turn in , care plans to write, etc... and sometimes papers, projects, and presentations. You don't want to still be taking a history course or some other general education requirement course along with all of the other pressure. You'll be doing all you can to just keep up with everything and try to snag a little sleep time.

It all sounds really harsh... but the reality is that nurses have tremendous responsibility in the hospital for patient safety and care these days. People go to the hospital for NURSING CARE, not to see the doctor. (THey do that in the ER and doctor's office, etc.) Doctors pop in for a minute or two to see the patient and check over what the nurses have done. The nurses are the ones reading the labs, assessing the patients' symptoms, deciding when to hold the medicine, notifying the physician, determine when things are doing sour, etc. Nursese have to really know what they are doing so that's why nursing school is so tough. The people in hospitals today are truly SICK and need to be cared for only by competent and skilled nurses. It's an awesome responsibility, but also a great privilege. So study hard and don't take it lightly. If it's your calling, you'll eventually get there! God bless you.

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Specializes in PEDS.

Hi everyone. I am from SC also. Originally from Newberry, went to Lander. Graduated 2002. Worked at LMC ever since.

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sc native sandlapper currently in southwest gulf coast fl, moving to myrtle beach sc in spring.

house prices, property taxes, & property insurance here unreasonable- the news reporters call $285k houses affordable, taxes can be $2k-6k a year, & most insurance companies have opted out of florida.

not what i'd call affordable on an lpn's salary!

my family is located in asheville, charlotte, raleigh, nc.

hubbie's family is in raleigh & fayetteville nc.

we're golfers, so mb is a good fit for us.

plus, it's not too far for weekend visits from family, & i will be happy to run the resident b&b!

the pay range doesn't sound like it's all that different from where i work now, but there's more choice when it comes to housing prices.

i'd like the 29579 zip, carolina forest if possible.

understand us 501 traffic horrible, but it would put me in 15-20 minutes driving distance of gsr & conway hosp. (night shift).

any suggestions or recommendations regarding workplace or neighborhoods will be appreciated!

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Specializes in general surgical, women's surgery.

Hey.. this is an update from me. I finally graduated in May from USC-Aiken's BSN program and have just begun a med-surg internship at Lexington Medical Center!

It's been an extremely long journey for me since I graduated 30 years ago with a BS in biology and didn't decide to pursue nursing until after raising 4 children. I began the ADN program at Midland's Tech almost 5 years ago, but had to withdraw 1/2 way through in order to take care of my ailing mother who was diagnosed with breast cancer and lived in 100 miles away in Greenville. When she stabilized, I re-started my journey by commuting an hour away to Aiken for classes and into Augusta, GA for clinicals.

Mom's cancer spread to her lungs and rib cage this past Spring, but she was insistent that I complete my degree. I drove between Lexington-Aiken-Greenville as I juggled family life and school, but graduated cum laude with a BSN in early May. I moved in with my parents to provide hospice care for my mother until her death 4 weeks later. After getting Dad settled, I began studying furiously for NCLEX, but had to cancel my test date because our 1st grandchild arrived a little earlier than expected on July 1st in Greer. After spending a couple of weeks helping our daughter and new granddaughter, I returned home to prepare for our middle son's August Alabama wedding. I studied for NCLEX while all of these juggling other family responsibilities and took it on Aug 8th in Asheville, before leaving town on Aug 9th for our son's wedding. I found out via computer in the hotel room that I'd passed just an hour before the wedding rehearsal!

It's been a whirlwind of a summer filled with mixed emotions, but at 52 I'm finally signing my name with an "RN" after it. The responsiblity is a bit overwhelming and I have so much to still learn, but I simply love patient care!

this forum has been a wonderful place of support as I've read and learned from others.

'Just want to say thanks and tell everyone else to NOT GIVE UP ON YOUR DREAMS!

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Specializes in Postpartum, Antepartum, Psych., SDS, OR.

Congratulations. Sometimes we go about our career choice and it just doesn't happen as we plan. Staying focused may help us to overcome many un-forseen obstacles.

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Specializes in Med-Surg/Peds/O.R./Legal/cardiology.

Hey, everybody!

I live just inside the SC line near Charlotte. Glad to find this local site! I worked in Charlotte (24 mile commute) for many years and recently became certified as a legal nurse consultant. I'm sick of the hospital systems and just needed to GET OUT!! Hope this is successful because if it's not, I really don't know what to do next... :uhoh21:

ebear

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