Tarrant County College Fall 2012 - Page 77

I turned them in as they became available. You can scan and email to them through campus cruiser, and there is.an option to request a "reciept" when you send it and when they open the email you will be notified. That way you have the originals and saves you the drive. And they will also email you before the semester starts letting you know if your file is complete or not.My kids turned 5 in the middle of the semester and even with all the work to do I still threw them an awesome birthday party! Lol. Depending on your schedule it may not interfere with activities.

QUESTIONS!

I've been following this thread but have not posted. Now that I've been accepted I have so many questions! txhusker-SN you seem very knowledgeable on what to expect. How many days should we expect to have lecture/clinicals a week? How many hours are we given a semester? Do they hand you a schedule, do we get a say on it? I have a toddler and work two jobs and it just "hit" me that I'm starting nursing school this August!!!! I need to start making schedule changes and arrange daycare. Oh, also about how much was the overall cost of books?

So was searching for info on the RN to BSN program that's going to be held at TCC and stumbled across this thread. It brought me back to when I was on this site everyday waiting for my acceptance letter from TCC. I just graduated from TCC nursing program last Thursday. Good luck to all starting the program next fall! It's tough but it really does fly by!

hey, im only letting you guys know what we know or went through.

worst part about foundations if you DONT get to pick your own schedule [&...let the complaining begin...haha] but you are able to switch with someone who has your "ideal" schedule. [they will explain at the orientation] and when they say to "work your life around nursing school" its true, and they are very strict on attendance & rules. Miss too many days and it can cause you to get dropped from the program, because the way it works in this program is if you fail or drop one class, you fail the entire semester. Each class is a co-requisite to the other.

Sucks i know, but thats just the way it is.


Its usually 2days of clinical (a.m. or p.m.), 1 day of skills (a.m.) and theory(p.m.) and one day of just theory(p.m.). Fridays off. So 4 days a week total.

**im not sure about for the other semester, BUT foundations is 9 credit hours since you are taking skills, theory, and clinical. but i know the remaining semesters are less. 9 hours doesnt seem like alot, but it is ALOT OF WORK.

when they hand you your schedule it will say which clinical site you are going to and who your classmates are, and usually your classmates in one class are your classmates in every class.


& usually after foundations you can pick your own schedules unless something comes up.

Books cost be almost $300, depends where you buy them though. So i suggest you shop around.

all of your questions and more are explained during orientation.

Txhusker thank you soooo much for all your help! You really have answered so many questions! I was wondering if you could tell me if you think these shoes would be appropriate. They have a little blue logo on them. Do you think that would be an issue?http://www.shoebuy.com/nurse-mates-q.../188845/421272

Hello, I'm in my third semester. Yes, those shoes are just fine. They look comfy.

Thanks for all the great info TXhusker!!! All of you current students who have posted on here have been such a huge help!

Does anybody know if we get photo id's made at campus with the photo we bring in? I wasn't sure if I should go get a new passport-like photo taken or if any picture would do.

Elizabeth - those shoes look white to me! You can check those off your shopping/to-do list! I don't know if you love clearing off that list as much as I do...lol. I signed up for Amazon Student so my first package should be coming today (loving the two-day shipping for FREE).

Elizabeth- those shoes look fine! Just make sure they are comfy!Maam-they take your picture when you get your ID made. And you get it same day. Like less than 5 minute wait usually. But you do need to send in a recent photo to the nursing department for your file.

Congrats to everyone who's gotten in. I just finished my OB/L&D semester, only one more to go - Complex in the fall.


Everyone's experience is different, so if I say something different than txhusker or anyone else, please don't consider it a contradiction, just a different experience.


2 sets of scrubs - I managed to always get the 12 hour 1-day clinicals so I probably could have done with just one set of scrubs, but I'm the kind of person who always keeps an extra set in the car. There will be some available at orientation at the TSNA table for very inexpensive, but sizes are pretty limited, and the popular sizes go quickly. I am a "fluffy" girl, and I found that I can't wear the elastic waist pants, they fall down... I needed a good sturdy drawstring and tied it tight. Different styles fit differently, too. Try on stuff and find what you like. You're best off with color to get the patch from the bookstore and match it. Some instructors are picky about it, and some aren't. But if you match the patch, you're good. Most of the main brands like Dickies, their teal matches.


Lab jacket - the only time I used it was for Foundations & Adult where I had to go up the night before to pick patients and get information, and for some of the hospitals you have the option to wear business casual (no jeans/shorts) and a lab jacket instead of scrubs. But, some hospitals (like Childrens') require you to be in your scrubs. So definitely only buy one.


Textbooks/ebooks - I personally love e-textbooks. The Elsevier (the publisher of our textbooks) Pageburst application is pretty good, it even has a way to highlight sections and put "notes" in your book. If you're familiar with e-textbooks, and like the format, go with the bundle package that gives you e-textbook access or purchase your online access and the e-textbooks separately. Elsevier's online sales is a bit hard to navigate, but once you get the hang of it, you can find your textbooks there. There's not a lot of price break on the e-textbooks, btw, so don't think that it's a cheaper way out. If you're a person who highlights/writes in textbooks a lot, you will NOT like the e-textbook.


Some people used every book on the reading list. I personally rarely cracked my skills text because the info we needed was in our skills CID. I also got an iPod Touch 3rd gen (no camera) and use most of my reference material there, and rarely used my drug book (also electronic version from B&N with the Nook Study program) except for research papers and daily documentation. You *will* need a good book with nursing diagnosis/ care plans - they usually recommend Gulanic or Ackley. Both are good, they're just arranged differently.


One note about the electronics - if you have your e-textbooks on a tablet/phone/computer - you are probably NOT going to be able to use them at clinicals. You are barely going to have a place to put your book bag or purse at clinicals, and it's not going to be secure. Many of the hospitals have issues with phones being accessed on the floors, and prohibit personal computers/tablets. It's changing somewhat, and at my Foundations and Adult, my instructor and the hospital had no issues with my iPod Touch since it wasn't a phone and didn't have a camera. The hospitals for pediatrics and L&D had strict prohibitions.


And while I'm on the subject of clinicals - don't think you're going to have time to study or crack open the textbooks there. You're there to learn skills and documentation. You can put flashcards in your pocket or maybe a few notes to study in your clipboard for a few minutes here and there, but don't drag your textbooks to clinicals - you'll annoy the staff if you get them out, and there's many times no place to leave them.


As for other gear - I personally dislike the Littman stethoscopes and use an UltraScope. You can find a list of UltraScope retailers on their website where you can probably get a chance to listen with one compared to the Littmans (which everyone carries) and see which you like better. They will also have an option for you to get a pretty decent deal on a Littman at orientation through TNSA. You will also need a pen light, and I suggest if you have never taken a blood pressure manually before to get an inexpensive kit and start practicing - you'll do a LOT of vitals in Foundations, and some of my cohorts had real problems getting the hang of it. I also always carry some bandage scissors - but be sure to label them and don't get anything too spendy, it's easy to lose stuff.


Shoes - definitely get as much white as you can. I can only wear New Balance, and they typically have the logo outlined in a color on the shoes. That much color hasn't been an issue at any of my clinicals.


Support socks - GET SOME. My Foundations instructor told us this, and I didn't until this semester, and it makes all the difference in the world. You only need light-moderate support and you can get them at the scrub stores or online. I bought mine online at FootSmart because I needed a larger circumference calf.


You're going to also have a ton of paper to sort/organize/keep up with. Whatever works for you is great, but go into this expecting it.


Pens, pens, pens.... never set foot on a floor without at least 3 pens in your pocket. They wander off like nobody's business.


Classtimes - you don't get your choice for Foundations, but there is an allowance for changing schedules if you can find someone to change with. I took the Hybrid course, and LOVED it. Ms. C is fantastic, for the online portion she has powerpoints with her voiceover that she posts, so it's like being in lecture. There's a bit more busy type work, but if you need a more flexible schedule, it's great. There are 4 sections, and you're face to face for 2 of them and online for 2 of them. After foundations, you get to scramble with everyone else at online registration trying to get your preferred classes. Except for Mental Health in the summer, there are *usually* options for theory which are 2 hours 2x a week, or 4 hours 1x week, and clinicals either 6 hrs 2x week, or 12 hours 1x week. There are sometimes online options offered, sometimes not. I have managed to get the 4hr theory/12 hr clinical options every semester and the online when available, and it's worked out for me. It's a tough load. I wish I had enough flexibility with my work to take the 2hr/2x week theory. I do however prefer the 12 hour clinicals.


I think that's everything I can think of.


Again, congrats. Buckle up for a whirlwind.