ACC Spring 2013 hopefuls

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sungal

11 Posts

Thanks RadiationRN2BE! I'm no where near getting admitted, but it's nice to get some background info on the program. I was wondering if people can switch from hybrid to lecture if they feel like they're getting left behind. I heard that it's slightly possible to do the reverse (lecture to hybrid), but I was wondering if you've heard of anyone who has gone back to the class room setting. I guess I would feel better if there was an "out" if hybrid wasn't my thing. Thanks!

Also, do you think getting a job in healthcare is important for ACC nursing students? Either to better know the healthcare setting (do better in nursing school) or to aid in getting a job coming out of school? I have a regular non-healthcare job that pays okay with good benefits, so I was wondering if my job prospects coming out of nursing school would be worse off than someone who had experience as a CNA or phlebotomist beforehand. Do you think that your fellow nursing students did better in nursing school if they had healthcare experience? Sorry to bombard you with questions, hope someone can answer them! Thanks!

RADIATION_RN

401 Posts

Specializes in Radiation Oncology.
Thanks RadiationRN2BE! I'm no where near getting admitted, but it's nice to get some background info on the program. I was wondering if people can switch from hybrid to lecture if they feel like they're getting left behind. I heard that it's slightly possible to do the reverse (lecture to hybrid), but I was wondering if you've heard of anyone who has gone back to the class room setting. I guess I would feel better if there was an "out" if hybrid wasn't my thing. Thanks!

Also, do you think getting a job in healthcare is important for ACC nursing students? Either to better know the healthcare setting (do better in nursing school) or to aid in getting a job coming out of school? I have a regular non-healthcare job that pays okay with good benefits, so I was wondering if my job prospects coming out of nursing school would be worse off than someone who had experience as a CNA or phlebotomist beforehand. Do you think that your fellow nursing students did better in nursing school if they had healthcare experience? Sorry to bombard you with questions, hope someone can answer them! Thanks!

They don't allow switching campuses during the semester. You'd have to switch between semesters. I've never heard of anyone switching from hybrid to onsite. Definitely have had it the other way like you said. I started level 1 and we had 30 students, by the end we had lost 6 students who dropped. By the start of level 2 we had 6 students switch from onsite and join us in hybrid. The 6 students who dropped didn't drop because they couldn't handle the hybrid format, the majority dropped just because they realized nursing wasn't for them. I'm sure though, if you pass level 1 and decide you really wanted onsite, and there was a spot available then you could switch, but not sure.

Yes I believe getting a job in healthcare is extremely important while in nursing school, important but not necessary. The only advantage as far as patient care goes would be in level 1. If you had worked in healthcare and were used to talking with patients then you would be less nervous than those who hadn't. But you get exposed to the hospital system and taking care of patients quickly. I will say this also, now that I am in level 4 and we are doing the whole job search, interviews, and resumes thing, it definitely gives you an advantage to put your healthcare work experience. Some of my classmates have non-healthcare jobs and they are kicking themselves.

Now with that said, if you have a good steady paying non-healthcare related job this does not mean you won't find a job after graduation. I have many friends who graduated a few semesters before me who didn't work healthcare and they got jobs. My tip, do well in clinical, make an impression. Network yourself while you are there. You will meet many, many nurse managers in clinical, first impressions mean a lot. One of my friends got an interview halfway through level 4 during a clinical rotation because she had gone above and beyond just helping her patients and nurse, but helping others when she wasn't busy. A staff nurse happened to be really impressed with her and told the nurse manager the same day. She has now worked on that same clinical floor as a staff RN for 2 years now.

thuynwin

21 Posts

Hey Sungal, I do also agree with what radiationrn2be says about getting a job in healthcare. But i would also like to share what i have researched( true or not, i cant prove it). I have read on forums about people graduating and not being able to find jobs. Since the economy is the way it is, everyon moving to austin( hence the traffic). Today, its more the EMPLOYERS market, so many people that they can choose from looking for jobs, that now experience is a must. I even read Some hospitals arent even looking for an ADN, only BSN. Then again, i hear that people are getting jobs even before they graduate. So who knows? My two cents, is that instead of hoping for option 2 to be right, i would suggest getting a healthcare job. I would suggest getting a job as a CNA in a hospital for your RN degree. You would do most of the leg work, but this is as close to a nurse that u can get without a degree.I got a job at st. Davids, and love what i do. My supervisor hired me with no healthcare experince at all, and i have learned so much since ive been there. You will start to learn how healthcare professions talk, nurses will teach you how to do stuff( they showed me what to look for when starting an IV-Can't actually do it of course, but its really good to watch), you will know what to do in emergency situations ( crash cart, codes to call), You will understand it better. if your around healthcare 40/week your bound to learn something. My supervisor says shes willing to do whatever to get me through school, there benefits and grants, and a lot of stuff really good for you. If you read my earlier post i wrote what i did and what im doing now at st. Davids. I hope that helped and i wish u the best of luck!

RADIATION_RN

401 Posts

Specializes in Radiation Oncology.

The majority of my friends who just graduated in May were hired with St. Davids!

thuynwin

21 Posts

That's good to hear! I was nervous to read that stuff on the forums before I got the job, because it's been so long waiting to get into nursing school and then not being able to find a job, would b devastating.

Savvy.F

13 Posts

..but of course ACC is going to wait until the last moment possible to tell us of our entrance. Oh well, here's to hoping for tomorrow morning!:)

AmyKnows2

7 Posts

Definitely "hoping" for a response today...

texasRN_14

284 Posts

Specializes in Geriatrics, Med/Surg, hospice.

Well, no notice today... sorry guys! I feel your pain though as I'm waiting until November to find out.

Anyway, I just wondered if anyone knew if the points system will 'roll over' at some point? They said that they didn't even send petitions to anyone under a 57 point score. That's a HUGE score, which means every single person was a re-applicant. Just a few years ago, the top points scores were around 52 or so which was attainable for a first time applicant. That just makes it so hard for people to get in, will it eventually go up and up until you need to apply three times to get accepted or do you think it will eventually cycle back down to get accepted with a reasonably competitive score? Just curious. I'm so glad that I did LVN first now as having a score of 52 would mean I would definitely need to re-apply and probably retake a few classes (yuck...) to get considered. Anyway, Good luck to everyone waiting :)

texasRN_14

284 Posts

Specializes in Geriatrics, Med/Surg, hospice.

Did everyone see the new update?? Letters will go out tomorrow by 5 pm! They just had to make y'all wait one more day! Haha. Good luck to all!

Austin404

45 Posts

Specializes in Telemetry.

Just wanted to say "Good Luck!" to you guys!!! :up: I'm currently in Level 1 at CEC.

texasRN_14

284 Posts

Specializes in Geriatrics, Med/Surg, hospice.

Austin404- how do you like CEC? Have you lost anyone from your group? I hate to ask that but I am an LVN who applied for Alternate Entry to the ADN program and my acceptance is dependent on people leaving the program... anyway, I am really interested in doing CEC if I get accepted and would love to hear your thoughts :)

Austin404

45 Posts

Specializes in Telemetry.

Texaslvn12, the CEC is great!! I've really enjoyed it so far. The instructors and lab experience are great. It's inside the old children's hospital at Brackenridge, so you really feel like you're in the real deal. There are times that I miss being at a campus. You can kind of feel disconnected from ACC at the CEC, but it's nice that Rio Grande and Eastview are close by. I find myself going to Rio Grande a lot to use their computers. The ones at the CEC are not as advanced. One really nice thing about the CEC is they have free and unlimited printing and photocopying. There's none of the 15 page limit stuff that ACC has. Really comes in handy when you're printing out PowerPoints.

One other thing I will mention about CEC: The labs are not open as much as they are at other campuses. We have to share the open labs with not only ACC Levels 2, 3, and 4, but also with Concordia. On the flip side of that, we are the only ACC students that get to use the CEC labs. Eastview and Round Rock students don't have access to them. Personally, I think the CEC labs are more real life.

Level 1 is flying by!!! I can't believe 1413 is over in six days. I never believed people when they said that the program went by quickly, but it's true. As far as losing people, we haven't lost anyone so far this semester that I can remember. Most people seem to be doing well and wanting to stay in the program.

I'll keep my fingers crossed for you! I wish you the best of luck. :up:

Let me know if you have anymore questions about CEC.

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