Anyone attending or taken the Accelerated BSN at Concordia in Irvine?

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Just wondering if anyone has taken this 12month program? Seems like a decent alternative to Mt. St. Mary's and CSUN as this is right here in Orange County.

Commetns appreciated.

Applicants would be notified sometimes next week (tentatively) if they are invited for interview.

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Hi everyone! I applied for the Spring 2011 cohort and received a call yesterday and an e-mail today about an interview! Has anyone else heard anything? I would love to talk with you, I am very excited! Good luck to everyone that applied! :yeah:

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Hey Everyone,

For those of you that have gotten in, were anyone of you nervous about getting into the Nursing field in general and further, honest about it during the interview process? I have a Business degree and am going to apply for FALL 2011 because I think the nursing career is one of the ideal jobs for future/current moms with the flexibility, pay, benefits etc... I would never be able to work in an ER but cant deal with it enough to get through the program since I know that there are so many transitional positions where you don't have to deal with that...

My whole life I never wanted to go into the medical field because I thought I'd be too squeamish but after learning about the opportunities and the growth and transitional positions when becoming an RN offers, and some deep thought, consideration, and prayer, God has calmed my heart about moving towards nursing so much so that I would even be dropping a job offer in retail management that will start this January...

To get to the point, during the interview process, did anyone people who answered the interview questions ever conveyed nervousness about doing the nursing career path? Because if they're looking for someone to say that it was their "dream to be a nurse" at the interview process I know that's not me...

Thanks for you help in advance and I really appreciate everyone who contributed to this post! God Bless!

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Specializes in Medical-Surgical, Telemetry, Geriatrics.

because this is a second degree program, they know that for most of the applicants, this wasn't a lifelong dream for many. however, they will ask you why you want to be a nurse so be prepared to answer that question. the best advice i can give is to be honest. you want to sound confident and passionate but don't lie or embellish the truth.

hey everyone,

for those of you that have gotten in, were anyone of you nervous about getting into the nursing field in general and further, honest about it during the interview process? i have a business degree and am going to apply for fall 2011 because i think the nursing career is one of the ideal jobs for future/current moms with the flexibility, pay, benefits etc... i would never be able to work in an er but cant deal with it enough to get through the program since i know that there are so many transitional positions where you don't have to deal with that...

my whole life i never wanted to go into the medical field because i thought i'd be too squeamish but after learning about the opportunities and the growth and transitional positions when becoming an rn offers, and some deep thought, consideration, and prayer, god has calmed my heart about moving towards nursing so much so that i would even be dropping a job offer in retail management that will start this january...

to get to the point, during the interview process, did anyone people who answered the interview questions ever conveyed nervousness about doing the nursing career path? because if they're looking for someone to say that it was their "dream to be a nurse" at the interview process i know that's not me...

thanks for you help in advance and i really appreciate everyone who contributed to this post! god bless!

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Great, thank you =)

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Starghadeer - Did you get accepted to Concordia for Fall 2010?

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Specializes in Medical-Surgical, Telemetry, Geriatrics.
Starghadeer - Did you get accepted to Concordia for Fall 2010?

i did! how bout you?

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No, I am applying for Spring 2011 and received an interview invite a couple of

weeks ago! Congrats though!!

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I was wondering if u can give me more info on the program. After the first three weeks of classes u start clinicals, right? Then what is a normal schedule look like for the rest of the time. How many days school? clinicals? Are there any breaks for any holidays? I like fast paced stuff so that does not bother me but do u feel it was veru stressful? Thanks so much, just trying to figure out my options. I am between saddleback and concordia

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Specializes in LDRP.
Hey Everyone,

For those of you that have gotten in, were anyone of you nervous about getting into the Nursing field in general and further, honest about it during the interview process? I have a Business degree and am going to apply for FALL 2011 because I think the nursing career is one of the ideal jobs for future/current moms with the flexibility, pay, benefits etc... I would never be able to work in an ER but cant deal with it enough to get through the program since I know that there are so many transitional positions where you don't have to deal with that...

My whole life I never wanted to go into the medical field because I thought I'd be too squeamish but after learning about the opportunities and the growth and transitional positions when becoming an RN offers, and some deep thought, consideration, and prayer, God has calmed my heart about moving towards nursing so much so that I would even be dropping a job offer in retail management that will start this January...

To get to the point, during the interview process, did anyone people who answered the interview questions ever conveyed nervousness about doing the nursing career path? Because if they're looking for someone to say that it was their "dream to be a nurse" at the interview process I know that's not me...

Thanks for you help in advance and I really appreciate everyone who contributed to this post! God Bless!

lil_twinkle, if you have any doubts whatsoever about nursing, I would seriously reconsider applying to an Accelerated BSN program. I am starting Concordia's ABSN program this August (fall 2010 cohort), so I am not yet a nursing student, but I thought I'd share my opinion with you. :)

I have never been a paid employee at a hospital, but I volunteered in hospitals for many years, and believe me, nursing is NOT for the squeamish or weak of heart. Even just as a volunteer, I saw people come into the ER with bleeding and gaping open wounds, saw a teenage girl slowly die from a gunshot wound to the head, had to help a nurse hold down a two year old girl crying for her mom while a NP gave her stitches in her forehead, actually had blood spattered on my pants and shoes while helping hold onto the leg of a mother giving birth in L&D, and I observed many graphic surgeries and have smelled the blood and the burnt flesh from the cauterizers in the OR. I can only imagine what more I'll be exposed to as a nursing student in clinical and eventually as an actual nurse! Of course, maybe you know you wouldn't want to be an ER, OR, or L&D nurse, but you will definitely be doing clinicals in the ER and L&D in nursing school. And no matter what hospital department you work in, I can guarantee that you will have to deal with a lot of blood and gore at least at some point(s).

As far as nursing school interviews go, my advice would be to NOT say anything that would make it look like you aren't absolutely positive that you would love to be a nurse and will do anything to achieve that goal. And if that isn't the case, then like I said before, you might want to consider pursuing a different career. Concordia does group interviews and everyone in my group emphasized how passionate we are about nursing and while we may have started out on different career paths in the beginning, we know that nursing is the right job for us now. Be prepared to be asked why you want to be a nurse several different times by several different interviewers and though I am obviously not on the staff and not a part of the admissions process, I know that if I was (hypothetically) an interviewer, I would not be impressed by someone who wanted to be a nurse simply for the flexibility, good pay, and benefits.

Nursing school is SO competitive right now, so it will likely be a long, arduous process to even get accepted to a school. It took me 2 years just to finish 5 of the pre-requisites (after I already had my bachelor's degree) because even the nursing school pre-requisite classes are severely impacted, at least at the community colleges. And even after you graduate nursing school and pass the NCLEX, I have heard so many new-grad nurses talking about how hard it is to get a job, even with the nursing shortage, because most places only want nurses with experience.

I don't mean to dishearten you and I hope I'm not coming off as mean or insensitive. I am going into this field because I want to serve and care for people and touch other people's lives. But I know that if I were in your position and feeling hesitant, I would want someone to tell me the cold, hard facts. However, as far as I know, EVERYONE (or at least the majority!) of nursing students are incredibly nervous when starting their respective nursing programs, and especially when starting clinicals - I know I am! And from what I've gathered about Concordia, the faculty provide a tight network of support and will do whatever they can to ensure that their students complete the program and succeed as a future nurse.

Good luck to you in your future endeavors! :redpinkhe

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hi! everyone i'm new to all nurses. I was just got an invitation for concordia's spring absn and I am really excited, so i wanted to know if anyone has already gone through the interview process?

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That's great LilJes, when is your interview? Mine is for July 10th!

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