Anyone Starting At UPMC Shadyside School of Nursing?

Metody · Nov 17, 2008

Oh, good! And thankyou!

I think I'll do well if I don't panic the night before and stay up until 5 am, sitting in a corner and wheezing. I'm kind of at the point that I want to just get the darned thing over with. I wish I hadn't decided to take the last possible test.

Oh, well. Worst come to worst, I'll just take classes at CCAC until I can reapply, and get some prep work done. It'd be so great if I could take A&P ahead of time.

Does anyone know if they have summer admissions? I've been trying to look at the site to find out, but my computer keeps timing out on the pages.

ChristineN, BSN, RN · Nov 17, 2008

Oh, good! And thankyou!
I think I'll do well if I don't panic the night before and stay up until 5 am, sitting in a corner and wheezing. I'm kind of at the point that I want to just get the darned thing over with. I wish I hadn't decided to take the last possible test.
Oh, well. Worst come to worst, I'll just take classes at CCAC until I can reapply, and get some prep work done. It'd be so great if I could take A&P ahead of time.
Does anyone know if they have summer admissions? I've been trying to look at the site to find out, but my computer keeps timing out on the pages.

Shadyside admitts student's twice a year, Febuary and August. I think you have the right idea about taking classes at CCAC as a back up plan.

megank5183 · Dec 5, 2008

Hello, everyone. I am starting in March in the full time program. I have some pre-reqs done, but my question is about whether there is any choice in scheduling your first semester classes, or whether or not you are assigned your class load. I currently work all day on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and I was wondering if I could fit my classes into M, W, F? Thanks!!

mommyjskns · Dec 5, 2008

You are given your schedule.......you don't pick your classes. What pre-reqs do you have finished? In March, I believe you will be scheduled for Micro, A&P 1, Nursing 100 and Nursing 101. The teachers for A&P and for Nursing 101 are awesome, btw.

Let me know if I can answer any questions for you.

ChristineN, BSN, RN · Dec 5, 2008

Hello, everyone. I am starting in March in the full time program. I have some pre-reqs done, but my question is about whether there is any choice in scheduling your first semester classes, or whether or not you are assigned your class load. I currently work all day on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and I was wondering if I could fit my classes into M, W, F? Thanks!!

MommyJenkins is right, there are no choices regarding teachers or schedules at Shadyside. If you have some classes out of the way though, you may have some free days or half days.

danh3190 · Dec 6, 2008

I never understood why the school was so rigid in their scheduling but they wouldn't allow us to change sections of the classes. We just got a schedule a few weeks before the semester. I don't know how many sections they split the Spring class into.

marshmallowstar, BSN, RN · Dec 6, 2008

woot woot i received my acceptance letter today!! i'm starting in the spring. now i just need to find a place to live and a job. geez i thought the psb was going to be the hard part. :)

mommyjskns · Dec 6, 2008

Congrats on the acceptance! Shadyside is a great school......I am sure you will like it.

ChristineN, BSN, RN · Dec 7, 2008

woot woot i received my acceptance letter today!! i'm starting in the spring. now i just need to find a place to live and a job. geez i thought the psb was going to be the hard part. :)

Congratulations on getting accepted to Shadyside. For housing, I suggest (assuming you want to live near school) looking at Friendship and Bloomfield. Both are less than a mile from the school, but housing is a little cheaper in these communities than in Shadyside, and they are safe areas.

As far as a job, if you want to work in the medical field, I suggest applying at Shadyside Hospital. They have a tendency to hire their nursing students to be NA/PCT's before the general public, so you kind of have a edge getting in.

I lived in Friendship and worked at Shadyside while I went to Shadyside SON, and it was great. I lived close enough I could walk to work and school.

marshmallowstar, BSN, RN · Dec 17, 2008

Thanks for the congrats MommyJ and Christine.

I would normally private message but I don't have enough posts to do that yet so sorry to clog the boards everyone.

I'm hoping to find a place in Friendship, I've been checking places and have a few leads ::: fingers crossed::: I'm actually interested in your work while in school. You're one of the few that i've heard say they worked during school. So is it actually manageable? Can you make enough to support yourself? I still have loans from undergrad at penn state and really don't want to take out more to pay for rent and such. i emailed the nurse recruiter at mcgee today.

thanks for any input!

~hope

ChristineN, BSN, RN · Dec 18, 2008

Thanks for the congrats MommyJ and Christine.
I would normally private message but I don't have enough posts to do that yet so sorry to clog the boards everyone.
I'm hoping to find a place in Friendship, I've been checking places and have a few leads ::: fingers crossed::: I'm actually interested in your work while in school. You're one of the few that i've heard say they worked during school. So is it actually manageable? Can you make enough to support yourself? I still have loans from undergrad at penn state and really don't want to take out more to pay for rent and such. i emailed the nurse recruiter at mcgee today.
thanks for any input!
~hope

Hi Hope,

I worked all through Shadyside, full-time for most of it. It was hard, and if you could get by working only part-time, it would probably be more ideal. That being said, there were a number of students, including myself, that worked full-time out of necessity and graduated. I had no savings, and very little family assistance when I started nursing school, and was able to make enough to get by. You'll pretty much live pay check to pay check, but if you can do it, it's so worth it in the end. You make decent money for the work, well above minimum wage (average $10/hr), and even if you're part-time you'll get some benefits. Now, to be done, and know I owe nothing, is awesome!

While I was in school I worked primarily at Shadyiside as a PCT. I found them to be fairly flexible as far as your school schedule (you could work anywhere from 4-16hr shifts). Since it's a hospital, they need help around the clock. I loved working at a UPMC facility, since by the time we started clincals and pt care, I all ready was somwhat familiar with basic pt care, computer charting, etc.

BTW: Did I mention I love Friendship

Good luck finding a job and getting settled

marshmallowstar, BSN, RN · Dec 19, 2008

Christine,

Thank you so much for the response. You have no idea how much anxiety you just saved me. I would say that money/time management has been my biggest worry and knowing that it is possible helps a lot. I haven't heard anything back form the nurse recruiter at McGee yet. I figured I would wait till after the holidays to follow up.

Thanks again!