Bad news about TCC RN program

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Hello all, I am an LPN and am currently getting my prereqs at TCC. I was pretty sure I would go into TCC's LPN-RN bridge but recently I had a conversation with 5 students from TCC's generic RN program and they told me essentially to "Run" from the program. Telling me the professors are extremely rude and belittling to their students, the program is extremely hard, and some went as far to say that they felt like they should have earned a masters degree for the amount of knowledge and stress they went through just to get an associates. Please help, is this true? I am thinking about not doing TCC now and going back to my original plan of going to OU LPN-BSN.

Specializes in Pediatrics.

I have a good friend that went through TCC's program and has never had a negative thing to say about it. He encouraged me to apply to TCC over Weatherford b/c he said TCC has a better reputation at the hospitals than Weatherford.

However, if someone feels like they are not being given a fair opportunity b/c they are being discriminated against, then that person has to stand up for themselves and tell the appropriate people so things can change for the better. Nothing will get resolved by merely posting on this website. JMHO

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I attended TCC for 4 weeks and dropped out. I am now at TWU Dallas and LOVE IT! Go for the BSN! I thought that ADN and then RN-BSN would be the way to go until I got into TCC. It's obvious that some students have great professors and some have mediocre and some have horrible professors. If you get Aguilar-coker, you're golden because she's awesome. But then if you get a prof that will remain nameless here, you are done for. So some people LOVE TCC and some people HATE TCC, it's just which prof you get. But there are also big differences in the ADN vs BSN curriculum that I didn't realize until attending both and seeing the differences. It's definitely worth the extra money and prereq time to go straight to BSN school. It's a whole different experience when you are a BSN prepared nurse right from the start. Even if you go back for RN-BSN, you will be missing out.

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I am in the third semester of TCC traditional RN program now. I finish in 1 more semester and I love the program. The first semester was the most challenging! I can say that there was one instructor that I felt frustrated from but that is just one. That professor is a great teacher, but does not tolerate lateness or slacking in any way. The whole program is amazing!

I actually had a hiring manager from a local hospital tell me that when she has lots of resumes to choose from, she picks the TCC grads first because they have so much more clinical experience and are more prepared for real world nursing, and I agree. You must be dedicated the first semester and let all else work around your school schedule. I can tell you that I have 3 active kids and have worked 24-40+ hours the whole time that I have been in school. the lowest amount of hours that I worked was 1st semester.

Don't let those friends scare you. The program is great! Just be prepared for a really dedicated 1st semester. The other semesters require dedication but not to the level of 1st semester and here's my theory of why that is:

1. The whole medical language was foreign to me and a lot of vocabulary to learn

2. The whole blackboard system and getting used to where assignments are found and keeping up with the busy schedule took adjusting to

3. there are 4 classes the first semester. 1 is Professional Role Development which is a fun, low key class and the others have a test each every 3-4 weeks. The next semesters there are only 2 classes and each have clinicals attached. Expect to be occupied 4 days a week. My first semester was only 3 days per week and had more classes. I dedicated one day for study and reading.

If you cant be truly dedicated to RN school then probably no RN school is right for you. I also heard horror stories before school and was prepared for the worst, but I was pleasantly surprised right away, its not that bad.

If this is really what you want to do, ask God for help, ignore the negative Nancy's and Press on towards the prize!

random hints: when you get there, use quizlet, find friends who can divide up reading and create study guides, and get involved. There is even a "Student Success Council" where students can attend monthly meetings to tell them how to best help students be successful, and a comment box which is read monthly. Good Luck!

ps. get a job as a nurse tech ASAP in a med surge unit, it will help you to be familiar with medical terms and real life medical situations that you will learn about. I work PRN and am only required to work 2 12 hour shifts per month, I make my own schedule. I started this in the summer after my 1st semester and I highly recommend it to anyone.

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I am in the third semester of TCC traditional RN program now. I finish in 1 more semester and I love the program. The first semester was the most challenging! I can say that there was one instructor that I felt frustrated from but that is just one. That professor is a great teacher, but does not tolerate lateness or slacking in any way. The whole program is amazing!

I actually had a hiring manager from a local hospital tell me that when she has lots of resumes to choose from, she picks the TCC grads first because they have so much more clinical experience and are more prepared for real world nursing, and I agree. You must be dedicated the first semester and let all else work around your school schedule. I can tell you that I have 3 active kids and have worked 24-40+ hours the whole time that I have been in school. the lowest amount of hours that I worked was 1st semester.

Don't let those friends scare you. The program is great! Just be prepared for a really dedicated 1st semester. The other semesters require dedication but not to the level of 1st semester and here's my theory of why that is:

1. The whole medical language was foreign to me and a lot of vocabulary to learn

2. The whole blackboard system and getting used to where assignments are found and keeping up with the busy schedule took adjusting to

3. there are 4 classes the first semester. 1 is Professional Role Development which is a fun, low key class and the others have a test each every 3-4 weeks. The next semesters there are only 2 classes and each have clinicals attached. Expect to be occupied 4 days a week. My first semester was only 3 days per week and had more classes. I dedicated one day for study and reading.

If you cant be truly dedicated to RN school then probably no RN school is right for you. I also heard horror stories before school and was prepared for the worst, but I was pleasantly surprised right away, its not that bad.

If this is really what you want to do, ask God for help, ignore the negative Nancy's and Press on towards the prize!

random hints: when you get there, use quizlet, find friends who can divide up reading and create study guides, and get involved. There is even a "Student Success Council" where students can attend monthly meetings to tell them how to best help students be successful, and a comment box which is read monthly. Good Luck!

ps. get a job as a nurse tech ASAP in a med surge unit, it will help you to be familiar with medical terms and real life medical situations that you will learn about. I work PRN and am only required to work 2 12 hour shifts per month, I make my own schedule. I started this in the summer after my 1st semester and I highly recommend it to anyone.

Do you know what places allow you to make your schedule like that? That sounds perfect while in school!

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Specializes in ICU + 25 years as Nursing Faculty.

Outstanding ambiguity in this thread.

Is "TCC":

Tulsa Community College?

Tarrant County College?

Tidewater community College?

Since folks are slamming some program... it would be nice if they were clear, so as to not smear the other schools with the same name acronym.

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What were your points before being admitted into TWU's program? I'm seriously looking into their BSN program, but just starting my prerequisites at TCC.. I have a prior bachelors degree..so guess that gives me a bump, right? I'm hoping to make mostly A's in my prerequisites.

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It seems all hospitals in the DFW area require CNA certification to be a tech or aid.. is that right?

I'm thinking about taking the CNA program at TCC, while completing my nursing prerequisites at TCC.

Hoping that will help give me a bump for when I apply.. Haven't decided yet if I am going to go straight for BRN or do ADN..money wise it's probably cheaper at TCC, but I realize that most hospitals are straying from the ADN.

So back to the tech job in med/surg.. what are the requirements to do this?

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Hello! Were your clinicals once or twice per week? They told us yesterday during the information session that they can be 2 full 12 hr days per week, which is different than what I'd heard before. Is this true? I've also seen that it can be 2 days, but the 12 hrs are split between them. I work an 8-5 job and am trying to figure out how many hours I would be out of the office. Thank you in advance!!

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Have you found out how many clinical hr per day?

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Have you found out how many clinical hr per day?

During my first semester there were only 8 clinicals and they lasted about 6 hours. We also had 8 sim labs during the weeks we did not have clinicals. They could always change it though. The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th semesters are different and you'll have more clinical days. I currently have 13 clinicals this semester.

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Can you tell me around what time does clinical start and end? And if they gave you a head notice about the date and time?

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