Anyone else apply for May 2011 @ SUNY Binghamton BAT program? Anyone else anxiously awaiting a reply like me?? :)
How 'bout anyone that was accepted last year - when did you hear back?
Also, what is the program like - I did some searching on BU Brain and it looks like the schedule (classes back to back with clinicals in the same day) can be a little crazy! Were there ever situations where you have both on campus and far-off (Syracuse) obligations in one day?
People who have already been accepted were sent an email asking them to pay their deposits soon so that the school could send out more acceptances for spots that are not filled...so they aren't done with acceptances yet!
Sorry I am so delayed in answering your questions!
@ EveryDayAGift & krankenschwesternyc
--Generally, the students in the program are supportive. We all know we are on this crazy ride together. So while everyone is super smart- no one is trying to be super competitive. We are all just trying to get to that RN at the end of the tunnel!
--The clinical sites in Binghamton for the most part seem to be great places. Most are modern and offer a wide variety of services to the the community. What to watch out for however is your clinical instructor. S/he is one thing that could make or break your rotation. I've had the instructors that are great people, but seem to disappear during your time on the floor, the instructor who eats their young (seriously, I got chewed out for asking a question concerning giving an injection. I was told "you are a BAT student, i shouldn't have to show you this more than once") and finally, I've had the amazing instructor, the one who takes the time to show you how to do something correctly, and doesn't leave your side until you've got it down. This experience of course is probably true of all students at all nursing schools nationwide.
What really irks me about clinical--what I was trying to get to before is that there is a huge disconnect between what the school thinks we should be learning at clinical, and what we actually do learn. BU believes that clinical time is our "learning lab" time. So instead of practicing our skills in school they expect us to pick them up on the unit. The truth is if you do get the chance to perform a skill at clinical, you may never get that opportunity again until you start working. Personally I feel that if we got to practice skills at school, we would get a chance to build our confidence and feel much more prepared to begin working on a floor.
Until your senior year, when you are assigned a two day/week , 7-3 shift on a hospital floor with an RN preceptor that works on said floor (and not an instructor from Binghamton) your clinicals are for the most part pointless. For most rotations you get assigned one or two patients and you are responsible for taking care of them. The problem is- is that you don't actually perform the "duties" that their actual nurse is assigned to do. For the most part you don't even come into contact with the nurse who is taking care of them that day! What you as a student are responsible for is AM care (bed bath, etc), ambulation, setting up their food tray, helping them eat, helping them onto and off of the toilet- so basically what I am saying is that you are more of a babysitter and an aid! The big problem with this is that you are not really learning much about what it is like to be a nurse. So without learning the skills in a learning lab, and not picking them up during clinical, the BU student is somewhat screwed. HOWEVER, your senior year clinical is where you will get the chance to be the real nurse. You do assessments, meds, dressing changes, admits, discharges etc. Sounds cool yes (and it is ), but it is truly a rude awakening. Just last week I was assigned my first patient with a nasogastric tube. My preceptor said to get the supplies so that we could check to see whether the tube was correctly placed in the esophagus. Having only read about this procedure and watching a brief demonstration months ago, I wasn't exactly sure what hardware we needed. When I questioned my preceptor she said- you're going to graduate in May how can you not know? My reply was that I was never given the chance to practice and it was true. Another time, myself along with another student were just talking to a nurse during some down time at our rotation about the way our school was set up- we told her we didn't really have skills lab and she felt so bad that she sent us home with some IV tubing to practice with!
More than a few of us have brought this up with the administration. The response? "A monkey can learn how to set up an IV bag" if you learn the concepts now you will be set for later.
I am not 100% sure how other nursing schools are run- and maybe this is a common experience had by students attending other accelerated programs- but this is my first hand experience. Maybe I just expected more from nursing school in the first place...
@jujubee - thanks again for your honesty. Your recent post was chock full of great information.
I too wonder if this is a common experience...and if nursing is a profession better caught than taught? Another recent thread on the disconnect between school and practice:
I also wonder if accelerated programs only makes the problems you mention worse. I wonder if taking the two year route would be better for skills - even at Binghamton. What do you think? If you could redo things, would you go to a two year program?
I am SO happy you posted that link!! I'm glad there are others out there with the same thoughts as mine. About the person who posted on that link who said that people only complain when they fail or struggle... I want to let you know that I am in no way failing. I am only struggling to stay awake through all of the fluff (BS) that the BSN requires of us.
The two year route would definitely give anyone more time to focus on what they are learning- IF they take it into their own hands. But the two year students take the same classes as us- and they don't get any more skill training than we do. The only resources that we really have for skills are our textbooks. Personally I learn best by doing a procedure and not reading about it.
At this point- I'd say I'm happy I chose the accelerated route. I don't think I would want to drag out the classes at this school for longer. Learning the material over one year instead of two could also be seen as a benefit for the NCLEX. They say the BATs tend to do better on it because the material is fresher in their minds.
I had walked in to the office today and the person told me that all the sport are filled at this point...what they will do is to see will anyone drop out so that they can move anyone up from the waiting list and they probably will send out the final decision by next week
vballkidsnursing
25 Posts
has anyone gotten good news lately? I'm hoping bing hasn't sent out all it's acceptances yet! It's nearly the end of February!