Bergen Community College Nursing Program Question

U.S.A. New Jersey

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Last Thursday I was at the college for the purpose of collecting my Chemistry grade with some classmates. Apparently, there was a graduation ceremony for RN's going on that night as well, and my friends started talking to one student to ask her about the program. I didn't hear the entire conversation, but one of my cohorts told me the student had stated that ELEVEN people had failed out of NUR-181 alone during her course! :eek:

Now, there's always a chance there was some sort of misunderstanding or miscommunication, but does this sound right? For what it's worth, I would think the application process and competitiveness of getting in to the program would assure a strong student population, so it makes me nervous to hear these things. I already received some insight from someone privately, but I was wondering what the public population made of this info.

Thanks!

DaddyO,

you mentioned are you a CNA/student nurse. do you know if hospitals or home care agencies hire students who are only in the first semester of nursing school and not cna? if i were to apply for a job, will they hire me even though ill be JUST starting nursing school?

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Yes. My pediatrician made a copy of my vaccination history

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DaddyO,

you mentioned are you a CNA/student nurse. do you know if hospitals or home care agencies hire students who are only in the first semester of nursing school and not cna? if i were to apply for a job, will they hire me even though ill be JUST starting nursing school?

With respect to a Hospital, if you can get your foot in the door in any capacity I would go for it. Maybe use the fact that you are interested in Nursing school or some other healthcare profession as an additional selling point.

I know some that have graduated last December that are still looking for employment. There are some hospitals in the area that will only take BSN students now (Valley, Columbia are two)so you have to find an edge. I just checked the Job List at the hospital I work and I see postings for a Transporter and a host of other voids that can be filled with little requirements.

The idea is to have your foot in the door and then do a transfer, rather than being part of a pool of new grads applying for work.

This is why I did the Externship over the summer. Just to try and position myself for a better chance of landing a job after I pass the boards. Externships are not the only option and this is why I am suggesting to just get your foot in the door.

Let me know if any of this is not clear. Good Luck !

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"I know some that have graduated last December that are still looking for employment. There are some hospitals in the area that will only take BSN students now (Valley, Columbia are two"

Daddy O-How can you find out which hospitals will hire RN's with AAS??

Where can I find out more information on UMDNJ's Master's Program?

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DaddyO,

thank you for all the information and sorry to keep asking you for more questions.

you mentioned jobs as a transporter? what exactly is that and can you tell me which hospital this is if it's not too much for you? also, that site you posted says it's expired. you mentioned about the masters program? what exactly is that- you can still go there while you're in nursing school? how long does it take?

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UMDNJ Master's programs: http://sn.umdnj.edu/academics/masters/index.htm

Transporter, just like the title implies, is one transports patients from unit to unit for test, procedures or whatever.

The Nurse Practioner program is approx 45cr and the Nurse Anesthetist program is approx 28 months (with min 1yr critical care experience).

we can continue this thru PM, dont wanna get off BCC topic.

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for the newly accepted students in the evening program:

did your letter include 2 envelopes or just the green envelope. I know we need to mail in the acceptance/decline form, but do we mail it in the green envelope? how about for the health forms? I think we have more time to get the physical and examination done, so in what envelope do mail these in? or can we just hand these in personally?

I mailed mine in the green envelope provided, that's what the instructions say.. Health forms I'll take to school and give to the right department when completed.. the form for the kit I'll mail in when I find $115.. and hopefully things will be smooth sailing after that.. and when I receive proof of mal-prac ins. & cpr cert I'll take those in the the school as well.. So much to do so little time.

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Hi DaddyO,

This is off topic... I am fairly new to this site and do not know how to send a message except to reply to them....he he. So anyways, keep up the good work and stay strong with your studies. I am trying so hard to get into the program at Bergen and wouold like to know about the HESI entrance exam. Was it very hard? I read on this site people talk about cut off scores or average from the test but when I spoke to several counselors they told me there is no cut off score. It's basically ranked from highest - lowest. I am just worried. I only have to take WEX and apply to the program. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks - :D

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Hi DaddyO,

This is off topic... I am fairly new to this site and do not know how to send a message except to reply to them....he he. So anyways, keep up the good work and stay strong with your studies. I am trying so hard to get into the program at Bergen and wouold like to know about the HESI entrance exam. Was it very hard? I read on this site people talk about cut off scores or average from the test but when I spoke to several counselors they told me there is no cut off score. It's basically ranked from highest - lowest. I am just worried. I only have to take WEX and apply to the program. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks - :D

Hi my friend,

Your question may be better served by those that have started the program within the last year. Missonne,UKgirl and Newstart are some of our friends that have taken the exam more recently. I was fortunate enough to take the Accuplacer, which I understand is less involved than the new HESI exam. My entering class was the last group for the Accuplacer. Moreover, I understand that each level is now required to take a HESI exam every semester, which I believe is a beautiful thing and should better prepare the students for the exit and NCLEX exams. Many of us now are scrambling on how we should prepare/study for the HESI exit. Some are looking for test taking strategies, some are looking for content and some are looking for both.

And I did see many talk about a cut off but we were always told its based on like you stated, the lowest from the highest and they usually count down from the top until all spots are filled. Out of 80 or so in my entering class, I was told I was number 53 or 57 cant remember which. So I am not sure about the cut off score.

There were some in my class that took the WEX after starting the program, so maybe this changed too. MicroBiology and WEX were the two classes that were not required for entering, however, these two would need to be completed by level 2.

My apologies if I were not the most helpful here, but I am wishing you all the best with getting in. Just relax, map out a plan to study…ask our friends what worked and didn’t work for them and tailor your game plan based on your style of studying/learning. You can maybe get additional help over in the Student forum on the entrance exam, but I would definitely start here in this forum.

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Hi DaddyO,

This is off topic... I am fairly new to this site and do not know how to send a message except to reply to them....he he. So anyways, keep up the good work and stay strong with your studies. I am trying so hard to get into the program at Bergen and wouold like to know about the HESI entrance exam. Was it very hard? I read on this site people talk about cut off scores or average from the test but when I spoke to several counselors they told me there is no cut off score. It's basically ranked from highest - lowest. I am just worried. I only have to take WEX and apply to the program. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks - :D

Hi Nancy, based on what DaddyO said.. I'll give you info from what I know about the HESI since I was one of the "fortunate" applicants to have taken it.

by the way [side bar]... DaddyO did you say we'll be taking a HESI style exam every semester?? :uhoh3:.. oi!!.. But as you said.. it may work to our benefit right?..

o.k back to Nancy's query. So the Hesi exam basically tests your reading, grammar/vocab and Math skills.. 53 questions for each. Then there is the Biology & Chem section which are both 30 questions each. If you've taken those in high school or college, you'll be fine. There are different pre-req's depending on whether you are trying to get into the Day or evening. If you're trying to get into the Day program then you don't have as many pre-req's to complete. However if you're trying to get into the evening program.. then you need to get all pre-req's except Microbiology out of the way (WEX is debatable). Depending on your GPA you may be able to apply while taking certain pre-req's, the higher your GPA the more of a chance you'll get to do that. As far as the score to be accepted as DaddyO said it is definately ranked from highest to lowest with 80 spots to fill. The cool thing about the HESI is that once you're finished with the exam you'll be able to see how you well you did compared to the overall grade for the test takers.. for instance I scored 89, while the overall grade for everyone that took it for the school (to get into the program was 77%)..

Some people said they reviewed in a couple weeks , others reviewed for a mnth. It all depends on how comfortable you are with the material. There is an elsevier hesi review book you can purchase. I never used it but others did.

So yea that's my take take on that experience.

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Is it possible to work full-time during the day and go to classes at night for evening program and still do well?

I have no idea, but I'm sure as hell going to have to make it work. I want it bad enough to do so. I also have bills to pay so essentially I have no choice BUT to balance school in the evenings and a full-time day job :eek:

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