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!
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.
"I can tell you to relax.....but if you are anything like me, it will be hard to do so....so please ask away. "
LOL.. yea relaxing is hard to do especially since I'm anxious to get started already.. Well your journey is inspiring, so I'll definately keep all the advice in mind.. And I'm sure that there will be a tons of questions once we get going.
I am also coming from a non-medical background.. so I'll be a fish out-of-water so to speak come January.. I'm really excited!!.. appreciate your input :-)
o.k here's another question... Is it really necessary to buy the lastest edition of EVERYTHING???? Fisherman I got your tip for buying earlier version of calculate with confidence(thank you for that!!)
I'm buying my books bit by bit .. and I've been reading suggestions mostly from Fisherman & DaddyO about which books to invest in(as far as student choices)..
I read a [bunch of pages back] that the "Test Success" & "Fundamentals Success" books are highly recommended to be purcheased.. does it really matter if we purchase the latest edition? because my pocket's wearing pretty thin right about now. if it's safe to purchase an earlier edition that would be super awesome. Also re: the "Care Plan" books there is a 2010 edition that's listed but! there is a 2008 edition which is much cheaper and that I would assume is just as helpful. Does it really matter which one I buy?
o.k here's another question... Is it really necessary to buy the lastest edition of EVERYTHING???? Fisherman I got your tip for buying earlier version of calculate with confidence(thank you for that!!)
I'm buying my books bit by bit .. and I've been reading suggestions mostly from Fisherman & DaddyO about which books to invest in(as far as student choices)..
I read a [bunch of pages back] that the "Test Success" & "Fundamentals Success" books are highly recommended to be purcheased.. does it really matter if we purchase the latest edition? because my pocket's wearing pretty thin right about now. if it's safe to purchase an earlier edition that would be super awesome. Also re: the "Care Plan" books there is a 2010 edition that's listed but! there is a 2008 edition which is much cheaper and that I would assume is just as helpful. Does it really matter which one I buy?
I asked the same question and they said it's fine to get the earlier versions. I bought most of the books on the nursing packet, all earlier versions and the total came out to $~90. I'm low on money too right now.
DaddyO, Moojie, Ukgirl, Fisherman--was there ever point where you wanted to give up?or felt it was too difficult?
My most challenging time was the end of Level 1, right before the finals and the following summer.
not because of the workload from the program....but the balancing of school and personal stuff.
My Mom was diagnosed with Stage 3b Lung Cancer on May 5th, 2009. I explained this to my Profs and was able to get a couple of extra days to get my head together for the final exams...and yes i did pass.
I registered for Microbiology 104 (required class) for the summer. On Wednesday, July 29th (the last week of class), God decided that he had bigger plans for my Mom. I had a presentation to give on Thursday, but was in no shape to do. I emailed my Prof and explained what happened....and he suggested that i come to class. The presentation was part of our grade. I showed up late and asked if we could talk briefly in the hall. I asked him would it be ok if I did not give the presentation and he understood. However, he thought it would be in my best interest for me to still do it. I reiterated that i was a little out of it mentally and he again understood and strongly suggested that I still give it.
I go back in class with my sun glasses on. I was called up to present. I apologized to my class for the sun glasses and explained that my Mom had just passed the day before. The class was silent as you can imagine. I started the first couple of words...and lost it for a bit. Took a couple of deep breaths and continued.....and finished the presentation. I ran into the hallway to take a couple of deep breaths and came back into the class.
After class condolenses were expressed from everyone and hugs....which i appreciated. Most in the class was from the Nursing program.
Later on that night I emailed my Prof to say THANK YOU !
We had a few email exchanges back and forth......and he explained that he too lost his Mom while in school so he understood what I was going through.
But the big thing here is that he not only taught me Microbiology, but I learned from him, and by this experience that life is not always kind and that the world is not going to always stop for us, so that we can get our thoughts together and regroup. We have to push on.
so yea, I wanted to stop and just retreat into my room....because I lost someone, that I love more than I loved myself. but when word spread to the other classmates about my Mom's passing, the text messages and emails were plentiful and very therapeutic which helped tremendously.
Do we need the uniforms and sneakers for any of the classes or physical assessment? or do we need them only for clinicals? i dont know if i can afford to get the uniforms right now and probably can get them in the third week of january.
Do we need the uniforms and sneakers for any of the classes or physical assessment? or do we need them only for clinicals? i dont know if i can afford to get the uniforms right now and probably can get them in the third week of january.
are you doing the evening or day ?
the evening program didn't need until day 1 of clinical.
I'm in the evening program and first day of class is January 24th. so we dont need the uniforms for physical assessment or classes?
Unless things have changed....we didn't need the Uniforms until the start of clinicals. I believe the first day was approx the end of Feb - first couple days of March.
You will need to pass the Pharm test before clinicals start...and that was like week 2 or 3. so you have at least this long IMO.
how is the job market for nurses these days? i see on craigslist and hospital sites, there are a lot of positions for nurses. Can we get jobs right away when we graduate? what is the salary for those who just graduated?
how is the job market for nurses these days? i see on craigslist and hospital sites, there are a lot of positions for nurses. Can we get jobs right away when we graduate? what is the salary for those who just graduated?
IMO the market is good for some, and challenging for others. this is not just a Nursing thing about an economic thing. Many hospitals have closed and there are some that are more willing to work longer than retire...for various reasons.....ie., cant support themselves on pension,...etc
Network all that you can. If you can get a foot into a hospital be it as an employee or volunteer do so. this can only help your cause...
and oh....at the end of Level 2, look to submit your resume for an Externship. 10wks of paid training as a Student Nurse.....and not a CNA. I did everything except push Meds. My area worked me up to 4 patients which is the max on my floor.
missmoone
73 Posts
"I can tell you to relax.....but if you are anything like me, it will be hard to do so....so please ask away. "
LOL.. yea relaxing is hard to do especially since I'm anxious to get started already.. Well your journey is inspiring, so I'll definately keep all the advice in mind.. And I'm sure that there will be a tons of questions once we get going.
I am also coming from a non-medical background.. so I'll be a fish out-of-water so to speak come January.. I'm really excited!!.. appreciate your input :-)