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the only reason I got an A on the Hesi was cause I studied for 3 weeks. I did learn how to study to do well in A&P and I am getting better but RN school... wow. My friend thats in the BSRN program at UTA said that its soo hard, she is almost failing every semester but some how is able to get by. That much stress... *sigh* but I guess it has to be this way because peoples lives will be in our hands. My goal is to not be at the point where a few points wont fail me, I am hoping for a B or whatever I need so I can sleep without constant fear of failure.
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Sweetpea1301
95 Posts
Ashlee, it would behoove you to complete as many support courses s possible prior to starting the program, so that you can focus on the nursing content. If you had to take a support course during the program, EOL is probably the best to take. It isn't a hard class at all. Their is a small reading assignment, and a few writing assignments, but are mostly reflections. You also have to do some hospice hours. There was also a partners project. Some people consider it a snoozer class, but the content is important in your nursing career and persona. Dosage calc. is super easy, and I took it last summer. We didn't even have to come the second day if we did well with the first day's content, and on the first couple of quizzes/ tests (that are on your own time). Make sure you have this class before second semester, because you will learn IV starts and will be expected to figure the dosages and rates. Support classes always will up prior to general registration- that's one benefit to being a continuing student! make sure the classes you are interested in are in your electronic "planned schedule", so you can monitor how many seats open up. Stuff happens, like scheduling conflicts, or acceptance to other programs, etc.
Hobbits- you seem like quite the technological person! Technology is great, but try to give some of it up. Nooks/e-readers are frowned upon(though not forbidden YET) and viewed as laptops, especially since some can get internet on them. Can you imagine being an instructor and seeing a student looking at their Nook, not knowing what they are looking at? It can be taken the wrong way. If you are the type of person who learns best with technology and needs a special "disability" waiver, you can coordiate that with the school, but we all used our text books and powerpoint notes. As for the tape recording, you will have to ask your instructor how they feel about it. Some instructors flat out say no, while others embrace it. For your foundations class, I doubt you will need it. Mrs. Routh teaches it currently and uses Tegrity, an audio recording that also records the powerpoint slides, and posts it to ecampus. You can even load those presentations to your smartphone! You will be able to view the slides as she goes along, with commentary. It even records the class audio so you can hear questions and answers, as well as remarks and jokes
. As for audio recording of skills, you should ask the instructors. I don't think that you will need to record, because it is mainly demonstrations and practice time, which is NOT ALLOWED to be video recorded, so you better take notes and ask questions. Before clinicals you will have 11 hours of lab time scheduled each week, plus an open lab to practice freely. Don't stress or worry! You will find that it is a very natural learning environment that integrates hands on and text curriculum. You can buy e-books or hardcover, and that choice really depends on what type of learner you are. I STRONGLY SUGGEST having the hard text, and I'm willing to bet that it is required. There are many days where you will be required to bring your books to class, and instructors will chastise you for not having it to follow along with at times. There are also beneficial "vignettes" (examples in the margins of the books) that will be referenced, and since you won't be using technology in the classroom, the hard text is a nobrainer. I never found much benefit to e-books, because I like the physical act of highlighting and post-it noting my pages, etc. We did however have a presentation from an Elsevier representative (who tries to talk you into buying the book package or online access), who made some good points for me. The e-books can be digitally highlighted and post-it noted, and you can take notes in the margins. In addition, YOU CAN SHARE YOUR NOTES with other classmates who you "network" with among the Elsevier software. For example, you can highlight an annotate pages and make them visible to your friends, and what's more- you can authorize them to do the same on that document, so your group projects can be collaborated on digitally. Some people simply learn better with e-books. As a reminder- the textbook package this year came with e-bok versions of the support courses, which would have come in handy for me. I rented and borrowed a few of my support course books and didn't have them when I needed them this semester! I have gotten what I needed from the hard text, but you may not want to lug around 40 lbs of books to Starbucks of the library or wherever you chose to study. Personal preference!
As for the daily attire- you will need to confirm for your semester, but for our pre-clinical days (which is an 8 our skills learning and practice day every week prior to clinicals), and for skills lab days (a separate 3 hour lab), you will wear scrubs of your choice. This is new, as previous semesters were either required to wear their green scrubs, or come in casual clothing. This was exciting because we really got to express our personalities and start finding which scrubs fit us best. You will always wear the Green Uniform scrubs on days you check off on skills for pre-clinical or skills lab, and when you are attending your clinicals. When you go to the hospital the day before clinical you can either wear your green scrubs, or professional business attire. Your individual clinical coordinator will tell you what they want you to wear to your hospital orientation. Mine was scrubs or business attire and one student was kicked out of orientation by our faculty for wearing jeans. So this week on Mondays (clinicals) I wore my green scrubs, Tuesdays (skills) I wore whatever scrubs I wanted, and Wednesdays (lecture) I wore my favorite everyday clothes! I suggest having at least 2 pairs of green scrubs, maybe 3. You will also be given the option to purchase a lab coat that will have to be embroidered, though it may be mandatory for your group. Those can be worn to clinicals to keep you warm if needed. You look like a doctor wearing it!
Lecture will contain all 60 o fyou in the auditorium-type classroom in the X building. As for skills lab, they will likely split you into two or three groups, at different times, possibly different days. There are two labs to practice on that typically hold 20-30 students. Currently for my class of 40, we have half go in the morning, and half in the afternoon on one day. Your skills group will be determined by who you chose/get stuck with for clinical. They go hand in hand, so your schedule should be flexible! Not sure how they will do it with a large group like yours. Clinical groups will be 10 each- you will have 6 instructors. Multiple groups could be on different floors at the same hospital, or you could all be slit up at different ones. For example, this semester (my class of 40) had each group at a different hospital. This summer all 40 of us will be at one hospital (different floors, of course!). I'm sure it will depend on how many clinical sites the school contracts with. The people you have clinical with will be the people you go to skills and pre-clinical with, so you will get to know half the class pretty well. The other half you don't see until lecture day practically!
As for cell phones, if you are caught using one in class you will probably be asked to leave. Your grade could also suffer. You are only allowed one unexcused absence for the entire program, and must have a good, valid reason to miss more. Getting dismissed from class for cell phone infraction, or sent home from clinical for whatever reason counts as that absence. If it accidentally goes off in class, they usually don't make a big deal about it unless it is a repeat offense. Be responsible and prepared- put your phone on silent prior to class. It bugs me to freaking death when I even hear people's phones vibrating, and I'm sure the instructor feels the same way. How rude. One person in my class plays games and texts all the time, and the instructor has told me that she sees it, though that student doesn't realize it. Honestly, you need to be focusing your attention 100% on the content, because it is fast paced and very important. And those of you who are straight a, never made a B or C in my life students have another thing coming! The foundations tests are unlike anything I have ever taken, and all the 4.0 students have made at least a B on a test or two. Sorry to go on a tangent, not sure what you were aiming at asking about cell phones. Just be responsible and respectful, and you will be alright. Some instructors understand that yo may be waiting on or needing to take a call, and ask that you step out.