Broward College May 2011

couturediva · Jan 6, 2011

I sure hope so! I did well on the HESI so hopefully that will give me an edge, but I'm not sure how the HESI scores weigh into the selection process. We will find out somewhere in the 5 week range from now, right?

Right, we are supposed to find out 30 days from the application end date which is would be around Feb 15th.

LegacyJS · Jan 6, 2011

Thank you for all the help!! Got it :)

fairnm · Jan 10, 2011

right there with you guys at 13 points but 14 for being a resident. Has anyone found out for sure that only north campus will be doing a May program?

couturediva · Jan 10, 2011

When I turned in my application I asked what campuses would be accepting students and the girl told me only North. I wish Central would also accept students since it would be closer for me to drive

fairnm · Jan 10, 2011

I feel the same way but I have heard great things about north campus nursing. =)

Lil A · Jan 11, 2011

right there with you guys at 13 points but 14 for being a resident. Has anyone found out for sure that only north campus will be doing a May program?

Have you been awarded your points yet under the "Limited Access Application Info" on the BC website? I'm still waiting for mine to post, and hoping the numbers line up with what I calculated.

fairnm · Jan 11, 2011

Yup I turned my application in on the first day so its been a little over 2 months. Well if i remember correctly my GPA was a 3.7 and that gave me 13 points. But then 14 with the Broward resident.

Butterflies23 · Jan 12, 2011

Hey everyone!!

I just submitted my app today for May as well.. now the waiting begins.. I have 12 points and I did well on my hesi so hope thats good enough to get in. 13 and 14 pts are awesome!! Good luck everyone!!

Lil A · Jan 14, 2011

Does anyone remember what their "current status" was before points were awarded? It's been a month since I turned in my application and it still says "pending documentation," even though they have all of my transcripts, hesi scores, etc. I'm wondering if I should start calling and bugging them yet.

couturediva · Jan 14, 2011

Does anyone remember what their "current status" was before points were awarded? It's been a month since I turned in my application and it still says "pending documentation," even though they have all of my transcripts, hesi scores, etc. I'm wondering if I should start calling and bugging them yet.

I don't remeber what my status was berfore but I when I did have a question regarding my application I sent an email to [email protected] and I got response really quick. Maybe that will help

Lil A · Jan 14, 2011

Thank-you! :)

alisonelizabeth · Jan 14, 2011

Good luck to everyone!! I do not envy you-you will be at a faster pace beginning in May, and I began the nursing program Jan 6th at Central; it is VERY intense. We have our first exam in Theory already a week from today, with 11 chapters of information; and the information isn't the kind you can memorize; the test questions truly are the type we have not ever seen before. We took a practice quiz today that wasn't graded and the questions were critical thinking type about a situation, say, and you have to 'select all that apply' or prioritize, things of that nature.

GET THE TEST TAKING SUCCESS AND FUNDAMENTALS SUCCESS BOOKS!!!!!!!!! I can't stress that enough. Don't start studying the chapters from Fundamentals, because that won't help-like I said, it's not a memorizing thing, it's concepts and critical thinking, knowing how to take the test. So if you know how to answer the questions, you'll do well.

If anyone has ANY questions about the program, simply pm me. I'll get it sent to my blackberry and I'll reply:) I'd prefer you just to e-mail me, let's see if they'll let me post my e-mail address here- [email protected]

I wish someone had told ME a lot of these things. For instance, for clinicals, it goes FAST. Keep practicing the skills you learned in health care core. You need to know them ALL, they will be checked and on the return demo and before. There is also a ''simulation'' of CPR, so actually make sure you KNOW how to do it properly (with 2 people).

Do not plan on ever being late. Ever. Ever. And drink your coffee and eat your breakfast before hand, because there's no food or drinks allowed. Also no technology, meaning NO COMPUTERS OR SMART PENS OR RECORDING. At least not for clinical or theory or math. In pharm, my teacher doesn't care. Keep in mind for that, I go to Central campus- for everything else I've said, it's the same.

Girls, hair off the collar. Meaning hair in BUNS. This is for clincal. Theory, it's fine to be down. Tattoos have to be covered with the warm up jacket. Not lab coat. The Broward College Nursing warm up jacket- they were very specific about that; at least at Central, anyway. However, bandaids are also allowed. (In MY opinion, that's a breeding ground for infection- I have a tattoo on my wrist, think of if I put a band aid there, every time I wash my hands, if moisture got on the band aid, how much bacteria could grow and multiply!)

Nursing WILL become your life. Everything you do, from the moment you wake up till right before you go to bed. I am not exaggerating. I have a husband and a 17 month old son, and I am truly, truly, not exaggerating. There have definitely been nights I've cried. It's tough. But it's worth it. The hardest thing is getting used to it. What helped me out the best was when the nursing department counselor came in to our theory class and shared tips on test taking, time management, staying sane, etc. It showed me the best way to study- buy the modules (you have to, they are required, so as soon as you can, do it) and study off of those, looking in the book for the answers. Then apply the concepts from the modules to the instructor's powerpoints. With any leftover time, read more 'word for word'. You'll get your first assignment before class actually starts, and it will be sent to you only two days or so before. It will be to read the first 6 chapters in the Fundamentals book- at least for Central that's what it is.

If you are not a math person, and I know I am not, START PRACTICING NOW. You only take one math exam in MTB1370. It is pass/fail, and pass means 90%, just like it will for clinical math exams. The exam (and clinical math exams) is 10 questions- you do the work, and show your work. It's not simple, either- they are word problems. I know North has sample problems on the website, and Central has sample problems in a packet at the bookstore. You are not allowed the use of a calculator. !!!! You are allowed to use their conversion chart for the math exam and the math exam for your first clinical, so don't stress learning that as much. Learn basic math- HESI style, without calculator use. Multiplying and dividing, RATIOS. Lots of ratios.

For pharm, that class goes 16 weeks but is the EASIEST of them all. Don't stress it. You probably don't even need the book. It is simple memorization, but not the type we can just forget anymore- we need to be able to remember everything we learn from now until..well, I suppose until we retire!!!!!

If you are small, get your uniform from the bookstore as soon as possible. They sell quick. I needed my tops altered. You need the blue polo, which has to be worn to every class other than clinical, and the scrub top, and scrub pants- but I bought my scrub pants elsewhere- again, I'm small, so they didn't have my size. You can buy pants somewhere else but they have to be Cherokee brand and no slits at the bottom, and must match the exact royal blue color.

Shoes must be all white, no holes, covered backs, no crocs, no leather/canvas combos. I got nurse mates, the little blue heart is fine. Socks must come to your ankle-you cannot show skin when you are sitting.

28 hrs a wk of study time.

1.5 hrs a wk of mandatory lab time. (Not class time, lab time, in which you go to the lab and sign in and practice skills.)

If anyone has any questions about which books to buy and which books to wait on, please let me know. The books are the same regardless of what campus you attend, minus the pharm book-that is different for north/central.

Be prepared to buy a Littman stethoscope. Our teacher bashed the school's stethoscopes and said they brake, they're awful, get a Littman. I had already gotten one:) Mine is a Littman Classic II with my name engraved on it, and it is pink. They make you so uniform in everything and look so alike in everything that at least I can be a bit different and show off my personality with my stethoscope, lol.

Also, you don't need your nursing lab bag till process 2.

Get a flu vaccine, they are requiring it now for the hospitals. You need proof.

Also, students must wear their Broward ID badge to every class.

Let's see...anything I didn't go over? Haha. Umm....they do give you breaks for lunch for an hour on clinical days. OH! Clinicals are T and W your first like, two weeks, then every week after that it's only one of the days. Your instructor is assigned to you but you don't get to choose, it's kind of just a lottery. While you're in the lab clinicals begin at 730, not 630. For the first week, it was even later. Classes really do go until they say they will.

No phones in class or hospital- I'd caution them even being on vibrate. For test days in theory, you don't need scantrons. Same with pharm- FOR MY TEACHER, at my campus, at least.

In clinical, the first thing you are tested on is vital signs. If you don't get them right the first time, you practice, do it again (not the same day), and try again. You must be 100% accurate the second time and if you fail you are dropped from the course. It is like that every time you are examined in clinical-you have 2 chances, you mess up the 2nd time, you're dropped. Sterile gloving, sterile field, handwashing, bed making (occupied/unoccupied), restraints, positioning, transferring, head to toe assessment, etc- these are all things that could and probably will be on the return demo. The return demo is in the lab and each instructor gets to choose which items they want to test their students on, and how strict they will or won't be. The head to toe asssessment WILL be one of the items, anticipate that. For vital signs, measuring the APICAL pulse is one of the ways you will be tested (the other is radial). You also need to know palpatory systolic. If you struggled with anything in health care core, go over it again. And again.

If you can get the clinical book, get it and study it, practice it if you can.

Okay, guys, good luck!