California State University San Marcos (CSUSM) ABSN Fall 2023

aspiringchartingcat · Apr 22, 2023

Brian Nguyen said:

On my portal, I see "Conditionally admitted" but I already sent in the transcript with my bachelor degree posted. I don't have any courses on my evaluation worksheet in-progress so any idea what this might mean?

"Conditionally admitted" just means that you still need to pass the background check like you didn't kill someone, larceny, etc. , vaccinations are all up-to-date, and you have health insurance prior to entering in the fall. All this info will be sent out around the end of May according to the counselor.

RN-RDH · Apr 22, 2023

Check your emails from [email protected] got my acceptance letter with instructions. After you say "accept" my account also said zero balance, but there was a box with "payment items" you have to select first to add the $150 to your account. Congratulations everyone! Can't wait to meet in the fall! Also, where is everyone located and what did you get your undergrad degree in? It will be interesting to learn about everyone's background!

Demon · Apr 22, 2023

funkymonkey said:

Has anyone made a FB group yet? I would but I have no idea how to! Haha. Can't wait to meet you all! Another nice thing for us to do once the semester starts or soon before would be to make a discord for us to all communicate in! ?

this! IDK how to make a fb group either

hbdope · Apr 22, 2023

Curious if anyone is planning on working during this program or is it not recommended due to it being an accelerated course? From what I heard we can apply for a CNA license after the first semester of nursing classes so I was thinking of doing PRN as a CNA for some extra money.

RN-RDH · Apr 22, 2023

hbdope said:

Curious if anyone is planning on working during this program or is it not recommended due to it being an accelerated course? From what I heard we can apply for a CNA license after the first semester of nursing classes so I was thinking of doing PRN as a CNA for some extra money.

I would like to continue my part-time job as well. Does anyone know how often classes meet? I thought I read a post from an earlier cohort that said classes were held all day once a week. If anyone has any information on class schedules, please share!

aspiringchartingcat · Apr 22, 2023

1. Nursing classes (starting 2nd semester) is only 1 day a week all day. Clinicals range between 2-3 days a week depending on the semester and can be any day during the week (ie. one semester it could be Wednesday, Thursday, Sunday, then next semester it could be something else). Just to be clear it does not vary within the semester, but vary between semesters and yes it can sometimes be on weekends as well if you're unlucky.

2. I'm planning on keeping my part-time job as I've already talked to someone that went through this program already and she said it's manageable as long as you plan ahead and make sacrifices (ie. she sounded like she only worked her part-time job, went to school/clinicals, and only saw her friends during vacation/breaks). She didn't do a CNA job and she just kept bartending for two nights.

3. She also told me several things to study ahead for, so I'm planning on just powering through as many topics before the semester starts. She doesn't have any of her old material though, unfortunately, but the advice she gave was detailed enough to get me started.

RN-RDH · Apr 22, 2023

aspiringchartingcat said:

1. Nursing classes (starting 2nd semester) is only 1 day a week all day. Clinicals range between 2-3 days a week depending on the semester and can be any day during the week (ie. one semester it could be Wednesday, Thursday, Sunday, then next semester it could be something else). Just to be clear it does not vary within the semester, but vary between semesters and yes it can sometimes be on weekends as well if you're unlucky.

2. I'm planning on keeping my part-time job as I've already talked to someone that went through this program already and she said it's manageable as long as you plan ahead and make sacrifices (ie. she sounded like she only worked her part-time job, went to school/clinicals, and only saw her friends during vacation/breaks). She didn't do a CNA job and she just kept bartending for two nights.

3. She also told me several things to study ahead for, so I'm planning on just powering through as many topics before the semester starts. She doesn't have any of her old material though, unfortunately, but the advice she gave was detailed enough to get me started.

Thank you for sharing such helpful information! Do you know what the first semester will be like and if a part-time job is feasible during that time as well? Can you share what things we should be studying ahead for?

Monique CNA · Apr 22, 2023

I currently work full-time so I am planning on keeping my full-time status through school. Unfortunately I can't afford not to work. However, I only work 3 - 12hr shifts per week so it should be manageable, and my job is super flexible with employees who are in nursing school.

For those who are working, I've had several friends go through the program and just be aware that they usually don't give out the clinical schedule until 2 weeks before classes start (at least that's what they have told me). So warn your employers in advance so they are aware that it'll be a last minute change.

I have also been told that the first semester can be the hardest as they are trying to weed people out and see who can cut it so be diligent and prepared. Study groups are really helpful as well. Excited to meet you all!

aspiringchartingcat · Apr 23, 2023

1. If you're talking about the 1st semester it's easy since it's joke classes that are not even nursing classes. The only thing I would need to review would be APA formatting for the bioethics and medicine in other cultures classes. I'm slightly considering asking the professors for the list of books that we need to read ahead of time once the Fall schedule is up.

2. 2nd semester is when we begin the real nursing classes and what Monique CNA said was right in that it becomes "challenging" at that part since you have to start getting use to NCLEX-style questions (fyi it's called NGN exam now since they changed it starting this year). She told me to read "Strategies for test taking success" and it should give a good grasp on answer these types of questions. Granted I only read about 300/626 pages of it so far as it was an easy read that could be completed within a week, so I'm planning on doing it again sometime before Spring 2024 over Winter break. Some other things she said was:

a) Learn how to use Anki (as it's better than Quizlet). It really takes a solid 3 weeks to learn the nuances to get the most out of this program and the relevant add-on's.

b) Learn how to do ABGs (it's easy if you remember basic chemistry, it only takes about 4 minutes if you know your lab values which then brings me to my next point...)

c) Learn your lab values. She said it differs slightly between facilities, but if you have a rough sense of what major lab values are such as:

Potassium: 3.5 - 5

Triglycerides: F = (35, 135) ; M= (40, 160)

RBC: F = (4.2 - 5.4 million) ; M = (4.7 - 6.1 million)

Hct: F = (37, 47%) ; M = (42, 52%)

WBC: 5,000 - 10,000

INR: Normal = 0.8 - 1.1 ; Warfarin treatment = 2 -3 (antidote Vitamin K)

etc. (you get the idea)

She said she (like everyone else) learned it through exposure over time, but admits it would have made studying and ADPIE a lot easier if she already knew how to read lab results since most questions on NCLEX/midterms involves what is the priority, so knowing lab numbers helps make it obvious what you should do.

d) Know medical terminology (most people have no idea what was happening in the class since they were not familiar with the medical terms and they sound similar or conceptually similar, but not the same. Ex -ostomy vs -otomy OR -phagia vs -phasia vs. -plasia vs. -trophy vs -tropin).

e) Know medical abbreviations as nurses in clinicals will talk fast and you will save a lot of time knowing how to write stuff down (ex. Take antibiotics every four hours orally could be written as "Abx q4h PO"; ex. Acute pain related to total hip arthroplasty as evidence by a pain score of 7/10 = "acute pain r/t THA AEB 7/10 pain" for a nursing diagnosis).

f) Know common medical equipment as it will help you look less stupid during clinicals. You would only know this if you worked in a hospital as a CNA before or have exposure if you come from a family that works in the medical field. You don't want to point to stretch and call that an ICU bed.

g) Med calculations, specifically dimensional analysis and unit conversions. It's a pretty easy concept if you're good with algebra and metric/imperial system. The only parts that might get hard is with reconstitution and tube feeding questions, but if you understand the concept (not the literal calculation) of density and dilution (MiVi = MfVf from g.chem) it makes it a lot easier. She didn't say what percent you had to get on the med calculation exam, but she implied you cannot mess it up or else...

h) You do not have to review that much physiology as it will be covered over and over again in class during pathophysiology (but it would make life easier). The important things to know are RAAS system, blood flow through heart, kidney filtration, and some more I don't recall off the top of my head. I did most except immune system since that's a bit hard for me to find a good resource.

I) She did warn me about "pharm + patho" and "med-surg" class that it's very very hard (it would be our 3rd and 4th semester class). I'm trying to at least learn the terms and major drug classes beforehand if I can.

There were other things she told me I though was laughable at first, but I guess it made sense if you want to have better retention and possibly save a little bit of money.

SIDE NOTE:

Sorry if it's long, I don't want to spam people with little bits of multiple messages if I can write it all in one shot.
Seriously, someone figure out a facebook group thing sometime. I really would do it if I could.

flowerchildsd · Apr 23, 2023

aspiringchartingcat said:

1. If you're talking about the 1st semester it's easy since it's joke classes that are not even nursing classes. The only thing I would need to review would be APA formatting for the bioethics and medicine in other cultures classes. I'm slightly considering asking the professors for the list of books that we need to read ahead of time once the Fall schedule is up.

2. 2nd semester is when we begin the real nursing classes and what Monique CNA said was right in that it becomes "challenging" at that part since you have to start getting use to NCLEX-style questions (fyi it's called NGN exam now since they changed it starting this year). She told me to read "Strategies for test taking success" and it should give a good grasp on answer these types of questions. Granted I only read about 300/626 pages of it so far as it was an easy read that could be completed within a week, so I'm planning on doing it again sometime before Spring 2024 over Winter break. Some other things she said was:

a) Learn how to use Anki (as it's better than Quizlet). It really takes a solid 3 weeks to learn the nuances to get the most out of this program and the relevant add-on's.

b) Learn how to do ABGs (it's easy if you remember basic chemistry, it only takes about 4 minutes if you know your lab values which then brings me to my next point...)

c) Learn your lab values. She said it differs slightly between facilities, but if you have a rough sense of what major lab values are such as:

Potassium: 3.5 - 5

Triglycerides: F = (35, 135) ; M= (40, 160)

RBC: F = (4.2 - 5.4 million) ; M = (4.7 - 6.1 million)

Hct: F = (37, 47%) ; M = (42, 52%)

WBC: 5,000 - 10,000

INR: Normal = 0.8 - 1.1 ; Warfarin treatment = 2 -3 (antidote Vitamin K)

etc. (you get the idea)

She said she (like everyone else) learned it through exposure over time, but admits it would have made studying and ADPIE a lot easier if she already knew how to read lab results since most questions on NCLEX/midterms involves what is the priority, so knowing lab numbers helps make it obvious what you should do.

d) Know medical terminology (most people have no idea what was happening in the class since they were not familiar with the medical terms and they sound similar or conceptually similar, but not the same. Ex -ostomy vs -otomy OR -phagia vs -phasia vs. -plasia vs. -trophy vs -tropin).

e) Know medical abbreviations as nurses in clinicals will talk fast and you will save a lot of time knowing how to write stuff down (ex. Take antibiotics every four hours orally could be written as "Abx q4h PO"; ex. Acute pain related to total hip arthroplasty as evidence by a pain score of 7/10 = "acute pain r/t THA AEB 7/10 pain" for a nursing diagnosis).

f) Know common medical equipment as it will help you look less stupid during clinicals. You would only know this if you worked in a hospital as a CNA before or have exposure if you come from a family that works in the medical field. You don't want to point to stretch and call that an ICU bed.

g) Med calculations, specifically dimensional analysis and unit conversions. It's a pretty easy concept if you're good with algebra and metric/imperial system. The only parts that might get hard is with reconstitution and tube feeding questions, but if you understand the concept (not the literal calculation) of density and dilution (MiVi = MfVf from g.chem) it makes it a lot easier. She didn't say what percent you had to get on the med calculation exam, but she implied you cannot mess it up or else...

h) You do not have to review that much physiology as it will be covered over and over again in class during pathophysiology (but it would make life easier). The important things to know are RAAS system, blood flow through heart, kidney filtration, and some more I don't recall off the top of my head. I did most except immune system since that's a bit hard for me to find a good resource.

I) She did warn me about "pharm + patho" and "med-surg" class that it's very very hard (it would be our 3rd and 4th semester class). I'm trying to at least learn the terms and major drug classes beforehand if I can.

There were other things she told me I though was laughable at first, but I guess it made sense if you want to have better retention and possibly save a little bit of money.

SIDE NOTE:

Sorry if it's long, I don't want to spam people with little bits of multiple messages if I can write it all in one shot.

Seriously, someone figure out a facebook group thing sometime. I really would do it if I could.

I think the idea of the first semester not being nursing classes is how all previous cohorts had it, but the schedule is different starting Fall 2023. Before, the first semester would be bioethics and the cultural healers class, along with the physiology of nurition. Now, the first semester is nursing fundamentals, health assessment, nursing research, and a yet-to-be-published class called Nursing304. Also, previous cohorts were enrolled for 6 semesters, while our program has been reduced down to 5 semesters. Think link shows the course schedule beginning Fall 2023:

https://www.CSUSM.edu/el/programs/health-medical/bsnursingaccelerated/index.html

With the new schedule, the non-nursing classes are combined into later semesters, which they didn't do before. I think it's actually a great thing; we don't have to waste the first semester doing nothing nursing related, and we get to finish at the end of May, instead of the end of the Summer term.

aspiringchartingcat · Apr 23, 2023

OMG, thanks for letting me now that. I didn't realize that it was switched up this time around. I guess we can save money/time with fewer units, so I can't complain about that.

I feel a little bit screwed now since I was really planning on using now to the end of the year to really get things down. Guess I have to up my study schedule then...

flowerchildsd · Apr 23, 2023

No worries, I feel the same way! It would be nice to be eased into it a little, but I'm happy to save money and time in the long run. My cousin is a nurse at Sharp, and she sent me some links to some flashcard sets that she said she used and were super helpful during her program.

I know we haven't met yet, but you seem like the kind of person who is super on top of everything, and really efficient with your time. I wouldn't worry too much about cramming all Summer; I have a feeling youll do just fine ?