CCBC Fall 2014 RN program

Sirenia5 · May 10, 2014

Thank you, Bunnybop, that' was a helpful post!

tsnipe1 · May 11, 2014

Congrats to everyone! I graduated CCBC Essex in 2013, and it was hard! I worked full time and didn’t really have any idea of what I was getting myself into. If I could offer a few words of advice it would be:
Fundamentals is a gravy train, do not think the rest of the semesters will be the same!
My first exam in concepts one was on DM with Ms. M. I did fairly well on the test and thought the next exam would be the same. *WRONG* Ms. Thompsons F/E exam was tough! I ended up failing Concepts 1 by .5pts ! CCBC does not give breaks, when they say you need an 80 to pass the class, they mean it.
If you can afford to not work, then don’t. I had to move back home with my parents and drop my hours to 30 a week to keep my insurance. Now looking back, I should have gotten a job as a tech. Most hospitals will give you insurance if you work 16 hours a week (2 days, or 1 longggg day). Working and commuting like I did, it was hard to focus in class and even harder to study on my own.
Take advantage of whatever resources they offer. Study Groups, Study days before class, Books with NCLEX type questions (the sooner you master these types of questions, the easier testing will be for you)… Tutoring, VEN diagrams, Diagrams on Pharmacology etc.
To understand how things work, you really do need to look at the bigger picture – you may need to brush up on you’re A/P, or spend a little time on Youtube, or google some animations to full understand a concept. Memorizing content is great, but you need to put it all together on the exams. (Example: Learning how heart pumps blood into circulation will help you fully understand concepts like preload, afterload, cardiac output and how some cardiac medications work. The same goes for learning about ABG’s and how the body exchanges oxygen & carbon dioxide. If you can try to visualize what is happening inside your body, it will help you answer some questions easier.
Concepts 3 - Randy Weir *sp* is a great teacher, but her ppt’s are literally from the smeltzer website, jazzed up with some of her content. Her tests are from the text book. So you really do need to read the textbook when it comes to her.
Concepts 3 - Community Nursing with Ms. Hill. Sweet Baby Jesus I am sorry, you just have to soldier through it. You will NEVER FORGET these classes, though you may wish you could. Ms. Hill’s test was hard. She expects you to look at all her modules and extra content she gives you. She will have you do a web based module; there are optional practice questions at the end. I suggest you do them because some of those questions are on the exam.
Concepts 3 – Cancer class. A Oncology nurse taught the class and she was awesome, but the exam was written by Ms. Hill. Really study your pharmacology for this exam.
During Clinical try to do as much as you can! Not all clinical instructors are the same. There are some really great ones, and then there are some that just want to sit around and check off med’s while you spend 2 hours trying to give someone a bed bath. Those instructors are there to work for you. If you want your teacher to find you some Rhonci lungs to listen to, you ask her. If you don’t understand how coverage works with insulin, ASK. If you didn’t get to put a catheter in yet, ask the nurses on the floor to let you know if they have one, and tell your teacher you really want to do it. I sincerely regret that I did not do these things. It seemed every semester I just had normal patients with nothing too exciting going on. To be honest I was somewhat terrified, and relieved that my days weren’t too hard, but looking back, I regret it. I wish I made a teacher sit with me when I did my assessment and make sure I wasn’t missing anything, or asked what you do when you have a combative patient. Just because I didn’t experience it in clinical, doesn’t mean I won’t once I’m on the floor. Also – don’t be afraid to ask the nurses questions. Some of them put off a “leave me the heck alone” vibe, but others love to show students things. Find these nurses and stick to them like glue.
Get a job in the hospital before you graduate & Network. It wasn’t until my last class that my teacher said we’re going to start recommending students spend more time networking during fundamentals. (THANKS A LOT CCBC). This is the best way to get a job as soon as you graduate & refine your skills. It’s hard finding a job as a new graduate. I still haven’t found a job yet and there is a lot of competition.
I hope that helps and doesn’t scare anyone. I don’t mean to scare anyone, I just don’t want to see people making the same mistakes I did!
Good Luck!

Omg thank you sooooooo much! This will really be a huge help and I really appreciate your taking the time to help a group of people that you never even met! God bless you♡

nursefelly · May 11, 2014

Thanks Bunnybop for your advice. As someone who worked while attending the nursing program, do you have any advice on balancing work and school? I have to pay for this program out of pocket and have no choice but to work. I'm currently working a somewhat laid back position with downtime as a support specialist for individuals with developmental disabilities. I work every Saturday and Sunday from 7am-11pm. I feel as though the downtime will give me lots of chances to study--- but with constant interruptions. So... any advice on balancing the job and the program would be great.

LaurenKristy · May 11, 2014

Really helpful BunnyBob and very thoughtful that you took the time to post all of this info - thank you so much!

LaurenKristy · May 11, 2014

I'm in the same boat with the letter can you please let me know when you receive yours so I know when I should expect mine I would appreciate it !

I came home tonight to still NO letter - so as I said, I have paid my seat fee and will be physically going to the campus on Monday to hopefully sort it all out and get whatever info I need - assuming the seat fee means was accepted

FitMom84 · May 11, 2014

Wow Bunnybop! Thank you so much for sharing your experience and giving advice! It's nice to hear from someone that came through the program. I'll be at Catonsville, so I'm sure my experience will be slightly different, but you gave a lot of great advice. I'm a little nervous about juggling school, my kids and work, but I know I can do it. Thanks again for sharing :laugh:

Mysticmomma · May 11, 2014

Is anyone interested in "friending" me on fb and I can set up a group for the Essex evening/weekenders?

tsnipe1 · May 12, 2014

Is anyone interested in "friending" me on fb and I can set up a group for the Essex evening/weekenders?

Absolutely! I'd love to do that. My name is Tammy Snipe. If you can't find me like that then type in my email address in the search bar [email protected].

Bunnybop, ASN · May 12, 2014

Thanks Bunnybop for your advice. As someone who worked while attending the nursing program, do you have any advice on balancing work and school? I have to pay for this program out of pocket and have no choice but to work. I'm currently working a somewhat laid back position with downtime as a support specialist for individuals with developmental disabilities. I work every Saturday and Sunday from 7am-11pm. I feel as though the downtime will give me lots of chances to study--- but with constant interruptions. So... any advice on balancing the job and the program would be great.

Hi Again! I apologize in advance if I am rambling or not making sense, its past my bedtime =^.^=

Nursefelly in my program there were several students who had jobs similar to yours and they did fantastic. Looking back I think I made things a lot more difficult for myself in nursing school, hopefully you guys will learn from my mistakes. Again not trying to scare anyone, just being honest.

Find a place to study with no distractions. I tried to study at home and was not very successful. My bed a few feet from my desk was always calling my name, or I had to get onto Facebook, or I had to watch NCIS because I hadn’t watch TV in weeks, or my Niece needed to talk to me, or my mom wanted me to check her blood pressure…. Go the Library. If you get distracted with the Internet, don’t take your computer with you.
It wasn’t until my last semester that I stopped stressing over my notes. I had a bit of OCD when it came to notes. I would import the ppt into Word, format the page, and add notes from class and notes from my reading. What ended up happening is I spent all night formatting my “notes”, that I didn’t do very much reading, let alone re-reading my notes. What I learned to do was print the ppt in the “note” format. (This is where there is a slide at the top of the page and half of page is blank for note taking). Use one color pen in class & another color for notes from the text book, or whatever works for you. Just don’t waste time trying to make everything look pretty. This is Nursing School! Things are Dirty! *CODE BROWN*
Record your lectures in class and listen to them when you can. I would listen to them on my 45 commute to work/school.
Take advantage of the teacher’s office hours and e-mail. Tell them you’re just not grasping whatever topic and ask for some clarification.
In Fundamentals you learn the basics of nursing. It’s a lot of content and they do not spend a lot of time on each topic. One of the most important things a nurse does is assess her patient. We had one lab dedicated to it and my teacher spent the entire two hours on the head. We never got to the rest of the body (lung sounds, heart sounds, edema etc.). I struggled with my assessments for two more semesters until I finally pulled my clinical instructor to the side and asked her to do one with me. Learning how to move patients in and out of bed is similar. What I recommend, if you feel like you didn’t learn everything you needed in lab, when you get to clinical talk to your instructor and ask her if she could spend a day showing you guys how to do assessments, and a day on how to safely transfer a patient. Sometimes I would ask the tech’s. We would spend half the day giving some one a bed bath and changing their linens when techs can do it in 10 minutes or less. Ask the Pro’s.
Try to think things through. Like I said earlier, you can’t just memorize everything. The questions you will have to answer require you to critically think. So if you can visualize how a system works, talk yourself through it, ask yourself questions… why when my blood pressure drops, does my pulse go up? It will help you answer questions better.
I was a loaner. I didn’t do study groups, but the ones that did, did well.
If you’re not grasping a topic, pick up the Prentice Hall book for that class. It’s like cliff notes and it gives you pre & post questions with rationale! And check out your ATI books, they are down and dirty with the basics and you will have to take ATI tests anyway.
Take your notes to clinical. Once you are comfortable with clinical and you get an idea of how your instructor is, bring your notes and study when you can. Once I started Concepts it seemed like my entire clinical group was giving out meds every day. So we spent a lot of time hovering outside a patient’s room waiting for my instructor to mosey on by so we could hand out meds. We would review our notes on our clipboard, and sometimes we could get our clinical instructor to go over topics we had a hard time with in post conference.
Also, clinical are 8 hours. No nurse spends 8 hours in her patient’s room; she has 6 patients to take care of. In fact some patients are a little irritated a student spends so much time in their room (some love it though). So go in, do your assessment, change those linens and give them their bath (though they have a right to refuse one *wink wink wink*, as long as you ask them).. give them their meds and then get out of that room. Help your classmates if they need help. Then find a nurse who can teach you things and follow her around. I so wish I made friends with those nurses. They can teach what it really means to be a nurse and possibly give you tips or a point of contact when you are ready to apply for a job!
Do not show fear during clinical. :) Some of those clinical instructors have a bit of a sadistic streak. I was terrified during my first clinical rotation and my instructor new it. She gave me an Egyptian doctor as a patient once who quizzed me every minute on why his urine was orange (because he was on Pyridium *pumps fist* I remember that from lecture). Half of my clinical group dropped out. She was one of the hardest instructors I had, but looking back she was one of the best. Just do your best! Figure out what she is looking for and give it to her. Don’t let them intimidate you, they’re trying to see if you can handle the pressure. Soldier on!

The first few weeks of nursing school will be a bit of a shock. I’ll be honest. I had no idea what a nurse truly did. I never heard of nursing diagnosis before, and I didn’t know what a care plan was. It can be really overwhelming, and it is hard, especially if you do not have a support system at home. But just remember, you worked very hard to get into the nursing program. They picked you. When things get tough, re-group, re-prioritize, think things through and remember its only two years. YOU CAN DO IT!

Bunnybop, ASN · May 12, 2014

Wow Bunnybop! Thank you so much for sharing your experience and giving advice! It's nice to hear from someone that came through the program. I'll be at Catonsville, so I'm sure my experience will be slightly different, but you gave a lot of great advice. I'm a little nervous about juggling school, my kids and work, but I know I can do it. Thanks again for sharing $C:\Users\Snuggs\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image001.png$

FitMom – From what I understand Catonsville is a bit different then Essex, but in a good way. When I failed Concepts 1 I had to go to Catonsville to speak to the retention officer. I can’t remember her name, but she had white hair and glasses. She handed me all these study sheets Catonsville uses, I wished Essex offered the same thing.

I give you and all the other parents who go to nursing school big props!!! YOU CAN DO IT!

Bunnybop, ASN · May 12, 2014

My last tip, if you know you got into nursing school and feel up to the challenge when you have down time (Winter Break/Summer) try to do some pre-reading. The most difficult classes/topics at least for me were Fluids and Electrolytes and Peeds.

I would purchase the Fluid & Electrolytes made Incredibly easy book and start reading it during your winter break (sooner if you feel adventurous). I failed Concepts 1 because I failed my F/E exam (I got a 50%)! I was so nervous and unprepared and everything just kind of blended together. A symptom for having too little of one electrolyte could be the same as having too much of another. Some electrolytes have inverse relationships. What my tutor said (after I failed) was to make Venn diagrams. Like this Pin by Lindsay Moldstad on Nursing Fall 2013 | Pinterest . If you don’t want to spend the money on the books, you can do an advanced search on google. To get a college website you would want your google search to be something like “Nursing Fluid and electrolytes site:edu” the “site:edu” makes sure you are always going to a schools website. If you wanted just a pdf or power point, through the words .pdf or .ppt before the site:edu portion. I found a lot of times I would google other professors ppt’s to see if it was explained better than our teachers. (BEWARE I also wasted a lot of time doing this also).

Peeds is usually your 3^rd semester. I would spend a little bit of time during the summer reviewing Growth & Development. It’s a lot of information you need to know for each age group. I would try to find a contact in the class ahead of you and ask them to share their ppt. with you. Mrs. Bianco is an incredibly smart nurse, if I remember correctly she held a position on the MD Board of Nursing. With that said, her ppts could be confusing and contradicting. One slide might say a 6 month old can make a stack of 6 blocks and the next 3 blocks. You need to clarify with her. Her tests where difficult if you didn’t know your growth & development forward and backwards. If you can get a jump on it, do it!

jackiejeanne · May 12, 2014

Yeah I've heard that Catonsville has become the preferable program based on teachers etc but I chose there because they try to give your clinical locations based on where you live rather than just putting everyone at Franklin Square (Essex). Don't get me wrong - that would be super convenient for people that lived close to Essex but I'm down in Anne Arundel County so I'm hoping for a Clinical location down here. :)

As for application stats - I came in with a 4.0 prereq. GPA and overall 3.75 from undergrad (those first two years killed me too haha) I don't remember my exact TEAS score but it was in the 99th percentile… I had a strong application BUT I'm still taking A&P2 right now and I also don't have the work experience that a lot of the applicants have - I worked at a dr. office and did some assisting but thats it.

How many people on here have FB and will keep in touch that way…? I deleted mine last year but if that's going to be how everyone communicates, I might have to consider getting back on there….