Anyone starting the RN program at PPCC this Fall?

U.S.A. Colorado

Published

Hi, I'm due to start this course in the Fall and if there's anyone else out there, it would be nice to get to know other students a bit before we start :)

I'm Lynda, I live near Falcon, 40 years old, married, 2 daughters aged 8 and 13. You'll recognise me by my accent - I'm British LOL! Hobbies are hiking with my dog (a Great Dane called Wellington), Watercolour painting, Volunteering for the Great Dane Assistance League, collecting Fountain pens, Paper crafts, gourmet cooking, taking naps and having nice cups of tea.

I'm looking forward to starting nursing school, but feeling very nervous too! I'm not sure how my family is going to cope with not having Mum there all the time to look after them any more LOL!

Best wishes, Paint (Lynda)

Hi Diane,

I got an e-mail back from the instructor about the patches: apparently they do run in the wash, and that is why they suggest the velcro - but you can just get a couple of patches and swop them from top to top if you use velcro too, She said to sew it right round the edges, which will be a bit fiddly, and they have to be positioned about 2" down from the shoulder seam of the left arm, so I'm glad I asked, because I would have put them on the front LOL!

I am pretty sure I've seen the gait belts in the bookstore. I'd forgotten I needed one of those too - thanks for reminding me!

My micro exam was one of the hardest I've ever done :( I think I probably still got a B, but if I did it was more luck than knowledge! I will know for sure tomorrow. Lots of yukky metabolism and chemistry questions (not my strong point!). I'm going to take a break tomorrow and take the girls out - maybe a picnic somewhere, and get some fresh air & sunshine :)

Well, it's very late (nearly midnight), so I'm off to bed now. Hope you have a good day tomorrow :)

Lynda

Morning Lynda,

Thank you for the information on the patches :) !! I found a white lab coat at the thrift store with a PPCC patch on it. If they are still the same I can leave that one on and get another for my tunics.

I love the Microbiology but I'm with you on the chemistry and metabolism chapters, they are pretty difficult. Hope you did well on the exam.

I'm looking forward to the July 4th holiday, will be a 4 day weekend for me and I need it bad ! We will be having a BBQ and going to the fireworks in Manitou Springs. I hope the weather is hot and sunny, the snow/gropple on Pikes PeaK was a bit of a shock this am.

:balloons:

Take care !

Diane

Hi Diane,

I got an e-mail back from the instructor about the patches: apparently they do run in the wash, and that is why they suggest the velcro - but you can just get a couple of patches and swop them from top to top if you use velcro too, She said to sew it right round the edges, which will be a bit fiddly, and they have to be positioned about 2" down from the shoulder seam of the left arm, so I'm glad I asked, because I would have put them on the front LOL!

I am pretty sure I've seen the gait belts in the bookstore. I'd forgotten I needed one of those too - thanks for reminding me!

My micro exam was one of the hardest I've ever done :( I think I probably still got a B, but if I did it was more luck than knowledge! I will know for sure tomorrow. Lots of yukky metabolism and chemistry questions (not my strong point!). I'm going to take a break tomorrow and take the girls out - maybe a picnic somewhere, and get some fresh air & sunshine :)

Well, it's very late (nearly midnight), so I'm off to bed now. Hope you have a good day tomorrow :)

Lynda

Morning Lynda,

Thank you for the information on the patches :) !! I found a white lab coat at the thrift store with a PPCC patch on it. If they are still the same I can leave that one on and get another for my tunics.

I love the Microbiology but I'm with you on the chemistry and metabolism chapters, they are pretty difficult. Hope you did well on the exam.

I'm looking forward to the July 4th holiday, will be a 4 day weekend for me and I need it bad ! We will be having a BBQ and going to the fireworks in Manitou Springs. I hope the weather is hot and sunny, the snow/gropple on Pikes PeaK was a bit of a shock this am.

:balloons:

Take care !

Diane

Noticed the thread and want to say hello. I am a 1980 grad working her ein Colorado Springs.

Good luck to all of you

If have any questions would love to try to answer them.

Terry Mason

AKA John Bosco

Hi John,

Thank you for adding a reply !! :)

It's good to know we will be in good company when we graduate in 2 years !!

Where do you work, can you give any advise on specific facilities or areas that you prefer ? I hope I get enough exposure in our clinicals to help me decide where I would like to work, if that choice is open to me. It looks like the local hospitals are adding new facilities in the future in addition to the expansion at the current facilities so the job market looks pretty good. I have even noticed that Denver Hospitals are offering a shuttle from Monument to attract the nurses here to their hospitals.

Hope you have a nice July 4th !! Take care !

Diane

Noticed the thread and want to say hello. I am a 1980 grad working her ein Colorado Springs.

Good luck to all of you

If have any questions would love to try to answer them.

Terry Mason

AKA John Bosco

Hi John,

Thank you for adding a reply !! :)

It's good to know we will be in good company when we graduate in 2 years !!

Where do you work, can you give any advise on specific facilities or areas that you prefer ? I hope I get enough exposure in our clinicals to help me decide where I would like to work, if that choice is open to me. It looks like the local hospitals are adding new facilities in the future in addition to the expansion at the current facilities so the job market looks pretty good. I have even noticed that Denver Hospitals are offering a shuttle from Monument to attract the nurses here to their hospitals.

Hope you have a nice July 4th !! Take care !

Diane

Hi John/Terry - I've seen some of your other posts and also see that you are/have been a mentor for PPCC nursing students. Nice to hear from you :)

Diane, Happy 4th July!! We are probably going to celebrate down at Memorial Park later on - provided the thunderstorms hold off. The girls are looking forward to the fireworks, but we get some raised eyebrows when people notice our British accents LOL! It's all good fun though, and we've celebrated every year since we've been here :)

I met the daughter of one of your friends yesterday, at my LPN friend's wedding - I didn't get her name, but she's from the Phillipines and has an adorable little daughter, around 4 years old, that was playing with my Linsey all afternoon. Unfortunately, I didn't get the change to chat with her much.

I got an A in my micro exam - had to be more luck than knowledge LOL! I am now working like a trooper for the next 3 days to get a presentation ready for next week. Hubby and I are on temporary desks (mine is a folding card table LOL!) in the study, studying together and it's working out just fine so far (don't really like his taste in music though - he's going to have to get headphones!). I can't wait until our proper desks arrive.

I'm trying to solve the patch problem by adding them to every washload I do - they don't run much at all, and I figure that if I wash them enough, then they'll stop running and I'll be able to sew them on. I hate sewing velcro, and trying to sew it round the curved end of the patches seems like it could be a bit tricky, so I'm planning on sewing them straight on my tops (if they stop running).

Well, have a wonderful 4th July!

Best wishes, Lynda

Hi John/Terry - I've seen some of your other posts and also see that you are/have been a mentor for PPCC nursing students. Nice to hear from you :)

Diane, Happy 4th July!! We are probably going to celebrate down at Memorial Park later on - provided the thunderstorms hold off. The girls are looking forward to the fireworks, but we get some raised eyebrows when people notice our British accents LOL! It's all good fun though, and we've celebrated every year since we've been here :)

I met the daughter of one of your friends yesterday, at my LPN friend's wedding - I didn't get her name, but she's from the Phillipines and has an adorable little daughter, around 4 years old, that was playing with my Linsey all afternoon. Unfortunately, I didn't get the change to chat with her much.

I got an A in my micro exam - had to be more luck than knowledge LOL! I am now working like a trooper for the next 3 days to get a presentation ready for next week. Hubby and I are on temporary desks (mine is a folding card table LOL!) in the study, studying together and it's working out just fine so far (don't really like his taste in music though - he's going to have to get headphones!). I can't wait until our proper desks arrive.

I'm trying to solve the patch problem by adding them to every washload I do - they don't run much at all, and I figure that if I wash them enough, then they'll stop running and I'll be able to sew them on. I hate sewing velcro, and trying to sew it round the curved end of the patches seems like it could be a bit tricky, so I'm planning on sewing them straight on my tops (if they stop running).

Well, have a wonderful 4th July!

Best wishes, Lynda

There are many great professionals here in Colorado Springs. Some lest desirable but that is true in any feild. I hope Im not on any of those list.

There is much growth here and new surgery centers esp for PSFHS and Memorial.

Have worked within both and in fact with my consulting work have had close contact and interaction with many through out southern Col

Have a position presently at Communtiy Hospital in the Recovery room

Contact me any time.

Terry Mason

AKA John Bosco

Hi John/Terry - I've seen some of your other posts and also see that you are/have been a mentor for PPCC nursing students. Nice to hear from you :)

Diane, Happy 4th July!! We are probably going to celebrate down at Memorial Park later on - provided the thunderstorms hold off. The girls are looking forward to the fireworks, but we get some raised eyebrows when people notice our British accents LOL! It's all good fun though, and we've celebrated every year since we've been here :)

I met the daughter of one of your friends yesterday, at my LPN friend's wedding - I didn't get her name, but she's from the Phillipines and has an adorable little daughter, around 4 years old, that was playing with my Linsey all afternoon. Unfortunately, I didn't get the change to chat with her much.

I got an A in my micro exam - had to be more luck than knowledge LOL! I am now working like a trooper for the next 3 days to get a presentation ready for next week. Hubby and I are on temporary desks (mine is a folding card table LOL!) in the study, studying together and it's working out just fine so far (don't really like his taste in music though - he's going to have to get headphones!). I can't wait until our proper desks arrive.

I'm trying to solve the patch problem by adding them to every washload I do - they don't run much at all, and I figure that if I wash them enough, then they'll stop running and I'll be able to sew them on. I hate sewing velcro, and trying to sew it round the curved end of the patches seems like it could be a bit tricky, so I'm planning on sewing them straight on my tops (if they stop running).

Well, have a wonderful 4th July!

Best wishes, Lynda

Morning Lynda,

We had a wonderful 4th, BBQ and fireworks were great ! Hope yours was equally fun !! It's such a melting pot here in the US, I'll bet everyone enjoys your accent and loved it that you were celebrating too :) !!!

:balloons:

Congrats on your "A" in Micro, I'm sure it was more from knowledge than you think !! I took mine last summer as an online class, it was my 2nd time for Microbiology. My orginal class was older than the college allows for credit so I had to repeat it. It would have been too difficult to take online if it had been the 1st time though.

I heard that Bea met you briefly at the wedding, she is such a great person with a big heart !! She is like one of our family ! :)

I'm waiting to get 2 tunic tops I ordered. I think you may be right about trying to sew on the patches with velcro, the old patch I have is curved on one end and looks a bit hard to sew around the curve. I wonder how secure they will be after 2 years of putting them in the wash too.

Hope you have a wonderful day...Good Luck on your presentation !! :)

Take care,

Diane

PS. Send me a PM or email if you get an opportunity between studies, I would love to get together and compare notes before class. ( [email protected] )

There are many great professionals here in Colorado Springs. Some lest desirable but that is true in any feild. I hope Im not on any of those list.

There is much growth here and new surgery centers esp for PSFHS and Memorial.

Have worked within both and in fact with my consulting work have had close contact and interaction with many through out southern Col

Have a position presently at Communtiy Hospital in the Recovery room

Contact me any time.

Terry Mason

AKA John Bosco

Thank you for the info John !!! :) It's nice to hear good things about both hospitals.

I'm so excited about starting my clinicals. I've been on the waitlist at PPCC for 1 yr. It will be nice to finally get into the nursing classes. I'm currently working for an IT company, we are losing folks all the time to lay-offs. I hope I can finish at PPCC about the time that they decide they dont need my work any longer. They have approved my flex hours so I think I can manage both clinicals and work...if not I may have to ask for part-time.

It appears you have been in the field awhile, did you go to school and work at the same time ? I'm wondering how much of a struggle others have had with it.

Thanks again for your responses !

Diane

Thank you for the info John !!! :) It's nice to hear good things about both hospitals.

I'm so excited about starting my clinicals. I've been on the waitlist at PPCC for 1 yr. It will be nice to finally get into the nursing classes. I'm currently working for an IT company, we are losing folks all the time to lay-offs. I hope I can finish at PPCC about the time that they decide they dont need my work any longer. They have approved my flex hours so I think I can manage both clinicals and work...if not I may have to ask for part-time.

It appears you have been in the field awhile, did you go to school and work at the same time ? I'm wondering how much of a struggle others have had with it.

Thanks again for your responses !

Diane

Went to Nursing School in Wichita Kansas at Wesley Medical Center.Obtained my BSN through Regis here in Col Springs in 1995.

I lived at the hospital and dorm life with a buch of beautiful women back when I was 23 was quite interesting. You could say I made up for lost time while attending 4 yrs of all boys catholic high school. Seriously it was fun for me and study groups did help a bunch.

As for the social studies I had my heart broke and I think a may have broke a few too.

Good luck to you and follow your dreams

Terry Mason

AKA John Bosco

LOL....John, it's good to know that sometimes nursing school can be fun too and not always just hard work and studies....it's all in your attitude :chuckle

I have looked into Regis for my RN to BSN and think the program there would be a very good one...first things first though..have 2 years to make it through 1st. :) !!

Thanks for all your replies !

Diane

Hi Diane,

I am planning into continuing my studies after the ADN too, because there are so much more job choices for those with higher qualifications. I was very interested to find out that you can go straight from ADN to Masters degree too, and many are online courses, which makes it easier if you are working. I'm planning to see how I do with my RN - if I get good grades (and am not completely burnt out by then LOL!), I might consider this route instead of RN to BsN.

Best wishes, Lynda

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