Delaware County Community College, PA Day Program students, graduate

I am a recent graduate of DCCC nursing program and can not tell you how happy you will be there. The program is unbelievable! I have two school aged children and I am not going to tell you it is easy but if you are dedicated you can do it! The program consists of four sections. Section 1, 2, 3 (all day) and then the evening/ weekend section. The section you pick is the section you will remain in. Many new students believe they can switch easily... this is not the case. You will have to sell your soul to switch sections, and they will only switch you if it benefits the administration.

For day students (sec. 1,2,3) the clinincals are always in the morning on the days listed on the schedule you have. The clinicals are two days a week and begin at 6:45 SHARP and end around 1 - 1:30pm the first year and a little later the second.

The faculty at DCCC are the kind of nurses I strive to be. Intelligent, experienced nurses that understand your own family situations and they kept me focused. I had a difficult time in one semester personally (issues with my children etc) and the professor was so kind and helpful. They don't cut you any breaks but I needed someone to keep me driven, focused and confident.

Section 3 usually is the section parents pick because the hours are ideal for school aged children. There were only a few days in the entire program scheduling got crazy with kids. In second year there is a clinical rotation of about 4 days where it differs from the morning routine, it was psych and it was at night. I had to get a babysitter for those 4 nights. You can only miss 2 clinicals and you will get an assigment to make them up (usually a paper 3-4 pages on an article). I never missed a clinical for fear that something unplanned would happen (sick kids etc) and I would need to take a week off.

The adjustment to nursing school is a difficult one. I had to learn to make sacrifices such as pizza for dinner, having someone else put the kids to bed, skipped baths for the kids...I know gross. It was tough to lose that control of my life and I had to learn to be okay with "being a good enough mother, not the best."

In the end I was educating myself, my children saw it and I underestimated how proud they were of me. I have never seen happier children and never felt so loved than the day of my pinning. If I knew what I know now about how proud they were of me I wouldn't have even flinched.

So now, I am a nurse. My children again get ballanced meals, get baths daily and I tuck them in at night.

DCCC has the best NCLEX pass rates in the area. Higher than almost any other program. I would bet their rates are even higher this year (2011) since they utilize both Kaplan and HESI for the past year. Good luck!

Yes, you need to go back to get your BSN and finding work is very hard as a new graduate nurse. Most hospitals are magnet status and want nurses to have their BSN. There are many programs for RN's to go back and get their BSN and DCCC has agreements with West Chester, Jefferson, Widner and a few more. I am looking at a program that will allow me to get my BSN at my own pace. For many other students they are looking for affordable or less prerequisites. My issue is time and flexibility because I need to work and I have my children.

How about the evening program? Anyone have feedback on that schedule? I'm opting for it because I don't intend to work during the program but nor do I want to pay for daycare when we've lost that second income.

I have a friend who finished the evening program a few years ago, and according to her the weekend clinicals (all day sat + sun) were brutal. She basically didn't get to spend any time with her whole family, or alone with her husband, for 2 years.

How about the evening program? Anyone have feedback on that schedule? I'm opting for it because I don't intend to work during the program but nor do I want to pay for daycare when we've lost that second income.

I finished the eve/weekend program at DCCC 2 years ago. Classes are 1 or 2 nights per week, depending on the semester with clinicals every Sat & Sun. The college says that you need to be available for clinicals from 0600 through 2200 and to be prepared for late afternoon or early evening shifts. Alll of mine were morning however (0645 to 1400-1500 or so) and that's been the case for most years, not just mine. It is a little difficult but manageable - I worked more than full time (at least 50 hrs/wk and often much more than that, with some business travel thrown in to boot) and was able to handle things. You will need to put your social life on hold however. Keep in mind that I'm only talking about the 4 nursing courses (NUS 110, 111, 210 & 211 - 38 credits total) - the situation will be much more complicated if you need to take co-reqs. Also keep in mind that you will need one nursing elective (3 cr), which will tie up at least one summer session in between years. Like I said, your social life gets put in suspended animation for 2 years.

I have nothing but praise for the DCCC eve/weekend nursing program. With one or 2 exceptions, the instructors were great and a couple of the clinical instructors I had were truly excellent - I'd rate them among the best instructors I've ever had. While that's an opinion, it's based on a long history since I've earned over 300 credits on the way to getting 3 degrees. While the DCCC first time pass rate on the NCLEX isn't spectacular, it's decent, especially considering that unlike many schools, DCCC does not include much in the way of test prep in their curriculum - one of few criticisms I have of of the program.

Thank you, so much, Chuckster. I've already gotten a degree myself from DCCC (what ... you mean an Associates in Liberal Arts isn't all that useful?!! lol) so I appreciate your opinion.

I'm not all that concerned about my social life; if anything my husband will be relieved by the excuse to stay home. My biggest concern was being able to see my family at some point while they're conscious.

Hopefully by the time the program starts in the fall I'll have completed all my co-reqs except for A&P II. I know, probably the worst one not to have done but it can't be helped. I'll be taking A&P I (or plan to, if my getting up at 11:30 to register for Spring classes go according to plan). Then I'll have a baby in May, quit my job, and be ready for full time evening/weekend classes in September.