Evening Program at TCC

My understanding is that it's fulltime day time only. I don't remember when she (the advisor when I went) told me that clinicals started, but everyone had to be available for various shifts. You could be sent to any hospital in the area for clinicals- sometimes you had to be there at 5:30am and sometimes late in the afternoon. I know- probably not the answers you were hoping for. I'm looking into MCI right now....it's way more expensive, but it's quicker and they have a day class and a night class that you can choose from.

Hi Katie,

TCC does not have an evening program. The previous poster is right in that you have to be flexible with your availability. Usually the classes are Monday and Wednesday, with clinicals on Tuesday and Thursday. At the beginning, classes are start at 8am and go till 2, 3, or 4pm depending. Lots of times, at the start of a semester, you will be in class or lab on campus on Tuesday and Thursday, then you will start clinicals a week or two into the semester. Most times you do have a choice about which hours work better for you (am or pm clinicals), but sometimes you do not. You also will have a choice of which clinical instructor most of the time. It is true that TCC does not have as many clinical hours as other programs in the area, but I do feel like they still prepare you as well as other schools that offer more. You will also have other activities that you are required to complete outside of the regular class times in your second year (community service projects, etc.), so be prepared for that.

You must be flexible, and also not miss too much class time (you will be failed if you miss too much class or clinical time.

You will start your first semester with just classes for the first week or two, then clinicals start, so you are getting hands on experience right away after learning basic skills like assessment, and patient care, and giving meds as well as basic skills like bathing, lifting, vital signs, etc.

Hope this helps.

Amy

Hi Amy...

thanks so much for your great replies... I enrolled at tcc today for my pre-reqs and at this point my plan is to apply to the TCC school for nursing... I really want my ADN and then move onto BSN. I feel somewhat premature as I am just now starting on my pre-reqs and won't be eligible to apply to the school until Spring of 2010. That feels so far away but I guess it's really just 18 months. I am almost 37 (next month) and I reckon if everything goes along smoothly I'll just be past 41 when I graduate.. sheesh that sounds old to me... but I know when I get there I won't feel old....

my husband will be able to retire in the fall of 2010 so I should be ok to do the day program at TCC since I won't have to worry so much about holding down a FT job here at home.

What do you love most about being a nurse? What was your hardest class at TCC? My neighbor who is also a nurse mentioned that pharmacology was wretched!!

And thanks again so much for the great replies. :heartbeat

Hi Katie,

You are doing the right thing regardless of which nursing school you decide on. To be fair, I should say that an ADN degree is not really a prerequisite to get your BSN especially in Hampron Roads. Most schools here offering BSN accept diploma nurses as well. For all BSN programs an RN has other prereqs they need to complete, but they are different depending on which school you went to to get your RN.

Don't let your age affect you. Nursing was a second career for me (I was 16 years in veterinary medicine before nursing school) and I was 35 when I started my pre nursing classes. My class was 100+ people to start and lots were 30 or 40 something. A few in their 50's too!

As for your other questions;

In school, the hardest nursing class for me was Fluids and Electrolytes, Very difficult, not fun at all. Required lots of study and memorization. Pharmacology was hard, but not impossible. Also the first semester was difficult in that I had to relearn how to study and take tests.

However it was doable, and I got through it. Use your fellow students. Get study partners, etc. to help you prepare for tests.

I love being a nurse for so many reasons. I feel nursing is a calling, not just a job, and my decision was based on my fathers illness and death and the nurses who worked with us in the hospital and at home for hospice care. They were so great and sincere in their caring and compassion, and really made a difference for all of us during that time. I had been unhappy in my current job, and wanted to stay in medicine, and those nurses reinforced my decision to go into the field. I love being in a job where I really and truly can make a difference, whether it's just teaching a patient about their disease, comforting grieving family members, or simply getting someone an extra blanket. I like the relationships I develop with patients and family. I like that I am in a job where I will never ever be able to say I have learned everything. We are learning every day, and there is always something you have never seen.

Don't get me wrong, not every shift is great, and not every patient (or their family is likeable), but even on those nights, I can find the positive.

Nursing school is hard, nursing is hard, but I think it's worth it.

Amy