Miami Dade College

U.S.A. Florida

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hi, i wanted to know are there any mdc students who know any information on the nursing program. i have all my requirements and all i need is chemistry. i am trying to apply to the accelerated program and would like to know if anyone here can give me a guide on my chances of getting in. any info will be greatly appreciated!:smiletea:

I can not wait for that last semester. I want to be there already. It really seems soooo far away.

FSUMiamiBoy...i can't pm you until i have posted 15 messages! OMG! This is mesage 12 i think...So i have to answer you on here. I didn't apply to the scholars program, bc i don't want to commit to either hospital for 2 years! I don't want to be locked into anything. You never know what life can bring you. Did you apply?

Specializes in ER.

Hey Melissa,

Yes I applied to the Jackson Scholar's program, just waiting for the interview! Have you noticed, time is going fast! It'll be 2009 and we will be in Nursing School, how exciting and scary at the same time!

Specializes in New Graduate Nurse.
Akspudus!!!! You failed a test?! What is there left for me? What hope do I have! That sounds horrible. That must of been so difficult. I wish I was finished. I just can not bear the thought of having to repeat any classes at all! Why did you fail? How could that be? It must have been near impossible. Lucky you! All done. It must be so wonderful. Now I am even more nervous. Goodness nursing is hard. I can harly breath. 12 midnight and I am still going work for class. It is never ending and it scares me that you failed that test.

Ahh..well we all can falter. The Critical Thinking and Care Plan exams are a little crazy sometimes. Our scenario was a male firefighter, 40 years old, that had sustained burns over 40% of his body...36 hours ago. He had tolerated the fluid resuscitation for the first 24 hours well and was receiving additional replacement fluids...and a TON of them. He starts to manifest difficulty breathing....etc..etc. Looks like pulmonary edema secondary to fluid overload to me. I faile critical thinking becuase I wrote "Call doctor and ask about reducing fluid infusion rate and possible use of diuretics". According to them, you CAN'T have fluid volume excess that early after..and diuretics might kill him...so you can't even talk to the doctor about it. Lesson learned: Just say "Call Doctor and advise on patient change of status; recieve medication/tratement orders".

I faile care plan because I used the nursing diagnosis fluid volume excess AEB... Again..according to them there is NO WAY this patient can be fluid overloaded. Lesson learned: Only use a nursing diagnosis you can PROVE based upon the scenario. Yes..there was signs and syptoms of pulmanary edema in this case...which they wanted us to use a repiratory nursing diagnosis. Treate the alterations of health that the patient is manifesting...not what is medically making the patient manifest those alterations.

Keep it simple. Don't come out swinging to hit a home run when an infield grounder will work. In fact...most of the people that failed critical thinking or careplan were struggling in lecture. Most not all. Some of our best students did great in critical thinking and care plan...but a lot of our best students did not. When looking around the room during re-take....it was a virtual "who-is-who" of our class. Of the top ten students of our class....maybe two were missing. And the rest of us wondering how the heck we go ourselves into this predicament. But, we got through!

The best advise I can give someone with critical thinking and care plan is to keep it simple. Think like your being taught to think...like a nurse. You may be being taut all sorts of disease processes...but think how those disease processes are effecting the patient and treat that...not the disease.

When you write your critical thinking "to do" list...think of what you would do in the patient's room as a reaction to the presented situation. What will keep this patient alive until I get more orders from the doctor. What additional information is the doctor going to need to give me those orders.

For care plan...look at what the patient is doing right now. Compile a nursing diagnosis and care plan from that. If the nursing diagnosis you want to use requires more tests to PROVE..then you have the wrong diagnosis. In my case...auscultating the lungs...and an I&O assessment would have proven/disprove my nursing diagnosis of fluid volume excess. The key was..I DIDN'T have those assessments..so I couldn't use that Nursing Diagnosis.

Anyhow...I hope my experience helps you out.

akspudus

Hey Akpudus (Did I spell it right? LOL)

Just saw the professors are out. What is your opion on Prof Marie Etienne?

Any ideas on how she treats her students, and if they are able to pass her class. I have heard many neg comments about the way she teaches, and that she favors certain students a lot more. Is this true?

Right now I am taking Ponce, and I love her. Her class is very doable. Just study her powerpoints and study from the book and you should do perfect.

I am just worried because this other prof seems horrible, and I have her for two classes, not only that but it is a difficult class too. (MED SURG.) I have heard horrors. Please let me know so that I know how to approach this situation. You just know everything. TELL ME BEFORE YOU DISAPPEAR AGAIN PLEASE!

BTW please let me know more about MED SURG. I am prepared for the difficult. I already have a bunch of study guides for that and pharm. I am very excited! I even bought a book on pathophysiology, and everything. You know me. THis whole experience is super exciting. All I want to prevent is failing anything that is all. I want to pass all my classes and get out of MDC already LOL!

Let me know anything that might help me now coming up,and dont forget to tell me about the teachers.

Thanks and good luck on that pinning ceremony. You deserve it so much.

When my father was in the pinning ceremony years ago I was in the middle of him and my great grandmother while she was placeing the pin on him, it is a beautiful picture. One of my favorites. Make sure to take a nice picture. They really are special. Now when I go to the pinning ceremony I want my father and my children to be there LOL! As you can see I make a lot of plans for the future. I just think I have to gear up for nursing. It is wonderful, but I feel as if I am in a constant fight with the world to get through all these classes. The end is reaching and so far I have done WONDERFUL. No A's, but I am still soooooo happy. Critical thinking care plan exam coming up quickly, and ATI too. Dec is right there, and I feel soooooo ready and excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BTW For the students that are going to enter now on their first semester CONGRATS! All of my fellow students were laughing because nursing school is so exciting when you get in, you have high spirits and you are soooo excited about nursing, after three weeks you are near dead, and just wish you could get through the semester quickly. Just take it with humor. Humor and a realistic approach will get you through some very VERY stressful times in Nursing.

AND DO NOT GOOOO FOR THE GRADES. Go to be the best you can, the best nurse does not mean the best grades. Just remember that please!!!! OR YOU WILL SUFFER. Leave GPA at the door and get ready to learn.

Specializes in ER.

Thanks butterfly!!! You better believe when I start in January I will be on this message board asking you for advice LOL!! Do you have any tips for the newbies???

Tips help so much.First thing is first, there will be people who failed the class in your class. Do not listen to them. They have negative experiences because they failed. While some of the things they say might be true, they are more biased by their negative experience. Nursing first semester is not TOO TOO hard, but it is tidious and you do need to study A LOT. Test after test after test. It is scary, but it is in fact very doable. You will see that you will do wonderful, and long as you take it as it is. Do not be a perfectionist because A's in classes are very hard (doable but hard.) For example, in a test of like 35 you can only miss two questions or 1 in order to get an A. Not only that but the questions are super tricky. The critical thinking test are something you NEED NEED to practice. Do not worry about the grades, just worry about the passing because the classes themselves will give you a bunch of stress with all the darn test at the same time. So stay on top of it thats all.

Please please please when you get into the program feel FREE to ask lots of questions, I love to help students who are coming in because I myself have had a lot A LOT of help from other students, and I am very happy to be supportive.

So either way I usually check in when they leave messages all the time, and I know when you get in you will have even more questions, just like I ask other students for help when I am in doubt or scared, like I am now about next semester. Keep me updated on your experiences.

Specializes in New Graduate Nurse.
Hey Akpudus (Did I spell it right? LOL)

Just saw the professors are out. What is your opion on Prof Marie Etienne?

Any ideas on how she treats her students, and if they are able to pass her class. I have heard many neg comments about the way she teaches, and that she favors certain students a lot more. Is this true?

Right now I am taking Ponce, and I love her. Her class is very doable. Just study her powerpoints and study from the book and you should do perfect.

I am just worried because this other prof seems horrible, and I have her for two classes, not only that but it is a difficult class too. (MED SURG.) I have heard horrors. Please let me know so that I know how to approach this situation. You just know everything. TELL ME BEFORE YOU DISAPPEAR AGAIN PLEASE!

ahh...no. Its AK Spud US...spud as in potato. Long story.

Anyhow, first of all I wouldn't speak badly of any of the professors at MDC. Yes, some are better than others but none are horrible. I took Adult Health Assessment and Med/Surg from Professor Etienne. Aced both...it wasn't easy but I did it. Professor Etienne does identify more with the Haitian students...but does not give them any sort of favoritism. I'm one of the very few male gringo students at MDC. I earned her respect and she earned mine...I learned a lot and earned my grade. Wasn't because of any favoritism at all.

Otherwise..she goes way out of her way to make materials available to students. Not only powerpoints...but articles...pictograms...mnemonics...you name it. She is tough..demands a lot...but you will learn a lot. In fact...the more I think of it....most of my success in nursing school probably comes from her demanding me to learn things at a great level...instead of the "getting by" level. Since nursing school builds from one class to the next, having that firm foundation will help you in those later classes.

My recommendation is to take her class. But, get ready to work. If you ace her class...you will find acing the rest of nursing school a heck of a lot easier.

Tell professor Ponce hello from me. I had her for fundamentals lecture and fundamental clinical. I learned a lot from her...and greatly appreciate what she taught me.

Hope this helps

akspudus

That you. Sounds great, but at the same time sounds much more difficult then perhaps another professor that might be teaching the same thing. I hope I do good in her class. I don't ask for an A but I do want to do good. I have heard pretty scary things about her and how difficult her test are. I am scared, but what can I do. Ponce is wonderful. her test come from the powerpoints and book which she explains very very well, so I do love her.

BTW what would you recommed for her med surg class. How did you study for her class? With her powerpoints? Or howN Let me know please.

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