This forum has been my primary resource to find answers about what to expect as a new student @ Gateway, and one thing I've noticed is dozens of threads asking about what goes on once you actually begin block 1 - especially in regards to what might be helpful to study before classes start.
I'm sure I'll forget some things, but here's what I've experienced in the first month...
Lectures are once a week, and "labs" are twice a week - this could be because I'm enrolled in a Summer schedule and they needed to get the hours in somewhere. Clinicals for us are 12 hours, on Saturdays, but we've been told that they avoid Saturday placements whenever possible.
Grading - 76% is passing, 75.9% is failing, and they don't do rounding. Attendance - you get to miss ONE lab or clinical per semester. My clinical instructor said if you're really sick, come to clinicals anyway and she'd try to find an "alternate" assignment if at all possible, that didn't involve patient contact.
225 points for quizzes( 9 quizzes total), 75 points for the final. No points for clinical or lab time, it's either pass or fail.
There is a medication math quiz, 10 questions - not part of your grade, but you can't pass meds until you pass the test. At least one clinical instructor has her own test, you must pass both tests to pass meds with her. You get three chances to pass, after you take the quiz twice, our instructor makes you wait and review for a month before your third and final try. Not sure what happens if you fail 3 times - I doubt it's good.
Quiz number one was 15 questions, it was given 2 weeks into class, and covered 13 chapters. Yeah, you read that right - get out your reading glasses. We covered a ton of material very quickly, but it was primarily CNA-type material, and for fast track, you already took a CNA class. Things like vital signs, ROM, Scope of Practice, PPE.
Quiz #2, 25 points - covered 22 chapters (a couple of different books) , and a couple of electronic modules (evolve, EDGT, etc) - The eight "rights of medication" (look up the five rights, then add, - right to refuse, right documentation, and right supplies).
Quiz #3 was 30 points, and ONLY covered 11 chapters... :)... medication/biology, etc...
I'm not trying to scare anyone, this is what I experienced, and FWIW, the quizzes weren't easy, but you aren't likely to fail if you did the reading. My average is currently 85%, and I have no background in healthcare at all.
As you can imagine - they're looking mostly for concepts, not factoids.
Clinicals so far have been a blast for me - I got a great instructor who told us on the first day that we'd walk out of her clinicals with almost every single proceedure on our chart checked off, if they did that proceedure @ this facility, and so far we seem to be on track. I did clinical #2 last week, and so far, I've been checked off on accuchecks, passing meds, wound care, and foleys.
For some instructors you need a care plan every single week, and my instructor said we only need 3 for the semester, but they better not be cut-n-paste plans. They have to be well thought out, specific (customized) to the client, and you need to be able to explain why you're doing what your doing to the instructor. I haven't turned one in yet, and the patient I picked week one went home Saturday, so I get to start over...
As for what you'll experience in month 1 - it could be WAAAAY different... I've already experienced some instructors that do a great job of putting you to sleep or confusing you. I hope that isn't who you get, but understand they are out there.
