Gateway LPN Fast Track

miteacher, ADN, MSN · Mar 31, 2011

I think you are right about buying them new...might be easier and worthwhile

Tiffinaz · May 26, 2011

miteacher,
The experience ranged from front office, CNA's/PCT's, medical assistants, billing/insurance to people who have Master's degrees in health care admin and acupuncture......but honestly......those degree's/experiences aren't why they are passing....they know the information presented each week and have learned how to answer the NCLEX questions....We had some classmates that had health care degrees and they didn't pass first semester....it all comes down to what you put into your studies and learning how to answer NCLEX....
You are so welcome for the information...any more questions, just post them...we can try and answer them the best we can....

Congrats on getting into the program. What is the average wait time to get in and when exactly are the start dates after Fall 2011? Thanks so much!

mitenz · May 26, 2011

They are saying the average wait time to get into the FTPN program at Gateway is approx 1-2 semesters. The fall semester will start sometime in mid-August. To have a chance at the fall program, you would have had to applied at least by the deadline in the spring semester. If interested, I would apply for the Spring Semester this fall, knowing it very unlikely you will get into that semester but would probably have a pretty good chance come fall semester. Once you apply to the program you do not have to keep applying each semester. The one application rolls from semester until you get in. Hope this helps.

pinaytoh · May 27, 2011

@ Tiffiaz

Me & my friend applied into the program --Oct 2010..she picked the day class and get in Jan 2011..I picked the evening class and will be starting this August...adviser told me that many applicants wants to be in the evening class....waiting is not that long compared to the RN program...

I hope this help...goodluck!!!

ykrolick · Jun 28, 2011

Hello,

Can you tell me how many days and hours do you attend the class and the clinics?

Will I be able to work part- time while enrolled in the program?

Do you spend a lot of time studying?

Please share your experience!

Thanks in advance!

mitenz · Jun 28, 2011

@ ykrolick

For the FTPN program it is usually two days for theory/lab....I was in evening class and it was from 5-9pm two per week...clinicals were on Saturday for 12 hours... You may be able to work part-time, I guess it just depends how well you study and how much study time you will need. Everyone is different, some needed many hours a day and other need less. If you have had Anatomy and some healthcare experience it may less than others who have had either....You should plan on doing at least 50 NCLEX questions per day and more if you can. Getting the NCLEX questions down is going to be your success. Yes, you need to know the information presented each week but if you do not know how to answer the NCLEX questions correctly it won't matter that you know the material. I thought the program was great and the instructors were great too. You really need to make the program you main priority for the two semesters. It does take alot of studying and hard work, but it is only 2 semesters. I hope that helps....if you have further questions, do not hesitate to ask.

ykrolick · Jun 28, 2011

Mitenz,

Thanks for the detailed answer.

It was really helpful info for me.

AZMOMO2 · Jul 1, 2011

I was in the day program and I went to lecture two days 3 hours long each and lab two days 8 hours long each,for the first few weeks then lab days turned into two clinical days 8 hours each.

pinaytoh · Aug 3, 2011

:yeah:other than the bookstore...where else can I buy my scrubs?

TO those in the evening class...see you guys on the 10th!!!!!

vega03 · Aug 3, 2011

I start block 2 this fall.

vega03 · Aug 3, 2011

my advice for anyone starting block 1, is to do the nclex cd questions that come in the nclex pn book. once i started doing that, everything just started clicking. it gives you rationales and test taking strategies to help you determine the answer when you may not completely know it. it's gold!

also, buy a recorder; you can listen to this while in the car or at work etc. it helps to listen to your lecture again on off days just in case you might have forgot to write something down or the instructor might have mentioned to not waste your time on a certain subject and you missed that and wasted precious study time.

the hardest thing to grasp is test taking so do as many nclex cd questions as you can, i also would do nxclex questions from the books (pharm and lecture book), as many as i possibly could.

in the beginning i would read so much and couldn't retain anything because it was so much information, once i just started focusing on each subject and doing the nclex cd questions, i started really getting it. this helped way more than constantly reading! everyone is different but constantly reading did not work for me, the nclex questions gave me what were the most important things i should know for each procedure/subject.

hope this helps you!

miteacher, ADN, MSN · Aug 3, 2011

my advice for anyone starting block 1, is to do the nclex cd questions that come in the nclex pn book. once i started doing that, everything just started clicking. it gives you rationales and test taking strategies to help you determine the answer when you may not completely know it. it's gold!
also, buy a recorder; you can listen to this while in the car or at work etc. it helps to listen to your lecture again on off days just in case you might have forgot to write something down or the instructor might have mentioned to not waste your time on a certain subject and you missed that and wasted precious study time.
the hardest thing to grasp is test taking so do as many nclex cd questions as you can, i also would do nxclex questions from the books (pharm and lecture book), as many as i possibly could.
in the beginning i would read so much and couldn't retain anything because it was so much information, once i just started focusing on each subject and doing the nclex cd questions, i started really getting it. this helped way more than constantly reading! everyone is different but constantly reading did not work for me, the nclex questions gave me what were the most important things i should know for each procedure/subject.
hope this helps you!

which nclex books & cd's did you use? did the book box come with the nclex cds? thanks