GCC Weekend Program

fromtheseaRN, BSN, RN · May 7, 2010

it varies with each block. in block 1 we are in class from 7am to 4pm on fridays. saturdays are 7 to 1, then once clinicals start, saturdays are 630 to 215. in block 2 they do clinicals on fridays, lecture/lab saturdays, and you need to go to your clinical site on thursday to pick a patient for your careplan due the next day. not sure how the schedule changes in blocks 3 and 4. there is nothing scheduled on sundays. it is considered a part time program but you still finish in 2 years, your semesters are just longer then the normal ones- we only have 5 weeks off for summer.

edit to add:

oh, and homework in block 1 is mostly reading, and some online modules and careplans (which are not hard, just VERY time consuming). a lot of people work full time, honestly i'm not sure how they do it.

AZCodeBlue · May 7, 2010

Thank you so much fromthesea for the information, it really puts my mind at ease. I am hoping that I get placed in Jan or Jul 2011. If you dont mind disclosing, what was your time stamp? Thanks again.

SNIXRN · May 7, 2010

i guess i will pick up where "fromthesea" left off...

block 3 is set up a little differently - but i think for the best :)

the first half of the semester is strictly lecture (med/surg, ob and peds). we went on fridays and saturday. fridays were from 8-11:30 and saturdays were 8-12:15 (with the nur104ab review class).

the first half of the semester is intense. you are constantly studying and we've had exams once a week. unfortunately, a few people this semester didn't pass. let me tell you, it is tough! but it is do-able.

now that we are in the second half of the semester, we are done with lecture until block 4 and now we just go to clinicals. we have clinicals from 6:30am-4:30pm on fridays and saturdays - some of us have to go all the way to mesa for peds, in which we have clinicals on fridays and sundays (but just for peds). also, we have to go into the hospital on thursdays to pick our patients.

my advice to you is start buying stuff now, because it will be one less thing to buy when you are actually in the program.

buy the scrubs ahead of time! you can buy them at mccd scrub uniform shirts, jackets, and tops - caribbean blue & white colors - sizes xs - 5xl (to me it's better to buy now, then have that expense later)

buy a few nclex books and go through them at least everyday for a few minutes. the two nclex books i have are "saunders comprehensive review for the nclex-rn examination" (isbn: 9781416037088) and "illustrated study guide for the nclex-rn exam" (isbn: 9780323056649)

i also highly recommend the hesi nclex book (isbn: 9781416047759). if you dont know, the hesi is an "exit exam" you take at the end of the block. it's like a practice nclex and it tests you on stuff we haven't even learned - and it's worth exam points. i highly recommend this book!

lastly, once you are in the program - do test review with your instructor! after a test, go in and discuss what you got wrong. this was my biggest regret because on the final, you might see repeat questions (and they are always the ones you questioned yourself on, on the prior exams).

hope this helps - if you have any questions let me know!!

good luck!

fromtheseaRN, BSN, RN · May 7, 2010

that is so good to know for block 3, thanks! from what the counselor just told us, they are moving a lot of block 3 curriculum into block 2, starting this next block... so hopefully next block won't kill me.

azcodeblue, i was placed through a single parenting scholarship program, so i was only on the wait list for one semester. good luck!

AZCodeBlue · May 8, 2010

Wow...thank you for the additional info on Block 3. I will take your

advice under consideration and look into buying some stuff now.

Thanks everyone for taking the time for feedback.

AZCodeBlue:)

yvonnesariya11 · Aug 17, 2010

Hello I am currently on the waitlist for the GCC weekend program. My stamp time is June/09. I am hoping that I will get placed Jan 2011. I wanted to find out if anyone can give me some advice on the weekend program. I have heard some horror stories and I am starting to get really nervous and question myself. I understand that it is going to be difficult, but I have no idea what to expect. I got A's in all my science classes, but found them to be very difficult. The A's in Bio 201,202,205 did not come easy to me. Since I have taken those classes I have forgotten most of what I have learned, and I am afraid this will hurt me in the nursing program. My weakness is in writing and I have heard that each careplan takes over 10hrs. Are they really difficult? do the instructors at GCC show you exactly how to do one? or do you fend for yourself? Also, I know this sounds so silly, but I am terrified to do oral presentations. Is it true that students in the nursing program do several presentations? Any advice is appreciated and will help ease my anxiety.

rzyzzy · Aug 17, 2010

Hello I am currently on the waitlist for the GCC weekend program. My stamp time is June/09. I am hoping that I will get placed Jan 2011. I wanted to find out if anyone can give me some advice on the weekend program. I have heard some horror stories and I am starting to get really nervous and question myself. I understand that it is going to be difficult, but I have no idea what to expect. I got A's in all my science classes, but found them to be very difficult. The A's in Bio 201,202,205 did not come easy to me. Since I have taken those classes I have forgotten most of what I have learned, and I am afraid this will hurt me in the nursing program. My weakness is in writing and I have heard that each careplan takes over 10hrs. Are they really difficult? do the instructors at GCC show you exactly how to do one? or do you fend for yourself? Also, I know this sounds so silly, but I am terrified to do oral presentations. Is it true that students in the nursing program do several presentations? Any advice is appreciated and will help ease my anxiety.

I'm just finishing block 1 (exam tomorrow!) @ Gateway, so I can give you just a little insight into care plans. Keep in mind, they're controlled & reviewed by your clinical instructor, and they have pretty wide leeway in what they can require. So far, we've had decent instruction in preparing care plans, but you could always use more. The first few care plans can take alot of time, simply because in LTC it isn't uncommon for a patient to have 20+ meds - and you can't give a medicine you haven't researched.

My instructor seemed to be primarily concerned about your understanding of the med's effects and side effects. If, for example - you are giving a med that is supposed to lower BP - you're checking for signs and symptoms that BP is too high... but also for signs that it's too low... Often meds are flushed through the liver & kidneys, and if those functions are impaired (and they will be impaired), even a low dose of HTN medicine can cause BP to plumment. So it becomes standard practice to check the patient's BP before giving them a medicine that will lower it further... even though the've been diagnosed with high BP.

It carries over into planning your nursing interventions - even though that patient has a diagnosis of high blood pressure, they're likely to have low BP when they stand up out of bed (because of the meds).. A typical nursing intervention is to have them "dangle" their feet over the edge of the bed for a little while before they actually try to stand up. Educating the patient and their family about those effects would be a second nursing intervention.

See? I just gave you two interventions... most of my care plans required 3-5 interventions... Your interventions get better and more polished and more detailed as you learn more in class, and start to "connect the dots" between medications, the disease process and the skills/interventions you have available as a nurse. So far, for me - block one care plans haven't been too bad. It's all info you really want to know - to do a good job of helping your patients.

As for presentations, we have had to do a couple of them - the best thing you can do if you're nervous about public speaking is prepare & learn your topic well. Just like jumping into a pool - once you get started you're fine. Public speaking is scary for everyone - but the rest of the class is just as scared as you are - and they'll support you when you show off your amazing smarts with your presentation!

Good luck!

yvonnesariya11 · Aug 17, 2010

Thank you so much for the feedback. This advice will really help. It is always good to hear advice from students who are going through the nursing program and provide good insight!!!! Thanks

Crystal74 · Aug 18, 2010

First off I really enjoy this post, I must admit I never even considered Glendale weekend program as one of my options till now. My question is about clinicals. If you are like myself and really dont live anywhere near Glendale, are the clinical sites accomandating for people who live in other areas? I live in Ahwatukee and I read on this post that somebody had to drive to Mesa for a Peds clinical. In all actuallity Mesa works out perfect for me, but will the majority of the other clinicals be in Glendale and the surrounding cities?

Also for the students that are enrolled in Glenale weekend now, I can only imagine that most of you are employed and this may be one of the big reasons for entering this program, but my question is, are most of you from the Glendale area or are there a variety of people who travel there from other areas? Im asking this question because if I were to choose this program and get accepted and found myself wanting to join study groups etc.. would there be other pople coming from this far?

Thank you

Crystal

fromtheseaRN, BSN, RN · Aug 18, 2010

First off I really enjoy this post, I must admit I never even considered Glendale weekend program as one of my options till now. My question is about clinicals. If you are like myself and really dont live anywhere near Glendale, are the clinical sites accomandating for people who live in other areas? I live in Ahwatukee and I read on this post that somebody had to drive to Mesa for a Peds clinical. In all actuallity Mesa works out perfect for me, but will the majority of the other clinicals be in Glendale and the surrounding cities?
Also for the students that are enrolled in Glenale weekend now, I can only imagine that most of you are employed and this may be one of the big reasons for entering this program, but my question is, are most of you from the Glendale area or are there a variety of people who travel there from other areas? Im asking this question because if I were to choose this program and get accepted and found myself wanting to join study groups etc.. would there be other pople coming from this far?
Thank you
Crystal

i am in block 2 of the glendale weekend program, and i live in the east valley. in block 1 all of the clinical sites were on the west side. this block, they are also on the west side with one option being good sam in downtown phoenix.

the drive is actually not that bad, and once you start clinicals you will be going to your clinical location on a day that you previously went to campus, so it's not like you're driving out west again on an additional day.

in my class there are about 5 of us from the east valley, so i'm sure you will have others from the east valley in your class as well.

it's a great program, the facility is brand new, and the instructors are all amazing. i had never even considered glendale but ended up there through a special program, and i'm really glad that i'm going there now. good luck!

Crystal74 · Aug 18, 2010

i am in block 2 of the glendale weekend program, and i live in the east valley. in block 1 all of the clinical sites were on the west side. this block, they are also on the west side with one option being good sam in downtown phoenix.
the drive is actually not that bad, and once you start clinicals you will be going to your clinical location on a day that you previously went to campus, so it's not like you're driving out west again on an additional day.
in my class there are about 5 of us from the east valley, so i'm sure you will have others from the east valley in your class as well.
it's a great program, the facility is brand new, and the instructors are all amazing. i had never even considered glendale but ended up there through a special program, and i'm really glad that i'm going there now. good luck!

Thank you for replying, I am a little embarred in admitting I am new to AZ and the Phoenix area. Can you by chance tell me what the west side encompases please?

Thank you

Crystal:lol2: