Drexel ACE

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Long time lurker, first time poster here. Changing careers from nonprofit fundraising to nursing.

I've been interested in health and medicine since my first boyfriend (a med student) gave me The House of God. Kind of dated with its attitudes toward women, but I loved it. Since then I've read every medical & nursing memoir I could find--three times.

One day, I realized that instead of reading about this stuff, I could go back to school. :roll :idea:

I'm going into U's accelerated BSN program this fall. I'm looking for anyone with first or second-hand knowledge of the program. I have a bunch of questions & can't contain my excitement. We did have an info session in March, but I did not meet any current students so I didn't get the inside scoop. Besides I don't feel comfortable asking certain questions (eg. are the uniforms hideous? or are there any bad classes?)

Btw I love this forum. I don't know any other nursing students, so you have been my virtual community. Thanks.

Don't believe the hype. The ACE program does NOT have a 100% passing rate on the NCLEX. It's in the 90's but not 100.

39 days till graduation ....

-S

Oops! That's what the dean told us... forget it.

:nurse:

Nike-

Hi! I'm about to begin my 2nd quarter and i am pretty darn scared. By counting on my fingers, you should be just about to enter your 4th quarter, right? SO- are the rumors true..? Is Pharm as impossible as folks say.. and the cause for students failing out? How on earth do you manage the final schedule with taking a HESI and final in the same day and some on back to back days... ? I got much better grades in 1st quarter than I expected.. Will this be the last 'A' I see in this program? haha.. If you can tell me one thing you liked about 2nd and 3rd (bc i assume the chaotic schedules will be similar) along with the awful truth, that would be great.. but if all that exists is awful truth, than so be it.. I just hope the times flies.. hahahaa

thanks

Specializes in Vents, Telemetry, Home Care, Home infusion.

drexel ace pass rate past 2 years above 98%-- pretty impressive.

nclex performance - rn

Specializes in SRNA.

It's true that people do fail pharm, take it again, then fail again. But that was just 7 or 8 out of our class. Lots of Cs get handed out. Maternity, Adult III and Senior sem got a lot of people too.

Pharm is mostly memorization. Here's a hint - DON'T READ THE BOOK. Everything you need to know will be said in lecture. Maybe 1 or 2 questions on the exam from the book - if that. I pretty much took good notes, never studied, crammed the night before and got Bs in Pharm. Hell - you won't have time to study anyway so plan on cramming. Oh - one of the "professors" will put general nursing questions on the exam in addition to pharm questions. Stupid, yes. Cross your fingers and hope you don't get her.

Remember that you only have to pass the final HESI. All of the other HESIs will count for something like 10% of your grade - so you end up focusing on the actual final exams instead of studying for the HESI itself.

Most people's grades steadily decline after the 1st quarter - but I did pretty well in the program so who knows. I'm not sure how I did so well since all you really do is guess on those exams anyway. Must be a good guesser ... um ... I guess.

Hope that helped,

-S

Specializes in SRNA.

sadly, those numbers are totally misleading. the trick here is that you have to pass the hesi in order to graduate. in other words, you have to pass the nclex-like test in order to get to take the nclex in the first place! so they weed out the bad test takers and then shamefully imply that their educational program is the cause for the high passing rate.

i mean - why not just claim that all ace graduates can bench press 200 pounds? it' just as arbitrary. all you have to do is fail anyone that can't already bench press 200 pounds in the first place and you're done. shame on them!

-s

drexel ace pass rate past 2 years above 98%-- pretty impressive.

nclex performance - rn

Thank you, that IS helpful. Very good tip about Pharm.. I will happily take that advice.. the book just looks like a sleeping pill. We lost 5 people in my section alone by the end of 1st quarter, I'm not sure how many in the other 2 sections, but not as many as us.

So.. one more thing I am dying to know.. will there be less busy work, bc we will actually be BUSY? But then, I guess the midterm and final will be like 40% & 45% of the grade...oh well, cant win. May I ask what area of nursing you are working in now?

Thanks very much for getting back to me..

LM

OH- and thanks for the link with the NCLEX pass rate stats, NRSKarenRN..! great encouragement!

Specializes in SRNA.

No - the busy work will only get worse - but it will be mixed in with actual work. Just keep going and going and then it will be over. Try to be as organized as you can and take one project at a time. Think managed chaos. If you stop and think about the craziness of it all you'll waste time getting flustered. Just go into attack mode and the 11 weeks will be over before you know it. 2nd and 3rd quarter are like that. 4th quarter is less crazy and you're used to it by then - plus you'll have your job lined up by the 2nd week which does wonders for your perspective.

I work in the ICU.

Oh - another tip is to spend no more than 30 minutes on your regular care plans. Trust me - you can do this and still get As on the care plans. Get a good care plan book and just bang it out. Think about it - you can't really get to know a patient without actually assesing them so how accurate will your careplan be anyway? Bang it out and move on.

-S

Thank you, that IS helpful. Very good tip about Pharm.. I will happily take that advice.. the book just looks like a sleeping pill. We lost 5 people in my section alone by the end of 1st quarter, I'm not sure how many in the other 2 sections, but not as many as us.

So.. one more thing I am dying to know.. will there be less busy work, bc we will actually be BUSY? But then, I guess the midterm and final will be like 40% & 45% of the grade...oh well, cant win. May I ask what area of nursing you are working in now?

Thanks very much for getting back to me..

LM

OH- and thanks for the link with the NCLEX pass rate stats, NRSKarenRN..! great encouragement!

Word of advice: ACE is what you make of it. Find your friends, stick by their side, cry to them, study with them, laugh with them...I had a group of 10 & every single one of us made it through the program. It's tough, but everyone in that program is there because they want to devote their time and effort to making a difference in their lives. Let your motivation get you through. Think about the sacrifice you made & where you'll be in a few short months. Yes, ACE is hard, but don't listen to what people say about this amount of people failing last year. I promise you, it'll just make it worse to worry about "statistics." It is stressful, but I know that everyone in your class has the potential & ability to make it through. "Smarts" do NOT matter in this program, only how you can apply yourself. I am certainly not one of the graduates that passed with a 4.0. I'm not a member of Sigma Theta Tau. I didn't spend every waking moment with a book in my hand. I worked as a waitress on the weekends, and I made it through in 11 months & am now an RN. Good Luck!

EXCELLENT tips and VERY wise advice.. thank you both. I greatly appreciate the feedback!!

....2nd week of 4th quarter, huh? verrry interesting.....

Happy holidays guys!!!

Hi PlanetCaroline!

I'm on the 2nd quarter of the ACE program at Drexel. It is not easy but it's doable. The first quarter was okay. A handful of people disappeared (dropped out by the 2nd week and then some had to wait for 6 months to repeat the course that they failed). I get frustrated oftentimes, but it seems to me that we are being prepared for the NCLEX. Drexel bought Hahnemann and they have a 100% NCLEX passing (better than Jefferson & UPenn). It's tough but it's only 11 months. If you're used to getting As & Bs, it is not impossible to get occasional Cs. So be prepared.

We only had to wear uniform during clinical. It's the typical white pants, plain white shoes (you can buy Nursing shoes but plain white sneakers are allowed), and yellow polo shirt with the blue dragon (and "Drexel ACE") embroidered on the right of the chest, plus a white coat (don't buy the long coat, you only need one coat!). Your stethoscope, sphygmo, & PDA are to be given to you on your orientation day. Save money! Don't expect your reimbursement check to arrive on time. They're almost always late.

I guess that's it for now. Good luck! :)

I have a question if you don't mind answer or if anyone know the answer. If you get a F or a grade you're not satisfy from , ACE program. If you retake the class, what would happen to the old grade?

Specializes in SRNA.

This happened to some of my friends in the program so I know the details well.

Here's the deal. If you get a D or an F, you can repeat the class. You'll probably have to wait until the class comes around with the next ACE group - the one that started six months after you did. If it's your 4th quarter, they'll let you take the class with the co-ops. Your D or F will stay in your GPA and not be replaced by the new grade. If you fail any one class three times, you're out of the program.

-S

I have a question if you don't mind answer or if anyone know the answer. If you get a F or a grade you're not satisfy from Drexel, ACE program. If you retake the class, what would happen to the old grade?
This happened to some of my friends in the program so I know the details well.

Here's the deal. If you get a D or an F, you can repeat the class. You'll probably have to wait until the class comes around with the next ACE group - the one that started six months after you did. If it's your 4th quarter, they'll let you take the class with the co-ops. Your D or F will stay in your GPA and not be replaced by the new grade. If you fail any one class three times, you're out of the program.

-S

Thanks piper. What if...

you get a D, w/ gpa of 2.0. Now if you retake it and got an A, 4.0. So your final gpa would still be 2.0? or 3.0?

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