Gordon College in Barnesville?

EricJRN, MSN, RN · Oct 13, 2007

Moved to the Georgia Forum for more responses.

SMS80 · Oct 27, 2007

I'm actually in Gordon's program now and will graduate in May 2008. It's a 2 year program and students can apply for entrance into the fall & spring semesters. You have to be accepted to the college before you can apply to the nursing program. You will also stand a better chance of getting in if you take some of your prereqs there. The program assigns points for different things and the more points you have the better chance of getting in.

The program itself is good. I know that I will be well prepared when I am out on my own. The professors really care about the students and know almost everyone by name. A few of my classmates have even had professors call them to make sure they are okay. The material is a lot but it will be that way wherever you go. The test questions are NCLEX style and you are required to do computerized testing throughout the program.

The only drawback that I can think of is the campus itself. I hope not to offend anyone but most of the people who attend Gordon are teenagers, while the nursing students range from age 19 to late 50s. It can be a little annoying when you are trying to use the computer lab or the library.

My suggestion is to take a campus tour and talk with the nursing chair. She is wonderful. Hope this helps

And good luck to you!

mr.rn-2010 · Nov 2, 2007

SMS80

I just got accepted into Gordons Nursing Program for spring 08 semester can you tell me what to expect during this semester???

How are the professors and clinicals and things like that?? And anything else you would like to add would be greatly appreciated

Thanks.

"The Hopefull One"

NurseBunky · Nov 3, 2007

I can tell you how I Liked it! I graduated last year from their program. It was hard, stressful, and sometimes (yes sometimes) fun! The teachers were (and the ones who are still there are) great. They are supportive and take the time to teach. It is a lot of information at one time so stay organized. Stay on top of your assingments and READ YOURE BOOK! Take notes. If you like to study with a group...find a good study group! (You'll need their support) Don't be afraid to ask questions. Do the objectives at the begning of the lesson! (The test questions come from there)Don't get caught up in other people's negativity. Leave whatever is going on at home or at work there when your'e in class or studying. Goodness...the list goes on and on. Oh....take breaks between your'e studying. Craming is never...ever good!!

FYI: My study group consisted of 4 other women. We would bring food to our study group (usually fast food cause you have no time to cook). We'd quiz eachother, go over our notes, do practice questions out of our NCLEX books, talk about how stressed out we were and at the end of every semester we would have a small party at a nice restaurant somewhere to destress and celebrate.

P.S There's a great wings place in downtown Barnesville that cater's to students if you need to take a break and get off the campus for awhile. They have .25 wings on Tuesday and free ice tea to Gordon Students! Their Ice Tea is great.

SMS80 · Nov 5, 2007

Congrats on the acceptance!

Right now don't worry about the dosage & cal questions, you have time to work on this the first few days. I'm not saying blow it off but don't invest hours upon hours of work into it. If you can, buy their recommended book Test Success and follow the directions in it. A few of my friends have recommended it. It lays the foundation for their testing style.

You will be overwhelmed and it's okay. There will be drama in your life; there will be times that you want to cry and you will. There will be times when you have given everything you have but you keep giving more. There will be many times when you have to pick between nursing school and your family... and nursing school wins, most of the time. All of this is normal. The main thing is to keep your focus. You may forget the reason of why you want to be a nurse along the way but something will happen to remind you, it happens to most of us.

If you have God in your life, He will have to carry you most of the way through it. If you have a family, have a long talk before you begin school and tell them that there will be times that you can't be there for them. And you will need them more then ever...

Once you start you will make many friendships. And your heart may break when they don't pass a semester and you don't see them again. Use your experience and knowledge, don't hide your talents. Always follow your gut, chances are it's that nurses intuition kicking in.

Do as much of your reading as you can but the reality is that it's not possible to do it all with a family and trying to have a life. You will learn how to prioritize quickly. When you are in lecture, FOCUS! Don't think about work, the kids, the spouse, the bills, what's on TV, what you're having for lunch, etc. During lecture, lecture is all that matters. I get to class an hour early just to clear my mind, get myself focused for the day, and take care of any thing last minute.

Be honest with the professors, they will respect you for it. Always turn your work in on time and if you can't, be honest about why it's late, so many people lie... During clinicals if you are not sure always, always, always ask. Never assume, it will always get you in trouble. For clinicals, I started out at a slow hospital and I was happy with it because I felt that I was in over my head. This semester I am a lot more confident and I'm at a very busy hospital.

I look forward to seeing you in the halls next semester. Best of luck to you. If you have anymore questions do not hesitate to ask.

mr.rn-2010 · Nov 6, 2007

Congrats on the acceptance!
Right now don't worry about the dosage & cal questions, you have time to work on this the first few days. I'm not saying blow it off but don't invest hours upon hours of work into it. If you can, buy their recommended book Test Success and follow the directions in it. A few of my friends have recommended it. It lays the foundation for their testing style.
You will be overwhelmed and it's okay. There will be drama in your life; there will be times that you want to cry and you will. There will be times when you have given everything you have but you keep giving more. There will be many times when you have to pick between nursing school and your family... and nursing school wins, most of the time. All of this is normal. The main thing is to keep your focus. You may forget the reason of why you want to be a nurse along the way but something will happen to remind you, it happens to most of us.
If you have God in your life, He will have to carry you most of the way through it. If you have a family, have a long talk before you begin school and tell them that there will be times that you can't be there for them. And you will need them more then ever...
Once you start you will make many friendships. And your heart may break when they don't pass a semester and you don't see them again. Use your experience and knowledge, don't hide your talents. Always follow your gut, chances are it's that nurses intuition kicking in.
Do as much of your reading as you can but the reality is that it's not possible to do it all with a family and trying to have a life. You will learn how to prioritize quickly. When you are in lecture, FOCUS! Don't think about work, the kids, the spouse, the bills, what's on TV, what you're having for lunch, etc. During lecture, lecture is all that matters. I get to class an hour early just to clear my mind, get myself focused for the day, and take care of any thing last minute.
Be honest with the professors, they will respect you for it. Always turn your work in on time and if you can't, be honest about why it's late, so many people lie... During clinicals if you are not sure always, always, always ask. Never assume, it will always get you in trouble. For clinicals, I started out at a slow hospital and I was happy with it because I felt that I was in over my head. This semester I am a lot more confident and I'm at a very busy hospital.
I look forward to seeing you in the halls next semester. Best of luck to you. If you have anymore questions do not hesitate to ask.

Thanks so much for the advice!!! I know nursing school is going to be very challenging and i do expect to have to give it my all!! And then some!! I do have a few more questions. Where do we do our clinicals at??? And what is the schedule really like the first semester, it isn't really clear on the banner web as far as the days and the times we will be in school. Also if you dont mind my asking do you work full time?? I wanted to work fulltime but have been advised against it, but ihave still have to live, so I guess Im asking do alot of students take out loans to cover living expenses so they can devote their time to school?? If you dont know about anyone else just tell me how you do it. Also what do you wear to class regular clothes or the uniform??

Thanks,

"The Hopefull One"

SMS80 · Nov 8, 2007

For clinical rotations, it depends on if it's med-surg, psych, OB, peds, etc. Just put it this way, you can go as far north as Atlanta (Grady or CHOA) or as far south as Macon and just about everything inbetween. They will try to place you close to home. But they will also try to place you at a busy hospital (Grady or Macon) at least once during the program.

First semester, 4 days on campus. I seem to remember getting out around 11 or 12. For the first half of the semester you will have lecture, clinical simulation, and seminar. Once clinicals begin the clinical simulation component goes away; and you will be on campus 3 days then with one day of clinical (Thursday or Friday).

As far as working goes... it is frowned upon. But, and this is a very small but... it is possible to work full time and be in this program full time for the first semester. It worked for me but I know for two of my classmates it did not and they failed out. They knew they were overwhelmed but kept going. I knew I was taking on a lot but I managed to pace myself and I worked between 25-40 hours a week. Second semester I had to change to working only one day a week because it was accelerated. This semester I had to quit. I was about to snap and in some ways I did. It really varies on the student if they want to take out loans or not. I had previous loans so I didn't want to take out more but when I switched to part-time I had to take out student loans. Some of my classmates have taken out service-cancelable loans, while others work part-time, and some will be in debt up to their eyeballs. You just have to do what it best for you. I am not against loans. Someone once told me that if you have to take out loans during your time in college and your total amount of loans is less then what you will be making your first year out of college it's okay because when compared to the money you will be making it's not so bad having to repay it. And many hospitals have loan reimbursment programs, some as high as $10,000. But you also have to realize what is important... your future.

As far as dress... uniforms are for clinicals. For class, whatever you are comfortable in, minus pj's. Your excitement is a good reminder... best of luck you.

mr.rn-2010 · Nov 14, 2007

Thanks SMS80

What is the best thing I can do to prepare myself. Should i review some a&p or start reading. I know that alot of the books they use are at a bookstore that is close to my house. It is so much information in those books I dont know where to start. The Med/Surg book is HUGE!!!!! I saw Taylors Fundamental book also should i start reading those??? And one more thing how many doage caculations exams do we take?? I know of one but do we have to take anymore after that???

Thanks so much for everything you have been a big help If there are any websites that the teachers use please post them cause I would like to get a head start!!

Thanks again!!!!!

"The Hopefull One"

SMS80 · Nov 18, 2007

read Test Success (see previous post in this thread) and if you can work overtime now because you won't have a chance to until the break between the semesters.

buy your textbooks ahead of time if you can, if you qualify for Hope then wait. i bought my books out of pocket and i got 1/3 of them on overstock.com, another 1/3 from the gordon's bookstore (used), and the last 1/3 from someone who was in the program. if you go through other routes make sure the isbn numbers match (you can check this on the bookstore's website). some good sites are half.com, ebay.com, and sometimes amazon.com is okay. buy the course book before Camp I Can, so you can follow along. this will also guide you as where you can get ahead. when i say "get a ahead" i mean "be on task" (there is no such thing as getting ahead in nursing school). do not read the course book ahead of time, you will freak out, become overwhelmed, and then stressed. after they have gone over the course book, take it home and organize it the way that it make sense to you (tabs, dividers, etc.)

don't go crazy reading trying to get ahead, you might get burnt out. the med-surg book is huge. in the beginning i hated that book but now it's my best friend and it has almost all the answers. don't sweat reviewing a&p, it will only give you more of a headache and you need that brain space

you will have dos-cal questions on every test (except in a few classes) and usually 5 or more; so get a decent calculator, nothing fancy. and you may also be quizzed in the clinical setting.

the one thing that i do remember from first semester is that i really had to read for skills seminar before the lecture because there was a quiz on the material right after the lecture.

do not get stressed out about this program too much. you will learn that a little stress is good because it makes you keep your game on but too much stress can paralyze you. paralysis is not always a good thing.

best of luck to you.

mr.rn-2010 · Nov 20, 2007

read Test Success (see previous post in this thread) and if you can work overtime now because you won't have a chance to until the break between the semesters.
buy your textbooks ahead of time if you can, if you qualify for Hope then wait. i bought my books out of pocket and i got 1/3 of them on overstock.com, another 1/3 from the gordon's bookstore (used), and the last 1/3 from someone who was in the program. if you go through other routes make sure the isbn numbers match (you can check this on the bookstore's website). some good sites are half.com, ebay.com, and sometimes amazon.com is okay. buy the course book before Camp I Can, so you can follow along. this will also guide you as where you can get ahead. when i say "get a ahead" i mean "be on task" (there is no such thing as getting ahead in nursing school). do not read the course book ahead of time, you will freak out, become overwhelmed, and then stressed. after they have gone over the course book, take it home and organize it the way that it make sense to you (tabs, dividers, etc.)
don't go crazy reading trying to get ahead, you might get burnt out. the med-surg book is huge. in the beginning i hated that book but now it's my best friend and it has almost all the answers. don't sweat reviewing a&p, it will only give you more of a headache and you need that brain space
you will have dos-cal questions on every test (except in a few classes) and usually 5 or more; so get a decent calculator, nothing fancy. and you may also be quizzed in the clinical setting.
the one thing that i do remember from first semester is that i really had to read for skills seminar before the lecture because there was a quiz on the material right after the lecture.
do not get stressed out about this program too much. you will learn that a little stress is good because it makes you keep your game on but too much stress can paralyze you. paralysis is not always a good thing.
best of luck to you.

SMS80

One more thing.

I am very interested in the O.R. Can you tell me if we any clinicals there? And if so how many weeks do we spend in the O.R. And where do we do clinicals at as far as what area? I know med/surg, OB, Psych but where else do we do them.

Thanks

"The Hopefull One"

SMS80 · Nov 29, 2007

i think they are planning on changing this schedule but this how it was/is for me...

first semester: beginning med-surg (half of the semester)

second semester: ob & psych

third semester: advanced med-surg, 2 days in peds, 1 day in or (observation only), 1 day community health (hospice, dialysis, sickle-cell, etc.)

fourth semester: preceptorship or varied clinical experience (you spend a few weeks in er, icu, hospice, doctor's office, dialysis, med-surg, etc.)

or rotation is done at the hospital you do your adv med-surg at. you will understand why you don't spend a lot of days in the or once you see what the rn's role is in that setting, there is not a lot of med-surg type, hands-on work and gordon wants you to have that type of experience above anything else. at least this is what i saw during my or rotation.

clinical sites depend on the rotation... med-surg & ob can be at just about any hospital between atlanta and macon; psych is as far north as decatur and south as macon. psych rotations can be at any psych hospitals or rehab facilities.

you will enjoy clinicals. i loved being at a busy hospital because i feel like a saw everything (gunshot wounds, traction, chest tubes, severe car accidents, and the list goes on...) and i feel more prepared for my preceptorship.

don't worry about clinicals now, you needs to get through skills seminar first.

best of luck to you.