Grand Canyon RN-BSN

Jmira.BSN.RN · Jan 19, 2014

Hi Tonkin, would you be kindly PM to me about Professional Dynamics classes? How the classes is running online? Thank you in advance!

I start it on Monday. Excited to get the ball rolling on the bsn. In the 6 months I've been out of school I fear I've forgotten more than I should have :wacky:

Guest757854 · Jan 19, 2014

I start it on Monday. Excited to get the ball rolling on the bsn. In the 6 months I've been out of school I fear I've forgotten more than I should have

Please keep us posted on your progress and how the first day was for you. As soon as I pass my boards a couple months after I do I will be signing up for GCU. I hope it works out for me. I'm really excited.

aimeedarling · Jan 19, 2014

I'm supposed to start Feb. 10th! As long as I pass the NCLEX on the 23rd. I am hoping to double up some of the "easier classes" Do you know if I'm supposed to take classes in a specific sequence?

Should I double Professional Dynamics with Family Centered Health Promotions? I think I heard Health Assessment was a toughie.

I'm not really working right now and have plenty of free time. I am a really horrible/slow writer. But I am hoping to use the resources you guys have recommend and also the tutoring offered by GCU.

What do you guys think? Is doubling up a fantasy?

Flames9_RN, BSN, RN, EMT-B · Jan 19, 2014

I have not been working (start Jan 27, ouch) and could I have been doubling up on classes so far--yes! I have no kids, just my wife and I and our animals, so for me it could have been doable up to this point--Just finishing up class #3. I know others that have a family and work FT, find it difficult at times. And I think some of it depends on the instructor, as not every class is the same.

I think the 2 you mentioned above are very doable together. 1 of my biggest problems is that I have to much time on my hands,lol so I put stuff off and off, and I am in no hurry to finish this program as I'm not back i=to the USA for awhile--why increase my BP if I dont have to,lol

Good luck on the NCLEX, remember to breathe!!

aimeedarling · Jan 19, 2014

haha, yeah flames9_RN. I know what you mean about putting off things when you have so much time on your hands. I am currently in Amsterdam with my partner who is doing an artist residency program here. He is working a lot and I have been just messing around/having fun for the last 6 months (It took a LONG time to get my ATT from the CA BRN). Now, I'm frantically studying my butt off trying to get into mental shape for the NCLEX.

I want to be done with my BSN before Christmas this year (I need 11 classes -- No Stats because I already took it for fun). If I double up and don't take too many breaks I hope this is possible.

I'm really excited to start school again and have a productive way to occupy my time here! I bet that excitement will fade when the realities of school set in.

Can anyone recommend specific instructors for me? I know there aren't any "easy" instructors but I know for sure there are instructors that make things more difficult.

Flames9_RN, BSN, RN, EMT-B · Jan 19, 2014

I'm in Nicargaua and been chilling for over 2 years!! I could have been done long ago if I had started when I first got here,lol Oh well, my own fault! Actually I wasn't sure I was going to continue with nursing, and who knows I may not when I get back to the USA, but figure why not do my BSN anyways, always good to learn more!! I wil PM u some instructors later on! Doing my 2 Discussion questions for the week today. Then have a movie character assessment to complete that has to be a power point presentation,and then an adult health assessment, both due next sunday! Not overly difficult, just a bit of time consuming. So far thats how the program has been, not overly difficult (in my opinion) but it takes awhile to complete each assignment!!

But a gal just dropped out as she found it difficult--she works full time and has a family. Some complain that it is busy, and I guess it is--but 1 has to remember, they are putting a full semester workload into 5 weeks, so of course it is going to be a bit busier!

tokmom, BSN, RN · Jan 19, 2014

It is busier the further you get into the program and if you want to double some classes, if they let you, do it early in the program because it is not as doable later on. The pressure seems to come on after research. The instructors expect more from your papers and grade accordingly. They figure you are far enough into the program to have it figured out by now. If you are a slow writer, I would not recommend doubling because you might have 4 papers due in one week. Some of the later classes have a ppt and paper due or two papers. The word count goes up as well on the beefier papers from a minimum of 1000-1250 and some have been more. The DQ early on are not difficult, but as the program progresses, some are worth more points, (20) and expect you to interpret labs, ABG, etc..Again, doable, but just more work then your average DQ.

Is there a pattern for the classes? There seems to be and I have noticed that certain classes expect you to know certain things that you would not have known if you took the classes out of "order." An example is stats. I'm glad I have it under my belt because now I'm dissecting research papers and I know how to read a research article. If you took stats down the line, you would be screwed for the classes you take before stats.

As for the instructors. Yes, there are a few and I think Flames knows my picks, lol. You can choose your instructors but some might not be teaching for awhile, so you might have to sit out a few weeks if you want them specifically.

The program is doable, and I'm able to pull this off while working over 40 hours a week, raising my 7 kids (well, only 5 at home and 4 school age), but I don't do much else but work and school. and I will be very glad to get my life back and not be glued to my laptop.

Good luck and keep us posted.

aimeedarling · Jan 19, 2014

Thanks for the tips tokmom! I will keep that in mind. I only want to double up if my grades aren't sacrificed. I don't think I'll stop with my BSN. I also want to have enough work to keep me good and busy.

Thinking about Stats. My stat skills is really rusty. I took it several years ago and it was a general class, not one tailored for health care professionals. How much do you rely on the skills learnt in class? Do you think I should re-take the class, or is there an easy way for me to brush up?

SunshineDaisy, ASN, RN · Jan 19, 2014

Did they change the double up rule? When I started we couldn't double until after the 4th class, I believe, so I could double up my next class if I wanted. I'm not going to, just gonna do my one class at a time! And I think the group project for the community health class has been the most ridiculous project! We do the group project on one persons community, then have to use that info for our last assignment. Ok, how are people who don't live in that community supposed to interview people from it??

aimeedarling · Jan 20, 2014

Oh man! SunshineDaisy, I think I was counting my chickens too early. I'll have a chat with my enrollment guy and see what he says. Good luck with your community project. That seems pretty tough. Are you supposed to do skype interviews? I hope the person living in that community knows a lot of people with some free time.

mschelee, MSN, RN · Jan 20, 2014

hi, I just thought it jump in here for a second and say a few things. I started the RN-BSN program in August 2012 and completed it in July 2013. I doubled up one class and that was during spirituality I took the ethics class and the spirituality class together, however they did not allow us to double up on classes before this. I was not allowed to pick my instructors and you are not allowed to take classes out of order because each class teaches you what you need to know for the next class. I graduated with a 4.0, and I didn't struggle to get it I am however single and had a lot of time to do homework. I also worked full-time. The hardest thing was the group projects, because there's always one or two slackers in your group, and for me I was always worried they would mess up my grade. Take se advice, volunteer for team leader. Use the grade rubric' as a guide to set up your paper. As soon as I graduated with my BSN, I immediately started the acute care nurse practitioner program and now am in my third class. Even these classes are along the same schedule, a couple of discussion questions, several papers (750-1000 words), but the group projects are actually much much larger.

My counselors always helped me and were easy to get a hold of, my financial aid counselor was always on top of things and I never had problems. The financial aid paid more than enough, in fact I generally got between 12 and $1600 back every couple of classes. The books for the BSN are included in the prices and their digital copies. The classes were well worth it and I learned a lot.

Congratulations I hope you guys like it because I do, it was well worth it.

You'll need to know how to work with PowerPoint, and I hope you know how to write papers in APA format. I personally kind of suck at APA so I bought PERRLA and it did really good job for me, now I'm a APA expert! Oh, and check out http://www.writecheck.com it's a (fee) website that does grammar checks and plagiarism screening. It cost me money, but it save me a lot of headache when you it's time to turn you paper in!

Good-luck!

Mschelee

Flames9_RN, BSN, RN, EMT-B · Jan 20, 2014

I inquired about waiting to take Stats for a bit, as I wanted a certain instructor--but that person no longer is teaching at GCU. I was told it was possible to switch things up a bit, BUT it had to be approved by higher up. 1 more week and class #3 (NRS-434)is in the books! Highly recommend one not pick Tay sachs as their Powerpoint presentation, not a whole lot of info out there. Knew I wa sin trouble when the school librarian had issues finding info on certain aspects of the subject!!