Gwynedd Mercy Fall 2013

juliemsoltis · Aug 6, 2013

Hi cupid, I graduated may 11 & took exam july 8th, I did take two weeks off for a mental break, I wish I had taken it sooner only because I kept fretting over having 2yrs of material that seemed to be slipping from my brain.. I really didn't do much studying but i did do boat loads of questions, both kaplan & the prep class from the state. If you are like most your brain will not allow you to do much of anything the two days before the exam just because of the intense stress and you will need those days to calm down. the nclex questions actually felt easy after doing kaplan. Kaplan was awfully tough, so much info I had never seen before, I totally felt like an idiot & thought for sure I would fail nclex. if you can afford it kaplan does actually prepare you well. Also - no nursing class can possibly teach you everything you need to know, & while kaplan does actually give you new info you have to concentrate hard on critically thinking through the questions so you can get things you have never seen before right. whenever answering an nclex style question always think of the outcome for each...... if i do this such & such will happen,

you don't take pharm the first year but it is ugly & you do get intro info on meds all along, make sure you pay attention to them as it will make your life easier later. if you can get complex health in your very last semester of asn it will help you tremendously for nclex as it pulls everything together from the two years with some of it feeling like a review. sadly though only half the graduating class will have it as their last class, the other half will have maternity/pediatric/psych. (thats the one we started off way behind in)

you will hear rumors of people not liking certain professors because they are tough, mean, or make you do excessive lecture time, if your smart you will ignore those comments, professor mccabe is a tough cookie at times but she is actually sweet and she was among the best lecturers, professor loving gives take home lectures, sometimes giving us 3hrs extra lecture time a week but she is thorough & you will actually understand stuff so can think through problems with less memorizing. all the teachers really want you to succeed so don't be shy if you need help on something. You wont see much of McCabe or Loving till your second year but you will hear rumors. They honestly were my two favorites of all the professors.

they make you do 100 nclex style questions/week the entire two years, sometimes its tough squeezing it in and some seem way too easy or repetitive but again some of it is new/additional material that can only help. i did try to get them done ahead of time (during thanksgiving or spring break) when I could because i found that the end of each semester it always seemed there were excessive papers/projects/tests.

the bsn program, (unless you get into the accelerated on-line program) has clinicals one day & class another, then you have your other classes. I was able to squeeze 14credits into 3 days. I have the gold scholarship but to keep it i must remain full time :-(

im starting to get cranky bout school as I cannot find any info on the uniforms except that bsn is blue, there are lots of shades of blue. I did send e-mail to get info but no response yet

cupidsqueen420, BSN, RN · Aug 7, 2013

You have no idea how helpful you've been with just the few things you've said. So do you still have two more years left? Because I have all except one of my ASN classes done other than nursing courses I'm taking BSN classes with my ASN nursing classes. I was told I can be done in three years instead of four so I was planning to take Pharm in the summer of 2014 along with another course that way when I get to my BSN portion I will only have two semesters worth of material and maybe one summer session. I also have the gold scholarship so same as you I have to remain full time which is terrifying. I've been going part-time at Phila Community maintaining good grades. My fear is having to take 13 credits at a time..i may lose it and get completely overwhelmed..I have two children.. a 3 yr old and a 9 month old.

What type of papers/projects did you have to do? At CCP we had to do a critical thinking paper on health promotion/disease prevention first semester. It had to be 7 pages and we had to interview someone. I believe that they had to do another one second semester as well. Do they have reviews prior to tests? CCP would have a review prior to school starting at like 7am a few days before the exams for people who had questions about specific material. They wouldn't tell you whats on the test but told you to bring any questions you had and they would review that specific area.

juliemsoltis · Aug 7, 2013

Hi again cupid, if all goes well I will be done in august 2014, they have what is called senior summer to get the last rn classes done. you will likely have to do the same just because of the number of rn classes required & each to be done before the next. there were many students with young kids able to handle it and maintain grades but you need a good support system at home and you need to be willing to be lacking in sleep at times.

there is not much in way of papers or projects for the rn classes although other classes will have some but the tend to be very doable. some classes want a paper weekly but are usually just one page and not research type so not bad at all. the toughest part besides finding time to read & study is the clinical paperwork. you have to look up meds & fill out forms which can take 1/2hour for each med. some instructors ask you do 5, others say whatever you gave that day & some will ask for all your patient takes currently. then there are other forms for clinicals, I found I needed at least 4hrs week for clinical paperwork but i was able to cut it a little with shortcuts - if you can download & do forms on computer, save your best (be detailed) then you can just edit each week to relate it to your patient of the week (if you want example i think I still have one from freshman year). its a pain on the computer the first time as you will have to edit form formats and such to fit stuff but so worth it for the rest thereafter. if you can get friendly w/others & share med info it will save time. I actually had two instructors that suggested sharing, one took all we already had, copied & distributed them & the other instructor had us each look up certain ones & share them w/ others. at some point you will have to do care maps & plans, they can be a pain but if you have an rn diagnosis book it really makes it so much easier as it gives you info on the plan portion and helps pick out diagnoses to go with medical condition. the school does not require the diagnosis book but i was very thankful i had one. make sure you know your lab values, they test them as they give them and some you will then not use for a long time but make cards & keep them fresh so they dont kick your bumm later.

so far the biggest nursing project was in the last semester & it was a group project so as long as you get lucky with good people in your group its pretty easy. 1st semester i think there was a paper, an article review related to one of your patients. that was pretty straight forward and i think was only a page, maybe less. seriously, the hardest part is the clinical paperwork which will kick your bumm, do not wait till the night before or you will be one tired puppy in clinical!

for most tests they do give you a "blue print" but not usually a review. if you can (sometimes its hard to find the extra time) try to start & keep up with an outline of information, they give you a "final" blue print, usually up front, which will give you a basic idea of what to keep your eye on but i thought it was pretty general.

many students really struggled with the nclex style questions, your grade is almost fully dependent on your exams so you need to figure them out & fast! If you have trouble on 1st exam do not pass go, head straight to a professor or academic success for help, i mostly did very well so if you need any tips feel free to contact me, [email protected]; they have academic success classes (free just have to sign up) to help with testing strategy but I found the sophomore version was much more helpful than the freshman version, others thought both were good.

your best bet is to work hard to understand the process so you can think it through fully & get right answer even if not exactly memorized. try to remember your a&p to help you figure out the right answers, especially as you progress through the program.

no matter what you do the first few weeks you will feel horrendously overwhelmed, take it one day/thing at a time, stay organized, it really is doable it just feels crazy until you settle in.

you will feel terrible bout not having much time for family stuff but it will be well worth the sacrifice, make sure you have someone to help w/kids, they are young enough they wont remember how crazy you were, lol, & bno guilt!!! you are doing it for them as much as for yourself!!! set the older up w/tv or toys, i know tv not best thing but it may be your best friend during school year, & as for the younger be sure to spend every baby sleeping moment studying!! and try to find whatever you can to keep the baby occupied so you can study/read/do homework. not to be repetitive but you are going to school to make life easier but there will be a price to pay while in school, NO GUILT over ignoring family, the house will be dusty, there will be baskets full of clean laundry you just dont have time to fold, dinner will get boring cause you will be finding easy quick things, its just the way it is in nursing school, your kids wont care & anyone else in the house can either live with it or pick up the slack, lol. it does get tough, i try to make up for my lackings when breaks roll around but even during break you will either be trying to catch up or trying to get ahead.

cupidsqueen420, BSN, RN · Aug 8, 2013

Julie, I pretty much figured I would be going through the summer every year even in senior because of the course load. I like how you have that senior level elective so depending on what field your interested in getting into you can take a course related to that. I would really like to take the select health problems for women and children because I wanna do Neonatal nursing eventually but I also would love to take the critically ill patient because I want to start out doing critical care if I can get my foot in the door. I work for Holy Redeemer as a home health aide and they told us as employees we are likely to be hired right out of school since they hire within. I'm crossing my fingers for that. But thats a long way off..lol

I really like that they have those academic success classes if you are feeling overwhelmed. My classes don't start until 11am except for clinical day so my plan was to get to school before 9am everyday and get some study, reading, etc in before the day starts. I also have like 45min-1hr breaks between classes so I can get some time in there as well. Its hard to get anything done at home unless its after the kids are in bed so I plan to utilize all my spare time away from home and get as much done as I can.

If you wouldn't mind sending my that document you have for clinical paperwork I would really appreciate it. [email protected]

Thankfully I do have a nursing diagnosis book and a med book already so they will help with the clinical paperwork.

My friend is also starting at GMC this fall and we are taking all of the same classes together so she is my wingman..lol Its hard to find people to study with that are equally if not more motivated than yourself. At CCP I tried getting a study group together..the girls either didn't show up or when they did show up they talked the whole time about being so stressed and we got nothing accomplished. My friend and I have taken classes together in the past and we work well together so I know it will help alot having her.

Do the teachers tend to give out their lectures prior to class so you can bring them with you and take notes on them? A lot of teachers at CCP uploaded the info pertaining to that days lecture before the class so you could come prepared. Also do they have any issues with taping lectures? I have a mini recorder I was gonna bring. I know some teachers don't like that though. Did you use the study guide books for your texts? I bought the study guides for both the fundamentals and med-surg books.

juliemsoltis · Aug 8, 2013

I will e-mail you what I have, I did remember one major paper, for psych nursing in your last year, its 8-12pages but as long as you follow the layout its actually very easy to get it done. its a case review of one of your patients

Teachers do allow taping, put your name on it, occasionally one went missing and you are in an auditorium so it will be in a pile with a bunch of others up front. the only time i saw that no taping was allowed was for the kaplan class after graduation.

some professors do give the power-points up front but mostly you get them that day. I did hear that they may switch to having students print them out so maybe this semester will be different

I did try to use the study guides but i honestly ended up finding there wasn't enough time to add one more book. if you have time it will help you

they have what they call is test review after exams but it really isnt a review at all, they post correct answers on a wall, you find what you had wrong & can ask one of the several professors that will be there but the timing is so limited & all that you really don't get much help from it.

Academic success:

- classes at freshman level pretty much go over testing strategy only & do have math sessions

- academic success tutors at "academic success"- can make an appointment to go over your exams to actually discuss why you got it wrong/why other answer is right & such & can also make appointments to discuss particular subjects you are struggling with.

- some professors are very willing to sit with you and go over a topic if you want/need, just need to make an appointment, unless you are lucky enough that they are free when you walk by their office.

you will likely need time at home also for studying, :,-( sorry, the work load is overwhelming at times, i should say much of the time.

i did pharm over the summer, it nearly killed me but I pulled a good grade and was very thankful i had done so as it made it much easier workload during "complex health" unless they changed things there is very little nursing classes over the summer except for senior summer. they are a small school and you may find it difficult to get a full-time summer schedule (for financing purposes) or even classes that you need/want. I do know they are working hard at improving the class availability so unsure if things will be different by summer 2014.

if you are ahead like i was you will have the opportunity to take 2 classes towards your msn by the time you graduate w/ your bsn

glad you have an aide position, I wasn't that smart and am struggling/crying over trying to get a position ;,-(

cupidsqueen420, BSN, RN · Aug 8, 2013

Good idea putting your name on the recorder.. didn't even think of that. I was probably not going to do fulltime during the summer. I'm not sure how that will work out with my financial aid but I thought of just taking Pharm in one summer session and maybe another in summer 2 depending whats available. I did notice some of the nursing courses don't have pre or coreqs attached so I was gonna speak to a counselor to see if they were available to take over summer or something. I still have to think about everything and plan it all out. Good to hear that if I am ahead like you I can probably take a few of the courses I want since I'll have the availability. Are you going to get your MSN? My plan was to just keep taking classes even if its only one class a semester once I'm done my BSN to stay educated. Maybe we can meet one day at school since I will be there everyday..lol

juliemsoltis · Aug 8, 2013

classes are about a G/credit :-( to get summer financing I think you need 6 credits but I may be wrong, pharm is 2 credits and I could not imagine taking another class on top of it, it was crazy fast and crazy packed with info. it was the toughest final but easiest hesi i had ever taken, if you don't know hesi yet you will, its an nclex style test that you will take each semester. if you figure out how to take nclex style questions you should be fine.

I paid the pharm out of pocket, it was painful but when i was in the middle of "complex," "transitions" (another nurse class, not hard but lots of misc work) and advanced physiology II & another, I was very thankful I had.

I do plan on getting my msn but as soon as I get bsn my focus has to be a job as I am really starting to drown after two years and still one to go.

they are constantly changing things as of late so who knows but up until now there were no nursing classes available over the summer except pharm,& senior summer. even those who failed their last semester had to wait till the fall to re-take.

while many of your other classes will be fairly easy going & great for boosting gpa make sure you focus on nursing especially how to critically think through nclex questions. Your nursing grade is totally dependent on exams for 95% of the classes and most only have 3 exams and a final. :-( I have known students who knew their stuff up & down but couldn't figure out the questions and they either struggled greatly or didn't make it at all. Its a shame too because they were great nurses during clinicals. not to scare you but you are only allowed to re-take one nurse class, if you have two to retake you are booted from the program

would love to meet up w/ you one day, maybe for lunch or something & if you should need anything please don't hesitate to ask

cupidsqueen420, BSN, RN · Aug 9, 2013

Yeah the only classes I saw that are available in the summer are pharm and the senior level classes. Leadership & Mgmt is one of the senior classes available in the summer that doesn't have any pre or coreqs so I'm curious if I could take that summer after my ASN is done even though it s a 4000 level class. At CCP they took all of your summer sessions together and counted them as one semester so if I only took a 3 credit class in summer 1 and a 3 credit in summer 2 i would be considered half time. I wonder is GMC does anything like that. I wouldn't want to take any other class with pharm but I would take a class in the other summer session if it meant i would get some financial aid.

Did you have to pay for the Kaplan review at the end of your ASN? CCP had it bundled into your tuition so you didn't pay anything for it. Oh one last thing, since clinicals don't start for the first 5 weeks and your doing in class prep for those days.. I know your in class from 8am-3pm but do you have to wear your scrubs? I don't recall them saying if we do or where we meet for those days.

juliemsoltis · Aug 10, 2013

In setting myself up for this semester I remembered a tip I thought I would share. Every once in awhile I hear of students having computer issues, & sometimes computer crashes, I even remember one semester I was praying mine would make it to the break so I could put it in for repair. So the tip is when you are writing papers & such e-mail yourself a copy & each time you change/update it!!! This allows you to access & edit wherever you go & if god forbid your computer dies you don't have to start over!

cupidsqueen420, BSN, RN · Aug 10, 2013

Good point. A lot of people had those problems. If ypuve never heard of it, I use a program called dropbox. U sign up for an accout online and it creates a folder on your desktop. As long as you save your work to that folder you can access it online from any computer. Its nice cause microsoft office usually autosaves youur work every so many minites so if u were in the middle of something..like a lonh edit amd your computer crashes you would only lpse what wasn't saved from the last autosave rather the last time you emailed yout last edit. Try it out. You may like it.

juliemsoltis · Aug 11, 2013

HESI is bundled with the cost of classes and they do give a review at the end of the two years but it isn't the same as Kaplan. Each semester you will have a hesi exam and if you don't get a specific score you have to re-take it. each semester the require a higher score. at the very end there is a hesi exit exam which you must pass with a specific grade as well.

Kaplan you have to pay for if you want it, the state has a much cheaper option though, priced depending on how many weeks you want with the cheapest being $50 I think for a week's access. The scrubs are for clincal days and lab days, those initial long days you don't need scrubs

Oh & thanks for the computer tip! I will definitely check it out

cupidsqueen420, BSN, RN · Aug 11, 2013

Oh ok good to know. How long of a Kaplan review did you do? I have a Kaplan book from CCP and online access as well to creating personalized tests and other stuff. Its pretty nice. It expires in Sept of 2014 though I believe.