Has anyone else applied to Jefferson's FACT program?

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I've applied and am curious if anyone else on here is applying for Spring 2011. Good luck!

I was going to suggest JeffStat, too, for anyone who lives near Philly. They have tons of classes every month. Here's a link to their page of courses:

http://www.jefferson.edu/tjuh/jeffstat/training/courses.cfm

Be sure to sign up for Healthcare Provider CPR INITIAL course, not renewal. Unless you are already certified, of course. :)

Otherwise, call your local hospitals and community colleges. Almost every hospital has BLS for healthcare provider courses, but they aren't all good about putting the info on their website.

You can take the course any time, as your card will be good for 2 years from the time you take the course. And don't stress about it. It's not a hard course or anything. :) Just don't leave it until the last minute, because courses sometimes fill up and are closed.

BTW, $100 is a little pricey for a BLS course. No one around here (Philly/South Jersey) that I am familiar with charges anything near that amount. JeffStat's is $75.00.

AW

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Did you get the information about taking a CPR class in the mail? If yes, was there any other important info in the letter? I didn't get anything yet.

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most people get the orientation packets in march about books and supplies. you should go to the financial aid seminar and fill out your fafsa asap. here's the link for new students requirements:
www.jefferson.edu/jchp/newstudents.cfm

some requirements:

criminal background check

child abuse clearance

fill student health services requirements

cpr certification

stuff for the program:

~pda/pdd - such as ipod, blackberry, etc. for nursing central software

~sphygomomanometer (adult size)

~stethoscope (littman - lots of ppl have the lightweight. remember you're going to be wearing this around your neck)

~penlight (get a replaceable battery one)

~reflex hammer

~bandage scissors

~watch with a second hand not digital...old school

~special tju calculator (must buy one from bookstore...buy when time gets closer)

~uniform (from bookstore...buy when time gets closer. also, ladies you might want to buy the guy pants or from somewhere else (make sure the color matches your scrub shirt, bc the elastic in the pants is very uncomfortable)

~white leather non-porous shoes (leather may be a good)

~will need a car at some point for some clinical sites. carpooling might work also. remember to be nice to everyone so you can hitch a ride when you need it...

~might want to buy a printer

here's the general format of the beginning (excluding clinical, med calc, professional nursing and health assessment) including pharm, patho and nursing mgmt:

1.immune disorders such as: anaphlaxis, hiv/aids, neutropenia

2.gastrointestinal disorders such as: gerd, gall bladder disease, hepatitis, cirrhosis, crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis, diarrhea, intestinal obstruction, colon cancer

3.integumentary disorders

4.hemopoietic disorders

5.genitourinary disorders

6. musculoskeletal disorders

pharm, patho and nsg mgmt are hard courses. usually every student struggles in one. remember to take it one day at a time and never give up. i hope this little heads up will help you feel more prepared. if you want to get ahead do the above sections in that order. your first exams will be on immune and gastrointestinal
disorders
.

don't buy the book bundle and save $200-300. try bigwords.com -make sure you actually buy the book and not rent it. the only book you should buy right now is (drum roll please)...."saunders comprehensive review for the nclex-
rn
® examination (saunders comprehensive review for nclex-
rn
)" linda anne silvestri; paperback *buy one with the cd.* start looking through the book now.

here is a list of the other books. remember to check with the book store about the bundle. ask the bookstore lady what books are in the bundle just to make sure. i don't know if any of the books have been added or subtracted. some of these you'll need that code thing (in new books) or a cd, when the time gets closer you should inquire about which ones you need need to buy a new book.

"pharmacology: connections to nursing practice"

michael p. adams; hardcover;

"skills performance checklists for clinical nursing skills & techniques"

anne griffin perry
rn
edd faan; paperback

"clinical nursing skills and techniques - text and mosby's nursing video skills: student online version 3.0 (user guide and access code) package"

anne griffin perry
rn
edd faan; paperback

"student laboratory manual for physical examination & health assessment"

carolyn jarvis phd apn cnp; paperbac

"health assessment online for physical examination and health assessment version 2 (user guide, access code and textbook package)"

carolyn jarvis phd apn cnp; hardcover

"study guide for foundations of maternal-newborn and women's health nursing"

sharon smith murray msn
rn
c; paperback

"foundations of maternal-newborn & women's health nursing - text and mosby's maternal-newborn & women's health nursing video skills package"

sharon smith murray msn
rn
c; hardcove

"case mysteries in pathophysiology w/o student answers"

patricia j. neafsey; ring-bound

"prentice hall reviews & rationales: nursing fundamentals (2nd edition)"

mary ann hogan; paperback

"the nurse, the math, the meds: drug calculations using dimensional analysis"

joyce l. mulholland aprn bc ma ms; paperback

"nursing care plans: nursing diagnosis and intervention"

meg gulanick phd aprn faan; paperback

"medical-surgical nursing - single-volume text and free study guide package: assessment and management of clinical problems (medical surgical nursing (lewis))"

sharon l. lewis
rn
phd faan; hardcover

here's the schedule so far (subject to change):

monday, may 16, 2011 2:30pm-5:00pm jsn orientation session

tuesday, may 17, 2011 9am- 12pm jsn orientation session

wednesday, may 18, 2011 8am - 12pm jsn orientation session

nu301 - may 18, 2011 - 1-3 pm

nu302 - may 19, 2011 9-1

nu306 - may 20, 2011 8-4:30 (lab #1)

nu310 - may 27, 2011 2-5:10 pm

nu303 - june 9, 2011 8-11

nu304 - june 2, 2011 8-10:30

nu305 - june 10, 2011 9-11

"
thomas jefferson university fact 2011 spring cohort":
https://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=142188719157341

see you guys & gals in may
:D
:nurse:

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amt,

Thank you so much for the info... it is very informative.

Cant wait to see everyone in May!! (its appreciating fast)

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Great post. Just a couple of things I'd add:

Most people get the Littman Classic II stethoscope. It's nice weight and allows you to hear most sounds. BUY IT IN A FUNKY COLOR AND HAVE YOUR NAME ENGRAVED OR STAMPED ON IT. I can't tell you how many black stethoscopes "disappeared" among my classmates. If you buy a bright color, you'll be able to spot it when you put it down. If you get your name put on it, it's less likely to grow legs. :eek: In May, you'll get an opportunity to buy a steth from the bookstore vendor, but I got a better price online. Try allheart.com and Google other options. Then when you graduate, you can treat yourself to a Littman Master Cardiology steth like I did. :) Expensive, but worth it, but not really worth it for students.

The sphygmomanometer they stocked for my year and last year was a piece of junk. At least that's my opinion after having bought one and being unsatisfied with its (lack of) ease of use. If it says "Econosphyg" on the box, run away! I got a really nice ADC BP cuff on Amazon.com for slightly more money and I *still* use it.

You can buy a cheapie white lab coat any time. Just make sure it is knee length (not short, like medical students wear). Then all you'll have to buy is the arm patch for it. I am not kidding you, I wore my lab coat TWICE during the entire program, so don't let them tell you you "need" to buy it from the bookstore.

My classmates and I hated the blue uniform pants. As of last year, the bookstore was still buying Landau pants with all-around elastic that was uncomfortable and hurt after a 12-hour shift. Maybe they've gotten the hint by now, maybe not. Despite all the scare-mongering certain bookstore and other people will try to do, you can easily get away with buying navy blue scrub pants that YOU find comfortable. You MUST buy the scrub tops from the bookstore, as they are embroidered with the Jefferson logo, etc. If you want to wait and see what pants they have available, go ahead. You won't need them until mid-June, anyway, and by then you will have had a chance to see what the bookstore is offering.

You will need white LEATHER shoes or athletic shoes. No Crocs! No canvas shoes! They tell you they can't have any other color on them (like pink or silver), but I did see some of my classmates who had pink Nike swoops on theirs. ;) Start watching the sales now.

I really recommend buying the Jarvis health assessment and the Perry Clinical skills books new. If you don't buy them new, you MUST buy the online access codes, and sometimes that ends up being more expensive. Just do the math and see what works for you. Some of my classmates bought used texts without access codes and it became a giant PITA for them, right when we were supposed to be jumping in and getting to work. So, even if you buy the books new, make sure they come with the online access codes mentioned above (including access to Mosby videos mentioned above. You will learn to hate the words "Mosby videos". LOL)

They've used 2 different Pharm books in the last 2 years. So you might want to wait until you hear what is in the book bundle before you order your Pharm book. Again you will have time, because the first 3 hellish weeks are all about clinical skills and Med Calc and I forget what else.

If the study guide to the Lewis Med/Surg book is not included in the book bundle, BUY IT. New or used, does not matter. You will thank me, especially when you take Neuro in the 2nd half. ;) But the questions are really helpful for reviewing for all your tests.

Get a copy of NCLEX 4000 (unless they are up to NCLEX 4500, in which case, buy that one. You will use that throughout the year, as it is mandatory that you hand in results from practice NCLEX questions. Don't be afraid to buy a used one, it should install just fine on your PC. If you cannot afford it, it's available at school, but you have to be *in the library* to use it. If you're like me, you won't want to spend any more time on campus than absolutely necessary!

I think that's it. If I think of anything else, I'll post more.

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Forgot to add: if you have a Blackberry, iPhone (maybe Droid, I'm not sure) you won't need to buy a PDA and don't let them convince you to buy a stand-alone PDA. I made that mistake and sold the darn thing when I was done. You can get Nursing Central software for the Blackberry and iPhone for sure. The only issue is that in clinical you cannot have your phone "on", so make sure you can use your particular smart phone to access software while your phone does NOT ring. Boy, that would get you in trouble if your phone rang during clinical. Anyway, carrying around a PDA *and* a smartphone just clutters up your pockets and is unnecessary and bulky. If you don't have a smartphone, you will need to get a PDA, so you might want to scout eBay or Amazon for a used iPAQ. When I went to Jefferson, they were using the iPAQ 111, but I don't know if that's what they are still telling people to buy.

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Wow! Thanks for all this information! It's overwhelming, but really, really useful! Thank you so much!

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Could you tell me if you were swamped with work the first weekend in June of your program? You don't have clinicals that quickly, do you? I have my 10 year college reunion that first weekend and am one of the organizers, so I really, really want to attend. It's local, so I only have to travel along the R5. I'm hoping I don't have to miss it!!

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In a word, yes. Those first few weeks there is an incredible amount of reading, and we had to watch tons of videos at home. Not to mention doing the work for the 3-week Med. Calc. course that starts right away. I wouldn't miss the reunion, though. A few hours of fun won't make much difference one way or the other. And who knows, your schedule may be slightly different than ours was, and that first June weekend could be "quiet". :)

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Aw, thanks, AW! I appreciate it! I plan to start reading Med Calc before the course even starts anyway, so maybe that will help. :-)

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I finally heard from Niki (after I emailed her). In January, received a letter asking for my Fall grades and I sent transcripts the next day. But didn't hear anything. I am already accepted to Drexel and DeSales but TJU is my first choice. Scheduled an interview for Monday. She said there are "a few spots" still open. Hoping to get one of those spots. Extremely nervous.

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ayk0812, how did the interview go?

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