Hi, is there anyone here attending HCC's evening/weekend or day program here? If you are, cn you give me some insight as to how it is? How do they incorporate Process 1, process 2, Pharmacology and math into 2 evenings a week?
How is the pharmacy class and what type of math is it? Which class have you found to be the most challenging? How do you manage to incorporate working and doing the program fulltime? What is the most challenging aspect of the program?'
I got an A in sociology and now i am taking anat1. It is super hard as u know but i am getting the gist of it. I got a B on our first exam and the one tomorrow i am striving for an A!!!! Thanks for ur advice!!!
Hello, I am in my 3rd semester of the nights and weekends program at HCC. Everything skazka told you is correct (I think, I didn't read thru it too carefully) Here is my take:
1. in the nights and weekend program the average age of the student is older and pretty much all of us work full time and have kids (at 31 I am one of the youngest in the class - the oldest is over 60). We all help eachother as much as we can. It is so much work but just know that there are people in my class who have passed with young kids and full time jobs.
2. Your first semester will be very very hard. It is good that you have time to prepare. Review all of your A&P. Buy the Clinical Calculations book (the one they made us buy is called Clinical Calculations with applications to general and specialty areas by Kee and Marshall) and teach yourself the math. Do the first 5 or so chapters. Like Kazka said, they don't really teach it to you they expect you to learn it yourself.
3. don't take a pharm class. It will be a waste of time and $$ as a separate pharm class is not required at HCC. Sure, they will accept it, but it won't count toward your degree. Pharm is integrated into Nursing Process I, II, III and IV.
4. Get your CPR certification and make sure it is good for 2 years. You can do that thru the Red Cross or http://tampabaycpr.com/ which is good because it is only one night and is for 2 years.
5. don't worry so much about all of this! honestly, the best thing you can do is spend tons of time with friends and family now because you sure as hell won't be once school starts :) Do some yoga. Learn relaxation exercises. Nursing school takes over your life so enjoy your time.
6. also, just the fact that you are thinking of all of this and asking questions shows me that you are a detail-oriented, conscientious person who likes things to be organized and likes to know what is going on. I hate to tell you this, but nursing school is disorganized and will be very frustrating for you. It was for me. I felt like no one was giving us straight info and even the teachers didn't know what is going on half the time. Just be prepared because I wasn't and it drove me crazy.
I can't think of anything else right now. Let me know if you have any more questions -- be glad to help. GOOD LUCK and enjoy the next 7 months.
What are the hours for the night classes? I am starting my prereqs in the spring and trying to figure out a timeline with my almost three year old. I may have to go through the night program if he isn't in school yet. Thanks for all the info everyone! It has been so helpful!
I am a recent grad of HCC's nursing program as of Dec 2009. I was in the Night and Weekend program for the first 3 semesters and day classes through NP4. Nights and days are very similar....I preferred night classes, from 5-8PM 2xs a week, as you normally had the morning and early afternoon to study and review notes before tests...plus, someone always knew someone in the day classes that would give us night students a heads up about how hard the test was and study this stuff and not this kind of thing. The hardest semester for most of us students was NP1- it stunned us students into reality of what we were in for. NP4 was tough, but most of us were prepared...I think 1 student in our class failed in NP4, but in NP1, our class was dropping like flies...of a class of 38, I think we lost about 15 students that semester. NP2 was the easiest for me. The math lessons/tests were always at the beginning of every semester...short lecture, then test...no class dedicated to math- students didn't struggle with the math. There were some students that took a pharm class prior to nursing program, I didn't and did just fine- it wasn't required for us, but can see how it would be helpful as many test questions are related to side effects of meds, especially, psych drugs.
You attain clinical hours, 1 day a week for about 10 hours- this varies with different professors as it should be 10, but some professors will let you go after 8. The clinical day is the same every week and required to pass. You only visit the local hospitals and typically the same hospital all semester. Normally, by the end of the nursing program, you have worked in every hospital and have a pretty good idea of which hospital you would like to work in- St Joes and TGH were all favorites of our group.
I think HCC prepared us students for NClex and nursing world...I didn't hear of one student failing the NClex from our class, only how hard it is to find a job right now. I suggest, that you start around NP3, looking for a job at the local hospital as a tech or something working with patients- These were the first to find jobs and didn't have to beg and plead...Some students that grad in Dec 09 are still looking! I am currently working in a small hosp in Polk county and got very lucky that my application was the first one on the stack!
I worked full-time through this program and got a B every semester with studying 8-10 hours weekly. I don't have kids, but knew a few students pregnant with kids at home and working full time that still managed to get Bs. You will find the time and, eventually, get a routine down.
For all the students looking forward to the nclex, I studied for about 1.5 months using saunders nclex full color edition, kaplan nclex (I didn't take the course, just bought the book), and Prioritization, Delegation, and Assignment: Practice Excercises for Med Surg by Linda LaCharity, and used cd-roms out of a few of my other nursing nclex review question books much like saunders book. I did about 50-100 questions daily using the cd-roms and reviewed all electrolyte ranges. I took the nclex in 45 minutes, my computer shut off at 75 questions. There is a waiting period for scores of about 3 days, during this time, I was not worried, I knew I had passed....and I was an average student. The HESIs are harder than the nclex, but prepares you for the harder level questions so don't get discouraged with HESI scores- I know I did. Hope this helps. Good luck to all!
BradleyT
9 Posts
I got an A in sociology and now i am taking anat1. It is super hard as u know but i am getting the gist of it. I got a B on our first exam and the one tomorrow i am striving for an A!!!! Thanks for ur advice!!!