Jefferson FACT 2012

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Hello all!

I am so glad I was directed to this discussion forum. I believe it is a great place to share and learn. I am extremely interested in Jefferson's FACT program. I plan to apply for May 2012. I just wanted to reach out to anyone with similar interest and your thoughts on the process. I would like to know who else plans to apply for May 2012 and if your pre-req's have been completed.

Just to share a little about myself, I am completing my BS in Public Health at an online University (3 weeks left!) and have all the pre-req's completed. I am just excited about this next journey.

I also love how Jefferson FACT students automatically are accepted into the MSN program. My goal is to become a Women's Health NP, and Jefferson seems to be the way to go.

I would also love to hear from current students as well.

Can anyone give the definite date the program is suppose to commence. I think this May date is a bit weird since most Spring classes will end in May. I am now completing A&P II, Nutrition and Bio Chem.

Thanks kdrose! That scares me. But I'm ready. I'm already looking forward to graduation! Great tip about the books..we need to save where ever we can. So you don't like the ebooks..do you find the ipad useful for anything else?

The iPad is great for watching Netflix while you're at the gym relieving all your stress. ;) Seriously, sometimes it comes in handy, though I'm really not a fan of it for academic purposes. Some of my classmates feel otherwise. That's just my opinion. :)

Anyone knows the exact date in May the program is suppose to start? Anyone, please???

Ha! That its hilarious. I had so many questions but can't think of any now..Ps. You're kind of famous. I know you from when you were applying (I stalked this board)

Shadaye, we don't know. Someone heard it was May 16th. I would like to know as well since I'm going on vacation I'm april/may.

Hi all, I too am currently a FACT student and I second everything kdrose has posted. I got alot of helpful information before starting from this forum and so in the spirit of paying it forward, I am going to by stream of conscious pass on anything I can think of in this moment. I won't be checking back so I won't be able to answer questions. As kdrose mentioned, such is the life of a FACTster. Time is extremely limited. I too had greater expectations of what Jeff had to offer, particularly with regard to the quality of lectures and materials. One particular annoyance is what seems to be the faculty's/administration's lack of regard for your dollars. Many of the "required" materials/texts go unused or are of poor quality. If you choose this program, you will find yourself wasting money early on but by the second half you will have figured out how to zig and zag, especially with the help of your classmates with whom you will share materials/books/rides etc. Your classmates will be your best resource and support. I have often depended on the kindness and support of my classmates to get through this. I hope that your class is as lovely. Prepare to both give and receive generously. So here's some suggestions:

1. Get your life as streamlined as possible before you start. Get any medical appts out of the way. Get your car inspected/tuned up. Organize your finances, and household. Make everything simple because you won't have any time to do the most basic things for yourself, especially the first 4 months.

2. Regarding health insurance, Jeff requires health insurance that covers mental health. This ups the price considerably. I bought the student health plan and it is pricey, not to mention who has time to use it. Some people in the class purchased health insurance online for considerably less which I believe did not include mental health. In my experience, Jeff takes you at your word that you have met the requirement.

3. If you haven't taken a medical terminology class, get a book and read it before you start. I used Medical Terminology, A Short Course by Chabner.

4. Scrubs - 2 pairs is sufficient. Gals - the pants that Jeff sells are very tight waisted. Although they have great pockets, do not buy them if they are uncomfortable. You can get a matching drawstring pair easily. Best selection is Central Uniform on Chestnut St. between 8th and 10th St. And there is a student discount.

5. Don't buy a reflex hammer. Never used.

6. As for a BP cuff, get a cheap but functional one on Ebay. You are only going to use it early on.

7. When you get to cardiac, do not buy expensive calipers. Get the cheap ones($8) if any. You are only going to use them one day.

8. Don't buy a labcoat. I didn't and haven't needed one yet. If I do need one, I will borrow from a classmate. (A few people have used them because early on their clinical instructors required it but that has fallen by the wayside.)

9. By far, the best device to have in the clinical setting is a smartphone - it's portable and has 3G since the internet at many of the clinical sites is iffy to non-existent. If the administration persists in the folly of the iPad being the device for clinical, then they really haven't been listening to us.

10. Ebooks - you will have to decide for yourself, but don't buy them if they don't work for you. I found them to be completely unusable and immediately requested paper textbooks for the money I spent. That first book bundle you are pretty much stuck with because it has all sorts of access codes for videos etc. The second half, I've gone totally a la carte and am buying used previous editions of text books for pennies on amazon, ebay and half.com, and I have been just fine. Previous editions do not differ in significant ways for our purposes.

11. Shoes - make sure they are comfy and get yourself a pair of compression socks - the inexpensive ones at Central Uniform.

12. Get all the paperwork, physical, immunizations, BLS certification, fingerprinting done as soon as you can. Things will not necessarily go smoothly no matter how on top of things you are, but procrastinating will make life much more difficult.

13. Don't buy "Case Mysteries in Pathophysiology"by Neafsey. Never used.

As for having a car, I know someone posted a question about car insurance in the City. It's an oucher moneywise so keep your cars registered wherever you are coming from. Parking is also a pain around campus and certain parts of the City. Many City dwellers share rides to clinical sites.

For those of you planning on commuting from the suburbs and farther points, that's what I have been doing and it's doable. You will miss out on spur of the moment review sessions and the ease of getting together with classmates but commuting time can be well spent working on schoolwork and frankly, it has been nice to retreat to the sanity and seclusion of my home to do work.

Well I hope this is of some help. I wish you all the best of luck with whatever you choose to do.

"I would just like to share my frustration with you guys. I am annoyed with the idea of paying for fingerprinting. I thought thats what I did when I paid the $95. The few places I called told me it is $35! Ok that is all."

I felt the same way originally, but I contacted my local police department and they did the fingerprinting for just $5.

Has anyone who applied to the fact 2012 fall program during the 2nd decision deadline heard back regarding acceptance?

Xavier thank you. Are you by chance from Philly? If so can you tell me where you went. I called a few that said they dont fingerprint.

"

xavier thank you. are you by chance from philly? if so can you tell me where you went. i called a few that said they dont fingerprint."

hey nishtari,

i just called the state police, and they do fingerprinting for free from 8am to 11:30am monday-friday. they are located at 2201 belmont avenue, philadelphia.

there is a bus that goes there from center city...the 38 and the 40 it looks like. or there's that little truck (rosa) around ccp on callowhill that does it for like $22. if i can, i'll probably go to the rosa truck (a philadelphia landmark, no less :p) i guess you have to weigh convenience over cost...

also, i don't mean to be patronizing or condescending only add my view on all this, but i have always had to pay for my own fingerprinting and background checks in several situations for employment and education. only one time was i reimbursed for the fbi background check, and i still had to pay for my own fingerprinting ($10-35 depending on where my prints were taken). when i was student and then substitute teaching, my background check cost me about $130, and even when i fostered a youth it was ~$35! what really sucked about the substitute/student teaching one was that it was in the same county and through the same agency, but i still had to get two background checks and livescan prints! so although annoying, paying for your own background checks for employment or when you're going to be working around minors is something that is normal....perhaps it just stings a bit more knowing how much tuition you're going to be paying.

edit: oh, and looking at the service for which we paid $95...they are basically collecting the information and sending a complete information package to jefferson, it looks like. kinda like when we paid nursingcas their application fee to process all our information i guess.

Shhr thank you for that info. I will go tomorrow. Also, thank you for the other information about the clearances. this is my first time doing this. I thought that since on the website mentioned the 10 dollar money order that the 95 + 10 dollars would cover everything. No biggie, it just caught me off guard. But you are definitely right about this being minor compared to our tuition!

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