2011 Macomb Community College HESI and GPA scores for nursing program

THANKS for the info! :)

Thank you for the information!! It looks like I will be an August start. I have one question for you, besides orientation are there any other manditory meetings before class starts. I am scheduled to be out of town the week before class starts and wanted to make sure I do not need to reschedule.

To broadly answer a few questions I got through PM that may be helpful to all, and to answer the last few...:

- I have a Samsung Fascinate (Verizon). I love the phone (but the person I learned about it from had the ipod touch i believe), and Skyscape doesnt cost me any extra as far as my month bill is concerned. It doesnt wear out my battery either, since I search for a drug or disease and then shut it back off. There is a med sheet you have to complete each week while in clinical for each patient with every drug they're on, and when your patient has 15-20+ meds a day, you're going to want something quick. As we all know, nurses can never do anything fast enough for anyone, and someone always needs or wants you, so its best to get the busy work out of the way! :) There is a MCC discount, which I will fish through my email tomorrow to try to find it and post it for you all. DONT buy it until youre close to your 2nd 8 weeks, because it is a yearly subscription, and you wont need it until your clinicals start, so there is no point in using up part of your subscription for nothing!

- No, there are no other meetings other than expected orientation (that Im aware of, unless theyve added something new). Obviously everyone needs to complete the Intro to nursing class (I have no info on this class as I attended a one time orientation on it that they offered due to time constraints last year that they will never do again).

- Be prepared for a different type of testing. You are officially out of the memorization phase, and now youre into critical thinking. It isnt: What is a myocardial infarction? Its now "a patient is presenting with symptoms of a myocardial infarction, what would be your first action?"

- I would not recommend taking other classes on top of your first 8 weeks, or anything leading up to it. I came from Baker, and had had a Pharm class already, and it hasn't done too much for me at all. Any drug you need to know, the teacher will tell you (in depth) about, or you learn on your own from giving it constantly at clinicals. It seems like if youre on a med/surg floor as a patient, you get diuretics, anti-hypertensives and anti-coagulants no matter what. So, lasix, lopressor and lovenox for all! get to know those!

- Youre going to have FOUR classes your first 8 weeks. some people get lucky and get to take 2 a day, and only come to campus twice, others have to come all four days. there isnt much you can request, as it seems to be just the luck of the draw, so be prepared to be flexible. You have a 6 hour lab, two 3 hour lectures, and another 3 hour lab. i got lucky and had a lecture and the six hour lab one day, and then the other two spaced out between a tuesday and a thursday. BE AWARE: There are saturday classes and clinicals. It sucks, I know, but you just have to think of it as being happy to be in the program!

- You start clinicals the 2nd 8 weeks, and you barely get to chose where you go...I live in grosse pointe and ended up far away (dont want to say where for HIPPA reasons), which I was upset about at first, but its a great hospital facility, and I couldnt ask for a better instructor. You do get to go to your 6 hour lab teacher/nurses hospital for a one day clinical experience and follow around a student from the class ahead (I went to st. john main and followed an october start, who luckily showed me about the skyscape program!)

- I wouldn't recommend doing anything other than class the first 8 weeks if you can help it (Im a mom of a 3 year old, but did nothing other than that), because there is a TON of reading and lots of assignments that arent hard, but are time consuming. Am I saying youre going to have no life? No. In the orientation, they make it sound like youre not going to have time to do your laundry or take a shower. Dont worry. If you stay ontop of your work, join a study group, and get help when necessary, you can still have fun and have a social life. Ive realized that I am a great hands on nurse, and do fantastic in the hospital, but am I great nurse on paper? No. I struggle with tests and dont get all A's like I did in all my pre-reqs. But what is going to matter at the end of the day? The fact that I knew what I was doing when it was time to take care of the patient. Like, how to do trachestomy care, how to push meds through a PEG tube, how to change a colostomy bag, how to do wound dressing changes, not necessarily if I knew how to play word games on paper for a test. *Im not saying you dont need to read/do well in class/on tests* , Im just saying that its important that you are more than just book smart. APPLY what you learn, use common sense, and treat patients the way you want to be treated!

- We've lost a few students due to them failing to realize that nurses deal with blood, guts, death, poop, sputum, MRSA, and AIDS. I was helping a classmate with a patient who has had her small intestines exposed for the last year, defecates out the front of her stomach and requires a dressing change every 2-3 hours...are you sure you can you handle that? Nursing is not a cushy job. Maybe once youve worked the floor for 10+ years with your masters and can finally boss people around, perhaps, but even then, peoples lives are in your hand, and it isnt always pretty. MAKE SURE YOURE DOING THIS FOR THE RIGHT REASONS! Dont take a spot from someone who truly wants this because youre chasing the 3 days a week job with good pay and benefits. If you think nurses aids do all the gross stuff and you just pass meds, youre dead wrong. Nursing isnt glamorous and its super stressful, but it is emotionally rewarding most of the time! Im not saying this to scare anyone, Im just irritated that I had classmates get to the 2nd 8 weeks, start clinicals, and be surprised at what they were expected to do, while taking the seat from someone who really wanted it!

Hope this helps, and again, feel free to PM me!

Does anyone use an ipad or galaxy tab instead of an ipod touch or their phone?

No, thats not allowed, and you cant put that in your pocket as far as clinicals are concerned. You are allowed to take notes in class with ipads, computers, tape recorders, etc. Skyscape is only able to be registered to one device, so you arent able to put it on a laptop and phone.

darn, I was hoping for an excuse to buy one

Lauren -

When you find the Macomb discount code for skyscape, please email it to me. Oh - how was the final's check-off for 1165? (I was going to email you but saw you on this post)

My daughter made alternate - I am praying she gets a seat!

Lisa-

I never seemed to remember the classes by their numbers, just by the teacher or class name.. if you're talking about the 6 hour lab, since we had the same teacher, she kind of just checks you off as you do stuff. there is no final, as your one day in the hospital with her is like your final. Super easy (provided you do the injections and catheters right in class)...if you're talking about the 3 hour lab, we have different teachers. Mine wanted us to know everything off that check off sheet, in the right order, under 20 minutes. It was super tough for me. I literally locked myself in my bedroom for about 3 days just reading and repeating it over and over and over again, and would practice on my husband every time i would memorize another page. Repetition is the only way to get that down.

I can't find the code for Skyscape, and I cant post faculty names on here, but go talk with the woman who runs the nursing lab. She was the one who I got it from. Just say that you need the Skyscape MCC discount info, and she should have it. If she doesn't, she has the email of the girl who initially found it.

Best wishes to your daughter! They really do blow through the alternate list since so many people move, dont take the seats, etc. Our class started with 42 for some reason, and were down to 34 as of today. Granted, thats people failing out or quitting, but still. People seem to change their minds a lot, so I bet she'll be okay!!

Out of curiosity, is anyone else looking into any RN-BSN programs?

Yes, I am transferring to Oakland for my BSN once I receive my ADN from Macomb. A very good aspect of this program is that most of it is online, which helps if you plan on working right away and going to school part-time to finish your BSN.

Congratulations to everyone that got accepted! I was accepted as well and can't wait to start!

So, I gather from recent posts that start dates are granted according to rank by way of HESI/GPA. Is that pretty much correct?