I just wanted to start a thread for people interested in the MDC nursing program for fall 2012. I think if you shared your scores (TEAS V & GPA) and what track your applying to (full-time or part-time), it will give everyone an idea of where they stand.
I will start:
I have a 3.7 GPA and an 81% on the TEAS and looking to apply for the part-time program. I have the option of taking the TEAS 2 more times which I will be doing :)
OEW here... and I am entering last semester as we speak. I just wanted to come back here and give some little advice and stuff. Basically things I wish people had told me when I was entering first semester, things to look out for, etc. So here goes.
1. Read before class. No not the whole chapter, lol. Good luck at doing that at all. I mean, read the summary, read the powerpoints, get a "feel" of the lecture. Seriously, this is a big help later in the week when you remember you didn't do your care plan, have a pharm quiz tomorrow, etc. So read before class, you won't be lost if the prof asks you a question, and you will have already connected a few dots if you asked a couple of questions during class.
2. Don't get involved in the gossip. Doesn't this sound dramatic? You'll understand later, lol.
3. Be wary of study groups. It works for some, doesn't for others. Don't rush into trying to form a study group without knowing the other people's attitudes and their ways of studying. Yours might be quizzing, the other person's preference might be watching videos. So keep study groups to a minimum at first until you get a feel for what your needs are. I frankly only do "study groups" on Skype-- short and sweet, and I am in my PJs. :)
4. Make notes!!! I don't know why I even have to write this but I have to, lol. Your style might be index cards with questions, flash cards on quizlet, writing on the powerpoints, or writing notes on OneNote. I do all of these if I need to. But make sure you aren't just "reading"--do ACTIVE reading. Highlight, read outloud, write notes. In fact, go look up study methods in the search bar thingy.
5. Use AN to look stuff up. Guys, no joke, I found info here that you will not find with your professors or anything. Look up notes, links, health assessment forms, etc. I looked up old threads asking for help for careplans that helped me A LOT. I found report sheets I could use in clinical(if you don't know what a report sheet is, PM me), career advice, and mnemonics. Sometimes I had answers for stuff that fellow classmates were like, where'd you get that from? My answer: "Allnurses ;)"
6. Get used to MDC changing your test dates around. Yes, especially ATI. Just deal, lol.
7. Reviews and Rationales. Use this series to study, review, quiz yourself, etc. The fundamentals one was really helpful and I enjoyed studying from it so much that I bought the entire series, lol. Yes, from fundies, to pediatrics. This has a CD that is really nice for studying for ATI. Has hundreds of Q&As. Yummy.
8. Use the book's resources. Like the CDs, codes, etc. Some of my professors decided to use the questions in the back of the book or in the CD to test us. I didn't use them and I wish I had. Some of them are copy and pasted verbatim.
9. Have a good relationship with your professors. No, don't suck up to them, but have a respectful and professional relationship with them. They are not your friends. I repeat, THEY ARE NOT YOUR FRIENDS. This causes so much trouble. I have endless stories of this from past semesters. Friendship with your teachers causes endless drama. If you can, remind THEM by calling 'em SIR or MA'AM. Do yourself a favor, lol. In the end, these professors may be your bosses, did you know? Some still practice and are even charge nurses. So don't be hatin'. And YES ask them for recommendations sooner rather than later, so they won't forget you!
10. Use technology for your advantage. Record the lectures if you can. Use dropbox.com instead of USBs. So many people lost their USBs at the library that it is not even funny. And I know because I worked in the library front desk for a year, lol. Some people never came back for them, and lost weeks, months, worth of notes or home work. Yuck. So use DROPBOX.COM!!! ADDED: Use the library, guys. I know what I am telling you!!! Like I said, I worked there and I know there are many goodies. We have lots of videos--just go to the front desk and ask away on your first week. Get a feel of what is offered there for free. We have SKILLS VIDEOS, HEALTH ASSESSMENT VIDEOS, NCLEX TUTOR SERIES, etc. Just go and check it out. Also, we have care plan books, NCLEX books, Nursing made incredibly easy books, etc.
I'm gunna post one for clinical sometime later, so keep in touch. ;P
OEW here... and I am entering last semester as we speak. I just wanted to come back here and give some little advice and stuff. Basically things I wish people had told me when I was entering first semester, things to look out for, etc. So here goes.
1. Read before class. No not the whole chapter, lol. Good luck at doing that at all. I mean, read the summary, read the powerpoints, get a "feel" of the lecture. Seriously, this is a big help later in the week when you remember you didn't do your care plan, have a pharm quiz tomorrow, etc. So read before class, you won't be lost if the prof asks you a question, and you will have already connected a few dots if you asked a couple of questions during class.
2. Don't get involved in the gossip. Doesn't this sound dramatic? You'll understand later, lol.
3. Be wary of study groups. It works for some, doesn't for others. Don't rush into trying to form a study group without knowing the other people's attitudes and their ways of studying. Yours might be quizzing, the other person's preference might be watching videos. So keep study groups to a minimum at first until you get a feel for what your needs are. I frankly only do "study groups" on Skype-- short and sweet, and I am in my PJs. :)
4. Make notes!!! I don't know why I even have to write this but I have to, lol. Your style might be index cards with questions, flash cards on quizlet, writing on the powerpoints, or writing notes on OneNote. I do all of these if I need to. But make sure you aren't just "reading"--do ACTIVE reading. Highlight, read outloud, write notes. In fact, go look up study methods in the search bar thingy.
5. Use AN to look stuff up. Guys, no joke, I found info here that you will not find with your professors or anything. Look up notes, links, health assessment forms, etc. I looked up old threads asking for help for careplans that helped me A LOT. I found report sheets I could use in clinical(if you don't know what a report sheet is, PM me), career advice, and mnemonics. Sometimes I had answers for stuff that fellow classmates were like, where'd you get that from? My answer: "Allnurses ;)"
6. Get used to MDC changing your test dates around. Yes, especially ATI. Just deal, lol.
7. Reviews and Rationales. Use this series to study, review, quiz yourself, etc. The fundamentals one was really helpful and I enjoyed studying from it so much that I bought the entire series, lol. Yes, from fundies, to pediatrics. This has a CD that is really nice for studying for ATI. Has hundreds of Q&As. Yummy.
8. Use the book's resources. Like the CDs, codes, etc. Some of my professors decided to use the questions in the back of the book or in the CD to test us. I didn't use them and I wish I had. Some of them are copy and pasted verbatim.
9. Have a good relationship with your professors. No, don't suck up to them, but have a respectful and professional relationship with them. They are not your friends. I repeat, THEY ARE NOT YOUR FRIENDS. This causes so much trouble. I have endless stories of this from past semesters. Friendship with your teachers causes endless drama. If you can, remind THEM by calling 'em SIR or MA'AM. Do yourself a favor, lol. In the end, these professors may be your bosses, did you know? Some still practice and are even charge nurses. So don't be hatin'. And YES ask them for recommendations sooner rather than later, so they won't forget you!
10. Use technology for your advantage. Record the lectures if you can. Use dropbox.com instead of USBs. So many people lost their USBs at the library that it is not even funny. And I know because I worked in the library front desk for a year, lol. Some people never came back for them, and lost weeks, months, worth of notes or home work. Yuck. So use DROPBOX.COM!!! ADDED: Use the library, guys. I know what I am telling you!!! Like I said, I worked there and I know there are many goodies. We have lots of videos--just go to the front desk and ask away on your first week. Get a feel of what is offered there for free. We have SKILLS VIDEOS, HEALTH ASSESSMENT VIDEOS, NCLEX TUTOR SERIES, etc. Just go and check it out. Also, we have care plan books, NCLEX books, Nursing made incredibly easy books, etc.
I'm gunna post one for clinical sometime later, so keep in touch. ;P
Thanks for the awesome advice OEW!!!! I have a quick question....
We're in the process of buying our books....do you think its okay to buy a previous edition over the new that they put on the booklist? I'm finding huge differences in prices from just from a 7th edition to an 8th edition.
Thanks! And YES I should have added that! Older editions are the way to go guys!!! They might not match the syllabus but who cares? I saved big bucks getting older editions when I could. :)
On eagles wings, that was an awesome post. Thank you!
By the way, I spoke to someone who just finished classes for the accelerated program, and he said there was no need to buy any new book. Someone else suggested that you might want to have the latest edition pharmacology book and maybe one other. It appears that the new edition mania is mainly a means of enriching the publishers, authors, and book sellers. I assume the college gets a piece of the action as well.
Hey guys..Did everyone receive that email today about the workshop on the 14th? I did not know the Test success book was mandatory. Does anyone know how much it is in the bookstore?? It's pretty cheap online.
Hey guys..Did everyone receive that email today about the workshop on the 14th? I did not know the Test success book was mandatory. Does anyone know how much it is in the bookstore?? It's pretty cheap online.
At medical campus orientation for FT PT students they talked about a workshop that Will help us with test taking strategies and they Will also explain a little bit more about the program I think just those who signed on the sheet (saying they would attend the workshop) were the ones who got the email.
The book is Test Success: test-taking techniques for beginning nursing students.
If anyone has more info on this or if I said something wrong please correct me
I just wanted to come back here and give some little advice and stuff. Basically things I wish people had told me when I was entering first semester, things to look out for, etc. So here goes.
So read before class, you won't be lost if the prof asks you a question, and you will have already connected a few dots if you asked a couple of questions during class.
on eagles wings, ASN, RN
1 Article; 1,035 Posts
Good afternoon, yall!
OEW here... and I am entering last semester as we speak.
I just wanted to come back here and give some little advice and stuff. Basically things I wish people had told me when I was entering first semester, things to look out for, etc. So here goes.
1. Read before class. No not the whole chapter, lol. Good luck at doing that at all. I mean, read the summary, read the powerpoints, get a "feel" of the lecture. Seriously, this is a big help later in the week when you remember you didn't do your care plan, have a pharm quiz tomorrow, etc.
So read before class, you won't be lost if the prof asks you a question, and you will have already connected a few dots if you asked a couple of questions during class.
2. Don't get involved in the gossip. Doesn't this sound dramatic? You'll understand later, lol.
3. Be wary of study groups. It works for some, doesn't for others. Don't rush into trying to form a study group without knowing the other people's attitudes and their ways of studying. Yours might be quizzing, the other person's preference might be watching videos. So keep study groups to a minimum at first until you get a feel for what your needs are. I frankly only do "study groups" on Skype-- short and sweet, and I am in my PJs. :)
4. Make notes!!! I don't know why I even have to write this but I have to, lol. Your style might be index cards with questions, flash cards on quizlet, writing on the powerpoints, or writing notes on OneNote. I do all of these if I need to. But make sure you aren't just "reading"--do ACTIVE reading. Highlight, read outloud, write notes. In fact, go look up study methods in the search bar thingy.
5. Use AN to look stuff up. Guys, no joke, I found info here that you will not find with your professors or anything. Look up notes, links, health assessment forms, etc. I looked up old threads asking for help for careplans that helped me A LOT. I found report sheets I could use in clinical(if you don't know what a report sheet is, PM me), career advice, and mnemonics. Sometimes I had answers for stuff that fellow classmates were like, where'd you get that from? My answer: "Allnurses ;)"
6. Get used to MDC changing your test dates around. Yes, especially ATI. Just deal, lol.
7. Reviews and Rationales. Use this series to study, review, quiz yourself, etc. The fundamentals one was really helpful and I enjoyed studying from it so much that I bought the entire series, lol. Yes, from fundies, to pediatrics. This has a CD that is really nice for studying for ATI. Has hundreds of Q&As. Yummy.
8. Use the book's resources. Like the CDs, codes, etc. Some of my professors decided to use the questions in the back of the book or in the CD to test us. I didn't use them and I wish I had. Some of them are copy and pasted verbatim.
9. Have a good relationship with your professors. No, don't suck up to them, but have a respectful and professional relationship with them. They are not your friends. I repeat, THEY ARE NOT YOUR FRIENDS. This causes so much trouble. I have endless stories of this from past semesters. Friendship with your teachers causes endless drama. If you can, remind THEM by calling 'em SIR or MA'AM. Do yourself a favor, lol. In the end, these professors may be your bosses, did you know? Some still practice and are even charge nurses. So don't be hatin'. And YES ask them for recommendations sooner rather than later, so they won't forget you!
10. Use technology for your advantage. Record the lectures if you can. Use dropbox.com instead of USBs. So many people lost their USBs at the library that it is not even funny. And I know because I worked in the library front desk for a year, lol. Some people never came back for them, and lost weeks, months, worth of notes or home work. Yuck. So use DROPBOX.COM!!! ADDED: Use the library, guys. I know what I am telling you!!! Like I said, I worked there and I know there are many goodies. We have lots of videos--just go to the front desk and ask away on your first week. Get a feel of what is offered there for free. We have SKILLS VIDEOS, HEALTH ASSESSMENT VIDEOS, NCLEX TUTOR SERIES, etc. Just go and check it out. Also, we have care plan books, NCLEX books, Nursing made incredibly easy books, etc.
I'm gunna post one for clinical sometime later, so keep in touch. ;P