Current/previous Mohawk College RPN students- what things do you wish you had known before you started?
I've had some extremely kind posters on the board share their wisdom with me about the program, and it's really helping me feel more prepared for when I start in January. Just wondering what others would have done differently, or wish they had known about before they started school? Or anything else that you think would have helped you?
I'm sure there will be things that apply to all programs, not just this one, so it will be a help to all prospective students!
My math is always so easy at work, and by that I mean already done. Not that i dont double check it but you know, its never difficult.
Starfish, i wouldn't worry about the math too much, very basic. I am naturally bad at math and got 100% first time. My class got 3 tries. People made dumb errors like putting the wrong unit, or rewrote the order wrong.
I know this is an old post, but hopefully you will all have completed the program by now & will have some good advice! I'm just curious how much emphasis is on chemistry throughout the program? I didn't take chem in high school; I'm currently taking biochem at a university level (I also applied for the McMaster accelerated program and it is a pre req), and I'm really struggling with it. I'm wondering if I should be brushing up on chemistry (aka teaching myself chemistry) throughout the summer before school starts, or if it will be reviewed? I looked through the course descriptions, and from what I can see there isn't a lot of chem involved, but I want to be sure. I know that Mohawk doesn't specifically ask for high school chemistry like some other schools do, just for 2 high school sciences (I used high school physics and university physiology for my sciences), but I'm a little concerned that everyone will be a little more knowledgeable on the topic than me. If anyone can give me any information regarding this I'd really appreciate it. Thanks in advance! :)
laurk you have nothing to worry about, there is very little to none of what I would call Chemistry in the RPN program. The course does involve lots of memorization of drugs if you have a good understanding of some of the metabolic processes involved its a great help to work from first principles. There were many students on the course that didn't have back ground of chemistry even at highschool and passed no problem.
RN programs are another kettle of fish from what I understand but you would need to get advice from someone on that program.
Hi relaxingbath, thank you so much for your reply! That is good to know, I was just thinking that maybe I should read through some chem books before starting in September if necessary, but hopefully I'll manage without having to study in my spare time . Are you finished the program now? Maybe you can help me with another question I have: Like I said, I was looking through the course descriptions, and I noticed that for the first 3 semesters, each course spans 14 weeks, with approximately 25 hours of in class time per week. For semester 4, each course is 7 weeks, with the pregrad placement being 40h/week, and the rest of the courses adding up to 25h/week. Does this mean that for the first half of the semester we have coursework, and the last 7 weeks are dedicated to the pregrad experience? Thanks again for your help!!
Laurk, i'm currently in my 4th semester doing my pre-grad placement.
You are absolutely correct semester 4 consists of the first 7 weeks doing in class work with the last 7 weeks being full time pregrad placement. During pregrad you follow your preceptors scheduled you are required to do 264 hours total which is 33 x 8 hour shifts or 22x 12 hour.
I have heard they are changing some parts of how the 4th semester works particularly the first 7 weeks. My class was expected to carry out 20 hours of volunteer work at an approved location and from this it plays a major role in assignments for 2 of the classes (professional development and critical thinking) culminating in a poster presentation, which isn't as bad as it sounds but that my longer be the case once you reach that stage. I am not sure if they will implement changes but I am confident that the pregrad experience will still been the same.
Thank you so much for all of your responses; it's very helpful to hear from someone who has already been through the process. The Volunteer/Poster Presentation really doesn't sound too bad, do you know how they're thinking of changing that?
At the moment its just rumors, from what I have heard they were thinking of increasing it to 40 hours instead of 20 and starting the process in semester 3. The poster presentation is done in groups of up to 4 people, think of it as a single powerpoint presentation slide. As a group you present a 10min-ish presentation on your experiences while volunteering. The poster presentation will still be week 7 of semester 4 if I understand the changes correctly.
There are 2 classes of students that will reach that stage before you (currently in semester 1 and 2) so hopefully they will smooth out any issues they encounter.
. Are you finished the program now? Maybe you can help me with another question I have: Like I said, I was looking through the course descriptions, and I noticed that for the first 3 semesters, each course spans 14 weeks, with approximately 25 hours of in class time per week. For semester 4, each course is 7 weeks, with the pregrad placement being 40h/week, and the rest of the courses adding up to 25h/week. Does this mean that for the first half of the semester we have coursework, and the last 7 weeks are dedicated to the pregrad experience? Thanks again for your help!!
Daisy_08, BSN, RN
597 Posts
Thanks for the brain exercise sunkisss!
My math is always so easy at work, and by that I mean already done. Not that i dont double check it but you know, its never difficult.
Starfish, i wouldn't worry about the math too much, very basic. I am naturally bad at math and got 100% first time. My class got 3 tries. People made dumb errors like putting the wrong unit, or rewrote the order wrong.