Mount St. Mary's ABSN 2011 applicants

Pauliwankenobi · Mar 8, 2011

to my understanding, the tuition has covered everything so far, such as student health insurance and all associated fees [tuition does not include textbooks, so do yourself a favor and save money on books by purchasing them from someone who's currently in the program, like me! :)] although i believe it depends on how frequently you wish to pay your tuition, i chose to pay before each semester.

um.. clinicals are fun, especially in the first semester. this is how it worked for our group, although it may be different for you guys, considering that you will have different instructors than we had... our cohort was divided up into four groups, and three of those four groups were at UCLA wednesday, thursday and friday, while the remaining group went to the VA wednesday, thursday and friday. the second quarter was similar, groups were slightly changed, but days stayed basically the same (except for the VA group, but since i wasnt in that group, i dont know the details. i believe that they went wednesday, friday night and saturday or something...)

our second semester clinical rotations were considerably different than our first semester ones. firstly, we only had clinicals twice a week- one day was for mental health, while the other day was for ICU. the mental health clinical rotations were at UCLA and meadowbrook manor (although two groups went to meadowbrook on saturdays, while others went on sundays). in regards to ICU, i believe that some groups went to st johns, torrence memorial, kaiser west LA, and somewhere else (i cant remember).

nurses are typically very nice. personally, i have not had any problems with any throughout my clinical experience. to be quite honest, students do not do that much for the nurses for the first semester. we were basically the assistants to the nurse's assistants. our duties primarily consisted of checking vital signs, administering some meds (but we couldnt do IV-push meds until the second semester), accuchecks, bed-baths, etc...

try not to be annoying or attached to the hip to any of the nurses, because that it what gets them annoyed with the students. other than that, just be self-aware and work hard for the few hours that you are actually there, and you should be fine! yes, some nurses have bad attitudes, but dont take anything personally.

what else? this is fun!

xluescluesx · Mar 9, 2011

Thanks for the info! I will definitely be willing to purchase all your old books if they're using the same ones! I will be in touch.

newbiepnp, MSN, RN, NP, CNS · Mar 9, 2011

Pauli has been giving some great advice. TAKE THE BIOETHICS COURSE! You will most appreciate it in week 3 and week 6 of the 2nd semester and the very beginning of the 2nd half of the 2nd semester.

As far as the hospitals, yes we were all at UCLA the 1st semester. 2nd semester I was at St. John's for med/surg (we didn't have quite the ICU exposure as those at the VA) but we did get a day in the ER (though also not very exciting at this hospital since it is not a level one trauma center). For mental health my group was at the UCLA Resnick NPH and was able to be split among many different types of units. My rotation was in the Adult Substance Abuse unit, but many inpatients were there for psychiatric problems with substance abuse issues. However, other groups were in such units as adolescent eating disorders, swing group (which encompasses pediatrics), adult eating disorders, and the ICU which had extreme cases of mentally ill patients. Most inpatients on these units were there for only a few weeks or shorter, unlike Meadowbrook.

Our Adv Med/Surg instructor was also clinical instructor at Torrance Memorial and heard that this was a great advantage.

Next rotation I'm spending in St. John's Labor and Delivery unit and going to Children's Hospital of Los Angeles for Pediatrics. The only disappointing aspect of these rotations is that we are on Saturday and Sundays, so usually there are not many speciality treatments going on. I am looking forward to getting some time in these areas, however. After the last 7 weeks, I'm just happy to be moving on.

Hope everyone did well on your math tests and that you get your uniforms on time.

Pauliwankenobi · Mar 9, 2011

in regards to the textbooks... im not just saying this to get you guys to buy my books, but the older versions of the books are more that acceptable.

a lot of us thought that we needed to purchase the newest texts to do well in the program, but its simply not true. here's a practical example...

"calculate with confidence" is a textbook that they require everyone to purchase. why spend $40 on the 5th version of a textbook when the 4th generation can be purchased for $7 dollars? NOTHING has changed in the science of calculating drug dosages.. the only difference will be in the discrepancy of chapters between the two versions- they will contain the same material.

i know that its difficult to purchase an older version of a textbook, but its really not going to be an issue in the program. plus, its extremely unlikely that you guys will be able to even complete all of the required readings for the classwork. we have only used our texts to supplement our learning- i dont think that anyone in our cohort has actually read every page that we have been required to cover.

this is just some food for thought!

xluescluesx · Mar 9, 2011

I'm taking the math test tomorrow. Do you feel that you get an adequate exposure to all the units during rotations? I'm really looking forward to ICU.

Did either of you participate in the scholarship program? What criteria do they look for in their selection? Do you know if the people selected are able to choose the department they work in?

xluescluesx · Mar 9, 2011

I am ok with buying an older book. Anything to save some money. How much should i budget for books each semester?

Pauliwankenobi · Mar 9, 2011

you get adequate exposure to most of the clinical rotations, although the most exposure was obtained in the first two quarters of the first semester, since you have clinicals 3x a week in one department for each quarter (we either got neurology, oncology, cardiac or the other one that was offered at the VA). in the second semester, you have clinicals 2x a week, but they are in two different departments (ICU & Mental health for the first quarter, and pediatrics and OB for the second semester). our "ICU" rotation actually consisted of a "step-down" unit (basically a less-critical unit than ICU) with ICU (and one day in the ER), which allowed you to see the hospital's most critical patients, as well as less-critical patients.

our cohort was not given an opportunity to participate in the scholarship program, which totally sucks. i believe that is why i am fine with getting straight Bs, since there's no incentive for me to bust my butt for an A.

in regards to books, i bought all of the new versions of books, so i spent probably close to $500 for the first semester. you can save a tremendous amount of money either buying old versions from students (such as myself) or buying older versions of the same text. expect to spend a lot of money, that way when you dont, you'll be happy you didnt (does that make sense? basically, expect the worst, that way, nothing is ever quite as bad).

newbiepnp, MSN, RN, NP, CNS · Mar 9, 2011

In regards to the books, there are dozens of websites where you can find used version of all our books or contact our classmates (like me). the only book I recommend you buy for yourself is the Lewis Medical-Surgical Nursing book as you will use this for 4 classes (that I know of so far). All the others you can buy the old versions and some you will just need to figure out the chapters in relation to the syllabi. If you took calculations or pharmacology at Santa Monica College you will not need to buy new books. Your old books will work well enough and the slides will fill in anything else. In fact, I like the SMC books better.

Budget for $500-$700 for the 1st semester, $100-$200 for the second. Unsure for the third semester so far.

In regards to exposure, you must remember that it is exposure and NOT experience. I feel like I missed out on ICU, so it's a good thing I did a 6 month stint while I volunteered. However, the instructors are amazing and most want you to get the most out of each day you are there. Be in their face and make the time count everytime you are on the floor. This is why you are here and every patient can teach you something. Learning how to read charts, how the nurses chart, relating to clients (patients) or just seeing the layout of the supply rooms will help you be more comfortable in your new environments. Remember that everyone you meet can have an influence on your new career, especially the charge nurses. Be on the lookout for making connections and getting that reference.

As far as paying for it all, I'm paying for this 100% with loans. I only got $12,000 through the government and the rest from private loans with Wells Fargo. I took out enough to pay my bills as well as school. Be sure to budget for everything! I forgot to include renewing my car and a few other things, but it's going to be ok. Buy some credit for the cafe, you will drink a lot more coffee than you think. :)

Pauliwankenobi · Mar 9, 2011

instant coffee is a good CHEAP alternative haha

yukikon · Mar 10, 2011

Oh my gosh so much information! Thank you guys!!!

Kind of random, but as far as living where in LA do you suggest? I'm from Orange County and don't know LA to well, just that it's a huge county and it could take hours to get to certain places if I choose the wrong spot.

LJ815 · Mar 10, 2011

Thanks so much for the great advice! It is much appreciated. Did anyone hear from Loree with the other online Bio course info yet?

newbiepnp, MSN, RN, NP, CNS · Mar 11, 2011

I live in West LA in an area known as Cheviot Hills. Palms and Cheviot Hills are nice neighborhoods and are apartment friendly. They are extremely close to the 10 Fwy. It takes me about 10 minutes (no lie) to get to campus. Remember that classes begin at 7am, so you most likely will be getting here at 6:45am. It is after class that matters most. Traffic can be ugly. At the very most it takes me about 30 minutes to get home.

In regards to the hospitals, UCLA is about 10-13 minutes away in the morning and St. John's is about 7 -10 minutes. CHLA is going to be the biggest challenge and have to figure how long that will be. I'm figuring about 20 minutes to get there and 35 to get home since I'm going there on Sunday.

Try not to live in downtown, I haven't heard good things. Pauli lives in Pasadena. A not so bad drive in the morning, but again, afternoons are tough and not so close to the hospitals.