NCTC ADN Spring 2014

U.S.A. Texas

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Has anyone applied for the Spring semester? I saw that test letters are being sent out next week and was curious to see who applied. :)

Finals were hard, but we all made it through! Yesterday was my last day, so I'm officially finished with first semester. If the parking lot wasn't still iced over, I would have danced to my car!

If you have already sent off your background and finger prints, you will be fine. I know the lady tells you it will be back in 3-5 business days, but I think she meant to say 3-5 weeks. It took ours about a month to come in, so if that is handled, you are good.

I didn't order a book kit. I bought a physical box at the book store in Gainesville. I didn't even know they offered the books online - I thought the box was the only option, but I could be wrong.

Now, on to your long list of answers:

  1. You will have assignments that come directly from the math book. The weekly math assignments and test reviews come from that book. The other books, like the care plan book and lab diagnostic book that you don't know about just yet are accessories to help you complete other assignments. The pharm book you won't actually need until second semester, so you can still hold off on that and find out if your book will work.

  1. You are allowed 300 prints on campus and if you print everything on campus, you will run out and have to put more on your account. Everything is black and white, but you can print double sided which really helps cut down the amount of paper you use. There is a computer lab just for the nursing students where you can go and print your stuff before/in between classes. If you plan to print at home, get more ink or figure out how to print things as a draft so you use less ink.

  1. Your CNA steth will be fine. You don't need anything fancy. Preferably a steth with a bell and diaphragm, but that's it.

  1. The BP cuff you have is just fine. Again, you don't need anything fancy.

  1. I have a pair of scissors and haven't used them yet. So, if you feel comforted just having them in your skills bag in case the need arises - go for it. I'm sure I will use them next semester.

  1. The kit. Every practice item you will use in skill for the next four semesters comes in the kit. It has your gloves, gauze, catheter kit, your syringes, all of your practice vials, alcohol swabs, an otoscope, reflex hammer, tuning fork...whatelse. It is a huge blue bag of medical supplies and there is a ton in there.

  1. First semester was great - you will really like it. Clinicals during first semester are at a nursing home, but you do get to rotate and spend time at a hospital. If they keep everything the same, you'll learn to change patient occupied beds, give bed baths, feed patients, change patients and help them get around. You will take vital signs. Oh, will you ever take vital signs! You will also start working with patient charts and databases. In skills, you'll learn those same things, but will also learn how to insert a catheter, sterile dressing changes, injections/med administration, how to insert NG tubes, suctioning...lots of stuff. You'll even get the chance to see some of these things in clinicals. Most of the time in clinical, you will be watching a nurse do things, but you will learn a lot. You could be helping a patient back to bed one minute and the next you're watching them work on a patient that is having a heart attack. You will have a good time!

Yay, Lewisville people unite! The drive is worse on clinical days because we have to be there at 6:30 am, but its okay. Find a carpool. Mine meets at the Corinth campus in Gainesville at 6:50 am and we make it there by about 7:30 am. We take turns driving each week, so it keeps it simple.

I am a crazy person that works full time. I work in a lab here in Lewisville as an assistant in Infectious Disease. My current schedule is 7 days on/7 days off and my boss lets me come in a bit later and make up my time when I need to. Good luck with everything!

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Congrats on being finished!!!

Sounds like you have a good job, and it's SO nice to have a boss who is supportive. I think that I might end up having to work full-time or close to it, at least for the first semester. Hubby is in his last semester of school, so he should have a good job by the time I start second sem so I shouldn't have to keep up the work schedule for too long.

Yeah I am not sure on the box of books... I just got on nctc bookstore's website and it had those three options, which I thought was strange also. I will definitely drive up there though so I can make sure I get everything and do it in person.

HUGE relief to have some of these questions answered! I am a planner and tend to make an attempt to plan every detail of my life (impossible, I know! ha!) so this is certainly helpful.

I'm so excited to start and excited about the nursing kit and clinical. Glad that I have the CNA license so at least the first little bit of clinical will be things I already know, but sooo excited to start learning new things :)

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OH! Pen lights! I think I saw somewhere that we will need one?

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Yes, but there is an otoscope in your skills kit that doubles as a pen light. So you don't really need to buy another.

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Wonderful!

Anything else that is on the orientation list that I should be prepared for? I think I saw another post that you mentioned about a lab coat but I might wait on buying that until after orientation..

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You will be able to get scrubs and coats and extras at orientation. If you do everything the packet lists for you then you will be okay!

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Good deal... How much money should we expect to need for extras at orientation?

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It depends on what you're goin to buy. I already had my scrubs, scope, cuff and coat so I spent $7 on some scissors. The prices are orientation are the same as what you'd find anywhere else. It really just depends on what you'll buy.

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Gotcha. Well I am certainly excited for orientation and to meet you and my fellow classmates! Enjoy your break from classes! I will try to do the same, as I know my days of free time and sleeping in on weekends are quickly coming to a close :)

Thanks again for all your help!

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Congrats to those of you that got in! Looks like everything has already been pretty well covered! I was going to say that I am also headed into 2nd semester, and I work full-time. It's tough. Very tough. The best advice I can give is to make sure you dedicate a good amount of time to studying and reading. If you work full-time, you may not have too much free time, so be prepared for that.

Exams in nursing school are application-based. There will be some knowledge-based questions, but you need to be able to study, learn, and then apply that knowledge to healthcare situations. It takes time to prepare for exams, so make sure you go into school knowing that time is a potential stress factor.

That said, it can be done! I wound up studying when I got my kids down to sleep, about 2-4 hours a night. I work 3 days a week, which is full-time where I work, and I'd study those nights too. If kids were in school, I was studying then as well. I think I had maybe one night a week where I had some good quality time that wasn't invested in studying :)

So congrats again, and we'll see you guys next semester!

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He is right about the studying and the exams. You really need to manage your time - especially if you are working. I'm sure your mentors will tell you, but you will be assigned modules and they take about three hours to complete. Don't let those sneak up on you - get them done. Also, you can knock out all of your terminology assignments in one or two sittings and you can get your math knocked out for clinical as well. Anything you can get done ahead of time will save you time later.

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Thank you both for your input on working and time management. This is much needed advice as I will be working full time, at least for the first semester. It's nice to hear from others that it CAN be done! I'll definitely jump on the med term and math assignments asap and get them out of the way! Who are our mentors? Are they upper level nursing students? professors? preceptors? Just curious!

Also-I've heard of students using nclex practice books to study for class exams... do you guys do this as well? Any other study/organization/time management tips are greatly appreciated!

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