NCTC Campuses change LVN student

Published

Hi fellow nurses and hopefuls,

I was a NCTC LVN August 2009 student at the Bowie campus, although had to withdraw due to an immediate family member having a stroke :( I'm looking to return to NCTC to complete the LVN program, although was thinking of changing campuses to Cornith as opposed to returning to Bowie (definitely not interested in Gainesville or Graham or online). Does anyone have any thoughts on the Cornith campus? Do each of the professors provide a study guide / outline for the tests (skills, lab, med surg, etc...) How helpful were the professors with skills, lab, etc... reviewing for the tests? My major issue with the Bowie campus was with the Med Surg class. The professor did not provide any type of study guide or outline for the tests (any questions to gain insight was followed by the response of "study"). Granted, the syallbus had an outline of the chapters covered and the core concepts + voc to learn, although far too vast to focus your studies for a test (ex for a test could encompass 6 chapters out of the med surg book, 1 chapter out of the skills book, plus PPT which consists of 50 slides and lecture - all of which could possibly be on the exam). On the other hand, the skills and lab classes were wonderful! Focused help, outline of the material you need to know for the exams, etc... HELP

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Hello,

I have applied to NCTC Gainesville for January 2010 LVN class and was wondering why you said you were definitely not interested in the Gainesville Campus? If you attended the program at the Bowie campus and you are interested in the Corinth campus, then I am assuming Gainesville does not have to do with the location?

If you were an Aug 2009 student, did you just drop recently? Just wondering what your thoughts were about the overall structure of the program if you attended it for a short 6 weeks?

I am sorry for your loss and hope you will be able to change campuses and get back in!!

Good luck with everything!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I go to the Gainesville campus, and I know you are not interested in going there, but I just wanted to let you know that MedSurg is like that wherever you go. From what I understand, the syllabi are all the same for every campus. It does get easier to know what to study for as you go along. We don't get any review materials either, and we were warned of that from day one in orientation. Good luck with everything in the future!!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Hi,

Turns out, my Mother had a stroke the first Thursday of the first week of class followed by a second stroke. In addition, I was hit by a drunk driver which resulted in my new lexus being put in the shop for the next month :( A cascading of events which forced me to withdraw. My life was so routine up until nursing school and then everything went downhill :( Unbelieveable.

I dropped the 29th of September. I will say, the professors there at Bowie are fantastic. Linda Flake who teachers skills / labs is WONDERFUL. She's from heaven. Tammy Pinon is equally as wonderful along with Erin Boyet. Again, my issue was MedSurg, as it was so difficult to focus your studies, however Erin Boyet logs into Angel each Sunday to answer any questions you may have from any class (whether that is medmath, med surg, skills, etc...) I will say the tutors who are non-nursing insturctors at Bowie are not all that wonderful.

The structure of the classes I thought were wonderful and you LEARN so much so fast (when you take part in health fairs, you feel confident in your abilities). Mondays are MedSurg. Mondays are your longest, being 8 to 4:30. Yes, it is a FULL DAY. It is not uncommon to have PPT which are 50+ slides and you still have multiple chaters to study as well. Tuesdays are lecture for skills + med voc. Wednesdays are your short days being labs to practice your skills. Lab days are so much fun with Linda Flake. She makes what seems so difficult and impossible easy to understand. Thursday are med math which isn't too bad. You have a weekly online med math quiz, although honestly, it is indifferent how you do on the online quizzes. The focus is on the TEST. If you do not get a 100 on your med math test, your out of the program despite your grades up to that point. I hope this helps. With having said all this, I will say, the focus of the progam is pass rates with TBON. That's what it all comes down to.

I think I'm going to stick with Bowie again. I can re-enter the program January of 2010, but I think I'm going to simply wait until the next class starts at Bowie.

Erik

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Hi,

If you don't mind my asking, how did you study for MedSurg? What worked for you?

Thanks.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

I live in Fort Worth and attend a nursing program in Oklahoma City. Each med/surg test in our class usually covers 15 chapters in addition to lecture and powerpoint notes. Although study guides are helpful for narrowing the focus of such vast amounts of material, I suspect that the majority of med/surg classes are taught similar to yours.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I usually go over the chapters in the NCLEX book that go along with what we were learning. A LOT of questions are from the book, only changed slightly.

If they give you case studies as a part of notes, go over those and re-write them so that you have all of the info you need and cut out the extra stuff. Mine usually look like this:

Disease and definition

Patho/causes:

S/S:

Dx studies: (any labs that would be done to diagnose, xrays, ct, etc)

Medical treatments:

Nursing: interventions and diagnoses

And my biggest key to survival--- study groups. I love the girls I study with and it helps so much to be able to figure things out together. We all have different learning styles and are good at different subjects, so we can help each other. We come prepared, and the evening before tests we meet at Starbucks and go over everything.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion