NVCC Class of 2013 Meet and Greet + Q&A

Published

Hello All,

I wanted to start a new thread for everyone who was accepted (and because the other one was getting really long). :) If you could please share some information about yourself and any questions you have about the program, that'd be great!

For Example:

Name: Carolyn

Years at NVCC: 1

Joined the FBook Group: Yes

Track: Traditional

Career Goal: CRNA (Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist)

Planning to Transfer: Yes (Mason, BSN Program)

Classes Completed: SDV 101, BIO 141, 142, 205, CHM 111, CST 229, ITE 115, HLT 141 + AP Credit in BIO, ENG, and PSY.

About me: I know I've always wanted to work in healthcare but when I started volunteering as an EMT, I knew that I wanted to be a nurse. My senior year I applied to UVa and was not accepted and decided to go to NVCC because they have a well spoken about nursing program, and I could work to make money while I was at school. I plan to earn my RN through NVCC, then transfer to Mason and earn my BSN. I'm excited and overwhelmed but I have great confidence that our class will make it through together!

Questions:

- Is anyone else dreading buying the NUR 111 book? It's 520 dollars....

- Does anyone living near campus need a roommate/also looking to move closer to Springfield for the year? The drive for me is 70+ minutes.

- Do we need to buy our own scrubs? Any limitations on colors/prints/style? What color do our shoes have to be?

Can't wait to meet you all!

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Hi everyone knows me! I'm the person who started the facebook page and the post about acceptance letters! So i'm the annoying one lol!

Name: Genesis

Years at NVCC: 1

Joined the FBook Group: Yes (made it) lol

Track: Traditional

Career Goal: CRNA (Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist) and also Masters in Public Health

Planning to Transfer: Yes (Mason, BSN Program)

Classes Completed: SDV 101, NAS 161 & 162, Eng 111 112, HLT 141 Psych 201 202, Art 101, CST 126, ITE 115, HLT 250 and a thousand other classes lol

About me: I'm 19 years old, I've always wanted to work in the healthcare field, and I love people so I knew nursing would be for me. I may be young but I definitely know this is what I want to do. I volunteer twice a week at Stafford Hospital on the Same Day Surgery floor and LOVE IT! I have no kids and I'm not in a relationship so my focus will strictly be on my education.

Questions:

-Is anyone else as young as I am or younger going into the program?

So excited to meet everyone! I hope you have joined the facebook page if not let me know!

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Hey! I'm loving all these NVCC Nursing class threads and facebooks! :)

Name: Kaitlin (or Katie)

Years at NVCC: 2

Joined the FBook Group: Yes!

Track: Traditional

Career Goal: RN

Planning to Transfer: Yes, Mason's RN-BSN program, planning a double major in AS General Studies along with the AAS Nursing degree to make myself more competitive when I apply to Mason (kind of like making up my own Momentum 2 +1, except it'll be more than 3 years, lol)

Classes Completed: ENG 111, NAS 161/162, SDV 101, PSY 201/202, ART 101, HLT 141, CST 229, HLT 250, ASL 101/102, SPA 101/102, HLT 220, and in the next few weeks I will have BIO 141/142, ITE 115, MTH 151, and PHI 227 completed!

About me: I'm 20 years old, will turn 21 in the middle of the Fall semester. I am not married and I do not have any children, but I do have a boyfriend of 2+ years. For the longest time I can remember wanting to work in a professional health setting. My grandma always told me I'd make a great nurse and I've always wanted to be one. Honestly, I am a little intimidated by people who already have their foot in the door in the healthcare setting because I have zilch formal/professional experience in that arena. But I look forward to gaining that experience and this entire journey!

@Carolyn: I am under the impression that we must buy their specific scrubs, so when we go out to do clinicals, people recognize us as students. Not sure about the shoes though.

I can't wait for the Blackboard Orientation site to be available, I think I will be able to sleep a little more easy at night knowing some of the answers to the questions we all still obviously have!

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Name: Amie

Years at NVCC: quite a few

Joined the FBook Group: Yes

Track: Traditional

Career Goal: FNP/NNP (Family Nurse Practitioner/Neonatal Nurse Practitioner)

Planning to Transfer: Yes (Mason, BSN Program)

Classes Completed: Have my A.S. in General studies plus all the prereqs...

About Me: Always wanted to be in the healthcare field, but a million years ago I thought it was too much math and science so I'm one class shy of my B.A. in Music... Spent the next 10 years in a completely different career and am now starting nursing school for my third career. I'm a wife and also a mother to a nearly 17 month old son (he keeps me busy!)... My plan is to graduate with my RN go on for my BSN, and then my MS- FNP and my NNP...

The scrubs are specific (they had a form on the black board site when it was briefly available)... For the shoes, I know for sure that the Dansko Professional Box Clog in white is acceptable because I asked Mrs. Vito... They have to be ALL white, leather and polishable (although it says no clogs, but the danskos are apparently allowed)

I'm excited to start the program...not so excited to buy the books!!!

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Name: Morgan

Years at NVCC: 1.5 this time around

Joined the FBook Group: Yes

Track: Traditional

Career Goal: RN with focus in pediatrics or maternal and newborn

Planning to Transfer: Eventually

Classes Completed: SDV 101, SOC 201, ENG 111, NAS 161/162, CST 229, HLT 141, PHI 220, PSY 201/202, currently 90% done with HLT 250.

About me: I am currently a stay at home mom with a two year old son and a four year old daughter. I just turned 28. Before staying home with my kids I worked for a large medical practice managing a group of medical receptionists for close to 8 years. I always have had a great respect for medical professionals and after staying home and taking care of my kids I have developed a passion for understanding more about health and how to care for others. I am super excited about starting this program and I look forward to meeting you all and taking on this challenge. :D

Questions: Is anyone else doing their CPR class through Newport Enterprises?

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Specializes in ER, endoscopy.

Name: Martha

Years at NVCC: Been going to NVCC off and on since 1985!

Joined the FBook Group: Yes

Track: Traditional

Career Goal: CRNA (Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist)

Planning to Transfer: Yes, eventually I hope (Mason, BSN Program), or VCU (they have an online RN to BSN program I hear)

Classes Completed: BIO 141, 142, 205, CHM 101, HLT 141, PSY 201-202, HIS 121, ENG 111, PED 116, PHT 101-102, PED 123, STD 100, ART 101, ART 121, MTH 2-3 (tested out of HLT 141 and IT). Currently enrolled in CST 110 (yuck..IMO).

I am 43, have 9-year-old twin daughters, am married, and work full time (currently) for a LARGE local hospital system. I have worked there since 1997, in several departments, but currently in medical records as a transcription manager. I posted this before, but here goes again; I'll try to keep it short. I have wanted to be a nurse since I can remember. I tried in 1985, but dropped out. Tried again in 1994, but quit again. Third times hopefully the charm for me.

When I became a transcriptionist, I realized how much I love surgery; it's my favorite report to type. I could probably give a synopsis of many standard procedures from memory (appy, lapcholy, TAHBSO..etc.). When I realized I loved surgery that much, it got me to thinking about nursing again, and then I started thinking that the ultimate for me might be the nurse anesthetist route. Still, I am trying to take this as it comes and frankly I'd be glad to just survive RN. But it's important to have a goal, so CRNA is my goal.

I'd like to say that I am so impressed with everyone's posts. I am especially impressed with the young posters with so many college credits and aspirations. I wish I had been so together when I was your age and I hope my daughters will be just like you some day :yeah:

Can't wait to meet you all soon!

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Genesis: I'm 18, almost 19. You have a few months on me ;P

Katie: I'm planning the same route you are. I wish I had known about Momentum when I was in high school... could have saved some headache. Don't worry about not having much experience, you will pick it up fairly quickly. The hardest thing can be learning all the abbreviations. I'm an EMT and when I first started I was always asking my crew what things like STEMI and CVA meant.

Amie: What an interesting background you have!

Morgan: Kudos to you for going through this with young kids. :)

Martha: You can do this! That's great you have so much experience as a transcriptionist, surgery fascinates me also.

So many future CRNAs in our class... maybe we can get our Masters' together?

I see that 2 others are reading this as I type... Shouldn't we be in bed? :)

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Name: Trish

Years at NVCC: 2 (2006-2008)

Joined the FBook Group: Yes, thanks to Carolyn! :)

Track: Traditional

Career Goal: For now, RN, but I'm also considering CRNA and NP.

Planning to Transfer: Yes, to Mason's RN-to-BSN program.

Classes Completed: HLT 141, HLT 250, PSY 201 & 202, PED 116, NAS 161 & 162, MTH 241, PHI 227 (Biomed Ethics), ITE 115, and DIT 121. The SDV requirement was met when I transferred over a certain amount of units from schools I attended in California.

Hi all! I'm Trish, but you can also call me Tricia or Patty. I'm 36, single, have no kids (except an aged hamster), and live with my mom in Alexandria. I graduated from NVCC in May 2008 with the A.S. in General Studies, then I transferred to Mason in the Spring of 2009 with the intention of getting into the Nursing program. Though I met more than their grading requirement, I didn't make it into the program because I was well beyond junior status, something the then-Dean (or Assistant Dean) of the College of Health and Human Services (CHHS) did not tell me. They also took into consideration the number of classes I took and whether or not I repeated them and the grades earned in those classes, as per the letter I received. Anyway, all of that aside, I decided to pursue a degree in Psychology, which I graduated with last month.

Prior to attending Mason full-time, I was working for a nationwide payroll company in Fairfax as a receptionist and Billing representative. I made the decision to quit because I couldn't go part-time -- it was all or nothing for me.

And.. here I am.

I take it many or most of our class's students are under 25, but it's all good. My good friends are in their early 20's. :yeah:

Yikes, I saw the cost of our books, and here I was thinking I'd be spending about $100.

Also, I know that we do have to purchase our uniforms from the Bookstore, with the exception of the shoes. (Mason's Nursing students get to wear khaki bottoms with a green scrub top. :no:)

Anyhow.. I think I said too much gumbo. Lol I hope we can make our NVCC Nursing Class :nmbrn:!

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callduck I must say we are both young but I can tell you are mature :) I love that! Just a great observation I noticed :)

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Name: Cathy

Years at NVCC: 1

Joined the FBook Group: Yes

Track: Traditional

Career Goal: RN and work my way up to NP

Planning to Transfer: Yes. where? Not sure because it all depends where the military transfer my husband.

Classes Completed: SDV 101, NAS 161, 162, CSC 110, HLT 141, PSY 202, ENG 111, soon to be HLT 250, CST 229, and PHI 227. Transfer credit of chem, microbiology and calculus

About me: I'm 26, a mom of three boys (twins two year old and a one year old). I'm a military wife that just moved here from Las Vegas about a 1.5 years ago. I'm a certified medical assistant but have not worked since I moved to Virginia and is currently a SAHM and student. I love working in the medical field and do miss it but love being at home with the kids and watching them grow.

Questions:

- Is anyone else dreading buying the NUR 111 book? Boy was I surprise about the price of the book. I am hoping it can be used again and not have to purchase another book package next semester.

- Does anyone living near campus need a roommate/also looking to move closer to Springfield for the year? I live in Manassas at the moment and is moving next month to Bolling AFB to be closer to the school and because daycare is half the price of civilian daycare.

- Do we need to buy our own scrubs? Any limitations on colors/prints/style? What color do our shoes have to be?

From the last email Ms. Vito stated, it looks like we need to buy the scrubs from the bookstores. What a bummer cause I really like the cherokee brand, it fits so well and is so comfortable.

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Cathyn85 did you go on your blackboard yet it shows everything we have to do including the uniforms! :)

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Specializes in EMS ER Fixed-wing Flight.

Name: Mimi, "Meems", or "LT", but please don't call me Captain (used to a very military bunch of folks in Hampton Roads)

Years at NVCC: decades as student, have AS in EMS (also have BS from George Washington Medical in Emergency Management with a minor in EMS Education); also few years as Adjunct Faculty in EMS (@ GW, too), so I know CPR!

Joined the FBook Group: Yes

Track: Traditional

Career Goal: Masters/Doctorate

Planning to Transfer: Yes (Mason)

Classes Completed: NUR 108/130 at Tidewater Community College (TCC)--we are being transferred back to DC; most electives, not sure yet if classes taken in the 1980s will count for HLT 141 & 250

About me: I am a disability retired firefighter/medic Acting Captain from Arlington County after 23 years in EMS (bilateral total hip replacements); EMS Training Officer; ran treatment sector at Pentagon on 9/11; tried fitness field for a few years and it didn't workout--I missed medical; glad to be back caring for folks and administering meds again; 3 kids (high school, university--physics, grad school--mechanical engineering); elected liaison for my TCC Nursing class last semester; I usually win my test question challenges with the professors; however, stuggling as an old dog to learn new tricks--doing things the Nursing way IS NOT the same as doing things the EMS way; the age range @ TCC is from 18 to 56, and I'm used to being in class with folks as old as my kids; study groups can confuse me, so don't think I'm stuck-up if I don't participate, I'm probably just stuck; I am very big on teamwork and am always thinking about my classmates--go Lucky 13! :nurse:

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