Onondaga Community College

Hi, Kinzkat - I'm currently in my first semester at OCC's nursing program. The program, like most nursing schools, is difficult, but it's also a wonderful fit for independent learners. Why sit in class going over something that you already know when you can prove that you understand it by taking an exam and moving on? Besides, there's a lot of independent learning in any nursing school!

The skills and simulation labs are great and offer plenty of opportunities to practice. The instructors are always available if you need help and they truly want you to succeed. Clinicals are done at Upstate's downtown and Community campuses, as well as at other sites around Syracuse.

I looked up the completion rates you referred to. In general, a student who has taken more than three years to get through the program may not be a good fit. Community colleges serve so many students from diverse backgrounds. Most nursing students address strong students who have finished pre-reqs and competed for the finite number of available spots, but nursing school is a special kind of beast. It requires different study techniques, technical proficiency with skills, a willingness to interact with people and get up close and personal, and it's not for everyone.

I've loved my time at OCC so far. If you have any more questions, I'd be happy to try to answer them. I remember stalking these forums for any mention of OCC when I first thought about attending!

Jessica.

Another thing to note is that OCC's NCLEX pass rate is 95% while their completion rate is lower at 51%. BCC's NCLEX pass rate is 84%, but their completion rate is 76%. Not that number are every, but they're something. So far, I feel that OCC puts a strong emphasis on learning to tackle NCLEX-style questions and succeed. For example, most of our unit exams only have about 30 questions; each class has two to four unit exams and then you're done with that level of the class. You either know the material or you don't. At each level, you dive deeper and deeper into that class's topic and are responsible for understanding it at a greater capacity. Fundamentals of Oxygenation proceeds into Applications of Oxygenation at a more comprehensive level.

It's definitely best if your pre-reqs are completed ahead of time, but some students can't do this because they need to be full-time for financial aid. (I think this rule is incredibly foolish, but that's for another post. :) ) I had everything except micro done so that I could just focus on nursing. All of the theory classes are one credit, and the expectation is that you will spend at least 45 hours on each one. I can only speak to my current level, which is really designed to help you ramp up and continue to be successful, but it has been very manageable. I'm lucky enough that I don't need to work, but I do have a family that I like to spend time with. Other people have jobs AND families, and they make it work.

During Level One, you spend the first 8 weeks learning basic skills in the lab at school, so you spend one full day a week on campus. My lab instructor recommended we spend the day before lab preparing for it. The remaining 8 weeks, we are in the hospital. Each level after that, we have two clinicals each semester.

The reason my instructor's prep advice was so helpful was because once you start clinicals, you still have at least two more classes to finish up and your week gets a lot busier. You need to go to the hospital the day before and look up your pt and start your paperwork. The next day, you're at the hospital by 0630 hoping your pt is still there! Otherwise, you've got to plan your day based on a new pt. Flexibility! Critical thinking! You've also got to go to campus for any class overviews (where the faculty runs through the course and answers questions, gives advice, etc..), procedure demos (most are done in lab in Level 1, but three aren't, and you need to see how to do them, practice, and be tested out so you can do them in clinicals), and any sim lab demos (the sim lab instructor is great about inviting any level students to things that will benefit them and bridging the gap between school and the hospital). Finally, you're working on theory and taking at least one test a week. If you've already been in the mindset to set one day aside for lab prep, you now have this day set aside for clinical prep. I try not to do any theory prep on on pre-clinical day, and the faculty recommends we don't do any on clinical day - you're pretty tired! You still need to finish up your clinical paperwork and submit it by noon on the following day, but that has also been manageable so far. I have an on-campus, seminar-style nursing class the day after clinical at 1030, so that motivates me to get my clinical paperwork done and gets me on campus to do my theory testing.

The faculty lays out a suggested schedule of theory testing, and if you follow it, you'll be in good shape. You have to plan to remediate with faculty if you fail a test, though, and that gets some people backed up.

Anything else you think of - don't hesitate to ask! I obviously love to talk about the program.

Hello Jess.

I'm very interested in OCC Nursing as well. Could I private message you?

Please do! I love talking about OCC - it's a wonderful program. :)

Good Morning Jess,

I really appreciate your prompt response. It won't allow me to message you until I have atleast 15 posts haha . I guess I'll talk to you here.

1) Are you taking prereqs with the nursing classes?

2) Which area do you recommend living in?

3) Can you work and go to school?

4) Do you feel like the program is preparing you for the nclex?

5) Could the program be completed part-time?

Thanks so much,

Sade

Hi, Sade! I'd be happy to answer your questions here.

1) Are you taking prereqs with the nursing classes?

I'm not because I wanted all the pre-reqs done ahead of time. Some people do, though, because they need to maintain full-time status or it just works out better for them to do that. You could take AP1 during Level 1 (first semester) and AP2 during Level 2 (second semester) and then take English (6 credits), sociology (3 credits), psych (3 credits), and micro (4 credits) during two summer sessions. You can also take CPR for credit to pad your credit hours a bit. Everyone who takes science classes while taking nursing classes says that it's hard. If there's any way to avoid it, I would, but again - you may have to for full-time status.

2) Which area do you recommend living in?

That really depends on so many factors. There is on-campus housing if you're full-time; here's a list of off-campus opportunities that the college provides:

Off Campus Housing - Onondaga Community College

Where are you coming from?

3) Can you work and go to school?

Many people do. It requires some flexibility from your employer. A calendar is provided to you prior to the semester so that you can see all of your school commitments, but things do change occasionally. You'll definitely need one full weekday each week to commit to lab or clinical and that day is an absolute must, set-in-stone kind of day.

4) Do you feel like the program is preparing you for the nclex?

ABSOLUTELY! I'm taking two ATI exams this week that my adviser will use to evaluate my progress and help gauge my readiness to take the NCLEX, and I'm only in my second semester. It's a constant, ongoing process.

5) Could the program be completed part-time?

So...yes and no? I'm taking 8 credits this semester because each nursing course is only one credit, so I have 4 one-credit nursing theory classes and 2 two-credit clinicals. You are expected to spend at least 45 hours working on each one-credit course. Once you've finished all the exams (usually 2 to 4 exams) and procedures (usually 2 or maybe 3) for that class, you are done with it; you take exams and demonstrate procedures when you are ready to do so with proficiency because there are no scheduled times to take exams or do procedures. You are generally working simultaneously on your other classes, though, too, so that you can finish everything in a timely fashion. You're also demonstrating all of your theory work in clinical so that your instructors know that you really get it. One of the reasons that each class is only one credit is because you may have to re-register for a class if you aren't successful at passing all of the tests for a course. You have two chances to pass each test with a minimum grade of 80%. Below that is not passing. If you are not successful, you will meet with the instructor and show them that you understand the material, get clarification on what you didn't understand. After this remediation process, they will re-open the test for you and you will take it again and hopefully pass it. If you are not successful, you will need to re-register for the class and take that test a third time. You are allowed to remediate and attempt each test a total of four times, but that's the limit. If you don't pass on the fourth try, you cannot complete the program. I have no idea how often this happens, but I don't think it's actually that common. You don't have to retake any other tests in that course if you have already passed them. If each course were three credits, it would be expensive to need to reregister; at only one credit, reregistering costs about $200.

There are ways to progress slightly slower through the program if you want to, but you need to finish within three years of starting. I really don't know of anyone who has done the slower pace, though. It makes such a small difference that I don't think anyone bothers.

If you have any other questions, don't hesitate. :)