opinion about nsu shreveport vs panola in carthage...

U.S.A. Louisiana

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I am in the process of trying to make my final decision between Panola College and Northwestern State University in Shreveport. Panola has their online/flex option (clinicals at night and on weekend and classes can be taken online) which is great and they do clinicals here in shreveport also, but it is a long way for me to drive if i want to take some classes there. And I have heard that its not as bad to get into clinicals there as it is Northwestern (from an actual advisor at Panola) due to the waiting lists. On the flip side, I have considered Northwestern because it is local, and if i need to speak with an advisor face to face, I can. But I have also had an advisor there tell me getting into clinicals there is VERY competitive. And, i have heard a ton of horror stories about NSU Right now, my over all gpa is 2.9 (but thats including my business classes, as i have recently changed my major). If they just look at the classes that will be applied to the adn progam, it would probably look even better. So if anyone out there has had experience with either one of these or both, please let me know what you think. Thanks!

Like I said, I was not trying to be rude. As a graduate of both LSU in business and NSU in nursing, please understand that it is human nature to defend one's alma mater, so nobody on this board should post things about either LSU or NSU and not expect a challenge from me. Again, I am not bashing any school, I think a student should go where they feel the most comfortable, if that is panola, great! Now I want to address your post:

"1st of all I'm not on here to write an essay. Therefore I'm not on here to worry about how you feel about my writing... And as far as you not trying to be rude... No you were Immature for trying to judge my writing instead of giving you opinion and being done!

2nd of all as far as me taking english classes; I have been there and done that..."

Look, I do not have perfect english either. However, your spelling, sentence structure and punctuation is beyond horrible. I just think if you want people to take you serious, you may consider honing in on these skills because you are at about a 7th grade level in this arena.

"3rd of all as far as NSU being on probation, that is TRUE! Don't know how things have turned around now for them but I wish NSU the best I don't knock any school!"

Like I said before this is FALSE. I like to have my facts straight before I post information that may be inaccurate, perhaps you should try the same. Follow this link to the Louisiana State Board of Nursing and under NSU for BOTH ASN and BSN programs you will find where it states approval status is FULL! http://www.lsbn.state.la.us/Documents/Schools/Schools.pdf

If either program were on probation this would state CONDITIONAL! I wont waste mine or your time by copy and pasting your "knocking" on NSU, but you did. :devil:

"And as far as I'm concern if you see any posting of mines please don't reply...:nono:

*** I don't let any school make me; I make the school... That's what I pay them for*** "

Look, how can you post a reply to my post and expect me not to reply? That is just silly. I mean no disrespect, but this is a message board. It may not always be warm and fuzzy. If you don't like to be challenged, by all means do not go into nursing.

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I am in no way trying to knock anyone's opinion of NSU but from me doing my first level of clinical there, it was absolutely horrible! The instructors at this institution do not try to help you in any way shape or form. I have always been a very good student and I know nursing is completely different from other curriculum, but no matter how much effort I put into it, I could not manage to pass one single test. I ended up having to withdraw early in March and I found out recently that the MAJORITY of the class has dropped as well. I talked to a girl a few days ago and although she managed to make it to the hospital she will end up having to withdraw bc she cannot pass the other course for the ADN program. I even found out from talking to former classmates that for quite a few of them this was there 2nd time taking NURA 1100 and NURA 1110. There is even a girl in there for her 3rd attempt!

I've also been told by several sources that the College of Nursing is under investigation because the program is not producing a lot of graduates. If anyone has the gas money to go to Panola, I would certainly invest in it because NSU's nursing program is absolutely horrible. Another thing I'd like to mention is that if you are an ADN student, they will do everything in their power to get you to do the BSN program or pretend that they do not know much about ADN Curriculum when it comes to advising. A very close friend of mine has to stay at the college longer for pre-reqs bc an adviser recklessly put her into the wrong classes. Now, she is stuck taking Englishes and other pre-reqs again. So, all in all I would say to either try Southern or Panola because the NSU College of Nursing is filled with a bunch of instructors who could care less if you pass or fail and do not even teach!

In fact, during clinical, I fondly recall having to learn dosage calcs. by myself bc there was not enough "time" to cover it. So, we would not really understand how to do the problems until after they quiz you and you fail it, which is not helpful. All in all stay the h*ll away from NSU's College of Nursing, unless you enjoy being out of thousands of dollars!

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Wow, I am sorry you had such a negative experience with NSU. The difficult thing about nursing school is the instructors are trying to teach you a different way of thinking. It is called critical thinking and it is a skill that takes practice, some people just never get it. Based on what you said about never passing a single test, I can only conclude that nursing is just not for you. Instructors teach you information, but on a test you have to apply this information. They do this because a patient is not going to tell you what to do to help them, and based on the pt. and symptoms, a barrage of nursing interventions may be necessary. To do the appropriate thing requires critical thinking.

"Another thing I'd like to mention is that if you are an ADN student, they will do everything in their power to get you to do the BSN program or pretend that they do not know much about ADN Curriculum when it comes to advising"

This is absolutely true. NSU will only have the ADN program for maybe one more year, after that it will be taken over by BPCC, in fact they are beginning the curriculum for it starting this fall 2010. It is in NSU's interest to have BSN students bc they make more money off them, and they will be staying in the program. I found this annoying as well, but there is a reason, and like it or not, higher ed is a business.

They really don't teach the dosage calc because it is such basic math. They assume that if you took all your prereqs you should be able to do these simple problems. I'm not sure who your instructors were, but I have a friend in first level now and she said there is plenty of help available for dosage to those who seek it out. She also said after the conclusion of 1110 only five students dropped, but quite a few are currently on the fence for 1100, so I think your numbers may be slightly exaggerated. At any rate, I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavours.

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Well, all I can is from MY experience and on how many students that I KNOW had to repeat the course that the school is one I would steer clear from. Yes, you are correct about the beginning dosage calcs, however once you get passed the BASICS the problems require alot more than just basic knowledge, and for those of us who don't know much about IV drips, reconstitution, etc, using workbooks as a guide and not getting help from teacher until you've FAILED is not sufficient. I distinctly remember our prof. not going over that material until after the majority of the d*mn class is failing the quizzes and the test averages are barely passing.

Your friend may be correct on 5 dropping AFTER they have been in the hospital but a great load of them left before that. I also can recall that MOST people in the class were not passing the tests. You had a few who got in their nineties etc, but most of the kids I knew were not anywhere near that range, and I KNOW one of the guys who would make nineties was a person who had to repeat this course. Personally I don't have time to continue to get loans and repeat the first level 2 and 3 times to pass. Some of the kids right now who are doing ok in 1100 have to at least a 90 to pass the entire course. I am glad you did well at NSU but I am not the only person who has complaints about this school and their so called "methods" of teaching. I highly advise any students interested to go to Southern or Panola college. They are way more flexible when it comes to your schedule and will actually try to HELP you pass instead of failing of you.

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If you are having that much trouble with 1st level, 2nd will definately kick your butt!

Have you used the tutors for help? They are free & I know one of them at least is excellent with dosage calc!

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If you are having that much trouble with 1st level, 2nd will definately kick your butt!

Have you used the tutors for help? They are free & I know one of them at least is excellent with dosage calc!

Hi there. When I was in clinical I did not have the time to go and talk with the tutors. My reasoning for this is bc I was from Natchitoches and by the time I would finish class in Shreveport, I had to get back home for work. I wish there were some tutors available for the Natchitoches Campus because not all of us are able to stay and meet with tutors at the Shreveport Campus due to other obligations. I am not trying to trash NSU's College of Nursing but the person who created this thread simply asked for an opinion, and I am just sharing how terrible my experience was. I am not basing nor did I ever base my opinion of NSU's College of Nursing on the horror stories I was told prior to entering, although these things did turn out to be true. I can remember distinctly going to my professor for help on quite a few of the tests, but the things she reviewed were NOT even relatively similar to what is actually on the test, so I just stopped going to reviews after a few times because they were not helping. I believe the instructor I went to for NURA 1100 and 1110 would want to help us by giving reviews but the "head" instructor was the one creating the tests, therefore she did not have a lot of input as to what was put on the tests. I can also remember in check offs how the other 3 teachers for clinical would try to help students because we were nervous, and she would say let them do it on their own. She was the most condescending person I have ever met and after clinical lab I could always remember feeling like a complete idiot. Not all of us have prior medical experience and when they rush through certain applications most people are not going to pick up the "correct" technique after watching a Potter and Perry video once.

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I understand about the time issue...I do not see how anyone can do this & work but some do.

Also, I agree that more could be done to make life easier. I have seen quite a few things that threw us for a loop that friends of mine who are 2 levels ahead of me said they ran into the exact same thing, such as a misworded question on a test.

My biggest help I think has been by joining a study group, it has helped tremendously!

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Carla, who did you have for 1st level clinicals...sounds like my instructor (PM it to me if you prefer)

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Unfortunately I have not acquired enough of posts to pm users. As I continue to post on this board, hopefully I will be able to pm you the name of this professor. I am sure that if I post her name on this forum that it will more than likely be erased.

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All I can say is wow to some of the threads about NSU:eek:! Every school has it's ups and downs and the best way to see if a particular school is for you is to go and check it out for yourself. What may be good for me may not be for someone else.

Carla1987, I want to encourage you not to give up on your dream on becoming a nurse. Just because you couldn't pass the tests at NSU, try somewhere else but do your research first. I understand what you meant about nursing test being totally different than regular college tests. It took me failing 2 tests before I could grasp the concept of critical and analytical thinking! Thank God, Panola has a great tutors that are RNs and they are really there to help you. They even tutor my class as a whole in between classes (during lunch hour). By them doing this, test scores have really improved. I feel like at Panola, if you don't pass level 1, it's because you have poor study habits, you didn't prioritize, or you just didn't care. I am not saying that it's easy, but there is no excuse not to pass, when you have availbale resources.

bassadict69 what level are you in @ NSU? I wish you the best because I know a lot of people who have had to drop or either didn't make the grade to make it to the next level. Also, do you know if NSU teachers will be teaching at BPCC? I wish you the best of luck!

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I am finishing up 2nd level right now. I had always heard 2nd was the toughest & I now believe it!!!

I have not heard of any instructor's moving over to BPCC, but it would not surprise me a bit!

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Second level is by far the worst. 3rd level is like a vacation, but the OB stuff is so boring you will be falling asleep in class. 4th level is challenging for some, the cardiac stuff presents the most problems and the pedi stuff is pretty basic and easy. If you can make it through 2nd, you should be pretty home free. From what I hear none of the instructors are going, but I may be wrong, and I'm sure none of them would announce that they are leaving anyhow. Good luck

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