Hello, I am a stay-at-home mother who wants to be a nurse.
I am still thinking which school I have to apply...Pasadena city college or East Los Angeles college. They both are close to my place, but they require little bit different pre-req classes. (I haven't get started of taking any pre-req.)
PCC ; Fewer pre-peq classes, (only couple of online classes)no entrance exam. High pass rate of RN. Long waiting-list(at least 5 years), lottely.
ELAC; more pre-req classes than PCC, but most of them can be taken online. TEAS exam as an entrance exam, and lottely. Passing rate of RN is decreasing in those years(90 to 60%).
My child is still little, so online classes are very useful, but I do not know if I can transfer units taken at ELAC when I apply to PCC.
Could you tell me your opinion if you are in one of them? :redpinkhe
That's right. PCC excepts 60 students for 1st semester RN program but is now choosing students based on GPA (but if you have W's or repeats, that will lower your chances). I am a 1st semester RN student.
PCC excepts 60 students for 1st semester RN program but is now choosing students based on GPA (but if you have W's or repeats, that will lower your chances). The previous lottery system did not work out so great because half the students would drop within the first year.
I am a 1st semester RN student and I was accepted with my first application. My overall GPA = 3.9 but most important are the grades you receive for the following classes;
Physiology, Anatomy, English 1A, Microbiology
My suggestion is that when you take these classes, either take them alone or take easy classes along with them because you'll want to focus on them and get as many A's as possible!
Once you get into the RN program, you'll have to take the ATI RN TEAS test (look it up online) and pass - I would highly suggest buying the ATI study guide (you can find a used on ebay). It's HIGHLY suggested that you do not work or work less than 16 hours a week because there are no chances to mess up. You must pass each semester with a 75% or you will be kicked out. They say you can reapply to repeat the semester but getting re-accepted into the program is not easy.
The RN program is 4 semesters (LVN only 2 semesters) and you get the Winter & Summer break off... halleluja... to rejuvenate between semesters.
Since PCC's policy changed from lottery to grade based, the teachers have raised the level and have made all tests harder than ever before. If the whole class does well on one test, they try to make the next test even harder. Students who had high grade point average before, are now getting C's and sometimes D's. If I knew this, I may have applied at Glendale City College instead (I heard they have a brand new building for the nursing dept.)
However, I love the PCC campus and all the nursing students are really great. The facility is good and there is lots of equipment. Parking is close to building. Lots of security. I always feel safe. Most of the teachers are pretty nice. I would recommend Mrs. Smith for lab or, if you want more of a challenge, take Mr. Berg. Definitely take Mr. Berg for pharmacology (he's much clearer in his teaching).
PCC Nursing program has always had a good reputation (the best of the city colleges) but it went down when the lottery was implemented because the standards were lowered. Now, it will probably go back up. I hear that Santa Monica City College is now considered the best city college for nursing in the area.
For me, it only takes 10 minutes to get to school and the clinicals haven't been too far. That's really a big plus when you are under stress and believe me, there will be stress.
Can you give me some information about their clinical sites? How many hospitals do they have on the list and are there a lot of choices for students to choose from? Also, how about their sim lab? How many simulators do they have and are 1st/2nd-semester students allowed to use them? Also, what's the schedule like for 1st-semester students?
Sorry for asking so many questions. I really appreciate your insights.
"Can you give me some information about their clinical sites?"
Huntington Hospital, Verdugo Hospital, Arcadia Methodist, Good Samarition, Children's Hospital, UCLA County, Glendale hospital, the Californian, Atherton Baptist Home, and a few others I can't think of right now.
"How many hospitals do they have on the list and are there a lot of choices for students to choose from?"
See above question. You don't really choose your hospital, you try to choose your lab (clinical) teacher (based on your registration date) - and that teacher has a rotation of sites for the semester (usually 2 or 3 sites per teacher). You go wherever your clinical teacher goes for the semester. Personally, I think it's best to choose the teacher regardless of her sites. Some clinical instructors are not very good, others are "too good" and too picky
"Also, how about their sim lab? How many simulators do they have and are 1st/2nd-semester students allowed to use them?"
Not sure what you mean by simulators. We have lots of lab rooms set up just like hosptial rooms with beds, manequins that have real lung sounds and blood pressure, etc
"Also, what's the schedule like for 1st-semester students?"
We go 4 days a week: depending on your lab teacher you may have a different day off & a different schedule but here's an example
Monday: campus lab 7-12, Tueday: Seminar/Lab 11-12:30, Pharmacology 2-5 & preconference at site 6-7, Wednesday: clinical site 7-4pm, Thursday: off, Friday: Theory lecture/tests 8-12:30
Depending on your clinical teacher and changes in clinical site, your M-Th schedule could change every 4 weeks but Friday Theory is always the same.
Semester = 16 weeks
Hope that answers most of your questions. Let me know if you have others but I won't reply until next week because right now I am studying for my Pharmacology final & my Theory final. YIKES!
OH, by the way. Your post says you are male....if so, you will have a better chance to get accepted because there are only about 7-8 men out of the 60 and the teachers just LOVE THE MEN....they seem to get away with lots of things and often do not have to clean up incontinence for their female patients!!
I know a guy with a lower grade point average than most of the applicants but he was still chosen as an alternate.....I'm guessing that it was just cause he is a guy!
Thank you so much for the information. I really appreciate it. Yes, I am male and I have actually been accepted for Spring 09 semester (starting this Feb). It's nice to know they like male students there (^_^). The thing is I've also been accepted at Mt.SAC and Rio Hondo. So, now I'm deciding what school I should attend. I know quite a lot about Mt.SAC cause I was a former student there (plus, I already attended their 5-day orientation). However, I don't really know anything about PCC (except that they have a very good reputation). That's why I'm in desperate need to get some insights from PCC students.
The simulators that I mentioned were the "manequins" that you described. At Mt.SAC, they call these simulators so I assumed that's the name for these guys. During my orientation at Mt.SAC, they claimed that they had more simulators than any other colleges in the area. 7 or 9 bodies, I believe. So, that's why I asked you how many of these simulators PCC had. I don't know. Maybe, it's no big deal?
Also, based on your schedule, it seems more intense than Mt.SAC schedule I was given during orientation. For sure, you definitely spend a lot more time in the lab. And your clinical day is 9-hour long? So, how many students per group? Mt.SAC has 96 students/class and around 12 students/group.
Also, do they make students take HESI every semester or as an exit exam? How are most students doing? You said they'd increased the difficulty of exams, right? This seems scary to me.
Anyway, thanks again for the information. Good luck on your pharmacology exam!
Specializes in Operating Room, Med-Surg, Home Care.
Hi PCC RN students!
I graduated in 94, and in those days there were no simulation mannequins. The teachers assigned us articles out of nursing journals to read, and we would get into groups and photocopy them. It was tough to get into the program, and when we graduated there were NO JOBS. You were lucky to get a job as a nurses aide, I kid you not. I was lucky and got a job at Methodist. I got a great education. You will never regret going to PCC. Good luck to all of you
I graduated in 94, and in those days there were no simulation mannequins. The teachers assigned us articles out of nursing journals to read, and we would get into groups and photocopy them. It was tough to get into the program, and when we graduated there were NO JOBS. You were lucky to get a job as a nurses aide, I kid you not. I was lucky and got a job at Methodist. I got a great education. You will never regret going to PCC. Good luck to all of you
Suzanne:nurse:
Hi Suzanne,
Wow, there were no jobs when you graduated? I would have thought that it'd be alot easier to find a job in 1994. Wasn't that when the nursing shortage was really high?. Hope the situation is not that bad now (or two years from now when I graduate). Mt.SAC director told us during the orientation that their placement after graduation was 100%. Don't know if this is true or not.
Specializes in Operating Room, Med-Surg, Home Care.
Hi Sharingan-
The shortages are cyclical. When my Mother graduated from PCC with her RN, you could go into ICU, ER, whatever. I live in Hawaii now, and there are lay offs, floor closures, and I am told that many new grads have to go to the mainland to get thier first job. In fact, my hospital is in bankrupcy so it is month to month for us. However, there is a good market in Cali due to the mandantory staffing ratios. Glad I kept my Cali license current! I make quite a bit more per hour here, but the cost of living is even higher than So Cal. Take care- Suzanne
HI Suzanne! Thanks for your encouragement! Just finished 1st semester and it wasn't easy! I ended up with a B...just 6 points away from an A but honestly, I would have been happy just to pass!
I had clinicals at Methodist and I loved it there! I won't be going there next semester but hopefully will return in 3rd or 4th semester. I am looking forward to working at Huntington (they just added a second wing to the hospital) but I heard that many prefer Methodist because it is smaller and has a family atmosphere.
Hawaii sounds great...my sister lived there for 25 years and is dying to move back. It's nice you have a good job there cause I know my sister struggled with the high cost of living.
Aloha!
Sharingan,
Actually PCC has more simulators than Mt. SAC - now that I think of it, one of my pre-req instructors said that PCC has the most advanced equipment than any school around (maybe all the schools make this claim). They also have 2 cadavers but those are used in anatomy & dissection. The coolest simulators are the ones that the teacher can set to make certain lung or bowel sounds - and the ones where the teacher sets their blood pressure so you can practice taking blood pressure. I heard there are more that we will see in other semesters.
The first 4 weeks our clinicals were only 7am - 11:20, then we had orientation at each facility which was fairly short so there were only about 4-5 clinical days where we went from 7am - 2pm and then from 2pm - 4pm, we all met with the teacher to discuss our experiences.
We had to take the TEAS test before entering the program, then we have to take a dosage calculations test at the beginning of each semester (pretty easy if you ask me). I heard that near the end of 4th semester, we'll need to take an ATI exam (don't know what it's called - but it's supposed to help them determine if we will be able to pass the NCLEX).
There is supposed to be 10 students per clinical / lab group (but most of the groups had only 9 - probably because new students like yourself waited until the last minute before dropping).
So...you asked how the students are doing. Well, I couldn't give exact numbers but I believe that about 3-4 students dropped at the last drop date. Then, there were approx. another 3-4 students who did not pass (must have a 75% to pass). There were people who I really didn't think would pass who did. I guess 1st semester is a learning process on how and how much to study and most who were floundering in the beginning did learn what it takes to pass.
Many of the questions on exams are unlike other exams you've studied for where you simply memorize facts. The questions envolve those facts as well as incorporating them into critical thinking. Tests are all multiple choice with about 5-10% having multiple answers. Example: What are the major risk factors of hypertension? There will be 5 choices and you can choose all five if you wish. The critical thinking comes to play with the word "major" - so all the choices will be risk factors but you must choose only the major risk factors. The only problem is... that the teachers never told you which were the "major" risk factors - you need to figure that on your own.
Other questions where there is only one correct answer but... often have 2 correct answers....but you must choose the "most correct" answer - or choose the intervention which would be the 1st priority (out of several correct interventions).
Suggestion; go buy yourself the Saunders RN NCLEX review book - latest is the 4th edition. This will not only help you in all 4 semesters but will help when it's time to take the NCLEX test. Read in the beginning of the book about test taking. This should help you with your first semester tests.
I think all the nursing schools test in the same way. Whether one school is better than the other ... I have no idea since I have only gone to one school /one semester. But, so far, I can say I lived through the first semester and will be better prepared for the 2nd semester now that I know what I need to do. The only advice I can give you is to go the school closest to you that has the best reputation. One of the girls in my group went to East LA college for her prereqs but said she'd never go there for the RN program. She ended up being one of 4 students you got an A this semester and she loves PCC! She claims it is a zillion times better than East LA college! Wonderful campus, library, cafeteria, facilities, etc. I don't know if you've ever been to PCC but since I have been to both, I would say that PCC has a far better campus than MtSAC.
Anyway, if you do decide on PCC, let me know and I'll give you some more pointers.
Have you decided about which nursing program you will attend? If it is not PCC, please let the school know asap. I know folks on the waiting list who are just dying to know if they'll get in so they can make the necessary adjustments to their life.
Good luck in whichever you decide! Best, PCCLANCER
Wow those nurse simulators sound nice we just have to practice on real patients for lung sounds and blood pressure but trust me you get really good really fast.
carol72
231 Posts
I believe they start with 60 students in 1st semester.
They say they choose their generic students by lottery. Don't know if this is really true.
You are wait listed - chances of getting in are good.
PM me if you want any more info.