PBCC-palm beach comm. college

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Hi everyone,

I'm in the process of study for the nurse Procalc and the NLN entrance exam for PBCC fall nursing program.

I read on line that this school works on a point system

I was wondering if anyone who has been accepted to the program

(past/Present) student: HOW MANY POINTS DID YOU HAVE TO

WHEN ACCEPTED TO THE PROGRAM.

Anyone with info about the program, would be helpful.

Thanks

Specializes in Cardiac.

ok folks. i am a 3rd semester rn student at pbcc's day program. this time last year i was in your shoes, so i can speak with some perspective. these are the things i wish i knew last year. i am going to write you a novel so bear with me:

the pbcc nursing program is a good program and is the best in the area because of the low cost associated with going there vs. other schools. i feel like i have learned a lot, and looking back over the last year i am amazed at how much i have actually learned. the following is some tips for those of you that got in, as well as some encouragement for those of you who didn’t.

to those of you who were denied: do not give up and lose hope. for fall 08, the cutoff was 25.xx. i can’t remember exactly what it was; i had 27.99 points and knew that it was going to be pretty much a sure thing. some of my friends were really close to the cutoff and some of them didn’t make it and were denied. of those that were denied, 3 out of 4 got in anyways. as competitive as the program is, some people have unforeseen issues that require them to turn down their spot. some people apply to pbcc as a backup and turn down their spot if they made it into their first choice. one of the people that made it in after being denied got in two weeks before the semester started. so don’t give up hope, especially if you are within 1 point or so of the cutoff.

if you don’t make it in, then the best things you can do to get more points is to:

get healthcare experience. volunteer if you have to, but get that extra point. it was the only thing that i didn’t have, but now it’s gotten even more competitive and you really need it.

retake the nln and get in the 90s. those points are huge, as they scale by 2 for every tier. i got a 98th percentile, but it doesn’t matter as long as you get a 90 or more, you get the 10 points. (this is especially true for the person who got in the 89th percentile - mommiluvsadrain.

make sure all your pre/co reqs are done. those are 11 points total and every single one can make a huge difference.

take a fluff class over the summer to boost your gpa. since the deadline is oct, no fall classes will help.

now for those of you who got in. i took lecture in person the first semester and felt it was a total waste of time. a lot of my classmates agreed with me and we took second online. i actually feel that if you can stay on top of it and manage your time, its better. you get the power points and extra information taking it online that they don’t give in lecture. also, all they seem to do in lecture is read the power points word for word. this is really dependent on how focused and motivated you are. if you cannot stay on top of it and know that you will not: go to lecture. hearing them read does have a trickledown effect on your brain.

go read the student handbook and syllabus now so that you know what to expect. it may change to a new version, but most of the information will still be the same or really close.

pharmacology is a pain in the ass. seriously. i took it online over the summer before i started, but if you have to do it with 1st semester, it’s much harder. stay on top of it, and take it online if you can. we took our tests for online pharmacology online instead of in the testing center with the exception of the final. unaware if that has changed.

get your titers, cpr, uniforms and paperwork done early so that you can relax and stop worrying about stuff. do not buy your stethoscope at copy’s; they are much more expensive than online. i got mine from steeles.com. some of the books are not needed, but i’d get them all anyway. except the nutrition book, never opened it.

meet some people when you first start, and don’t get wrapped up in all the drama. we have some really annoying people and some really good ones. (i hate know it alls) you are going to be with these people for the next two years of your life. i have some really good friends in my class that are nice to have around. you can complain and ***** to them and they actually know what you’re talking about. it’s nice to have a vent.

stay on task. the reason there are only 82 spots open in this semester’s class is partly because there are a lot of repeaters from prior semesters that are redoing it. we had 108 in our first semester class and lost about 20. we lost another 20 this semester. nursing school is unlike any prerequisite class that you have taken. the questions are bananas and some will make you think the teachers are on drugs. practice taking nclex style questions now so that you won’t be shocked the first time you see them. they are weird.

you are going to be dazed and confused for the first two weeks. before you can start clinical you have to do a fun little exercise called frontloading. frontloading is organized chaos. the first week you will be taught a ton of entry level skills similar to cna work. (transporting, bed making, bed baths, vitals, etc.) the second week you will be tested by an instructor to make sure that you know them all.

get procalc out of the way as soon as possible every semester. we lost a friend of mine this semester because she put off procalc till the last week and failed it. now she has to repeat her entire second semester clinical instead of moving onto third. it’s effectively a year wasted, counting the summer, repeated fall, and the wasted spring.

the paperwork for clinical can take up a lot of your study time. there are a lot of excellent instructors, but it’s really the luck of the draw on who you get for clinical. they can make it fun, or a nightmare. do not show up late for clinical, as most instructors will send you home. making up clinical time sucks.

skills lab is only for 1st and 2nd semesters. thank god. it’s boring. you really don’t have a lot to do. if you have a good instructor, you will really get ahead on feeling comfortable with the skills. nothing will substitute for the real thing, and you will still be nervous the first time you do it on a patient in the hospital. just don’t show your fear to patients and you’ll be fine.

it’s a good program, but they are disorganized. so take charge of your own future and make sure that everything you need to get done is written down on a calendar.

here’s some good links:

http://www.pbccnursing.org/ (site with photos and info ran by the testing lab guru, jules)

http://www.pbcc.edu/x1093.xml (official nursing page)

http://www.pbcc.edu/x5768.xml (links to all syllabus and the nursing handbook)

http://www.pbcc.edu/x9271.xml (procalc, read and practice before testing)

i hope this helps and good luck to you all,

justin

this was me at the health fair this year. so if you see me around campus this fall, feel free to yell: “hey, you’re that crazy guy” everyone else does. even the professors.

http://www.winkflash.com/photo/photozoom_public.aspx?m=330581039&ic=7192879&u=pbccnursing&p=1

yes, that is a dental dam.

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Hi Justin,

I am going into 2nd, how hard is it???? I have had other 2nd students say its really difficult as well as the instructors. Is this true if so any tips.

thanks

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What would be the advantage of taking pharm online vs. in-class?

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Specializes in Cardiac.

Mystical0217, second was much harder for most of us than first. Talking to other students ahead of me, they thought so too. There is so much to cover, so I'd look over anatomy if you have any weak spots. It's the entire body systems in second. If first was a 5, then second was a 8 in difficulty. There is a ton of information to learn, but if you are comfortable with anatomy you will be ahead of the game. The instructors are moving around this year, Pleasant and Alexander are moving to 2nd. Kent and Aurlien are going to 1st.

H_2_O, I'd advise taking it online if you can find out if the tests are taken online instead of the computer lab on campus. It allows for more flexibility. Some people were complaining that they had Pharm tests right on top of Lecture tests and didn't have time to study. When I took pharm online last summer, we took our tests online, at our houses, on our computers. We had a 2-3 day window to take it. It saves a drive to campus if you live in Jupiter like I do. It was a lot less stress doing it on my couch as well. The only test we had to take in Lake Worth was the final.

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From what I've heard is that online you are given study guides and you take all the tests online except the final you take at the testing center. I was going to take it online but I am glad I took it in person. I really liked the teacher. She used a lot of scenarios to help you learn the material. The class was not easy though. We did not get any type of study guides to help prepare for exams.

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JustinTJ, thanks for all the info!! I was accepted to the program and wondering what to expect. It helps to take some of the edge off if you have an idea of what to expect. Do you choose your lecture teacher or are you just assigned one (when taking it on campus)? I just don't know what to expect and where I will go for clinicals. Any extra tips you have would be greatly appreciated.

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Specializes in Cardiac.

You register for a specific teacher, but the lectures are in the big room with all the same semester students together.

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Navygrl, who was your pharm teacher? I'm asking because i'm one of those types that needs to go to class. I tried doing the On-line thing when I was doing Pre-reqs, and ended up dropping the On-line class..Seems I do better in class and face to face. Something about "a trickledown effect on your brain". (A tip of the hat to JustinTJ for all the great info!).

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JustinTJ thanks for the info.

poppimiguel, she is the only teacher that teaches live at Lake Worth. I can't type her name, the last time I did the moderator of allnurses edited my message. I guess we are not supposed to use names here on the forum. If you take her, my best advice is to record her lectures and take notes later. Tests come straight from her lectures.

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Navygrl, thanks for the reply. I'll def. take your advice about recording/notes. Wasn't aware of the no names policy, here on the forum...Newbie mistake on my part....D'oh!

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Navygrl, thanks for the reply. I'll def. take your advice about recording/notes. Wasn't aware of the no names policy, here on the forum...Newbie mistake on my part....D'oh!

Yeah, I wasn't aware about the name thing either till I got the email saying my message wast edited by a moderator:)

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I didn't know there was a waiting list at PBCC.

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