Prairie View Fall 2011 Hopefuls

blackberrie_281 · May 16, 2011

Uh yea pessimistic. Read over what you wrote if you have a question about why I said that. In NO WAY does that mean I dont wanna hear what you have to say, or that I want to hear "fluff" from you, now thats putting words in my mouth. I appreciate all your experiences and opinions you have about this program, if i didnt i wouldnt bother replying to you :cool: But thats good to know that its possible to go thru this program without taking summer courses.

For fall 2011 1st semester students:

Alot of my peers were in danger of failing health assessment and patho. Take the study advice we have suggested to heart, and you will do fine in these classes ok :) And if you find yourself doing poorly on exams, like getting 2 exam grades in the 40-60 range, dont forget you have 2 withdrawal opportunites and 1 fail before your kicked out the program. Dont hesitate to use a withdrawal. My friend failed outta the program her first semester because of this.

blackberrie_281 · May 16, 2011

also pvnursegrad: wth happens 5th semester, is it all school nursing? or do you get to go to the hospital, like maybe on a floor you wish to work at? Cause "community health" seems broad to me and I havent been able to ask a 5th semester student about what 5th semester is all about

miami1981 · May 16, 2011

Lol ok blackberrie. anyway yeah sem 5 is community and leadership. community consists of nursing practice in the community setting. some go to schools, others just go to clinics in the community. leadership is where you go to the hospital and your preceptor will "try" to put you in the area you want to work at. It doesnt always happen that way though. sometimes you just go where she puts you.

yeah and summer courses is just to make the load a little easier on you. the curriculum is organized to where you can't jump ahead a semester by taking summer courses. so whether you take summer courses or not you still will be finishing at the same time as everyone else.

yeah and thats good advice blackberrie to remember you have withdrawals. dont try to pull a miracle if you dont have to. If you're at the point where you're failing miserably, just drop. falling back a semester is much better than failing out the program. always check ahead of time when the last day to drop the class is.

to rumwynnie: no there is no final checkoff where they make sure you know how to do everything. just pass the classes and you're done. health assessment is the only time they do that.

jellybean88 · May 19, 2011

I am so nervous, I don't know what to take in the summer...individual health assessment or patho? Which one should I knock out first?

miami1981 · May 19, 2011

The patho class is harder but health assessment has a focused assessment at the end where you have to pick an area of the body and memorize each area to assess. You might not want to have to worry about that while you are taking your finals next semester. Your choice.

rumwynnieRN · May 19, 2011

I thought patho was a lot easier than health assessment, but to each his own. There's only one patho teacher, and she teaches it for everyone. You won't be as stressed during fall if you take health assessment during the summer.

If you have any questions for either, there are enough PV people on here, I think, who can answer your questions.

HouTxNurse832 · May 21, 2011

I felt Patho was easier ESPECIALLY if you read. The class time wasn't very long, and we fell behind often. I just read the "focus" points (and a little extra things that seemed important) and I finished it with an A :). Health Assessment is heavier with the head to toe, and its different teachers so one may teach really well while the other one is super broad :lol2: !! I had a friend not pass Health Assessment this semester as well. I just finished semester 1 and proud :)!!!

NAM123 · May 21, 2011

texasstudent832,

hi, any advice on any of the classes? how is the first semester? what to do and not to do...anything? any teachers that you recommend?

thanks for your help :)

HouTxNurse832 · May 21, 2011

I mean don't "slack" in any of the classes. Don't think any of them are the "easy" class b/c the assignments, quizzes, exams will sneak up on you. I studied alone mostly, but some people do well in groups. I had my "go to" group in which we were more independent studiers, and met up a few days before the test to group study to see where we all were. Each person studies and tests differently so don't get discouraged by another person's grades. What worked for me (again, someone else may say otherwise) in all my classes was simply reading the textbook in colloboration with the ppts provided for you in class. Others may have "shortcuts", but thats just what worked for me.

Just be prepared for a COMPLETELY different way of thinking. You were always taught that on tests there was only ONE right answer, but in nursing school there is more than one "right" answer....you have to figure out which one is "most" right, and the Basic Concepts course will help you master those skills a little better. Health assessment is just what it sounds like....you learn how to do different exams in each body system and whats abnormal and normal findings. Patho is basically learning more indepth how different diseases affect body systems. Try to master early on application questions (basically applying what you learned). There will be very little to none knowledge based questions on exams.

My last advice is BE ORGANIZED!!! Get a little calender to keep up with when assignments are due, quizzes, exams, etc. This will become vital especially toward the end of the semester and the very beginning when its the most overwhelming.

You all will do well. If you need any advice feel free to ask...Semester 1 will be fine..:)

On to Semester 2 for me

blackberrie_281 · May 21, 2011

^^Hi fellow semester 2-er!! lol Its crazy, it feels like this semester just flew by, I still have to pinch myself sometime cause i cant believe its summer lol GREAT job with patho, I could never get more than a 87 on test, idk why. For my final grades I got 2 As in health assessment and clinicals and 2 Bs in patho and basic concepts. Health assessment was easy and most of the questions were straight forward, if you read i dont see why anyone would make a C. Patho was harder and a few questions were completely outta left field (do you remember the leukemia and carrrot question?? lol). However if you did read and stuff then a C or B is definitely possible.For me, basic concepts was harder than the other subjects. The tests in that class had most of the 2 or more answer questions, and they had some question based on psychosocial skills and theuraputic communication, which is too fluffly for me.

HouTxNurse832 · May 21, 2011

Yes. I had 3 A's- Patho, clinical, Basics. Then I had a C in health assessment. My mistake in that class was I had a B on every exam, and I got REALLY sick for the 3rd exam and did EXTREMELY horrible (clearly since i ended up with a C in the class). I hardly EVER pre-read for HA b/c I had the class the day before Patho (so I was always focusing on that...which i tried to warn others against in a previous post lol). But my GPA turned out perfectly fine b/c of the other grades. I agree with you tho. Health assessment wasn't hard b/c I did do well on the exams, but that one just murdered me horribly. Trial and error for next semester (no more late night Mexican food making me sick!!) haha. Even when I told my mom (a fellow RN ) my grades she was like WHAT HAPPENED in that class!! lol

I found basic concepts was the class i "taught" myself alot it. My instructor was very into telling her personal stories, but not being able to come back to the lesson lol.

BUT I'm SOOOOOO glad its summer. I decided not to take summer school because you can't get ahead anyway so I'd rather relax lol!! :)

lovesunshine · May 21, 2011

Thank you all for posting experiences and tips for 1st semester. I start school June 1 and I'll be taking patho and special topics. Tips for the class. what can we can expect from summer school?

Thanks in advance!