Preparing for PLU Nursing School?

SeattleRS24 · Jun 29, 2014

Hi Allisonr,

I just graduated from the PLU BSN program this May and would be happy to answer any questions you have. :) Congratulations on your acceptance! It's a wonderful (and very competitive) program - you should be very excited for this wonderful opportunity! As you may already know, PLU's BSN has the highest NCLEX pass rate in WA state (somewhere around 96%), and I am pretty sure that everyone in my cohort had jobs before senior year was over or within the couple of weeks post-graduation. Yay!

But you're in a much earlier stage, so let me go back in time a bit. Before I go into detail, I am assuming that you were conditionally accepted for the Fall or Spring? This means that you are registered to take Anatomy & Phys, Psych 101, and all that jazz?

allisonr · Jun 29, 2014

Thank you so much for answering!

I'm a transfer student, so I've finished all of my pre-reqs (like A & P and microbiology). This fall, I'm signed up to take my first nursing class, NURS220, as well as two other classes. Please give me any and all information and advice about the nursing program!!!

SeattleRS24 · Jun 29, 2014

Oh wonderful!! That's so exciting! First of all, I can assure you that you don't need to master any specific nursing skills going into the program at this point. I say this because I had honestly never even stepped foot into a hospital before beginning the BSN program at PLU. They teach you everything you need to know along the way, in class/lab/clinical.

PLU has an outstanding, well-rounded, academically/clinically rigorous program. It prides itself in offering classes such as Pathophysiology in their original, challenging form - not the "nursing version" of the course. I'm not saying this to invalidate other Patho classes...I'm just saying that what you gain from your education at PLU is so special because the foundation for your career is so grounded in hard science and liberal arts. (I apologize for going on & on...I'm just so proud as a recent grad who just passed my NCLEX!!) You will be fortunate to accumulate roughly 1000 clinical hours under your belt upon graduating (LTC, med/surg 1/2, maternal-child, pediatrics, mental health, and a preceptorship of your interest).

For more specifics about the program, please feel free to private message me!! There we can exchange emails and stay in touch as further questions come up :)

AppleShe · Jun 29, 2014

Hi there, I am currently in the PLU BSN program. Congrats on being accepted, it is a wonderful accomplishment!! I can confirm with the previous poster that you will not need to master any skills before beginning the program.

I have nothing but wonderful things to say about this program. Really enjoy your first semester, because it is the "easy" one. Spring semester will be the difficult one because that is when you will be taking patho physiology. Don't worry though because after patho is when all the fun stuff starts and you get to start feeling like a real nurse.

If you work well in a study group I recommend finding one or two good study buddies. People who will get down to business and aren't overly chatty Cathy's. Study buddies are especially important after the first semester!

The PLU school of nursing is a great community! Feel free to ask me anything about the program :)

allisonr · Jul 6, 2014

For some reason, allnurses.com won’t let me PM anyone until I post more, so I’ll reply here J. I’m glad to hear that I chose a good program! Before starting classes, should I brush up on my anatomy or will the professors go over it in class? I took the classes over a year ago, so the information isn’t as fresh as it could be. If so, are there any systems that you recommend studying over others (ex: knowing all the bones, etc.)? I’m really nervous about starting nursing classes, even though I have a 3.9 GPA, because I don’t know how different my community college’s classes are to PLU’s, difficulty-wise. Also, did either of you use any books that weren’t required?

Thank you for your help!!

PS- Congrats on graduating and passing the NCLEX, SeattleRS24!!!!!

SeattleRS24 · Jul 6, 2014

Well you are certainly asking all of the right questions!! I will try to address each of your questions individually :)

1) I wouldn't worry about brushing up on too much anatomy before classes. The class people tend to struggle in is Pathophysiology, which you will take next Spring. It is very tough, and people who had done really well in A&P at community colleges or elsewhere definitely were a bit shocked when they started it (we had the professor ourselves for A&P, so we knew what to expect from her). With that said - let me be the bearer of good news!!! Do NOT listen to the scare tactics, you will totally be fine and you WILL pass Patho. You'll study lots and you will feel like there is no way you can do it, but you will be just fine. It is COMPLETELY doable, much more doable than people like to admit after they get through it. I graduated with a 3.45 (most people in my cohort had 3.8 or higher) and I tend to struggle with some of those classes. I got a B+ in patho without too much turmoil. During "J-Term" (which you will learn about once you get to PLU) it wouldn't hurt to look over your immunity, cardiac, and fluid/electrolytes/acid-base. But don't sweat it too much - she goes over the anatomy (very quickly) in class.

2) You will NEVER need to know all of the bones, muscles, or anything like that. Yay!

3) I never used books that weren't required. I did, however, utilize YouTube to help me understand complicated subjects. There is this guy (Michael Linares - YouTube) who explains tough concepts in a super simple manner. Love his stuff!!

So yes, I'll tell it to you straight. PLU Nursing School is not easy, but you will be just fine. You will be in every single class with the same 37-40ish people and you all push each other to succeed, learn, and grow. It becomes this great support system and you just take in as much knowledge as you can!! Prepare to feel a little lost when you step foot into your first clinical at the long-term care center. I didn't know how to ambulate patients or give bed baths or clean dentures - I was so awkward!! But it was okay, I made it through one patient at a time.

Thanks for the congrats, and I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions :)

loveangel · Jul 11, 2014

I want to pop-in to this post because I am so curious too! :) Thank you Bronze 1 for your optimism!

I was accepted into the Spring 2015 cohort, so I've got a lot of time to sit on my hands. I'm taking a mental break right now for summer, but I was thinking of rereading my A&P book to get in the groove of things.

I have my CNA - are those skills you guys cover again and that I should review?

Do you know the succession of semesters for Spring cohort students? I mainly want to know if we have summers off from the program. ;P

I've heard a lot about the pathophysio class. Any tips to help prep for this class? Books? Fancy notecards? I have so much time that I figured it would be in my interest to start studying now, so I don't feel so lost!

How did your fellow peers manage the cost of PLU? I'm saving my booty off right now, but it's definitely in the back of my mind that PLU is the 2nd most expensive BSN program in the state and I'm nervous. I really don't want to pop out of the school with a mountain of student debt.

I'm ridiculously excited and bored out of my mind right now, lol. Thank you so much for any wisdom or info! :)

Just_keep_swimming · Jul 14, 2014

Hi! I'm just wanting to follow this thread in case I'm accepted into the program, love the questions & feedback so far, I had the same questions for brushing up on previous classes! I graduated from Pierce with my DTA in 2011 so it's been awhile since I covered any of that! I just submitted my packages today so I don't plan on hearing anything until at least August lol

SeattleRS24 · Jul 14, 2014

Hi loveangel, those are some more great questions! And congrats to you too for being accepted into the PLU BSN program! I will address your questions one at a time.

1) The fact that you have your CNA will probably be helpful to you, but I wouldn't worry about reviewing those skills on your own time. You'll have pleeeenty of required reading/lab time/practice to brush up on those skills before and during clinical.

2) My good friend and housemate is a Spring cohort student graduating this coming December! Yes, you still have summers off. And you have this great advantage of spreading out your GURs a bit more to ease your course load throughout the program! So there would be no need to take summer courses. You will probably get to take more J-Terms off from classes than Fall cohort students as well.

3) I talk a lot about the Patho class in a former post. The class book is all I used, but to be honest, I only cracked it open for her two open-book exams (for us we had 4 in-class exams and 2 proctored open-book exams on our own time). I used her detailed notes that she provides (assuming that Dolan is the professor you'll have) to make notecards, and then I flipped through her PowerPoints a couple times per week. Patho was about 50% understanding and 50% cramming random knowledge for me. But the amount of valuable information I retained from her course is REMARKABLE! You will use it all throughout nursing school.

4) About the cost. A large portion of my tuition was covered my scholarship and the rest I will be paying off in student loans. The tricky part is that there are constant sneaky little fees. $10 here for some kind of lab fee. $100 there. $70 here. $20 there. It adds up, I'm not going to lie. Especially in the last year. I worked part-time throughout the program and full-time during summers and saved up as much as I could to accommodate for those fees. It is tough but it is possible, and I will be pouring as much of my new grad RN salary into those student loans as possible!! Hope that helps. :/

I'm glad to hear that you're so excited! You should be! PM me anytime with further questions :)

allisonr · Jul 30, 2014

Thank you so much for all of the help!

My orientation is tomorrow, so I hope that they will be able to answer any further questions I have. I’m so excited to start, even though I’m still a bit nervous :)

Did you live on campus? If so, how was it?

Thanks!

-Allison

SeattleRS24 · Jul 30, 2014

I am glad that my advice was helpful :)