RayyRN2b

"I might do that CNA course... might... I just don't get why I would have to wipe poop for ten bucks an hour in order to be a competitive candidate for nursing school. I'll wipe poop, but I'd rather do it for much more than ten bucks an hour..." RomaniGypsy- I'm a little confused on your perception of nursing...Unless you are in an outpatient setting, you will most likely be cleaning up poop as a CNA AND as an RN. And no, working in a hospital vs. nursing home does not mean less poop and bathing. I'm a CNA in a hospital and we have plenty of patients admitted directly from their nursing home! Even if the patient is someone who lives at home independently, many situations will come up where I will have to help them wipe or take their poop from the bedside commode to the toilet. You can't escape the poop, that's just part of the job. And trust me, nurses are the one's helping me do it all. In fact, Nurses do all the things a CNA can do plus their jobs as an RN. As far as your pride goes, there are MANY people who have previous degrees and careers and have become CNAs on their way to becoming a nurse. I am a CNA with a Bachelor's in Health Science and will begin nursing school next month. There are MANY others who are highly educated who work as CNAs. I believe my job has exponentially helped me prepare to be a nurse. Any school will appreciate this experience, too. Being a CNA helps you communicate with patients, learn how to problem solve and multitask in a stressful environment, truly understand what it means to be a nurse, and learn medical skills through hands on tasks and observation! The Gender Issue- It is very rare that a patient will refuse you as a nurse because of your gender. And that is perfectly fine if they do..there are plenty of others who can take your modest elderly lady to the bathroom. However, nurses do many tasks that might make a patient feel unconformtable, too. For example, foley catheters! I personally don't think your gender is something that should stop you from becoming a CNA because you will run into similar situations as a nurse. It's an easy fix!

I have created a Facebook group called Concordia University Irvine ABSN Fall 2018. It is public. Feel fee to join or change/make a new one. I thought it would be a great place for us to connect.

Just received my acceptance packet an hour ago! Good luck to you all. If someone creates a Facebook page please add me. My name is Rachael Rulon!

Congratulations! That is soooo exciting! Do you mind if I ask what city you live in?

I called yesterday and was informed that 2 more alternates will receive admissions offers by the end of next week.

To clarify, I am considering a transition out of clinical care into the administration side of healthcare. I am aware that MPH and MHA degrees do not involve direct patient care or the use of nursing skills.

Hello, I am considering obtaining a MHA (Master's Health Admin) or MPH (Master's Public Health) degree in lieu of a nursing degree. I currently hold a BS in Health Sciences and have a variety of clinical experience, yet very little health admin experience. Does anyone know of benefits or drawbacks to this degree? Would a nursing degree be beneficial as well? (Obtaining BSN then applying to MHA programs) Any tips, opinions, advice would help :)

Just received an email from Admissions with an invite for an interview on July 13th at 1:30pm. Good luck to all and hope to see you there. :)

Have any alternates heard anything now that we're almost in July? Western is my #1 choice, but I also got into an ABSN that starts end of July. Hoping to hear back from Western before then :)

Wow thats a lot of us! Thanks for the info :)

Hi! How exciting! First off, I would say that only you know your strengths and weaknesses when it comes to science classes. If it were me, I would take: Semester 1: Intro Bio, A&P1, and Stats Semester 2: A&P2, Chem (keep this semester "light"- these classes can be tricky) Semester 3: Micro, Nutrition Microbio was my FAVORITE class, however, it took up the most time studying wise (At my school we have 10 hours of lab a week for Micro) Intro Bio is easy and it's best to get Intro Bio done asap so you have a basic understanding of biology I suggest taking Chem before Micro and Nutrition because certain aspects of chemistry can appear in both classes Reminder: Pre-reqs are often times a top contributing factor that admissions departments look at to determine if you can handle the workload of nursing school..TRY YOUR BEST to get the top grade possible. I have an overall graduating gpa of 3.8, but I really messed up one semester and tried to cram 5 classes (2 of those being pre-reqs) + 20 hours of work + 10 hours of interning. I received a C in a major pre-req class and truly feel that it is counted against me on my applications.

Does anyone know whether the next alternate in line receive an acceptance email as soon as a previously accepted student withdraws? Or do they set a day where they send out acceptances to several alternates at once?...I hope that makes sense

Hi! Does anyone know whether an alternate is notified of admission each time a previously accepted individual withdraws or are they waiting for a certain time to send out a chunk of admissions notifications? (I hope that makes sense)

Congrats! Did you hear back today?

Congrats! Thanks for letting us know. Good luck to you.

Good to know. Thanks! A friend of mine was accepted two weeks before Welcome Week. She is now an RN in the Emergency Department (working on the second half of the EMSN). Good to know there's hope! :)

I remember them saying they don't have a waitlist ranking...does anyone know how they go about accepting those on the waitlist?

Congrats, once again! And thank you for the encouragement :)

Nothing on my end I wish we could at least know our ranking so we can see if there is even a chance of acceptance.

Congrats!!

I am in the same position as you! Timing didn't work out right and I was basically forced to take a year off. (I'm about half way through that year). I chose to attend a 6 week CNA course and am now working full-time at a hospital. I have learned sooooo much about nursing and about medicine in general. Not to mention I now have connections for possible future employment! In my opinion, if you have the time/finances to get a CNA license it would be very beneficial. I work 3 12 hour shifts a week which leaves plenty of time to accomplish other tasks, too.

For the people accepted, how long do you have to respond/confirm your spot? I bet after that period us alternates will start hearing back.

No

Hi! I am currently on the alternate list. My stats are: Overall gpa= 3.69, I work as a CNA full-time. I also hold an expired EMT license. For volunteer work: 1.5 years at a local hospital (non-clinical patient care), 6 months as a physical therapy aide, 6 months non-clinical work at a foster home. I would say as long as you have decent grades and some extracurriculars you should be fine. My personal advice is to really focus on that statement of purpose and interview skills. I was really nervous and felt I didn't do as well as I could have on the verbal interview and written portion. Good Luck to you!!

I spoke with admissions yesterday and they informed me that no changes have been made yet. Hopefully we will hear something soon!