radiate

I have my car here because I've lived in the midwest for about 7 years now. I understand the worry! I am not sure if other students take the bus but I would be happy to post in our group and see if any out of staters ran into a similar situation to yours, if that would be helpful! This is the basic schedule for clinicals: Mod 2 - 1 nursing home for 3 weeks Mod 3/4 - 1 hospital for Med/surg. for 14 weeks and 2 weeks at Children's Mercy (either KS or MO location, just one of the two). Mod 5 - 3 weeks at a hospital for OB. 3 weeks at your Community Health placement (could be in-home care which would be a different location each day). Mod 6 - Capstone at one hospital with schedule based on your preceptor's availability. I hope the schedule helps give you an idea. I don't see it being easy without a car because they kind of send you all over the place. Maybe you could rent a car? Again, I'd be happy to ask around. I wish I had more personal experience with this situation but like I said I brought my car over here ages ago.

Never after dark! The latest I would stay was during mod 1 for the concepts skills lab which went until 5ish. If you live right by campus I'd say walking would be doable for mod 1 and for classes. But for clinicals, I wouldn't bet on being close by. It's a crap shoot and nothing is THAT far. There are sites in downtown, OP, Olathe, KC, Independence, etc. You will most likely end up needing to carpool, Uber/Lyft/Taxi, or bus for clinicals. They aren't all close to campus

@BethAnn24 Yep! We get a lot of time off. We get 1 week after each mod, except we don't get a week off between 5 and 6. We got 3 weeks off for Christmas break, a week off for Thanksgiving, a week off for spring break, 2 days for Easter, we are getting 2 days for 4th of July, and we also get memorial day off. I am probably missing something. It has felt like we've gotten plenty of breaks! Honestly I have not used that time to study. I am a big procrastinator and always have been. I know that some people study a bit during breaks but I would REALLY recommend taking the breaks for yourself. I don't think most people do much studying during breaks. I've been able to fully take my breaks and have done great in the program. We had an orientation the Friday before class started but that was it! I went to an info session to learn about the program before I applied, if that's what you're referring to. It was interesting and got me excited about the program and there'd be no harm in going to one! Not sure if there is a way to privately message on here? I'd be happy to give you my info and connect with you and can help with anything you need!! I just don't really want to post anything personal on the public web..

@shortyy They are so so approachable! Everyone who runs the program and teaches is so kind and helpful. I have never felt nervous to ask questions. I truly feel that my peers in the program have kept me sane. My friends and I support one another and I would not be surviving without them (mostly to complain with hehe). That being said, our cohort is a bit cliquey and there has been drama. I mean, get any group of people together in a room for 8 hours a day 5 days a week and things will get a little crazy at times. It is also pretty competitive. Sadly there is an environment where if you don't get an A on a test you feel pretty crappy because other people will talk about how they got As. I know those things sound kind of sad, but overall I have made such wonderful friends that I feel that I will keep forever. Every cohort is different so I doubt that your experience will be the exact same as ours. No one in our cohort has been dropped for those reasons. We have lost a couple of people due to personal reasons that had nothing to do with the program. We had a lot of classes cancelled this year because the weather was so CRAZY this winter...I think we had like at least 5 days cancelled but it's hard to remember and I could be wrong. We had a couple of clinical days cancelled. So, we still have 3 months until graduation and I JUST bought UWorld this week and have started looking at it a little bit. I don't think most people in my cohort have heard of it but I have read a lot about it online and it seems like the best option. I know that Kaplan is supposed to be good too. Our program hasn't really addressed NCLEX study programs yet and I don't know if they will, so this is something I've just started on my own. We have an NCLEX live review with ATI coming up sometime soon. Since we have 3 months left I think this upcoming mod is when we will really start talking about and focusing on NCLEX. Sorry, it's a bit early for me to say, but I can let you know as I get more experience with it.

@LoveMyDoodle I know how stressful it is. I know that this may increase your anxiety, but I know that some people did not hear back about getting in until 2 weeks before the program start date. I know that's such a stressful thought but don't lose hope if you aren't hearing back yet!!

@BethAnn24 CONGRATS!!! I am so excited for you!!!!!!!!

@BethAnn24 Each mod is pretty unique and has its own challenges. Most people find Health Restoration (HR) I and II the most challenging classes, which are in mods 3 and 4. Mod 3 was the hardest for me, but others would say 2 or 4. All of the mods have periods of less homework/exams mixed in with really stressful weeks where it feels like you'll never be able to cram enough. If you can develop good time management and study plans, you'll be way more relaxed (aka not me). Also, mod 1 is the most classroom-heavy. Once you start clinicals, you're only in school 3 days a week, which is a super nice change! Get ready to do a lot of annoying busy work during mod 1 like poster presentations, flyers, group projects, etc. There's less of that later on. I do have advice for pharm and patho!!! 1. If you have prof. Blanchard for these classes like we did, she posts "Blueprints" for her exams, which list EVERYTHING you need to study for the tests, which makes these classes way easier than they could be. Instead of cramming hundreds and hundreds of pages of info, you're just filling out her blueprints that end up being maybe 10-12 pages of information. 2. USE CATHY PARKES' VIDEOS ON YOUTUBE. SERIOUSLY, SHE IS THE BEST EVER. At the end of each mod, you take ATI proctored exams. So far we've had them in pharm, concepts, mental health, nutrition, med surg, and peds. The scores for the ATI exams are factored into your final grade and they are also used to prioritize who gets top choice for their capstone in mod 6 (which no one told us at the beginning). Cathy Parkes' videos are incredible for studying for these ATI exams! DEFINITELY use her videos for each test and start at least a week beforehand. I know medsurg had like 103 videos...She also has flashcards that you can buy for pharm!! I never bought them but they would probably be helpful. A lot of people in my class bought "Pharm Phlash" flashcards and those were helpful. 3. You will quickly meet the bane of your existence, PrepU. Get ready to cringe every time you hear that word. It's this site where we get assigned practice questions for homework in patho, peds, and maternal health. You have to keep answering questions until you get to a certain mastery level. Know that you can do all of these IN ADVANCE! A lot of people in my cohort did PrepU for patho before we even started the program, once we were given the info on how to purchase and access it. For patho, you need to get to level 3 on most of the chapters, some level 4. You can totally get started on these early to get them out of the way. Another thing, don't stress about them. PrepU questions are stupidly hard and detailed and you will not be a bad nurse if you don't memorize the rational behind every question. Focus on ATI for that type of learning. 4. If you're anxious like me, it's helpful to know that you'll learn way more pharm in clinicals and in practice than you'll learn from the class. Don't freak out if it's too much and it seems like you'll never memorize anything. It all comes with repeat exposure and experience. You'll get better at it eventually! 5. The ATI books that correspond with the online curriculum are super helpful. They are basically cliffnote books that give you a super strong foundation for everything that you need to learn. These are the books that Cathy Parkes goes through in her videos. Concepts of Care I will be your first pretty legitimate nursing class, and I would recommend starting her videos for that right off the bat. On each day, you'll get assigned ATI chapter readings, and you can go on youtube and listen to her lecture on those specific chapters. It will help you with the quizzes and exams throughout the mod! I hope I didn't overwhelm you too much....Let me know if you have more questions! I'm on break right now and am super bored so you're helping me feel useful

@shortyy you’re welcome! I haven’t heard of that app, but our cohort used Google docs a lot towards the beginning to share study guides and stuff. I usually use Google docs too so that I can access notes on any device and I can share/collaborate on study guides with classmates. We only wear scrubs on days that we have skills/simulation lab or clinicals, not on regular class days. Our cohort had the dark gray scrubs too like whoAmItoSay mentioned. There are no community service hours or chapel requirements for ABSN. There is an optional trip to Guatemala that satisfies your requirement for community health clinicals if you choose to go. 3 people from our class went. There is a required biblical studies class but you can get out of it if you’ve taken a biblical class previously. And it’s only 5 total days of class!

Ask away! Hmm, I think the most helpful piece of advice would be to trust the process and trust that you will be a good nurse at the end of everything. There are a lot of aspects of accelerated programs and just nursing school in general that can make it feel like you're "behind" or like you aren't learning well enough or fast enough. I wish someone had told me to chill and trust the process. A lot of nurses have explained to me that every new nurse feels like a fish out of water, regardless of what type of program they did or where they took it. We do use ATI, and it's a really good program. The questions take some getting used to but they are very similar to NCLEX questions and prepare us very well. MNU's program has a very good pass rate (one of the reasons I applied), and ATI is a huge part of that. Other things...The books and online resources that MNU makes us buy are super expensive. Like, to the point where it's infuriating. Be prepared to hash out a lot of extra cash in addition to the tuition... Don't buy scrubs before they tell you to because there are specific requirements. Also don't go crazy spending money on any nursing supplies aside from maybe spending for a Litmann stethoscope (one of the cheaper ones!!) This goes without saying but...don't cheat. Multiple people in my cohort have gotten caught and it's really not worth it. Hmm...Other than that, I have advice regarding specific assignments and studying and stuff but it might be too early for that...I don't want to overwhelm you too much or anything! You can always contact me closer to your start date if you want more info. Or I can give you as much detail as you want lol. Just let me know! I hope that's helpful!

Of course! I remember scouring the internet for info when I was in your shoes. So, the program is divided into 6 separate "semesters"/modules Every 7 weeks, you start a new module with new classes and sometimes new clinicals. Each module is kind of unique. For the first couple of mods-ish, you just have class and no clinical, Mon-Friday, usually from around 8am to 3:50 or so. Starting a few months in, you get to start clinicals, which are 6:30am-5ish (depends) on Thursdays and Fridays, with class Monday-Weds for 4-6ish hours per day. I'm about to start mod 5 so we're switching to having clinicals on Tues/Weds, so again it depends on which mod. Generally, though, it's clinicals twice a week for 8-12 hours and classes three days a week for 4-6 hours. There are a lot of good clinical sites, and some not so good ones, but in the end I've been able to learn a lot from all of them. You start your first clinical in a nursing home, and then for HR you do med-surg and peds clinicals. Next, we have OB and then each person got a unique assignment, I'll be doing Hospice. Everyone gets to do peds at Children's Mercy, which is awesome! Other sites include KU Med, Olathe Med, St. Joseph, Overland Park Regional, and some others. With studying, it depends a lot on personal time management and study strategies...I, for one, am a huge procrastinator and usually do assignments the day before and study for tests 2-3 days before (depending on how hard the class is), and I've gotten all As/A-s. I wouldn't necessarily recommend waiting that long because I always get really stressed right before but that's kind of how I operate and I know it works for me, lol. We have exams most weeks and I'll usually study most of the day on Saturdays/Sundays but still go out on Friday/Saturday nights. Again, it kind of depends on the person, but I'm definitely able to do social things 1-3 times per week and still have time for studying and assignments. It's taken a while to figure out the balance, for sure, and it's kind of a constant process to feel out if you're giving yourself enough mental health/rest/social/personal time and if you're studying enough, and I do get that guilty feeling a lot when I'm not studying. But, it is doable!!! I'm a super anxious person and I haven't ever felt like the program is too much for me.

Hi! You do need a laptop/tablet for the program. The assignments and materials are all accessed online. I use a laptop, and I know that some people use tablets with keyboards attached or they use a stylus to "hand write" notes on their tablets; it's really up to personal preference! I wouldn't be able to get through without my laptop. You don't need a rolling backpack, but I know one person who uses one. Some of the textbooks are heavy...but I ended up not bringing those in most of the time, or sometimes bought the ebook version instead. Again, personal preference!

@BethAnn24 I started in August 2018 about 8 months ago (it goes sooo fast). It's a really good program! Some profs/classes have been better than others, and there have been a few classes where the lectures/profs haven't been as useful, but overall I have learned tons and feel very well-prepared to take the NCLEX in August. The hospitals we go to for clinicals love our students and we have a great reputation in the area. Some of my classmates already have post-grad jobs set up! Also, don't let people scare you into thinking you'll have no life and that it's the hardest thing in the world. I good number of people in my cohort get all As and it's perfectly attainable to do so while still having a life!! This program has been the best decision of my life so far! Jeeze, I should become a recruiter... Let me know if I can share anything else!

I am a current ABSN student at MNU. I'd be happy to answer any questions if anyone has any! I know how stressful the sitting and waiting is. It was torture for me! Good luck to you all and feel free to message me.