Dock239

Yeah sorry about that it has been a minute since I had to pay these fees. I looked at some old bank statements to try to include all costs and I would say ballpark everything you included will run you 1450 - 1700.

The only reason it is worth noting that LBMMC funds the trimester program is for hiring purposes. LBMMC is investing in its future nurses (we still pay the same tuition as semester). For this reason, they have a huge motivation to retain us as employed RNs. They used to contract you in the program but they stopped doing that because new grads would break contract before 2 years on the job. This just means that you have to do a normal job interview like most new grads, no biggie.

I would say ATI, uniforms, course textbooks, Castlebranch and required vaccinations etc. will be around $550 - $650. I remember ATI being a few hundred dollars by itself. I am a textbook person myself and have purchased or rented every textbook thus far but honestly I hardly open the majority of them. There are a handful of books that are helpful to buy for CP or learning but the majority of information you will be tested on come from slides and lecture content. The only textbook I read cover to cover was the Critical Care one by Sole. A great book, would recommend. Bottom line most textbooks that you "need" or will get use out of will be purchased first semester. After that there are many PDFs etc for free.

You will do the majority of clinicals at LBMMC (Med-Surg I and II, ICU/CCU, L&D, Peds and preceptorship). You will go to other facilities for psych and community.

I am in trimester but I can answer some of your questions. You will be assigned to various hospitals over the entirety of nursing school but for each clinical you will only be assigned to one facility. You have to go through an orientation day for each facility and unit before you can even go on the floor officially.

I personally have not been drug tested. There is a website called CastleBranch that you will sign up for after orientation that tracks your documents (influenza, titers, BLS, etc.). This website will set what documents need to be turned in and the time frame that they need to be submitted. As I said before, I have not been drug tested but recently we (my cohort) got a notification for a drug test. Turns out my cohort does not have to actually submit these drug tests (I do not know why). Basically if newer cohorts have to submit drug tests to CastleBranch they will be done as a scheduled requirement. Facilities may require it but LBMMC did not require that my cohort did it. Hopefully that answers it.

Yes, semester was the more popular choice in my cohort. I chose trimester and got it. I would assume your cohort will follow past cohort trends.

Pre-planning can be completed on your own schedule, but generally people show up in the morning to select the best patients and to allow time to CP (care plan). CPs, in my opinion, is the hardest part of CSULB nursing school. I am unsure of the total cost but I paid $3500 and change for this semester. There are some expensive costs in the beginning including ATI, supplies and uniforms. It may be different now but ATI cost about $400+ when I came through.

Hey, I am a fourth semester in the trimester program. You most likely will never have a clinical on the weekend but care planning is more time consuming than the actual clinical. As said above, if you have clinical on Monday you will care plan on Sunday. Care planning will generally take more time than the actual clinical day itself, especially in 3rd semester (ICU). I have not heard of a price difference between trimester and semester besides the fact that you begin working sooner in the trimester program.