Dhooy7

I have a few more clinicals left. Has been tough but doing very well academically. End in October of 2021. I cannot wait!

Does anyone have any good resources differentiating GI conditions such as Crohn's, ulcerative colitis, hepatitis C, and etc? Many of the conditions are very similar and we have an exam tomorrow (every 3rd day due to ABSN) for pathophysiology. I guess I'm making a chart but wondering if anyone has advice to speed this process up. We are using Understanding Pathophysiology as our texstbook. Any advice?

Sorry for the short notice. I am looking for someone who would proofread and help with organization and transitions with my paper. It is due Monday and would just prefer another set of eyes to look at it. I can send the Google Docs link. Thanks!

I'm excited I was accepted to the 1 year ABSN program in my area. I will be starting in October. Thanks again everyone!

I was recently accepted to an ABSN program. I'm just trying to see if anyone has advice. I have found that Anki has been helpful for memorization. I know you can covert Quizlet to Anki. Are there any good decks like from registerednurseRN or anything for the NCLEX. I'm looking for helpful Quizlet or Anki decks and practice questions. In medical school, there were a few great decks for boards. I may check the textbooks for questions but I know UWorld is great. It's just mainly focused on the NCLEX. I'd like to first focus on doing well in the ABSN. Also, has anyone used Sketchy for nursing ( https://www.sketchynursing.com/products/catalog )? It creates markers for certain drugs. You visualize the picture or think of the story. It's a great way to remember things. Otherwise, I will make my own. I found this was the most helpful resource. Thanks!

As someone who was in medical school and dropped out, I'm glad I did. I am science-minded, but I didn't want to be in $400,000 of debt and go through the schooling of medical school. Things aren't always better on the other side, but I guess it depends on you as a person and your perspective.

I decided to do an ABSN because many places won't hire direct entry students. Plus I can start ABSN in October. It's for one year and not as risky.

I’m having a very hard time deciding on a nursing program. The first BSN program is accelerated for 12 months, starting in October 2020 to October 2021 but is $42,000. The other would not be accelerated starting this Summer but $12,000-14,000 cheaper. They would give me a lot of scholarships but would not finish until May of 2022. Any advice? It's just too bad because the more expensive ones has clinicals in the area where I'd possibly like to be working.

I’m having a very hard time deciding on a nursing program. The first one is accelerated for 12 months, starting in October 2020 to October 2021 but is $42,000. The other would not be accelerated starting this Summer but $12,000-14,000 cheaper. They would give me a lot of scholarships but would not finish until may of 2022. Any advice?

Someone at my hospital said they are requiring nurses to get their DNP now and its cheaper to be a PA now. That is not true but one reason others suggested being a PA instead. I agree with you though. I just don't want to take out student loans and trying to take advantage of tuition reimbursement. I'm leaning on doing ABSN starting in October. I've inquired about direct entry masters but wish you the best with everything.

Here is a response from direct-entry masters: "I am actually one of those people who is enrolled in a direct entry program NP program (MSN), set to graduate in May 2021. The reason why I applied, is because I wanted to become a provider, either PA or NP. I admit that I should have done more research into the two paths. Without knowing better, I went into a direct entry NP program. I was 29 at the time and wanted to just move on with my life. I was afraid that if I became an RN and started a family that I would get busy and wouldn't have time to apply to an NP program later on. Obviously, there are many nurses out there with families who go back to school so my thinking was flawed. If I had to do it all over again, I would either 1) Do an accelerated BSN, work a few years as an RN, and then go for my DNP to become a nurse practitioner or 2) go to PA school. When I was going through my clinical rotations pre-RN license, I would get comments from nurses that I shouldn't have been doing a direct entry NP program. I understand where they're coming from, but it also made me really anxious going into clinical. I already had a feeling that they didn't like me for that very reason. Eventually, I told myself to get the *** over it, became more proactive, and did well in my ICU preceptorship at the end. I passed my NCLEX on the first try and got my RN license. The pre-licensure portion was 1.5 years, the master's portion is another 2 years. I started the masters' portion the following semester (we don't get a long Summer break). I found an RN job and also started volunteering at a primary care clinic as an RN. The program is accelerated, but I have been doing well. I currently have a 3.90 GPA (from pre-licensure up until now in my masters portion). The academic part isn't that difficult...also, if I had a BA in Dance and managed to do well, I'm pretty sure a lot of people can do well in nursing school. However, I do recognize that doing well in class and exams is nothing compared to real life. As you may have seen, many nurses recommend getting at least a few years of RN experience before becoming a nurse practitioner. I have met an NP practicing for 3 years at a primary care clinic (graduated from the same program I did), and she was still struggling. There is a huge learning curve for new NP's, which is why that RN experience can be helpful. So aside from the fact that everyone is saying you should work as an RN for a few years first, the other reason why I wish I did things differently is that my school told us that they would find preceptors for us. However, there are several of us who do not have a placement. We were asked to do our own outreach. Preceptors are hard to find to begin with, and now with the pandemic, they're even harder to find. The school said they may try to get us into telemedicine for our clinical hours. This may just be a problem with my specific school though. I have heard of another program in the area that secured placement for all of their students. It just adds to my frustration (and regret) that I did this program. So what am I going to do about this situation I got myself into? Well, I currently work as an RN, though not in a setting I prefer. I plan to work as an RN for a few years before I apply for NP positions. Basically, when I graduate as an NP, my degree might just sit there for another year or so. Also, there are a few NP residency programs out there that I am considering after I get my degree. I figure that is the best I can do to kind fix this less-than-ideal situation. I do not plan on doing acute care NP. I plan on working in primary care. Although a part of me is interested in working in outpatient surgery, which is why I'm starting to regret not going to PA school instead. I hope this long post was useful to you...coming from someone who is actually in a direct entry program and wish she did things differently."

A few people responded online and regret doing a direct entry masters. I think I'm going to do WGU once I work as a nurse for a few years. I just looked on their website. This is a very appealing program for me.

I'm in a similar situation. Do you mind if I message you about my situation?

Did you end up finding any scholarships?

We do not have COVID patients on our units but the doctors are still seeing patients.