Sunny99

Yes, great attitude. I think a lot of people don't realize that, while med students are getting well-educated in diagnosing and treating disease, they often have less training in basic, direct patient care than nurse aides do. Heck, I was shaking in my shoes the first several times I had to take a wobbly patient to the bathroom, and I had been trained exactly how to do it. Imagine how scared the med students feel. Trainingwheels, I hope many of your colleagues share your attitude.

i posted this under the indiana nurses forum, but thought it might be more widely read in the pre-nursing forum. :balloons:spread the word: in response to the current nurse shortage, indiana university school of nursing has just announced that they will be starting two new accelerated bsn classes, in addition to the one that traditionally starts in the summer. the program lasts 18 full-time months, and is open only to those with a previous bachelor's degree in any subject, as long as they have completed certain pre-nursing courses. the first new class will be admitted for starting the spring 2007 semester (january). applications will become available oct 2, 2006 and are due nov 15, 2006. the second new class will be admitted for the fall 2007 semester, which begins in mid-august. deadline info not yet available, but be looking for it after the first of the year. the usual accelerated class that starts in summer will run as usual. the way i read the announcement they sent out, this is for the following year only. they are not saying whether the fall and spring starts will continue after 2007. iuson has normally given very strong preference to iu graduates, but maybe this will give students from other universities a fighting chance of getting in, since they will be admitting 2 more groups of students. i suspect it will still be highly competitive, though. they say a 2.5 gpa is the minimum, but i have never heard of any student with a gpa less than 3.1 getting in to any of their bsn programs. of course, i don't know that many students, and i certainly don't know everybody's gpa, so please take that with a grain of salt. if you did not-so-well back in the dark ages, but made stellar grades recently, go for it!!! more info on admission criteria: http://nursing.iupui.edu/academicprograms/default.asp?/academicprograms/bsn/accelbsn.htm

:balloons:spread the word: in response to the current nurse shortage, indiana university school of nursing has just announced that they will be starting two new accelerated bsn classes, in addition to the one that traditionally starts in the summer. the program lasts 18 full-time months, and is open only to those with a previous bachelor's degree in any subject, as long as they have completed certain pre-nursing courses. the first new class will be admitted for starting the spring 2007 semester (january). applications will become available oct 2, 2006 and are due nov 15, 2006. the second new class will be admitted for the fall 2007 semester, which begins in mid-august. deadline info not yet available, but be looking for it after the first of the year. the usual accelerated class that starts in summer will run as usual. the way i read the announcement they sent out, this is for the following year only. they are not saying whether the fall and spring starts will continue after 2007. iuson has normally given very strong preference to iu graduates, but maybe this will give students from other universities a fighting chance of getting in, since they will be admitting 2 more groups of students. i suspect it will still be highly competitive, though. they say a 2.5 gpa is the minimum, but i have never heard of any student with a gpa less than 3.1 getting in to any of their bsn programs. of course, i don't know that many students, and i certainly don't know everybody's gpa, so please take that with a grain of salt. if you did not-so-well back in the dark ages, but made stellar grades recently, go for it!!! more info on admission criteria: http://nursing.iupui.edu/academicprograms/default.asp?/academicprograms/bsn/accelbsn.htm

QMAs in this state are Qualified Medication Aides, according to the Indiana State Board of Health. They are CNAs with additional training and certification for passing certain meds, mainly orals. They can't do IV's, etc., like previously mentioned. The CNAs have to have 1000 hours of verifiable work experience in the last 24 months before they are legally allowed to start a QMA training program.

Sorry, I never posted back here after going to TJ Uniforms at Edinburgh Premium Outlets. The scrub selection was decent, but I'm not sure how the prices compare since this was my first scrub purchase. I got two Cherokee print tops off the clearance rack, and two regular price Cherokee elastic waist, side-pocket pants, and the total after taxes was $55 and some change. That was without the discount they said I'll get the next time. They give a 10% discount to hospital employees - any hospital - AFTER the first visit, if you show your ID badge. A lady who started working at the same hospital the same day as me was somehow lucky enough to get the discount her first time going to TJ's. I think she bought a bunch of the more expensive scrubs, though, so maybe that's why. The store is located between PacSun and Rue21, and across the lane from Le Gourmet Chef. Hope that helps. Heather, do let us know how this place compares with any others you have been to. :)

Thanks for adding the CNA forum! I recently started working as a patient care assistant (not certified) at a hospital, and start nursing school in a few weeks. I love working with patients!!! However, I am still quite nervous sometimes. This is my first job in direct healthcare. I hope I can get some good advice from experienced CNA's on how to handle various situations. The CNAs and nurses at my hospital have been wonderful, but it always helps to get several views, since everyone does things a little bit differently.

Erk, keep up you determination to become a nurse. It seems from your attitude that you will find a way. Yes, it can be very frustrating to figure out how to keep your family from starving to death or living under a bridge before you finish school! One thing I would suggest, in addition to what the others have said, is that you and your wife talk about what other kind of job she could get. I don't know your family situation, but I would guess she could find something a little bit more lucrative. We live in the midwest with a very low cost-of-living, yet both my high school children make more than $5.15 an hour, and so do most of their teenage friends. Some of the places these kids work: restaurants, nursing homes, hospitals, temp agencies (age 18+ for the temps, who work in factories for around $8-10/hour) Also, you may qualify for a higher student loan amount once you have enough credits to qualify as a junior or senior, though that won't help in the first couple of years. Check with your school about these amounts, for future planning. Good luck! You will make it!

Usually, that is called "tuition assistance", "educational assistance", etc. "Loan forgiveness" is what Energizer said, where they pay some or all of the student loans you had before becoming their employee. I'm hoping to find this benefit when I finish school, too. Good luck!

Awesome. Thanks for the tip!

Wow, I loved that show as a kid! Adam-12, too. Funny, now my brother is a police officer, and I'm going to be a nurse. Okay, so I'm not a paramedic, but closer to it than CPA!

I found this on the "Spotlight On Nursing" website sponsor list, and just did a copy and paste. Scrubs & Beyond, 2 Indy locations: Clearwater Springs 5151 East 82nd Street Space #500 (next to Marsh Supermarket) Indianapolis, IN 46250 317-570-1228 M-Sat. 10 - 9pm Sun. 11 - 5pm and Southport Commons 6810 South Emerson Dr Suite D Indianapolis, IN 46237 317-784-8664 M-Fri. 10 - 9pm Sat. 10 - 8pm Sun. 11 - 5pm The website is http://www.scrubsandbeyond.com, and it appears they have an online catalog to give you an idea of what the store might have. I'm probably going to check out the place in Edinburgh around Sunday. It will be my first time ever shopping for scrubs & stuff, so I'll post about my findings after that shopping trip. For shoes, I am sticking with New Balance cross trainers and inserting gel insoles. (I'm gellin'!) They have been good for my feet in other physically demanding jobs. My feet are very wide at the ball and toes, but not at the heel - basically duck feet - and this brand seems to fit me very well.

I took Anatomy (5 cr) and Physiology (5 cr) in seperate semesters. I did very well, but would not recommend taking them during the same semester unless you have LOTS of free time and no other classes (well, except one really easy one), or have a very strong, recent biology background. With two kids, I'm guessing you don't have a great deal of free time. Others have done it, but I don't know how well they did or if they ever got into nursing school. These courses are tough due to the sheer volume of information you need to know. Also, Physio makes a lot more sense if you have already had Anatomy, since a bit of basic physio gets covered in Anatomy. These courses are the most important pre-reqs for nursing, so besides getting top grades to get into the School of Nursing, it helps to retain as much of it as possible. My personal opinion is that cramming these courses in one semester will diminish retention, if not break your spirit! One thing I can recommend, if you're a cheapskate like me, is to purchase the books on a website such as Amazon or Half.com, and get the previous edition to what the school tells you to buy. The info in the books change very little, although sometimes they rearrange the chapter order. Even the really old editions aren't too bad, but they tend to have fewer diagrams and charts, so it is a lot more work to organize all the information. Oh, another recommendation is to study from the books, or to make notes from the books and study that. The test questions come from the books, although some require some thought. The lab portions are a little different, and have their own exams. You will likely meet lots of other pre-nursing students in A & P. Some are planning to go to Ivy Tech, others to IU/IUPUI. :cheers: In the mean time, feel free to PM me if you want more info. One thing I am fairly certain of is that all the pre-reqs under new admission criteria are available at IUPUC. Oh yeah, I did get accepted to NS, so I'm not really a pre-nursing student anymore, but lots of others on this site are, and can be very supportive. I wish I had discovered this site a long time ago. Good Luck!

Handling toads causes warts. Hair's split ends can be repaired. Babies have to be bundled as if for an Anarctic expedition, even when its 90+ degrees outside. There is such thing as a "stomach flu". This is kinda fun. Lets hear some more.

How about the ol' "feed a cold, starve a fever" that our grandmothers (or great-grandmothers) used to tell everyone. I can remember my grandmother being genuinely worried that I was harming my first child by feeding her anything when she had a fever. :)

DATE RECIEVED: around May 24, 2006 PROGRAM: BSN SCHOOL: Indiana University STATE: Indiana! WHEN: August 22, 2006 :yelclap: Also accepted into Ivy Tech's LPN program in April (starts in August). I want to do the BSN, but am a bit anxious to get back into the full-time workforce. I almost withdrew my BSN application because of that ( not to mention that I was afraid I'd be rejected, anyway)! I wanted to run through the streets screaming all day when I got the letter, but that same day, my fiance learned that the place where he works is closing, so he will be out of a job in about a month. The good news is I have an interview at a Magnet facility :bowingpurnext week. It would be the perfect in-college job, and wouldn't it be great if I could stay at the same place after graduation?! Pray for me!

For IU School of Nursing at Indianapolis (IUPUI) and at Bloomington, students who did the majority of their undergraduate coursework at either the Bloomington, Indy, or Columbus campuses of Indiana U/IUPUI have priority over students from other campuses and colleges, so it is especially competitive for the latter. HOWEVER, I saw that they are changing admission criteria for students applying for Fall 2007. They might still use the priority thing (I have no idea), but they will be looking at more than just GPA. Click this link, http://www.indiana.edu/~iubnurse/ then "new requirements..." I'm assuming this applies to both accellerated and traditional BSN programs, but you'd better check with them to be sure of the requirements. I just came across it on their site and wanted to share the info. Seems like a good thing, especially since most people with a bachelor's degree had no intention of applying to nursing school while they were working on the degree. Good luck to all.

Be proud of your recent accomplishments, and don't look back! :w00t:As long as your pre-req grades are good, you would be in fine shape for admittance to most schools. I, too had bad grades from many years ago. Recently, after three semesters of 4.00 and one of 3.85, I still have only a 3.31 cum. GPA. What really stinks is that they won't "disappear" those bad grades, but they sure will disappear any old credit toward a degree, even if you got an A+. Oh well. I got into nursing school with no problems. Keep your head up, keep up the good work, and start practicing your victory dance!

Hiya! Thanks for the replies. I did find out that they do go strictly by the pre-nursing GPA, at least for now. However, I decided to start with Ivy Tech's LPN program instead, so I can get a better-paying job sooner, to help me survive financially through school. I already have all the general pre-reqs needed for the RN or BSN locally, so I won't need extra classes when I'm ready to go to the next level. I wonder if I should let my application go through IUPUI, just to see if I get an offer... On second thought, some poor student might get an "alternate" letter because of me, and be a nervous wreck for weeks. I better call them up today and withdraw it. I'm definitely IN the LPN program for fall (and very excited!). Incidentally, my campus of Ivy Tech picks LPN students strictly by the PSB-PN test score, for now. I think that is changing in 2007, though. Thanks for the morale boost regarding becoming a nurse at a ripe age. I really don't feel my age at all, but its kinda wierd to be starting a program with kids the same age as mine. I'm learning that there are so many others out there like me. I guess we had the music up too loud, back in the day, to hear our true calling! Thanks again. I'm loving this site.

I just took the PSB-PN test today and did very well, but it was a bit tougher than I expected. It is my understanding that no study guide specific to the PSB-PN exists. Therefore, I would recommend using a study guide for any other common nursing school entrance exam. They all seem to have similar material. I was surprised by the difficulty level of a few of the verbal/word-meaning questions. I have been a heavy reader all my life, so I didn't bother to study for that part. I was stumped on a couple of those questions. The Judgement and Vocational sections are probably not anything one could study for. They are mostly common sense one would use in any profession. I have heard that a lot of folks have a tough time with the judgement part. Just be sure to carefully read each question AND each answer before choosing the best answer out of the choices given. Good Luck!

Hello, all. I am new to this site, and just applied to IUPUI's traditional BSN program. Does anybody know how they determine your admissions GPA? Is it just the courses you list on the application, or do they count others on your transcript as well? Do I understand correctly that they just take all the "Category A" applicants, rank them by admissions GPA, then cut the list off at the number of spots? Any idea where those GPA's cut off typically? I have had so much recent math and science with A's, I shudder to think I might not get in, all over getting a B's in Psych, Soc, and Speech back in the 80's! Thanks in advance for any input. I'm going to be nervous for 6 months waiting to get THE BIG LETTER! Glad I found this site - it looks like there are plenty of other hopefuls like me, and I'm not the only one crazy enough to make a huge career switch at mid-life!