cgg702

I was accepted into the University of Arizona's accelerated BSN program (starts this June). I had a 3.6 GPA. I know for a fact that my GPA was probably one of the lowest accepted. Over 200 people applied for 64 spots. About half the applicants were interviewed by a panel of faculty members and local hospital recruiters. This was the first year they've done interviews, and I heard it was because in the past, they've only looked at GPA for determining who was accepted, and that as a result, ended up with students who were book smart but lacked communication and people skills. They also considered essays that we had to submit. It's nice to know that the school is now looking beyond the numbers when considering applicants, because numbers don't always tell the whole story (I would have had a 3.8 pre-req GPA if I hadn't missed an A in A&P by one point!)

Hi! I will be starting nursing school in May and am considering going into the ED. Currently I volunteer in my local ED every week. So far I really like what I see and think I would do well there, the only thing I haven't reconciled myself with is the inconsistency of the workload. I love being there when it's busy and hectic, but when it's slow I am bored out of my skull! How do ED nurses deal with down time? Do you get bored, or is the down time a welcome relief?

DATE RECEIVED: March 20th, 2006 (first day of spring!) PROGRAM: Accelerated BSN SCHOOL: University of Arizona (Tucson) STATE: AZ WHEN DOES SCHOOL START: June 5, 2006 Getting accepted is an AMAZING feeling! But I was also surprised at how RELIEVED I was for the waiting to finally be over! I hadn't realized what a toll the waiting and anticipation had taken on me. When I finally opened the letter, I started crying out of equal parts joy and feeling a huge burden lifted.......

Hey Michelle! I'm in at U of A too!!!!!!!!!! Wooooooooooohooooooooooooooo!!!! :D I will also be working at Carondelet. I'm glad to hear about the busy ER and ICU - those are the areas I'm considering. I'll see u in class - I'm so excited I don't know whether to laugh or cry!!!!!!!!!!!

I have some experience with this - I got my first degree in a similar type program where a federal agency paid for my entire college education (books and tuition). The work commitment after I graduated was four years. At first it was very hard to wrap my mind around the concept that I would owe someone 4 years of my time, because I'm a pretty independent girl myself. But once I actually graduated and started working, I realized what a sweet deal it was. I didn't love my job, but I was making good money and I was learning a lot. All my friends were complaining about their school loans and how they couldn't afford anything, while I bought a new car and spent a month in Europe. The 4 years flew by, and now that I've come to the end of that chapter of my life, I'm ready to pursue nursing, hopefully all paid for again (I just applied to U of A's accelerated BSN program where you are sponsored by a hospital and have a 2 year work commitment afterward). You really just have to weigh the pros and cons. Even if you weren't thrilled with your new job, it will still be experience in a field that u want to be in. After that u can leave, footloose and fancy free to go anywhere u like. And who knows, maybe u would love it at Banner. When it gets down to it, the decision of course is yours. Would u rather owe the hospital your time or the bank your money?

This is definitely one of the reasons I want to be a nurse - the opportunity to explore so many different aspects of the same profession. Variety is the spice of life, and I like it hot!

Hi Danielle! I interviewed this past Saturday at U of A too. I think I did well. Maybe we'll be classmates....

I have taken several classes from Rio Salado, and like any other course, self-motivation and time are two of the biggest factors in doing well. With an online class, those factors are even more important because there is no teacher right there to emphasize what's important in lecture. With Rio, they give u a ton of focus points in the lessons, which makes u think that those are the important things to study for the test, then they up and test u on other things. It stinks, and my grades sometimes suffered because of that. On the other hand, from what I've read on this website, this is often what happens in nursing classes so maybe it's a good lesson to learn early on. With that said, my teachers were very responsive when I had questions. They usually responded within 48 hrs. I'm not saying i liked the teachers, because oftentimes I didn't, but they did answer questions. My suggestion (probably too late for the OP) would be to take easier pre-reqs such as psychology and nutrition online, and take the hard science stuff (micro, a&p) in a traditional classroom setting

Does anyone have recommendations for those of us with very flat feet?

What did u mean when u said they mainly focus on primary care? Why would that be bad for a new grad? And what bad things have u heard about UMC? I've heard mostly good things.

Thanks, cardiacRN! Maybe I'll put TMC at the bottom of my list of choices...

I am applying for U of A's accelerated program too. I have an interview on Feb 25th. I'm pretty sure that UMC, Carondolet AND TMC are possible sponsors. There is an information session for prospective students in Feb and we were instructed to come and talk with representatives from the sponsoring agencies who will be there. You are supposed to identify your top two choices of where u would like to work by the time your interview rolls around. CardiacRN (or anyone else), please tell us where your good and bad clinical experiences were. I would like advice on where to go also!

I would definitely suggest volunteering in a local public health facility. It's amazing how many community/county/state programs are out there. I walked into my local county health department a month ago for a TB test and offhandedly asked if they took volunteers. The nurse's eyes just lit right up and I started the very next week. I mostly work with the immunizations RN. So far I really love working with the demographic that we get there - mostly Hispanics (yes, it helps to know even basic Spanish!), Native Americans, single moms and teenage moms. I also volunteer in the ED at the local hospital, and in comparison, the county is better because u get so much more contact with the patients.

I'm not in the nursing program, but I'm taking a nursing assistant class at Coconino Community College in Flagstaff. To get into the program, you have to take a HESI exam and be a licensed CNA. Required pre-reqs are chemistry, basic english, biology, algebra, and A&P I. I think those are fairly adequate requirements. As far as your school, it sounds like you're talking about Pima Community College. I actually just called down there the other day to ask some questions and was told that there's a waiting list out to 2008! It seems silly to turn away good candidates if your screening process is so thin.

You may want to consider an accelerated BSN program that covers the cost of tuition. All u have to do is cover your personal expenses. Most of these are sponsored by local hospitals or health care networks with the requirement that u work for them for a specified number years after graduation. I think it's a pretty fair deal. There are 2 programs like this that I know of: University of Arizona and Winston-Salem State University (North Carolina). If u're willing to relocate, and u have a good GPA (I was told that the average GPA of accepted students in the U of A program was 3.7), then u could try it.