WorkingClassDog

For study questions, I'd highly recommend the Peds and L&D books from the "Success" series... Pediatric Success: A Course Review Applying Critical Thinking Skills to Test Taking (Davis Success Series): Beth Richardson DNS RN CPNP: 9780803620582: Amazon.com: Books Maternal and Newborn Success: A Q&A Review Applying Critical Thinking to Test Taking (Q&a Success): Margot DeSevo PhD LCCE IBCLC RNC: 9780803638099: Amazon.com: Books It's a lot of content to take in within a short period of time, but as a fellow dad myself ... I found Pediatrics really cool, and I learned a LOT from it. L&D was all right, and didn't seem nearly as demanding. Good luck!!

Joel - Congrats on your acceptance!! I'm in Nursing 3 @ Muhlenberg, I can assure you that you won't be the only guy there. Our class has about 10 guys out of 45-50. I'm not sure on the age, but our class is pretty diverse in terms of young to middle age. It's a great school, very demanding and challenging classes -- but worth it!

Hey SG - Yeah, I was there for NURM119 orientation. They took attendance and handed out the syllabus, and introduced several of the instructors. The main prof running the orientation was Prof. Millan - I'd email her for a copy of the syllabus and any last min info to get you caught up. In terms of the Chem class, yes - I'm taking that as well - the Timberlake book is so expensive it's ridiculous - the reason is, it's a custom package for the UCC Chem department... complete BS. I emailed my prof and he told me he doesn't choose to use any of the supplementary content, so to buy it wherever I could get the current version cheapest (for me, e-book all the way)

Hey there -- Yes it's two books for NURM 119.. here they are: Taylor, Carol Fundamentals of Nursing: The Art and Science of Nursing Care, North American Edition it's ISBN 9780781793834 - I linked it from Amazon or you can get it thru the school's bookstore, Rittenhouse via the school website Dudek, Susan G. Nutrition Essentials for Nursing Practice -- this one is ISBN 9780781784542 -- same deal - my link is via Amazon, but you get it via Rittenhouse too Rittenhouse's link is http://www.rittenhousebookstore.com/ and you just put the word "muhlenberg" in the school program ID box. Also -- if you like e-books better - the Fundamentals book (which is about 8 pounds is available via http://www.kno.com for the Ipad and PC -- they are a TON cheaper and have frequent discount codes -- you can use kno4all766 to take $10 off any purchase there. Hope this all helps! WCD

@Lee17 -- for A&P2, I had****** - she was awesome - definitely go with ***** or ******as first choices, ****** is also good according to some of my friends - although she can be a bit blunt -- beyond them, there are a lot of profs you'd want to *avoid* for A&P - check ratemyprofessor.com - the ones you'd want to not take stand out pretty clearly For Micro, hands down you will want to *fight* to get ******** - she is awesome and could easily be teaching anywhere - complete pro, great/clear lecturer, and very fair grader - I've had her this summer and loved the class -- if you can't snag a seat in her section (and it is hard, she fills extremely quick) go with *****, she teaches nights but works in a similar method to ******* and they've done projects together

@Lee17 -- absolutely sounds like you're looking at the right factors - MCC's program is definitely one of the better ones in the state, and you have to go with the right choice for your unique situation... if you do end up going with MCC, let me know which pre/co-reqs you haven't done yet, I could give you some recommendations on the best professors for each of them that I got from a member of the Nursing program selection committee (very off the record of course LOL) - I've taken her advice and been happy with all of my pre/co-reqs 110% :-) @Nancy_S -- congratz on getting accepted, even if it is waiting list... that's still an achievement these days honestly -- I know a good number of friends who haven't gotten that far... keep the faith, the right door will open

@Lee17 - I was able to locate the latest report from NCLEX pass rates in NJ to compare -- it's out there online, just takes some digging, I'll probably post the link in a sep thread for everyone to be able to grab -- going from '07 to '10 -- MCC has: 94.55% (2007) 80.56% (2008-last UMDNJ yr) 97.44% (2009) 94.12% (2010) Average of 91.66% for 4 yrs Muhlenberg has: 90.67% (2007) 92.11% (2008) 95.51% (2009) 94.32% (2010) Average of 93.15% for 4 yrs So on pass rates alone they are pretty dead even. I was aware that RBMC is going for Magnet As for the fall, I'm in Nurm119 on Thurs 9a-12p and then lab from 1-2pm -- hehe I'm older as well, so you're probably closer to my age than you think I had heard that RBMC was going for Magnet status, but that has some negatives associated with it... namely, hospitals focusing on it tend to lean toward hiring only BSN's from what I've been reading... so that didn't score as a positive for me.

@Lee17 - If most of the considerations were the same, I'd probably still pick Muhlenberg. For me, the hopsital you do your clinicals at is a big piece of the experience - and I've heard a few unflattering things about the Raritan Bay clinical experience (from those taking it there, as well as a couple of EMT buddies) as opposed to JFK. Also - commute distance is a big factor for me - and Old Bridge can be a real pain to get to during peak traffic (not that Edison is a picnic)... and as stressful as clinicals will be - I didn't want to add the pressure of a difficult commute to the mix if I could help it. The other factor that worked in Muhlenberg's favor in my mind, was the fact that JFK/Solaris essentially owns them -- so your chances to have an "in" to work at JFK fresh out of getting your RN are good, if you've made connections and have a good reputation from your training there. With MCC's program, I wasn't hearing the same kind of feedback in terms of getting a job at Raritan Bay. Of course nothing is rock solid guaranteed, but these days any advantage you have is a good thing Good luck with your decision!

Just some quick clarifications -- I'm an MCC student and I've taken all my pre-reqs there ... and I will be going to Muhlenberg this fall. I found MCC's faculty for the pre-req/co-req classes to be great -- I'm sure everyone's experiences differ -- but my view is you are buying your education, and it's a HUGE investment of money toward your future. It pays to be an informed "shopper" -- use ratemyprofessor.com to look up the instructors' names and get an idea of others' experiences in their classes...also, ask your friends who attend there for recommendations on solid instructors. I did both, and I can honestly say I had no bad experiences there. I'm currently taking Micro there, and most of my classmates are in the actual Nursing program and speak highly of it. The one thing i will say if you attend MCC, is register the first day the online system opens up -- and grab seats in the sections of the Profs you want as early as possible -- the good ones close extremely quick -- like the first day in some cases My situation worked out that Muhlenberg was a better fit schedule-wise, and I'm very encouraged by what I've heard from those who graduated there, as well as from walking around their facilities and classrooms. In terms of MCC's program -- there is NO waitlist -- one of the members of their nursing admission committee confirmed that when I applied there. Everyone starts from scratch each year when they apply. However, they do get around 900-1100 apps each year for just over 100 seats. Many are eliminated for not meeting all the application requirements, but it's still extremely competitive for admissions. Additionally, this year they are going to again revise the minimum requirements to get in -- previously only a C was required in your most recent lab based Bio and Chem -- next year that will be a B minimum to even qualify to apply. My personal view is that both programs are good, and will give you the knowledge for the board exams... so go with what makes sense for your personal situation :) Hope that helps!

I'm curious from both those who have done either job, and nurses already in practice... what do you feel the better job is for a Nursing Student - working as a Patient Care Tech, or a Unit Secretary? And why? The hospital I will be doing my clinicals in has a program for Nursing students to work in either role within one year of graduation - so I'd like to make a choice that's logical for my success in the field. I have a ton of administrative/customer service and management experience from previous careers that I could apply toward being a unit secretary, but I'm wondering if PCT's end up with more experience overall. Thanks in advance for the feedback! WCD

I'm done with all the pre/co-reqs except for electives & Intro to Chemistry, which I'm taking in the Fall. All total I'm taking 12 credit hrs this fall so I can get FT Financial Aid - after Fall our clinicals will be 8-9 credit hours on their own, so it will be easier to get 12... but since we only have Fundamentals and Math for Pharmacology 1st semester - it's only 4 without other classes. I'm doing the Math/Pharmacology course in Fall too. WCD

Hi Sargam - Nio problem - yes I've registered for Fall. I tried online Monday and could login to UCC's system but not get registered. You can view the sections for all the classes by going to http://webservices.ucc.edu and just pick "Prospective Student" it won't need a login. Mulhlenberg's classes are under two headings -- MH and MHBN - so you have to search under both to see all the times. You will have to go to UCC's campus in Plf, Cranford or Eliabeth for them to input your registration manually for nursing classes - that's what they told me. Bring ALL the letters Muhelenberg has sent, because some of the info isn't online yet in both places. Some of my friends have been able to register for non-nursing stuff online -- but the Muhl stuff they had to go to campus for. If you got your email/letter from UCC or Muhlenberg with your login, give it a try. As of right now (today) there's about 20 seats left in the day section for 119, so if you want days you should be fine -- same with the night section. Just make sure to get both the lecture (NURM-119) and the lab (NRML-119). Hope this helps -- if you've got any other questions I'll try to help ... I know the whole process has been really confusing -- lol -- we all have to compare notes to figure it out. Also - they emailed me tonight and said our transfer credit won't appear for another 2-3 weeks -- so that's going to screw up the system recognizing pre-reqs ... making us all have to drive to UCC's campus to get registered manually. WCD

Sure! PM away Is anyone trying to register with UCC this morning for Muhlenberg classes? The system isn't allowing me to do anything at all... seems like they really haven't broken the new UCC web advisor in too well

Don't worry -- most schools usually round up if you are at .5 or better... I'd bet they do the same! I did better than I had expected on the TEAS - 83 in Math, English & Crit Thinking, 93 on Reading. Thanks and congratz yourself!! No, I'm going to be in the generic program w advanced standing - xferring pretty much all my co-requisites from MCC. I spoke to someone in their office about the "you must take all remaining classes at UCC" -- she said that only applies from Fall forward... so if you have classes scheduled and/or paid for this Summer - they still will be eligible for transfer.

Hey everyone ... I took my TEAS on 4/9, got my results the following Thursday -- and then got a letter from Muhlenberg a little over 2 weeks later -- I got in!! Yay! A buddy of mine took the TEAS in March and it took about 4 weeks to get his acceptance letter, so it looks like they are moving a bit faster on notifications now. WCD