Aynge

Congrats on acceptance to the nursing program! As for the TCC bookstore, well....that isn't even the regular bookstore but a temporary site until the new store is remodeled or construction is finished. The temp site is pitifully small and cramped. I haven't been in there lately so I have no idea why they would have that area blocked off. Last year when I got accepted they didn't even have the fall books in until July. Okay for the books, now this might have changed so I'm just going off how it was last fall. The Elkins and the Jarvis book both had online components with it and they come bundled together with the CD and code from the bookstore. I know some people who bought both of those online then had to buy the online component/cd and ended up spending too much $$. The Fundamentals, the Clinical calculations, and the Tabor's could be bought used (again this was just my experience from last fall). For the Fundamental book especially you might look in the nursing building on the bulletin boards; quite a few people sell them that way. Other books you will need later but not right away are: a nursing drug book, a nursing care plan book, a lab reference book, oh and that Swearingen book Manual to Medical-Surgical Nursing or something like that. All of those can be bought used IMO. I waited and asked my clinical instructor which drug, nursing care plan, and lab books she recommended. And honestly we didn't even need them until clinicals started towards the end of September. And I can sympathize with the $$ situation. I never even bought a lab book (just mooched off a friend or used the one in the nurse's station on the floor I was on) or the Swearingen book (I broke down and got one this semester on amazon for like 11 bucks with shipping). I think that first semester I spent close to $600 on books. But you will use them or reference back to those books in other semesters as well. Good luck to you. Nursing school has been one of the most rewarding and challenging things I've ever experienced. I really look back at that first semester and treasure the bonding experience of being a foundations student.

A&P 1 and 2 were defintely the hardest for me. Even though I was very interested in the subject, my lecture professor was so dry and straight from the book that it was hard not to let my eyes glaze over. Labs were difficult too just because of the sheer volume of info to cram into such a short time. Thank goodness for the science lab because some of the models and info could only find in there and not in the actuall classroom lab. Micro and chem were a breeze in comparison because the teachers were both outstanding and the labs more hands-on and enjoyable.

Wow, I just found this site today. I'm also starting this fall in TCC nursing program and am very nervous but so excited too! In fact, I was so nervous at orientation that I had to go back today and look at my schedule again just to make sure I had it right. 110 students looking at one bulletin board was a bit nuts!