Daisy117

HCMC will typically hire new ADN RN's, but it does help to have someone internally who is able to forward your resume onto the hiring managers. I know Healtheast is very particular about wanting their staff to have a BSN, but the others I'm not quite certain. Good luck in your search.

When I started the program last fall we were the first class to endure the changes that had been made to the program. I am hopeful that they now have the kinks worked out of the program across the board. For all of the core nursing classes there were no tests. Everything was discussions, papers, and group projects. Everything is theory based. Statistics is offered online. I personally found it difficult because you have 16 weeks worth of information being given to you in 8 weeks. The instructor I had was wonderful and willing to try and help in any way. In the end I actually contacted a tutor to get some further instruction, because the book that we used was not always clear. Are you currently working as a RN? If so, that will help you tremendously. I am still looking for a job and it made it difficult at times to relate to all of the projects and assignments without any RN work experience. Good luck with the program!

I am right there with you. I passed my boards last August and have yet to find a job. I have applied for hundreds of jobs since last August and have not even got an interview yet. I also had my resume completely revamped in March and still have heard nothing. What I have heard is that a majority of the local hospitals have eliminated their new grad training programs due to budget constraints. So here we are turning out hundreds of thousands of new nursing grads each year and the facilities here are not willing to take the time to train them. I know a lot of the folks that I graduated with in May 2009 actually had to move to southern states to find work. I unfortunately am not able to do that because my husband is a state employee. I am 21 weeks pregnant and my chances of finding a job before I have the baby are going to be even more challenging. I feel all of your frustrations. So the next concern is what is going to happen when all of the nurses who are on the verge of retirement retire and they have not taken the time to train the new grads who are out there. This will lead to no crossover training and a gap between the new grads that they eventually hire and those who remain on the floor. The patients will suffer.

I also went to St. Scholastica and I had to take one religion class which focused more on spirituality than Catholicism. The nun that taught my class was very interesting and open minded, never judging. The overall 9 month RN-BSN program contains a lot of writing, but the online program was very helpful. The deal breaker for me was the length of the program. I wanted to have my BSN completed as quickly as possible.

I am currently in the process of completing the RN to BSN at St. Scholastica. I looked at other programs also, but the driving force behind why I chose St. Scholastica was the time frame in which you complete the degree. It is a 9 month on-line program. It can be tough at times to manage all of it while working full time. Jobs are few and far between right now for new grads. Some are having better luck than others. I have not applied for a MSN degree yet, but I am looking at a few options St. Scholastica is offering. Good luck with your journey!

I took my test on a Thursday last summer and my results were posted to the BON online license verification by 8 am the next day.

I believe most nursing schools waiting lists are at least a year long. I completed my RN in May at LSC in Duluth. I was on the waiting list for a year before being admitted. The one thing that you need to also make sure that you consider when looking into nursing school is that it is an accredited school of nursing. I personally have found out the hard way what happens when the school you attended was not an accredited school of nursing and it stinks. One other thing to consider is that while you are on the waiting list to get into the nursing program finish your AA degree if you are looking at a community college. This will allow you to continue your education if you choose to after you have completed your RN degree. Good luck finding a school.

The College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, MN offers a 9 month online RN to BSN program. It can be pretty intense at times, but the reward in the end will be well worth it. You do have to have your AA degree completed prior to starting their program also. Good Luck!

Another option that you could try is to listen to A&P lectures online. Dr. C from St. Scholastica actually posts his A&P lectures to Itunes and they are very good. I found them to be very helpful when I took A&P, I also listen to pieces from time to time to refresh my memory.

Most AD programs will require you to have A&P and Chemistry completed before you can even apply to a program. I am not sure what the waiting list situation is in the Twin Cities, but I know that LSC's program in Duluth is going back to a waiting list and it is usually a year or more. Most of the community colleges offer A&P and Chemistry, but not many offer A&P I & II during the summer. You may look at taking them at a community college while finishing your BSN. Good Luck!

Hello, my name is Jessica and I recently passed the PN-NCLEX . It is hard for me to actually adapt to calling myself a nurse. I will be starting the RN program at the end of August, I can't wait. Good luck to everyone!

I am not from the Duluth area so I am not sure where Bixby's is. I do not know the reasoining behind why they are going to the GPA method, but I do know that most of the schools in the cities have gone this route also. The GPA method of allowing folks into the program I think will help to solve many issues with the pass rate, the individual's who are up in the air about whether or not they really want to do this, but it will also eliminate some peope who could make great nurses just because of a few grade points. I am on campus Wednesday's until noon, the weekend's are a bit hard for me right now to get to Duluth. We have lost a total of 5 from our original 60, roughly 8% of our class. So that's really not a significant loss. The instructors do try to scare you at first and it can be rather intimidating, but all in all they are very helpful and willing to work with you so you do succeed.

With a 4.0 I am guessing that you will be just fine. For your first semester I strongly recommend a rolling backpack. We spent close to $600 on 12 books and 5 instructor packets for our first semester books, although many of them are now being used in the second semester. If you get into the program and have Deb as your Adult Nursing I teacher, I strongly recommend recording her lectures and listening to them to review your notes on a regular basis, it helped me tremendously. Yes, we are still wearing the dreaded white. If I wasn't in class, I was reading something. I spent a lot of time reading and reviewing my first semester, I am trying to get back into the groove of things now and am having a hard time. The NET test is not that bad, you have nothing to honestly worry about. If you are ever at school and want to touch base I would gladly meet up with you to walk you through what my experience has been and what to beware of. Have you taken Microbiology yet? If not I would strongly recommend taking that if possible prior to starting the PN program, because you will need it to be accepted into the 2nd year. With the LPN program you are pretty much in class or clinical M-F and the second semester of the program is worse than the first, there is a lot of busy work that is required during the second semester that was not there in the first semester, it may be that they think you should have your feet under you by now so they up the intensity.

I am from the Twin Cities, but currently living in the northwoods of MN. I am in my second semester of the LPN program at LSC in Duluth and hoping to be admitted to the RN program for Fall of 2008. I can't wait to move back to the cities, I miss the life.

I am currently enrolled in the LPN program at LSC and am hoping that my GPA is good enough for the 2nd year, which is the RN program. The only recommendation that I can give is to make sure and keep your grades up. For the second year of the program you are competing with anyone who applies to get into the program, not just the people from your class, you are also competing with the folks from the rural group (FDLTCC). I am not certain how big the class is for the 2nd year, but I know that it is smaller than the class of 60 that we have right now. My understanding is that as of January 2008, there is no longer a waiting list at LSC, it is all GPA based now even for the first year of the program. Your first year is your LPN license and then if your GPA is good enough, you pass your LPN boards, and you choose to go onto the 2nd year then you are accepted into the RN program. The GPA expectation changes with every acceptance period, it is based off of the number of spots that are open and the GPA's of the individuals who are applying. I can say that I have been happy so far with the education that I have received in the first semester of the program, it is overwhelming and scary at first, but the instructors overall are fantastic. Also the FDLTCC students are actually taking their classes on the LSC campus at this time, I do not know what is going on with the program at FDLTCC. Good luck with the admission process.