EffinP_Meg

I forgot to clarify, I'm moving BACK to WI in August. It will be my state of residence.

Hi all, I'm new to travel and have applied and talked with Cirrus, Nurses in Partnership, Freedom Healthcare (didn't get a good vibe from them though), and Valley Healthcare Systems. I want to start traveling in September. All the recruiters I've talked to have told me to start getting licenses in states I want to travel, but I have a broad scope of where I want to go. I currently have a NY state license. I figure I'll apply to CA, WI (my "home" state, has a compact license), maybe OR, or CO. Does anyone have any recommendations or thoughts? This seems like it's going to get expensive and be a headache. Ugh. Thank you! ~Meagan

Hi all, I plan to start travel nursing in September. I've worked in a pediatric ER in NYC for 3 years, and it's time to move on. I have a few questions though: I will be giving up my apartment in NY and will just be traveling with no "tax home". I'll stay with my parents between assignments, but I haven't actually lived there or paid bills there in over a decade. What can I expect when it comes to taxes? Am I going to be at a huge disadvantage? Has anyone else done this? I plan to take whatever housing is arranged for me by the agency. Does this mean I will get NO housing stipend at all? What's a sample of people's take home pay per week? Health insurance. Is it crap? Sigh...this is almost more stressful than finding a permanent position somewhere. I just don't know where I want to move to after NY, so traveling seems to be the solution. Please let me know if you have any answers to my questions. Thank you! ~M

I work in a peds ER. My favorites have been: "Got caught smoking pot" (sent via EMS from school...and we've had 5 or 6 of those!) "menstrual cramps" (via EMS) "He's not eating" (as he sits on mom's lap sucking on a lollipop) "Not pooping" (the problem resolved itself prior to seeing the dr) "passed out 2 days ago" "stomach got stuck in zipper" (via EMS from school. Her tummy got pinched in her pants zipper...no trauma, no bleeding, no mark of any kind. The school aide told me "you know, schools have to be careful; there could be some sort of internal bleeding or something." Uhhhh huh.)

I was one of the unfortunate students moving across the country who did NOT get student housing, which caused me to go into a huge panic for about a month. I don't want to be the bearer of bad news, but last year, about half of the students who applied for student housing were wait-listed. The off-campus student housing office is pretty much worthless too. I know a lot of people that had temporary summer housing and then apartment searched in July/August. For the summer, I had housing through http://www.studenthousing.org/. It was a dorm type situation and I had a (very young) roommate. It's not perfect, but it was cheap and easy. And it gave me time to find my apartment. I just want to throw that out there to offer options and prepare people for reality. As for the uniforms, for girls, don't get the skirts if you don't have to for religious reasons. I suggest 2-3 pairs (I got 3 pants and 2 shirts). The warm-up jacket is a waste of money. You'll really don't need it b/c you're generating heat running around the floor.

Reading this thread is so funny now! I'm finishing the ETP portion this May, and I'm on the FNP track. I totally remember all your anxieties and how nervous I was! Believe me, it all works out. And, if you've read any of my previous posts, I don't regret my decision at all. I just wanted to post part of a response I wrote to one of your future classmates that will fill you in on classes and workload, because I know I was super worried about that stuff last year (aside from housing...the major debacle). During the summer, you will basically be in class 6-8 hours a day, 5 days a week. You have your lectures on Mon, Tues, and Fri. On Wed and Thurs, you're either in skills lab, where you learn technical skills and play with really expensive humanoid dummies, or you're at clinical. The summer is 10 weeks-ish, and I'll be honest, they call it boot camp for a reason. But it's doable. We all made it, but man, that break in August is a god-send! You pretty much will have an exam every 1-2 weeks, so time management is key. What got me through the summer is my study group. We literally studied almost every evening. Find yourself a good study group, stat! That support is crucial. It gets easier in the fall when you start what's called your 5x5's. Basically, you have 5 rotations, each lasting 5 weeks. During those 5 weeks, you have two days of class in that specific subject, and two days of clinical in that area. For example, right now I'm in med/surg. On Mondays and Fridays I have med/surg lecture and on Wednesdays and Thursdays I'm at clinical on a med/surg floor. After these each of the 5 weeks are over, you move to your next rotation. The 5x5s consist of: Med/Surg, Psych, Community, OB, and Peds. You have 5x5s into the spring semester as well (We're all on our last rotation now! Woohoo!) In the fall you also take 2 other lecture based classes, and in the spring you only have one other class each week. It's pretty laid back by the time spring comes. At the end of your 5x5 rotations, you do what's called "integration" where you work one on one with a nurse and basically follow her/him around for 2 months or so working a regular nursing shift. Pretty much all of your classes are multiple choice exam based. You have a couple of SOAP notes and care plans due for clinicals here and there, but there really aren't many papers (there are just too many of us for profs to read them all). In total, I've had to do 2 group papers, one major presentation, and two little presentations. If you can, review Anatomy and Physiology as much as possible. I'm still looking things up all the time. Oh, and get yourself a good NCLEX review book.

Less than 2 weeks now!

I talked to someone at Columbia about shoes, and they said that Crocs are okay, as long as they are the line that do NOT have holes in them. I think they are the Endeavor line? Just FYI.

Most nurses I talk to say, if anything, splurge on your shoes. I've been looking online, but I feel like I really need to try them on to really judge them. Every nurse I've talked to says get a pair of Crocs, but I find them ghastly ugly!! I'd like to find something a little more appealing to the eye, if possible, but I might end up sacrificing fashion for comfort. And I chose Citibank because I get a much better interest rate through them as opposed to Sallie Mae, and Sallie Mae was a pain to deal with. I couldn't find the information I needed on the website, and got annoyed and felt like they were hiding things. Probably just me being overly skeptical, but I felt more comfortable with Citibank. I'm sure Sallie Mae is fine though. It can't be the #1 lender for nothing! On a related note, did you all know that Columbia's Financial Aid Director (not Oscar, the director for the entire university) was either let go or resigned because of the whole "preferred lending" scandal? I found that curious! If you aren't familiar with it, basically a bunch of universities are under scrutiny due to accepting kick-backs from lenders (including Sallie Mae) for promoting their loans to students. Not saying that I'm morally opposed to that or anything, just found it somewhat interesting.

Iriska, I too am putting off purchasing things, but I think I'll go ahead and get some shoes now. Were there any recommendations that anyone heard of? I'm sure I can search around the forums and find something. I'll probably hold off on buying a PDA for a little while longer though, until I'm sure for what I'll need to use it. I gave up on Sallie Mae, and went with a private loan from Citibank. No matter where it comes from, $58,000 in private loans is a lot! It took a lot to push that "submit application" button. I hope we get our personal expense money, because I'm moving to NY on basically nothing! I put my summer housing payment on a credit card! :uhoh21: ACK! I've heard you have to really stay on top of the financial aid office, though. Those of you who got housing in Bard, when do you move in?

Ack! Do we need to have a PDA this year? I thought it was just the second year that we needed one! I feel so behind on all of this, because it took me so long to make up my mind that I was actually going. I JUST got my financial aid and health forms done! Luckily, I've found housing! If anyone's still looking for off campus housing for the summer try: http://www.studenthousing.org. SOOO excited, and yet extremely nervous at the same time. Can't wait to meet everyone though!!

Hi all, I'm supposed to start Columbia's ETP program at the end of May, and I'm starting to have second thoughts. I was accepted to the FNP track, and I've been scouring the message boards here and any info I can find on the internet to calm my nerves. I've heard very mixed reviews of the program, and I'm nervous about starting a program that I'm unsure of. I know I'm capable of handling it academically, but the move to NY (from Minnesota) is a huge commitment, and I'm just crazy nervous. I know the program has undergone a lot of changes in the past few years, hopefully for the better. Are there any ETP grads that can give me some advice? Was it really as dysfunctional as everyone claims? I've heard that the preceptors for clinicals are fairly resentful of Columbia students. I feel like all I can find is negative comments, and I'd like to hear some of the positive before I pack up my life for NYC. :uhoh21: Yikes! Any input would be appreciated!

Alrighty then, who else is looking for a roommate or two? I certainly am! PM me if you're stuck in the whole housing (or lack there of) dilemma too.

Wonderful! Thank you so much! I've been looking for a map like that for days now. :)

Which neighborhoods would you suggest looking in or avoiding? Craigslist has neighborhoods listed; "Harlem/Morningside", "Inwood/Wash Heights", "Upper West Side", etc. Is right around campus not suggested? I'm moving from Minnesota, so I'm not at ALL familiar with the area, except the little I saw when visiting.