TeeRN2Be

I just wanted to say congrats to you for passing on your first try!! :yeah: Hesi is hard and for you to have passed it on your first attempt it says you did know your material. I would pat myself on the back too, because if anyone has ever took Hesi, they would know that it's not something that you can really study for- either you know the material or you don't. Preparation is based on your current knowledge and how you apply the knowledge you have been taught. Sometimes even the review course and the Hesi Exit Prep book is not helpful.... Good luck to you and congrats on your upcoming graduation

From what I hear, they prefer new grads with BSN but if you "know" someone, you can probably still get a job as an ADN. HTH

Tomorrow you guys should be having Clinical Orientation, we all are Your first semester you guys will be in LTAC and rehab facilities. Our first day was scary, exciting, and an eye opener all in one! This semester in clinical you all will focus on vital signs without machines, bed baths, making an occupied and un occupied bed, nursing assessment, and at the end passing out meds to your patient. I know it may be scary but when you first walk into your patient room, walk in with confidence. A patient does not want someone frightened to take care of them. Walk in with a smile, you never know how much a smile in those type of facilities make the patients day. When you come to clinical, be prepared with all of your materials i.e. stethoscope, pen light, at least 3 black click pens, your watch, a clipboard if possible and NO GUM. Your instructors are expecting you to act as professional student nurses, don't let them down. The same instructors you have this semester you will probably have next semester so don't start off on the bad foot. I really can't tell you how to study for exams as everyone is different and even now at Level III you would think I have a method down but honestly I do not. In First Steps to Success did you guys learn how you learn the best? If you did, that's how I would tell you if you are keen to study groups, get with people in the SAME category as you. If you are not keen to study groups, do not force yourself into one, it may just winde up hurting you more than helping you. If you learn by hearing tape your lectures and listen to them in the car, MP3 player etc, if you learn by doing try to act out what you are reading, etc. visualize what you are reading, you will soon learn that nursing exams are nothing like your pre-req exams... they are mostly application based. I would advise all of you to buy the book Fundamentals Success and Test Success. They both will be your best friend in Level I, and if you master those, you may do better on your exams than some of your class mates ( I bought the book and never opened it until Level II) Go over your Powerpoints before every exam, take the section that was went over in the Powerpoint go to your textbook and study that section. Take all of the NCLEX review tests at the back of your required chapters and on the Evolve website. Set aside time each day to read even if it's for an hour. I do not reccommend CRAM exam sessions. If that works for you, you may burn out by the end of this semester. I tell you this by experience and I would only set all of you up for success. Walking into your first day of clinical it's going to hit you. I am officially a student nurse. I wish you all good luck tomorrow, please let me know how it went for all of you and if you have any more questions, please post them

Hi Kat, Just wanted to offer you some encouragement. If you can, I would go the RN route rather than the LVN route.... the LVN pay is not that great unless you're in an LTAC facility....start the pre-req's for the RN program, and since I'm gathering you may have good SAT scores, apply with that option. There are alot of hospitals phasing out LVN's here in Houston, I would rather set you up for success rather than failure. HTH, and good luck with your decision.

I am a Nursing III student and am in the night program. I am a wife, a mother of four kids, work full time, and go to nursing school full time. I will not lie, it is extremely hard to do all this simultaneously.... one of my roles always suffers at some point in the semester, but I do what I have to do to keep it moving. In the night program almost all of us, at least 80% of us work full time and have managed to remain in the program while doing so... you do what you have to do. Congrats on applying to program, if you do not have A's in the 1st 3 courses (A&P I or II, Intro to Pscyhe and Comp I) I would suggest you go ahead and retake it this semester so that you will be set to apply in the summer. To the Nursing I students, strap your boot straps, I hope you're ready for this wild but exciting ride. If any of you need help, please message me here and I'll do what I can to help you. Try not to get overwhelmed, pay attention to your power points in class for studying your exams, if you can not read every single page, read most of what you can (trust me, there will be exams with like 11 chapters of reading covered in about 3 or 4 days...you do the math) tape your lectures if you can... the Nursing I instructors are awesome, you'll love them. Congrats to all of you!!!

E- They tell you don't take Pharm if you're applying to Cy-fair because if you do, you have to pass a hard math Pharm test administered by Cy-fair to consider it complete. I would not take Pharm if I was only applying to Cy-fair until the program when required and I think it is in the second or third semester. Cy-fair is in a league of their own... As far as Life Span, that class was easy-peasy to me and I don't see any reason why not to take it during the Fall if you can. The class just went over psychology from birth-death as far as I can remember anyway. I can't remember the hours of Cy-fair program but I want to say they start at 8 and it's four days a week... really can't remember. Their uniforms are navy and orange, nothing like the other Lone Star system nursing programs and their program is a block program instead of integrated. They turn out great nurses though... most say their program in one of the hardest in the system, but it's for the best. Good luck!

In Houston, most of the hospitals in the medical center is not hiring new grads. Most is on a hiring freeze. Our own Houstonian new grads can't find jobs...

cschoppe- Don't lose hope. That was Cy-fair's cut off for Spring 2009. You have an excellent shot! Keep the faith

You're welcome :wink2: I would take CPR now to have it out of the way why you're still waiting on time to pass and make sure if you do take it, that it is the one for Healthcare Providers. When accepted, 1172 is in January and either for a month if you're doing it on Saturdays or for 4 days straight during the week. They offer day and evening courses. Day is 12:30-3:00PM I believe and evening is 5:00PM-7:30 or 8:00PM. Clinicals are Monday, Wed, Thurs, Fri and Sat. Our uniforms are teal bottoms and white tops. Have you took Pharm yet? If not, I would try and get in a class and finish that prior to being admitted. I took Pharm with Fundamentals last semester and it was a little overwhelming. If you've already taken it, brush up on dosage calculations because you will have a test every semester starting with Level I. If you have any other questions, just ask

Good luck to you all! I'm getting ready to enter Nursing II at Kingwood, for all of you trying for Kingwood, awesome choice! I love my school. I put all of my eggs in a basket and only applied to Kingwood because I have to work full time during the day to pay my mortgage, daycare, truck note, etc... and did I mention my 4 kiddos :wink2: I won't lie to you and tell you that it won't be hard but it is manageable, you just have to manage your time well and you should get by. My score was 11.7448 and I prayed that would get me in. Our Spring 2009 cut off was 11.45, so remember to study hard for the Reading part of Hesi... there is where most of your score comes from. Try to enjoy the rest of your time off... to pass the time by I will tell you guys what some of the veterans told me. If you can, get a NCLEX book and start at least reading it. Other good books to buy are Fundamentals for Nursing Success and also Test Success for Beginning Nursing Students. Trust me, you'll thank me later. :smokin:Nursing test questions are nothing like you're used to so you might want to see how they are formatted. If I can help in anyway, please let me know. Congrats to you all and good luck

No problem :-) I'm all ears. I know how frustrating it is to have 50 million questions (not that you do but I did) and not a lot of people in my situation that could help. I go to Lone Star College in Kingwood. They have an evening RN program and only admit in the spring semester. I'm not going to lie to you. It's very hard, working fulltime, going to nursing school fulltime, being a mom of 4 kids under the age of 11 amongst other things but you do what has to be done to get somewhere- at least that's what I keep telling myself. I'm not a LVN, a Medical Assistant by trade but now I work as a Staffing Coordinator. My youngest just turned 1 and when we began school this past January I had just had surgery in September, was still recouping and trucked on because I've waited so long. I was lucky when I graduated trade school for my Medical Assisting and got on a floor in a hospital working as a PCA. That was over ten years ago though.... last year, you could have probably got on in a hospital with your LTC experience, but the pickings are slim right now because of the economy. Some of our NA's came from LTC facilities, so I know this to be true. Our hospital is on a hiring freeze for almost every position. What I have saw done from applicants though is to put your application in, find out the unit/department, call the operator and ask to be transferred to that particular department and then ask for the nurse manager. This works for some. Sounds icky but just be persistent. If you want to pursue your LVN, most schools have no pre-req's. You only have to take the entrance exam. Get a TASP study guide and study that to refresh yourself. You can always transition later for your RN if you choose to. Good luck with whatever decision you make and please post back if you have any other questions :-)

Hi. There are many LVN programs in the Houston area but know that many hospitals are phasing out LVNs and some are even paying for their LVNs to go back to school to get their RN. ( I work for one of the biggest, if not the largest hospital in TMC and they are doing this). While I would suggest you maybe look into getting your RN, especially since you already have an undergrad degree- you may be able to apply to an acclerated RN program after completing the other pre-req's. I know you mentioned you have 4 kids, I do also and work fulltime and go to nursing school full time. Like you math is not my best subject but I function for calculating medication dosages just fine so don't be scared of that aspect; most of the entrance math at it's highest is 9th grade math. Study percentages, fractions and ratios and you should be fine. I wouldn't deter you from getting your LVN. There are still many jobs for LVNs particulary in the long care term facilities and some hospitals. I hadn't heard of anyone leaving Texas to get their LVN training though, that's strange. Some of the better LVN programs I would look into are Lone Star College, San Jacinto College, Alvin Community College and HCC but some may disagree. Good luck in your decision. HTH:redpinkhe

To the above poster that said look in Texas, hmmmm I think not! I'm in the Houston area, and most of our hospitals here are under a hiring freeze as well. Our new grads are searching in other states also

You guys may want to check your Summer 2009 schedules. Ours was there a little after acceptance and our intent to enroll were turned in. The days/times will be on there. HTH!

I have it, used it alot in clinicals this past semester, my first semester and it was WELL worth it. Made not having to pick up a drug book alot easier. I love the I Touch.

She's our Nursing I instructor and she' s nice. I believe her Pharm class is set up like Ms. Loftin's was. Ms. Nunez helped to design the class format so you shouldn't have any problems either. Good luck.

Aww Devin!! ~Hugs chica~ :redpinkhe You're very welcome, any time. I loved her class. I agree with Robert, no study group is needed for RNSG 1172, you guys will be like for real Wait until after the 1st test that way you will see how you study, and will want to get others around you that study alike so you guys will all be on the same page. I have a Littmann Cardiac III that I absolutely adore, its my baby. LOL. Alot of people in my class have the SE and do just fine. I couldn't hear with the lightweight but I have sinus problems so that could be my issue. I can't stress enough to go buy a NCLEX book now, start learning to think critically. On these exams you will probably have 3 answers that can be correct but only 1 is the best answer. Remember your ABC's Airway- Breathing- Cardiac when looking for the answer. I have to go study for our last lecture exam but I'll be back.

Hey you guys- I have been checking on you guys every other day :) A good rolling backpack is the one from Target that costs like $40 or the one I have which is a Jansport and it's awesome, I spent $29 at Ross, this backpack usually costs over $100 great steal. You may want to check Ross, Marshalls and TJMaxx first before heading to Walmart... let the last resort be the Walmart backpack. I only say that because the Walmart backpack wheels are not that steady, you want wheels that are like in line skate wheels because they are steadier. Invest in a good one at the beginning that will carry you through the program. I have an IPAQ and ITouch. Honestly I like my ITouch better for the ease of use. If you go to nursingcentral.com you can purchase a package that has a drug guide and other great essentials for like $150, if you don't want to spend that much then get the Davis Drug Guide (the best one in my opinion) or you can Epocrates for free. With the nursingcentral package you get access for your desktop and your PDA/MP3 player.. .just a thought, it has been a saver for me. If you're taking Pharm with Ms. Loftin online, you will have an great teacher/class format. That's what I'm taking now, she's great and the class is great too! And don't worry about RNSG 1172, totally easy. It opens you up to the what's in store for you, pay attention because you'll be practicing alot of those skills in Nursing 1 clinical. If you guys have any more questions, drop them here and I'll answer as best I can. Welcome to Lone Star ~hugs~

I believe it's a pass/fail type of thing where you have to get a certain score or above... try searching the Texas forums for Cy-fair Pharm test and some results will pop up. I think you have to score over a 800 or something, I can't really remember the exact score. I'm taking Pharm right now at Kingwood in addition to all of the other Nursing I classes. For me, our Pharm has not been hard, alot of writing for the most part, and knowing the adverse effects, drug-drug interactions, pharmacokinectics and that sort of thing was went over in alot of our assignments and test. I think I may come out of this class with an A, at least I hope I do. I think if you choose to take Pharm with Cy-fair also, you guys won't have it your first semester... I think I remember reading that some where on here. I believe it's either before your second semester or concurrent with it. I just think it's crazy that even if you take Pharm with another school in the Lone Star system, Cy-fair won't accept it... but they do from what I hear, produce great nurses so they are doing something right! Good luck to all of you.

For you guys wondering if you can transfer Pharm from another school to Cy-fair, the answer is no. Cy-fair will not take credit from another schools Pharm but will administer a Pharm test that is supposedly very hard if you decide to take Pharm anywhere other than their campus, even if it is within the Lone Star College System. If you pass, I believe you get a pass on Pharm. If you fail it, you have to take their Pharm anyway. Every school teaches Pharm differently so Cy-fair's way, may not be North Harris or HCC's way. Many Cy-fair students have said and decided to take Pharm with Cy-fair rather than trying to past their Pharm test... I'm not saying is not doable, you may have other results. HTH

Hi Erica! Glad to see that you are well! Clinicals have been a blast for me. Our first semester was in long term facilities, this semester I was at Health South. You are doing awesome grade wise, that's great. Wish I could say the same but I'm hanging in there, lecture is what is kicking my butt. Just remember what you have learned in lecture and lab... it will all come to you. Don't be nervous going in to see the patient because then you will probably make them nervous. If you guys get to pick out your patients before heading to clinicals make sure you know everything about your patient's diagnosis, their meds side effects, nursing considerations, and lab values. Remember the steps of the nursing process also. HTH

Congrats to you!! Woohoo

It's $120 a month in our garage. It's the MD Anderson Pressler garage. Across the street from HCC is about the $60 a month price, that sounds about right. When I was working at Memorial Hermann they payed for us to park there (we called it the Blue lot) and it was $30 a month then... that was six years ago though You will save money with the month to month contract.. with the in/out if need be, the monthly cost vs. daily cost, and the close proximity to school. It'll work out better, in my opinion in the long run. Good luck

In close proximity, there is no cheaper parking. I work across the street from the Coleman campus at MD Anderson and pay $120 a month to park in a garage. If you want to be close to campus, it will be better to pay the monthly fee because TMC parking is $10 per day elsewhere and you would be saving in the long run. Another option is parking downtown at one of the cheaper parking lots and riding the rail to TMC/HCC. I don't know if it's still down there but there was parking at the Museum garage for $3 per day. I haven't been to that garage in over two years so I don't know if it's still that cheap. Another one, you can park behind Sams off of 610 for free and ride the rail to HCC. If you choose this option, the spots here fill up quick so be aware of that. HTH. I just thought of something else. Maybe you can try calling the TMC Parking Office and see if they have any student rates. There is a garage at the Bank of American building and I think parking there was between $50-$75 a month, still costly but close to HCC. Or maybe they have other cheaper options.

Hi you guys. I just wanted to give you guys a heads up. I'm in Nursing I at Kingwood in the evening program. It's a great program and the instructors are really nice. If you can, get Pharm out of the way this summer. I am taking Pharm with Lecture, Skills and Clinical and it can be overwhelming at times but doable :-) If you are unsure of the shots that you have had, get titers drawn, I did and was able to prove immunity based on the titers drawn. Most of the required shots were childhood immunizations so you should probably only need the the TDap and the rest of the Hepatits B series. I see that some of you have kids and I have four kids with my youngest just turning 1 last month, work fulltime, and am doing nursing school fulltime so it goes to show you, if you want it bad enough, you will make it happen. When there's a will there's a way. The Spring 2009 group was not too long ago in your shoes and when we got our letters Mody, Stacy and Soso all gave us great advice so I'm happy to pass it along. Good luck to you all and please ask any questions if you need any help. I don't know any details of the North Harris program but if it's structured like Kingwoods, I'm willing to help any way I can:yeah: