akspudus

I just took the ATI RN Comprehensive predictor. Our school uses it as an exit exam. You MUST get greater that a 90% probability to pass the NCLEX on the first attempt. According to the ATI rep at our campus....that a 70.7% overall score corresponds to a 90% chance of passing NCLEX. He also told us the exam is 180 questions....150 questions are for score. 30 questions are "trial" questions. A trial question is a "new" question not yet released as an "actual" question. Those questions are being evaluated for future use...LOL. Whatever. Anyhow, I got a 84% overall score or 126 out of 150 correct. I thought it did a good job of trying to cover as much RN "stuff" that can possible be covered in 150 questions. Lots of leadership, fundamentals, prioritization, OB and peds. Psych wasn't covered all that well. Only 5 or so straight pharm questions....but a good handful of Med Error Preventions stuff. That said...it told me I had a 99% chance of passing the NCLEX on first try. Can you feel my eyes rolling to what ATI said about me?...lol I was pinned three days ago...so I am waiting to take the exam. Waiting on my school to send trascripts etc. As soon as I take the NCLEX, I'll repost and tell you my thoughts then...they might differ to what I think now...LOL akspudus

BTW....as for the initial outlay for book in nursing school. Yes..almost $1000. But, there are a bunch of reference books (i.e. drug guides, lab guide, procedure guide, care plan guides) included that you will need throughout the time you are in school. When I started they had bundled a lot of these books. The bundle price was about $150 cheaper than going out and buying all these books individually on the internet. Believe me...I tried getting by cheaper. You will get the book list at orientation....go price the books at the book store...then compare with prices online. As for the books for nursing school...you definitely don't want to rent. you want to be able to highlight...underline...etc..etc. Besides..these are books you are going to continue to need. Don't skimp...it will come back to bight you. Also, you have to lay out some cash for equipment and uniforms....its not cheap. good luck!!! akspudus

I went ahead and did mine last night. Online. Holy zonkers....applying for NCLEX...gulp! akspudus

I'm in the same boat. I have the forms already filled out. I'm wanting to take the NCLEX ASAP. Does anyone know how long it takes for the paperwork to clear? akspudus

Best piece advice that I got about med/surg...and int was from Professor Ponce. If you want to have the best chance of Acing med/surg...get the book Medical-Surgical made Incredibly Easy. During the break between semester, read the pathophysiological sections in each chapter. Don't bother with the nursing care...just the patho. Get an brief understanding for the various disease processes you will encounter in med/surg. Make sure you get in the habit of looking up terminology. Words like dysmenorrhea or hypercapnia or thrombocytopenia...learn how to pick those words apart so that when you get stumped by one, you can sort of get a clue. Get a review and rationale book. Study your ATI book. And oh yeah...that great pathophysio understanding will help you a lot in pharm as well. But, make sure you understand the autonomic nervous system. Learn the receptors for both sides of the system and what they control. Don't be afraid...you can DO IT!! Hope this helps. akspudus

I had her for Assessment and med/surg. She is a challenge as are all professors in nursing school...but she gives you all sorts of study materials, powerpoints, study guides for exams..etc..etc. Her goal is to teach you the material...not have a class full of A's. If you have questions...ask. If you don't get them answered in class, schedule a meeting with her. She is very approachable. I studied my @ss off, worked hard and got earned an A in both classes I took from her. Good luck. akspudus

I would recommend studying her PowerPoints. Listening very intently during her lectures. Take good notes. Get a med/surg review and rationales book and study each applicable sections just before each exam. Make sure you understand the disease processes...how they are going to effect the patient..and then applying the nursing process to the situation. Don't be afraid to ask her questions....don't be afraid to study. She gives study guides for each exam...make sure you spend the time to use them. BTW...there were two professors that taught med/surg when I went through. The other class was miserable and didn't have nearly the grades we had in our class. Also, quite a few of them suffered later on in nursing school...mainly because they didn't get that good foundation. akspudus

ahh...no. Its AK Spud US...spud as in potato. Long story. Anyhow, first of all I wouldn't speak badly of any of the professors at MDC. Yes, some are better than others but none are horrible. I took Adult Health Assessment and Med/Surg from Professor Etienne. Aced both...it wasn't easy but I did it. Professor Etienne does identify more with the Haitian students...but does not give them any sort of favoritism. I'm one of the very few male gringo students at MDC. I earned her respect and she earned mine...I learned a lot and earned my grade. Wasn't because of any favoritism at all. Otherwise..she goes way out of her way to make materials available to students. Not only powerpoints...but articles...pictograms...mnemonics...you name it. She is tough..demands a lot...but you will learn a lot. In fact...the more I think of it....most of my success in nursing school probably comes from her demanding me to learn things at a great level...instead of the "getting by" level. Since nursing school builds from one class to the next, having that firm foundation will help you in those later classes. My recommendation is to take her class. But, get ready to work. If you ace her class...you will find acing the rest of nursing school a heck of a lot easier. Tell professor Ponce hello from me. I had her for fundamentals lecture and fundamental clinical. I learned a lot from her...and greatly appreciate what she taught me. Hope this helps akspudus

Ahh..well we all can falter. The Critical Thinking and Care Plan exams are a little crazy sometimes. Our scenario was a male firefighter, 40 years old, that had sustained burns over 40% of his body...36 hours ago. He had tolerated the fluid resuscitation for the first 24 hours well and was receiving additional replacement fluids...and a TON of them. He starts to manifest difficulty breathing....etc..etc. Looks like pulmonary edema secondary to fluid overload to me. I faile critical thinking becuase I wrote "Call doctor and ask about reducing fluid infusion rate and possible use of diuretics". According to them, you CAN'T have fluid volume excess that early after..and diuretics might kill him...so you can't even talk to the doctor about it. Lesson learned: Just say "Call Doctor and advise on patient change of status; recieve medication/tratement orders". I faile care plan because I used the nursing diagnosis fluid volume excess AEB... Again..according to them there is NO WAY this patient can be fluid overloaded. Lesson learned: Only use a nursing diagnosis you can PROVE based upon the scenario. Yes..there was signs and syptoms of pulmanary edema in this case...which they wanted us to use a repiratory nursing diagnosis. Treate the alterations of health that the patient is manifesting...not what is medically making the patient manifest those alterations. Keep it simple. Don't come out swinging to hit a home run when an infield grounder will work. In fact...most of the people that failed critical thinking or careplan were struggling in lecture. Most not all. Some of our best students did great in critical thinking and care plan...but a lot of our best students did not. When looking around the room during re-take....it was a virtual "who-is-who" of our class. Of the top ten students of our class....maybe two were missing. And the rest of us wondering how the heck we go ourselves into this predicament. But, we got through! The best advise I can give someone with critical thinking and care plan is to keep it simple. Think like your being taught to think...like a nurse. You may be being taut all sorts of disease processes...but think how those disease processes are effecting the patient and treat that...not the disease. When you write your critical thinking "to do" list...think of what you would do in the patient's room as a reaction to the presented situation. What will keep this patient alive until I get more orders from the doctor. What additional information is the doctor going to need to give me those orders. For care plan...look at what the patient is doing right now. Compile a nursing diagnosis and care plan from that. If the nursing diagnosis you want to use requires more tests to PROVE..then you have the wrong diagnosis. In my case...auscultating the lungs...and an I&O assessment would have proven/disprove my nursing diagnosis of fluid volume excess. The key was..I DIDN'T have those assessments..so I couldn't use that Nursing Diagnosis. Anyhow...I hope my experience helps you out. akspudus

First pointer... RELAX!! In a few months...you'll be looking back at those skills tests and laughing. Just remember the five rights. Make sure each one of those is covered....then draw up your medications...check labels the three times. When I took that skills exam...I remember most people were stressing themselves out to the point where they could not perform. They got that deer in the headlights look...and froze. Do some practice math questions at home...play with a syringe to practice accurate volume measurement....and go for it. akspudus

Wow folks...Sorry I have been pretty much absent from the boards for the last few weeks. I just finished Advanced Med/Surg. Failed care plan/critical thinking the first time through. It was the first time I have failed anything in nursing school was quite crushing. In fact the majority of my class failed either one or both of the exams. But, pretty much all of us ended up passing the next week. So, the story has a happy ending. Just remember to the KISS principle when you take those exams. If a horse is kicking you in the face....don't go blaming it on a zebra. Anyhow, I have one more class between me and a pinning ceremony December 17th. I have that "I can't believe this has an end" sort of feeling. How is everybody else doing? Everybody surviving? How is everyone doing in fundamentals? Or any other class for that matter. I have between now and Monday to help. After Monday I might disappear again. Disappear into Professional Nursing Leadership. akspudus

Don't worry. What you need to do is split your study time between reading and going over PowerPoints (ingestion of information) with doing practice NCLEX style tests (digestion of information). You need to get into he habit of utalising the information that is given to you in your reading and in class. Nursing exams are ALL about inferances made from your knowledge. PRactice practice paractice. Get a review book. Do the practice tests...get the skill of taking a test DOWN. You will find the people that don't make it through fundamentals...didn't make it on account of a lack of study or intelligentce. But, a lack of test taking skill. Good luck. akspudus

Wow...looks like you all are having fun in the first semester. Get ready...first semester is just a warm up. it only gets more challenging from there. Next semester you have med/surg...and pharmacology...and clinical. Summer semester will be a rush of specialties. Then the last semester (which I am currently enjoying), will wake you back up for the final finish in December. However, it is possible. it takes a different kind of work. Different study habits. AS for the reading...use the curriculum and PowerPoints to guide your reading. Next, get a review book. You have the ATI books...but get focused review books for each section you are in. While you are at it...buy a new books shelf or get rid of all those novels...cuz you are going to find shelf space a premium in your home....lol. Take the online practice tests with ATI...or what ever book you buy. Make sure you understand not only why an answer is correct....but why each other answer is incorrect. Focus your studying toward concept...not trivia. Then...make sure you find a way to relax before an exam...especially before a didactic exam (skills lab). If you go in to those exams freaked out...you are really not doing yourself any favors...just relax. Yup, easier said than done...but important. On the success center computers there is a program called "test Taking Strategies for Nursing Students"...GO DO THAT PROGRAM. IF fact...go redo that program at the beginning of each semester to focus your test taking skills. It is possible to get straight A's through nursing school. With the exception of one B...I have earned A's in all of my classes. I am a father of three boys...husband....etc..etc..etc. I get full nights sleep and spend quality time with my family. How do I do it and still pull the grades that I do? I focus my energies in school and with my studying. I developed my test taking and critical thinking skills. I literally destroy each exam I take. Even if the correct answer jumps out at me...I prove it to myself by disqualifying each other answer. I take my time....and do my best. You can do it also. I have not met a person yet that could not "do" nursing school. Sure, I know a few people that have fallen back a semester or maybe even two...but they eventually got it and carried on. Soon, you will be in your whites at your pinning ceremony. Trust me...you will be there before you know it. Just keep your chin up....keep moving forward. Help each other out. Do group studies...and solo studies. Find what works for you. Best of wishes...to all you future MDC alumni!!! akspudus

The time difference between the accelerated and Generic programs is just ONE semester. As arduous as the generic program can be...I can only imagine how hard the accelerated program must be. I personally know a handful of people that are or were in the accelerated program. A few have transferred over to the generic program...but since you cannot simple swap over to the generic program...those that switch usually ADD a semester or two to their time at the nursing school. Plus...you still only end up with an AS in Nursing. Even if you have a Masters Degree from something previous...your still an ADN nurse in the Health care Industry. Advancing your career means competing with others (GPA) to get into an RN-BSN program. What are the chances you are going to have a GPA to get you into an advanced nursing program after a year in an accelerated program. All the while....your only saving 4 months. akspudus PS...Now that I think of it...I can't think of anybody that is graduating from the accelerated program with their class...every one of them has been held back for at least one semester.

Remember, when you calculate your GPA for acceptance into MDC's Nursing school. Not all of your classes count. Only the classes that count towards your AS in Nursing. So, you need to go to the MDC school of nursing web site and look at the list of prerequisites and class requirement for graduate. Use only those classes to calculate and you will have a better idea as to the GPA MDC will use for acceptance in to the nursing school. I some of the people that apply and do not get accepted apply with a high overall GPA and a relativly low prerequisite GPA. Good luck to all. akspudus