idbeme

Thanks!

Any idea on pay?

Thank you!!!! Carter and Clinton BOTH tried to push through reform of the healthcare and insurance industry. Its not like Obama came into office magically dreamed up healthcare reform and poof...it happened! And for those that are upset about the high premiums for the high risk groups. That was a compromise that was dreamt up by a Republican Senator from Arizona. I'm not saying this new system is perfect, but at least something is being done...and a lot of the not so great parts that are leading to the outrageous increases in premiums were not what the Dems wanted passed but rather compromises made to get the legislation passed. If people would dive into issues past the blurbs on the news they might be surprised about what they might learn.

There are maternity riders, and they can be very expensive. There are also discount programs that you basically pre-pay a monthly amount to a company that is contracted with certain providers. Word of advice...make sure your husband has insurance BEFORE you become pregnant. My husband just lost his insurance at work and because I'm 6 1/2 months pregnant he (and our daughter) cannot get private insurance. The reasoning behind this is that if something happens to the baby and she winds up in NICU it goes on his insurance. No insurance companies sell child only policies...and since neither one of us are insurable by a private policy right now she is also unable to become insured!!!! It is a mess. Make sure you have all your ducks in a row before becoming pregnant.

FYI..I don't know if its for this class or the next one, but they are doing away w/ the interview process. Don't ask me why or how...but I was talking to a faculty member and she told me they are changing the admission process and there are no more interviews. And an update on the tuition - it runs more like $24k/year once you add in fees, health insurance (if you don't have your own), then add in books, uniforms, etc... Good luck..

You sound like you are in the same boat as me...and my advice..be enthusiastic. Talk about the skills you have learned in your clinicals, and talk about the skills you still need/want to practice. Show your enthusiasm for learning how to be a nurse on the unit you are applying for. And be genuine in that enthusiasm. You can be a great nurse book wise, but how are you at the bedside? I just got a nurse extern position and I KNOW it was because I was almost giddy when they were telling me everything I can do to improve my skills to get up to par to walk onto the floor as an RN when I graduate. Nothing will top the enthusiasm and desire you show to be a nurse. Good luck!

They are teal. And they are very specific about it. Dickies and Cherokee are approved, some people also get away with Grey's Anatomy. Besides that...don't stray too far. They are very particular about uniform. There is a shop on Broward just east of university that carries the appropriate color in different styles by the aforementioned companies. They know what Nova needs and can point you in the right direction. If you are lucky you can find a buy one get one half off sale.

They may....I don't know. When I went through they sent a letter and you only had a few days to call to confirm the interview. But again, somehow mine never went out or got to me, so my persistence paid off!

I would call. I sent in my application at the end of April as well and got in for the next to last interview May 13th or so last year. But call, because my letter for the interview never arrived and I never would have known they were interested in interviewing me. Last year they didn't send letters out until June. Even then it was in two waves. The first in the middle of June, second at the end. And they are ALWAYS behind.

This is a GREAT piece of advice. I read that here and applied it during my first clinical rotation last semester. I was respected by the nurses by the time I left. They would find me and ask me if I could do this or that to help a patient - and it actually got me out of a lot of the poop work b/c the PCA would be doing that by the time I got done helping my primary nurse with other "nursing" duties. (Not that its not all a part of nursing, but you clean a butt one time, you can do it forever). Do not sit around, gossip, or be rude to the nurses. I can be tough sometimes because not everyone is thrilled to have students on the floor. But put yourself out there, and they will find you and you will learn so much more. That and just relax until school starts - once it does, you won't remember what it is like to relax!

I'm not going to get into a pi$$ing contest about who knows more about the school. But spoon fed we are NOT. We are not given reviews, we are told that there are no intervention questions on the exam and then are asked intervention questions. I have 52 other people that just bombed an exam that was not at all what was discussed in class. The class before us had to take a Patho exam AFTER the term ended on line b/c the grades were so bad b/c they were not told what was going to be on the test. That was the only way they could get the classes grades up so half of the class did not fail. We have three people in our class that were part of that.... Those were all the great things I heard before I went there. They changed everything - the dean has come to us and told us they have changed everything!!! I'm not saying it is not a good school, but for someone who didn't get past the first semester I would caution you on singing the praises of a program you are not involved in.

Sorry to confuse you, I certainly don't want to scare you! Trust me, I wish I had nothing but glowing things to say! If you chose Nova you are going to have the opportunity to learn to be a great nurse. Just be prepared for some bumps along the way. Like I said, I'm trying to be honest and fair.

To be honest the program is going through some growing pains at the moment as far as the students are concerned. The A&P was tough, but fair, and if you study and A is definitely possible. They changed a lot of things this semester that were not in place last semester or for the previous classes. It is nearly IMPOSSIBLE to keep an A in any class. They clump the tests together so you have nothing for a few weeks then an exam in each class plus a quiz and a clinical assignment due in the same week. All the material is not covered in class, there are only 40 questions on the exams and there is no possible way to keep up on ALL the reading and really study everything. What is right in one class is wrong in another. A lot of the times it is dumb luck if you pick the right answer. The schedule is constantly changing, more classes, extra labs in which we accomplish nothing....I could go on and on....but I won't. There are a lot of very intelligent students who are struggling, and so far we have been told, "Too bad." I'm trying to be honest and fair. I'm not in danger of failing, but a lot of people are and its not because they are not smart, do not understand the material, or don't study. If you get in and chose to attend, be prepared to study like you've never studied before. There are several people who have prior degrees ranging from psych, to chem, to computer programming. All of these people are having difficulty pulling the grades reflective of the work they are putting in. Are we going to be prepared for the NCLEX, yes. Is all this added stress worth it, especially for the $$$? I'm not sure. Are we going to be great nurses? Yes. Are we going to be perhaps better prepared than those in other programs? Maybe. Are our grades going to be reflective of what we learned? No. The RN-BSN program is very different - I know some people about to graduate and they cannot believe what we are going through.

As far as spots and interviews, I started last fall, they had 100 spots and 150 interviews. I don't know what percentage they are interviewing this time around, but one of profs who is interviewing seemed to let on they were doing a lot more interviews this time around.

About the letters, yes - they don't get sent out until Mid June. I interviewed in the next to last group in May, so was lucky I only had to wait 3 weeks. Good luck to you all. Just make sure you ask lots of questions, be yourself, and be ready to do a writing sample before you get started with the tour.

That is great advice that I am going to carry with me through NS and beyond. I was just SOOO ill I had to call in for 2 days of clinical - VERY, VERY frowned upon. I called my clinical instructor the night before - already knowing I was going to be too ill to "work". She said, "If it is obvious that you are that ill, and if you would not want someone attending to you as the patient in the condition you as the nurse is in, STAY HOME." I now have to make up those days on spring break - yuck! If it was my old office job, I would have gone in, suffered a few hours and gone home early. As a student nurse I knew I wouldn't want me within 100 feet of myself or a loved one.

Bolded by me....a lot....A LOT has changed since you've been there. The are not great, they do not care what we have to say. We are in class/clinicals 32 hours a week, they WILL NOT give reviews for exams, and then ask questions that are not covered in class, lecture, notes or books. Not saying its not a good program, but we're fighting w/ instructors/admin on a lot of things right now. In trying to build the perfect program and run everything by committee they are forgettinga about the students. It takes 2 weeks to get grades back, we get no answers or feed back and are just told - "You are Nova nursing students now - we own you."

This makes me laugh b/c as a BSN student who knows she want to go to CRNA school I've been hearing keep it close to the vest. That the two of you know each other and don't know that you are both applying shows that is the best way to play it (unfortunately - if you are in it for the right reasons). My SIL is applying to the program for 2010 and I'd be interested in hearing anything about the application process/experience. Best of luck to both of you.

I was just looking back on the threads about how excited and nervous we all were....so now that the first semester is almost over, what do you think so far? I have a few opinions, but want to open it for discussion first.

First off, and this is just something that bothers me, Nova is not all capitalized. Its Nova Southeastern University; no need to capitalize everything. That said, you have your essay written. The writing sample is just to make sure you can formulate an idea and write supporting sentences on short notice. I think the question was something along the lines of : a quote by Florence Nightengale then, "why did you decide to become a nurse"? I basically reiterated what I wrote in my essay. Its a good program, I'm questioning how "tough" it is at this point, (mind you only being one week in), because the AP class is just a review - so far - of what my pre-req AP class was. I know subsequent classes will not be the same, but I'm a bit disappointed in these first few classes. Some call it easy A's; I was looking for a challenging education. Again, I know it will be tougher here on out. I wish you the best success. I will re-read your post and post more to it at a later time. I just perused it, so I apologize for the things I am missing in my response. I'm so sorry for your loss, and hope no matter what you follow your heart to nursing.

I saw on another thread that you did get your acceptance letter. Sorry it took so long to reply - I haven't been on the board for a few weeks. Obviously, by know you know it came in a big envelope certified mail. See you in the fall!

Congrats!! I'll be seeing you there in the fall! Did you actually get a start date. My letter says orientation starts Aug 25, but at the interview James said the program would start the first Monday in September - which is Labor Day. Just wondering if you had a more concrete answer.

I got mine today! Hopefully more people will get good news in the mailbox in the next few days. Good luck to everyone.

I'M IN, I'M IN, I'M IN!!!!! I got my letter today. I was accepted to start Nova's BSN program for Fall '08! I'm soooo excited and still can't believe it. Thanks to everyone for their well wishes. Now that I got into nursing school I have to get through it. My goal is to be class valedictorian. Nothing like setting high goals, huh?

You are correct...she went to BCC...but 10 years ago, so the program was a lot better than what its rumored to be right now. Thank you for all your kind words. I'm eagerly anticipating some kind of letter...good or bad news. I agree that even though it is insanely expensive, it is going to be worth it. They are opening a second sim lab that is supposed to be better than the one they already have. (It was supposed to open this week.) The facilities are gorgeous, I've gotten a lot of the same feedback from current student that the faculty is really there to help you. The other thing that really impresses me is the amount of clinical time, and the areas you get to spend clinical time in. When talking to the alumnus she answered the question I have for her, "Do you feel you were better prepared than other new nurses," with an enthusiastic "Yes!" She talked about all the clinical experience she had and how so many people are prepared to go into peds, icu, etc. right out of school. That makes me really excited since I already have a pretty clear cut plan on where I want to go with my nursing career. They assured me I would get the quality education I was looking for, along with enough clinical time to be employable in the area I'm looking at right out of school. Of course a B.S. in Psych, having a child, and being 35 when I graduate will also be helpful factors. Thank you again for all your words of wisdom, and while you didn't graduate Nova, your passion for that program speaks volumes. You mentioned you thought of doing the RN-BSN. If I were you, I'd go for it. I'm going to be commuting from Wellington...that's how important this is to me. For the short period of time it takes to complete the program and the little time you actually have to spend on campus you can still get the degree you first wanted from a school that is working really hard to be #1 and separate itself from the rest in South Florida, all of Florida, and the rest of the country.