lildan

Hi Bandas, my heart goes out to you and your daughter at this time. I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 11, which was 22 years ago. When I read your story, all of the feelings that I remember from that time came right to the surface. I can both sympathize and empathize with you. I know that this time can be overwhelming.......you have to adjust to the diagnosis, help your daughter cope, learn as much as you possibly can - and within that read books, decide if you want to attend classes, see specialists, and so on. But, I can offer some hope that with time it does become easier. I will keep you in my thoughts and please let me know if you have any questions. I know I can't give you medical answers, but I'd be happy to offer your my perspective and experience.

At my school, Fundamentals is 15 weeks (we learn the MedMath independently and have to score 100% in two tries by the 5th week). The second semester is Med-Surg I for 7 weeks and then Mental Health for 7 weeks, plus con-current with one of those classes we have to take a 1 credit contemporary issues in nursing class. The third semester is Med-Surg II for 7 weeks and Maternal-Child for 7 weeks. The final semester is Med-Surg for 15 weeks and a 7 week leadership in nursing class. I am in Fundamentals now and I find it to be a bit slower than I anticiapted. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, but with lecture, lab, clinical, and pharm (we do all four components as part of one 9 credit class) it has not been that bad. For me personally, I'd actually like doing fundamentals in less time. Hopefully, you'll feel the same. Good luck!

name: danielle school: harford community college (maryland). program: associate degree nursing (december 2009). what area of interest at this time: i am excited to work in the area of diabetes care, emergency treatment, mental health, and neurology. biggest fear: being able to balance family/friends, home responsibilities and school. a lot of people have told me that life "stops" when you're in nursing school, and i hate to think that is true........'cause i need to play candyland, drink red wine, eat sushi, and clean my house.....although not all at the same time. :roll what you'd like us to know about you: 32 years old. married to my husband, del, for almost 6 years. 3 1/2 year old son, alexander. worked in community mental health for 10 years (ba in psychology) before deciding to start nursing school.

I don't think dropping the class this late in the semester maskes sense. Think of it this way, if you have a "C" you have learned at least 70% of what you need in the class. Finish the class and if you need to re-take it, then do so. But with knowing that you do have an edge because you'll be seeing the material a second time - that does'nt mean you get to slack off, it just means that you'll be able to really examine concepts with more depth since you won't have to waste time on the basics. The prof I had to A&P said that sometimes students do need to take her class twice because of the depth of information tied with life in general. I would definately apply for the program. At my school, there were tons of rumors about who got in.......you needed As in all the sciences, you needed 22 or 23 points on your application, etc. But, a girl that I am currently taking a class with got into the program with a B in a science and 19 points. I think a lot of the "hype" ay my school is compounded by the fact that they do not release information like average pointsfor most recent class accepted, etc. And, if there is a nursing advisor or dean of science/nursing that you could sit down with - do so. He/She may be able to look at your transcripts and offer some guidance. Good luck!

School of Acceptance: Harford Community College Pre-Nursing Sciences GPA: 4.0 Pre-Nursing Cumulatve GPA: 3.67 And, 24/25 points in their point system.

I've been an insulin dependent diabetic for 21 years. I've had two surgeries over that time - a breast reduction in 1995 and a c-section in 2004. During the breast reduction, minor liposuction was in the area where my breast and my armpit meet. The surgeon said it would help get me a more contoured/even shape. I had no problem with the liposuction; there were no difficulties because of my diabetes. Also, with both surgeries I had no issues with healing; the length it took me to heal was similar to that of a non-diabetic. I tend to run in tight blood sugar control normally, but made an effort to step up my testing, etc. before and after the breast reduction and although the c-section was not planned, I had to be in very tight control while pregnant. Good luck!

Kel2BanRN: I am glad that you said that because I didn't think it was as hard as my prof and other students said it was. I think there were probably 8 to 10 questions that I was totally unsure of. And, maybe another 20 or so that I really needed to take my time with. But, other than that I was surprised. I really thought there was going to be stuff on there that would just totally blow me away. That said, I think that my teacher gave us a lot of good preparation, especially with the clinical scenarios and I think our exam questions were worded similarly. I think the two other A&P profs at my school were not as in depth as my prof, so the issues/complaints their students had probably came from that issue. And, way to go on the 99th percentile! The highest at my school was a 98th. Also, just because I am curious, I've never heard of of school doing 3 semesters of A&P. It acutally sounds like a good idea because of the amount of material. How did it work?

my cc requires that all a&p students take the human anatomy & physiology society exam at the end of a&p ii. the exam is worth 25 points toward our final grade. you received 15 points for taking the exam and then the other 10 points are awarded based on how the overall class performed. according to haps, a 70 or better (90th percentile and up) on the exam is considered an "a". so our grades were broken down like this: 25 points: 70 & up raw score 20 points: 50-52 24 points: 64-69 19 points: 47-49 23 points: 60-63 18 points: 44-46 22 points: 57-59 17 points: 39-43 21 points: 53-56 16 points: less than 39 i ended up getting a 72 on the exam and that placed me in the 91st or 93rd percentile (i cannot remember which). anyway, my prof went on and on about his exam in both a&p i and ii. about what a big deal it is to get an "a", etc. about how difficult the exam is and so on. everyone is deathly afraid of this exam. our class had 7 as. there were two other a&p classes and combined they only had 3 as. but, whenever i ask any other a&p students or nurses if they have ever heard of this exam, they say "no". has anyone here taken it or heard of it? is it really as big of a deal to ace it as my college/prof says? here's the website in case you are interested: http://www.hapsweb.org/index.cfm x-posted to pre-nursing students

my cc requires that all a&p students take the human anatomy & physiology society exam at the end of a&p ii. the exam is worth 25 points toward our final grade. you received 15 points for taking the exam and then the other 10 points are awarded based on how the overall class performed. according to haps, a 70 or better (90th percentile and up) on the exam is considered an "a". so our grades were broken down like this: 25 points: 70 & up raw score 20 points: 50-52 24 points: 64-69 19 points: 47-49 23 points: 60-63 18 points: 44-46 22 points: 57-59 17 points: 39-43 21 points: 53-56 16 points: less than 39 i ended up getting a 72 on the exam and that placed me in the 91st or 93rd percentile (i cannot remember which). anyway, my prof went on and on about his exam in both a&p i and ii. about what a big deal it is to get an "a", etc. about how difficult the exam is and so on. everyone is deathly afraid of this exam. our class had 7 as. there were two other a&p classes and combined they only had 3 as. but, whenever i ask any other a&p students or nurses if they have ever heard of this exam, they say "no". has anyone here taken it or heard of it? is it really as big of a deal to ace it as my college/prof says? here's the website in case you are interested: http://www.hapsweb.org/index.cfm x-posted to student nurses

The CC I attend uses a point system. I applied for Fall semester with a 3.53 and with A&P II and Microbiology in progess (all other pre-reqs were complete). My CC does not look at classes in progress, so, my Spring grades/credits (A&P II and Micro) were not considered in my Fall application. Because of that I lost 7 points in their system. Unfortunately, I was not accepted. Their point breakdown is as follows: 1 point each for completed Intro to Psych, Human Development, Sociology 101, Math, English 101, Humanities/Arts (2 completed H/A classes required). 3 points each for As in A&P I, A&P II, and Micro. For Bs you get 2 points and for Cs, 1 point. 5 points for GPA of 4.0 to 3.75, 4 points for 3.74......and so on, I cannot remember what the break down in because I fall into the 4 point category. 1 point for already having a BA/BS or higher. 1 point for an application that has improvements (for example my Spring application will have "improvments" since A&P II and Micro are now complete), but this point can only be earned once (so if I don't get in for Spring 08, on a Fall 08 application I would not get the point again). 2 points for completing more than 16 credits at the CC. You get 1 point for having 8 to 15 credits completed. 0 points for less than 8 credits completed. This semester I will have 23/25 points, with all pre-reqs completed, and a 3.647 GPA. I am hopeful that I will be accepted.

I took A&P I last Fall and took A&P II in the Spring. I received As in both classes. I think that they are challenging classes - memorization, practicals, clinical application of what's been learned, time management - but it truly depends on how you work as a student. For both classes I took a professor that was considered the "hardest" for A&P, because I wanted to get everything I could. And, I did. But, I had to read, make flashcards, spend extra time in lab to review for practicals, sometimes re-write my notes, join a study group before tests.......I probably spent 15 to 20 hours outside of class a week preparing. There were other students that said out-loud that they never even opened the book or worked on labs in lecture the day they were due......but then talked about the class being too hard and wondered why they were getting poor grades. And, I think the "hardness" can also depend on your interests. I loved the nervous system, endocrine system, the renal system, the respiratory system, acid-base balance......but I didn't find the muscular system or the skeletal system to be too interesting so I think I struggled with those more. Also, I think it's fair to say that sometimes people struggle not because the acutal learning process is hard but because of life issues. While taking A&P II, my mother was having some difficult health issues and that threw off my concentration from time to time. Hope this helps!

SirI: Thanks for that great explanation. As an insulin-dependent diabetic as well as a pre-nursing student who studied acid-base balance in A&P II this spring, when I see questions like this I try to "test" myself a bit. And, I was right on according to your answer. Now if only I could guarantee this question to be on the NCLEX!

I applied for Fall semester at Harford with a 3.53 and with A&P II and Microbiology in progess (all other pre-reqs were complete). Also, note that Harford does not look at classes in progress, So, my Spring grades/credits (A&P II and Micro) were not considered in my Fall application. Because of that I lost 7 points in their system. Unfortunately, I was not accepted. They rank as such: 1 point each for completed Intro to Psych, Human Development, Sociology 101, Math, English 101, Humanities/Arts (2 completed classes required). 3 points each for As in A&P I, A&P II, and Micro. For Bs you get 2 points and for Cs, 1 point. 5 points for GPA of 4.0 to 3.75, 4 points for 3.74......and so on, I cannot remember what the break down in because I fall into the 4 point category. 1 point for already having a BA/BS or higher. 1 point for an application that has improvements (for example my Spring application will have "improvments" since A&P II and Micro are now complete), but this point can only be earned once (so if I don't get in for Spring 08, on a Fall 08 application I would not get the point again). 2 points for completing more than 16 credits at Harford. You get 1 point for having 8 to 15 credits completed. 0 points for less than 8 credits completed. This semester I will have 23/25 points, with all pre-reqs completed, and a 3.647 GPA. I am hopeful that I will be accepted.

I am not yet a nurse (finished pre-reqs for program in May - starting program in January) but I've had type 1 diabetes for almost 22 years. I've been on Lantus for almost 5 years. I find that if I am lower than 70 or so in the morning and I give my Lantus (25 units) I do end up with hypoglycemia within an hour or two. If I am giving the insulin in conjunction with eating breakfast in a few minutes, I give my usual amount, but reduce the amount of Novolog I would give to cover my carbs in the meal. That way, some of the "extra" carbs help the low. I am not sure if this would help or not in a hospital setting because of the timing of giving the Lantus and/or if the patient is able to eat. If I could not eat breakfast, then I would first start to treat the low (with juice or the carb gel), give myself 15 minutes, re-test and then give the Lantus. I'd also re-test in about an hour to see where I am at that point. I am not sure how that 15 minute window would work in a hospital timing. And, do you all re-test patients in a certain amount of time after lows (it's been so long since I've been in the hospital for anything diabetes related, I cannot remember - last time was for the birth of my son and I was able to do my own testing then.) Not sure if my reply is even helpful/correct, but I am interested in how all of this works in a hospital setting.......

jewelshouse: I don't have any advice, but I wanted to let you know that I share the same worries. I finished my ADN pre-reqs this Spring and am hoping to start the nursing program this coming Spring. The school is attend is highly competitive so most people have a semester in between actually finishing the pre-reqs and starting. My son, Alexander, will be a little over 3 1/2 when I start the program and I worry about how my time with him will be affected (I stopped working when I had him and returned to school when he was 20 months old). I have a lot of support from my husband and our families, but I still don't think they really know how difficult nursing programs are. They say to me, "you're smart......you'll be fine......you have all As in these other classes...." etc. So, take heart, I am nervous right along with you. :)

Abersmom: hahaha. A girl at school told me that people in the program currently are allowed to finish, but no one else is allowed to start until things improve. And, even if the person finishes what are employers going to say about where the person went to school? You're lucky. And, I wonder how it's going to affect this: http://www.vjc.edu/administration/mpr/index.aspx?id=8884 Jules A: As far as price goes they are more expensive than a CC or a state school, but they are even with/less than other private schools. Full time (12-18 credits) they are at $16,800 (part-time $435 a credit) while College of Notre Dame is at $23,750.

Wow.....that is too bad for them. I've had some friends attend there (for majors other than nursing) and overall it seems to be a good school. Guess I might need to keep an eye on this over the next year or so to see what happens. Thanks for the info!

Does anyone know about Villa Julie College being on probation because of low pass rates on the NCLEX? My CC has an agreement with VJC to allow students to transition from the ASN tothe BSN program at VJC once you pass the NCLEX. The last time I was in advising they were really "selling" the agreement and program. But, the rumor on campus is that VJC is struggling. As I was planning my nursing path, I was thinking about rolling right into the VJC program after passing the NCLEX or worknig for a few years and then applying to University of Maryland's RN to MSN program. All of this is long term of course, since I finish my pre-reqs next week and fall semester acceptance letters will be mailed in a few weeks......but, hey, I am a planner. :)