JoeCrow

your patient has a GCS of 15 but you still get an order for restraints and a foley catheter you've actually spent time finding little spots where you can see your pt but they cannot see you (so you know they are safe but will not yell at you) you've ever discussed with teammates who will play the roles of good cop and bad cop you've ever gotten applause or oohs and ahhs from family members when doing a neurocheck (they always seem to think they are brain dead or something) you've ever been scolded by a family when the pt coughed or started seizing and you didn't come quick enough (as if there was anything you could do) you've ever struggled with a two patient assignment when one of them was a "celestial discharge" you've ever secretly laughed at a family's anthropomorphism of their brain dead patient

Sorry it took so long for me to respond as I have been busy with classes. I am a current student of the IUPUI ABSN. In a similar situation, I chose to look into IUPUI after trying the Ivy Tech route that was suggested (and happily completed) by family. I must preface everything with my customary admonition that if you truly want to be a nurse you have to look at all potential programs and go to whoever accepts you first. That said, there are many reasons why this choice (IUPUI) worked out for me so I'll quickly give you the number one reason before I get all wordy. My main impetus was that I was in a dead-end job and needed a new career FAST. Because I was pressed for time and money it wasn't hard to decide between these two programs for my personal situation. Once you are accepted, Ivy Tech takes 20 months for an associates and IUPUI takes 18 months for a bachelors. In my case I had to wait to apply at Ivy Tech making a hypothetical 3 year wait for the associates. My math of worth was: 3yrs+ASN Other factors for my personal situation included... Funding: I needed to stay a full-time student in order to get loans at Ivy Tech but did not have enough pre-req classes left to enable full-time status. Funding: Not only do schools love second degree students and their proven success at the college experience, so do employers! Clarian had just announced their partnership with IU by providing instructors to the accelerated program in addition to scholarships. One way to think about it was getting a sign-on bonus a little early. If you sign a work committment with Clarian (or Community Hospitals) they will front you most of the money for your accelerated program because they know you are mere steps away from working for them. End-goal: I would love to go to graduate school so a bachelors is something I would have pursued after Ivy Tech anyway. I cut out an additional 2-year step of getting my RN to BSN. In fact, if I were starting again I would also consider U of I and their new accelerated masters in nursing program. Ivy Tech experience: Mine wasn't so great since the program was in flux at the time and the requirements for being eligible to apply kept changing. I would go for an application and they would tell me I was ineligible to apply based on the new rules that they never told students about who did not continually go to all the nursing information sessions. Ivy Tech preferences: At the time Ivy Tech gave admitance preference to students who had completed their prereqs at that campus. IUPUI did the same. Since I had IUPUI credits I had the leg up at IUPUI. My age: Again, accelerated students are sometimes held in a more positive light in nursing journal studies because they TEND to be older, more mature, career switchers with greater work experience. Where an 18 year old high school graduate may be more likely to try nursing (or have nothing better to do with their life at the time), dedication and committment to the field of nursing is proven by people who are prepared to quit successful careers in order to realize their dream of becoming a nurse. I personally was tired of hearing from unmotivated younger students, "Is this going to be on the test?" The accelerated student environment seemed more closely aligned to my experience of wanting to work hard and be open to learning experiences. Sheer numbers: IUPUI is very tight lipped about their admissions but we could make up a number for the sake of discussion - that maybe half of the students who apply to IUPUI ABSN will actually be accepted. This made up number, I believe, was a stark contrast to Ivy Tech numbers when I was perpetually ineligible to apply. In fact, there is a rumour that the number accepted in our accelerated class was lowered from previous semesters because not enough people applied (as in 100% were accepted). I have personally noticed that the Indianapolis market has exploded with nursing programs recently. I would not be at all shocked if numbers (demand) are less of an issue at Ivy Tech currently. Partner prestige: I have no penchant for prestige in choosing a school. I do not plan on attending alumni gatherings or stickering my car with my alma matter. I don't think I'll even consider my college choice in my eventual days at work as a nurse. However, I realize this is not everyone's experience. My partner, though supportive of my nursing goals being realized at any school, was verbally appreciative that I would be getting a degree from the Indiana University School of Nursing (you have to say the whole thing to make it sound fancy), the largest nursing school in the USA, instead of a community college that no one would know if I applied for a job in California. *textual sarcastic warning* Whoop-ie, people have heard of my school so I don't have to explain it when it comes up in conversation every day. Like that would EVER happen. Resources: Comments on accelerated students at the American Association of Critical Care Nurses http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Publications/Issues/Aug02.htm University of Miami press release about trend of employers funding accelerated programs http://www6.miami.edu/UMH/CDA/UMH_Main/1,1770,2593-1;64351-3,00.html IUPUI second degree BSN website http://nursing.iupui.edu/degrees/absn/index.shtml University prestige at Time magazine http://time-blog.com/work_in_progress/2007/07/does_university_prestige_matte.html BSN vs ASN arguments succinctly summed up by a nurse practitioner at Yahoo! Answers http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080116134336AAwAJbP

From clarian.org... "In 1997 Methodist, Indiana University and Riley hospitals united to form Clarian Health Partners." An IU website that explains more about the consolidation naming... http://www.iuinfo.indiana.edu/homepages/1115/1115text/hospital.htm Based on what I've heard from students who have utilized this opportunity, the best benefit is not financial. Of course they are exceedingly accommodating to student schedules, but the experience itself takes the cake. You have the opportunity to leave nursing school with some experience under your belt. The story my family member tells is teaching her classmates simple techniques that she learned from working with real nurses on the floor. You just come out of school with more confidence and experience (some externs find a post-grad job within the hospital system based on their networking) with real patients outside of the classroom/clinical environment. I for one, believe the stories and cannot wait to apply myself when I become eligible! It is not easy to find a job willing to work with my ever changing student availability, let alone an experiential job that helps prepare you for real life (including hospital administration politics) outside of the classroom.

I am also attempting to get into a program, so I may not offer the wisest advice, but I can tell you my own strategy - Get in and get out anywhere that will take you. To me it is all about the "foot in the door" thing. IUPUI is not the only school with hundreds of great potential nurses knocking down their door. To answer part of your question, no, I do not think it is (much) less competitive in Spring entry at IUPUI. Unfortunately the system is set up so that the hundreds who do not get into the program in the Fall can tweak their application in their favor (potentially putting them over you) and try again in the next entry class. I say "unfortunately" because this means there is no break for the weary. Institutions will turn down hundreds of people in every program in every semester in most nursing schools in the state. Again, I believe your Plan B should be to apply and go anywhere that will take you. A good thing about nursing is that once you get some education, you can have your employer pay for the rest of your schooling with educational benefits. This means there are many students who want to become a well-educated RN but are applying to LPN and ASN programs so they can get a job and have their employers finance their RN, BSN and even MSN programs. While some applicants are waiting and taking out student loans, some practicing nurses will be taking out car and home loans. I've been among a pool of other academically talented individuals fighting tooth and nail to get into a program and I've been at it for 2 years at this point. I would feel lucky to get into any program that would take me, no matter what choice on my list it was. I said above to "get out" quickly because of the inevitable problems that arise from young people (sorry, didn't mean to assume you were young) in a society of underfunded education in an economic climate that requires a college education. You can never know what personal trials lie before you and, as many people on this forum can attest, many people who fight so hard to get into a program do not come out the other side a graduate. I would consider shorter options because 2 years of an ASN program, which gives you a degree, is better than 2 years (or even 3 years) of a BSN program that does not prepare you to sit for the NCLEX-RN. 2 years and a degree is much better than 3 years with nothing to show for all your hard work you paid so much for. Of course I'd apply for the RN if that is what your eventual goal is, but I wouldn't get rejected from the program twice without applying to other programs. By the time you wait to get in at IUPUI, you may have been able to finish at Ivy Tech (and vice versa). I was attempting the Ivy Tech route for 1.5 years when it became apparent that it was not working for me as quickly as I had planned. I expanded my search at the advice of other students. The finds of my search: I believe that Marian's program is very similar to IUPUI as far as transfer credits go. I was also told by Marian students not to be intimidated by the high costs of attending this private school because the Financial Aid department is crazy good at helping you get a help (especially if you are a young mother). Ivy Tech has a good enough transfer system, especially considering that is what they, as a community college system, were designed for - transferring credits to finish a bachelors degree. The only quirk I know of is the differing credit hours for anatomy and physiology. (you need to do all of your anatomy and physiology at one school for best results) In the end, for me, I was close enough to a bachelors degree that I could quickly get a general studies degree at IUPUI and expand my search because I am now also eligible for accelerated programs. If I lived in Cincinnati, for example, I would be eligible for their accelerated MSN programs as well! I decided that 3 years to get 2 bachelors degrees was a better Plan B for me than 3 years to wait to get into and finish the associates degree program at Ivy Tech. I had prior college credits to my advantage, though. The cool thing for me and the accelerated program is that Clarian just gave 'em a million dollars to expand the entry classes and provide scholarships to students who would work at Clarian post-graduation. There are much fewer applications to the accelerated program entries (they may accept around 1/2 of the applicants but it is hard to know since it is expanding so quickly right now), which is why I decided to attempt that option as well. You may also want to consider using any youth you may have to your advantage. If you are ready and adventurous, there are always fleeting stories of nurse shortages so bad that they welcome students from other areas. When I explored IUPUI in the Summer of 2006, my academic advisor sent me an email forward from a DC hospital that would pay to move, house, and educate you in return for hard work. It probably isn't the best hospital but I would have taken it if I did not have household ties back here in Indy. I also recently read online that Louisiana is looking to cut it's news-making nurse shortage by providing tuition to any qualified student who would move down there to attend. I also just read a list (I'm not sure how updated) on places in the country without a wait for nursing programs like we have here in Indiana. Keep your chin up! As I heard 2 years ago from the program meeting at Ivy Tech, "sometimes getting a degree in college is all about jumping through the hoops - The only people who get the piece of paper at the end are the ones who show they want it bad enough to jump through all of the hoops the schools put in front of them." I say, "Bring it on!"