rnav32

Well I'm glad some other folks are looking into Texas Tech's second degree bsn. I'm still working on my prereqs, but I still cannot find anyone who has completed the program. I had originally planned to start this year, but I had to take a year off from coursework. Does anyone know anyone from this forum that has gone through this program? I keep hearing the someone who knows someone that completed the program, but I have been unsuccessful in trying to find anyone that has completed the program. If anyone has completed the program, please share your thoughts on the program. Any information would greatly be appreciated.

I'm glad this post has received many responses. I was curious to know if anyone has actually worked abroad in South America as a nurse. I mentioned before that is something I really want to do. Ideally, I would like to spend anywhere from a year to three years there. I know there would be some issues such as getting licensed in a foreign country, salary adjustments, and getting a passport along with residence or citizen requirements. Does anyone know if anyone has done it? I was thinking about possibly trying to apply to an international relief agency. Does anyone have some ideas? On a side note, one of my friends has a friend that use to be a nurse that went into some type of medical sales that takes him to latin america on a monthly basis. I thought it was a great opportunity since he gets to live here in the states but travels there once a month. Any information would greatly be appreciated. Thanks again for a great post.

I want to say thank you MaryK for posting on this particular topic. I am really interested in working abroad as a nurse. I have been looking at Buenos Aires, Argentina or Santiago, Chile. I have looked at several programs that deal with learning medical spanish in a foreign country. I believe the programs I looked at were based in Mexico. I really want to go to a foreign country but was wondering how much spanish is really required. Twinpumpkin, I was curious to know how intensive are the medical spanish courses offered at the community colleges in Dallas. I hear good things about them, but I don't know anyone who has actually gone to any of them. I lived seven years in the city of Dallas and was curious to know about the University of Texas at Arlington certificate in translation studies. I really would like to have a good comprehension of the language. Currently, I do self study in spanish for four to six hours per week. I am not a native speaker, but I do speak spanish with most spanish speakers I encounter and can handle day to day tasks. How intensive are the medical spanish classes you teach. Any information would greatly be appreciated. Once again, thank you ladies for posting on this particular topic.

Hello NewBeginning. Some of the other posters are correct in saying that Covenant and UMC are the two larger hospitals here in town. There is also one smaller hospital here as well. As far as nursing schools go, there are three in the area. Southplains College, Covenant, and Texas Tech all offer nursing programs. I would look at their websites for more information. I don't want to compare the programs because every single person will give you their biased opinion. In my opinion, they all are good programs! At my job yesterday, I ended up debating these program with one individual who attends Covenant, one who attends southplains, and one who attends Tech. Every single person has their own opinion on their program. I say investigate each and decide which is a better fit for you. I have just about finished my prerequesites and am looking at Tech and several programs out of state. Good luck on your move.

Carachel, I have a question that you might be able to help me out with. I have heard some nurses in different cities tell me that they make more than an NP? Do they make the same salary working the standard 40 hour work week? When they make a statement like this does this include working nights and extra shifts? I don't mind working nights or extra shifts, but I worked over 55 hours a week for many years. This included most of the holidays as well. I wouldn't mind working that for a few years, but after a certain time frame, it gets old. I have heard so many nurses tell me that they bring in more than an NP but I'm starting to wonder if they just work 40 regular hours a week. I know both RNs and NPs can work weekends and nights, but when things are equal as far as standard hours, do RNs really make more?

I was just curious if there are any graduates of this program here in TX? Does anyone know of any individuals who may have completed the program? Did anyone pursue this program with a focus on holistic adult health (clinical nurse specialist)? Was it easy to find work with the completion of this program? Any information would greatly be appreciated.

Good evening everyone. I am hoping to get some information concerning duties and salaries for nurse managers. I'm sure duties and salary vary with position, responsibility, and experience, but I am hoping I can get some general or specific information from the knowledgeable individuals on this forum. I am a pre nursing student that is almost finished completing my prerequisites for an accelerated BSN. My original undergrad is in business administration. I was curious to know what the duties are for a nurse administrator or nurse manager. Is it similar to operations management where budgeting, payroll, controlling expenses, scheduling, conflict management, team building, motivating employees, and time management are key duties in accomplishing tasks? Do you develop team members such as nurses? I can't speak in specific terms since I'm not a nurse and do not know of all the duties that encompass their scope of practice. I'm only speaking in general business terms. Any input would greatly be appreciated. If you happen to respond to this thread, I would also like to know if you have an MSN, MBA, both, one or the other with experience, or experience alone. I'm sure some excellent nurse administrators have achieved their positions on education and experience while others have moved through the ranks on experience alone. For my own curiosity, I would just like to get an idea of the education or experience some administrators on this forum bring to their management positions. I know salary can vary, but does anyone have some general figures for common nurse management positions? I haven't seen any quoted on the forums. It could be possible that I have not yet encountered the response to this question using the search engine. If this question has been answered before, I apologize. I would like to pose one last question to get some opinions and feelings on a particular subject. At what point does a nurse start to focus on administrative duties instead of the technical aspects of nursing? Maybe a better question would be at which managerial position does a nurse focus more on management and less on nursing? Maybe this might never occur. I know at some point though a nurse manager will be getting paid to manage a group of nurses to obtain a business objective. Is their a point where a nurse manager will be concerned with balancing a payroll, controlling overtime, dealing with employee issues, communicated between different departments, scheduling appropriate staffing levels, developing employees, implementing hospital ideas and policies, and of course completing all that wonderful paperwork those duties require. Do these duties leave time for bedside nursing? I'm sure I will get a variety of responses but I'm very interested in seeing the answers.

Soso, I am actually looking at applying at an accelerated BSN program where I am located. That was the original plan until I started reading about the direct entry msn programs. I didn't even know the school I was looking at offered an accelerated BSN program. My main issue is time. I know some folks gauge peoples's age and say your still young, but the bottom line is that I still need to accomplish a few goals and time is of the essence for me. With the direct entry msn, I see a commitment of three years which isn't to bad. What I don't want to do is go to school and then have to return once or twice more. I do think that the direct entry msn will save money in the long run since the price of tuition seems to be increasing year after year.

Thanks Soso, I guess I overlooked it since I was not able to locate one here in TX? Do you know anyone who has gone through the program? If they did complete the program, did they get hired as an advanced practicing nurse or did they have to work as an RN for a while to get some experience?

nacha, sorry to here you not able to meet the deadline for the start date. i was looking at everything, and it looks like i will be done with prereqs next fall (2008). the only thing that i will have left to take during that fall semester is pathophysiology. i have debated weather or not to take chemistry. i still haven't made up my mind as to what i'm going to do with that class. i know it isn't required, but i just can't help think that it might be beneficial later on. also, above the prereq requirements, it does list that a medical terminology course should be completed. another thing i have to do is to get the cna certificate as well. also, to answer your question, i'm not a nurse of any type.

Nacha, was just curious if you have completed your CNA certification. Also, I checked the SON website and it has been changed and updated from a few weeks ago. I see that a medical terminology course is now a prereq. One other thing, are you going to take a chemistry class? Was just curious how others interested in the program are approaching the preparation.

Nacha, I have been searching these forums and asking the nurses that I encounter if they know anyone who has completed the accelerated BSN and so far I haven't met or talked to anyone that knows anyone who has completed the program. It looks like I'm going to call up to the SON and ask for some contact numbers on the individuals who completed the program. The contact person for the program has been extremely helpful with all of my questions. Hopefully I can talk to someone who has gone through the program.

I'm currently at SPC finishing my prereqs. I've talked to a few students in my classes and it is an even mix of those going to SPC for nursing and those going to Covenant for nursing. I'm looking at the accelerated BSN at Tech and possibly a direct entry msn program. It is nice to see some folks from the area pursing nursing as well. Good luck on your program.

Thank you for the info SOBsSiren. I was going to ask you if you know anywhere here in the Lubbock area where I can get my CNA certificate. I need that for what I am pursuing. Also, I wanted to know what they get paid since I am working a retail job and might transition into that position for a short time before begining my program. It depends on the pay though. Any information that you have concerning CNA certification or pay would greatly be appreciated.

Thanks for responding texas_lvn. Do you know how to get the CNA certificate or qualification. The reason I ask is because it is required for the 2nd degree BSN. I tried to search the schools in the area that have classes for the CNA position and Texas Careers is the only one that comes up. Somehow I don't believe that they are the only place in the area that offers CNA classes. I am going to assume that CNA stands for certified nurses assistant. Am I correct? Any information would greatly be appreciated and good luck in your program.

Thanks for the info. I'm glad to get different opinions. Now I seem more confused. I have heard varying things about both programs that are contradictary! One of my girlfriend's cousins has stated her opinions on Covenant which were favorable. She attended Convenant. Same goes with Tech. The students I talked to had great things to say about the program. I know the time commitment for Tech's 2nd degree program might not allow for a job. I just talked to a young lady a few days ago that is in the traditional BSN at Tech and she told me that the class she was in was not that large. Of course that is a subjective statement since large is viewed differently by others. I won't be allowed to enter the program until my prereqs are completed. I'm almost done so my decision is getting near. I also am looking at direct entry msn programs as well. Those would require for us to move from the area which I am committed to doing. I still haven't decided what I really want to do. Time is of huge importance to me for various reasons. I spent five years in school for my first undergrad and I don't really want to spend more time than I have to. Thank you for sharing your insights on the programs. I'm glad there is someone that has some knowledge about the nursing programs in the area. Thank you for responding to the post.

That is what I was thinking since the program is 12 months long. I have talked to several students in the regular SON program at Tech and every single one of them says it is a good, tough program. I can only imagine the same program completed in half the time. Have you ran across anyone who has completed the program?

I was just wondering if anyone knows any folks who have gone through Tech's accelerated BSN program. I already have info on the program, but I want to know how intense it was as opposed to traditional programs. Hopefully someone has info out there.

I am just curious to know if anyone has done the 2nd degree program at Tech. I am looking at several different options and this is one of them. I'm almost done with the prereqs and was trying to find anyone who has completed the program. I talked to a person connected with the program and was told that the program is held in three different locations. I guess that means that clinicals are in those areas. The whole other portion of the program is done online. The SON website for Tech gives better info. If anyone knows someone that completed this program, please let me know. Thanks.

Just want to say thank you to core0. I have read your responses on many posts and you always bring some really good studies or articles to back up or discredit points being made. It reminds me of my debate days in high school many years ago. Passion and emotion always started great debates or arguments, but facts and reason always won them! Thanks for all the links to the studies and articles.

wow, this thread has really taken off since i posted last. i have read all of the posts and i want to say thanks for everyone's opinion. i really enjoy this forum because we have a lot of people that keep up with what is going on in their profession. i always get something out of reading others thoughts on a particular subject. with that being said, i want to comment on a few of the posts. someone brought up the subject of diversity. i think that is a great point. i can't count the number of times i have joined a business organization and have noticed that a lot of folks think the same way in that particular business organization. now i'm not saying everyone is exactly alike, but the way they view things and make decisions are very similar. one could argue that people with different experiences could bring something new to that type of organization. at the same time, if someone follows the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" ideology and has been successful over many years, it would be hard to convince someone of changing or accepting new ideas or ways of doing things. most of the folks in my prereq classes are late teens early 20s and are pursuing for the most part some type of nursing. several of the older non traditional students are lvns and cnas. i believe there are only a few students like myself that have worked in other fields for several years and are coming into nursing without following the traditional steps. i'm sure there are many out there like myself, but i just haven't encountered them in my classes. another topic in these posts that peaked my interest was leadership. wow, that one word has been a point of interest since my undergrad days and is really stressed in today's business environment. it usually brings about more questions than answers and has so many definitions that it is hard to get an exact meaning of what it is or how it can be attained. i'm not sure if anyone has looked how many books are out on that subject or how many mba programs are now geared towards that area, but rest assured, it is quite a few. looking back on my ten years since leaving college, if one had offered me a management training program, i would have jumped all over it. i have seen it time and time again in different organizations where folks come in at management trainee and surpass quite a few folks who have had more experience, more knowledge, and a better grasp of how things work in that organization. did some of those leaders/management trainees succeed? yes. did others fail? yes. did some employees question their abilities? yes. after a year or two on the job, the ones that stayed adapted quite well. maybe it was because they had no choice. it was either sink or swim. no one could really tell that they came in as a management trainee. did they have to come in on the ground floor and pay their dues and learn how things worked before they took those positions? no. would it have helped? yes. i kind of relate it to the lvn to rn to apn or msn or np route (generic example) vs the no nursing experience to np or cnl (just generic examples). i think another reason someone might be successful at being an np without a lot of nursing experience is because although they do build on each other, one is practicing medicine and the other is nursing. that is just what i have gathered from reading other threads on allnurses. i'm not sure if that is a fair comparison, but those are my thoughts. i still want to hear others thoughts on this subject. i know that book learning is a lot different from real world. i sure wish some de nps would weigh in on this conversation. i think one de np has stated his opinions on another thread i read, but i'm not sure which one. and someone is right about some schools requiring work experience before getting an mba. i do know that many of my friends went straight ahead with their mbas after undergrad as well without any work experience. sorry for the long post.

Sorry about the spelling. Tonight is the first night I have posted on the forums although I have been coming to the site for about a year. I need to figure out how to use the spell check!

I'm here in TX and I haven't been able to locate any DE NP programs here in TX. I am working on my pre reqs currently and reconsidering entering a DE program. I called a few of the hospitals in the state and a lot of the recruiters had not heard of the programs and some said they wouldn't hire any DE NP programs. I still haven't my up my mind either way, but I have to decide one I finish up my prereq classes. I'm sure you the big names in the DE NP programs like UCSF, UIC, and John Hopkins. I wish we had some in TX and I hope in the future there will be some.

I know this thread hasn't had any responses in a while, but I just wanted to comment on some things I have learned from reading so many posts and threads on allnurses.com. I live in TX in a city of about 200,000 and called several hospitals in some of the larger cities. I was suprised to find out that many said they wouldn't hire a direct entry NP. It was somewhat discouraging but the recruiters seemed nice in telling me they wanted the experience. Several recruiters didn't even know the programs existed. Several hospitals didn't hire NPs. Since this seems to be the case, I'm reconsidering the direct entry route. Any recommendations. I wouldn't have a problem working as a nurse for a year or two after graduation from a DE program, but sacrificing a good five to six years is not in my plan as of this time. Another thing that I noticed is that when talking with nurses about the DE NP programs, hostility and caution seemed to permeate the conversation. The old pay your dues attitude seemed prevalent. I actually looked at the PA route and that might be applicable to my goals. Any thoughts or suggestions would be helpful. I also want to thank everyone who contributes to these threads. I have found a lot of info about nursing from many threads and posters on this website. Once again, thank you for the info.