BellaCerraRN

Well poo! I didn't read your post until AFTER I posted my response.... Oh well, maybe someone else needs the info....

As one of the other posters stated. The BNE doesn't just do a background check, they run an FBI background check and fingerprint card. If you've been fingerprinted for ANYTHING, the FBI will have a record of it. For juvenile offenses I believe most states were in compliance with sending fingerprints to the FBI by 1987. Prior to that, it's unlikely the FBI has a record of it, therefore theoretically you could get away with not reporting a minor juvenile offense prior to 1987. My advice, do the declaration and see what happens.

I graduated GCC in 07. Every year the cut off gets higher and higher. I believe the year I was accepted it was in the 18-20 point range. As the program gets more competitive, the points will be getting higher and higher. I'd say it's fair to assume you need 22-24 points to get in. My advice to anyone wanting to get into GCC is to do your best on your pre-req's, especially your sciences and (BIG JOKE!) co-req's. The MINUTE you are eligible apply. You may not/probably won't get accepted with the bare minimum, but you've got an application on file. Then continue to add classes that give you points. Most applicants that get in are already well on their way to fulfilling the requirements for their BSN applicaions. It's a hard job, but if you want it bad enough, you'll get in and do well. As far as clinicals, there are so many options out there. You don't choose your clinical assignment, it's given to you (you get to give your first 3 preferences). There's early morning, mid afternoon and I believe some new evening rotations available. As far as scrubs, if they haven't changed anything since last semester, you'll need 1- nautical blue and 1-white. They tell you you have to have a lab coat too, but I only wore my lab coat and white scrubs 1 time. The lab coat because I was in street clothes when I had to go pick patients for my turn at charge, and my white scrubs when I did OB at McKinney. If I had it to do over again, I wouldn't have bought the white scrubs or the lab coat until I needed them. Hope this helped. Good luck in getting in!

My advice to you is to figure out what makes your heart come alive and persue that. Otherwise, you'll never be happy. And as a 42 year old that went to Nursing School at 39... we're not getting any younger hon and you deserve nothing less! Frankly, I don't like working with the nurses that became nurses for the money, the stability of the job, etc and I don't want them taking care of me. The medical field needs lots of people, not just nurses, but it's a hard job and you need to really be dedicated to your profession and your patients to be fair to them, and to yourself. If working in a Dr. office is something you think you'd like, become a Medical Assistant, because even LVN's are often over qualified.

As a former employee of GCC and recent Nursing School grad, I would say that 450 applicants is about right. I think it's great that they decided to add a spring class to the Nursing Program. I hear that they have a plan in the works to accept 100 to each semesters roll before too long. If so that will be a definite plus to the nursing profession! Good luck in your studies, WE NEED YOU!!!!

I love my Palm Tungsten E2... but then again, it's 2 years old AND I got it for 1/2 cost because the seal had been broken on the box.

I wanted to chime in on this thread as both a CCU nurse as well as the wife of a survivor of esophageal cancer/esophagectomy. My husband was diagnosed very early and had his esophagectomy within days. He did remarkably well. Out of ICU in 3 days and home in 10. He went home with a peg tube and we used it 2 or 3 times. Because of my experience in home terminal care I was able to feed him orally right out of the gate while keeping his nutritional needs covered. He did not suffer from any of the after effects that we were expecting. He does suffer a bit from dumping syndrome. Because of all the research I did before the surgery I can assume that the reason so many esophagectomy patients fair so poorly is because of the stage of disease prior to the surgery and because nutritional needs cannot be met as fast as they need to be. Most people receiving an esophagectomy are already stage 4 esphageal cancer and esophagectomy is one of many last ditch efforts at providing palliative care, not cure. So they've got a disease process in which they are essentially wasting away already only to be compounded with a surgery that only compounds that as well. Well, I'm off to take my husband to the Dr... as we are stage 4 palliative now....

At my facility the PRN nurses make close to 20 an hour more than the full time scheduled nurses, most of them work in excess of 40 a week, and you can be a full time and forgo benefits and you get a $450 allowance each month.

I get paid overtime every single pay check and so far no kisses for me!

Fact of the matter is that FLSA sets the rules, not a particular facility. They may not be paying overtime, but unless they can proove the employee passes ALL 4 tests, the employee is entitled to overtime, plain and simple. If the employee does not pass all 4 test and their employer refuses to pay them overtime then they need to file a complaint with the state and federal labor board.

At our facility our unit only gets pts if they still have the sheath and lines... otherwise they go to the floor. When they come to us it's HOB flat, leg straight, reverse trendelenberg once they start complaining. When we pull the sheath (after 2 hours and an ACT We are currently reviewing this protocol to see if it is the best and if not we will probably be changing our policy.

I just finished reading the FLSA just to make sure that I knew what I was talking about before putting my two cents in. IF you are exempt, it is because you are in the "Learned Professional" category. However, there are tests you must pass in order to be exempt. They are as follows: *The employee must be compensated on a salary or fee basis (as defined in the regulations) at a rate not less than $455 per week; *The employee’s primary duty must be the performance of work requiring advanced knowledge, defined as work which is predominantly intellectual in character and which includes work requiring the consistent exercise of discretion and judgment; *The advanced knowledge must be in a field of science or learning; and *The advanced knowledge must be customarily acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction. Now, you have to pass all 4 tests, not just one of them. And unless you're paid a flat salary then you are not exempt. That means you paycheck never changes it's $XXXX.XX EVERY month rain or shine, 28 days or 31, 3 holidays or none etc. If you pass that test, then you are exempt and I'd be looking for another job unless you're paid a sweet salary!

Can't tell you what their acceptance rate is, but when I entered the program in 05 we started with 121 and there were at least 30 on the waiting list to get in. They go by a point system, it's competitive but worth it.

We graduated together!

You can count on taking 3-3 1/2 years (or more) to complete your 2 year ADN. Like the previous poster said, there are pre-req's, but also co-req's. Classes that you should be able to complete while going through the nursing program, but the truth of the matter is they are thinly disguised pre-reqs. Without the classes out of the way prior to applying to the program you won't have enough points to make it. I hear that Grayson opened up a Spring class and hopefully that will cut down on the waiting time an applicant has between applying and actually making the cut. Good luck to you!