SBT85

All of the MedSurg courses (I, II, II) were great. I personally despised OB & Peds. I actually thought Peds would interest me but I found it did not(but to each his own). I am partial to MedSurg & it was more interesting so I found I did better & learned A LOT More than in OB. Good luck.

Macon is an ok place to live. However,if you have kids and plan to send them to public school it isn't the best. Warner Robins, Forsyth, or Gray have much better school systems. You can research the statistics and it will show you. The cost of homes are cheaper in those cities also. Macon has many more places to go and things to do than the other cities I mentioned. Do some research; I think you will like the middle GA area overall.

What they told you is what you will go over in lab and get checked off on (trach care, iv start, iv push, iv piggyback, etc).

I took Medsurg 1 in spring 2008 but i think the 1st test covered respiratory system and preparing pts for surgery. Your professors will send you a reading list via e-mail though sometime b4 XMas. Good luck. I am in the RN-BSN program @ MSC currently. If I can help you let me know.

So I found out my packet was accepted in August/September for the Army Reserves Nurse Corps. I was happy and nervous at the time. My scroll had been delayed until the end of last week when it came back. During the last 2months I hadn't really thought much about it because, in the beginning I was emailing and trying to find out what the hold up was and I received answers like "we just have to wait and get the scroll back." My recruiter and I didn't talk much after the first few weeks of emailing him. When my recruiter called to tell me the scroll was back I was like "oh ok." He was happy and I was at a loss for words. I'm not sure if I still want to do this. Serving my country is a wonderful opportunity and the incentives are nice as well. I'm just not sure if it's for me. I'm really scared that when I get deployed (b/c normally every1 will deploy @ some time or another) I'll get hurt or come back with PTSD, etc. IDK if my mind is playing tricks on me or what. If anyone has any feedback about what I should do, or their experiences as a reserves nurse and/or deployment I would appreciate them. I'm soooooo nervous and scared. I just don't want to make the wrong the decision. Thanks!

Congrats!! I'm supposed to commission on Saturday as well @ 1330. I'm soooo nervous yet excited.

DIC have you heard anything else about this? I was approved by the board but had to resend the scroll to the Senate and am awaiting approval from them. My recruiter hasn't said anything to me about this new law. Any info you have I would appreciate.

In the past it was straight through: spring, summer, fall, spring, summer (for Macon students) and spring, fall, spring, fall (for WR students). Not sure what it is now. Try going up to the school or calling the nursing office to find out.

All semesters are only 2-3 days except the last semester when you do your hospital practicum (36hrs/week in hospital precepting and 1 day a week class). Some people are able to work the 1st semester and manage it while others find it more difficult. I did not work the 1st semster. I started externing the 2nd semester of nursing school. The 1st semester is a big adjustment. Its very different from other classes/degree. But it is definitely doable. Good luck! Sending positive thoughts your way :-)

Corvettels2, I spoke with my recruiter today and he said that I could go part time and would not have to drill. However, if I do not drill or don't do something such as blood drives/blood pressure clinics/health screening/promoting army healthcare twice of month for 8hrs each then I would not receive the drill pay but I would still receive my monthly STRAP stipend. Also, I was wondering how do you receive thd HPLR while you receive the STRAP stipend. I was told that I my HPLR would not kick in until I am finished with STRAP. Thanks for anwering so may questions!!

Corvettels2, is the requirement that you have to drill if you are not a full-time rn-bsn student? I'm still waiting to get a response back from my healthcare recruiter. Also if you don't mind me asking what kind of things do you do when you go to drill?

DIC Harwould, my recruiter told me to today that I was selected. Yay!!! I'm excited yet super nervous @ the same time. I'm still waiting to find out the information about the half time status from my recruiter. I sent him the reg & where to look for that information at (thanks to you).

Thanks for the response! I e-mailed this to my healthcare recruiter for clarification. My packet is before the board currently. I'm hoping to be approved for commission.

DIC Harwould I tried to look up this source on the web but could not find. If you have a link or something please post it. The reason I ask is because the requirement for the rn-bsn portion of my program is not full-time. We take about 9-11hours per semester. So I would have to take an extra class (ex: PE, art, etc) although I don't need it to graduate.

Yes I graduated in May. I started the rn-bsn program @ msc last month. My biggest suggestion is to study the powerpoints, do lots of practice questions, and when you pick an answer don't second guess yourself. Also don't cram for tests the night before; if you study for exams in advance you will be fine (i hope). I think that if you can get pass the first semester you will be ok. Good luck!

Shjoll, glad things are going well for you this semester. The reason people say its hard is because of the tests and amount of reading. In my class we started the program with 70 people and graduated with 40 and that includes 5 people who reapplied and were readmitted after failing a course previously. Good luck in school and make sure you "critically think" on the exams.

DIC Harwould I am trying to get all my paperwork completed for the reserves also. I am waiting on 1 more recommendation of 5 to be sent and I have to finish the application. It seems like the application is redundant about references although you can't list someone more than once. That is the part that is holding me up. I am hoping to get STRAP and some loan repayment. I start my RN-BSN program on Tuesday the 18th of August. Do you know how the loan repayment works? What documents are needed, etc? I have to have everything turned in to my healthcare recruiter by the 27th. I hope I make the date.

I have been working since the 1st of June & so far I love my job. The pt population is awesome & the teamwork between the staff is great. I love going to work (outside of waking up early). I hope my love for nursing continues & that when I go to nightshift its just as wonderful.

I am a new grad working in neuro ICU. At my hospital if you work in any of the ICUs or the EC you have to sign a 18 month contract, which begins after you are out of orientation. If leaving before the 18month contract is up you have to pay back $2000 prorated. Also the hospital will pay $5000 in student loans; the requirement is to work for 1 year. However, if you are already required to work for 18 months you don't have to work the extra year for the $5000 payment. If you are asked to leave the unit or go to another floor you are not required to pay back the $2000.

The ASN program @ MSC is difficult but doable. There are several posts on this already. You might want to do a search for them. The tests can consist of several chapters and are about 50 ?s each mc, fill in the blank. Clinicals are twice a week (once for fundamentals & once for psych). The instructors are informative and willing to help in anyway. Hope this helps a little. Make sure you do a search on MSC ASN program; there are several threads on here already. Good luck in the program.

The trick worked!!!!! I passed!!!!! This is 1 of the happiest days of my life!!!!!!

I just found out I passed!!! I'm so happy....woohoo!!!!!!!!!!!!! What a relief; the stress is over :) :)

I took the Hurst review in Savannah, GA the 2nd week of May. It was a great review of content & excellent study/test taking tips. I really enjoyed. I took my exam today & had 77 questions. I did the pearsonvue trick & I got the pop up & couldnt go to the credit card screen so I'm hoping that means I passed. I'll find out for certain in a few days. All in all I support the Hurst Review & think it is a great tool to prepare for the NCLEX. Good luck with taking it.

I did the trick and I received the pop up and didn't/couldn't go on to the credit card screen. I'm hoping this really does mean I passed!

I was thinking about getting one on my foot. I was thinking of getting a caduceus or rod of asclepius. The caduceus looks better but I'm not sure. Keep me posted on what you decide.