mcbismark

I'm playing hooky from my UA ASBN studies right now; so, I thought I'd try and answer some questions... 1) The interview questions were not difficult; I think they wanted to see how you respond (from what I understand the 1st year they didn't do interviews and found that some of the accepted applicants were not quite suited to be nurses. i.e. communication skills are *really* important in nursing!). 2) Financial aid: lots of this years class took student loans. I didn't but my 401K is is really taking a beating. 3) If you get an offer it will be from 1 hospital and you will owe them the contract time. I did 4 years in the USN so I know about being under an employer's thumb! I think me signing on to the program tells you what I think of the contract stipulations and risks... 4) I stayed at the Lazy 8 motel /www.lazy8motel.com when I was researching the program (inexpensive, clean and relatively close to the school). 5) Good luck with the interviews; I'll be in the reception area if you have a morning interview. Mark P.S. I probably will not have time to get back on here for a while; we have a stiff load of quizzes and tests for the next couple of weeks.

No pool in the rental house (while in the UA ABSN); but, then again I don't have time for lounging in the pool! :) I thought the boomers would hit yesterday and all we got was wind (woke up to the house stinking of smoke... must have been a brush fire to the East). Looks promising for boomers at about 4pm and now all I see are clear sky and pretty stars... Mark

Glad you pm'd me... I haven't had a lot of time to visit the site. The new students (I'm one) are busy being stunned by the pace... the students who graduate in Aug are busy writing their final group research projects. Mark

I ordered from http://www.steeles.com and it went well... I got what I ordered when they said I would get it. I would recommend them to anyone. Mark KC, your preferences don't let anyone send you a PM and your email address fails... Hard to answer a PM and give an opinion!!! :)

Why does any profession matter? You marry for love, money or something physical. The 1st sets you up for life; the other 2 set you up for divorce. Good luck, Mark

Testing has been covered; but, basically you setup a place to take the exam with a proctor (a local school/teacher/officer (if in the Military) might agree to sit with you). Labs are done at home and results are submitted online. CA prices are much, *much* lower per unit.

Sounds like there might be more than one person doing the drive... carpool and do nclex flash cards every day... you'd have more review time than any other students!!! Good luck! Mark

With 18 operation scars on my legs... Male or female? I couldn't care less; just an excellent nurse will do for me. Mark

Congrats! I pretty much made the same decision a year and a half ago. I start at UA's ABSN in 2 weeks. The 115m from home in Tempe to UA in Tucson was too much of a commute (in an accelerated program there isn't enough time in the day to spend 5 hours) to contemplate so I will be living in Tucson and the family will be commuting down on weekends for the next 14 months... Good luck! Mark

Congrats on the move! After 21 years here in Apr we still like the weather... as long as the pool is there for the summers and the spa is there in the winter we're good... :) This year's rain with low temps is the 1st we've seen; the norm would be days and days of highs in the 105 to 110 range... but, I don't mind cool so... bring it on! :) The N/S/E/W grid was confusing to us too... but, it sure is easy to get used to! Mark

The mid-term and final did kill mine... high 80s is not what I wanted in A&P... I didn't have much choice in how to take them and get them all done though... Mark

tick, tick, tick... We're down to weeks... almost days! :) Mark

I also took all my pre-reqs online from Rio... IMO 1) if you haven't taken an online class previously, do not take a difficult class in an accelerated format. 2) if you can not dedicate yourself to this one class completely I would strongly suggest you avoid it. 3) make sure your grade point average can taking a hit from getting a grade lower than you would expect... Yeah I suspect you can tell I think taking A&P II might be a killer in an accelerated class...

New Balance makes 811s in white with white laces, I just got a pair... Mark

Congrats and good luck... Mark

Not that I can tell... I applied at 54 and was accepted. I'll start, in less than a month, at 55; and, if all goes well, I'll take the NCLEX after Aug '09. So... hit the books and study hard and... Good luck, Mark

Just ordered a Cardiology III with engraving from http://www.steele.com they engrave and as a bonus their prices were right at the low end of the scale! Congrats and good luck! Mark

I wouldn't be too concerned... you'll find women to be the same in every profession... weird and wonderful! Under "Danger, Danger, Wil Robertson" I would suggest that you read the threads on dating fellow nursing students... You'll have enough stress during nursing school... Good luck, Mark

I start NS Jun 9th. I just ordered the III (with a coupon for a student kit direct from 3M) from steele.com. I also had it engraved. good luck on the decision and in school! Mark

Use the online cost of living comparison utilities. Here is one...

Truck/van here. Mark

I think I heard 1500 is the 1st and thereafter it will be 500 a semester. I'm going to be moving down from Tempe in late May; might even be after Memorial day that I actually move. What area did you rent/buy in? I'm about 7 miles east and a mile or to south of UA's SON. Mark

I took A&P I&II from Rio Salado a community college in Tempe AZ. They allow you to take the class online elsewhere as long as you can set up proctored exams. Note: A&P I&II are a difficult classes and I found they took a lot of time and effort to learn and get good grades on my own. Mark

Thanks and congratulations to you too! This summer is going to go by fast and then you'll be done! :) Mark

Choose one of your 'procedures or protocols' and make it fit one of the defined categories... that is being persuasive! :) Good luck! Mark