kasperas

yes, they are paid well, as compared to other hospitals CNAs and nurse interns.

Def. not true- handful of non-acp in-state applicants were in my cohort (including myself). and I had a 3.9 not 4.0

I'm in it now. It is a 2 year commitment, with the official program lasting the entire first year. There is 2 weeks of orientation, then a ton of classes the first few month. Critical care has a 6 month preceptorship, Med/Surg 12 weeks. There is a financial penalty if you leave before 2 years. The amount depends on if you are critical care or Med/Surg. It deceases based on the number of hours you work, but only after your first year. Starting pay is going up from what I got for the next new grad class (lucky them), but its about the same as everywhere in Denver, as Klone said, "24ish". As far as the program goes: it is HIGHLY competitive. About 10% of applicants get hired (about 30 three times a year). In our class, over 1/2 were ACPs and/or did their senior practicum at UCH. If you want critical care, you have to have done a practicum or internship in an ICU (not necessarily theirs). Everyone graduated at the top of their classes. Also, you have to have a BSN. My personal opinion: They do an AMAZING job at orienting/guiding you through the new grad process. They are one of only 2 accredited Nurse Residency programs in the country. It is a teaching hospital so they do things right in that respect. They have spent a ton of time and money researching the best way to train new grads. I was a little bit concerned about it feeling like I was in school again (and at times, it does), but I don't have any of the "new grad shock" that I hear about from other new nurses. I also lucked out and got placed on a great floor. The hospital is at capacity pretty much constantly and we are building a whole new tower, so there is tons of opportunity for growth and advancement in the next few years. They definitely encourage further nursing education. Last I heard they are holding off on the August New Grad class because the hospital is switching to a new computer system in Sept., so we will be doing a class in Sept. and November - so you get 2 chances if you graduate in May! Good luck!

You will probably be doing a whole lot of observing - legally they can't have you doing anything you aren't licensed to do yet or haven't been educated on first in a classroom. It is really important that if they ask if you want to do something you have never done before you tell them you would love to, but need to be walked through it because you have never done it before. Also, not a whole lot of surgeries happen in the ED, but if they ask if you want to go to the OR to watch it is worth the experience. Have fun!

UHC will start posting jobs for the March start date around Thanksgiving. You must have graduated within the last six months to be considered a "new grad".

Other diverse situations would be if you have ever moved across the country and learned to assimilate into a different culture within the US. They aren't just looking for "I hung out with people with different skin color". Think outside the box. For critical thinking I would think of a life experience more than answering a test question. They want to know a little more about you as a person so try to reflect that in answering the questions.

Just one correction - there is no nursing program at CU Boulder, it is at the Health Sciences Center in Aurora (on the same campus as University Hospital and TCH).

The provide grants if it is your first bachelors. You can apply for any scholarship. I also get alternative loans on top of Federal, and yes, it is expensive!

I am in the school now. It is a fantastic program - the best in the area when I was researching where to go, and thus it was my top choice. It is brand new, and shares the campus with the University of Colorado Hospital as well as Children's Hospital. It is extremely competitive - but that means that you are surrounded by the best and brightest in your classes. The professors are fantastic as well. Admission is based on grades (at least a 3.5 GPA) and essay highlighting your experience with diversity as well as motivation to become a nurse. The ABSN is even more competitive - they take about 50 people into that program each year. Almost everyone in the school has a previous degree but most end up in the traditional tract. For accelerated and traditional programs combined (because you all start in a cohort together) about 15% of applicants are accepted. I don't know much about Denver area because I live in Boulder. The campus is not in an area of Denver where I would want to live though. It is a "commuter campus". Hope that helps and good luck!

Also - thought I would clarify. Each semester is broken into two 8 week blocks. The first two weeks of each block you are on campus Tues, Wed and Friday and then after the first two weeks you have clinical two days a week and class on Fridays. I know with Jan start the first semester is all on campus (2-3 days/week for most weeks although during lab exams it was 4 days for me) plus "mini-clinicals" which were only 4 days throughout the entire semester. June start does it a little differently with on campus classes in the Summer and the first block of the fall.

I am smack-dab in the middle of my BSN program (Traditional) at UCHSC. Feel free to PM me with any questions!

To the RN I worked with this week on OB: You were AMAZING but PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE start washing your hands and/or foaming in/out. I know you think the foam makes your hands feel gross but it is NOT OK to go from pt. to pt. without performing any hand hygiene!!

If you think you will want to get a MSN or higher than you might as well get your BSN now. Have you thought abotu UCD? It is a state school and much cheaper than DSN or Regis. Plus it is highly respected across the country in case you move outside of Denver. It is hard to get in though - so you have to have stellar grades in your pre-requs.

If you don't mind me asking: Where did you go to school? What kinds of experience do you have in health care?

I was taught for our exam that you do 30 sec at each site (3 sites in each quadrant) for a total of 5 min. Then our lab instructor told us that you listen that amount if you don't hear anything, but if you do hear something in your first 5 seconds at your first site you can move on, and you don't have to loiter at each site if they are clearly active (but still listen to at least 1 site in each quadrant).