MagnesiuM

i am graduating in july down here in miami, but i used to live in madison. when i started school, i was guaranteed a job where i used to work in madison, and i was positive i could work wherever i wanted to. now, i'm not so sure i could find a job anywhere.....florida, madison, chicago, any of the cities i've looked.... does ANYONE still here new grads?

There were 43 students in our starting class last August (08). Three dropped the first week because of scheduling conflicts, or personal reasons, so we were at 40 for the first semester. It varies per cycle who gets in, but it's strictly by GPA. Good luck to all of you, and when you're ready to buy books, keep me in mind! I will sell all the ones i have (except my MedSurg text--i want to keep that) for a very inexpensive price. I can tell you right now that they will tell you to buy the Curriculum, but you don't need it. Honest. Don't let them tell you otherwise. It's $50 you can avoid wasting. :-) Good luck!

Thank you for your encouraging reply! We are hoping it's not too conservative for our little "nontraditional" family...we're not looking for gay bars or nightlife, just a good town where we can raise good kids like everyone else without getting shunned or looked down upon :-) can't wait to graduate!!!

thanks so much! i appreciate your gesture of welcome :-) my wife and i are moving from miami and we don't get a lot of "friendly" down here! hahahaha....guess that's why we're moving! closer to graduation, i'll call nurse recruiters in the area and get the scoop on benefits, and on starting salary. i assume it is much lower than what my sister makes as a nurse in Madison, Wisconsin, since i believe the cost of living is lower in Louisville. thanks again!

Does anyone know if Louisville hospitals (any of them) offer domestic partnership insurance benefits? Just wondering....looking to move there after i graduate in July...how's the job market for new nurses? Not really looking for a specialty right now, just a good place to work with good people and good training/orientation :-) So what's the scoop? :-) Thanks for any info!

i don't have kids, but plenty of people do. just have very sorted child care, because missing classes is tough, and missing clinicals and exams is NOT an option. anything is possible if you set your mind to it! :-)

the first semester we were in classes every day, one day was a half day. it was very stressful, with fundamentals of nursing, health assessment, skills lab and clinicals and i think i might be forgetting one...that is the semester that eats you alive. not recommended to work, but not impossible if you're really a fast learner with a great memory or previous medical experience. since then, the load has been lighter in terms of time in class. if you're asking because you want to work, i'd suggest doing weekends only. friday night, saturday day/night and/or sunday day/evening would be conflict-free for school. weekday day jobs are of course out of the question. evening 3-11 type jobs would be okay some days, but undo-able other days. hope that helps!

yes, classes are at Medical Center campus, which is near the VA. It's near the metrorail and busstops. I don't know miami very well, so i don't know where hollywood is, but i think i remember that that is quite far..... Look into BCC maybe? Here's the thing, folks. Miami Dade's generic RN program is 4 semesters, done back to back (no break for summer), so you complete in 1 1/2 years. The accelerated program is 3 semesters, also done back to back, so you complete in 1 calendar year. See how little difference there is? It IS harder to get into generic, because of all the applicants compared to AO, and because there are actually MORE prerequisite requirements for generic (i did not have to take microbiology, but i did take Anat and Phys, for example). So don't think you're getting you're degree SO much quicker by doing the AO....and if the slower pace means you can pick up some hours working, preferably as a CNA after 1st semester so you can gain experience, then it's probably the best choice. I have massive debt right now, and i'm still paying off my bachelor's degree student loans too.... Talk to advisors too...they can help guide you into some programs you might not even know exist....i didn't even know i qualified for AO! the day i applied, i had actually come to campus to investigate the LPN program :-D

That's the right attitude, EmpressT :-) as for scholarships, i'm not certain....as a white 30-something female, i really didn't qualify for any minority scholarships of any sort; i'm not a florida native; and i already have a bachelor's degree (obviously), so scholarships were not available to me.... but you may have better luck. just keep searching... :-) as for working during the program, it's not recommended. But if you must, here's some thoughts on that. The first three months are the hardest. They will kick your ass. Seriously. But believe everyone who tells you that if you survive it to make it to MedSurg, things WILL lighten up considerably. Therefore, if you must work, I would plan on postponing work until you pass the first round of classes. We lost most of our people that first few months, and they were not slackers of any sort. It's just the heaviest class load, and it's all so new and bewilderingly different from any other classes you've ever had that it requires a lot of time. But after November/December, you could probably be just fine working weekends if you so desire.... that's all i got...let me know if you need to know anything else. O, and i COMPLETELY overpurchased books and supplies, BTW :-) guess it was excitement over getting in. but if money's an issue, try not to get carried away... hahahahaa

For those moving to Miami from another city, please remember too that in this area, $21 or even $24 doesn't stretch as far as it does in other areas in FL or the rest of the country. I live here now, and rent is EXPENSIVE compared to other cities. Starting pay in Madison, WI where i'm from (2 hours from chicago) is closer to $25-$27 base pay (w/o shift differentials) and cost of living (esp housing for renters and homeowners) is MUCH MUCH MUCH cheaper. I could never afford to own a home in Miami....even on a nurse's salary. That's why I plan to move as soon as I can after graduation...hopefully immediately, if my wife can get a good job where we plan to relocate.

Um, let's see here. I'm currently in the MDC RN accelerated option (AO); I started August 2008. I would say that if you have the prerequisites, and if you are absolutely positive that what you need is good grades, then I would recommend the generic program. I've always had good grades, and I'm actually getting As and high Bs in AO, but there are many more people in my class who are smart, study consistently and who will be great nurses, but who are getting Bs or Cs. Some of the good ones didn't even make it this far..... AO is NOT the program to be focusing on GPA...you only have time/energy/emotional capacity to focus on passing the program, learning what you can to prepare you to pass NCLEX, and learning as much as you can about how to be a good nurse, although at this point most of us are pretty convinced that we will learn how to be a nurse when we start nursing rather than in school. Even though I'm doing well, as I said, and I haven't changed my mind about nursing, I have found AO almost completely and consistently frustrating, challenging for all the wrong reasons, ridiculous, infuriating, and occasionally terrifying (the critical thinking/care plan exams). So worrying about being an A student is just going to add to it. Do I recommend the program? Well, if I pass it by August, I'll probably tell you yes. But if I don't, I'll probably feel differently. You see, even though I'm getting As for the most part, I still feel completely unsure of my future in the program. I think that's how most of us feel at times....we take it day by day and hope for the best. I've never prayed more in my life. hahahahahahah! If you have prior medical experience (CNA, rad tech, etc), you will more than likely do better than if you have none at all. Also, remember that in MDC nursing programs, a 92% is a B (maybe even 93%, i don't remember). One of our people flunked the program by less than one percentage point....it's not for the faint of heart. That being said, good luck to you whatever you choose, and be brave! :-)

all you need in nursing school that is high quality is your attitude, determination, and study time. i bought a littman stethoscope II SE for 65 bucks at allheart.com, and my sphyg was 8 bucks from same website: both are great. i wish i would have waited to buy EVERY single book on the book list, and EVERY single study guide, because i didn't have the time to use half of the extra materials, and i found that putting things in my own words worked better than using other books anyway. i know it's easy to get carried away when you're about to start school, but after one semester in an accelerated program, i can tell you that i didn't need half of that expensive crap i bought, and i wish now i just had the money. :-D hahahaha hope that helps!

I was told that we could not use medical diagnoses either....so why can we use COPD as a R/T? it's confusing, and i don't think our instructors would let us do that....they'd tell us to "explain it out" instead of just putting down COPD or CVA or whatever. how did he pass with that? man, i'm sitting here flunking for lesser violations than that!!!!! can i transfer?

OMG!!! i thought i had it bad with +/- 4!!!!!!!!! well, i've dreamed of being a nurse, but that never meant i wanted to be a nursing student! that's for sure. i'm considering asking the teacher to take some time out in her office to listen with the teaching stethoscope while i take someone's blood pressure over and over and over again.....which, even if i do it right every time, won't help me at all if i don't do it right in the re-test, but at least she'll know that i am making the maximum effort i can make, and that i can hear it sometimes at least!!!!! "i'd rather look stupid than sorry" is what she told us in class, and i say, amen to that!

well, i've got three tries to get a blood pressure within plus/minus four, and today i failed my first try. amazing and depressing and embarrassing and terrifying. yes, i flunked my blood pressure test today. it's really quite humiliating. i know i can take a blood pressure. i've been a cna for the last three years, and i take manual blood pressures quite often, and i know that they're accurate. i do fine using the teaching stethoscope with classmates and can hear everything quite well. But with my teachers, i hear nothing except garble and everyone talking. It's so frustrating because i KNOW i can do it. i hear it fine all the time, but whenever an instructor is listening on the other end of the scope, i guess my ears fail. even when i don't FEEL particularly stressed or nervous, i never get it right with the teacher. i am trying to stave off a panic attack, because if i fail nursing school because of some stupid three-week class like clinical skills lab, i will just have to roll over and die, i think!!! i have no options left if nursing school doesn't work out. it's all i've wanted to do and have been working for for five years now.....and i feel like it's all slipping away on something as stupid as a *(*#(*@* blood pressure test. every day i tell myself that i am going to succeed and be a great nurse. but everyday, nursing school tells me quite the opposite. every day i build myself up, and every day my experiences at school knock me down. i've had nursing supervisors, nurse managers, nurses, patients and other CNAs always tell me i'd be a great nurse. but at school, so far i've done nothing but fail. what do i do if i don't make it after three weeks in? i've put so much time and SO much money and SO much of my life into this for the last several years, and i KNOW in my heart i can be a good nurse.....but so far i am a terrible nursing student. i feel really hopeless tonight.