amberp83

[color=gray]lol i am looking for info on how to add up pcc's points. i have the old one from the first year they were ocne, but i cannot for the life of me find the new one. never mind. after two days of looking for it, i found it about two minutes after i posted this. i should have posted sooner apparently there is a nice little sidebar of links on the nursing page that i failed to locate

Thank you for telling me your stories. I like to know that I am not alone in this crazy adventure! Kudos for your guys/gals for getting it done! I am just worried because I want to try and do this in the evenings and my husband's days off so I don't have to put my kids in daycare (which we can't afford). I had my LO in daycare while I went through a medical assisting program and she was ALWAYS sick. We also have no family nearby, so that isn't an option. I know DH would support me the best he can

Is anyone waiting to go back to school until their kids are older or they are done having children? Or DID you wait? How did you cope with the waiting? I am feeling stir-crazy and I am warring with myself about going back and redoing my (expired) prerequisites. I have a 5yo whom I homeschool and a 1yo whom I plan on homeschooling. We want to have at least one more child, and I feel like if I start back to school now this won't happen anytime soon (I am almost 28). However, I also feel like if I don't start back at school, I'll eventually feel too old to go back! Yes, I know, people a lot older than me go to nursing school

I am a 18/20 and 5'8", so I hear you about feeling frumpy. I've found that the Cherokee Flexibles are so comfortable! They have spandex side panels, so they conform to my shape instead of hanging straight from my chest. The pants have a really wide, soft waistband, too.

Here's a tip I found for shopping online. If you can't afford to pay the price at a local retailer, try stuff on there. If you find you really like the fit of dickies etc. purchase them online, and then when you can afford to make purchases at local business, shop local. Does that make sense?

Skellies might be cute in an orthopedic's office... or for an x-ray tech. LTC it is a little bit iffy. I lean toward the gothic side of things too, but I can't see myself wearing skelletons to work, it is more an off work thing for me. I've seen a lot of great black and white scrub tops over the past few months. I had my eye on one that was empire waist black w/ white polkadots and a white tie at Life Uniforms. I'd love to see the tops you've made!

i'm not sure exactly how it works, but clackamas community colleges has one. http://www.clackamas.edu

For me the thing that worked was the A&P teacher I had offered downloads of all his Powerpoint presentations. And in the PP's he often had page # references and bold points that were key to understanding. Also, he was very funny. Lecture was often like attending a stand-up comedy =) And I totally agree that it is helpful when you relate things to the nursing/medical field. That is was a huge percentage of your students are there for. Answering the question, "Why do I need to know this?" is also very helpful.

5 here. I hope to attend nursing school at the 4th or 5th though! :)

I purchase mine at nwscrubs.com They are a local store for me, but their website has more selection than in store, and usually the cheapest prices on cherokee scrubs. Hope that helps!

That was where I was going with the second train of thought hah. Thanks bunches! This application is getting to me big time! :heartbeat

I'm not entirely sure yet. My GPA is kind of poop. I wish that when I had first started on my prerequisites that I had sat down with an adviser who told me how competitive these programs were, or I had actually researched it on my own. My advisor (in rural norcal) basically told me the classes I needed and that was about it. I just knew I wanted to be a nurse, but I wasn't committed enough at the time to take my coursework seriously. Now, five years and a baby later, I'm stuck with a 3.2 prerequisite GPA and the prospect of retaking my entire A&P sequence for A's rather than B's. I know for certain I am going to try for PCC again this year considering the lottery. Other than that, I'm not even sure it is worth trying at the others until my GPA is looking better.

What a great response. Thank you! It has been five years since I took micro, but I also just took clinical lab science for my MA program this past winter which included a micro lab. I am a little iffy on taking the course online, but I may not be given a choice with my schedule. Unfortunately, I do not think I will have the luxury of taking just micro, as I have to take Math 95 as well before winter term. I wish I had taken one or the other during summer rather than taking the time off. But, that is life! Thanks again for the feedback! Amber:heartbeat

I am a recent Med Asst grad (pre-nursing of course lol ) and I am trying to fill out a federal application for employment as a unit secretary. There are these horrible little things called KSA's (knowledge skills abilities) that I have to respond to in narrative form. Out of the five of these, one has me stumped. It is fairly nonspecific and I am having trouble formulating a response. Knowledge of procedures for receiving and following through on patient request. In my head I keep going back to simple things, like requests for records and requests for lab results, but I am not entirely sure that is what they are asking (stating?). Maybe, it is notifying the corect person if a patient needs to be toiletted? or more meds? If anyone could give me some ideas, and/or help me brainstorm, I'd be forever grateful I'm going spare! Amber

Has anyone heard on acceptance? I still have my fingers crossed for you who haven't heard from anywhere yet, even though I've managed to hijack the thread My Grades in 1-B, 2-B and 3-C and Micro was a C, but I plan on making it an A when I retake this fall (it expired this spring). When I was taking my prerequisites four years ago, it didn't really occur to me that I needed a 4.0. I only live about 5 miles from the PPC in Wilsonville, so it has always been an option. I almost dropped out of my MA program to go to PPC. I did see that Lower Columbia program, and I was seriously considering it. My kid would likely be in school by the time it came to fruit, as she's 2 1/2 now. Its a very long way for me to drive to Lower Columbia though, as I am in Canby (between oregon city and woodburn on 99).Likely what would happen at that point would be selling the house and moving to Vancouver like we've been discussing for two years :chuckle

Has anyone taken the online Microbiology at Clackamas Community College? Was it fully online, or were there on campus meetings? I have taken Micro in the past, but it expired this past spring, so I have to retake it. Any thoughts?

Sadly, my grades are just good, not really good. I am hoping to retake Micro and A&P 3 and rectify that situation over the course of the next term or so. But I am not looking forward to it! :-D I don't think it is crazy at all. It depends on the situation completely. I know people in Northern California who did their LPN-RN bridge with an 80 mile each direction commute. For me in the metro area, the 30 mile drive would be 1+ hrs each direction. I am just hesitant to spend that much time away from my family. We own our house and don't have an option to relocate right now either =/ But that is the way of things :)

How far is it from Eugene to Roseburg? I am just wondering how far you are willing to drive for curiosity's sake? I live just south of Portland and I am considering 30 miles too far to drive, which leaves just two schools to apply to. Granted, I'd probably drive that far, but my dh is against it.

Way to go tifftazia! Are you nearby Umpqua?

I did the MA program at Clackamas for points. I have yet to see if it has gotten me anywhere because I just graduated last month, but here was my reasoning: I get brownie points on the Clackamas Application for doing one of their programs, working in the medical field w/ direct pt care and also if I get a job at one of their clinical partners for a total of 9 extra points. There are other schools where I will also get points for experience. PLUS in the meantime while I am working on getting accepted to a nursing program, I will have a job that pays a bit better and be gaining valuable knowledge and experience.

Good luck to both of you! I've been thinking about going to PPC in Wilsonville for a while now, but I just graduated as an MA from the Clackamas, so I am holding out. I look forward to hearing how your experiences are!