jac133

Statistics that I found on TJC's website had this disclaimer: "The reporting of most sentinel events to The Joint Commission is voluntary and represents only a small proportion of actual events. Therefore, these data are not an epidemiologic data set and no conclusions should be drawn about the actual relative frequency of events or trends in events over time." So The Joint Commission has the number of falls THEY investigated, but not total falls in the country from the info I found. And they aren't the only recognized accreditation group, so some hospitals would not be reporting to them at all. Not much help. I'll keep looking.

It's really tough to get a job right now as a GN/RN with minimal experience, so I would take it... I don't have any experience with that location, but I have a friend who will be starting there this January and it was her top pick (she turned down another job offer). Also, wanted to mention that the Methodist system in San Antonio is a completely different system from Methodist in Houston (Tx Med Center). They get confused pretty often. Methodist in San Antonio is HCA.

Can anyone give me an approximate start date for some of the Houston GN programs for the January cohort? I've got a lot of things I'm trying to plan, and I want to make sure I keep my calendar open so that if I'm lucky enough to get a job, my plans will work around the job. Thanks a bunch!

Hey Andan, generic track is the regular 2 year program. Not everyone with a prior degree gets into the accelerated program (I was one that didn't), but because things are changing around here, who knows? I'll just reiterate to everyone - if you have a question, the best way to get an accurate answer is to call the office of admissions! I didn't, and I stressed way more than I needed to. Congrats everyone!

Hi everyone. I'm a current student so hopefully I can help answer some of your questions... Unless you already have a prior Bachelor's degree, you won't be eligible for the accelerated program. That may be why some of you didn't get the email. The entire nursing curriculum at the school is being overhauled, including the accelerated program. Up until now, accelerated students took the exact same courses, only they had one of their semesters smashed into the summer so that they finished a semester earlier than the other people they started out with. They are changing it so that accelerated students are in an entirely different program all together. It should be an improvement. I am not sure if they are keeping the accelerated program that starts in January or not. I would call and ask them what the plan is, and how many months it would take to complete the new program that starts in May (assuming it is approved). I'm looking forward to seeing ALL of you guys at orientation!

The auditorium is on the first floor of the same building that our interviews were in. I was there today and they had signs up showing how to get there. I asked in the Undergrad Nursing office and there is no dress code for orientation, jeans are just fine.

I just looked through my papers, and the letter for Heart to Heart says that the bookstore will be open Jan 4th from 1pm to 5pm. It's on the pink sheet of paper in the last packet that they mailed. We detached the back sheet to mail back for Heart to Heart registration.

polter, thanks for the info. I feel bad that I'm going to miss the first thing I could go to, but I'll survive. Gotta run to my old university Monday morning to get a transcript with my degree posted anyways...I don't trust them to mail it in time, and I do NOT want to pay out-of-state tuition.

Buying books online is tricky/risky without the ISBN. Maybe someone who has already taken the classes and used the same editions could post them? Did anyone else notice in the first letter in the new packet: "Hepatitis B -- the entire series must be completed and a titre drawn prior to January 7, 2009" Ummmm I thought we only had to get the titer if we got the shots more than 10 years ago. Does this mean we ALL have to get a titer? I'll probably just call them tomorrow and see what they say. I noticed that E-res still had fall info too, Azn. But I logged into Blackboard this past weekend, and there's a lot of info up already. So clinicals are assigned completely randomly...I wasn't sure if it was more complicated than that. I want morning clinicals!

Ok, I was wondering about the Heart to Heart thing too. I'd hate to miss out on anything important, but since I only knew orientation was the 7th-9th, I put my last day at work down as Jan 2nd, and the last thing I feel like doing is hauling my crap to SA the very next day without a break. Any current students want to chime in?? And I agree, that packet had a ton of information. Does anyone know what they base your clinical schedule on?

Yep, got mine too. From what I understand, the Heart to Heart thing is not mandatory. Has anyone started shopping for books online yet? I've got a couple already, and I'm gonna start working on the rest. Orange and black uniforms, huh? I'll be happy to not have to worry about keeping my white stuff stain-free. Ok, I'm definitely procrastinating studying for my finals next week. Gotta get back to it.

If you go to the Financial Aid site, on the right you can click on a link for "cost of attendance & disbursement dates." Here's the link: http://studentservices.uthscsa.edu/FA_Cost.aspx So they include housing, etc in the chart, which makes it look worse than it really is if you are already paying for housing wherever you are now. What the heck the "designated tuition" and those other weird things are is beyond me. The average debt that a student has when they finish their undergraduate degree is about 20k, so if y'all don't have any debt up until now, don't worry. You'll be just like the average student, but with above average starting pay (most likely). Happy Thanksgiving!

I looked at the chart they have with the cost of attendance. YIKES! I'm jealous of you accelerated people, if for nothing else, for the $$ you'll save getting out quicker, plus getting a job 6 months earlier! I hate that those of us who are getting our 2nd bachelors can't get federal grants. I'm so sick of student loans...

UH-Victoria runs a nursing program at the Sugar Land campus, although I'm not sure if that includes all of the above-mentioned options. I'm guessing that that's what the above posters are referring to, since Victoria itself is halfway to Corpus :)

Lily if you look at your holds online, it will show you what all is preventing you from registering. Like UTHSC-hopeful said, my account shows that all I need to take care of is my immunization records. I just got my varicella titer back (high immunity, yay) so I have all my stuff together to get my doctor to fill out the form. So I'm not registered just yet. Don't worry, you're not the only one.

Yay, congrats RFS! I'm not keeping my fingers crossed on the accelerated thing. I'm worried about my titer coming back negative too. That would NOT be fun, stressing to get those 2 shots in time. Oh and I got my registration packet too. I was expecting to get it 2 days after everyone else, like my acceptance letter.

Lily, Ouch on the UTHSCSA costs! I misquoted, it was $52, but that was at the U of H health center, so unless you're a student there... I'd check county health clinics, you might be able to find it cheap there if they do titers?? http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/region8/default.shtm Depending on who you talk to, they might do it at a discounted rate if you tell them you're doing it for nursing school...again, if they even do labs like titers. Sorry I'm not more help.

I have a question: Did you guys all either get the titer for chicken pox or have the immunizations? I had chicken pox when I was little so the titer would work for me, but I found one that costs $56. Anyone do it for cheaper?? I wish my Dr. could just sign off that I have had it.

OK rfs, my response to your questions in the TWU thread: no, I'm not in the accelerated program, regular 2 year, just like you Or did you get lucky and get bumped? I'm willing to bet I have one of the lowest GPAs of the people that got in here (its much lower than my TWU one because of the dif way they calculate them) but I had a great interview, I volunteer, had experience from a program I was in in high school, and my TEAS score was really good. Its the combination of those that saved me. I'm probably not moving until a few days before orientation. I'm just finishing up my degree this semester, and I need to keep working through the holidays to save up what $$ I can. I did a little research on apartments, but it looks like I'll be living with some family that I have out there to start off with. I was considering looking to see if anyone needed someone to sublease their apartment for the spring, because I wouldn't need a place for the summer, I'd just come back to Houston. I'm still hoping you get in to TWU so you can decide which would be better for you. Moving IS stressful!

Princess, don't be surprised that you were waitlisted. I think that the reason you were and some others with a higher GPA didn't get in and didnt get waitlisted was because of your NET score. Ms. Jennings told me to retake it if I had lower than a 70. My NET reading was an 81, but my GPA was a 3.432. Thanks for the congrats. You'll get in eventually, if not off the waiting list, during one of the next application periods, especially since you're retaking a class to boost your GPA. See if there are any minimester classes that you could retake this December to give yourself an even bigger boost. It might not be the most fun way to spend your December, but still, it's worth it. rfs, I'll update you on my UTHSCSA stuff in that thread. I feel bad taking up TWU space with it. I definitely understand why getting in to both would be a difficult decision!

I got my rejection letter (in the Houston area) yesterday. I knew it wasn't going to be an acceptance since people with higher GPAs and comperable NET scores were not getting it. Its amazing how much it has changed in just a few years - I know a girl who is in the program in Houston now and her GPA was about the same as mine, which is one of the lowest of this group. Anyways, San Antonio, here I come! Oh, and a warning to those still waiting: the envelope was kinda thick because there was some brochure in there. I wasn't at home, but I knew it wasn't an acceptance b/c of the posts here, but it sure did get my dad's hopes up. Congrats to those who do get in. I hope you guys love it and do well. See ya in the student nurse forum next semester!

I'm not sure what other factors there could even be? They don't have much info on us. Just our grades, where we have gone to school, and our NET scores.

I applied to TWU Houston and UTHSCSA. If you get in to TWU will you stay in Houston, or are you planning on going to SA either way now? I'm kind of looking forward to the move, although there are definately some down sides to it.

Hey rfs2886, I'm in the same boat as you. And I second the rec for UT system schools (UTHSC Houston, San Antonio, UTMB) for those of you willing to move, because they interview you and consider your experience in things such as leadership, med experience, volunteering, etc, you can have a lower GPA and still get in. rfs, I hope your boyfriend's interview goes well.

We all have so many questions! Anyone else ready to get more info in the mail so we can start preparing? And on the subject of apartments, my sister lived in the med center and had helicopters flying overhead regularly. It didn't really bother her, but that depends on the person. She lived on Medical Dr., so something on the perimeter might be better if you think the helicopters and such would wake you up at night.