txakolina

The Far West area is great. Only about a 15-20 minute commute to the hospital, a nice mix of apartments and homes. I lived in several parts of the city during college, and that neighborhood was always my favorite. Good luck! I think you'll love Austin. :)

Hi Carrie, I had no trouble getting a job at the hospital where I did my clinicals because they knew me and felt invested in my training. They had hand picked my preceptors and had an opportunity to see my work for months at a time. I had three job offers by mid April. Some of my classmates lived in areas that were more saturated with new grads and it took them a little longer to find work, but I think that had more to do with hospitals cutting back on new grad hiring and training rather than graduating from an accelerated/online program and I believe that everyone in my class has a job now. I found that this program was very easy to "sell" to potential employers by stressing the dedication that it took, the 1:1 precepting, and the increased clinical hours over traditional programs.

Hi, I graduated from the program in May '09 and feel that the CNA experience is extremely vital to success in the program. More traditional programs have time to cover CNA skills, but this program does not and expects you to be proficient in those skills already (your preceptors will expect you to know all these skills later on when you start clinical too). You mentioned that you volunteered in a hospital, but I'm wondering if you have spent any time shadowing or working with nurses, and I believe that even just a couple of hours shadowing would answer your question about why CNA experience is critical to success in this program. Along those lines, I'm also not sure what you mean by some CNA skills are not used by nurses; as a floor nurse on a busy telemetry unit, I use CNA skills over and over every single day. I am expected to answer call lights, change beds, change briefs, wash patients as needed, take them to the bathroom, empty bedpans, turn patients, take vital signs, draw labs, etc as needed because we all work as a team to ensure the welfare of our patients.

Ah good point about trying to raise the grade. I don't know how it was calculated into the admission process - that'd be a good question for Sue. I looked on my transcript and it was just calculated with the credit hours but no grade was listed, so I really don't know.

I would recommend buying a development book (I got a used one for about $15 on Amazon) and then taking the CLEP test for the Growth, Development across the Lifespan course. I was also working while taking my pre-reqs and working per diem as a nurse's aide too, so I know how busy it is trying to get everything all in and still have some kind of life. CLEP was awesome though because its so cheap and doesn't take much time and it transfers as long as it is not a science with a lab piece (so no chem or A&P, etc). Good luck whatever you decide to do :)

Oh, and we also do ATI testing throughout the program and take a NCLEX prep course. So if we aren't meeting the standards it will be clearly evident, just the same as any NS.

I'm not sure where you got your stats, but they simply aren't true. I'm just finishing up the program, and I have found it to be fantastic. The NCLEX pass rates are about average for any NS, and you are NOT setting up your clinicals on your own. They have two people who work to find your clinical sites and preceptors. All you have to do is give them a list of hospitals near your house, and they do the rest. As for being on your own for learning, it is true that you need to be motivated - but this is true with any type of distance learning and is not specific to this program. However, there are discussions and content questions that focus on developing critical thinking. Do your research before you talk about things you don't know about.

Congratulations! You'll do great :)

Congrats! You will love it and be amazed at how much you learn in such a short period of time!

I know that having CNA work experience strengthens your application, but I imagine that how much weight they put on it depends on the pool of applications. If a lot of other highly qualified applicants have more experience I think they would have the advantage, but I would by no means say that you wouldn't have any chance as long as you do have your certification. From my own experience, I worked for part time as a CNA for about 10 weeks during the summer before I applied (my previous career was a teacher so I had the summer to do that) and then I just worked PRN after that, but the experience I gained in that short amount of time has really helped me in the program. If you could even work occasionally (like a couple days a month) I think it would really help your application. They really want the experience because of the quick pace of this program and there ins't a lot of time to work on the basics (what you learn as a CNA) like there is in a traditional program. Good luck!

I was required to buy one for NS with Pepid Student RN, but I've found that I only use the drug guide on it - but most of the time that isn't even necessary because the clinical sites always have drug books laying around. In my opinion, they are definitely not necessary to do well in NS or in clinical.

It is competitive, but I think you have a really good chance. Your GPA is good and experience as a CNA defiantly helps. As for boot camp, it is split into two groups; half of the cohort starts and ends two days before the other one. I was in the second group, so half the cohort was finished two days before me (on the 22nd) and the rest of us finished on the 24th. You might be able to ask to be part of the first group. We all had the 25th and 26th off. Have you already applied for the May '09 cohort?

From what I understand, what they offer really depends on how much you already carry from your previous degree. I don't remember the exact amount, but the total for stafford loans that you can have as an undergrad is something like $46k. They offered me enough in stafford and nursing loans to cover tuition (I already had quite a bit of student loan debt from my previous degree, so I imagine that limited the amount they could offer me), and then if you needed more you could get alternative (private) student loans. I know a lot of people in my cohort ended up accepting some of those loans to help cover living expenses. The financial aid department was really great about helping out and they really understand the unique challenges that this program presents financially and are very available to help out. After you are accepted they contact you and help get everything ready financially. I hope this wasn't too confusing and helps a little!

Hi Marci, I was there from Aug 11th to the 25th. A few people stayed in the dorms on campus, but the vast majority of us stayed at the holiday inn, which was great because we could share rides (which was especially nice for us out of staters who had to fly in), relax in the hot tub after a long day at lab or clinical, and they had free happy hour from 5-7 :) It felt like a community there after two weeks, which was really great. We also arranged to share rooms to cut down on the cost. They had free wireless too which was very helpful because we did have some homework to complete during the two weeks. I know the people who stayed in the dorms did fine, but they are the bare min so if you want to be more comfortable during the two weeks I'd recommend the hotel. Hope this helps and good luck!

Hi Scout, Just think about why you want to be a nurse, think about your support system, and make sure you read the information they sent you about the program. Good luck!

I use flags on my books to help me locate key points, important tables or information I am sure will be on the test quickly when studying/reviewing. Like you, I started out by highlighting a lot and then quickly realized that I would never have time to go back and review it all. The tabbing really seems to work well for me and I use a different color for each test so I can keep them straight and it makes studying for exams and the final pretty simple. Congrats on starting NS and good luck!

I got into an accelerated BSN program with a 3.32 GPA with a 4.0 on my prereqs. Each program is different, and while mine looked at the entire GPA picture, they put more emphasis on my prereq and science grades. Since you did so well on your prereqs and most programs look at the overall picture (such as interviews, previous experience, etc) I wouldn't worry too much. One suggestion that I can make is to become a CNA because it is a requirement for a growing number of accelerated programs and it will show the selection committee that you are serious about nursing and have the basic skills down already. Good luck!

My program required that we buy a PDA with Pepid RN Student software. Before I started clinical, I could hardly imagine I would use it and thought it was a big waste of money. Was I ever wrong! I always have it in my pocket now, and it is so easy to look up drugs, compatabilities, and if there is a term or procedure that you come across you can quickly refer to it. Also, if you have free minutes during clinical it is great to use to look up your pt.'s condition and anything else you might be curious about. I think they're well worth the money and although Pepid is a little expensive, I think it is worth it to have everything right at your fingertips.

When every dream you have at night has something to do with a procedure you saw or a disease you read about.

Last October when I did mine they notified me of the phone interview schedule via email about 3 days after my email interview and then the phone interview was the next week. It really happens pretty quick once it all gets started. Good luck both of you! This week will be my 4th week of clinicals, and they are going so well! My preceptor takes the hardest patients each day so I can learn the most and get skills checked off. I have learned so much! You guys will love it :)

Oh I almost forgot, I have the Littmann II S.E. Lightweight stethoscope. A lot of my classmates have the Littmann Classic and they like that too. Our instructors recommended the Littmann because it's a good, solid stethoscope. Mine was about $60 I believe and some styles come in pretty colors too

Hi Courtney, I wasn't able to get any scholarships, but I probably didn't try as hard as I could have either. From what I can tell though there isn't a lot of help out there for 2nd degree people. The financial aid office was able to give me enough to cover tuition though. I do have my books, I will probably keep a few but I will sell some in May when I'm done (I'll be selling my scrubs too then). I got my books on Amazon because that was where I was able to find them the cheapest. The bookstore does have some used, but they told me they often don't have a lot because so many students keep their books. The testing is all done online except for the TEAS test at orientation and then a test at the end during capstone. The teachers have been pretty good for the most part. They are very willing to answer questions and get back to you quickly. Some are more involved than others, but they have all been helpful and want to see you succeed. In my opinion, the ethics class has been the most difficult so far because of the huge workload. Other cohorts warned us about pathophys I&II, but I didn't find them to be too bad. The nursing research class was pretty boring, but I'm not sure how you'd make that fun :) The interview process isn't too bad. You'll be fine as long as you understand all the info they send you very well, especially for the 2nd interview. I don't have any kids, but there are lots of moms in my cohort, so you aren't alone there. I like school too, so I know what you mean :) I am really excited about starting clinicals, I'm going to be at the same hospital for all five rotations, which will be nice. It'll be nice to actually be out there applying all this theory that we've been learning! Did they tell when they're doing interviews? I think mine were in October. Are you in WI?

I'll be honest, it is difficult. But I imagine most accelerated programs are. The biggest thing is to always stay on top of everything, read ahead, and practice those time management skills because you'll need them! I probably put in about 8-10 hours a day of just reading, writing papers, posting online, projects, etc. Sometimes I have to read on the weekends, but usually I do enough during the week that I have weekends and evenings free. Basically I just treat it like a job. I had my first clinical in Oshkosh last month during "bootcamp", and I start my clinicals with my preceptor on Wednesday :) The first couple of months the classes really fly by at a hectic pace, but once clinicals start it slows down a little so you have time to go to clinical and get all your work done. Let me know if you have any more specific questions and I'll do my best to answer them! Getting that acceptance letter is the best thing in the world, so good luck!

I'm in the program right now. I love it and would highly recommend it :)