licoricelover

Hello again, To be honest , it is hard to quantify how hard something will be, so much depends on how you are as a student. I like to study alone, and spent the better part of those two years getting my RN boring a hole in the couch surrounded by books :) The most stressful part was how the testing was done, at the time ( don't know if it has changed) you had to pass each test with a certain % and if you failed you got one retest and then if you didn't pass that one you were out ...that feels like a lot of pressure for EVERY test! I never failed one, though always felt the pressure going into the class room. I did n't feel the material was to tough, but challenging. UAFS teaches you how to test, in nursing it is critical thinking skills that are most important and that is how you are tested for your boards. So I believe that is why they do well as a whole for the classes passing their boards. I was going through a divorce when I was going to school, and had another classmate who had to repeat because she was hospitalized. Come to think of it , just about everyone had a " story" Our class started out with like 30 , and after each semester we lost a few, I think we graduated with 20? I would say if it is something you think you would enjoy as a career go for it.... you will always have a job! and you can take it ANYWHERE .... even NYC :) Being a nurse is hard, and rewarding. Oh and about clinic time, yes you have clinic time, but at the bedside is where you will learn the most, and that usually happens after graduation, because in school the amount of hour at the bedside is pitiful! ( I was not an LPN first and thus had no hospital experience.... dealing with pt's, starting IV's working with doc's, learing assessment skills ect. During school there is just not enough time. Oh and I love NYC, even though it is busier than FS. But the world is an open book for you now.... you can go any where ............... Good luck!

Hello all, Just a comment on UA Fort Smith, I have my degree from there. It was a good school. It was hard, the reputation was the same when I went 7 years ago! It was hard but doable. My only complaint is that you don't get enough clinic time, as book smarts are what they push. ( high grad %) But you learn about bedside nursing on the floor. I learned a great deal with my first hospital job .... now I work in manhattan NY and feel like I got a great foundation from UAFS.