KatyCar

I started in Peds 6 mo ago. First job. I would be interested as well

I'm a new grad working in GenPeds/BMT units so I don't have much to share at this point! Only 6months in so far. But very interested in following this thread and learning from others! My experience so far is that it has been tough watching kids go through long hospitals stays and the multiple side effects. It's been a tough couple weeks for the floor so hoping to see more good outcomes than bad in the future! I really like switching between GenPeds and BMT it's nice to see pts (w typical childhood illness/injury etc) recover quickly and go home!

I graduated in cohort 5 (12/2013) from Concordia! I know there have probably been some changes since then (bigger class size, more technology/additions to sim lab) but I would highly recommend it!! I did the accelerated route and it was challenging but rewarding. Im currently working and feel that it prepared me as much as school can prepare you for the real world (soooo different! You will see!) feel free to ask me questions, hope I can help. I also was looking at Pace and had mixed feelings, in the end I only applied to Concordia and I don't regret it!

I'm also a new nurse in my 2nd career! I've had many of the same feelings. I can tell you it does get better. I have 2 more shifts w my preceptor and then I'm on my own. I still feel like I have a million things to learn and I'm a bit scared to fly solo. But if I compare myself now to that first month on the floor I have come a long way!! It definitely is not easy and there is so much to learn but if your preceptor is giving you good feedback trust it and continue working hard! Mine told me I was slow but I was too afraid of making a mistake to speed up too much and I find myself getting quicker as time goes on. I also just started on night shift which I find much better for learning! as the nurses on my floor keep telling me I won't be all alone after preceptorship and will have support. Luckily it seems to be a great group of nurses and I would feel comfortable asking 99% of them a question. Hope yours is a good group too! I keep telling myself I had to work hard to do well in school and if I can do that I should be able to do this. But it's a struggle to stay positive some days when I feel like I'm only getting by bc my preceptor keeps me on track! Good luck!

@rndreamer4. Is there anyway to appeal the schools decision? I'm not familiar w the state or PN vs RN laws but it does seem a little extreme to be kicked out and not just written up or warned.

Wow, a lot of great questions! Let me do my best to answer them 1) I noticed that in 2012 only 33 students from Concordia sat for the NCLEX exam.... I have to say I don’t have the definitive answer to your question, but I will tell you what I can. Given that the class graduates in December, it is likely that the data reported for 2012 is actually the 2010-2011 class or Cohort 3, since I don’t believe anyone takes the NCLEX in December. (I think the record for the earliest was someone who took it this January right after the review class ended.) It is possible thatCohort 3 was only about 35-40 students to start, each class has grown slightly, I am in Cohort 5 and we started with about 60 students. I do not think they plan on going much higher though since they pride themselves on the small classes (we rarely have a class with all of us combined, everything is split into A+B groups). I would not stress too much about how many start and how many finish, it is a very small percent that choose to decelerate, and an even smaller percentage that drop out completely. Sorry I do not have actual numbers! Have you had your interview already? If not you could definitely ask for clarification then, or call the school. 2) Do you typically have classes/clinicals 5 days a week? This is hard to answer as well. 4 days a week is not a guarantee. Right now we have Fridays with no class/clinical scheduled! For the Fall and Spring, group A had a day free while group B did not. 3) .......... timing of classes/clinicals?Usually an earlier or later start/end? Classes typically do not start before 8:30am (sometimes 8 if they need to make up for time lost). In the Fall we had a class that ran until 7:30pm. Clinicals will start at 7am and could be as far north as Westchester Medical Ctr. (where you will be 7a-7p) Right now I have a clinical rotation that runs 4:30p-9:30p in White Plains. 4) Do you feel that the professors are well trained / up-to-date / helpful? Yes I do. This is a fact that I did not know until orientation – 50% of the faculty have their doctorate, and by the time we graduate, the other 50% will have completed theirs! Of course, everyone will have a professor that doesn’t quite match their learning style in class, and there will be times you are not happy with them for whatever reason, if you are a mature person you will soon get over it and move on. But in general I feel they are very good. Our clinical instructors, some of whom do not teach on campus are excellent as well, I have 2 this semester who have worked in their field for years and they are excellent. 5) ..........adequate clinical experiences? How often are clinicals held? As others have said, clinical is what you make of it (anywhere, regardless of the school). For the Fall and Spring, clinical is 1x/week,for Summer and Fall II clinical is 2x/week. Yes, there are times when it may be slow, or you have an exam the next day and would much rather study the notecards in your pocket, but if you don’t seek out new experiences you won’t be getting 100% out of your clinical. Some clinical sites are better than others, and of course everyone will have a different opinion of which was their favorite. 6) During clinicals do you feel that the other nurses respect Concordia as a nursing school since it is relatively 'new'? I have never gotten the sense that the nurses on the floor care what school we are from. Yes, Concordia is not a big name, and I find myself explaining to everyone (nurses or not) that it is a small school. But no, I have never felt nurses had any disrespect that it was a “new” program, usually once they hear it is an ABSN they are impressed. 7) Is the program actually 15 months -- starting in mid-August 2013 and ending in mid-October 2014? The program will start the end of August and graduation I believe is the first week in December. I believe classes are done at the end of October and all of November we are doing preceptor hours, but I’m not 100% sure yet. Then in December most grads do 2 NCLEX review courses – 1 I believe is included, and the other, Kaplan is extra $. I hope that is helpful! The next few weeks are going to be a bit crazy for us, but I will try to check back in July!

Hello members of Cohort 6! Like RachPapp I am also a student in cohort 5, so welcome toConcordia! I know you have a couple ofd ates in June where you will be on campus for a short orientation so we may meet many of you then. (I also have books I will be selling if anyone is interested, I bought many of mine used from Cohort 4 and it is the way to go for some books, others we may want to hang on to) I know many of you are dying to know how to prepare for Fall! I would love to give you a list of ways to prepare, but really, the best preparation is to relax and enjoy your summer, get everything in order, and get ready for a roller-coaster ride! I cannot believe that only 1 year ago I was in your position, I have learned SO much, and I don't think there was any way I could have been mentally prepared for what was to come. The first 8 months are tough, I thought once the first semester was through it would get easier, but semester 2 was just as tough, if not more (in my opinion). Just remember, you would not have been accepted if they didn't think you had the potential to succeed. Sometimes you will need to remind yourself of that. Ok, for those of you who absolutely cannot go without looking at some books over the summer....I will say this... there were things that I wish I had been stronger on and had known to focus on more inA &P.. that would be the CNS (if anticholinergic effects isn't on the tip of your tongue, it would be a good idea to look at that) Things from A&P that will come up again are the systems - esp. kidneys, liver, digestive, heart, brain chemicals, (bones and muscles will not!) But really, do not go crazy studying these over the summer, there will be some review as you go into them more in-depth. I'm sure you remember more than you think from A&P! Also, when you start MedSurg, it is a good idea to get an NCLEX book of questions (yes, already!) I was hesitant to get one this soon since it was overwhelming to see so many questions I could not answer, but ALL of your exams will be NCLEX format so getting familiar with the style of questions is key. A good book is the Saunders Comprehensive Review since it is divided into sections that will match the syllabus for Med Surg. One thing you could do and have fun with....... download a drug guide, many of us like MicroMedEx for your phone (or buy the Drug Guide for nurses which will be on your booklist) DO NOT start memorizing (you will do enough of this later!) But start to "think like a nurse"(you will hear this from day 1) read labels on meds, look up meds for fun, look at the Teaching section to see what you as a nurse would teach the patient -look up what your family members have in the medicine cabinet, teach them about the side effects! Hey, they better get used to it, soon you'll be taking their BP and doing physical exams! Really not necessary but could be fun to start using the book or app without the stress of having to memorize drugs! and I can't stress enough - have fun over the summer! Take a trip, visit family, have support in place for Fall (a flexible babysitter, someone who will cook dinner, etc.)because there is the "class schedule" and then there are all those other times that you will need to be on campus for something! Be ready to be flexible! I hope this is more helpful than scary!

Hello cohort #6 ! Congrats to all those who have been accepted, and for those still waiting, I hope you hear soon! I was just thinking of where I was 1 year ago and can't believe it! I had my interview around March 17th and heard back in less than a week, everything happened pretty quickly for me since I had thought the deadline was April 1 only to find out it was rolling so I quickly applied in the beginning of March. I ended up not applying anywhere else. I was very happy with Concordia and their pass rate says a lot, so I saved my $ in application fees! I am sure now I made the right choice. I'm so glad my classmate RachPapp has been on here answering many of your questions! Like she said, this site was SO helpful last year, and I was able to "meet" some fellow classmates. It was a hard decission to make, leaving a full time job and going back to school, but I have no regrets! (most days!) I should be studying for finals right now, but wanted to take a minute to say HI! I'm sure we'll see many of you very soon! Keep posting questions and next week when we have a break I'm sure we'll be able to answer more of them! I'll try to think of things that I wish I had known.. and get back to you all.

I sent my deposit in!! yeeeah! it's starting to feel very real! But so far away! I wasn't sure if sharing that on the fb page would show to everyone and since I haven't told my job yet, I wanted to be safe and post it here instead! (someone told me I would be foolish to tell them any earlier than the required 4 weeks notice, so I'm trying to stick as close to that as I can! I just feel bad and want to be able to train someone before I go) I am still finishing up 1 prereq this semester, Microbiology, so have to keep my grade up or I won't be going! Then its a summer of relaxing and having fun before 15 months of hard work starts. I am very nervous to start this next step, to leave my job and take out more loans (I'm still paying off my B.S. but hope to have that loan gone before I take out more for Concordia) and I also don't know where to start for that, I know I do NOT want to go with Sallie Mae again! I'm hoping the Fin. Aid office will be helpful! see you all soon!!

Congrats to all the new additions! Glad you found the envelope Colleen! Miss Mel - I did read the thread about Pace, and thought I would take it with a grain of salt, plus I really wanted to start in Sept. so kept it on my list. But I had put off finishing the application until this weekend! must have been fate! I thought about it all day Friday and realized there really was no point in applying anywhere else!! I had all the same great feelings you mentioned while I was at Concordia, so realized, why even second guess that! I believe for the FAFSA 2nd degree/Bachelors is more accurate since we will finish with a BSN, not a masters. I know for Pace it was considered Graduate since it was a combined degree program. I completed mine about a month ago, do I need to go back and update/confirm that I am going to Concordia? I'll have to check that. Lenabeth- when I had no insurance I went to a place here in Queens called FirstMed, not sure if there is anything like that in your area, I don't remember the cost.... and when I had to get pre-employment tests done my work sent me to the same FirstMed and it was covered thru work. Maybe ask at Concordia if they have a suggestion of where to go, too bad they can't do it there! I would love to meet up! I'm in classes until about mid-June so probably won't be able to do something until after then.

I'm in the same position Miss Mel - thought I would be sending in my PACE (NYC location) app this weekend, but the more I think about it I think why bother! I had such a great experience at Concordia the day I visited, and have read excellent things on here, and their pass rate for the NCLEX is terrific!! I think I will be very happy to attend in Sept! It was in my top 2 choices. my only concern is commuting from Queens, it took me 20 mins with no traffic, but we'll see what peak hours are like... then there's always the option of moving closer! I read someone's advice on another board to enjoy your summer!! Already thinking ahead to all the things I want to do before school takes over every minute!! and then it will be over before we know it! fingers crossed for those of you still waiting!

Congrats to you all! I just got my acceptance letter too! I was not even expecting anything for another couple weeks! I'm so excited!!! Where is everyone from? I'm in Queens and doing my last pre-req at LAGCC, so I'm accepted conditionally....pending my grade from Micro which should be fine. where else did you all apply?! are you waiting on others first or sending in your deposit now!? I had 1 more application to do this weekend, now I don't know if I should bother! anyone applying for financial aid? I know as 2nd degree students our options are mostly loans only... but anyone know anything more?! Looking forward to getting to know more of you!

I need a chill pill because I swear I am dreaming.. I remember this day.... seems like sooo long ago! I read and reread the NYS website... just wanted to see the words "YES YOU PASSED" but didn't! instead saw my cert # and an expiration date and it did seem like a dream!! I was jumping up and down in my apartment by myself!!! trying to catch my breath and trying to call as many people as I could too! It was a crazy day!! I hope all of you who haven't taken the exam yet can have this same awesome crazy feeling soon!!!

Congrats SerendipityWomYn!!!! I haven't been on this site in ages.... been very busy working!! So thought I would check in, and glad I did! You should PM me and we can chat about leads in Queens. I'm employed right now with 2 places... an LTC in College Point and a Children's hospital in Bayside (and 2 babysitting jobs) so keeping very busy, which is very good! I heard LIJ is now hiring, their freeze is over.... I know someone who just started there, and someone else who had an interview yesterday. So good luck searching! On to the next step! Congrats again!

Thanks Dedream!! I must be having the luck of the Irish today! I got a call from the place I interviewed last week and they want me to come in for orientation!! (no talk of pay... is this normal? I interviewed with the DON who is on vacation this week... and don't know who I talked to today about orientation... but it is just on call work, so I'll talk whatever right now) then... I got a few more calls and have 3 more interviews set up this week!!! One is through an agency and pays very little, but I figured I'd go anyway... the other is a bit better pay and has a set schedule so that sounds promising....

Well, don't let just my experience influence you..... In my opinion you can never waste $ on education.... but you are smart to check out the job prospects first, and maybe hold off on classes until a better time (there has to be one soon right!?). The other thing to consider is this.... are you not getting hired because you aren't a CNA? Then I would say go for the class. If you are seeing lots of job postings that require CNA certificate and you feel you aren't getting hired/interviews because you are lacking it, then go for it now. I worked in HR at a LTC and with 2 yrs experience and a CNA cert. you would be a good hire in my book. (we also couldn't hire aides who were not certified, had to be CNA, not just HHA) IF I could have done things differently, I would have stayed at my last job which paid very well (was laid off) taken the CNA course at night, then job searched while still working... but it didn't happen that way and now I am desperatly seeking a job... not fun. Good luck to you!!! and everyone else job hunting!

I hear ya!!! Have you been job hunting since Jan with nothing!??? I keep thinking maybe next week it will be better..... didn't expect to be searching for months though..... I posted this under another thread... but thought I'd repeat some of it here... I am very frustrated right now. I finished my CNA classes/ineternship Dec. 17th, waited 2 months to get a NY State exam date... passed my test and have been job searching for the last few weeks. I am used to working hard to track down jobs and am not surprised by the amount of time I am putting in searching, I am however surprised at the lack of calls and interviews. I have had 1 interview (last week) and it was only for PerDiem work. I know I am a brand new CNA with no experience, but I still thought the job prospects would be a bit better than they are......I've been trying to go for just LTC figuring it was my best shot. I'm very lucky though that I live with my bf who can cover the rent right now, but not my ideal situation! I don't want to keep taking advantage of that for much longer! I feel sooo bad, this was not my plan. Sorry for the bit of venting there..... just feeling very frustrated!!! Anyone else?? or any good news out there??

Yes, I am very frustrated right now. I finished my CNA classes/ineternship Dec. 17th, waited 2 months to get a NY State exam date... passed my test and have been job searching for the last few weeks. I am used to working hard to track down jobs and am not surprised by the amount of time I am putting in searching, I am however surprised at the lack of calls and interviews. I have had 1 interview (last week) and it was only for PerDiem work. I know I am a brand new CNA with no experience, but I still thought the job prospects would be a bit better than they are...... We have had 2 hospitals close in Queens, and most others are under a hiring freeze. So I've been trying to go for just LTC figuring it was my best shot. I'm very lucky though that I live with my bf who can cover the rent right now, but not my ideal situation! I don't want to keep taking advantage of that for much longer! I feel sooo bad, this was not my plan. Sorry for the bit of venting there..... just feeling very frustrated!!! Anyone else?? or any good news out there??

Thanks SerendipityWomYn!! I know, there are threads for Nurses by location, but it is nice to have a CNA by location thread too!! Hello everyone! I am in Queens, NY too. Just passed my state exam! One small step in my new career path....... also plan on going for a BSN I have my first interview coming up this week..... a little nervous, even though I have interviewed hundreds of CNA's and Nurses when I worked in HR.... I'm used to asking the questions, not answering them!!! It has been a frustrating couple of weeks though.... with hiring freezes, and 2 hospitals closing in Queens, it does not seem to be the best time for us to be job hunting.......especially as newbies!! Good luck to all you NYC CNA's!

oooh I've been waiting to be able to post here!!! I passed!!!! I'm a CNA!!!!! :clpty: I had 3 good skills - Dressing, ROM-leg, and Vital Signs..... but I did mess up on dressing of all things!!! I dressed and undressed the wrong sides for R arm weakness.... so I was really worried this might have been an automatic fail, but I guess not, I must have just lost points for that. I don't have my paperwork yet, but I checked the NY registry online and found my name, and it says ACTIVE!!!! with an expiration date!!!! Now I just need to find a job, apply to LPN programs, then RN programs, and figure out how to pay for more school (while still paying off loans for a B.S. in Psych ugggh wish I had changed careers earlier!!) One small step closer to being a nurse ...................... Thanks everyone for reading!!! and Congrats to everyone else who is as excited and relieved to have passed too!

Jade - where in NY? SerendipityWomYn and I are both in Queens but different schools - I went to New York Medical Career Training Center in Flushing - I am finished with my classes and internship, and just took my state exam there last week (still waiting for results) I would give it an overall grade of B/B- I thought the instructor was very good, harsh but in a good way, you know?! (and then very nice after class! I think she gives you tough love to get you to study hard! it works!) I did run into some frustrations though - for one I waited a long time for a state exam date (I was told that the state kept cancelling the exams?! not sure if this is the whole story) I put in my application the first week in January, and just had my exam last week 2/20. We were also told there would be a review session every Wed. afternoon, but, then when I finally got my exam date there were no review sessions anymore since the state was also giving exams on Weds. I was able to make it to two review sessions that I kinda had to sneak into, originally they told me I could go to 1 review session the day before my exam! On the positive side, the price is good from what I hear, and I did look around before signing up. It was also helpful to have class in the same room as we had the exam, and practice on the same supplies that we then used for the exam. One plus for me was that it was very easy to get to, and had several times for classes, eve. weekends, nights. I took the night class. We also did 30 hours of internship at a local NH for people with MS, having the hands on experience was a big help, I think I won't be as intimidated now applying for jobs, and I found out that I can handle it! hope that helps!!

Hi Malima, Don't know if this will help, but I thought I would add it.... Since I had just moved to a new city (NYC) and was taking my CNA class, I wanted to pick up some babysitting jobs to do on the side. I was nervous about going through craigslist, so I searched and found a site that may be useful to you: www.sittercity.com From a babysitters point of view it seemed very safe to use (better than craigslist). I paid to have a background check done on me, created a profile w/ picture for parents to view, listed times that I was available for babysitting. I have had several families contact me and I am now sitting for 2 little ones while searching for CNA jobs..... I've been very happy with it from this end. Not sure about the details of using it from a parents perspective, but thought I would throw it out there. There are probably many similar sites out there as well...... good luck!! and don't give up!

Hi there! Had my State Exam yesterday (I'm in NY)........... The written part was exactly what I had expected, and was very similar to practice tests I had taken. Our school recommended this study guide and I found it very useful: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Nursing-Assistant-Nurse-Aide-Exam/LearningExpress/e/9781576855478 The practical part was so-so. The worst part was waiting.... I got very nervous and got too worked up while I waited, and by the time I went into the room I was shaking. Our examiner was very nice and knew I was nervous, she talked for a few minutes and made a joke, I think trying to calm me down. My 3 skills were: Dressing, ROM-lower extremity, and Vital Signs, so I was happy with those. The only thing I am worried about is I mixed up Ms. Jones (our name for the dummy/volunteer) R and L.... she had R arm weakness and I dressed her L arm first. I'm hoping this is not an automatic fail, and that I just lost points.... does anyone know?? So now I'll be waiting for the mail every day and keeping my fingers crossed.... wish me luck!! So my advice is: stay calm and confident, and study the easy skills as much as you study the hard ones!! I'll be kicking myself if I failed on dressing!!

Hi there soon2becna, and others, I've completed my class and internship and take my state exam tomorrow!! (taking a break from studying) The tips I have are: Bring a pencil and notebook to every class, take your own notes. Our instructor gave us typed up notes but they were limited - I like to have very detailed notes including what to say to the Resident/dummy/Ms. Jones also where to stand, pictures of how to set up your supplies, etc. it makes it easier (for me)to remember now that I am studying those skills weeks later. Also, we had a test every Friday and homework due. Put every effort you can into this, it will pay off. I saw some girls sharing answers and scribbling them in just before handing in their HW, we all know this won't pay off in the end. Do the reading, do the homework and study for the tests, it will save you a lot of heartache in the end. (I'm proud to say I had a 94% avg. on my tests, so I'm very comfortable with the written material and have been spending most of my study time now prepping for the skills part of the exam) Our book also came with a CD and I took all the practice quizzes each week to go along with our reading (unfortunately they were much easier than the tests we had in class, but it was good prep for vocab etc.) Also, my biggest tip - sit up front!!! From day one I went in and sat in the front row - intimidating yes, but worth it!!! (funny thing is we all kept sitting in the same seats for the whole course) Get a good view, don't be afraid to stand up, move around, etc. you are paying to learn, so get the most out of it that you can! And last but not least, make friends, and be supportive! I have been studying for the last couple weeks with a girl from class, it is soo helpful to get together and discuss, and practice (sometimes one of us forgets how something was done, but the other remembers, and vice versa, it also helps me stay focussed when I am with someone else - although this can go both ways! we don't take too many breaks to chat!) It will also be helpful after your class is done to have phone numbers/emails for those in your class, you can network with each other, let each other know of job openings, good places to work, bad experiences, etc. Good luck to all of you/us in our new career paths!!

Hi all!! I am new to this site, and was excited to find this thread I finished my CNA course and internship 12/17/08 and have my state exam this Friday 2/20/09 wish me luck!! With the holidays and then the state cancelling some exams in Jan. my exam date is much later than I thought it would be (I hope you don't experience the same!) I will post here and let you know how the exam goes! We were told it will take 2 weeks to get our results by mail, I'll be waiting by the door for the postman everyday!! SerendipityWomYn - I am in NY too, where are you? I just moved to Queens from Boston, so don't know the area too well. I think I will spend the two weeks waiting for my results researching where to apply, so that I am all ready to go once I get that certificate in hand! I also plan on going on to do a LPN and then RN (and would also love to run a marathon one day! and get married and have kids! I just don't have my timeline as planned out as yours!!) Oh, and I am 29 so if you are finished by 30 you're doing great!! Plenty of time to have kids after education!! Me on the other hand, geeesh, don't want to think about it right now, one step at a time!!