Jessie88

I sent you a PM. I hope it helps. Good luck to you! Jessie

That's so nice of you to share your way of doing your resume, MissMolly! Could I see it, too? I'd like to improve mine and am always grateful for ideas! My email is [email protected]

I've been wondering about this: I'm currently attending an ADN program in California. My goal is to eventually get my BSN. I read on this forum that new grads unable to find employment within one year after graduation lose their eligibility for new grad programs at many hospitals: When an Unemployed New Grad is No Longer a New Grad - Nursing for Nurses What about students who graduate from ADN programs, pass the NCLEX, and then transfer straight into BSN programs without obtaining work experience (aside from the clinical experience the BSN program may offer)? Are these RNs considered new grads again once they graduate with their BSN? In other words, do these RNs lose their eligibility to be hired into new grad programs one year after their ADN graduation but regain it when they graduate from their BSN program? Please enlighten me. Thank you!

I'm really sorry you're going through this right now. Sending you a big virtual hug! Some of my classmates have trouble with the fast pace of our program, and I myself have my own difficulties of a different nature in nursing school. Going through a nursing program can be hard at times. Even nurses who have worked for a long time remember this. I recently attended an event where I was the only student nurse among graduate nurses, and upon my mentioning that I was still in nursing school, one very experienced nurse turned to me and said "oh, I'm so sorry!" I think she was half joking, half serious. Something positive: I have met many nurses who hated nursing school but who love their job, so what we need to do right now is hang in there and do our best. We were smart enough to make it into a nursing program, and I believe we're smart enough to graduate. That's one thing I'm telling myself when I'm under a lot of stress: Our program doesn't go on forever, and the fact that we got in and made it this far tells me that we can accomplish things. Feeling stressed and overwhelmed once in a while is natural. Another thing I do to relief anxiety if it gets really intense is imagining the absolute worst thing that could happen to me: I could fail. What would I do about that? I'd feel terrible... I'd analyze what went wrong... I'd question if nursing still really is what I want to do with my life, and if I think I'm suited for it... Check!.. I'd pick myself up, maybe take some time to regroup, make changes, and do whatever needs to be done for me to start over and enter nursing school again... this time with the advantage of having been there and knowing what to expect - That's the worst that could happen. Don't get me wrong, I'm not taking this lightly. I would feel terrible as I said in the beginning, but would failing on my first attempt be the end of the world? Certainly not. I don't know if this is helpful to you, but it's my personal way of coping with extreme stress that I wanted to share. You're not alone feeling like this, and you're in my prayers. Merry Christmas. :redbeathe

You've been studying with the right material. I found the ATI study guide very helpful. It covered everything on the test (I had read threads suggesting otherwise, which made me very nervous for no reason). I was especially worried about the science section, but ended up doing very well on it. Just focus on the science section in your ATI study guide, and focus on the way the ATI book asks questions about the material, and you'll be fine. The bad about the science section: the questions are all over the place, so there is no use in focusing on anything specific. Anything from the science chapter in your ATI book may be on your test. The good about the science section: all the questions are incredibly basic, so if you've taken anatomy, you will be able to identify the anatomical structure in the picture they show you, etc. The test is not mean in that it would ask you something you would never remember from your classes. If you've taken the classes and studied ATI book, you'll do great.

You are so lucky! Congratulations on landing this offer. :) Where I'm from in Southern Cali, we are happy if we're hired at all at this time. Openings for new grads have become so scarce at hospitals in our area. Many of us relocate or wait for a long time to be hired, and then we are very likely to settle for an area that is not our first choice, just to get the foot in the door somewhere. A friend of mine waited for over a year to be hired after she graduated, and she was constantly looking and applying wherever she could. May I ask which hospital you work at and what your location is? I'm curious which place is still so fortunate in this economy. Might be good to know if things don't improve by the time I graduate. Thanks, :redbeathe Jessie

Long Beach City College in California has an online Pharm class. I don't know if the class is offered during the winter intersession, but it's called "ADN 225 - Nursing Applications of Pharmacology". Hope this is useful to you.

So sorry to hear you might give up on nursing because of those difficulties. I'm also tempted to tell you to take a student loan, but I assume you must have thought of that yourself, and you probably decided against it for some reason. If a student loan is not an option for you, and if you think the other program you could waitlist is a good program too, I really believe it's worth waiting to get into that other program. That's if nursing is where your heart is. Two years go by fast, and you will be able to something within that time. If there are no classes left that would be beneficial for you to take, you can work and save up money. I think it all comes down to how much you like the idea of becoming a nurse. If nursing is what you really want to do, then I would find a productive way of spending those two years and start at the other college. Once you finish nursing school, you'll get to work in the field you like, not the one you got stuck in, so hang in there.

I read you have 10 years of experience, so you didn't have to take the TEAS back then. Students who were admitted to nursing schools in spring '08 and after have to take it to be admitted. It stands for Test of Essential Academic Skills and tests just that.

I think Paco is right about men tending to choose ER and Trauma over other units, probably because it's more interesting to them, and everything else being equal, men are real assets in ERs because you guys tend to be physically stronger than we are. Some patients are rather heavy and may have to be transferred quickly in case of an emergency. The stronger the nurse who helps you move that patient, the better. The "normal" track to getting an RN license (in my area) is going through 2 or 4 years of full time schooling (2 for ADN, 4 for BSN). You could get an LPN license and work on the side. At the schools in my area, an LPN license waves 1 year of your ADN or BSN schooling, and it pays a little better than a CNA certification. However, the LPN training also takes longer than the CNA training. The CNA certification does not wave any time towards your ADN or BSN. Cake!

No problem. Glad I could help. :)

2lroberts: I called the nursing counselor you talked to, and she verified that my course meets both lifecycle 1 & 2, and my college is not one of the neighboring schools. I also know of someone else who had a three unit psychology course (human development) approved for lifecycle 1 & 2 (also not from a neighboring school). It depends on what the course covers. I think when she told you that the teacher was very strict and would not accept most courses, she probably confused the lifecycle courses with pharmacology. Many pharmacology courses (even those of some other nursing programs) are not accepted at Saddleback. I would still try e-mailing the catalog description or the syllabus description of your course (if your catalog is not detailed enough) to the counseling department and ask if it will waive lifecycle 1 & 2. You definitely have a shot. Good luck!

Thanks a lot. I'll look into it and let you know.

2lroberts: i don't have the name of the counselor who answered my e-mail. i used saddleback's e-advice service (online counseling) and was told that my course would meet the requirement of lifecycle 1 & 2. now, i'm confused. i would really like to talk to the nursing counselor you called to make sure that i'm not wasting my time with a course that won't be accepted. would you mind giving me her number or her full name, so i can ask for her? thanks in advance!

@ 2lroberts Where did you hear that? You might have been misinformed. I know that they are not likely to acknowledge a pharmacology course that was taken somewhere else, but I do know of people who waived the lifecycle requirements with other courses, and I'm hoping to do the same. I've used Saddleback's online counseling and also asked their health division office to verify that the course I'm currently enrolled in will waive lifecycle 1 & 2. Both of them told me that my current course will waive that requirement. The course I am taking is a 3 unit developmental psychology course, covering conception to death. I would find a course like that and e-mail the catalog description to their online counseling, asking if the course will waive lifecycle 1 & 2. That's what I did. Hopefully it will work for you.

@ Soon2BNurse: Yay, all my questions were answered! Thanks so much! It's good to know that part time work is possible. I can do without a full time job for two years, but I will have to work part time. It's also encouraging that you managed to ace all your classes while working. It's important to me to be good at what's assigned to me for both my patient's sake and to keep further educational options open. There are two more things I'm curious about, that just now came to my mind: Were you finished with all your general ed classes before you entered the program? And... Did you have any pre-exposure to the medical field (related work or related degree)? Thanks again. Your post was really helpful! Jessie

Thank you! :) I applied to Saddleback and Long Beach City, and I am going to apply to Cerritos, Cypress, and Golden West. Saddleback is my first choice because of the proximity to my home and because of how friendly and helpful all their staff have been whenever I had a question. Other programs may have high NCLEX pass rates too, but their staff wouldn't answer most of my questions and over all made me feel like I was a number on a long list. Saddleback's staff seemed to care about their applicants and their students much more so.

@ AAnderson: Wow, thank you so much for all that information. All of it is really helpful! Please keep us updated on anything you want to share. It's really interesting to me to get a glimpse into the kind of life that's ahead of me, and I bet others think the same. Anybody feel free to post anything Saddleback related here! I applied last week. Please wish me luck. :)

Hey, thanks for writing! I had already assumed nobody would ever reply to this post. Yes, you do have to apply in person. I don't know what the point is either. They didn't really talk to me about my application, just opened my sealed transcripts and filed them. Maybe they have you come in to get an idea of how serious you are about attending the school? Anyway, I'm applying again in June and am still curious about the questions of my starting post. Any Saddleback students out there?

Hi everyone, I have applied to several nursing programs in Orange County, among them Saddleback College's, and I'm wondering how students who are currently enrolled there like the program. I have a few questions, and I'd really appreciate if you could take the time and let me know what you think of the program. Please feel free to write as much as you can think of. I'm really interested in anything that comes to your mind. Just skip any question that you don't feel like answering. 1. What semester are you in? 2. What do you like about the program? 3. What do you dislike about the program? / What do you think should be changed? 4. When comparing Saddleback to what you've heard of other programs, are there things that you believe Saddleback does better than other programs? (aside from producing high NCLEX pass rates) 5. To the A-hunters among you who entered the program with A's in all classes: Do you think you'll manage to graduate with A's in all your nursing classes as well? 6. Do you work? How much? 7. Is there anything you wish you had known before you entered the program? Many thanks to all of you in advance! Jessie

Hello everyone, I have applied to several nursing programs in Orange County, among them Cypress College's, and I'm wondering how students who are currently enrolled there like the program. I have a few questions, and I'd really appreciate if you could take the time and let me know what you think of the program. Please feel free to write as much as you can think of. I'm really interested in anything that comes to your mind. Just skip any question that you don't feel like answering. 1. What semester are you in? 2. What do you like about the program? 3. What do you dislike about the program? / What do you think should be changed? 4. When comparing Cypress to what you've heard of other programs, are there things that you believe Cypress does better than other programs? (aside from producing high NCLEX pass rates) 5. To the A-hunters among you who entered the program with A's in all classes: Do you think you'll manage to graduate with A's in all your nursing classes as well? 6. Do you work? How much? 7. Is there anything you wish you had known before you entered the program? Many thanks to all of you in advance! Jessie