A.Manning

Hey all, I just wanted to let you all know that they do individual phone calls for applicants selected for interview. Today is the day. So fingers crossed for you all!

Just looking for information about this residency program. I know it's competitive but it seems that is all anyone can say about it. What is the starting pay? What is the commitment, if any? I have to go to class but ANY information is appreciated!

I got the HESI entrance book and studied chem and bio straight out of that. That was enough... and also I had just finished micro and A+P like... a month prior so I remembered most of it. My only thought about this program being easier to get into than some doesn't mean people don't get rejected... but with the economy the way it is, not many people are willing to leave other jobs to start a year of zero earnings... so the candidate pool isn't as large as it would have been some years ago. And yes, our class when we started was only 27. Study up on your chem and bio and just apply! Once you're in, there's a lot of work but it is very doable. Just make sure you stay on top of things because the assignments sneak up on you quickly at the end of the semester. ' Good luck!

As far as the HESI entrance... it's a joke of an exam... VERY basic knowledge... it does cost money to take, but as far as studying, just review the basics and you should be ok. NJCU is the quickest and cheapest program in NJ (I believe it is still the least expensive at least). I'm in it now, and it had an unorganized feel to it at first, but from what I've heard many other programs that have been around for much longer are the same. The education is good although there are some classes that are quite boring... but they need to be taken! In fact I just realized that for many Master's degrees in nursing you need to have taken a Nursing Research course... of course while I was in the class I couldn't fathom why we needed to take it. Besides For the most part, these boring classes are easy A's.... get that GPA up! But the core classes do a good job teaching the material. Another point to make is that nurses right out of nursing school never feel prepared for the job... I've heard this from everyone I've asked. Once you are accepted into a position you get an extensive orientation and a predecessor and this is where you will learn everything. The BSN program gets you the knowledge you need to pass the NCLEX... and the NCLEX is an exam to determine if you have the BASIC knowledge to practice safely. You wanna have a BSN in a year and already have a bachelors, hit these accelerated programs. NJCU will prolly be the easiest to get into. it's the newest and not many know about it. Get the basic knowledge, take the NCLEX, then get a job where you will truely learn how to be a nurse.

92. The test is relatively easy. Just study! There's a lot of simple stuff that you may have forgotten over time.

I dunno, the books sections about the different subjects didn't seem to cover as much as what was in the practice tests included in the book. But now that I think about it the practice test was a lot harder than the real deal. What I suggest is this. You get notified of the test, and you have about 3 weeks to take it. Maybe more I don't recall. But as soon as you can schedule round one. Go in, see what the test is like, see your grade and if you don't like it, take some time to study your weak points, and take it again before time is up. We were allowed to take it twice.

Ok.... just got off the phone with the financial aid office. Turns out we should fill out BOTH the 08-09 AND the 09-10. Also, just so you know. I called the nursing dept. with a question, on the pink form we have to send back there is a space for our student ID. We just leave it blank because we don't actually have a student ID yet.

Ok.... so I'm trying to fill out my FAFSA... anyone have any idea which year 08-09 or 09-10 to fill it out for? I tried calling the Financial Aid office but was just put on hold for a while and then I had to go to work. Any ideas?

Check you mail!!! May 18th we start! I just got accepted :)

I think men have it easier actually... the director of the nursing program I'm applying for said that being a Male would help my chances of being accepted, and one encounter I had at an old job with a female nurse was a bit unusual. The woman came in and was very kind until I told her I was applying for Nursing school She kind of scoffed at me and told me I would probably start at a higher pay and advance through the ranks much quicker than my female counterparts. She seemed pretty annoyed by this.

Being a male who is looking into going to nursing school... this is really something I never thought about. But I guess it's just as awkward for female nurses to do certain procedures on men.

If the hospital you're working in isn't giving you the kind of work you want, it's not hard to find another hospital with a need for nurses.

I'm gonna go ahead and agree with what most these people are saying... I am not currently a Nurse, but in most hospitals I've been in Nurses do much more of the "important" work. Bed changes and wiping butts may be something that you will need to do at times, but a lot of hospitals have other people who do that for the RN.

Does anyone wear Crocs?

By the way, does anyone who applied for the May 2009 Wall Cohort know the actual date that it starts?