alexemt

Harris County Hospital District (Ben Taub and L.B.J.) definately pay more. You have to take a bilingual test. There is a catch though. You can be sent clear across to the other side of the hospital to translate for anyone if you are "certified". May seem like not a big deal but as a nurse sometimes you can barely keep your head above water trying to keep up. Translating can take 2 sec or an 1 hour. Once you accept the differential you don't have a choice whether you want to do it or not. It's your job and you have to do it. In short it's not all it's cracked up to be. The difference is about a dollar more an hour.

Hello all and congrats to those that got accepted! For those that weren't don't give up! I got accepted on the 3rd try, partially my fault though. I just completed my first semester of the regular/accelerated 15 month BSN program. I now know why patho was stressed as a prereq. It will help you a great deal in one of your first classes in the program. You will be introduced to Patho/Pharm this semester. They are absolutely fantastic professors. It makes your life easier if you have been introduced to some of the info in patho previously so you can concentrate on the pharmocology behind it. If not you will be struggling to grasp two concepts. I am not saying it can't be done but many of my classmates struggled that didn't get a handle on patho originally. The teacher is very helpful but there is an expectation that the patho is not some sort of foreign language to you. So take that for what it's worth. With that being said, I am open to help if you have questions. Having spent 2 semesters in the ADN program I can say I am very happy I made the choice to attend UTMB and I am sure you will be too. As for the PDA, now is the time to upgrade to a smart phone. Alot of students use the I-touch, but i personally don't see the point of carrying 2 devices. I use my windows based touch pro and it works perfectly. A blackberry does the same. I can sell my into to nursing book (mint) isbn 978-1-4160-4473-4 or the pharm book isbn 978-1-4160-2552-8 or the cd skills set isbn 978-0-7817-6813-9 for fundamentals if anyone is intrested :wink2:. As for the process yes there was an interview. They are pretty flexible though. As mentioned previously I was in the ADN program and could not make the interview on the set date. They were kind enough to do a phone interview for me. I would only ask for that as a last resort though. They accepted 60 students. We lost some and also gained some. Gained some in the form of Bacc2 students that didn't pass one of their classes. They say the min. GPA is a 2.75, but in all honesty the lowest overall GPA that I have heard in the class was a 3.2. Most people are pretty open about it because they are in the program, but you can take that with a grain of salt. Mine personally was a 3.5 overall, 3.7 in prereqs and a 4.0 in sciences. The Bacc2 is even more competitive. Its funny though, in our class we have people from all walks of life. We have one fantastic lady that has a doctorate in genetics, one that is/was a surgeon in China, alot of teachers, etc.. I have absolutely enjoyed every moment. The application process was alittle chaotic and disorganized but just bare with it. I applied 2x and the third time I got in (when least expected) and don't regret one moment. If you apply to the Bacc2 and do not get accepted it will default into the general pool of applicants. How many there was I have no idea. We didnt have to take an pretest like the NET test or the ATI, however once we were in they had us take the ATI entrance exam. My guess is that they may start requiring it soon. Hope that helps alittle. Good luck!

Hello everyone. I am not sure if by accelerated you mean the Bacc2 or the class I am in. I started May of this year and we are considered accelerated because you finish the program in 15 months. We do not have a break so to speak. Well unless you consider these 2 weeks off! Anyhow, I have heard that this semester is the last that they will offer the 2 year program and everything from then on will be the 15 month. It is pretty intense and can't imagine doing the Bacc2. In the Bacc2 students take 21+ hrs a semester. This past semester we took 16 hours. Bacc2 does it in 3 semesters, we do it in 4. Summer, Fall, Spring, Summer. As for the process yes there was an interview. They are pretty flexible though. I was previously in the ADN program and could not make the interview on the set date. They were kind enough to do a phone interview for me. I would only ask for that as a last resort though. They accepted 60 students. We lost some and also gained some. Gained some in the form of Bacc2 students that didn't pass one of their classes. They say the min. GPA is a 2.75, but in all honesty the lowest overall GPA that I have heard in the class was a 3.2. Most people are pretty open about it because they are in the program, but you can take that with a grain of salt. Mine personally was a 3.5 overall, 3.7 in prereqs and a 4.0 in sciences. The Bacc2 is even more competitive. Its funny though, in our class we have people from all walks of life. We have one fantastic lady that has a doctorate in genetics, one that is/was a surgeon in China, alot of teachers, etc.. I have absolutely enjoyed every moment. I started the ADN program at San Jac and was pleasantly surprised when I got accepted. By far the learning environment is at least 10x better at UTMB. Don't pass up the opportunity to go if you get it. The application process was alittle chaotic and disorganized but just bare with it. I applied 2x and the third time I got in (when least expected) and don't regret one moment. If you apply to the Bacc2 and do not get accepted it will default into the general pool of applicants. How many there was I have no idea. We didnt have to take an pretest like the NET test or the ATI, however once we were in they had us take the ATI entrance exam. My guess is that they may start requiring it soon. Hope that helps alittle. Good luck!

No Bachelors yet. I feel like a professional student though. I have 172 hours prior to starting UTMB. A couple of associates and one certification. (I didnt know what I wanted to do when I was growing up ). I am doing the traditional program in a sense. I think this is the first time they offer it in the summer and make it 4 consecutive semesters (summer, fall, spring, and summer 2010). In other words its a 15 month program. They describe the bacc2 as being in the mist of a "hurricane" and our program as being in a "whirlwind." It is extremely fast. I got lucky and was given credit for health assessment. We covered that same exact book in 16 weeks, the guys in my class now are covering the same material in 6 weeks. Needless to say I am counting my blessings right now. Oh and I am playing major catch up in my patho/pharm class. I really could not imagine the Bacc2 program. Maybe I just have poor time management skills who knows, but it's a very demanding program. Keep your head up and don't give up, you will get in! If it makes you feel any better there are a few people in our class that got called in at the last minute and never even got interviewed. Heck some didn't even have patho which is supposed to be a requirement to get in.

I got accepted this past spring semester. Your right the process is abit easier and you don't have to pay for the application. You still first get accepted into the school and then they forward the app to the SON. They will automatically give you a provost scholarship if your gpa is >3.5 and its worth 6K for a year. I was really excited when I got the acceptance letter for the SON. They don't give you much time to get ready either. My acceptance came in on Nov 14 and orientation was Dec 5th. I must say in all honesty I didnt do my homework. You really need to call them before taking prereqs and find out what they will and will not accept. They were wanting me to petition or retake an english course, a governement course and one other, not to mention the 9 hours of theology classes. Its about 500/hr and to get a bsn I would of been paying student loans back for a long long time regardless of the scholarship. I opted to start the ADN program instead. Then as fate would have it I got accepted at the school I wanted originally, UTMB. That is were I find myself today. HBU though if you dont have another alternative, or if thats just were you have your heart set at is a fine school. It is beautiful and the education there is excellent.. just very costly. Good luck and hope everything goes as well for you.

Won't work. The G1 uses android operating system. Skyscape only supports blackberry, itouch/phone, symbian os, windows os/smartphone, or palm. Sorry.

You don't have to have a PDA, actually you might have a hard time finding one. Most retail stores dont sell them (best buy, office depot, etc...) I didn't exactly want to carry more than one device around so I confirmed that it was okay to have a smart phone. I already have one so that was great news for me. You probably already have a cell phone too but if you don't have a smart phone, now may be the time to upgrade. It may save you some money and you'll have a cool phone to boot. The skyscape programs are compatible with blackberry, iphone, palm, or any windows based operating system. The software is offered at a discount thru utmb online link to skyscape. I received an email from Ms. Webster confirming that it was okay to use a smartphone just that it the phone part of it needs to be able to be shut off due to telemetry that may get interference. I have yet to buy my books because I was waiting to talk with someone that graduates this year to see what they have to offer :) I'll know by tomorrow, so either way I plan to make a trip to UTMB and familiarize myself abit on Thursday. Anyone want to meet around noon? I hate feeling lost especially on the first day.

Lucky, First off congratulations! I am in the same situation. I have a hesi exam on the same day at my present school. I talked to **** and was told to get with her or Dr. ****** during orientation so they can get with our instructors. They will excuse it for that day. As for financial aid, looks like I will have to put books and supplies on a credit card and pay it off when they cut the check. I spoke to financial aid and they said that they can't cut a check til I am registered and they get what they need first. The nursing dept has to register you and that will probably happen the day before orientation. That is not long enough before financial aid can cut a check for the remaining balance to take care of books, etc. Good luck, everything will work itself out. alex

I am 33 (3rd career). I started the ADN mobility program this semester. A transition from LVN or paramedic to RN. There were 5 guys out of 27. One is 25, and the rest of us are older than 30. This semester of medsurg took a toll on alot of people. Only about 14 people will make it through to the next semester without having to repeat class. Of the 14, 2 guys including myself will make it to the next semester. Actually only 1 will because I am starting the BSN program this summer. I am curious to see how many males are in this program. I will find out May 4.

Wow.. i just noticed that the health assessment book that is required is the one I used at san jac. My wife went through the coorifice and they used the 4th edition. I was worried that I would miss something and ended up buying the 5th edition. Long story short. They are the same thing. They added 1 new chapter and moved the chapters around. Same pictures and everything. The pkg that they are referring to is that the book comes packaged with a student laboratory manual for your lab. Our package did not include a pocket companion, but it was a really good thing to have. I bought it at Majors bookstore in the med center ISBN# 978-1-4160-3854-2. It was not a requirement but a really good book to have when doing clinicals instead of toating a big book around. When I pull up the isbn# given for the pkg it includes the pocket companion the book itself and the lab manual. Since I don't have to go through that class again I am willing to sell my book (cd included and in like-new condition) for $70.00. The isbn for the lab manual is:978-1-4160-3853-5. I would definitely buy that one new because we had to tear out the assessement pages and turn them in. Looks like barnes and nobles has them in stock. I still have the 4th edition that I can look at if I need something. The ISBN for the 5th edition book is 978-1-4160-3243-4. Hope that helps. That class was a booger, but important. lol! Heck for that matter I can even throw in a little surprise token of appreciation that might be helpful;). The medsurg book is the same too.. but I'm going to need that one.

I got lucky the medsurg book UTMB is using will be the same one I am using now. That set was around 250. They didn't give me credit for my nursing fundamentals but they did give me credit for health assessment. Less money for books. I need all the help I can get too. I quit my job after 11 years to do this. I am excited.

Yes.. same here. I faxed off my "security acknowledgement and nondisclosure agreement form" for financial aid last week. I called thursday to verfiy that they received it and all I got was voicemail. Orientation is right around the corner and w/o financial aid, it will be a no go for me. Tomorrow I am getting my doctor to sign off on my shots.

I called and spoke with the financial aid office today. I was told they were well aware of the students that were accepted for the summer. They were putting together the financial aid packets w/ the offers and are hoping to give out the money before orientation. Donno, just repeating what I was told.

I think a back door into a nursing school would be to become an LVN or a paramedic. It would give you a great feel for the medical field. I personally choose to go the paramedic route because the local fire department paid for it and I knew it would give me another avenue into a nursing program. Traditional programs are very very competitive. San Jacinto College offers a transitional program for LVN & paramedics to get your RN. They don't have anywhere near the amount of applicants of a traditional ADN or BSN program. I mean that when they say you need a 2.0 or whatever, they mean it. It is a very very challenging coorifice though. The whole program is 3 semesters and you are an RN. I personally had a hard time getting into a BSN program and I have a 3.6 overall gpa and a 4.0 in biology. I applied to TWU and UTHSC 2 times.. both rejected. UTMB rejected once. HBU did accept me but I was naive and didn't look at the cost. Finally I got the acceptance letter for UTMB for this summer. My point is if you want something bad enough you have options and be persistant. My wife took the route I just mentioned because she was in a similar situation to yourself. I will go so far and say she tried the excelcier program which was a complete no-no. Good luck!

A little back ground. I am currently a paramedic that is doing the transitional program to RN @ SJC south. I originally quit my job after 11 years to go back to school and finish my degree. I applied to UTMB and TWU and was turned down, so I retook A&P 1/2 and Micro and used my paramedic certification as a back door into the RN program since I wasn't accepted into UTMB. I took health assessement, drug dosage, skills last semester. Now I am taking medsurg with the clinical, and intro to nursing. I have managed to do really well with an extraordinary amount of hard work. I am told that medsurg is the hardest part and everything else is downhill. Well as fate would have it, I get my acceptance letter a month before this semester is over from UTMB. It's bitter/sweet. I have very little time to do things as it is now. I would have to retake all the nursing classes I have taken plus some. How doable is the BSN program? 1 year (summer 09-summer 10) seems abit stacked, especially for someone with a wife and kid at home. I told myself when I got denied that I would to the RN-BSN program after I graduated, that would add 1 1/2 yrs. What experiences have you all had with either programs? Did any of you do the commute from Houston to UTMB? Oh I would graduate w/ my ADN in May 2010 and would be able to take a greatly needed break this summer. Thanks for any responses.