Jessshue

Sometimes people suck! Just keep reminding yourself that she is just a bump in your road to success and don't let her, or any of the other students, knock you off your path. Even though I know it feels like everyone may be looking down on you, just know that there are so many people out there who don't care about the outside and can see the beauty inside. The worst thing is that rudeness can sometimes be contagious, so even the students that don't feel that way, will act poorly toward you because that is what everyone else is doing. Just know that they will be nurses that don't stand out and blend into the pack, but you will come out of this stronger than you went in, and that inner strength will be apparent to your patients and all those who meet you. Keep your head up and don't let anyone make you feel like you are less than they are, because in my opinion, they are far less than you.

I took the TEAS and I bought the manual for $20 on ebay. It was a really nice brush up course for me (since I had been out of school for a while). The test is VERY similiar to the ACT in my opinion, with more emphasis on the sciences. I mostly just read over the math part again and skimmed the science part and I scored one of the highest grades ever to come out of my school. I really recommend the study guide and just going over your basic algebra and you should do fine. Good Luck!!

I know of a couple people who are going through Iowa Western and like it. In my opinion, we all take the same boards, so as long as you can pass, the school doesn't matter. I think the reason Metro has such a high pass rate is because they basically only take students who will bust their butt to pass and get good grades (all 4.0 students), so it is practically guaranteed to have a great pass rate. A 95% pass rate for IWCC is awesome, I hope you both enjoy the school and do very well!!!

DarkRainyDays, I completely agree. The thing that actually finally gave me that final push to go into nursing was having my son (my 2nd child). The nurses were amazing, and even through the contractions all I wanted to do was talk to them about their job and experiences and children of their own. Those nurses made me decide that this is truely what I want to do. My goal is to eventually go into L&D, but I know a lot of nurses want to do that, so I may have to wait my turn. I'm okay with that though, I'll wait as long as it takes to be part of that miracle every day. I think that only another mother can truely understand what that mom in that bed is going through and what comforts and reassurances she needs and what it truely means to hold your baby for the first time. I want to be that for them.

No problem-if you have any other questions, just ask!! :)

I am also a non-traditional student taking the same path as you are (I just started the LPN program about 1.5 mos. ago, been doing prereqs for the last 6 mos). I'm 28, married, with a 1.5 and a 3 year old. No, you aren't too old. Think about it this way...retirement age is 65, that leaves almost 40 years of work in your life. I don't know about you, but I was already getting burnt out at my first career choice after just 8 years, I couldn't imagine another 40 at it! Here are the things I considered before going back to school: the retirement age thing, the fact that you will always have job security because people will always be sick and there will always be a place for a good nurse, and the flexibility of the field. You can work in what-ever area you want-midwife, surgery, ICU, health clinic, nursing home, urology, school nurse...whatever your passion is, you can do it. If you get burnt out in one area, just switch, you don't have to go back to school or anything! As far as the non-traditional student thing goes, I almost feel we have an advantage. The biggest advantage about being right out of high school is the time restraints. You do what you want, when you want and are only responsible for yourself. In my case, I have to be responsible for my children, my mortgage, my husband, etc. I just think we have to be very good at managing time. I think our advantages in being a non-trad. student are numerous, including the fact that we are adults who know what we want and how to get it. Most non-trad students are also out of the partying phase of life, so we can focus more on what needs to get done. We also have more life experience and maturity (usually :) ), which is important to employers. I also think we are more likely to work harder and take college more seriously, because we understand more about spending money wisely and being in debt (I'm basing this off my college now and right out of h.s.). Anyway, I think it is never too late to go for what you want and I think the nursing field is one of the most stable and rewarding fields to be going into!

I know about small towns, I'm from one of 2000 people, so going deep into Omaha is way out of my "safe zone"! I took my CNA through Metro. I did it on the weekend-it took 5 weekends, both Sat and Sun from 8-5. That way I was able to continue working. The tuition was just regular Metro tuition and it was good for 6 credit hours. My sister took hers through Clarkson during the week and I think it took right at a month. I want to say it cost around $350. As far as a job goes, if you already have experience working as a cna, or at least in the facility, you will be one step ahead. As I mentioned earlier, I work at the Ne. Med Center. I got on there without having ever worked as a CNA anywhere. I think it helps to be able to tell them you are going through nursing school and are looking for a place to call home--they are always trying to grab up good nurses, especially those that will already be taught all their policies and such before they even become nurses. The pay at the med center is pretty decent too-everyone starts at $11.90/hr, then you get a shift diff. for nights (15% I think) and weekends (9%?). I will be working nights and weekends, so it equals out to $13.90/hr and $14.80/hr, respectively, so not too bad for a cna. I work in the cardiac ICU, and the nurses are all really great and eager to help you learn, which is nice. I know they are restructuring the way they staff cna's (or care techs, as they call us), so they have been doing tons of hiring lately. Alegent health systems are all mostly on a hiring freeze while they are restructuring. I have heard that this economy thing is hitting Alegent pretty hard, but that could just be hearsay. I don't know much about Methodist, other than that their human relations dept. is very difficult to deal with and the nurses are kind of tough on the newbies, but that also could be hearsay. As far as nursing homes go, I know there are a lot of them hiring around the area, you would just have to check around. I really like the website, Careerlink.com. It has most of the healthcare jobs available in the state on there, from hospitals to nursing homes to dr's offices--that's how I found the Med center was hiring--I would definately check it out. Thanks for the name of the school you are taking your a&p through. If I could do it online, that would be a million times better (that way I wouldn't have to arrange day care and all that fun stuff!). Thats all I can think of for now. Just holler if I can help you more! Jess

YESI05, where are you taking A&PII online? Is it through IWCC? Thanks!

The chances of getting in without A&P are very poor-those 4 extra points weigh very heavy for getting in to the program. Metro doesn't waitlist anymore. I got my acceptance letter the last week of December, so I woas only accepted 4 mos. ago. Students are accepted strictly by grades only. There is a formula that they use to convert all your grades and then you get ranked. This time they took the top 40 grades out of the 450 some applicants. Me and one other girl are the only ones that got in without a&p, everyone else needed it for their score. I honestly didn't think I would get in, since they tell you it is virtually impossible to get in without it. I think my TEAS score really helped-I scored a 93.3%, which is one of the highest ever to come out of the school. You can succeed in the program without a&p, but it would be very difficult without some form of medical knowledge and anatomy knowledge. I have a degree in applied animal science (I have worked as a vet tech for 12 years), so I already have a pretty vast background about anatomy, without even taking the classes. I had to do animal a&p, which is alarmingly similiar (the main difference I have found so far is the pelvis is tipped forward in an animal!) If you get your CNA and TEAS done before the next application is due, you can definitely apply. I only had CNA, teas, algebra, human g&d, chem, and english when I applied. In order to graduate the LPN program, I must have A&P I&II done. Yes, I will be able to go directly into the RN program. They reserve a spot for all the LPN's in the next RN program, so as long as you pass, you have a spot in the program. I don't know a whole lot about IWCC's program. I kind of looked into it, but I got into Metro, so I stopped. I know a girl where I work is going there and I think she likes it. I have heard from a lot of people that most programs are very self-teaching. I work at the Ne Med Center, and even the girls who are going there say the same, so I think it is like that anywhere. I know Metro is doing a lot of restructuring, so I think that is why it seems so unorganized sometimes. Metro had a 100% pass rate on the LPN boards for the last class, which is awesome. The teachers are nice, but not lenient (sp?) at all. They grade according to a highschool scale and don't round up, so you have to get a 76% at least on everything or you fail. Yes, it is VERY time consuming. Definately don't go into it thinking it won't be that hard, cause that is the mistake myself and many of my classmates made. The testing style is very different than anything any of us have ever seen. The questions are all extremely subjective, and multiple answers are correct, you just have to pick the best answer out of all of them. I know this is how they are on the state boards too, so they are just trying to prepare us for that. I have a 3 year old and a 1.5 year old and I work part-time, so it is very difficult to find time to study. Fortunately, I run best on small amounts of sleep and can stay up very very late to get things done, or else I would be in trouble. You can still have a life, you just have to manage your time well. I am doing the night/weekend program, so clinicals are Tues and Wed (pre-lab takes a couple of hours at the facility on Monday), and I have class from 8-4 every Saturday. We usually have 1-3 tests every Sat., so that kind of sucks. As far as tuition, they told us that total expense, through the RN program, including books, uniforms, etc will be approx. $6500. That is probably the cheapest you will find in the country for an RN degree. If there is anything I missed or anything else you want to know, just ask. I know how it feels to have a million questions and no answers!

A & P I & II is not a core requirement to get in. It gives you 2 extra points per class toward your total points to get in. I scored really high on the TEAS test and had straight a's, so I got in without needing the 4 extra points. They actually have A&P I & II wrote into the schedule for the 1st and 2nd quarter of the LPN program. Take my word for it, it is very very difficult to try to fit it in with the other classes for the program, so get it done before you go through.

I'm a current student in the LPN program at Metro. I got in without having A & P I or II. I managed to take A&P I the quarter before the LPN program, and thank God because it is intense in the program!!! I was going to try to take Human Relations during my first quarter of the LPN program, but it was just too much. There is a LOT of studying and self teaching in this program, so it leaves little time for much else. There are 4 classes first quarter and only 2 second quarter (but pharm is one of them!), so I'm going to try to take A & P II then. The brochure for the program is deceiving; don't plan on working full time while going, it just isn't possible. Also, take A & P I and II before starting, so you only have to worry about the nursing classes. Any other questions about the program, just ask...I'm living it!!

I bought Barron's Anatomy Flash cards at Barnes and Noble. They were really good for helping me learn the skeletal system and the muscles (they also have all the other body systems, but we don't go over those until A & P II). I'm also a big notecard studier, so I would go over my outline and make notecards over everything, in a quiz type format (ie-front of card would say Kreb's Cycle and describe it on the back). My newest thing that I do (I'm in nursing school, have a 1.5 and 3 year old, and work part time, so I really have to utilize every second of the day) is read all my outlines out loud and record them into a digital recorder I bought online on ebay for $20. It is a really good one that allows you to choose 1 of 4 folders to put messages in, which is great since I'm taking 4 classes! I then listen to them while I'm driving, cleaning, doing laundry, etc. I just kind of submerge myself in the info, at least as much as possible. Just stay on top of your reading and study the info the teacher gives you and you should be o.k. Try to dedicate at least 1-2 hours a day to review. Good Luck!

I bought the TEAS book on e-bay for $20 and it was worth every penny. It was a great review for me, because I have been out of school for 8 years, so I was a little rusty. With the help from the book, I was able to get one of the highest scores to come out of my school. In my humble opinion, get the book.:)

Hi all- I'm new to this site and I was wondering if you could help me out a bit. I purchased the Nursing Care Plan book my school suggested to us, but I don't think I like it. The info is very spread out and kind of hard to piece together. Do any of you know of any good ones that are user friendly? Also, I am looking to get a new stethoscope. I currently have a littmann classic, but I notice that I pick up a lot of artifacts when I am listening. I have read somewhere that Littmann's are actually overrated and not the best out there. Do any of you have a stethoscope that you really love? I was looking into the Ultrascope-one of the doctors I used to work with really liked hers, but they look so....fake. Anyway, thanks in advance for your help. Jess:)

I feel your pain!!! I swear my fellow students and I just had this discussion the other day. It is sooo frustrating; I come prepared to class, shouldn't they? Oh yeah, and if I have to hear the words, "look that up on your own because that is testable material", I just might puke. (Not that I'm apposed to looking things up, it is just a little frustrating when you are going through the outline and the teacher tells you a lot of her info is wrong, so just look it up on your own-urghh).