rrmitch2000

I will second that! Tri-C is extremely demanding and I had all pre-reqs/co-reqs done going in. I dropped my part-time job down to PRN status and actually for the Fall I am taking a leave from the nursing program so I can spend more time with my kids. I rarely saw them last semester only taking 10 credit hours...two classes but 4 days a week away from them which nearly killed me and them alike. It is impossible without a ton of help to do this program with young children...not to mention you miss a lot of their lives. My youngest will be in kindergarten next fall and that is when I plan to return to the program....he is my last and I want to spend my time with him and not in lecture lab and clinical. I can't imagine how you would do it working full time unless you are okay with absolutely no sleep and no life. Best of luck to you...and welcome to tri-c.

sorry....my sample question was very loosely paraphrased so I am sure no copyright infringement was committed. We don't get our tests back so none of our questions in this thread would be verbatim. For the new students and others struggling with these questions, get a copy of fundamentals success by Nugent. This book will teach you how to dissect these questions and think appropriately to answer the questions properly.

Yeah...online would be nice for those of us with previous degrees...foreverlaur...yes, my work as a nursing assistant bit me in the butt many times on exams...just study your book and pretend you know nothing, because surely you have seen that theory and practice are not always on the same page! .... additionally...love the questions when there is no right answer...again play stupid. DONT OVERTHINK...even when the right answer is wrong. Critical thinking at its finest!

As for working fulltime while doing tri c ....good luck. I have a ba in english from OSU summa cum laude, a masters from kent and all A s in my pre reqs in tri c. I have never gotten a B in my life. With the ridiculous grading scale, the crazy questions etc and the minuscule amount of points in each class...an A is almost impossible as Scott says. Hate to be a downer, but it will be hard for you. School has always come easy to me and this semester was a nail biter to the end. Foreverlaur...took me nearly an entire semester to get these questions down. You are like me -- overthinking. Take the questions at face value as if there are no other variables involved. In fact, you have to pretend like you are stupid for some of the questions...because they are often improperly worded etc. Good luck and keep us posted

hillcrest....this is what I have heard.

My advice...if you are young enough....and don't already have another bachelor's degree...opt out of doing the actual nursing program at tri-c. Do all your pre-reqs for a BSN and then apply to CSU or KSU or Akron and go straight to the BSN. Akron City hospital (where I recently worked as a nursing assistant) has told me any hospital with magnet status will be hiring BSN new grads over ADN grads. I was passed over to be a nursing student technician there because I am not in a BSN program. The only requirement is completion of the first clinical rotation of nursing school..which I did..but nonetheless the positions were all filled by BSN students from Akron or Kent...which would mean the new grad RN positions will be filled by those students. Since I am old and I have a BA from OSU, I opted for the ADN. Had I known what I know now, I would have waited a couple of years until my youngest was in kindergarten and completed the accelerated BSN at Kent or Akron. At minimum, you should consider completing the BSN prereqs at tri-c and then bridge asap to a BSN once you are done with the program. On the bright side, I am starting a new job at Parma hospital and they still hire ADN grads so I hope to get an RN position after I finish at tri-c....knowing full well that I will need to bridge either to a BSN or an MSN in the future. If you aren't already signed up for the ADN group forum thru my tri-c space...do so immediately. Many of our classmates that either failed or dropped out are selling their books and uniforms for pennies on the dollar. Good Luck and welcome to Tri-C nursing!

Scott -- no parma hospital for 1600 metro days students? I will most likely go for St. V then since it is close to metro lab...get the hour of practice in right after clinical. One of the girls in our lab this semester was at St. V and said it was an amazing clinical experience.

the key to success is nclex questions and knowing how to rationalize the proper answer. there are very few points in the classes (which i believe they are going to adjust that in the fall) so it is very easy to fail the course (less than 75 percent is a fail remember) if you aren't successful with these types of questions. Since none of the other things you do in the course count toward your final grade (I am talking about lab clinical care plans etc) your grades on the multiple choice tests must be passing in order to move on. I do hope in the future a grading system will be applied to the other work done for the courses. We lost many fine future nurses because they couldn't catch on to NCLEX style questions. For 1300, I highly recommend the Mosby videos. To study for the final, all I did was watch the videos and answer the nclex style review questions at the end of each vignette. I missed only a single point on the final. I learn visually so they really helped me. They help throughout the semester as well since often you take your lecture test before you learn the associated skills in lab....backwards yes, but that is how it is -- another thing I hope they change in the future. For me 1450 was the easier class, but not so for others. I highly recommend the potter and perry study guide. I completed the study guide religiously for all chapters and never had a problem in the class. The key is to study and a lot. Since the classes are out of so few points, only the multiple choice tests count toward the grade, and the grading scale is pushed up 5% (the min C is 75% and you must pass with a C) statistically the odds are against you if you are not successful with the nclex style questions. Not to scare you, but we lost many bright people who were very successful in other academic areas. If you are already in healthcare and have some knowledge, you could begin with the videos this summer and answer the associated nclex questions. It will give you a taste of what you are in for when you begin in the Fall. above all -- GOOD LUCK!

ScottE -- So tomorrow is the big day! Correct me if I am wrong...I think we have the same schedule...so that means tomorrow is just lecture and both our labs are on Friday...meaning no need to lug tote, etc and wear lab coat tomorrow. I have yet to get the sharps coupon that everyone is talking about...do you know what the deal is with that? I also nee a drug reference and a medical encyclopedia...I was thinking of getting an app for my smartphone that has Davis drug guide and tabers on it...did you buy actual books? My bro who is a doc uses epocrates on his droid...says it is indispensible....hmm what to do. Additionally, since it has been a while since I did the AM Cleveland commute...do you think allowing an hour to get to metro (from brecksville) will be okay? I cant remember when 77 really backs up...I seem to recall that leaving around 7 715 is key. I will see you tomorrow. Becky

Well we are in luck -- my husband has two in his warehouse -- would you like to rent one for the semester? Too funny...did you notice that a few of the books will be out in new edition in December? I am waiting to see if the professors roll to the new ones before I purchase -- in my former career with Prentice Hall, I was a publisher's rep and it was VERY important to push our profs to new editions as soon as possible. I'd hate to buy the wrong book.

Hey -- keep your head up and take any work you can find as an RN. My unit manager at the hospital where I work as an Aide (I am still in school) suggested that the hospital jobs are few are far between right now and new grads need to do home health, LTC, anything. We have girls working as techs who are licensed RNs and cannot find work in a hospital -- they will be soon cut off from working as techs and none of them want to work in LTC. I feel badly for them, but the job market will open up again and better to be working as an RN in some capacity than waiting for a dream job to open up. One of the girls took a job in skilled nursing and was recently hired into the ER of our hospital after only 9 months of working at the nursing home. I am curious what the nurses on this board will say. Good Luck.

they will have the male uniform...it is a large store. The labcoat is unisex so you might luck out with that too, but since most women will be a small or an extra small it will most likely need to be ordered. I left them with the patches to sew on since the patches are kind of fussy...not round or in the least bit flexible. Since we'll be washing the uniforms a lot, I wanted a professional sewing job.

Just returned from affordable uniforms and wanted to give all a heads up....they didnt have a lot of lab coats in stock...needed to order mine and it will take three weeks. Also, the name badge takes four weeks so don't wait until the last minute on the uniforms...with the holidays coming up, I'd recommend getting in there asap before you get busy with the end of the current semester and thanksgiving etc. You can find the same uniforms online for about the same price and maybe a little cheaper, but I wasn't sure about the name badge. Additionally, Landau stuff seems to run big -- I wear cherokee for work and I was a size smaller in the tri-c uniform. Again...good luck all and see you in January

Scott -- you'll be great...patients are just people and the easiest way to care for them is just to treat them as if they were your own family members. Some are nasty because they are so sick and feel horrible, others are sweet as can be and thank you profusely every time you clean them up from yet another incontinent episode. When I get overwhelmed from cleaning people up all night long, turning them, putting them on bedpans, taking them to the toilet, sitting with them through periods of mental status change...I think about my aging parents and hope that someone will take care of them with the same respect, dignity and compassion. My unit houses many very ill patients and each night I go to work I find out that someone was sent to ICU and ultimately died -- it breaks my heart, but I can feel good that the nurses and I offered them the best care possible in their final days. If you can get a job as an PCA or a nursing assistant while you are in school, I highly recommend it -- I learn so much every night. I also think my job will make that first day of clinical a little less daunting. :)

my bad...all I saw was mosby and not jarvis -- did you order all the books that were required AND recommended? It seems like a lot of books doesn't it? I too, expect that there will be some drop outs. It does seem that there is plenty of opportunity for remediation if necessary, so I hope that everyone makes it through. A study group would be nice -- I am in Brecksville. You are in Strongsville, right? I really think we will have fun in the program -- I have a blast at my job at Akron City. It is great to care for patients with a wonderful group of dedicated nurses. I hope we get that lucky in our clinicals.