jellyfish111

Hello... I have to say I'm happy that you are doing your research on the nursing schools in Colorado! I am a May 09' Metro graduate. I hope that some of the information I may give you will help you to make an educated decision as to which school to go to. From my experience, Metro was just ok - NOTHING spectacular! My application process was also a major pain like yours. Once accepted into the program, I felt as though it was extremely unorganized and some teachers just didn't care. Two of the best teachers in the program left at the end of our cohort I personally disliked a majority of my clinical placements. I felt as though we were placed at sites just to get hours to graduate NOT TO LEARN! Honestly, there was no intelligent decision making that went into clinical placements. Due to this lack of quality, my clinical skills SUFFERED!!!!! The good news is yes Metros pass rate is 100% THE BAD NEWS... ONLY 2% OF THE GRADUATING CLASS NOW HAS A JOB!!!!!!!!!!!! Since I have graduated, I have tried to contact teachers through phone calls and email... I have gotten slow responses if any at all! I feel as though the teachers just don't give a damn now that I'm not paying tuition! Well, enough of my ranting and raving... make your decision wisely! Good luck in all of your nursing endeavors.

Wow thank you for your response... It is quite scary what kind of trouble one can get into practicing medicine like one wants!!! I too want to get into the ICU but will be happy with any sort of job possible!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just feel like I am loosing skills that I learned and the hospitals have no idea what a loss they are experiencing.

YES... 2 be honest only 2% of my graduating class (from May 2009) have a job! I'm getting sick of people saying that I thought "nursing had a shortage:!!" I graduated with at 2.86 and experience like I said... I'm not quite sure what we have to do to end up with a real job! I have kiddos that need the support from thier mommy and I feel like I'm a looser!

Wow! That was an amazing post :) Thank you!

Oh... I also wanted to say that it is true the strategies don't apply to all of the questions. If they did, the NCLEX wouldn't be a true indicator of your nursing capabilities. I figure the more help I can get the better. What if I missed a few questions because I didn't learn the strategies and then failed the NCLEX?!? SO WORTH IT!!!

YES! Kaplan is worth the money. Prior to taking the class I read the Kaplan strategy book. Eventhough the strategies from the book are repeated in class, you are "coached" through the process in class. In addition, you receive a review book (I read it front to back), Question Trainers and Qbank questions online. I completed 100% of the questions offered. I figured if I failed the NCLEX I could get my money back from Kaplan. Other books that I used to study were Saunders and Davis. I also practiced medication flash cards. I'm happy to say that I passed in 75 questions! Good Luck :)

I graduated with my BSN from Metro State, the accelerated program. The overall cost was much cheaper than DSN. However, to be accepted into the accelerated program you must already have a BS. The accelerated program is now 17 months long (it was 13 mo when I went through the program). During the program, it's near impossible to work because the schedule is constantly changing. There is a new module every 6 weeks and they often wait to give you the schedule until RIGHT BEFORE the new module starts so you can't schedule consistant work days. Metro also has an RN to BSN option that I don't know much about. That being said, I was quite dissapointed with the Metro program. They were going through major changes, two of their best teachers just left and I feel like important information was just straight out skipped!! I was also unimpressed with clinical placements. Really, a quality learning experience was not considered when placing students!!!! It was more like I found a place for you to get your required hours for clinicals... I don't care if you don't have a good experience It was quite frustrating!!! On a positive note, I did feel like I was prepared for the NCLEX and pass the 1st time in 75 questions. Im not sure if I can attribute that to my study skills or Metros program!

hello all, i'm a new grad that's looking from jobs in the wonderful state of co. however, my search has left me empty handed. i'm getting very frustrated! i see myself as a strong candidate for a new grad program. i graduated with my bsn, my gpa is a 3.86, i have passed the nclex, i have two bachelor degrees (my previous one in kinesiology - a health care related field), multiple health care volunteer experiences, i have cna experience and aprox. 3 years of health care related experience. with all of this on my side, i still can't find a job!! i have had two interviews, one in az and one in co. of course, i didn't get either job! i feel that both interviews went very well. when i was notified that i didn't get the job in co, i asked for feedback. the hr recruiter said it was a very difficult decision, but they decided to go with an internal candidate. i understand the need to stick with internal candidates, but i need a job! this issue becomes even more frustrating when i find out that the individual who they have hired hasn't even passed their nclex yet!!!!!!! due to financial issues, i have decided to start applying for cna jobs. i know that if i get a cna job i will grudgingly go to work knowing that i am not working to my full potential since i am technically an rn (since i passed the nclex). i thought about trying to get a job as an rn in a nursing home, but was told that many nurses who do that get stuck in the geriatric field. my dream of becoming a nurse is slowly dwindling... please help!! any suggestions or comments would be greatly appreciated!!!!