hyunjoo82

Congrats to the rising juniors! :) My name is Helen and I am a rising senior. I read your discussions to see what you guys are concerned about and I thought maybe hearing from a senior could help you worry a little less for the time being... A few of you may be wondering about books. I would recommend you purchase all textbooks they require. I spent about $1300 my first semester but a few of those books will be good reference/review books for future semesters. I'm not sure if your class is going to use the same books but I still use my pharmacology (Huether) & pathophysiology (Lehne) books! The study guides for Pharm & Patho you could wait on but if you love study guides & summaries/outlines, I would recommend you get the Patho study guide on the side. Also, I bought all my books new because I LOVE to highlight everything & I plan on keeping most of my nursing books after graduation, otherwise I would let you buy my books for half price or something, haha. As far as PDAs... any smart phone has the capabilities you need. Our school uses a program called Nursing Central (available for iPhone, Android, & Blackberry) which you are allowed to use in clinical. It's a subscription that is included in your tuition costs that allows all updates till you graduate. You could put it on your iPad but I don't think clinicals will allow you to carry those things around on the floor. We sign an agreement to acknowledge that it's a privilege to use our smart phones to access Nursing Central as some hospitals do not even allow their own employees to have these devices while on the job. I used an iTouch first semester and switched to an Android second semester and it came in handy many times in clinical! Also, Blackberries aren't as easy to use the app because it's not touch screen, FYI. With your subscription, Nursing Central is also available for you to access online through your account login which you will receive/sign-up for when classes start. As far as financial aid... your class seems to be getting your award letters way sooner than most of the seniors. I still have yet to receive my award package on MyMercer and many of us are not happy but trying to be patient? With laptops, iPads, & tablets... just use what you got if it's still functional. There are outlets for each student in each lecture room. My laptop took a pretty hard beating last year because it was literally with me everywhere I went because everything I did was on my laptop. If you're looking to get a new one, there are good back-to-school deals going on right now. I'm considering getting a cheap laptop for my senior year & found a few that suit my needs for $500 right now. If you can or would like to, invest in an awesome digital voice recorder that has a super battery life & recording time. And look into buying the ones that use a USB hub to transfer files to your computer because some of our lectures last five hours of class in one day. I went through two other recorders before I found mine that has great battery life & recording time. They cost around $40-60 for the right ones but it was a great investment for me! Finally, about CPR cards. It's important that you get the BLS for Healthcare Providers. Some CPR certifications are not BLS nor for healthcare providers which is what you need. I got certified at Mercer before school started but if you have certification already, make sure you check with Professor Kamp so you have the right one. Hope this answers some questions. I look forward to meeting you all at orientation. I was there July 19th at our GBANS table & will be there again August 9th. I'm also on Facebook, just go to my profile information for the link. Apparently if I put the link directly onto a posting, this site takes it down due to rules & regulations. Again, CONGRATS! If there's anything you want to ask, you know where to find me. :) -Helen Yi

Congrats on getting accepted! Did you attend the July 19th orientation or are you going to the August 9th orientation? I was there representing GBANS at our booth & will be there again on August 9th. I understand about it being a long journey as I worked on trying to get into nursing schools for almost three years. I started my pre-requisites at Georgia State only to find that GSU's program was not for someone like me & I applied/reapplied to Kennesaw's program three times w/ no luck. But alas, here I am! For your first semester, it's tough to give you any solid tips because you will be bombarded w/ a hectic new schedule & you will be learning the basics/foundations of nursing. You'll be taking Pharmacology & Pathophysiology which was my toughest course. I would recommend to just be familiar w/ the anatomy & physiology that you covered in A&P 1&2 so that you can have those fresh in your mind. It would help because when you add in the drugs & disease aspect of it, it helps to already know all the "normal" physiology of the body & how things are supposed to function before a disease occurs. I found myself wishing I had familiarized myself more with the cardiovascular, pulmonary, & renal systems prior to beginning my first semester of nursing school. As your semester progresses, you will find yourself practicing more NCLEX-type questions. If you've struggled in the past w/ nursing type exam questions, there is a course you can take called Learning Enhancement w/ Professor Lewis (LOVE her) which helps you break down old habits that lead you to the wrong answers. This course isn't for "strugglers" but just good practice time. It was good for me because I had a class where I had to practice questions because I know I wouldn't have practiced as much on my own w/o the course. Nursing questions are those "best answer" questions & I had to reprogram my brain to not get "carried away" w/ one particular answer (which was often incorrect). You could look into purchasing an NCLEX book that gives you rationales but I think at this point, it wouldn't come in handy until after your first or second exams of the semester in each course. There are also Success books by Davis that some professors (and seniors) will highly recommend. They were very helpful w/ practicing questions while you prepare for exams. The key is, practice practice practice! You will find the more you practice various questions, you'll feel more confident as you take exams. Most importantly though, you should take care of your body your first semester because it is a big change. Develop good study habits, find a good study group (or two), eat HEALTHY food, & have a good outlet to "unwind". Learn to use a planner & stick to your plan because it's very easy to become stressed out w/ deadlines & just life in general. There is a lot of reading and/or studying involved & you throw in clinical rotations. It can get very mind-boggling & challenging in all aspects. Look to the seniors & professors to help you--the professors want to see you succeed. GBANS is trying to put together a mentor/mentee system where seniors get paired up w/ a few juniors to help them w/ adjusting to nursing school. If you need any help, feel free to ask me anything & I'll do my best to offer help. :) I don't know if this information helps any. Some of these things are "common sense" but it's very easy to overlook the importance of these things. Also, word of advice: You are already accepted into nursing school. It is not about competition anymore so do not look at your fellow classmates as your competitors. There are no grade curves or extra credit to try and compete for a higher score, if that makes sense. You're all in this together--which some students had a tough time adjusting to this because we all spent years trying to get the "best grades" to raise our GPAs. You were accepted for a reason & always believe in that--just do your best. :) Sorry for the long drawn-out response but I hope this is a good start. If you need some more encouragement, you know where to find me! -Helen

As a word of advice from previous experience, don't give up hope on acceptance. I was accepted kind of "last minute" for fall 2009 but then I didn't pass one of my pre-requisites & couldn't start then. I re-activated my application & kept in touch w/ my admissions advisor periodically throughout the following year & was accepted again "last minute" for fall 2010. I didn't have the best grades, although I had an average TEAS score. I am now entering my senior year (go Class of 2012!!) this fall. As far as costs go, I did have to take out some pretty hefty student loans but to me, it's well worth it. It may take longer for me to repay my loans but I am having a good experience at GBCN. The professors are great & they really do care about their students. Build up relationships w/ the professors & it will be an even better experience. Get involved at the school through various organizations to help w/ networking & be active in the school's student association (GBANS). I am paying for my experience & I can't imagine myself attending another school. This school may not be for everyone but for someone who really thrives on building relationships & working together, it was the best choice for me. It's been a tough road so far, by no means was it "easy". But I am 10 months from graduating w/ my BSN degree & I am excited!! :) Good luck everyone! Don't give up hope.

I am taught at my nursing school to swab everything just so you get in the habit of doing it to every vial. They do tell us that new vials may not need swabbing but it never hurts to take extra precaution, right? So now, I swab every vial, new or old. Forget the people who tell you that it's unnecessary--it's better to be safe than sorry.

I added you to be Facebook friends. :) I just remembered that I made it so that I wasn't so easily searchable on Facebook so that's probably why you couldn't find me. Haha. Next year should definitely be easier to find funding. Unfortunately, I probably won't be taking any service-cancelable loans because I am planning to move out of Georgia to Illinois once I graduate. I was born and raised in Atlanta but I'm looking to be near my brother in Illinois to finally "settle down". I would love to get an externship next year though, especially in the summer. I'm also a certified nursing assistant so I can already search for jobs but since nursing school is around the corner, I opted to hold off on any jobs until I can figure out what to do in order to get through nursing school, lol.

Actually, I got my financial aid package from the school and unfortunately, it wasn't able to cover my entire tuition let alone any extra costs like books and fees. I'm looking into some private loans since I would like some money to pay for my books and stuff. I was offered pell grant, subsidized and unsubsidized stafford loans, and an extra $1000 for the entire school year. It put me at about $700 short of being able to pay my tuition every semester. Worse case scenario, my parents can help me pay the differences but I don't want to get them involved as they are financially struggling now. People have been telling me about Chase so I wanted to look into that. I also wanted to look into Wells Fargo since my family and I have been bankers with Wachovia for at least twenty years now. Keep me posted and I'll post what I hear from them. By the way, do you have Facebook? I'm under Helen Yi under the Georgia State University and Atlanta, GA networks. We can keep updated there too. I'm also going to the August 10th orientation. :) -Helen

Sadly, I have heard some admissions advisors werent as helpful and nice as others. I personally had an awesome advisor but a friend of mine who also is joining me this fall had a bad experience and she never really seemed to contact him. Maybe you two had the same advisor. Congrats on getting in though! However it takes to get to an RN license is all that should matter at this point. Worry about BSN later if you want to go to grad school. Plus, hospitals may help you when you want to bridge from RN-BSN so it may save you money in the long run. I'm going to be running a debt of about $15k per semester for 4 semesters lol

I agree, never underestimate the power of personal touch. I found this to be very helpful and they worked with me for an entire year as I kept filling them in about my status as I met my prerequisites.

there's a program in suwanee on lawrenceville-suwanee road and I-85. it's a 7 week course and the class is small (more student/professor communication) and it's run by an RN who has a heart for future health care workers. it meets 2 or 3 times a week for 2-3 hours per class. the cost was $1040 for the course, textbook, scrubs, and processing of license results. the extra fees i had to pay were the exam costs (but the license exam was at the same location as my course so i had home advantage with my skills) which everyone has to pay anyways to take the test. my professor really helped me and she understands where a lot of nursing-related students come from. she's very supportive and as long as you do your part as a student, she will have no problem with you and it'll be an awesome experience like it was for me. i am now an in-home caregiver in the Atlanta area with Senior Helpers but i am also a nursing student now. the place is called EK Medical Learning Center at (678)714-9620 and ask for Eurina. tell her that Helen sent you with great recommendations. :)

you know what they say... what goes around comes around that's my life/career/attitude motto and to treat others the way you would like to be treated which is with respect, understanding, and patience congrats on graduating and i'm glad to hear you at least learned what NOT to do as a nurse/preceptor

Unfortunately I live an hour away from Griffin. Thanks for the tidbit though. I actually got some job leads once I started looking into non-hospital jobs. I figure I'll take whatever place I can get my foot in first since I'll be getting experience at a hospital once I start nursing school in six months anyways.

Thanks for the reply! Your information was very helpful to me. I'll have to check out the travel nursing forum soon. Hopefully it's a career path for me to choose from. :)

I'm also a new CNA grad and will be starting nursing school in six months. I've been trying to find a job as a CNA for the past two months with no luck at hospitals. I really wanted to work in a hospital to familiarize myself with the environment but a job is now better than no job. I started inquiring about being a CNA and doing home care last night. I submitted a few applications and this morning, I just got a call from one of the places I applied. I'll be going to their information session tomorrow for more information. I don't have any clinical experience which is why I think I haven't been hired at hospitals and with this particular home caregiver organization, they sound willing to work with people who are just available. I was told that I could be paid $90 per day as a live-in CNA or get paid $9/hr and they will work with my schedule. I figure they would be willing to give me work for as many hours as I want or if there is overtime, perhaps I can find another similar home care agency to work two full-time jobs (I plan on working nights and/or weekends so I can still study when the patient/resident is sleeping). It's hard and frustrating not being able to find a hospital job (or any job for that reason) without any experience. More frustrating because how are we supposed to GET experience if no one will hire us? But there are places out there that are willing to take you even without experience. Just keep looking!

Thanks! I was accepted into Mercer's program last year but couldn't start because of various reasons. I reactivated my application for this year and got in again. I start next fall so I haven't started yet but I have friends who went/go there and they love it. They especially loved the environment and the way the professors are more "hands on" to help you if you're struggling. :)

I had a friend who seemed to be in a similar situation as you with Emory-Midtown (or was it CHOA, I forget). They seem to be very thorough with their job applicants... the reason it took so long for my friend was that they were actually calling/confirming with all of his references before the final decision. Turns out that for my friend, he wasn't hired for the job because one of his references (for some reason) didn't give them a good recommendation because of something my friend did (which my friend says was not true) so hopefully you put down reliable references who won't screw you over like they did my friend. I've also applied for PCT jobs but then I'm a new CNA grad with no clinical experience so no hospitals seem to want me. I'm good at what I do and was told by my CNA instructor (who is a RN) that I will be a great healthcare worker but that's hard for employers to realize about you when you're submitting applications online. I'm also beginning nursing school next fall so I'm not just a CNA for money. I'm very dedicated and hardworking. How much experience do you have, just out of curiosity? Good luck! :)