vermonster

Hi there! I did not graduate from the Regis Accelerated Program but I did finish the Binghamton University 12 month program in August. It is very, very busy but very doable if you don't work and devote yourself fulltime to school. Good luck. Katie

Hello All! I am five months pregnant. I too am wondering about the job search. I actually graduated last August, was married at the end of September and just passed the NCLEX last week. I have sent out some resumes but I wonder what my chances of being hired right now are. At the very least I am hoping that I can get a job set up for next September-I sort of feel bad about it because I feel like I will be a whole year behind the rest of my class but..oh well..I mean if someone wanted to hire me now I would take it but I understand the point about it being disruptive to the training. Anyone else have experience with this-let me know. Katie

Binghamton University (State University) in New York has a 12 month program that I finished last August. It now runs from May-May. Overall, I thought it was a great program, albeit quick and I believe that it does not require the GRE and I doubt the TOEFL for a British citizen-that is just too ironic. PM me with any questions.

I am not sure about how to actually get a job as a pyschiatric nurse but I do know that there are many accelerated BS programs for people who have a degree in another field, which would enable you to get become an RN. I went to Binghamton University in New York-PM me if you have any questions.

Sorry that it took me so long to respond. I actually am in an accelerated nursing program at SUNY Binghamton because Vermont did not have any accelerated programs. I am not sure how hard it is to get into UVM but I know that the LPN programs are pretty tough to get into. Overall, our public universitities don't have a lot of state funding because of our small population so they are largely funded at least UVM but out of state tuitions, which thankfully we have lots of kids from out of state wanting to go to UVM :)!! I will be moving back to Vermont in August so I will let you know about the job situation.

You could do an accelerated BSN, which I am in my last semester of doing. It is a nice compromise between the two. I also have a masters in another field but could not imagine going into a direct entry field. I had 10 years work experience prior to nursing school and entered thinking that I would eventually go on to become a nurse practioner at this point-now even just with clinical experience I doubt that will be the case. I think learning to be a floor nurse is so important. I used to be a teacher so I often make analogies to that field but I compare the direct entry programs to learning to become a principal of a school while never having been a teacher-it just does not make sense to me. Vermonster

There are also two hospitals that are closer than Burlington-Northwestern Medical Center in Saint Albans, Vermont and CVPH in Plattsburg, Vermont. I know that CVPH actually actively recruits Canadian nurses on their website. They just opened an open heart surgery unit. I think that CVPH would be an hour south of Montreal and Northwestern would be about an hour and a half south of Montreal. Vermonster

Carleigh- Hello. I just completed my first semester of an accelerated BSN program. Prior to this I was a high school/middle school science and math teacher for 12 years. It was definitely a scary decision to make the change but at least this far I think that it was a great change. So far it seems like good nursing involves a lot more teaching than I ever realized particularly areas like community health nursing. Also, as many other people have said the options for employment are amazing and to be honest I think that was really the catalyst for me; I just could not imagine teaching 7th and 8th grade for 20 more years at the same school-many people do this but I just knew that I needed a career that had more options. And ..I really did look at many health care careers, pt, speech language pathology, PA but ultimately nursing held the greatest number of options. Good luck with everything. It is definitely hard to leave the paycheck but if you can find an accelerated program then you could be done in a year plus and back on the payroll. Vermonster

I just started an accelerated program in August-I have been on all nurses for awhile but had not seen these posts until today-they are awesome and let me know what is still to come. I bet you are doing a phenomal job. Katie (who sometimes wonders why she decided to change careers and go to nursing school but who is mainly fascinated by it all and excited for semester 2)

Phoenix is huge-I think it is number 5 in terms of metro population. I lived there in Scottsdale for 6 years and it is great if you like strip malls, strip malls and more strip malls. I am back in New England and despite the high cost of living the seasons and the people make it all good. Vermonster

I agree with Cowup Girl-I worked almost every night as a teacher. My friends and I would often say that in teaching you write the play, you direct the play, and you clean up after the play each and every day. I think it is misleading because even though teachers may not look like they are working nights-if they are are dedicated at all they are probably grading papers on nights and weekends. I think that is a lot of guilt in teaching as well-like people feeling like they have to do more and more for the kids but I think it is really easy to forget about your needs or your families needs.

Well...your post brings up an interesting debate here in Vermont. I am a Vermont resident but leaving in August to go to Binghamton University for an accelerated program. Housing and and taxes in Vermont certainly are costly. Southern Vermont in particular has a lot of second homes and people who may have moved in from other states with considerable means-this has definitely caused contention in lots of areas with those people who were born here and have lived in Vermont all of their lives. I am in an interesting situation as I grew up on a farm in Northern Vermont-lived in England, California, Arizona and Massachusetts for 13 years and then moved back, so I can see the situation through lots of lenses. Althought the property taxes are high-I can also tell you the schools are good-much better than in Arizona and California-for the most part you will go low class sizes and you will know your child's teacher. Fletcher Allen in Burlington starts new grads at 20.87 without differential-my local community hospital starts at 18.57ish-it is located in Saint Albans-about 28 miles north of Burlington. I will say this that even though I am leaving for a year, I will be back-eventually, I would like to have kids and this is where I would like them to grow up. Feel free to PM with any questions. Vermonster

Well...your post brings up an interesting debate here in Vermont. I am a Vermont resident but leaving in August to go to Binghamton University for an accelerated program. Housing and and taxes in Vermont certainly are costly. Southern Vermont in particular has a lot of second homes and people who may have moved in from other states with considerable means-this has definitely caused contention in lots of areas with those people who were born here and have lived in Vermont all of their lives. I am in an interesting situation as I grew up on a farm in Northern Vermont-lived in England, California, Arizona and Massachusetts for 13 years and then moved back, so I can see the situation through lots of lenses. Althought the property taxes are high-I can also tell you the schools are good-much better than in Arizona and California-for the most part you will go low class sizes and you will know your child's teacher. Fletcher Allen in Burlington starts new grads at 20.87 without differential-my local community hospital starts at 18.57ish-it is located in Saint Albans-about 28 miles north of Burlington. I will say this that even though I am leaving for a year, I will be back-eventually, I would like to have kids and this is where I would like them to grow up. Feel free to PM with any questions. Vermonster

Your post was hilarious-we live in Franklin County, Vermont. We often joke that instead of a show called the OC, we want to do one called the FC and try to show America many of the things in your post. Vermonster

Hello! I cannot answer from the perspective of someone who has already made the change from teacher to nurse, but I am in the same situation as you as I just finished my 11th year of teaching a week ago. I will enter an accelerated BSN program in August. I think that nursing is still very stressful but as you, I also look forward to multiple opportunities and not the thought of teaching in the same classroom for 30 years. So... here it goes. Good luck and do know that others understand the reason for your change from teaching to nursing. Vermonster

I also checked out the Plattsburg SUNY option because the University of Vermont wanted essentially 3 years because they only take their own Anatomy and Physiology and other very specific requirements. So..since Plattsburg is just across Lake Champlain I went to check it out last September. It definitely has the image of being the ugly stepsister to Burlington, Vermont BUT I was really surprised and liked the campus a lot. The nursing department was in a very cool older building. If I had not been able to do an accelerated program then I most likely would have taken the ferry to go to Plattsburg. Vermonster

Hey all! It is great to see other people who will be in the Binghamton Accelerated Program. I have been somewhat sad but full of anticipation as I finish my last year of teaching to start the program in the fall. I will be moving from Burlington, Vermont. If anyone has any tips for apartments-please let me know. I spoke to someone from a community close to school but the apartment was really small, so I am looking still. I have only been to Binghamton twice-it will be very different from where I currently live but I think that the program is so intense I might not notice it too much. Please feel free to PM with any tips you might have about apartments or the program or whatever. Katie

Wow! Great to hear that so many people will be in the microbiology class! I just finished all of the registration stuff for the class last week. I am in a weird situation because I am taking the Excelsior College exam for both Microbiology and Human Growth and Development fairly soon. I have taken most of my other missing prereqs at the Community College of Vermont but if I do not pass the Excelsior College exams, which is a total gamble since I have not exactly spent a lot of time studying, I had to have a backup plan. I have done online classes before and not being particularly disciplined, I saved most of my work until the weekend. However, in the summer I wanted to be able to travel a bit before I started the craziness of full time school in the fall, and online seemed more flexible. Nurse Diva-you rock with being able to take all of those classes and work full time. I barely survived A and P II and working. As I really would rather not take any classes this summer..anyone have any tips for the Excelsior College exams? I cannot believe that I did this but I bought a CD of notes from Ebay for the micro exam..it is again a gamble but with the time crunch anything may help. Happy Mother's Day! Vermonster

I did apply to Drexel but actually have not heard back yet...I keep meaning to call them but was accepted to my first choice but I still am curious. I applied then had not heard anything-then called and my application was marked incomplete because my references were not in-well, supposedly for the ACE program you do not need references. They then checked me off as complete but have not heard a thing. They seem kind of disorganized to me.. Vermonster

I do not think that people were implying that they would less of you but rather that they may think less of your clinical capability IF there was not prior bedside nursing experience. I am speaking from the viewpoint of someone who researched accelerated BSN versus Direct-entry programs and who ultimately made the decision to do the accelerated BSN because it fit my personal circumstances. For myself, one of the biggest factors was geography-it sounds like both of you are planning on going to school in So Cal which I assume you already live. My state, Vermont, unfortunately does not have any accelerated BSN programs or Direct entry MSN programs. So..for myself I could go to Binghamton New York and do the one year accelerated program and then come back to Vermont and eventually do a MSN at the University of Vermont in two years if that is what I decided to do, which it seemed like was the same total amount of time in school as the Direct-Entry MSN programs-aren't most of them three years???? Good luck and I hope you both find a good fit for a school. I know that I am starting in the fall-a big change from being a middle and high school teacher and am excited. Vermonster

I, too, am looking for Chancellors Study Guides for Microbiology and Lifespan Developmental Psychology. I do have the content guides and textbooks borrowed from friends who have actually taken the classes. The head of my program suggested that I try to test out of them through Excelsior College ( I will be doing an accelerated BSN program in the fall) but I am in a time crunch. Summer session starts late May-mid June, so I need to take both of these exams before then to know whether or not I passed and whether or not I need to take summer session. From what I have read on allnurses-it seems like the Chancellors are the most streamlined. I went on ebay last night and nothing came up when I typed in Chancellors Study Guides. Any other suggestions on the other study guides and/or places to get them used?

Are you taking it this summer-I think that is when the next course begins? How much is the base tuition? I am thinking of taking it online as well for the flexibility during the summer but I am sort of waiting to see if our local community college offers it? Would anyone with experience taking micro or human growth and development at CCConline PM me please?

What is an integrated course load?

I am new, and am thinking of entering nursing school. It is very important to me to be able to have time with my future kids. What is a Baylor nursing job? Vermonster

Hey! I am a Vermont native, who moved away for over 10 years-England, Arizona, California-and then moved back a bit over two years ago. I do not work in the nursing field-yet-but I can tell you that Burlington is a very cool, laid-back place to live as a 30 something. People here are very real, which was a change from some of the other areas I have lived in. PM me if you want any specifics about living here.