LetUrLightShineRN

Mama bear I think I did not make my point clearly, I believe that grades should not be the only determining factor in the selection process for nursing school. I have met many "hardcore academic" know it alls who are not getting into the profession because they are team players, or sincerely compassionate. Nursing isn't defined by how you perform on an exam, it's thinking on your feet during stressful situations, it's steeling yourself in the face of watching a family member determine that it's time to withdraw care and say goodbye, it's working 12 hour shifts and then having to spend another 2 tedious hours charting, it's dealing with hospital bureaucracy, it's adapting to constant change, new techniques, best practices, software, policies, management, it's being an advocate for your patient even if that means challenging a doctor or a peer. They don't teach us very much about this in nursing school some of it is innate within us, some of it is learned only through experience. The schools that only look at GPA are doing a disservice to the profession. That being said I feel that we all should be held to the highest standard and expect excellence from ourselves and each other through nursing school and throughout our careers. I am not smug, but I am proud to be in nursing school knowing that I worked very hard to earn the right to be here. As someone who returned to school at 32 with a history of struggling in remedial math and crappy study habits in college at 18, I was honestly fearful that I wouldn't be able to do it. I had to check my ego at the door and just give it 100% and hope it was good enough. I feel that most people don't make the sacrifices in time to dedicate to studying and this is why they don't get As. I don't think I'm smarter than everyone else I was just lucky enough to have the support of my family, and I made studying my number one priority because I want to be a nurse and I will do what it takes. I wish all of the students applying to nursing school the best of luck and hope you succeed in achieving your dreams:)

I am so excited to start the program I a few weeks! My GPA is 3.9 in the prereqs and I took all of the support coursework and classes needed for the BSN such as sociology, nutrition, and lifespan psychology before entering the program. I'm really happy I did it that way because now I can just focus on the nursing classes. I worked really hard for two years and now my dream is coming true! I wish you all the best as you pursue this dream too. Stay positive, keep your eye on the ball, avoid the naysayers, and don't let anything stop you! It's such a good feeling to be at this point (little scary too) but I can't wait to do this. :heartbeat:nurse:

I have spent a lot of time thinking about the process of becoming a nurse ie.) pre-reqs, entrance exams, specific requirements such as becoming a licensed certified nursing assistant, etc. An argument can be made to support the claim that grades are not an accurate predictor of the kind of nurse the student will become. For example a parent who must work and care for their family while attending school is going to have less available time to study which will likely impact their grades, but this person is very diligent, caring, smart, and is a team player. And then on the other hand a different student might have the lucky fortune of not having to work during school and focuses their time to their studies and maintains a 4.0 gap but this student wants to be a nurse for the money and does not really enjoy working with people. That being said, I want the best and brightest to be caring for me, for my family. I don't want a surgeon who made a b average in school I want the smartest and most skilled surgeon. Same goes for nurses, we save lives. I want to really know and understand the material I am learning in school because soon it will be a matter of life or death for another human being. It is very realistic to expect an a average in the prereq classes to determine how hard a student is prepared to work to become the best nurse they can be. The "sciences matter" very much they are the foundation of medicine and if you want to be a nurse you need to be solid not just cutting it. We have to make sacrifices, I have friends who are really torn because they miss their children, I have turned down countless social invitations, missed birthdays, holidays, football games because I needed to study. We had to create a budget to deal with our decreased income when I quit my job to go back to school. It's about working hard and sacrificing. I've never seen anyone who REALLY wants to be a nurse fail.

I'm in Kamanga CNA school in Tacoma and I love it. It is three weeks long and goes from 9am-3pm M-F but they have night classes, part time classes, and weekend only classes with different schedules. For $550 I got my book and all the materials I need, they send the paperwork in for my NAR and we got CPR/First Aid and HIV Blood borne pathogen certification done last week. We're doing our clinicals in a nursing home in Gig Harbor all next week. I am very confidant about taking the board exam. I've made some great friends and good job contacts with other Nursing students from Pierce College, Walla Walla College, UW, PLU, TCC, Highline, and OC. It has been a really good experience and I would recommend this school to any of my pre-nursing friends. I have recommended it actually! One note: they only take 20 people per class and it fills up fast. I put a deposit down as soon as I knew which class I wanted. Also you can't miss any class so make sure it works with your schedule so you don't waste your time and $$$. Attendance is mandatory. Lastly, you will have to go home and do self study it's pretty fast and they cover a lot in three weeks. We had a take home test the first night and every night for a week and a half. Don't sign up if you can't make the commitment. Good luck!:)

When people criticize one another for having less than "pure" motivations for wanting to become a nurse I laugh!!! Everybody has the right to go to school, put in the time, the effort, and the money to get into and finish nursing school. Whether they do this to fulfill some lifelong dream of being Nurse Nightingale or whether they just want a secure income is really none of my business. If they make the grades and get into school they are going to come out and compete with you for a job. Get over it. This holier than thou attitude is ridiculous and only demonstrates insecurity about one's own ability.

My own Cellular Biology Professor said that the subjects of Microbiology and Anatomy & Physiology 1 & 2 are not related enough for the sequence of Micro before or after A&P to matter. She said it's better to take A&P back to back. The schools that I'm applying to calculate A&P grades but not the grade for Micro so it's definitely in my best interest to take that one at a time and with the best possible instructor. I'm taking Micro this summer and finishing up A&P this Fall and Winter then I'll be done. Yayyyyyyy!

Well, that's fair. You are being honest. I respect that. But I must admit you don't exactly extend a warm welcome with your words and neither does Lisa from Maui or a lot of other posters. I guess I don't really understand what is wrong with moving somewhere for only a short time (2 years) I have always said I'd like to live in NYC but could only really see myself doing that for a couple of years max. I've said I'd like to live abroad, but I think I would eventually move back to the states. I've said I'd like to live in a climate that is more favorable to wearing shorts and flip flops than Seattle ( Maui or San Diego) But I might only do it for a couple of years before I became homesick for the beautiful Mountains of Washington, or I might decide to live in Colorado, or Virginia....The point is why would someone living in Hawaii CARE if people move there and leave unless they're at least a little bit uncomfortable with outsiders moving in on their turf? Your statements suggest that people come with the absolute goal of remaining there for life and then they crack under the pressure of island fever or sky high grocery bills, or unemployment rates, whatever. Maybe they never intended to stay for life. What business is it of you or me or anyone else? It just seems a little bitter. If I'm wrong I apologize but that is how it comes across.

i wasn't surprised in the least to see this thread was filled with warnings to the mainlanders about the pitfalls and enormous obstacles of relocating, living, and working in hawaii. the thinly veiled attempts to discourage others from moving there by people who moved there less than a year prior is funny. i think that maybe you don't really want people to move in on your turf, and that you're not really too concerned with what their hopes and dreams are. i would never let an anonymous poster on a message board influence my reality. if it's so bad lisa, why did you move there and why don't you move back to the mainland? lol.

Every program is different. I would start with narrowing down the schools you want to apply to. Some charge an application fee, some are free to apply. Some accept Nurses for Fall, Winter, Spring some only admit annually. Personally, I looked at all the school's NCLEX pass rates to help me prioritize. All programs in the state are very competitive. You'll need to have solid GPAs like 3.8 cumulative in College Composition/Eng101, Inorganic Chem121, OrganicChem131, Cell Biology160, Anatomy&Physiology 1&2 or 1,2&3, and Microbiology241. Shoreline requires that you are are a Registered CNA. They also require 200 hours of CNA experience with a maximum of 2 employers. Bellevue CC requires Statistics and College Algebra. Some schools require Nutrition and Medical Terminology. Some give extra points but don't require these. If you're just doing your Associate's Degree in Nursing, just make sure you have a solid GPA in Eng101, Inorganic Chem, College Algebra, and Anatomy and Physiology. Check out: Clark CC Shoreline CC Bellevue CC Everett CC Tacoma CC Highline CC

Well I suppose this response if for Petunia2016 and Lisa from Maui, but I hope it reaches others too. I am not a native to Hawaii. My ancestry is not so well known but my maternal Grandfather was of Irish descent, my maternal Grandmother had Cherokee blood, and Swedish. My paternal Grandparents were full Filipino. I was born in Kodiak, Alaska. I live in Washington, USA. I have light skin, dark blonde hair, and blue eyes. What does that make me? How do you define me? Does that make me a "White Man"? Part of the system that corrupts pure, honest, indigenous cultures, and starts wars, and pollutes the air and ocean? I can assure you, that if you knew me, you would not dismiss me as an ignorant, white man who lacks empathy. I have found that it's easy to cast stones, but it's difficult to completely remove yourself from the "system" when you do things like, for instance shop at any big chain store, where most of the products are imported from the 3rd world or countries that use sweatshops and child labor. You can't really remove yourself from the system when you ride around in vehicles that burn fossil fuels into the ozone, the same ones that the US is fighting over in Iraq and Afghanistan. I don't think I really need to clarify why I used the word ethnocentric. Let me just say that when I was in Maui last year, I definitely got a sense that some of the history and culture is being eroded by corporations and tourism. I read that the "Superferry" is going to have detrimental effects on the less populated islands such as Kauai which until now have been out of reach for many tourists. I sympathize with Hawaiians about those Cruise ships. We in the Puget Sound are bombarded with 6 Cruise ships at any given time for the entire summer, it's destroying the delicate ecosystem of our beautiful Puget Sound and as you've pointed out Petunia, it seems that nobody cares-or at least the ones who do are not powerful enough to make an impact. When I was in Maui, I was told by one of the Natives, an artist who carves for a living, that the water supply from one side of the island is being leached by sugar cane crop corporations who use slash and burn which sends black smoke smoldering in the air for days and leaves the waterfalls in Hana to dry up. I'm sure real estate is very elite. I know that the land was sacred and now there are Westins, and Ritz Carlton's on that sacred land. It is very sad to me. But on the other hand, tourism provides most of the employment on the islands. Hawaii IS special, it's culture is beautiful. But this situation isn't unique at all. Historically it is the nature of Humans to find these special untapped places, and tap them. They call it progress, but for those of us who find wholesome nature, and history much more beautiful than a five star hotel, or a giant shopping mall, or a Starbucks on every corner, this is anything but progress. But this is all even a more compelling reason for you intelligent, strong, passionate women to really listen to what I'm saying. The chip on the shoulder routine is not going to get you anywhere. Resentment is useless. What you focus on expands. Focus on what you want not what you fear or hate. I hope you all get jobs and can work where you choose but if it doesn't happen right away, I hope you will have the foresight to do what it takes and move if you have to, temporarily. And I hope you go back home as soon as you can with loads of experience, and a little less narrowed world view. Maybe the "culture shock" of leaving your homeland for a while will serve you well. When you are successful, start a Co-op and pool as much money together as you can and buy up as much land as you can and preserve it. If you don't, if noone does, there's no doubt that Walmart, and Starbucks, and Hilton are going to take over. I hope that doesn't happen. I really wish you all peace, and open mindedness, and good fortune in all of your endeavors.

I took Inorganic Chem with Dr. Billy Flowers. Highly recommend him! I got a 3.8 but I only took it once. Many in the class were forced to take it more than once to earn a high enough grade. I'm almost done with Organic Chem (also took this from Billy) I hope to have close to a 4.0 but we'll see after the final. I will apply this time next year. I still have A&P 1&2 and Micro...

Well don't give up. You never know!!! Question: is your 3.2 GPA your cumulative or is that the cumulative of the courses that are used to give you your "factor points"? If you don't know what I mean, the only courses OC uses to calculate your factor points are English 101, Inorganic Chemisty 121, Anatomy and Physiology 1. A&P 2 and Micro earn you points for completion but the GPA isn't factored in unless the program requires a tie breaker. Tie breakers work in steps so the first tiebreaker is the cumulative in all 6 pre-reqs. The 2nd tiebreaker is the number of support classes, the 3rd is cumulative in support classes, etc....It usually doesn't get this far. Basically if you have a 3.9-4.0 in the first 3 pre reqs you stand a chance. If you don't get in you must wait a year for the next annual application deadline and reapply. When you reapply you automatically earn a "Rollover Point" this is ofter the point that pushes you ahead and you're accepted in the program. If you don't get in you can retake the some classes to make yourself more competitive. I wish you the best of luck : )

Lisa From Maui: Yes, I think that I made myself clear that I'm a resident in Washington State and that I am currently competing with literally thousands of students for the coveted few spots open at nursing schools across the state. As a matter of fact my husband and I have already made the decision in advance that we will move if necessary to allow me to attend the first school that accepts me. I intend to apply at every school that has a high NCLEX pass rate. My local community college is where I currently own a home and my husband owns a business. It is going to be difficult and disruptive to pick up and move if I am not accepted into the local program. That is one of the challenges I will face and overcome one way or another. Feeling bitter because programs on "the islands" or employers on "the islands" pick the top performers, the most qualified candidates, well that just suggests that you don't understand the reality of competition, and maybe you aren't willing to do what it takes but would rather project a sense of helplessness, or resentment towards your competition. I have visited Maui, Oahu, and the Big Island. I love it there! Just because I wasn't born there doesn't mean that I should not have the same right to move there and enjoy it too. But unlike some on your thread, I will not sit back in my state complaining that others are taking up all the jobs, etc. I will go where ever I have to (even if that means Canada for less pay) and pay my dues.

Congratulations on finishing your prereqs and good luck on your application!!! I have a friend and know a couple of others who are applying right after this quarter (finishing up Micro, and A&P 2) so I'm waiting to hear how the process works from them. BUT, according to one of my professors and many through the grapevine at OC you need the "rollover" point to get in. Even with a very high GPA such as 3.9 cumulative. I don't know or sure but I suspect it really is pretty close to that. I went to an info session with Susan Harris in August and she said that the lowest GPA for Fall 2009 was around 3.8 and she said it goes up a little bit each new year. Did you do your prereqs at OC too?

What is NOT COOL is your attitude. I realize that people tend to get very territorial and even hostile in desperate economical times. I too, feel the heat as I am preparing for nursing school. I wonder if I will get in to a solid school, if I will be well prepared, if I will have clinicals with good nurses who care and want to help me be better, I wonder how the job market is going to be when I get out. The picture in Washington state looks like this: Every school has more applicants with perfect GPAs in all prerequisite classes than they can accommodate. 3.7-4.0 GPA in Chem 121, Chem 131, Anatomy, Physiology, Eng 101, and Microbiology. Some now require Statistics, Lifespan Psych, Intercultural Communications, Nutrition, and Medical Terminology before you can apply, some require Certified Nursing Assistant Licensing and 200 hours of work or volunteer work. Beyond that some still have 1-2 year waiting lists. It's COMPETITIVE. You have to be the best. Guess what? I am going to have to move if I can't find a job in Washington State when I get out. I'm competing with Nurses from Canada who can come to the US and make twice as much as they made in Canada. But I would never expect that hospitals in Washington State should only hire "residents" the way you seem to think Hawaii should. That's ridiculous and just demonstrates how ethnocentric and threatened you are. People who weren't born in Hawaii still have every right to move there and compete for jobs there and the people in Hawaii who can't get jobs are no different than people in any other state who can't get jobs. They may have to relocate just like the rest of us.