GrayMatter

I agree it's frustrating! I don't know why the delay, but it seems like it was forever ago that I applied. Obviously they have ranked everyone since they have sent out offical rankings and filled all the 1105 classes- I'm wondering also why it's taking so long LOL... Anyway good luck, I hope you get in and have an excellent move to TX! :nuke:

How detailed is your prof wanting you to get? My bs is micro/chemistry and I have taught this before, though only to high school students and not in a university setting. I like animations, but they can get wordy and kindof overwhelming if it's all new (I don't know your background so not sure if any of it is familiar to you or not.) I suggest pausing them at each step and make a flowchart with very brief descriptions of each step. Since the kreb's cycle is only really one step of aerobic cellular respiration, I would suggest making a flowchart of the entire thing- my HS students would often get so focused and concerned about the lengthy names of the reactants and products they lost sight of important facts: 3 steps: 1. glycolysis occurs in the cytoplasm whether O2 is present or not; splits glucose and produces pyruvate, ATP, NADH2 2. krebs cycle occurs in the mitochondria when O2 is present; takes the pyruvate and produces 6CO2, ATP, NADH2, FADH 3. electron transport occurs in mitochondrial membrane; is basically transferring electrons from one molecule to another...this produces a proton (H+) gradient and eventually kinetic energy to be transferred to ATP; NAD and FAD are electron transport molecules. I don't know how detailed your professor wants you to get though IMO memorization of every single step of any of these cycles would be beyond the scope of an intro. micro course so hopefully that's not what you have to learn! Animations and flowcharts of your own are the best way to cover the information. Good luck!! :)

If you literally have a professor sitting and literally not doing anything, why not record this and take it to the dean (assuming the dean will care)? Small recorder, video setting on camera hidden, etc......YOUR tuition pays for this and if a prof sits at her desk twiddling her thumbs while students are on Facebook you are wasting your money and time as is every other student that is paying (and if this is a state university or community college, so are the tax payers....) Not to mention, getting a C is the least of your worries- what your class learns (more importantly DOES NOT learn) in Anatomy I could seriously impact your success in nursing school and beyond. I will say that I don't personally think a class avg of 67 is really all that bad, it's almost passing & for a teacher that doesn't teach and students who sit on FB all class period or don't show up IMO that's not so bad, depending on how difficult the questions are. Crummy situation, best of luck...

Try not to focus on what you can't change. I'm 36 and totally starting over! It will be ok, in the long run one semester won't make ANY difference in the grand scheme of your life. It will be OK!! I like the advice RE online- also some do labs "online" buy your purchasing labpaq and doing labs on your own. Just a thought! Don't worry, you'll get there!

Just google Laredo drug war or McAllen drug war. I'm a Tx native and imo the border is nowhere to live, it's hostile, lots of drug activity trying to get drugs from Mexico into the states. Kidnappings, shootings, you name it and lots of corruption from both US customs and Mexican agents. If you want to live in Texas find somewhere away from the Laredo or McAllen area. Just my

Organic chemistry is the chemistry of organic carbon compounds which covers almost all carbon compounds except for a few inorganic ones- a traditional 8 hour year long course will cover alkanes, alkenes, alkynes (hydrocarbons) and functional groups, alcohols and ethers, amines, carbonyl compounds, the reactions of these, lots of memorization of these structures. It would absolutely NOT use the same text as intro to chem as it's just too involved. If your course is a single semester class I'm not sure what it would cover unless it covers some basics of organic, biochem, metabolism and large molecule structures and function like proteins, carbs, lipids and the function of these in the body (like enzymes for ex.) Anyway, good luck! Organic chem is very interesting!

What sort of work did you do in the hospital lab? I have a BS in micro, and thought about MLT at a local comm college or 2nd degree MT program from the university I got my BS from. I worked in a lab for the USDA as a microbiologist and lab work is interesting, but unless it's research it really does get repetitious. MLT where I live pays $15-17/hr, MT I think is about in line w/what a new nurse makes, but there aren't a lot of career growth options other than lab supervisor. I've also talked to some pretty disgruntled MT's feeling that they are drastically underpaid and not respected in general, in spite of how difficult the programs are. Anyway, I think nursing has a lot more options for those who are interested in the lab aspect while not being locked in the lab- infection control, research, public health, etc.... But ultimately you have to do what makes you the happiest. Good luck! :)

They are preserved, to me this is so much easier than what I suspect I will face as a nurse. No blood, no goo, no odor other than the preservative..... I'm a biology teacher, you will get through this and be just fine. It's not nearly as bad as you think it will be and you will learn A LOT. If you think you can't handle it, take the class in person so you can find a lab partner that likes to cut- never been at a school that had enough funds to purchase preserved specimens for each student. Good luck!

I guess competitive is relative, ACC seems easier to get into than other schools to me- since they only take gpa, hesi score, and # of courses taken into consideration when applying and the additional points added after each time you apply seems to me anyone meeting the minimum guidelines will at some point get into the school. Whether ACC is moving their RN program to RR haven't heard that before! Perhaps they will once Texas State opens their program? Would be a bummer for me since I live in SW Austin LOL... Just under construction is the Hill Country University Center near Fredericksburg which will house ACC, Texas Tech, Angelo State, and Concordia. Whether any of them will offer nursing programs there I don't know.

Have you ever been to Austin? Check it out...might be a good fit Austin comm college is $54/ hour for in district & $300/hour out of state. There's also UT Nursing which is excellent & Texas State University in San Marcos will have a bsn program within the year. Good luck!

Is out of state an option for you? I am not from CA, but the school I have applied to does not have a wait list (well each time you apply you receive bonus points which gives you a bit of a boost and improves your odds of getting in.) So they don't keep an official waitlist as you apply every semester that you don't get in, but your odds go up of getting in since you gain re-application points. My only other advice is to have a backup plan maybe consider other healthcare fields to improve your odds that you can for sure get into something healthcare related you might enjoy? Anyway I'm sorry, I know things are really tough in CA right now. Good luck to you.

If you want to work with kids and also be a nurse, perhaps being a school nurse would be an option? Or maybe teaching health education or something? I am a science teacher and hope to start nursing school in sp 2010. I used to love being a teacher, but now instead of just teaching science in a relevant and hands on way, I find myself teaching to a state mandated multiple choice test with bureaucrats breathing down my neck....I am 36 so I totally understand being 30 something trying to figure out what you want to be. Don't worry it will come to you.

My advice is to not underestimate the benefit of a little memorization- when your teacher writes Fe on the board you need to know it's iron without spending a second thinking about it. Make sure you understand the periodic table what the groups are and why they are grouped together as it will make your life much easier in the longrun. Try to visualize it in your head and definitely do assigned homework. Try not to get stuck on pictures put into books, atoms don't look anything like a stupid 2D drawing, picture everything in your head as they really are- as 3D structures. Intro chem wasn't my favorite, but it lays down the foundation for much more interesting topics like organic chem or biochem. Anyway, good luck!

I think some of this will depend on several things- how well you did in AP1, your overall science knowledge, your desire to overcome your addiction, and your commitment to studying. Some of it depends on how difficult and in depth the courses are at your school. I once took a sophomore level human physiology that was as hard as a gradute level biochem course I took LOL...but also took an AP2 course (technically the equivilent of the physiology) that seemed extremely easy. So there's just a lot of variation- how good are you generally at science? I don't know anything about the TEAS, how in depth is the science on the test? As far as seeing people pass away, I think it's hard for anyone. I am not a nurse, but hoping I will be able to deal with it. I took care of my mom at home during her last few weeks of life and she passed away in my arms. It was the hardest thing I've ever experienced, but I felt blessed as well....to be able to hold and give comfort and express my love and gratitude to the beautiful woman who gave me life as she took her last breaths.....inexplainable. Death is part of the cycle, I'm not sure how I"ll deal with it either, but life is messy and sometimes death is too. I figure it's something I'll need to learn how to cope with. Best of luck to you!!

I completely understand...if I get through the program I want to get into I'll be 39 when I graduate and will still want to do an RN-MSN program after. It's daunting starting over (I was accepted into nursing school when I was 21 and sometimes kicking myself for choosing a different career path back then...) But I remind myself that it will happen again and 50 is the new 40 :) Hang in there, no need to stress yourself out and rush through...you'll get there!

I think what throws people off is that so much seems completely foreign at first- some of it is the organism names like psuedomonas aeruginosa or group a beta hemolytic streptococcus and so on..... But I used to teach micro labs (my bs is micro now trying to go to nursing school) and IMO you will do GREAT having taken chemistry and A&P! Does your class involve identification of an unknown? If so it's not as hard as it sounds if you use a flowchart. I have always thought Anatomy was much harder and you've already aced that. Relax and have fun, intro micro isn't that bad and the labs are different and a lot of fun and extremely hands on which is what I love the most about the topic in general....don't worry you'll do fine!:)

You can do it!!! I am 36 with two kiddos and I went back to school last fall. It is a big adjustment but I don't regret doing it at all. Just remember to take time for yourself to come up and breathe. I just discovered this place too and also feel it's been great to read about others with kids or hectic family life going back to school...this is a great forum! :)

I am not a nurse, either, but doing my best to understand why we take the courses we take and how they apply to what nurses actually do. I know a floor nurse won't diagnose the c.dif, but will use precautions to avoid spreading the c.dif. Gloves, masks, gown, etc.....Knowing why any and all of these precautions are used is an essential to every day nursing. If you take micro not only do you learn what clostridium difficile is you learn what is used to treat it, symptoms to look for in a patient that might have it or be resistant to meds and how to avoid spreading it yourself. As far as viruses go....most intro micro courses cover aspects of immunology, T4 helpers, CD4 counts, etc etc etc....so if you have an HIV+ pt on HAART knowing why an antiretroviral drug is used is is kindof important imo when answering patients questions about their lab results and educating them about their treatment in general. I suspect nurses step up to the plate a whole lot in this regard and ought to have at least the minimum of information on what is making their patient sick. Nurses swab my kids throats and walk back and perfom a rapid strep test right in the office. I certainly hope they took micro and know what s.pyogenes is and why it's important to follow that lab up with a culture even if the Dr. got busy and forgot to mention to follow up...I also hope a nurse treating necrotizing fasciitis knows what a Group A hemolytic strep or MRSA is since she's treating a patient that could die from it and IMO that nurse better know a bit about how it's spread since it's kinda important to avoid sharing the love with everyone else. Getting stuck with a dirty sharp would be no worse than getting bitten by a poisonless snake if it weren't for the microbes we try to avoid, so knowing potential contaminants in blood is pretty important since I've never seen a nurse toss a used syringe into a sink or bedside trashcan. As the last advocate standing between a patient and the business end of a sharp needle I want to know what's in a syringe and why I am giving it regardless of who ordered it before I push it into a living, breathing human being. I hope that is specific enough, otherwise I just don't know how to answer the question....

Congrats!!!

When I took organic it was quite a bit more time spent in the lab than general chem and thought it required a bit more study time just b/c there is a fair amt of memorization but I really liked it. I'm no math whiz and I thought stats was not that difficult. Seems like a doable schedule to me. Good luck!

I have a bs in micro and I'm pretty sure a patient with c. dif would feel it's pretty relevant to every day nursing lol...anyway I'm interested in public health and infection control so it's certainly important from my perspective... :)

I bought a HESI study guide off amazon (not sure if it's the same one being discussed here) before I took the test this summer and found multiple errors so if something seems wrong it probably is lol.... But it was a very good guide for the general layout of the exam especially the math. Also, I thought the test was a lot easier than the study guide! :)

I would say even if it's not required, take it with A&P as it will only enhance your understanding of the material. We use the unique function of every chemical reaction in our bodies to control the flow of energy through our bodies- in order to maintain life. IMO understanding how this works via some basic chemistry is an essential component of human physiology. It will also help with micro if you haven't taken that yet....:) Good luck!

Hi txredheadnurse!! I am hoping to start ACC spring 2010....BIG career change for me and hoping I handle it all with kids and family life. I start an intro to nursing class this month as a pre-req for nursing school- very excited but nervous as well LOL....

What wonderful advice you have received! I'm in a similar (somewhat!) situation. I have a bs in microbiology/chemistry, but I am a non-traditional student & have children and a very busy homelife. I have been told that the alternative/accelerated programs are very intense and w/o having ever worked or volunteered in a hospital I'm not sure if I would be up to the task. I might feel different if I had some clinical experience, but as it stands I hope to start ADN spring 2010 followed by RN-MSN. To my way of thinking while accelerated might shave some time off, it's not like in the grand scheme of my life I'll look back and regret not graduating a few months earlier. So IMO it's just best to take the route that leaves you the most sane. :wink2: Best of luck to you!!