txscrubs1

mlh0283, I can't send PM's because I haven't made enough posts on here yet. Feel free to ask me your questions on here and I'll get back to you ASAP.

mlh0183, I am from DFW and did exactly that. The way the clinicals are set up you have a certain degree of freedom. It's not like a traditional program where your clinical days are set in stone. You will need to work with your coach 2 shifts per week (12 hr) and you will have to schedule them according to your coaches work schedule. I would always try (as possible) to schedule back to back days, then head back to DFW for rest of week. Coaches usually have their hospital schedules set up for a month in advance so I always signed up for a month at a time. For specific clinicals such as Peds, OB, Mental Health, you need to plan to spend the whole week in town for each because you will have clinicals every day for that week. When I went through the recent program, we had online tests but they were all proctored in-person at the Health Sciences Center in Abilene. However, they were working on making all tests available to take from your home. So in my case, I ended up getting a cheap apartment in Abilene, in case I had to stay for more than a couple days at a time. And when I did the math, it was cheaper to have a $500/mo apartment than to pay for a hotel for multiple days a month. And it was always there waiting for you so it didn't feel like I was living out of a suitcase. Let me know if you have any other questions. It's definitely doable!

Im sure you did great in your interview. It's definitely doable! Good luck to you.

mell260, I got your message, but since I haven't made 10 postings yet, it wont let me reply to you by private message. Sorry.

Cowboy, You can expect to start applying for jobs about 3 months prior to graduating, so in May for Abilene. I'm in the DFW area now and had a job lined up about 2 1/2 months before I graduated. Our entire class got jobs right out of school and the ones who stayed in Abilene got jobs at our clinical site.

Hello all, I recently graduated from the Texas Tech 2nd degree program. I was at the Abilene location and it is a very demanding program, but to prepare you to finish in 12 months it has to be. The reason they don't want students working during the program is because the program becomes your job. To me, the beauty of the program is not having to get up and go sit in class all day, then still have to come home to study some more. Expect to spend 24 hours a week in clinicals (2- 12 hour shifts), leaving you plenty of time to study. I would spend no more than 5 days a week on school (2 days in clinicals, 3 days studying and completing assignments). Other than that, I had two days to relax, spend with family, etc. And despite the classes being online, I regularly got together with my classmates to study, review for tests, etc. If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask here or private message me. Best of Luck!