ReggaeRN

I am fairly new to my current position (OB Director) and my first round of employee satisfaction results scored unusually low in "my boss is a good communicator." I was floored, as I feel that I over-communicate. In meeting with staff one-on-one, I found that specifically night shift just want to SEE me more. Because they work 5-5 I wasn't seeing night shift often. With several meetings starting at 0700, I typically come in around 0630 and leave around 1600. I have adjusted my schedule and actually come in later when I can so that I can stay later and have face time with them. I truly enjoy visiting with them and getting to hear their opinion, feedback, issues they run into, etc. I am hoping this is meeting their needs and they feel more connected to me as well as the unit as a whole.

I am the OB Director in a hospital, and I wear Danskos quite often, but NOT the typical Professional clogs. I have found several pairs of shoes and heels (not ridiculous high heels but heeled mule/slide-style or closed back) that look really nice but are still Dansko-comfortable. (Sierra Trading Post, 6pm, Zappos, the Walking Company, and Amazon all carry them, I just watch for sales.) Depends on what your role is, whether you're going to be in patient care areas or mainly in an office/off the floor setting.

I am a student at WGU in the RN-MSN (Education) program. I have had a REALLY great experience and have a very specific question for you all. Is anyone else in a self-paced program at an entirely-online college/university? The reason I am asking is because my boyfriend is looking for a flexible criminal justice program set up in a similar format to WGU's. Ideally, WGU should just start a criminal justice bachelor's degree program so he can attend there. :) But, I don't know if that is in their future. I know this is a little off the path of nursing, but I was just wanting to know if any of you are attending a school set up similar to WGU that also has criminal justice degrees....... Thanks in advance! ReggaeRN

I received federal loans after completing a FAFSA, something that completely impacted my ability to go back to school. My employer offers tuition reimbursement, but their process is somewhat backwards (and probably common): you take the class, pay for the class, and they reimburse you if you receive a C or better. So a few reasons why tuition reimbursement alone was not enough: 1. I can't afford to write a check for several thousand dollars, even with the confidence that I will pass all classes with flying colors. 2. The amount of money that the hospital gives annually as a maximum for tuition reimbursement does not come close to covering a year of tuition. So my dilemma... I did not initially plan to apply for tuition reimbursement through the hospital I work at because of the fact that the amount is not very substantial compared to what my tuition will be. Now, I decided to apply because I thought I could apply the money to my student loans. I have read on the FAFSA site about being "honest" in your FAFSA application, and so I am concerned this is going to come back to bite me if I accept the tuition reimbursement from my employer. I really don't want to screw myself or GOD forbid end up with fines or other legal issues! I also don't want to screw myself in that, if I take tuition reimbursement from my employer (which is basically a loan, conditional on the fact that you work there 1 year after receiving the reimbursement), it may decrease the amount of money I am allotted for federal student loans. ANYONE have any advice here? I have not received any tuition reimbursement as of yet, and I want to make sure I make the best decision here. Any help is GREATLY appreciated!!!

PSU 213, is there any way you can help me to get in touch with the individual(s) that developed the process AND education for the bedside handoff? I am wanting to implement this in our facility, but when we attempted to do so in the ED, the negative scenario you described is exactly what happened (we were emailed a "good article" about bedside handoff and told "We will start this _this date_"). Needless to say, I have only left the ED for a leadership role a few weeks ago and since we started "bedside handoff" a year ago, I can count on one hand the nurses who still use it. We need this house-wide and I am desperate to speak with someone who has successfully implemented it! Any help you can offer is GREATLY appreciated.

IMHO: don't waste your time on any part of any COS unless the material is unfamiliar and you need to study to learn it. The tasks in taskstream and the objective assessments are the only things graded, therefore the only things required, to pass. The concept maps, discussion boards, case studies, etc are all there to help people learn the material... So this is where competency based learning comes into play- look at the tasks and if you're competent then just do the and move on. :) hope this helps. Good luck!!

If your nutrition course was part of the nursing curriculum, meaning a "nursing" type nutrition course, I wouldn't bother challenging it. My nutrition course was accepted but it was a 3-HR "Intro to Nutrition" that was required for the nursing program I did but not actually a nursing course. Honestly you will prolly pass the course easily so... Up to you! I started 10/1/11 and only have nursing courses except for "Lit Art & Humanities" to take. Just finished my first nursing course, gonna tackle the Lit class then all nursing here on out! Good luck to you!

I took "Fundamentals of Chemistry," a 4 credit hour course with lecture and lab, at a local community college. It was accepted for the chem requirement from WGU. Not sure if that is helpful info, but if you've taken something similar I would definitely appeal the transcript eval if it's not accepted. Good luck to you!

Hey! Just wanted to touch base and see how everyone who started 10/01/11 was doing? I started this month... have finished EWB and am in GNT1 (Contemporary Nursing Issues) - submitted my first task on Sunday and waiting impatiently for a grade. I take Literature, Arts & the Humanities next (the only prereq I needed), and then resume nursing stuff until I graduate. How is it going for you all? One question about tasks... for those with RN work experience, how many sources have you used for your tasks? I'm a little nervous about this one because I literally used ONE source, to reference pain scales for patients who have cognitive impairments. The case study for the task was about an ER patient who came in with decreased LOC and respiratory distress. Being that I work in the ER, I wrote my essay/answers pretty much entirely based on how I would assess/treat this patient on a typical day. I didn't need to look anything up for a reference, and so I didn't use any other sources. I'm a little concerned that they are going to bounce the paper back to me and tell me that I need to have sources for all the information I provided. We'll see!

My counselor said that I should hear from my mentor by the 1st, or they would possibly call/email to arrange a time to talk by the 1st. Assuming that's true for everyone. I'm more excited/anxious than nervous. Just glad everything (transcripts) got there in time and my courses all (literally, all) transferred. I never took any sort of literature or arts courses so I have to take 4 units, the Literature, Arts and the Humanities and Literature, Arts and the Humanities: Analysis and Interpretation, and then the actual nursing courses. Looking forward to getting started! Good luck to you!

BetterMeRN, If you have a copy of the transcript maybe see if they will evaluate based on your copy til they can replace with official transcript? Just an idea, I know it's frustrating!

Starting 10/1/11 officially as of today. Received my financial aid package this morning, transcript evaluation this afternoon, accepted the financial aid this evening, and now going over the courses I need to complete the program. Doing the RN-MSN with the BSN in the middle. I have my AAS in Nursing from a community college - everything that possibly could have transferred, did. The only "prerequisite" that I have to do is the 4 units of "Literature, Arts, and the Humanities" - this was not something I ever took before, during, or after becoming an RN. So I'm looking to do this in 6 months as well. My counselor said the average is 1 year for RN-BSN and an additional 1-2 years for the MSN portion. I'm being optimistic and ambitious hoping to do the whole sha-bang in 2 years! Good to set goals and keep expectations of myself high. Working full-time as well. Currently in the ER three 12-hour shifts a week, but there is a possibility that will be changing to a Monday-Friday day job. Either way, I think it's doable and realistic, and I'm motivated... yay! Who is with me (officially)?

...which seems like a good decision to make for yourself in the situation you are in! :) Good luck to you!

I know that when I asked about financial aid, my counselor mentioned that for government purposes, you are considered "fall" term start if you start anywhere between (I think) July and December, and spring if you start between January and June. Maybe that's why it shows 12/31/11 as your term end? I know in the grade report area mine says I am in a term of 9/1/11-1/29/12, which is a month short! The terms are 6 months, though, so if we start 10/1/11, our term will go through 3/31/11 I believe. I'm guessing once we actually start, this will all be reflected in MyWGU.

Good news - my College Board AP Calc transcript was received TODAY... met the deadline by the skin of my teeth. So... joining the group starting 10/1/11! Really excited... just waiting to get my transcripts evaluated now... fingers crossed that all of my prereq's are given credit. My A&P I & II, Micro, etc was all done at the community college (all with labs), nutrition was a 3-hr "Intro to Nutrition" course... I hope it all goes through and I can go into the nursing classes quickly. Good luck everyone!