Contractor2RN010

I don't mind answering your questions at all. My advice about the tattoo would be to just not draw attn to it. I have many classmates with small tattoos on the back of the neck and wrist and I've never heard any mention of them having to be covered in clinical. some students simply choose to wear a long sleeve tee under their uniforms.If it were a 3/4 sleeve I'd say cover it, but I'd tend to think you'll be ok. I know school policy on earrings is one set of small studs, but have seen more. Again, if you don't call attn to it I think you'll be fine. The instructors are far more concerned with your education than policing uniforms and earrings. That being said if you use good judgement and don't do something foolish like wearing Uggs to clinical I think you'll be just fine.

I'm pretty sure we're wearing a Barco 7178 three pocket unisex vtop. It appears to be still available, and thank god for that because women's tops wouldn't be too flattering on a guy my size, lol. I'd suggest calling the Scrub Hub to see if she knows if it's available, for you to wear. I've never seen a classmate in the women's tops, but see no reason you shouldn't be able to wear them. We were allowed a pick of scrub bottoms last year, one unisex and one women's I believe. Good luck with that! [TABLE=width: 100%] [/TABLE]

The scrubs are Barco in Hunter Green, but I see you've already done your research on that. There was a small selection of white labcoats we were allowed to choose from also, but no white scrubs. I know Stacey's offered embroidery with the purchase of our uniforms, and pretty sure they would embroider yours for a small fee. Although I've heard of students having purchased equipment for clinical use at other programs there has been no mention of it at GBCC. I'm pretty sure the theory is that the facilities purchase, test and maintain or choose not to maintain this equipment, and if there is a malfunction they are responsible. Even if done with the best of intentions if your equipment malfunctions and someone is inadvertently hurt, you could be held responsible. I'm not saying a pulse ox will cause direct harm, but your care would be different if a client had actual O2 sats of 86% as compared to a faulty reading of 96%. You need the basics, Stethoscope, scissors, kelly clamps, and penlight. I seem to hear as well out of the cheap stethoscopes as my cardiology 3, but it's a personal preference. I still hear compressors in the background and it's been a few years since I've regularly been on the jobsite, so don't base your choice on my recommendation, lol. Many students have smartphones with many apps downloaded for use also, and instructor's allow lectures to be recorded, but have a preference that we ask before recording as a courtesy. As far as GPS, you'll repeatedly be at the same clinical sites, so if you're comfortable with Mapquest you'd really be fine. I often have more difficulty navigating inside the facilities than I do of finding them. .

I'm quite impressed with the program and most of the faculty here. Clinical sites can extend as far south into Lawrence MA, but for the most part all are within thirty minutes of campus in Dover, Portsmouth, Exeter and Rochester. I commute fifty miles one way to campus, and my furthest clinical site was just over sixty miles. GBCC cant claim the same 100% first time NCLEX pass rate that Manchester has recently, but 46 of 48 2011 graduates passed on the first attempt, and yes I feel they have made an extroardinary attempt to prepare us. As far as scrubs, I believe Eva's only does business online, and have no experience with their services. Most of us purchase scrubs at Stacey's Scrub Hub on Route 108 in Somersworth. There was a recent mention of a sale there and that students were picking up uniforms super cheap if you're interested in taking a ride in that direction to check things out. Feel free to ask away if you like, I'll answer what I can!

Congratulations on acceptance! I'm a fourth semester student at GBCC, and if memory serves me right our first semester sites were in Dover, Exeter, Portsmouth, and Brentwood. Speaking as a commuter, the faculty seems to have made great attempts to place me in clinical sites that minimize my drive time. That being said, the closest clinical site to my house is still a thirty mile drive, lol

Congrats on the acceptance! As a student at GBCC I've been very happy with my experience. I see you're going to be a commuter, and aside from seacoast area facilities we also have clinicals at Exeter Hosp, and as far south as Lawrence. Of course they try to make commutes reasonable, but sometimes that's not possible. While I'm not sure that would affect your decision, I thought you might appreciate that info. I'm very comfortable with the education I've received, and feel the instructors make quite an effort to ensure we graduate as competent nurses ready to pass the NCLEX, and enter the field. Staff nurses on our rotations are generally supportive of students and also quick to pull you into a room for a procedure or dressing change, and I think that says alot about the clinical experience too. In the past two classes we have had 7 and 12 male students out of a class size of 56, so we're in good company. There's a NH Nursing Program Forum here too, but if you're new to the site it's a bit hard to find. Select U.S. in the yellow tool bar at the top of the screen and then NH Nurses and finally NH Nursing Programs. There's quite a bit of info there actually if you read through the posts. Feel free to ask away, and I'll answer your questions about GBCC if I can.

It's been my experience in clinical that female patients over 50 or so sometimes aren't comfortable with male nurses. Don't get me wrong, they'll let you do their assessments, wound care, and med admin, but in my experience if there's anything they consider modest you'll ba asked to "send the LNAs in." LOL, they really dont seem to understand that guys can be LNAs too... The younger generations seem much more receptive to male nurses, and are comfortable being in my care. Another thing I've learned is that the client is only going to be as comfortable with you as you are with them. I just provide them with the best care I can, and if they ask for a female nurse I'm fine with that, it's their right as the patient. Off topic a bit, but help out your female classmates and coworkers, because it's inevitable that they'll be assisting you in the future when these situations arise!

If your income will be that low, see if the Health Profession Opportunity Grant is available in your state. It's a fairly new grant that's a bit difficult to find info on, but if it's available in your state could be well worth your looking into. It's often also called HPOG or HPOP for Health Profession Opportunity Project.

You can do this. It's been almost three years since I returned to school and I'm in my final semester of an ADN program. I worked in the construction field, and continue to work weekends and through breaks. Financially, returning to school hurts... alot. I've received scholarships and grants and will still have accumulated $23k in student loans as of graduation. I'm also the sole provider for the family, and simply paying the bills here means needing a take home income of $30k/yr. So in the last three years I've educated myself in a great field, and accrued some debt. Things could be much worse. See where you can eliminate unecessary bills in your monthly budget, and put some money aside if you can. I would have benefitted much from postponing this one year and paying off an auto loan, but I've still made it this far. You really can do this, just know that you and your family will have some challenges over the next few years, and that you'll benefit much from living very frugally. Good luck!

Overall I'm quite happy with the program, they want us to succeed, and although it can be quite tough to get in, once accepted the failure rate is quite low. It sounds like the new scoring system might have some bugs to work out, but don't forget you outscored 91% of those taking the science portion, and the other scores are fantastic. Your composite score indicates only 1% of those taking the test outscored you when considering the test as a whole, there is no 100% in the comparison scores. I wouldn't worry about your % correct because a portion of the test questions are for R&D of new test questions, and they were not previously considered in your relative scores. However, I'm definitely not familiar with the new system. If you're still concerned, feel free to take the test again, it never hurts to raise your scores!

It's a great score, I'll graduate in May and you would very likely have been accepted in my class with those scores and A+P completed. I wouldn't worry too much about the science, a 91 is great, and most ppl taking the test arent likely to score better. How many nursing students understand Ohm's laws and a series-parallel circuit? However it's hard telling who will apply for acceptance this coming year! Good luck!

I'd strongly suggest picking up work-study. There are many scholarships at my school that you must be nominated for by faculty and I've found that work-study gives faculty the opportunity to get to know you. When they can associate a name with the face (and I don't just mean nursing faculty, everyone from CAPS and Advising, FA, to maintenance know me by now) they "find" scholarships for you. I've received several faculty nominated scholarships. The same for advising, they were eager to look at my transfer credits, and accepted classes that had not been initially accepted, reducing my course load. Spend time at the school and get to know these people, they really will help you! BTW, I'm a 3.65 student with a solid B in nursing classes I'm not getting recognized for carrying a 4.0.

So, I know you really want help, but we need some more information. What are your percentile scores for english, math and science under the "ALL" category. Those figures will determine your strengths and weaknesses and what you should study. Don't forget these tests are not all the same, and if given a different booklet you may have scored better... or worse.

Last year we were notified in early March. Previous classes didn't receive their letters until late April. So, I'm not quite sure how to answer your question... Good luck!

As far as English and Math on the NLN you might already be pretty strong and not yet know it. You won't be able to rely on a calculator, every thing must be done longhand on paper. But... it's mutiple choice. Quick time-saving hint here: If you have a large problem to do most often they only have to be figured out to the first two or three digits, and there's only possible correct answer. If you're a slow reader, you might want to see if there's anything you can do about that. On the science portion you will likely see series, parallel, and series-parallel circuits. It really has no place in the medical world but it's there, so if someone will teach you Ohm's law, E=IR, (volts = amps x resistance) and a simple circuit it would very likely increase your score on the science portion. Take A+P 1+2 before applying if you can. Normally there's 400 or so applicants for the 56 seats, so if you don't get in on the first attempt take the core classes, and get them out of the way. Honestly, I'm completing the program in three years because I took the science classes before applying, and wouldn't want to do it in two, but if you're a strong student and don't have to work, it can be done. Like niko suggested, GBCC does offer an exam review, and that combined with the study guide should give you a strong background for the test.