JM2011

did you start your program? how is it going?

has anyone started/are in/completed the DNP program at UTA? I've heard a lot of bad stuff and wanted to know how everyone's experience was. considering applying. thanks for the feedback.

yeah definitely dont worry about it now! relax and enjoy your life

well it's not an exact time, but the length of time to administer the medication over. this applies to IV push meds. lasix, again, needs to be a slow IV push (1 mg per minute) because this can cause ototoxicity if you push it too quickly. the times to give meds is decided by the hospital. my general rule is go slow for everything.

i didn't see a reply for this but when i was at brookhaven from 2010-2011 we were not kicked out unless you failed a class (70% and lower). we got three chances for check offs as well. it's almost impossible not to pass a check off eventually, but classes can be a but overwhelming. just be sure you are studying and have a study group and using all resources available to you, including nclex review books and the evolve practice questions.

you should still try for grants and scholarships. there are tons out there if you have the time. fastweb.com is a good resource to find some.

you will need to know adverse reactions and administration time (for IV push). also sometimes mechanism of action (furosemide is a loop diuretic), etc. and interactions. the drugs can get very intense and i can tell you that you will know maybe 1 drug that NCLEX gives you. are you in the program now? good luck!

yes totally appropriate for you to ask your manager for support. esp if you have confronted the pt on his inappropriate behavior! He is the patient, but you are the trained professional that uses the appropriate judgement on when to and when not to administer medications. safety first. If he's not satisfied with the care he is receiving then you can tell him he does not have to stay at the hospital. he can leave at any time. it might be against medical advice, but he can go.

i dont live in CA but all i can say is just go ahead and apply for schools to get your RN. I'm in TX. I went to a community college that used a points system for admissions. it was a combination of GPA, entrance test scores, support course points among other things. You should meet with an advisor from the school (s) that you are wanting to attend and get their advice on how to proceed. should you retake classes to improve your GPA or do they only look at the grades for the courses that apply to the program? all things to consider good luck!

we were allowed to have laptops after some argument, but then the privilege was taken away because some students weren't able to stay on task. so first semester and second semester we were able to use them, but after that we didn't. /: i think the semester that started after us weren't allowed to have them at all, but i am not positive about that.

I depends on the teacher. some teachers record it for you and post it. just be sure to ask before hand.

We were instructed never to practice invasive skills on people at all. We did practice physical assessment, BP, pulses points, etc on people. everything else, we practiced on vitaman, the fake person.

The only thing that i can think of is a stethoscope. you will be able to get the skills pack after school starts and it was about $100 i think. You can start saving up for your scrubs, depending on what you want they can be expensive. if you choose to get the scrubs from the embroidery store they will be far less expensive than if you buy the scrubs you want and get them embroidered. you can email the admin and get the book list and start buying those. go ahead and get your immunizations and titers if you haven't done so already. other than that, i can't really think of anything.

From what I heard from my classmates is that the financial aid comes in right around the end of the semester. some of it has to do with the teachers certifying the class so that FA knows you are in there and can assign you the monies. Brookhaven/DCCCD likes to hold on to it for some reason and disperse it at or near the end of the semester. Hope this helps.

I started spring 2010 and our success camp was the tuesday/wednesday the week before school started that semester. Hope this helps!

@Princess_wannabe, have you heard from Texoma? I can get you the email to the recruiter if you want. :)

Sweetpea, You are right, everyone has a different experience and I was just remarking on your comment about "your final semester will be class from 8-6 with clinical 3-4 days a week while studying for HESI and NCLEX". I didn't mention anything about first semester. I just wanted to make sure that the facts were presented properly before you give people anxiety about being in 4th semester when they haven't even started 1st! Everything you are learning now is game to be on HESI and NCLEX, so you really are studying for those tests right now, too. I also wanted to say that I was in first semester once before, too. I also had class 3-4 days a week, but that changes half way through the semester. I also had clinical 3 days a week during the summer, but it was only for 4 weeks. From what I remember, you had class + skills the first 6 or 8 weeks and then the last 4 weeks was clinical. We also did not change text books between first and second semester. We got a two new books third semester. Hope this clarified why I was responding :)

Med city shows that it is BSN only. I've heard that if you have applied for MCP, if you take your resume up there to the position you've applied for the will try to interview you. two people I know got jobs that way. Also, I can't reply to your message, but it took me a long time to get a response, but my other friends got responses right away after I told them to apply when I got my notice. You should just go anway it's Tuesday from 930-5 at the texoma medical center. Just come prepared to interview with extra copies of resumes, transcripts, rec letters immunizations, etc. whatever will look good in your portfolio. hope this helps!

I would apply for the accelerated BSN program if you can afford to. Most hospitals are trying to attain or maintain their magnet status which means 80%+ of the nurses need to have BSN. Just something to think about. It will give you an edge when you begin job hunting. If i could do it over again, that is the option that i would choose. Hope this helps!

Sweatpea, 4th semester does not have class from 8-6. our class was one day a week from 9-3 with an hour sometimes hour and a half for lunch. If you go to clinicals 3 x a week that is by choice. 4th semester had three options for us which is one clinical style (which you have for three semesters), and three preceptor options one of which was accelerated and you needed to complete by a certain time. plenty of students went once a week as the course load can be a lot and having tests to prepare for you might not want to go more than one day a week. there are several students that finished clinical this week. as far as EOL, the program is designed for you to take it during that last semester so if is the only option you have dont worry. it's extra work, but they save spots for you since you are already in the program and it's a require element for graduation.

I think it depends on your instructor about the shoes. I got away with Mizuno running shoes that were sorta white, but more silver with pinks and yellows on the logo. I know someone that wears white toms. super comfortable. you can get white birks, white dansko's, white NB, BK's and the list goes on.

There is a teacher at brookhaven that STRONGLY encourages you to get your BSN and not just directly to MSN as it can and will limit your career. There was a director of surgical nursing that had to step down because she did NOT have a BSN. She did have a bachelors, but not in nursing. so be careful with that decision.

I read on the GN/RN internship for medical city is BSN only. Baylor has all of their recruiter emails listed online. go to their career section, then nursing, then specialties and each specialty has the recruiter email direct link on the page. i've heard that all of children's positions are spoken for except for Hem/Onc. They are hiring i think 2 positions. most everything else is internal. Methodist dallas has GN internship posted for med surg and neuro icu from what i saw from a few days ago. Texoma medical center is another option. submit you app online for graduate nurse and you should get an email about a interview. they are being held on may 10 from 930-5. it's just a giant job fair style interview/screening for GN positions.

@2bnurseniki11 the hospitals are kinda random. things we heard from previous semesters were not the same for us. the instuctors are also flopped around. the lottery system works like this: everyone draws a random # at success camp. this will be your number for the whole time (although a** told me that they might make you guys draw each semester since there are so many of you). this number indicates when you get to sign up for classes. i was #1 at success camp so i got first pick to which day i wanted clinicals. the clinical is tied to specific hospital, teacher, time. so choose wisely. I picked MCP. other options were Baylor Garland, Irving. so 1-10 went first then 11-20, etc... then for second semester 11-20 first and my section was last to pick. and it will rotate again for spring for us. for summer there was medical city dallas, MCP, baylor irving. for fall we have Green oaks and terrell state for psych, childrens for peds and methodist, parkland for ob/maternity. some of the professors were the same, but most are new/different. it looks like our program really has good relationships with hospitals and we're lucky to be in the metroplex to get a lot of good exposure and experience. just be ready willing and able to learn and help in all ways possible. good luck you guys! maybe i will see you at success camp.

I had to get in on this thread just because it was all so new and confusing to us all when we were sitting in success camp! to answer some q's, i've heard mixed things about financial aid. i wouldn't count on it being there right away. i have friends that are still getting awards for spring, which is basically over. you might have to pay up front and then just use your loans to payback whatever it is you used to pay it (credit card, mom, dad, grandma, etc). our summer session starts may 17 and run to the end of summer II. It's going to be rough! most of us bought the book package. some bought books used, but really i'd say 95% bought the package from Majors bookstore, which was cheaper than Brookhaven. Like Chelsea said, have a fund for extras and be FLEXIBLE! hi @chelsea3213