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Hello all. Are the lectures on video or is it lecture notes?

Does RN experience count toward the experience pay?

Every NP program is different. I did a local program that was designed to be competed in 3 years, and the school required that it be completed in a maximum of 5 years. Working days would have been easier, but I worked full-time 12-hour night shifts throughout the program and was still able to finish in 3 years. It took a lot of planning and schedule changes to make it work. I used my vacation time wisely and took classes over the summers in order to lighten the load in the fall and spring semesters. Most of my classmates worked full time, and many took summer courses as well. It wasn't overwhelming and it was great going through the program with the same group of people over the 3 years. We supported each other. Thankfully, my employer paid most of the bill so it wasn't financially burdensome. Once you complete the BSN program and begin working, you'll have a better idea of what is manageable for your lifestyle. Try not to think too far ahead. Good luck.

They paid for my MS a couple of years ago. I guess that the policy could've changed, but I never heard that I had to stay for 2 years. The policy is in Healthport though. Also, keep in mind that the accelerated program is beyond intense. Most people aren't able to work full-time while completing it. Good luck.

I suppose that I'll answer my own question so that it's available for others in the future. The transfer center facilitates patient transfers between two facilities, typically hospitals. Everywhere does thing differently, but this is how we do it where I work. When a patient needs a higher level of care, the attending from the sending facility calls the transfer center. The transfer center nurse then contacts doctor on call for the appropriate service, (i.e. trauma, neurosurgery, etc.), and conferences the doctors together. If the patient is accepted to an ED or ICU, the sending attending must then give report to the receiving attending. In complex cases the TCRN may need to contact additional specialties. We listen in on call calls, activate EMS, and get nursing report. The volume of transfers is unpredictable. You could only do 2 during a shift or 3 at once. Where I work, the transfer center is within another department, so we are always pretty busy. It's a nice job.

It could take a few weeks or 2-3 months, depending. If you haven't yet been called though, it's unlikely that you will get in for July. Your app could be held until the next class. Good luck!

I completed the fellowship several years ago. The first interview was with HR, the second with the director and manager of the ICU for which I was interviewing, and the third was with the director of the fellowhip program. The third interview was a formality. Things may have changed since then. You have to do a head to toe assessment during the first interview with HR, if you can't, you won't go forward with the other interviews. That has definitely not changed. Good luck!

I sent you a PM.

aye125RN, Congratulations and welcome to the system. You will complete systemwide orientation first. When I started, this was one week long, but it may be 2 weeks now, I'm not sure. Do you know what floor you will be working on? Feel free to PM me, I can get you some info.

I had clinical in the county jail last semester. The information I have was just from talking to the nurses and observing, because I was with an NP. I don't know how closely it mirrors prison nursing, but I'll tell you what I know. The med unit is an clinic within the jail itself and under the DOH. Employees are county DOH employees. It does not have an inpatient unit. Inmates were seen for their complaint or injury and sent out if they needed hospitalization. There is a dentist who does fillins and extractions, an optitian, a mid-wife who does paps and see all pregnant inmates and patient who recently delivered, social workers who perform initial mental health assessments if the assessment was indicated, and psych np's and an MD who did med management and minimal counseling, and MDs/NPs who treat other complaints. When the LPNs came in, they were assigned to the clinic or medications. In the clinic, there is at least one RN who is in charge, but there is usually a second RN, several LPN, and a couple of medical assistants. This facility also has a nurse dedicated to fingersticks and insulin coverages only during that shift. LPNs who are assigned to meds only pass meds that day. Med nurses go up to the tiers and call out the names of the inmates, one at a time, that they had meds for. The inmates were locked in their cells at this time. The inmates would get the meds and take them in front of the nurse. If an inmate was meeting with his lawyer or going to court or otherwise absent during med pass, he/she could go to the med counter before or after the med pass to take his/her meds. When the nurse is up on the tier passing meds, if an inmate appeared to need the attention of the medical staff, the nurse would send him down for a "sick call." An inmate could also put in a request for a sick call or a CO could send him/her down to the clinic for a sick call. The med unit operated only between the hours of 7a-11p. After hours, if there is a request for medical attention, the inmate would be brought to the ER by the sherrifs department or, if necessary, an ambulance. Upon the inmates return, he would be seen by a MD/NP who would review the ER record, and order meds if necessary. Upon return, the inmate would be seen by the MD/NP at the clinic and treatment would be continued if necessary. For all sick calls and hospital returns, the inmate would be weighed and vitaled, and then wait for a provider to become availible. If the provider ordered meds as stat, then a clinic nurse would get the med from the PYXIS or the pharmacy would prepare it fast, and the inmate would get the med before returning to the tier. If the med was routine, then the med would be given at the next med pass for which it was availible. In the evening, new inmates would arrive from the courts in groups. Females would give a urine sample for a pregnancy test and were then triaged, vitaled, and weighed. If an inmate reported any condition for which they were on medication, or had abnormal vital signes, they would join a queue to see the provider. If the VS were still abnormal by the time they see the provider, they may be ordered on daily monitoring if it didn't need urgent management, otherwise they would be ordered a stat med. Inmates came down througout the day for dressing changes, finger sticks, respiratory treatments, etc. Hope this helps.

Is anyone familiar with, or work in, a hospital transfer center? I am thinking about taking a position in my hospital's new transfer center, but I am still unsure of all the responsibilities. If anyone can tell me about what a typical day is like, that would be great.

first of all, good luck with the admissions process. while some schools place particular emphasis on healthcare experience, having no such experience doesn't mean that you will not be accepted. remember, people entering accelerated nursing programs come from diverse backgrounds. when i was applying to schools, one of the applications had a statement saying that it preferred applicants with at least some clinical experience. volunteering three hours a week in a hospital or nursing home counts toward that clinical experience. working as a nurse's aid is also helpful. the school where i completed the accelerated program stated that clinical experience didn't matter for admission's purposes because most accelerated students don't come from a healthcare background anyway. they looked at recommendations, grades, progress toward the completion of prerequisites (and those grades), and the admissions essay. hope this helps.

Hello Tina Rose Well don't feel too bad, I did the same thing. B.S. in Legal Studies with the intention of eventually going to law school. I was lucky to figure out that I didn't want to be a lawyer before I finished undergrad. I worked as a paralegal (pretty much data entry, cutting and pasting text from here to there, with a little research sprinkled in) for a year before I started taking pre-reqs. I'm so glad I did it. Like Queen Mother, I just finished an accelerated program in August and I'm currently studying for the NCLEX. Now all those sleepless nights in nursing school were worth it. Just wondering, have you considered any of the accelerated programs out there? It might be a good option for you. The lowest salary I've seen is 59k without any diff, but that's on Long Island. I'm sure you'll get much more in the city. I hope this helps. Good Luck with everything. Wendy

So far, so good. I have no complaints about the program, it seems manageable and I believe that I made the right decision. I really don't have much to say yet since I'm only two weeks into the program. Please post or PM me your questions and I would be happy to answer them. If you don't mind me asking, what state are you in? Wendy

The first place you should start volunteering is in a hospital. If there is a university hospital or another large hospital nearby, that's where you should go. That is because many large hospitals have a large variety of volunteering duties. These can vary from clerical, to dietary, to ER or ICU Liaison, to patient aids. The more contact you have with the patient or their families the better. This will not only look good on your application, but it will also be a great experience for you. 3-6 hours a week would be great. The longer you can do it the better. I'll be honest with you. The schools are very competitive. Even if they list a prerequisite GPA of 2.5 the unofficial cutoff for "favorable review" is usually 3.0. Your GPA is borderline. If you can maintain an overall GPA of above 3.0 and get a B+ or above in the prerequisites, your still not a shoe in. Compensate for this with volunteer experience, an exceptional essay (use an online service to edit it), and recommendations from articulate people who know you well. Whatever you do, apply to numerous schools including traditional BSN programs. Good luck, hope I answered your questions.