belle52877

PVT worked for me and a handful of others that I know ! :) I just found out that I passed a couple of hours ago and I'm still on cloud 9! This trick kept me sane!

The vast amount is a bit overwhelming :) But if you are able to start buying things early and family/friends are willing to jump in and help then I think you are a pretty lucky student! :) First and foremost- Get a rolling backpack. I thought this was totally dorky when my husband first suggested it but believe me you will save your back! The amount of things you need to bring with you to class is crazy heavy - you will be glad you did. Seems like just a few of us had them when we started the program and by the end of the first quarter/beginning of the second quarter over half the class was wheeling them around! They are quite helpful! It would be a good idea too to buy your own BP cuff for your first quarter clinical in which you will be in a nursing home. Having your own will save you a lot of time trying to find the one and only they have have on the unit that everyone is trying to share. Also make sure you have the normal stuff (like the earlier posts said, hemostats, stethescope, penlight - and with that I would suggest getting the one you can click on and off, they aren't any more expensive, they last longer, and you can change the battery). The medical dictionary is really up to you, though taber's is a good one and its the one recommended by the college. The Dorland's illustrated dictionary is also very nice, but more of a desk reference because it's HUGE! :) The Carpenito-Moyet Handbook of nursing diagnosis is the required book, so you will need that but to be honest it's TERRIBLE so I would suggest somewhere down the line getting a second nursing diagnosis book. I picked one up at half price books that cost next to nothing. Do some research because I am not sure which is the best version to get. If you want to get a headstart on second quarter stuff you could buy a drug book (Davis is the recommended), and drug reference cards (like Mosby's or Pharm flash) You won't have to use them until your second quarter but if your family wants to help fill your backpack - these are around 40.00 each so that would be a great gift. Also another thing that may or may not help you in clinical are those little spiral flip books like "RNotes" or "Incredibly easy..." They are pocket reference guides that are quite handy, you can write in them and erase with alcohol pads, AND you can slip them into your scrubs pockets. I can't think of anything else for right now :) Good luck on your first quarter!

That would be terribly sad if you decided to not do it at all. If it is something that you are truly passionate about, the desire won't go away. Trust me. I wanted to go back when I was in my early 20's after graduating with a degree in another field. At the time it wasn't feasible financially for me to do so. I got very discouraged and figured it was never going to happen. In hindsight, I realize that things for me happened that way for a reason and I feel like I am benefiting from it more now. I really tried to push it from my mind and just forget about it - I even tried to establish myself in another career which I truly did enjoy. Nursing school was always there in the back of mind though.... 10 years later I'm in the program because that desire never went away and though it was tough I found a way to make it work. Just try to stay positive :) You just never know what can happen tomorrow :)

Please don't get discouraged :) Just be patient, and remember everything happens for a reason. If you have to wait one more year- think of that in the grand scheme of your life - its like a blink of the eye. I thought it was the end of the world that I had to wait until spring to start the program, but in the long run it was really the best thing for me. Also, consider the people in the nursing office are doing their best. They have a lot of students to service and there are only a couple of them to do an immense amount of work. I am not sure how things will work when the shift from quarters to semesters happens but believe me it is already being discussed. As far as the welcome packet - if you are in the spring quarter you should receive it around the first of December (that way you can get started on things before orientation in January).

"Patho doesn't teach about fixing people. It takes normal physiology and shows what goes wrong and how a problem in one area impacts other areas and how a disease progresses through the body. Basically it's abnormal physiology. You learn some signs and symptoms. There is no treatment or pharmacology in patho. You certainly learn about major disease categories. You learn stages of disease, but it isn't about how to treat or what interventions to take." True. Patho is purely process based= just like physiology. Just the process, not the intervention. Not to mention there is a distinction between medical interventions and nursing interventions.

Sorry to tell you but you will hear it again... and again... and again :)

You have to know regular physiology though before you can truly understand patho. One thing I've learned in nursing school is that you must always know the 'norms'

For what it's worth, even though I did fine in anatomy, I found physiology and pathophysiology to be much easier. I think for most people it is the other way around though....

I couldn't agree with you more :) I was discouraged as well and heard all the same rumors. They simply aren't true. If you have a high GPA, score well on the entrance exam, and have your pre-reqs in order there is no reason you shouldn't get in. Contrary to popular belief they DO actually look at grade point average and test scores, not just the time you clicked the apply button on the nursing homepage. It isn't a perfect program - I can personally attest to that, but no school is going to be perfect. You learn to go with the flow. You WILL get a high quality nursing education. Everything is regulated in according with the regulation set forth by the Board of Nursing. They have their own standards for education which every institution must follow. Our instructors are very keen to follow those guidelines, even to the chagrin of some of the students. :) Trust me, I don' feel like I am missing out at all.

In regards to requesting specific clinical times - you can request but they may or may not honor that request. If you choose to go full time you will have class 2 days a week, plus your clinical on a different day. I had to reduce my work schedule to 2 weekdays per week. If you switch to the online program you won't have to worry about that. Just reading your posts about 261 - I think it depends on the instructor because each instructor writes their own midterm exams. I talked to a girl who had lab in a regular classroom and only watched cadaver videos. I was shocked at how they were able to do practicals this way - she said it was really easy and his tests were straight from his lectures. I took the class hybrid and we never had lectures. Just told to read certain sections of the book. We also used the same book that OSU had according to my instructor who was also teaching the class at OSU the same quarter. Like everything else with CSCC - it's all over the place.

It is true about the clinical times... The first quarter you get to choose between the 2 days and times available, but after that clinical dates and times are assigned (unfortunately) You just have to keep your fingers crossed that you get the one you want (at least that's what I do). Though you do get to still choose your seminar time. The class offerings are restricted to certain days and times so a flexible schedule is a necessity. As far as the time allotment for assignments, there isn't what I would call "plenty" of time, but it really is dependent on your instructors. Some assignments do have pretty sturdy deadlines, but clinical paperwork does vary from each instructor.

Actually, many of the people in the program are older students with previous degrees or at the least some completed college coursework. There are quite a few that are married and/or have kids and also work full time - I am sure this has some correlation with the percentage of people who fail or drop one of the classes the first quarter. The problem is that the nursing coursework is structured very different from your garden variety college class. It is hard to explain, but you will know what I mean once you start. Many of the people who fail one of the first quarter classes do come back with the next class and try to make it through. I actually know a girl who failed first quarter who has 6 years of healthcare experience and she was a bright girl - I never would have expected it. I have a previous degree from another college and took all of my required supporting classes (A&P, patho, micro, etc) prior to starting the program. I have no healthcare experience whatsover, and to be honest it doesn't really matter. After the first quarrter everyone is in the same boat because you start to learn things in the scope of nursing ole which is much different than the assistive personel function. As far as your first quarter clinical, it isn't in a hospital. Your first quarter is in a nursing home setting. You learn to do basic assessments. There is A LOT of paperwork to fill out, and I wouldn't necessarily say that you have plenty of time to complete assignments. Then again it really is dependent upon your clinical instructor. They each do things very differently.

I am in the second quarter of the program. The tutoring sessions are aimed at helping you learn how to improve your study habits and test skills, it's not necessarily a content focused session. I attended the sessions several tines, and while I didn't really gain anything new from them they are beneficial for many people. I would suggest going at least a couple of times just to see if any of their methods can help you get more from your studying. As far as scrubs go- since a couple of people asked, you do have to buy the ones from the bookstore (unless you are pregnant and need maternity scrubs). The tops have a nursing patch on the left sleeve and the pants aren't the most stylish - the are unisex scrubs- but it is what it is. They all have to be the same, and the clinical instructors are very strict when it comes to uniform and clinical dress code.