Nestadren

You are very welcome. :) I felt like it needed to be said. Although I have since left the program, I felt like the advice could be quite helpful now and in the future. (I did not leave the program out of difficulties- I actually had "A" averages and was told that I would make a great nurse by more than one person. I left because my interests lie elsewhere, though probably still in the health field, and I made the mistake of not realizing it sooner...) I don't feel as if the professors always did a very good job of emphasizing the importance of the material, but instead seemed to take the approach of making things seem a lot more stressful than they are. If you are a student who takes his or her studies seriously, than this really isn't of any use to you and can actually inhibit learning. And while I'm on that topic, here is the last thing I want to say: ask as many questions as you want in the labs! We were definitely quite pressured to act as if we knew things to a degree that couldn't have been expected the first time around (practicing nursing skills in the school labs). This was more of a passive pressure: if you asked questions, the instructors would not uncommonly ask if you'd watch your skill videos as required. This would get frustrating, since it is a college/learning environment, and because at that time you aren't being graded on anything: the professors are there to help. You can watch those videos all night long and read the book, but it's still going to be unfamiliar to you and will be new. So ask questions. Ask them to demonstrate a skill if you want! (And respond confidently that, yes, once again, you did watch the videos! Otherwise the instructors just sit or stand around the lab and critique you...which is fine if that is all you need, but you guys are the reason they have the jobs they do! And don't worry you will have the opportunity to go back into the labs on open lab days and practice for hours if you want- with other students or other instructors.

We had our UCF professor tell us there really was no nursing shortage, and SSC professors comment on their view that there was. I personally, don't think there is a shortage. Just look at the situation. We have these limited access nursing programs with way more applicants than can be accepted, and yet the local employers are raising their standards and requiring more experience. A look on the other subforums on this site will show you many who are frustrated by not getting a job out of school (many hospitals require 1-2 yrs experience). My point in writing this post though was to say not to be intimidated by D.D.'s emails. Or by your nursing professors, for that matter. This probably plays the biggest role in how stressful you judge the program. My own honest opinion is that the load of first term (I can't speak for the others) UCF/SCC nursing coursework is nothing compared to a load of your science prerequisite courses. You know, anatomy/physio, microbio, chemistry. Or that it's not much different than a full load of gen ed. plus a prereq or two. The nursing coursework, to me, was not greater in difficulty. It was significantly less difficult, with more actual work that had to be completed. The best way I can put it is that it takes some getting used to- getting used to the ways of the nursing labs or clinicals. This is a lot different from the types of lab settings you have been exposed to. But if nursing is really your goal than you will quickly adapt and things will seem more comfortable. Yes, D.D. is trying to scare you. Maybe, maybe, some students really felt that way (I'm referring to the long list of adjectives she apparently sends all new students), and I'd have to imagine that any student who really felt like that during the whole program would absolutely hate working as a nurse. I would say that her list is more applicable to students who'd never attended college full time. Your nursing professors in the first week are going to tell you nursing courses are so much different from a gen. ed. course load that you will have little in common with gen. ed. students at the college. They are trying to push two things: 1. instill a sense of fear (see below) 2. encourage friendships/study groups among nursing students. The professors want to make sure you know that this is serious business. I agree here. Not so much in the first term, but pretty soon you will be dealing with possibly critical situations where there is no room for error. Because eventually you will not have that instructor next to you, and you will have to think on your feet, eventually you will need to have a mastery of the content. BUT- you all are just starting, and don't forget that everyone knows it. Just don't get too intimidated in the beginning. Easier said than done. Just take a step back sometimes and look at this bigger picture. I'm definitely not saying nursing school was a piece of cake. It's still college. I will say that if you've been successful throughout your college career and managed things decently well, without sympathizing in the past with too much of D.D.'s list (well maybe on finals weeks), then you are going to be just fine. Yes, they still want to weed people out. Keep this in mind in labs and clinicals...But if you want it, it's yours!

Hi everyone! :) I posted in this thread over a month ago (former concurrent nursing student- spring 2011- who has switched majors). Congratulations to all on their acceptance letter. Special congrats to Wannabnurs!!

hi everyone. hi jacksonleo! i also applied last fall to the concurrent program, and was accepted with the spring 2011 class with jacksonleo. these threads are a great idea, and you can all be of so much help to eachother through the process before classes start. then, once you start you may find you are good friends throughout the program! i had actually begun the thread for our class last year, although today i am no longer a nursing student (long list of reasons but to sum it up nursing was not my ideal path, want to go more into research). i wanted to visit this site and maybe offer a few words of reassurance to the current applicants. i was accepted and began the ssc-ucf concurrent nursing program, so my points may not hold valid for the generic bsn program through ucf, although it is likely the criteria is pretty similar. here is something i want to emphasize and say up front: i feel that the program is made out to be far more competitive to get into, as well as difficult, than it is in reality. i have found that one thing has been said by those in a position to speak on behalf the program, and another conflicting point would be made against it. for example: at the two information sessions i had attended, we were told that getting less than a b in a science course would disqualify you in ucf's eyes from the program, and yet i know others who got in (concurrent with ucf) with a grade of c in these same courses. this may have been due to these students already applying to the program before and this being their second chance. as i'm sure you all know, date of finished prereqs is a biggie. another topic that often remains ambiguous at info or advising sessions is whether or not someone actually has a chance to get in if one or more prereqs is in progress at the time of application. i don't even remember how many times i tried to get an answer to this question. all of the information provided on program acceptance seems to say it is unlikely; however here is what i have witnessed/experienced: 1. i got accepted into the program during my final term of prereqs, and in fact i was taking chemistry with lab, spanish ii, and statistics, all during the term i applied. in addition, this was my second attempt at the chemistry course...having taken it that former summer/term b and not doing favorably (largely contributed by missing exam and not allowed makeup) due to personal issues. i mention this to give awareness to the fact that this grade was on my application's transcript, and i still got in...i'm sure this was heavily influenced by my other grades, standing as evidence that this was an anomaly, but still. 2. another student in my chemistry class last fall was accepted (still completing her prereqs). two more girls in that class were rejected, but they had 3. i feel that there is a limit on the number of prereqs allowed to be in progress, instead of just making it a condition for rejection regardless. i had a friend apply at the same time as myself with a higher gpa, yet she did not get in. she had 4 or 5 prereq courses in progress. 4. disclaimer: i'm not at all certain about the above mentioned, but it may be the case and i feel it is worth mentioning. last year, i would have liked to know myself. words of advice... -yes, be organized. you must be because the program is not very well. even though you will be provided a term's long schedule in your fundamental's course, you may very often get the feeling that you must be on your toes from all the changes and updates that are made. labs always felt disorganized, even with a schedule. -the skill videos should be one of the first things you buy for this program. you are expected to watch the assigned nursing skill demonstrations on the specified dvd, and then you will come in to your scheduled lab (the class was divided into a and b group, then further divided into smaller groups of up to about 10 for labs) and practice on simulated dummies while the instructors watch and comment. be prepared for this- you will not be given demonstration. if such a demonstration is requested from an instructor, be prepared to be glared at with questions asked of you regarding if you watched the skill videos. this happened to me twice, and in both cases i watched the videos but wanted to see it in front of me again. i previously saw nothing wrong in this in an academic setting...college is about teaching. do not be made to feel like you can't ask questions, which is exactly how this kind of environment tends to make one feel. books and readings: there will be a lot of assigned readings. i like to read, and i was interested, but you will probably never get the reading done. the good thing is, you don't really need to to do well on the exams. i felt that the main points (theory portion) were summarized in lecture, and the checklists summed up the skill content well enough. of course there will be a lot of additional info, and the readings can only help, but i wouldn't say they are necessary for the first term courses. exception: pharmacology, just because you won't really get much of a lecture. lots of focus on group activities instead. if you have time for the readings, by all means do them- they will help. but if you don't, don't get stressed out about it. you will know what is necessary. -my group's clinical instructor was actually asked one evening by a fellow student, "so, who exactly picked us to get in?" meaning into the nursing program. the prof. replied that no one does exactly, that it is rather based solely on whether or not certain criteria are satisfied. i'm thinking computer system here. it may be the case even that (most? all?) the applications never see human eyes...i have also heard not to bother with letters of rec., etc. for this reason. -nursing tests: before you even start, at orientation you will hear from professors and students how much more challenging the nursing testing format and question type is compared to your familiar general ed/other subject exams. i did not find it any more difficult, but there are a few things you should know: *don't read into it. if it's not stated in the question, and has nothing to do with the question, it shouldn't be in the answer!!!!!!!!!!!! there is usually at least one answer out of the 4 mult. choices that is completely 'out there' and can be thrown out. *lots of emphasis will be put on this concept that nursing questions all require critical thinking. your prof's will also tell you you will not find that the answers are so simple as regurgitating a memorized fact. here is what this means: the question will not e.g. ask you "what is standard precautions?" instead it would ask "in what scenario would you not have to follow standard precautions?" and then list four scenarios. the result is that more knowledge beyond the basic def. is needed, but it's not terribly difficult. it still felt like the same formula, same type of testing that i'd been used to throughout my time at college. -know that nurses diagnose using nursing diagnoses and that the medical and nursing models are distinctly different: nursing deals with the human response to the disease or condition (actual or perceived); medicine treats and diagnoses the disease or condition. you won't be taught this important point (3/4 the class raised their hands and admitted to a lack of knowledge that nurses even diagnosed) until the nursing process lecture, a few weeks from the midpoint of the first semester. -this is complete opinion: i felt that the level of difficulty was due more to the feeling of being busy, that is, stress, rather than to actual difficulty in understanding/testing well on the material. in other words, the program feels stressful. at times very stressful. and for me, it wasn't the same stress of microbiology class for example, but a stress of pressure to get all the readings done before class, to go to skill check off's, or clinicals, to be prepared enough for lab... i felt this stress continuously during the week, even after seeing how i performed on the actual exams/check offs/clinicals- which was good and got positive feedback. the external pressure from the faculty, in hindsight, is a bit much. i say this only because i would feel just as stressed out if i studied/read all night/watched skill videos half a dozen times after coming home from lecture until labs that next afternoon as i would if i would only read the text half an hour and watch the videos a couple times. this held true for exams- my performance would be about the same after wards (i got a's) despite my being more or less prepared. the only reason i mention this is because i feel that the program (faculty) make the students feel like everything is far more stressful than it actually is. another example: you will have skill check off's that must be passed in order to do certain clinicals (hospital or nursing home). even though up front you are told should you fail you will be allowed to sign up to try again at no penalty, all is made to be very intense, as if it is pass/fail=stay or leave. the check offs take place weeks before the retry opportunity may need to be given to retakers to avoid this very predicament so that course progression is not hindered. in addition, students still pass if points are missed on check-off's. i was even told on the first check off that the instructor performing it had "never failed anyone." (-also, know that you will need to have theoretical knowledge in place for whatever skill check off you are doing: you will be asked oral questions. this is not something we were told, but rather were made to believe it would be an observational pass/fail test) maybe the faculty try to make the program that much more intense because of the nature of the actual work (i.e. dealing with people's lives). in my opinion though it is not very realistic while in school, as everyone is still only just learning. i know i have a somewhat negative view of the program overall, but i hope some of this advice may help those here who want to and do get in to the program and who really want to be nurses. last words of advice...make sure this is what you want! of course, this last part would have been the most important part for me to have thought about last term while applying. i had been contemplating it, and wasn't sure until i got that big double acceptance letter. i thought that since the program was so competitive (and that yet i had gotten in despite my own application issues), and because i had been doing prereq courses for 2 years that i had to give it a shot. but i had also been going back and forth for over a year on whether on i wanted to do nursing, and in hindsight i think i was just convincing myself to do it despite my feelings (and reasons)of not wanting to. this may be hindsight bias, i don't know. i was told by the ucf adviser that a large percentage of students that leave the first term realize it wasn't what they wanted. i hope this helps someone. good luck to you all. :)

Wow. I haven't been getting any of these emails myself. I did read on the sakai site that spring classes won't be available on Sakai until the first day of the term, Jan. 10th. I know that at orientation we were told things to do by the 3rd, so I am pretty confused about that. I will PM you my email. Thanks :)

Still nothing from UCF here either. Considering contacting someone else to ask about this. We weren't supposed to do anything other than create a UCF mail account, right? I also noticed (as of last night) we were unable to sign up for the fit testing yet. Jacksonleo: this whole uniform delay with this particular company bothered me too. After doing some googling last night, I saw that the particular brand of uniform that they are requiring from Uniformity (Landau) is sold online through countless vendors. Here is one for example: http://www.lydiasuniforms.com/scrubs/products.asp?sku=8320&cat=180&t=Scrubs_-_Landau_Ladies%27_Pull-on_Scrub_Pant That is the classic fit sold at Uniformity. If you look online elsewhere you will find prices from $16-22 for the pant. The warm up jacket can also be found. I needed to order a second of all the items, but I am not doing it from Uniformity now. In fact, when I did go there in November, I preordered only. So it's more likely now I'll just order online (same brand, color-royal blue, fit) and get the items much faster than the delay Uniformity is forcing on us. Oh and by the way...Landau (and other manufacturers) sell royal blue pants that are very similar to the two types @ the store but not quite as high on the waist . I am tempted..hmm. But yeah, there is no reason to wait on that company, although I am sure they do like all the business... Edit: Also here's the link to the relaxed fit other Landau pant: http://www.lydiasuniforms.com/scrubs/products.asp?sku=8327&cat=180&t=Scrubs_-_Landau_Ladies'_Pull-on_Pant This one does have the royal blue color. The other link for the classic fit does not include the royal blue. Other sites have it though.

I have done a great deal of research online, and asked other students and my providers as well. The Classic II will definitely suffice for nursing school. There is supposed to be a great difference is the quality and ability to pick up on less distinct sounds with the cardio scopes though. From what I have read on this site, it is quite common for nursing students to purchase or recieve the cardio scopes as gifts when they graduate or once they enter practice. Some continue on with the more basic scopes though, and are happy enough. I will be going on to graduate school, either in nursing graduate studies or possibly med school...not sure yet! But it is a definite plan- this is why I am getting my BSN right away. The cardio scope is one that is actually recommended in graduate school. The scope is a graduation gift for me right now and it will be engraved, etc., so that I can use it for many years to come! I also have a special interest in cardiology and heart sounds so this makes it all the more appealing for me personally. What colors did you all decide on? Anxiously awaiting the UCF email.... Has anyone been called for/picked up their orders from Uniformity? I ordered on the 17th of November and called but was told it wouldn't be ready until a week before classes start!

I am wondering this same exact thing. I've been checking several times a day, and have gotten nothing yet. I did think we would have something by Monday or Tuesday from what we were told... Meanwhile, I am trying to find out exactly what stethoscope is required or preferred for the programs. At orientation, I am pretty sure we were just told "stethoscope", but I need to know if we need a dual sided (bell + diapraghm) or if single side is okay (diaphragm only). The single sided Littmann I am considering functions as both, but might not be the type we are required to have. I am looking at the cardiology scopes...it's between the Cardio III or master Cardio. Still not sure on color yet! I contacted the NS department to be referred to the SNA. Waiting for that reply before I order. If anyone knows anything, it would be super helpful. :)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ucfnursing/with/4942103751/ I found these photos, I'm wondering if we are doing anything like this...!! It (shown in pictures) was also supposed to be a team building exercise! I wouldn't mind...but it has been cold lately!! Anyhow, yay I'm so excited!! I just got home from my last exam a couple hours ago, and already I need to get ready or get to bed for tomorrow. I will be going with my black sweatpants. I too would prefer jeans, but I don't think that goes along with athletic attire. I am hoping that some of the outside parts might be moved to indoors. Not a fan of cold weather, but I'm sure I'll enjoy the experience whatever it might be!! I'm not sure what top I'll be wearing. I'm sure I'll be wearing multiple layers though and a coat or at least sweater. I'll stop in at the cafe also to look for you all! It's not a huge cafe, but there can be a good number of people there...do you all want to meet more in the back (near where the mounted tv is)? at one of those tables? We might just otherwise blend right in..I've only met one of you so far (RedCarnation)! Also I probably won't stay down at the cafe too long before 8, want to go get a good seat @ orientation. I better get going....see you soon!!!!!!!!!! :):redpinkhe

use this link, it is for the bookstore's sem. state altamonte campus branch, which has all the nursing (prefix nur) textbooks. http://www.bkstr.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/storecatalogdisplay?catalogid=10001&storeid=25904 you will just do a textbook search and enter in the term and id. for ucf it is 3000-something. it should work from there.

Kompozit, are you sure the one you took was certified by the American Heart Association and not the Red Cross? Our program asks for AHA specifically, and I have read on these boards about students having to retake for this reason. The reason I ask is because I was aware that UCF taught the Red Cross version. Just something you may want to check on. :)

RedCarnation: I read in your post that you were out, I will contact you tomorrow well before 4 about trying on the uniform top, if we can't make it maybe we could do it Monday, although tomorrow is much better because I'd like to send it back and have it taken care of along with my books that need returning. I think we might both need a size between small and extra small! Too bad the top is not one that had half sizes........... LegallyBlond3: Welcome to the boards!! Congrats on your acceptance! Looking forward to meeting you also! I procrastinated about sending in my temperament sorter but I did get it in on time. I really hope it is used only for entertainment and nothing more. Back to studying......!

Sounds good. I have the BLS class today (need to go to sleep!) and some things to take care of afterwards, but could possibly do it tomorrow evening. Sunday or Monday could work (have class Monday late A.M.). I will get back to you tomorrow. Has anyone else taken the BLS course? What was your experience with it like?

Hi Kompozit! Sounds good! As long as it's soon- this weekend probably, because we need to return our tops so we get the new ones early enough. Waiting to hear back from RedCarnation but maybe all of us ladies should get together for a trying-on session! Have you recieved the top yet? How was the fit? The site prompted me for an XXS as well. I'm a 36 bust. Kinda weird how the promptor doesn't ask about your cup size, only band width. I think it would definitely make a difference! My cup size is larger than both of you, but I still don't like the fit of the size small I ordered. It almost looks like it hangs off of me (of my chest that is, and just hangs down). I definitely don't want it too tight it the bust though! I didn't particularly care for the fit of the scrub pants I ordered at Uniformity- at any size! Hopefully it's not just something we have to get used to....!

No, I actually haven't shipped it back yet. It took a few days for the authorization to go through, and a couple days ago I was crammed with exams. I plan to take care of it Monday...since I now have to also ship back my Amazon textbooks. I ordered 5, and each was damaged in some form. Oh, and about the cost to return the top, they do make you pay to ship it back- it'll probably be like $5. Regarding the purchase of new vs old editions I did want to add my thoughts. I did choose to order the new editions for this reason: for pharmocology, patho, procedural texts and the like, they do get updated with what is the current standards and new info. On one of the texts on the inside panel, there was even a note acting as a disclaimer but basically saying that students should confirm that all information is current. Now, this updating may be small and may be easily read about online or what not...and we will have to keep ourselves updated like this when we are working, however... As a beginning student I want to feel assured that I am learning the most current and relevent material. I did find that on amazon (and many other bookstores online), the price difference for new vs used textbooks was not that great (generally about 15-20$ at the most, for almost all of them) if we are talking about new edition. I did some research here on this site about whether to purchase current ed. or not, and the consensus was to either purchase new or only the former edition (1 older), not to go with editions older than that for the reason that they'd be too outdated. It depends on the person... I think a person could do well with either. RedCarnation: when we met, if I am remembering correctly, I think you mentioned where you lived and it was very close to me...I do still have my size small top. Since you also still have the size extra small top, would you be at all interested in meeting up together this weekend to try eachother's on? I know we are both busy with finals next week but it might be a good idea. I have the BLS HCP course tomorrow in the A.M. until 1 or 2, but maybe we could arrange it for later or Sunday (or even Monday if you can't on Sat/Sun.) Send me a private PM if you are interested and we could set something up. :)