Caid

Fortunately, I took biochem many years ago and it transferred into WGU. You can always contact someone at the school to see if they know the required reading. Good luck, I'm sure you will do fine! Don Caid..

I'm a charge for an Endoscopy department in San Diego, CA. My director just hired a new grad to work in Endoscopy.. At first I couldn't believe that she (my director) would have the nerve to hire a new grad in this area without ANY previous hands on patient care experience. NONE. I only say this because when I graduated from nursing school in the early 90's, it was unheard to have a new grad train to work on a specialty floor without first getting the basics down by working on a med/surg floor for at least 2 years! But after she told she had been looking for a job for just under 2 years, my jaw dropped! I am so glad that we hired her. She is like a sponge and I put the word out to all the other units that she needs to have some med/surg experiences. It is going to take some time.. maybe even 6 months, before she can actually be on her own as the RN during an endoscopy procedure, but I know it will be great! My advise to new grads?... get your foot in the door, even if it means taking a sitter position for minimum wage. I guarantee you that once you show your determination and commitment for your job, you will be hired as an RN. Sucks! I know.. but at least you will be working and gaining some experience... The other reason this would be good, is because as a sitter, you will be floating to different units. This will give you a sample of each floor and you will then learn what type of nurse you want/or don't want to be! When the time comes that they need to hire a nurse, you will most likely be first choice because most organizations have a policy about hiring within the facility as opposed to outside. Sorry so long winded but I really felt the need to share. Caid... RN

Oh.. just one more thing.... There's nothing wrong with being "gay"...

Just kidding.. BTW, I am gay and a male nurse and Most of the male nurses I work with are straight.. It doesn't bother me.. I don't think they will "turn" me straight.. :)

That's funny... I became a (male) nurse because I wanted to wear an outfit like the nurse in "One Flew Over the Coo Coo's Nest" .

Hi, I absolutely love WGU! I'm finishing up my statistics class and, although it's very challenging, I find that if I pace myself and do the homework assignments it's not all that bad. I was all set to go to University of Phoenix until the director of the ER/ICU where I work told me about WGU. She actually graduated from U of P but found out about WGU from the ICU lead nurse, who went to WGU and earned her BSN in 8 months. Of course, not everyone is going to go that fast, but you set your pace and if you have the time, you can finish a lot faster than what it would take if you were to go to a classroom setting university. WGU was started by 18 Governors and it's fully accredited. AND it's not for profit. U of P wanted 25,000 for a BSN degree. I started my first class in January of this year and expect to finish in December of this year or maybe January of next year. It will cost me a total of 7,500. It's well worth it. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Now that I think of it, it does annoy me. It's another way of saying "He's in a women's profession ." It's usually my geriatric patients that use that term.

So, when do you start the program? I begin on December 1st .. I'm really excited..

My co-worker went through WGU's RN to BSN program. She had all her prerequisites though and so I believe she had 97 out of the 120 units that are needed to graduate. She was very determined and focused. I have 90 out the 120 needed so I figure if I can at least stretch it to 15 units (3 units over the required 12 per semester), I will graduate within one year. It took her 8 months. Good luck.. Caid

Recently, I learned about WGU from a co-worker. She made the decision to attend WGU because of the relatively low cost and flat fee per 6 month term. Amazingly, she finished the program in 8 months. I don't think this is the norm, but she explained that she did nothing but assignments and papers during All her free time, including nearly 24 weekend hours. For nearly a month or so, I've been researching online RN to BSN programs. When inquiring at University of Phoenix, I found the enrollment counselor to be somewhat determined to get me to commit to their program. She reminded me of a car salesman. When I mentioned to her that I found another school (WGU) and that it would mostly likely cost a little over a third of what U of P charged AND it was a legit, accredited university, her only response was.. "Yeah, but do you really want to go to a school that no one knows about? Or would you rather go to a school that everyone knows about?" It was then that I made my decision to go to WGU. All my interactions, so far, with the enrollment counselor at WGU have been awesome! I applied, had my transcripts sent out, took the placement test and within two weeks my transcripts were evaluated and I was accepted. So far I'm very pleased with my experience at WGU.. Hopefully it will go as smoothe as it has so far. Oh, and one more thing.. University of Phoenix is a "for profit" company. WGU is non-profit. Hopes this helps anyone with questions related to WGU. Caid - San Diego