hawkeyeginger

I asked about grandfathering in and they said they couldn't do it because I would be starting the actual clinical part of the program during the school year that the requirements kicked in.

Two of the three new prereq classes I need to take are only offered at that school. I like to think I would be able to get into one of those 18 slots, but from what I heard from a nursing graduate there, they notify you only two weeks in advance if you can fill in for one of the spots, so focusing on that would cause a lot of stress for me. Thank you for the empathy.

Just wanted to vent. I applied to 2 nursing program. I have been on the waitlist for the first one for a year and a half and I was supposed to be able to attend in fall. That is, until the program directors decided to add three classes as prereq's to getting in the nursing program starting this fall. Only one of the three classes are available as a summer class and the fall sections of the classes are already full so that means IF I took the classes in spring, I couldn't even get into the program until next fall at the earliest because not having the classes already means I am again bumped to the back of the waiting list. The second program I have been waitlisted on until spring. That would be no big deal, except for the fact that I have all prereq's done, with good grades, AND the fall sections aren't even full! I asked about it and they said they are saving it for POTENTIAL (read: one's who haven't even applied for retaking class) students who have failed LPN classes and want to retake it. I can understand wanting the chance to retake the class right away but they saved 18 spots (in a 50 spot program) for such students. Shouldn't they save less to give other students a chance? It was just frustrating! The thing that compounds my frustration the most though? About two weeks ago (at the end of April), I decided to apply to a non-nursing health program for a fallback plan. So on a whim, I decided to apply to a med lab tech program at one of the schools that waitlisted me on their nursing program. AND...(keep in mind, all of my classes I have taken up till now have been pre-nursing classes) I got accepted to their FALL program! I applied only TWO WEEKS ago!!!! I am BEYOND frustrated. I actually want to go into nursing to help people, aka: the money and job security are NOT the biggest draws to me, and have been a CNA for 4 years and love what I do and what I could do if I was a nurse, but other people who are only in it for the money (and yes people in those school's programs have admitted that the money is the biggest draw to the PROGRAM DIRECTORS) get into the programs before those who actually give a darn about patients. And we wonder why we have nurses that are beyond awful.

Wow, I seriously thought I had posted this question, before I looked at the username. I am in the same exact boat (LPN to ADN at community college, wanting to be travel nurse, no desire to do management, wanting BSN). I work with some ADN's who are currently going to school for their BSN's and about half are going to 100% online schools and half are going to brick and mortar schools that have online ADN to BSN degree completions. The ones who are going to 100% online schools are ok with them, but the other half LOVE the plans at the brick and mortar schools.

I am super shy too, but working as a CNA taught me REALLY FAST that you can be shy in your social life and be a talker in your work life. It might sound like a stupid or cliche statement, but remember that the patients are just as nervous if not more so than you. Nervousness sometimes comes out at as anger or vindictiveness, so just be calm and talk to the patients w/out showing your frustration. Allso remember that 9/10ths of the language you convey is body language, so have an open body stance (aka no crossed arms or wide stance.) Hope this helps!:)

Thanks for the advice! Now if only I can remember it when I am in the clinical setting! hehe

Well, I do want to gain experience with kids. I want to push myself out of my comfort zone to maybe make myself a better nurse.

Hello, allnurse members! I'm going to start clinicals soon, and although I won't be doing my ped's rotation until my third semester, I was wondering if you have any advice for someone who doesn't have much experience with kids. Everywhere I lived, I was surronded by kids my own age and most of my family lives far away so I was never around cousins when they were younger. Although that is usually a good thing, it didn't leave much experience with younger kids. Any advice on how to connect with kids when I do interact with them?

How often do you review the material you were taught in "nursing pre-requisites" like A&P, Microbio, Medical Terminology, Nutrition, etc.? And I mean actually sitting down and reviewing notes, not as in "we-do-it-everyday-in-clinicals." I will be in clinicals *fingers crossed* in Fall, but I feel as though I should be reviewing all that material on a daily basis, not just every couple of days. What are your thoughts?

Going crazy too! I applied to three programs and all of them don't even start reviewing applications until March 1st! So it will be another week wait after that, at least, and I'm already freaking out. The wait list for at least two of the schools can be up to two years!

I'm right there with you. "Filler" or, more commonly known in my area, "weed-out" classes stink, but I take a step back and relax to say, "I need to get through these classes to get to my ultimate goal. Plus, once I start in clinicals, everything goes at twice the speed of light, so I should enjoy it while I can."

I live in Manchester, IA (it's about 35 minutes west of Dubuque.) Your information did open up the thought for SCC! I have talked to those who work at hospitals I like and they say usually a hospital will throw away an application if they see you graduated at Kirkwood.

Hey, allnurse! This is going to be my first post, and it is a rather important one to me. I live in Iowa and am currently applied to Hawkeye Community College, Kirkwood CC, and Kaplan University. Assuming I am accepted into their the programs, as in I will start clinicals in the fall, which one should I attend? I hear conflicting information about the colleges. I first heard that Kirkwood had the worst nursing program in Iowa, then someone told me that Hawkeye's ADN graduation rate was so low that they got invetigated for not teaching the right information. THEN I hear that Kaplan Accrediation doesn't carry from state to state. But once I talk to students who graduated from these programs and get their stories, their experiences appeal to me, although only the one that graduated from Hawkeye disputed the nasty stuff I heard about their program. I have a great number of gen. eds./ non-ADN classes DONE and as such most of the schools tell me I am at the front of the line to get into their nursing programs. And I know NICC has one of the best nursing programs, but it's waiting list is up to three years last time I checked. So can any students/ people in the know about any of the aforementioned programs PLEASE weigh in with their opinions? It would be greatly appreciated!

Hey, allnurse! This is going to be my first post, and it is a rather important one to me. I live in Iowa and am currently applied to Hawkeye Community College, Kirkwood CC, and Kaplan University. Assuming I am accepted into their the programs, as in I will start clinicals in the fall, which one should I attend? I hear conflicting information about the colleges. I first heard that Kirkwood had the worst nursing program in Iowa, then someone told me that Hawkeye's ADN graduation rate was so low that they got invetigated for not teaching the right information. THEN I hear that Kaplan Accrediation doesn't carry from state to state. But once I talk to students who graduated from these programs and get their stories, their experiences appeal to me, although only the one that graduated from Hawkeye disputed the nasty stuff I heard about their program. I have a great number of gen. eds./ non-ADN classes DONE and as such most of the schools tell me I am at the front of the line to get into their nursing programs. And I know NICC has one of the best nursing programs, but it's waiting list is up to three years last time I checked. So can any students/ people in the know about any of the aforementioned programs PLEASE weigh in with their opinions? It would be greatly appreciated!