SNSWTR

jujubees1, call the bookstore about the books. Someone might be able to give you the list of books you'll need. You'll use some books a lot more than others this semester. I didn't read every book that we were required to buy. I still haven't opened a few of them. YMMV.

Stethoscope: A good one will be helpful for first semester, but is not required. You probably won't be able to hear subtle heart or lung sounds. However, it's not that big of a deal if you can't. They didn't really emphasize distinguishing sounds, so you probably won't need it just yet. I'm not sure about later semesters, though. Nursing Central: I made it through the first semester without it. I can see its use, but am not sure if I could justify the price. The school gave us access to Micromedex (for drugs). However, we didn't really use a handheld on the floor, as it wasn't necessary. We didn't really do the stuff that Nursing Central could be useful for (labs, drugs, etc.). If you come to a point at which you feel it can be of use to you on the floor, purchase it then. However, you don't need it for the first semester. They should also give your class access to Kaplan, which is a great resource for NCLEX preparation and studying for exams. There's a lot of helpful info on the website and in a review book that accompanies the website, if you can find the time to use it. Congrats. Enjoy your first semester!

Hi Arii, not in either. Going to UHM. Either school is a great choice, but I think KCC is stronger on the skills.

It is possible to work while going to school; but if you have kids, you probably won't see them. Several students work during the weekends. Some even work weekdays, too. I think if your job is at a flexible 24/7 establishment, you'd be able to put in some weekdays. However, I've also heard of people trying to cut back on their hours. I guess it really depends upon the individual. Along the way, you'll find ways to cut corners on the school workload and become more efficient.

I read the NLN study guide. It covered the test material well. I think one of the tricks is to not underanticipate the physics and circuitry stuff. I don't know if it was my version of the test, but that's what traumatized me the most. So I guess the physics formulas would be one good thing to memorize, along with understanding circuitry. I'd just go over everything (anatomy, micro, physics) and do the practice questions to identify your areas of weakness. Honestly, I don't know what to say because the exam encompassed so much. The study guide summarizes it nicely, though.

[Hi, going2BaNurse2014. I think I know who you might be, and you probably know who I am. Nice to see you here!] Yes, I don't think you can go wrong with the profs for the first semester. They all have their strengths. Overall, it's been an enjoyable experience--albeit a sleep-deprived one. (Just noticed my spelling error for "stethoscope". Can we edit?)

For those who need to get their titers, if you go to DLS and pay cash up front, I think they'll give you a 50% discount. I had insurance, but wasn't sure it would cover the test, so I paid cash up front. It should cost ~$60-$100 depending upon what titers you need. I didn't need them all, so my bill was Speaking of books, try to find out what books you'll need early and order them online to save some money. Amazon and Barnes and Noble are great. Since you'll be under time constraints, I wouldn't suggest buying used books online, as vendors tend to use media mail to ship out to Hawaii, which can take longer than 1 month to get here. I bought most of my books new and some used and saved about $200 off the bookstore price. If your cohort is using the same books as ours, you'll initially need Potter & Perry, Edelman, Cherry, the APA book, and the Mosby's DVDs; and Jarvis by the third week. Some quiz answers can be found in the patho book, so you might want that early, too. Honestly, though, I haven't opened the patho book that much and I've done okay so far in patho, so I'm on the fence about that one. It's a great reference, but a pretty pricey investment, so it's up to you. As long as you have the other books from the start, you'll do okay. Midsemester, you'll need Davis and Curren. I didn't open the culture book. As far as the other books go, they'll probably collect dust during the first semester. If you can, get the Littmann stethascope. It'll make listening to heart sounds much easier.

I know of two students who got into KCC's program with ~120 NLN scores. They were both alt listed and eventually accepted. One had a 4.0 and the other had a 3.8. Both had nurse aide training. On the other hand, I know of another student with a ~150 score and 3 unfinished co-reqs + nurse aide training who didn't get in. Your chances of getting in will improve with a higher NLN score, but it doesn't guarantee anything. I think if you ace at least one section (>90th percentile), your chance of getting into UH will improve. By default, your overall NLN score would improve, increasing your chance of getting into KCC also. Overall, it depends upon the applicant pool and how your scores compare against the other applicants. Talk to a counselor for suggestions to strengthen your application and to weigh your options (perhaps applying to the LPN program also?).

And for those who are didn't get in to KCC or are alt listed, it is possible to not get accepted at KCC but accepted at UHM. I know of several students who applied to both but were only accepted at UHM.

Congratulations to those who got in. Be prepared to work hard. There's down time and time for work or fun, but exams and paper due dates have a tendency to bunch up. Just as you're breathing a sigh of relief after turning in a paper or finishing up an exam, another due date is breathing down your back. And eventually, you'll have to forget about reading. After a while, it becomes very focused--as in for exam prep--because you have so much other stuff to do. Have fun with APA =). Be ready for lots of group projects, too. Nursing school is very time consuming. If you thought prereqs were tough, I have to say that nursing school is tougher. If you didn't get in, don't give up. Use the time to improve your grades, improve your NLN score, or finish up other classes required for graduation. Use it as an opportunity to beef up on your writing, A&P, and pharm. Take a CNA class, if possible. It'll only cover a few basic skills, but they go kind of fast when it comes to skills. At least you won't have to worry about learning some skills during the first few weeks of school. Also, get some APA templates going as writing in APA style is very tedious. They ask for all your papers to be written using APA format.

A winning lottery ticket should also be on our list...

I hear you on that one. School starts on Monday and we just had to replace four tires. It was an unanticipated event. After recently spending a ton of money on books, supplies, and tuition, we did NOT need this to happen so close to the start of school.

I'm only a very soon to be nursing student with no connections to a hospital, hospital administration, or nursing organization, so I can't offer an insiders perspective of Hawaii's nursing situation; however, I do think the question you initially posed is quite interesting. Could the answer simply be one of supply and demand--that there are a greater number of nurses here than there are nursing jobs? Perhaps mainland nurses are attracted to Hawaii because of the wages and a romanticized version of what life is like in Hawaii, nurses from the Philippines come here to be with their families and to make a better life for themselves, and local nurses don't want to leave because of family ties and lifestyle. In addition, if nurses in Hawaii are like nurses in other states, they are working into their planned retirement years to make up for 401k losses, to support adult kids who can't find jobs or their grandchildren, to pay for their mortgage, and to survive in this crappy economy in general. To top it off, the nursing schools continue to pump out new nurses several times a year--many whom, from what I understand, cannot find jobs here. New grad nurse hiring here is dismal compared to the other 49 states...perhaps the lowest in the nation (if the statistics I have seen are an accurate representation of reality). The result of such a combination is a saturated and highly competitive nursing job market. Regarding your comparison of employment rates in Hawaii and Florida, I would have to say that even though 6-7% unemployment seems like basically 0% unemployment to you, it is considerably worse than it was five years ago when the economy was better. At that time, unemployment was hovering between 2-3%. I remember the want ads were pretty thick at that time, and it was an employees market. However, now, the want ads have less pages than the Sunday comics in the same paper, and that ain't saying much. God help us if we ever get to 12%. It sounds like your real question is whether or not your qualifications and experience will allow you to move here. To me, you and your wife both sound experienced. You'll never know unless you ask people who do the hiring. Maybe you could call some of the hospitals and staffing agencies to find out what it will take to get a job here. Being in the right place at the right time and knowing the right people should enable you to live your dreams. The surf is great here, by the way, but line-ups have gotten extremely crowded since I stopped hitting the water nearly ten years ago. Be prepared for a circus if you ever do make it down here. And last but not least, good luck!

Thanks to everyone who replied to this thread. It was interesting to see the variation in length of care plans required by different schools. If one hates care plan writing, looks like inthere's school is the way to go. Regarding time saving tips for care plan writing, the message I got is that I should save my care plans and recycle them. I also noticed that NANDA dx was mentioned. Has anyone found that the NANDA reference guide comes in handy?

I've been going over some of the many care plan threads and have found a lot of great information about how to do one. However, I am wondering if anyone has any tips for streamlining the writing process. The sound of 20+ page single-spaced care plans is giving me quite a bit of anxiety--especially since writing takes a little longer for me. Any helpful suggestions to make the care plan writing process go along a little bit faster?