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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?

I'd like to retract this statement. The hole-punches shifted right after I narrowed the print margins to ensure everything on the cards would print (which was odd). The OP did a great job. No need for adjustments...just print away....

There are some really helpful flashcards here: https://allnurses.com/nursing-student-assistance/pharmacology-flashcards-595483.html

Thanks for generously sharing your work! Done with pharmacology (thank goodness), but they'll come in handy for a pharm review, which I've been wanting to do. They look great, but some cards have hole-punch circles over words. Easy to address and no biggie in light of all the time and $ saved. Thank you thank you thank you!

tag2007, just a suggestion: to be safe, try flesh colored underwear instead of white. White under white might stand out...like on the person I saw at the grocery store a few days ago. Also, beware of polka dots, stripes, etc. as the print may show through your pants. A scrub top that covers your bum should give you an additional layer of protection. Only problem is, none of these suggestions will save a female from a "that time of the month" accident (sorry...TMI)

The NLN review guide you have is probably the best one out there. It provides a succinct summary of what you need to know. I took the exam prior to retaking the majority of my science courses, but the book had given me enough of a knowledge base to answer a sufficient amount of questions correctly. Looking back, a lot of the test questions were based upon info found in the review guide. I recall there being quite a few physics-related questions and questions about circuitry in my exam. Memorize those formulas and know volts, joules, etc. Seeing those kinds of questions caused me to sweat because I kind of glossed over those sections in the review guide. I assumed that the exam wouldn't contain too many of those types of questions because it was for nursing, but I got gonged big time. Chem, micro, and A&P were all in there, as well. In regards to the verbal section, I agree with NeekoDango...you either know it or don't. Learning those word parts, I think, is one of the fastest ways to boost your verbal score. Overall, don't let the practice exams get you down. You might just psych yourself out and give up. You need to study the science section in order to boost your science score. If I could go back in time, I would study the review guide more prior to the exam and do more practice questions if possible. I wish I had more practice questions to draw upon to further pinpoint my weaknesses. Ultimately, when you do take the exam, I suggest you move through the exam as quickly as possible. Skip questions that you are unsure of and return to them later. You can't waste too much time mulling over one question or you won't have time to get to questions that you might actually be able to answer.

I'm excited for you, as well. I think you'll do fine and you look like a strong candidate. I don't think you'll have to stress so much about getting in. Good luck! As far as my job situation goes, I have some loose ends to tie up, so I don't think I'll be able to work. I told myself that I wouldn't start looking for a job until I finish up, but I wish I could. I do hope to continue to volunteer, though. A PRN job would be great, but I don't know exactly how to get one without experience.

I'm a brand-spanking new nursing student who will be entering the school this Fall, so I don't have any personal insight into the weight of the course load. However, there is another thread with info to which you can refer: https://allnurses.com/hi-nursing-programs/working-while-attending-576217.html Good luck to you during the application process.

You can forget about retaking the extra class (unless you want a refresher), because the prereq credits don't expire at UHM. Although I retook several science classes in order to apply for KCC, my UHM application was full of dusty credits. Only KCC's science credits expire after five years (except for chem...which does not expire). All other credits for both schools (psych, math, etc.) have no expiration date.

Your stats look good to me... I have no idea how to calculate my stats, but I did apply with at least one C. I retook my sciences at the community college level and got As, so I don't know how that factored in to my cGPA or pGPA. Here goes: cGPA: 3.31 (from my BA) pGPG: Don't know what grades applied NLN: Verbal 97 Math: 99 Science: 98 Your stats look better than mine, and I was able to get in. I'd say your chances look pretty darned good.

I read some posts about Nursing Central. The $160 price tag is initially shocking, but I guess when I'm in the heat of clinicals, I'll find that it was totally worth it? Speed + convenience - steps to the nurses station to look up stuff in hard copy books = better time management? Have you found it's helped you in this way and will I be using it as much in the first year as I will in the third year of school?