phlowtey

I have been assigned to be part of a workgroup that will adjust computerized charting software for each 24-bed unit in our hospital. We currently are still doing paper charting. To aid this process I would like to hear your input concerning what works and what doesn't, what is good and what is bad, aspects of the various systems that are hated and loved. Any feedback is appreciated.

I will be starting the 3rd semester in August. The schedule is essentially the same as the 2nd semester. Two lectures a week of two hours each and two clinical days that are usually 7am to 1:20pm. The schedule is based on which clinical group you are assigned to but they are all pretty similar. There are some evening clinical rotations available. I had a son born the day before I started the prereqs and my daughter was born three weeks into the first semester of the Nursing program last fall. My wife works full time. I lost my job in April of 2009. Most of the classes I have taken have been online so I have been able to stay home with the kids. Hasn't been easy but everything has been working out schedule-wise. There is a single mother of four who works 30 hours a week in our class. I figure that if she can do it...

Tmowry. No offense was meant by my post. I am 30, my wife works full time, and we have two kids, 19 months and 6 months. There are many people in my class who have a much fuller plate than me when it comes to personal life. Most of the people who have family responsibilities and work even part time usually end up quitting their jobs during the first two semesters or dropping out because it is so difficult to do both. I am sure that there is more to the process than what I was told in a passing conversation with the Dean. Our class is very diverse. Their grade requirements make it possible for people who do not still live with their parents to get the degree and still spend time with their family. I am not a straight A student. I fully believe that everyone, without exception, is capable of being a straight A student. The lower grade requirements has allowed me to spend a significant amount of time with my children and help my wife with the home while she is at work and still get a quality education. Also, everyone of the pre-req classes is available as an online course with the exception of the labs for A&P and Chemistry. Those labs are scheduled in the evening so anyone who works full time is capable of taking the classes, even if it is more than one at a time. My son was born the day before I started the pre-reqs in the fall of 2009. At the time the online classes were full for A&P and Chemistry so I took online algebra and English and on campus A&P I and descriptive chemistry...all while working 15-35 hours a week and still earned a 3.4 to get into the program. It all comes down to motivation and a sense of urgency. The national average age for community college students is 29. These are the people may not have gone to college out high school and not that they are starting families there is a new need for a better job. The catalog of classes and the Program schedules are designed with this in mind. There are 8 other students in my clinical group this semester, only two are single and do not have kids. Two of them have four kids. One of those mothers of four is a 36 year old single mother who works as a phlebotomist 15 - 25 hours a week. She had essentially the same schedule as me regarding the pre-reqs. All 4 in one semester, she got a 4.0. Again, no offense is intended. It just bothered me when I read that where I have chosen to get my education is accused of unfair and negligent methods of choosing students for the program and that "they don't care if you have the personality for it." No interview or admission letter will reveal enough of a person's personality to show if they will be a good nurse or not. Last time I checked it was the patients who decided if a nurse was good or bad.

I strongly disagree with javapearl. I am about to finish my first year in the program. I applied for it once and got in...with a 3.4 GPA. Man people who applied with a 4.0 did not get in. There is a lot more taken into account when selecting the 70 students than just GPA. The staff is very knowledgeable and experienced. There are a few Nurse Practitioners and several with Master's Degrees. The clinical locations are varied in facility size and type in order to provide an extensive experience. I will say that it is very difficult and that there is a no nonsense attitude throughout the program. Our first day included a speech during which we were informed that for every one of us there is 3 or 4 people who wanted to be here. Most everyone takes it very serious. LPN's join in the second semester. With them being added we end up with a total registration of about 85 students. The average graduating class is 50. The national average of students who start and finish a program is about 60%. BC3 is right there. Some schools graduate more and some less. The program is accredited and I have 6 friends who have graduated from BC3 in the last ten years that have grown to be well respected in their profession. This college, we are paying to be here. A lot more effort from the students is needed than there was in high school. The pre-reqs are a Biology, English, Algebra, and Chemistry with a lab all within the last five years. I took all four in one semester, got a 3.4 and got in the program. A minimum accumulated GPA of 2.8 is required for application but because of the number of applicants I was told that it is highly unlikely to get in with anything less than a 3.0. I spoke with the Dean of the program about why students who had a 4.0 did not get in when I did she explained that many times they see people who have been out of school for a number of years take a single class each semester to make sure that they earn the 4.0, they get into the program, and then they fail or drop out with the first semester. Just the nursing class for the first semester is like three individual classes; lecture, lab, and clinical. There are different books and material to study for each one. The Dean told me that more often than not the people who are used to one class get overwhelmed and leave the program. There is not an essay or references required, but they do far more than pick the first 70 people with a 4.0. The pictures of more than 20 graduating classes are in the hallways outside the nursing classrooms...evidence of experience and efficacy. One more thing. A friend of mine who is about to graduate from the program is moving to Arizona immediately afterward. He was one of 200 people who applied for 20 nursing positions at the Mayo clinic out there. He got the job.