2ndbach

I am really happy and excited about school, but terrified of leaving my job and income too. I know that Wells Fargo is still offering a direct to borrower loan with a max of 25,000 per year. Obviously this would work for your first year, but if you need more, the second year would be tougher because you have no proof of income while in school. If anyone finds any other direct to borrower loans out there, PLEASE POST! As far as I know most have disappeared over the last 1 - 2 years unless you are a medical student. So stressful!

Has anybody heard any news yet? I am waiting patiently!

Hi- I have a question that I am hoping to get answered here. I am a recent grad who is beginning to see the reality of working in a hospital, and the issues that I did not know existed when I was interviewing for work. One of the biggest that I can see at the moment is the issue of low census, and the policy at my hospital is as follows: I am scheduled for 36 hours per week ( 3, 12.5 hour shifts). At any time, if there is a low patient census, we are told (in rotation) to not come in, and will not be paid. However, we are expected to wait by the phone from 7 until 11, because they are able to call us back in any time during this four hour period. We are NOT paid for any of this time, and if called in, are only paid for the time we are clocked in once we get there, even though we were scheduled for and available to work for the entire shift. It also has happened once a person comes to work. You clock in, work an hour or so,and then are told to go home. However, you are also told that they might need you at 11, so you might have to come back. I saw a nurse actually do this two weeks ago. She was not paid for any of her time wasted on 2 trips to the hospital, waiting around, etc. Is this normal? Is this actually going on at other hospitals? PLEASE, tell me what your hospital's low census policy is. Are you paid for at least a minimum of say 4 hours? Do you have to wait around to be recalled? I am dying to know! This seems absolutely crazy to me. Thanks!

Hi- I have a question that I am hoping to get answered here. I am a recent grad who is beginning to see the reality of working in a hospital, and the issues that I did not know existed when I was interviewing for work. One of the biggest that I can see at the moment is the issue of low census. I work for St. John's, and the policy there is as follows: I am scheduled for 36 hours per week ( 3, 12.5 hour shifts). At any time, if there is a low patient census, we are told (in rotation) to not come in, and will not be paid. However, we are expected to wait by the phone from 7 until 11, because they are able to call us back in any time during this four hour period. We are NOT paid for any of this time, and if called in, are only paid for the time we are clocked in once we get there, even though we were scheduled for and available to work for the entire shift. It also has happened once a person comes to work. You clock in, work an hour or so,and then are told to go home. However, they are also told that they might need you at 11, so you might have to come back. I saw a nurse actually do this two weeks ago. She was not paid for any of her time wasted on 2 trips to the hospital, waiting around, etc. Is this normal? Is this actually going on at other hospitals in Detroit and the burbs? PLEASE, tell me what your hospital's low census policy is. Are you paid for at least a minimum of say 4 hours? Do you have to wait around to be recalled? I am dying to know! This seems absolutely crazy to me. Thanks! D

Before anything else- hi allison! Actually, for you grads to be out there, $24.00 doesn't sound too bad actually. St. John's starts new grads system wide (Main, Providence, Oakland, Macomb)at $23.65. Then you pay towards your benefits. Oh, and then there is the issue of low census policy to consider. THat is for another post. Good luck, D

Hi- The information posted regarding the OU program is not correct. If it were, I would not be half way through it by now, I would be on a wait list. It is my understanding that the wait is for the traditional program, not accelerated 2nd degree. I also attended Wayne for some pre-reqs, and the GPA there is high, slightly higher than OU was at the time that I was applying. Both are good schools, and clinicals at accelerated programs in general can be disorganised due to the tight time constraints. As for the "ranking" of Wayne- I am not sure what that is or where it came from, but I always consider who ranks a program and why. US News and World Report has ranked nursing programs every year, but what effect does that have on the quality of the education on a daily basis? I would rely more on NCLEX pass rates than anything else. That is, afterall why you are there and is often ignored when selecting a program. They owe you that! Good luck, and remember that regardless of where you go your experience is what you make of it. Good luck!

Jewelcutt- First of all congrats to you! What an accomplishent. If you have any helpful info/insights please post or email me if it is more comfortable. It would be great to hear more info on programs and clinical experiences in the Detroit area. I am hoping to go to CRNA school ( currently a 2nd degree BSN student at OU) and am looking for as much info as I can find to help me plan the next few years. Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone- I am currently a nursing student at OU and am very curious about the average gpa etc needed for interview. We have had faculty tell us that it is extremely difficult to get an interview (actually the phrase was "almost unheard of") for anyone with less than a 3.7 or 3.8, especially if you are an OU graduate. Is there any truth to this from your experience so far? I would love to know as this has me feeling pretty disappointed. Feel free to email me if privacy is an issue. Thanks!

I know we are not supposed to care what an md/ mda's opinion is of us as srnas/ crnas, but I am trying to educate myself about going into this field as much as possible. This issue is certainly one that greatly affects your daily work environment, and the amount of support vs. stress within it. I worked for social services in England for a few years, and eventually left because of the constant friction between the employees in the sector where I worked who had bachelor's degrees/ relevent qualifications and those that did not. There was a whole VERY negative culture there (within s serv) because of it, and I left partially because the level of care that employees were able to give was being effected by it. Just a side note, it was discriminatory in reverse to this situation because the majority of the s serv. employees where I worked were NOT college educated, and I was one of the few that was. I am from the U.S and live here now and really want to go into crna study with my eyes open as much as possible- so please share your experiences with this even though experiences are likely to vary greatly! No offense intended to any english people- this was very isolated, and I loved it there.

Wow, that was so obvious now that you guys have explained it. Thanks a lot. This board is really helpful! Thanks!

I am new to this and I am researching everything I can get my hands on to make an informed choice for my future, and want to know what c=rn means, in detail please! Thanks!