myblkcat

I agree. But compared to GRE prep, test costs, & letters of rec I figured it's painful but worth the exchange. Good luck!

Congrats chingy1206!!!

Congrats corporal! See you at orientation!

@Equus419... Lisa, I am curious to know more about some of the items you mentioned such as additional costs, final project, what to expect of the 1st year classes, which professors to try to take (or not), how easy or hard is it to get classes during registration... Please post or PM me if you don't mind. I don't know my "personality" type but I don't particularly care for surprises My pitiful need for control. Otherwise, I am very excited about getting started :monkeydance:

I would definitely review the hospital policy. I also wouldn't hesitate to contact pharmacy about giving it as well. It may be that you give the dose late (at 7pm) then the following doses be rescheduled. Unfortunately late meds do happen.

You're not ready. "Life" isn't really getting in the way. When you are ready you will fight through all that other "stuff". When you are ready your true motivation will come out to do it. Going back to school is more than just the intellectual knowledge of knowing you need to do it. It's ok that you're not ready. The fact that you have a goal to return at some point suggests that you are on the path to being ready at some point. In the meantime, continue to search out different programs and funding options. That will help you be one step ahead when you are ready.

The school's website says MSN letters will be sent out October 7. Which MSN track did you apply to? Good luck!!!

University of South Alabama has a Psychiatric (Family) BSN-DNP program. It's a three to four year program depending on what you choose. If you are graduating in April you have plenty of time to apply for Fall 2012. The application isn't too difficult but is a bit tedious. www.southalabama.edu/nursing

My letter came in the mail on Thursday. Best wishes!!! Let us know if you get in.

Congrats!!! Me too. BSN-DNP Adult NP with CV Subspecialty.

I was so excited when I saw "Spring 2012 Acceptance Letters" in my inbox. Unfortunately, it wasn't the actual notification. LOL. Oh well, hopefully next week will be the real thing. 

Kim28, Not exactly sure. I can look it up later, but roughly $20K. The classes with books were ~$1690 at the time but I believe tuition has gone up since then. I also applied to Univ of Cinncinati. I have a few friends there now and another friend at Indiana State Univ. All of them seem to like their programs (minus the routine crap) and they were both online. The price for those I believe is $20K-$25K. Hope that helps.

Unless the ADN fulfills an absolute time or financial constraint seriously consider the BSN. if you do decide on the ADN though community college is generally the better option. Everyone is correct when they say either way you will be busy as ever. You will want to make sure you have a tight backup plan for your kids in either program. While nursing is one of the greatest careers you will ever have, nursing school is hell, worth it but hell. Just some background, I had a previous masters degree when I fell on the opportunity to change careers. Since time was an issue for me and I'd have needed more pre-reqs I ended up in an ADN program. It was right for me at the time, but I certainly wouldn't recommend it.in this case only you really know what's right for you.

1CVRN, Have you had any trouble finding clinical sites/preceptors? Is it correct to assume that clinical selections are specific to cardiology? I am currently waiting on acceptance notification. I applied to the same track and subspecialty and am just wondering what to expect when it comes time for clinicals. Also, I am wondering do you work as well and if so, how much? I really hope I get in. I am very excited and nervous. Fingers crossed.

I'm not sure what hospitals' perception is of UofPhoenix but I found it extremely easy to get into their MSN program. They did not require the GRE, GMAT, or MAT. I don't recall writing any essays or needing letters of rec. If there was any of that is was so easy it wasn't even memorable. I was able to start within a week of my application being complete. Go to their website and fill out the request for information. Someone will definitely call you.

Pilotman - That sound correct. I discovered a program that I was extremely interested in about a week before the application was due. Of course, NursingCAS states in there instructions it takes ~5 weeks to process your application. Fortunately, the school I applied to actually allowed extra time for NursingCAS processing and my application was processed just in time. It's very tedious, but it seems that grad school for nursing is one big hazing regardless. I didn't have any problem getting them on the phone, but for critical information I found contacting the school directly provided more detailed information.

I also applied to the BSN-DNP ACNP Cardiovascular specialty. I thought I'd missed the deadline because some of my paperwork did not make the deadline but was informed that I still had time so I'm eagerly awaiting Sept 15 as well. In the meantime, has anyone heard any other feedback on the program? What to expect? Good? Bad? Ugly? Good luck! Fingers crossed!

Anybody know anything about campus apartment housing? Is it worth it? Is it hard to get?

I forgot my stethoscope a few days ago and a co-worker let me borrow his Master Cardiology. I swear I could just about hear the patient's pedal pulses while auscultating for breath sounds! Seriously though, I have a hard time hearing through most stethoscopes but that one was so good I came home from my shift and ordered it. Afterward, I did get to listen through a different co-workers STC and would recommend either one. I haven't used a Cardiology III but for the price difference go for the Master Cardiology.

I can tell you from my experience and the feedback I receive from the nurses I work with that the interpersonal skills with patients is just as important as technical skills. If you feel like being a phlebotomist while awaiting nursing school will help you then go for it. I work as a CNA & my facility requires all CNAs to be trained for phlebotomy on the job regardless of whether or not they've taken a class (talk about inexpensive training) which works out great for me so when I when I went to another facility for my clinicals and observed the new phlebotomists coming to draw blood I was personally unimpressed at the amount of interaction they had with the patient I was assigned. They were in and out with barely a hello. My point is if you want to be a phlebotomist for the experience make the best of it. Someone posted the difference in the amount of time spent with your patient is 10 minutes compared to a shift...I say 2-5 minutes on many occassions, so make good use of your time to develop those interpersonal skills. Best wishes.

My rules for working nights: 1) Wear a mask and earplugs while sleeping during the day. 2) Turn off ALL the phones. But just in case, change the voicemail to let people know what hours are appropriate to call. Only took a week for the phone to stop ringing while I was sleeping. 3) Plan for time for a nap just in case I didn't sleep long enough the first time. 4) Stay busy and active at work. 5) Have a buddy that I could call in case I started getting sleepy on the way driving home from work. 6) Eat. I don't sleep well on an empty stomach so I usually at when I woke up, before going to work, and a meal at work.

I don't have a Littman, but I tried a few out when I went to buy my stethescope last year. I had difficulty hearing through the Littman so I didn't buy one. But, I work as a CNA on a cardiac floor. Littman is what all the cardiologists and nurses have. They all recommend it saying it's the best.