szeles23

start doing the nclex questions at the end of each chapter in your fundamentals book. That will help with the critical thinking prep. Those tend to help. Don't read every single thing, unless your professors specifically test off the chapters. Mine don't and they tell us not to read everything. Know your basics, nursing process. If you know your nursing process that should be help, You have to have basic knowledge like your vitals and you have to know how to apply them. You need to focus on the concepts instead of just memorizing material, having an understanding of the concept is a must!

We started with a class of 56 and are now at 55. Yes we lost 1 at about the week and a half mark, and its the first semester. She had something come up I guess. We did ask students from the semesters ahead of us and they said normally you will lose between 2-4, but we will end up gaining some from a neighbor island or from someone who may have taken a LOA and is trying to grab a spot again. Either way my school has a pretty good success rate thankfully.

I have heard from the faculty in my program that the formal nursing diagnosis is something they are moving away from. They say it doesn't really make much sense, that in the real world you use the medical terms, not things like "impaired gas exchange" being pneumonia. Either way we still have to know how to do it but it may go away in the future. All of my faculty are NP/MSN or PhDs. I don't really care either way as I plan to further my career after my bsn :)

I'm through the first 2 weeks of my BSN program and yes I have to agree with the time management advice. There is A LOT of reading assigned at least the first two weeks, most professors say some things you can just skim but others will say read the whole chapter. In addition to multiple books and chapters you have to read, there are papers, and group projects, and research you need to be doing. I won't say its easy, but it is definitely worth it! :) Oh and quizzes you have to prepare for too. Also, its a very different type of learning, lots of critical thinking involved. Even from test/quiz #1. There is no regurgitation of information any more. I love it though. I wouldn't change my major for anything! :)

That's what my school says, that the ANA is trying to ensure that all NP programs are DNP programs by 2015. My school has its first DNP program starting in the spring I think, maybe its fall, but I'm totally on board with it. Its still not 100% but many many schools are turning to DNP programs.

Just wanted to say GOOD LUCK!!!! It's an awesome program! :) That wait sucks but it all seems like nothing when you finally get to go! Hoping you all get in!

Yeah they usually take your highest score in a category, but you still have to get at least 50% in all categories. Good luck guys!! Hope to see you all next semester! I'm pretty sure NLN scores are considered before the gpa's but don't quote me on that

I took my pre-reqs back in 2009 and 2010 so it has been more than a year. I don't remember everything but I do remember many of the anatomical names and locations, especially bones and organ parts lol. It will all come back to you. If you want get some netters or barrons flashcards and review or get some apps on the android or apple market, I got a few free ones and they do help! I'm not too terribly worried about remembering everything from A&P, micro, and chem since patho is one of our classes this semester. I think it will all be ok. We start monday WOOHOO!!

Nursing assistants will not replace Physician's assistants, at least not here in the US. A phys. asst. (PA) functions like a Nurse practitioner here. Nurse assistants are usually nurses aide's (CNA's) etc. The main difference between a PA and an NP is that in many states an NP can have their own practice, whereas, a PA always has to practice under a licensed MD/DO. Many NP programs require you to have at least 1 year of experience as an RN, some even require more, like 2 years, or require acute care experience. It all depends on the program you are looking at. One note to consider is that by 2015 the ANA theoretically wants NPs to become DNPs, doctor of nursing practice, in order to work independently. According to my school this change will happen in or around 2015, so that might influence your decision as well. Most PA schools are 24-27 months but are highly competitive, like CRNA schools, NP schools etc etc. Hope this helps.

You should ask your professor if you can bring a tape recorder to class and record the lecture. Or bring a laptop and type their notes if you are a fast typer.

I bought half from Amazon and half from the bookstore. I'm a bsn student as well. Do you have any friends in the class above you? Sometimes buying or borrowing from them works out nicely.

totally agree with this advice!!!

I can understand asking males to leave for religious or cultural reasons, but seriously as a mom of two kids, I did not care who was in the delivery room, I just wanted the kid out. I know many first time moms aren't the most comfortable with male caretakers but so many obgyn's are male. I think most of the time you will be allowed to go and see and learn, but there may be a few moms for personal reasons maybe that don't want you in there. Just like male pt's sometimes prefer a male provider and nurse.

I cannot understand paying $40000 per year or semester, my whole 3 years won't even cost me that much! I go to a 4 year university but its a public school and pretty cheap considering the private university 15 miles away charges a lot! I would say my average cost is 5k a semester, with fees and all the extras they like to add in, but half is covered by pell, half is covered by a loan but it will leave me little debt when I am done. I'm going to look for more scholarships next semester as well... I have other student loan debt that I'm paying on now so hopefully there will be jobs available when I graduate...

I would contact the administrator of the PA program. What city is your program in? I have looked at Medical college of GA's PA program and they don't even require a Bachelors for you to apply, just the pre-reqs. Schools can be pretty iffy with their pre-reqs. Some may count for the same thing. The program I have looked at in NC requires 250 hours of patient contact or shadowing, but clinical hours from a bsn program count toward that as well. The only other thing that I would need to apply would be another chemistry and to take the GRE. Good luck! I hope someone at the school can tell you which class will transfer as the pre-req.

This is probably some of the best, most straight-forward advice I have ever seen on here! Great advice! It is all about time management. Believe me I have such big fears since I have an almost 5 year old and almost 3 year old and was worried I would never see them until school breaks. I think it will be ok. As a full time student and sahm for the past 3 years I think I have some really good time management skills. You will be fine. You just have to organize, prioritize and manage your time wisely. That was a quote from my advisor.

The only thing I seem to compare nursing to is the military. You don't do it for the money, you do it for your own personal reasons. Nursing is a great field, but you can't just do it for the money, I believe your heart has to be in it in order to be a great nurse. The amount of money you spend to become a nurse is quite a bit so its not like it doesn't cost you anything to do it. I'm only a nursing student but I have been a military kid my entire life, as well as a proud spouse and my brother is also serving. I can speak to the experiences I have dealt with in the military world, and the military is definitely NOT something you can just do for a paycheck, it isn't a job, its a lifestyle, well at least its that way in the marine corps, especially in these times. JMHO

same here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! so excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No wait list at state schools in Hawaii. 100% merit based. The private universities here may have them but my public university does not, and the CC doesn't as well.

When I was with my daughter at the ER I did see a pair of very see thru leggings being utilized as pants with a very short shirt. Yes everyone could see the lovely thong that this woman had on under her leggings which she was using as pants... Leggings are not pants, and if you intend them to be, please wear a long shirt or make them opaque. Thank goodness she was wearing some sort of underwear

That was too funny, and very true! I was also told it would be extremely rare for me to get into the program that I am now currently in. The school never told me that but they did say it was really competitive, as all nursing schools do. My advice is if this is what you really want to do you need to focus on your pre-reqs and get the best grades you possibly can in order to make yourself very competitive. You don't know who you are competing against so you need to do the best you can to show them that you are dedicated and you have perseverance. I don't know what your school requires but good luck!! You'll do great!

Med terminology might help you if you take it prior to A&P. I didn't but we had to know a lot of the prefixes and suffixes. Some were really easy and when you broke it down to the literal names of certain anatomical parts it was super easy. I made A's without taking it so its really up to you.

I hope I can get one here, If not maybe I will try to find a summer job as a PCA or CNA.

My best advice is to get the practice/review book from Barnes and Noble. I did and I did great on it. If you have not taken a chemistry you need to familiarize yourself with things like combustion, laws of thermodynamics, etc etc. It is all in the review book.

The MEPN program at UHM seems really good. I'm in the BSN program there. You could apply to both the BSN and the MEPN but I'm not sure if the MEPN would require the NLN-pax rn as the bsn does. I'm pretty sure the MEPN does require the GRE and you seem to have a good score on that :) (How bad was the GRE btw? I'm heading to grad school after my BSN). Vanderbilt's program is #1 in the country. UHM's is good, it's 99th in the country, so I am happy with that :) Good luck, your GPA and GRE seem very good. I know the process of looking at different nursing schools can be daunting as none require the exact same thing or pre-req.