37 and counting

I would think patient care may suffer if their nurse is fatigued from working 7 days in a row. Everyone needs some time to rest and spend with their families.

Okay this made me laugh out loud :) I wonder if the housekeepers are worried for their jobs now that the nurses have the mops? LOL!

Congrats to you guys! I am in third semester at COC and I love love love it! First semester is very stressful because everything is so new but the 1st semester instructors are super nice people so its just the work that makes in stressful not the instructors. Later... its both :) @heylove, I hope you made it to your first class... which teacher did you get tall or short?

I can't believe how fast that semester went by. It felt like we were constantly taking midterms or finals. Just an FYI to the next incoming class the classes run one after the other so the first semester is broken into two 8 week sections with two classes (pharm & theory) in each. In addition, the first 8 weeks you will also have skills lab and the second 8 weeks will be clinical. Congrats to the 58 of us who made it throught to second semester and good luck to the next 60 :)

The group I am in starts skills lab tomorrow morning :) I can't believe its time already!!! Of course my kid came home sick today so I have been freaking out all day.... but she seems better now.... hope she holds out until Friday for any more illnesses :) So as long as I don't sleep through my alarm clock and I remember to bring all of my stuff... I think I am good. Good luck everyone !!!!

I am so freaken excited that school starts on the 23rd!!!! I still haven't finished my reading... I think I am just so freaked about once the rollercoster of information starts we will be riding it for 2 years that I am just trying to delay the start a bit. LOL! Excited.... scared.... butterflies..... vomit.... I am really having trouble telling the difference at this point. LOL!

@Rishybugg - So funny you should ask... I am also starting skills lab on the 23rd and was wondering the same thing. I drove by there today and its really easy to find its right accross from the parking structure. So when you drive into the main hospital (hospital is in front of you) and make a right towards the parking structure you will see it on the left side directly accross from the parking structure. It has COC listed on the outside of the building and everything. Now if I could only find my stethoscope I would be good to go :) Hope to meet you on Thursday :)

Mine will be at 6:30 am at kaiser PC.

@ nursefrances - LMAO! Now the pirates song is stuck in my head. LOL!

Congrats!!!

I started reading this thread because I too will be on a tight budget and thought it might contain some tips..... then I just giggled my way through it and no longer cared about poverty. You guys/gals are a crack up :) Thanks for the laugh!

Mrs. Priss - I have had very similar conversations. Oddly all of the doctors and nurses I have talked to about my desire to become a nurse have been really encouraging and have not made weight an issue - my family on the other hand does not have the same filter. I am also working on droping weight and have lost over 30lbs but still have a ways to go. For me, this whole process has been about being my own biggest (shrinking) cheerleader and tuning out the negative whitenoise of others. You have worked hard to get to this point and I am sure you are excited (I know I am!) so don't let anyone steal your thunder!!!! You are AWESOME and nursing school is going to be AMAZEBALLS! Congrats and good luck!

Idon't know about electronic copies, but I did ask the instructors about older versions of books. I was advised via email that the last version of calculate with confidence and the 1st version of the videos would be fine (and they are both much cheaper on Amazon). Also, we are allowed to use the last version of the fundamentals book, but it would require more effort as we will have to search for the info rather than just go off of the page numbers given - I got the impression they were advising against it. Most current versions of Davis's drug guide and most current version of Nursing Diagnosis were recommended. *** I was given this information in response to an email I sent and I am in no way recommending it - I just thought I would share as an FYI.

So I was looking at the booklist today and OMG!! My friend gave me a number of books but many of them are 1 edition off. Anyone know if there is a big change in the fundamentals of nursing books between edition 6 and 7?

I will be at Kaiser PC.

@mbragasin - I would love to know what we are going to learn 1st semester and what books we will be using if you have an idea. My email is [email protected].

I know people who have graduated from both and both are good schools. I am attending COC this fall and they are actually making us buy the Kaplan review course to improve the NCLEX pass rate. Some schools hold back or drop students in their final semester (some right before graduation) and I am not saying they do this to protect their pass rates, but I am sure it can't hurt. I think we will all get out of nursing school what we put into it, just like life. Good luck to you all :)

Wow they start early :) I am looking forward to haning out with my kid and going on vacation while I still have the time and brain power this summer. Good luck to you @nurseoftheworld.

@Dox06 they are in the mail and they are using our envelopes so I am sure people will get one either way. @nurseoftheworld, I am glad you got into the school and program of your choice. Its important that we all pick the best program that suits our needs. As for me COC is much closer than glendale, and my good friend also got accepted, so I am thrilled. Although, I know I would have been happy at either school. Just getting accepted on the first go-round has been such a blessing. I am still looking forward to acceptance/rejection letters from all 7 schools I applied to.... having already accepted COC (damn we have to do a lot of stuff in may)... it takes all of the pressure off while waiting for the letters and I can just enjoy the ride. I also got alt #2 at LACC. So far I am having a good run :) Good luck to everyone out there and I hope to meet some of you soon at COC :)

I just got an acceptance letter from Glendale for the standard program (days). I will be declining my seat as I will be attending College of the canyons but it was nice to be accepted. Good luck to you all!

So a friend of mine who works for another nursing program in the los angeles area said that their is a rumor going around that COC has received a grant to help pay for the cost of Kaplan. Has anyone else heard anything about that?

I picked up a littman classic II stethoscope :)

Oh and I am a little annoyed that we have to buy the Kaplan review. If we work hard and study a review book as we go along why would we need to take a review at the end. I am just less than thrilled its mandatoryand the fees are due in May. At this rate I am going to get everything paid for and then not be able to buy my uniforms or nursing skills kit lol!

I wish someone would have asked (I didn't think of it at the time) for an ETA on when the instructors would be emailing us with the booklists etc. I want to get my shop on :) All of this hurry up and wait stinks. Although it is nice to already know that we are in rather than waiting for the other schools in May. I can't wait for all of these hoops to be done so I can go back to just being excited and not worrying about how I am going to pay for ALL of this stuff in the next 32 days. lol!

@ Desirosee - this is what the spring 2012 handbook states, "All white, leather shoes must be worn when in clinical. Shoes and laces must be kept clean. Open toed/ open backed shoes are not allowed in clinical facilities." My friend (Chrissy) and I were both accepted and have been making the rounds trying on shoes. Unfortunately, no one place has all of the popular nursing shoes and it is very frustrating. However, there is a uniform shop in the northridge mall next to sears that has a number of shoes you can try on, Sears has a several nursing shoes (I like the timberland pro), and in valencia there is UniformLand down the street from the mall that has a number of nurse mates, cherokee, and danskos (i don't remember all of the brands).