JennyFields

Through a convoluted twist of fate, I am ending up back living with my parents an hour west of UTK. I'm 25 and already have a BA in English (3.9) and want to enter an ABSN program in a different state in 2014. Eventually I want to be a psychiatric nurse practitioner and give therapy and med management to patients in private practice. Anyway, I almost had a double major in pysch and English back in the day, and I thought it would be good and look good to have a BA in psych if I'm wanting to go into psych nursing. So, while I'm living with my folks for a year, I was going to re-enroll and get the second BA. However, the school I'm looking at for my ABSN has two requirements that are either hard to find or that I don't want to take at a community college: pathophysiology and pharmacology. My question is this. While I'm taking the 18 credits (gonna take 30 overall, as per requirement for a degree) I need for the psych BA, do you think they'd let me take these two classes? They are done by the NURS program and I imagine would need special permission, but, as they do not require clinicals, I was hoping excepts are sometimes made. Does anyone have any feedback on this? I've sent in questions to admissions, but I'm a little antsy so I thought I'd ask you folks. Thank you for your time.

Hello, I'm about to start applying to Patient Care Assistant/Tech jobs at hospitals in my area (Central Ohio). I have six months of home health experience, a BA in an unrelated field, eight years of uninterrupted work experience, am scheduled to get my BLS cert soon and am currently taking pre-nursing courses. Originally, I had signed up for a CNA class thinking it would make me a more attractive candidate for a hospital job but not necessarily planning to work in a LTCF. The "requirements" on the job listing simply said "patient care skills required," which I thought meant that you needed a CNA cert. However, a friend of mine who worked at a hospital in a major system here says she was hired with only an expired CPR cert and that they give you a two week paid training comparable to an CNA class in order to do the PCA job. Between her advice, that of a friend who worked as a nurse in a local hospital and the couple dozen open PCA/PCT jobs at local hospitals, I feel more confident than I was before that I will be able get one of these jobs if I apply. Should I even bother taking the separate two week CNA class before I apply? I mean, I've already been practicing a lot of patient care skills in home health (hoyer lifts, perienal care, bed baths, ambulation) and it seems redundant to be taught the same patient care skills two more times (if STNA and PCA training is comparable). Plus, it would cost another $200 on top of my small down payment to take the STNA class. Also, I understand that if you don't work in a LTCF for two years after your STNA cert, you lose it. So, do you think there would be any point in paying the money and taking the CNA class before applying to hospitals? Since I don't intend to work in LTC unless I can't get a hospital job, and I would be getting the cert anyway when I start nursing school, would it be unnecessary? I just don't want to waste time and money on something that wouldn't advance my career path. Thank you very much for any advice you have.

Hello, I'm about to start applying to Patient Care Assistant/Tech jobs at hospitals in the Central Ohio area. I have six months of home health experience, a BA in an unrelated field, eight years of uninterrupted work experience, am scheduled to get my BLS cert soon and am currently taking pre-nursing courses. Originally, I had signed up for a STNA class thinking it would make me a more attractive candidate for a hospital job, not necessarily planning to work in a LTCF. Reading the advice here, I want as much hospital experience as possible before/during nursing school. However, a friend of mine who worked at a hospital in a major system here says she was hired with only an expired CPR cert and that they give you a two week paid training comparable to an STNA class in order to do the PCA job. Between her advice, that of a friend who worked as a nurse in a local hospital and the couple dozen open PCA/PCT jobs at local hospitals, I feel more confident than I was before that I will get one of these jobs if I apply. Should I even bother taking the separate two week STNA class before I apply? I mean, I've already been practicing a lot of patient care skills in home health (hoyer lifts, perienal care, bed baths, ambulation) and it seems redundant to be taught the same patient care skills two more times (if STNA and PCA training is comparable). Plus, it would cost another $200 on top of my small down payment to take the STNA class. Also, I understand that if you don't work in a LTCF for two years after your STNA cert, you lose it. So, do you think there would be any point in paying the money and taking the STNA class before applying to hospitals? Since I don't intend to work in LTC unless I can't get a hospital job, and I would be getting the cert anyway when I start nursing school, would it be unnecessary? I just don't want to waste time and money on something that wouldn't advance my career path. Thank you very much for any advice you have. PS - If anyone has any tips for applying to PSA jobs in Central Ohio, I would also appreciate hearing those very much.

Hello, I have a question. I'm taking pre-requisites at the moment so that I can apply to ABSN programs (I have a BA and MA in English). I'm in Ohio right now, but I'm not impressed with their ABSNs. Plus, I want to use this as an opportunity to get out to the east coast. I was considering Philadelphia but think I'd rather get my education in New York. After my pre-requisites are done in Spring of 2013, I plan to move out to Brooklyn and work for a year in order to gain NY residency. I'm interesting in applying to SUNY Downstate. Hopefully with my stats--a 3.9 GPA in my BA and 4.0 so far in my pre-requisites--I'll get in. Anyhow. I'm working in home health here in Ohio. I'm about to test for my CNA license, so I should be working as a PCT in a hospital by June. Over the next year, I intend to get my EKG and phlebotomy certs, as I understand that is what is required for PCTs in NYC (Ohio requires less). My question is, a year from now, what would the chances be for a CNA with EKG and phlebotomy certifications and a year of hospital experience to be hired by a hospital in the NYC area? I know a hospital just recently closed, so other facilities are absorbing their employees which makes things tough right now. Do you think waiting a year and having at least one year of hospital experience would make enough of a difference? Crunching the numbers, I feel like I can swings the high rent and other periphery costs of living in Brooklyn. I just need to feel confident that I'll be able to get a job that will at least keep me just around the poverty line instead of way below it or homeless. Is there much of a market for nursing home techs if necessary? I doubt I'd go back to home health just because of the unreliability. I just need work to get me through residency status and subsistence, and something to help support me part-time when I'm in nursing school. I come from poor Appalachian stock, so my standards are low. No roaches, a reliable toilet and I'm happy. Thank you for any advice you can give.

Hi! I'm still new to the board. Thank you to everyone who responds to questions. It is so helpful to search for things and read what people have to say when making decisions. I have a question. I'm taking my pre-requisites at Columbus State Community College. I'll be taking their Organic and Biochemistry class for allied health professionals. They offer the traditional lecture class with lab and a hybrid class where all your lecture and study materials are online but you come in once every week or two for the lab portion. I wasn't good at chemistry in high school but I'm a really good student generally speaking (had a 3.9 in my first degree). I'm trying to figure out which format to take. Obviously, the hybrid would be more convenient for a working adult but is it easier to grasp if you take it in person? Is it really "math" intensive? If so, it might be better to be in a classroom where they're working out tons of problems on the board that I can follow along with. That was always the only way I could get math. A&P has been easy to do hybrid, but that's grasping biological concepts. I'm not sure how similar learing A&P would be to Biochem. If anyone who has taken a class like this has any advice, I'd greatly appreciate it.

i'm considering wcu's absn as well. this thread has been extremely helpful. i'd be finishing a year and a half later than i would if i went with other absn choices i'm looking at, but wcu looks like it is less than half the price and you can work part time/less intense. i'd need to more to pennsylvania and establish residency first, which would be most of that time, but that might be good. the transition wouldn't be so jarring, and really, what is a year and a half at 24? it does sound a little disorganized from this post, but i'm really good with bureaucracy, hehe. i wonder if you have to take pathophysiology (human response to disease) at wcu. does anyone know? my cc offers it and i could take it while i'm still doing my rerequirements in ohio. hm. doesn't sound like i could get my questions answered, though. the website isn't exactly inviting. but at those, prices, i guess they can present however they please!

Villanova and Jefferson's FACT are the two I'm giving the most thought to applying. With Jefferson, it seems like you'd be in a better starting position for a job since they are attached to an actual hospital, whereas Villanova isn't. Though, not everyone's going to be working where they went to school, so that might not be the advantage it seems. Villanova's a bit more appeal BECAUSE of the extra two months it takes as well as having pathophysiology as a pre-requisite instead of a separate class during the program. Seems more do-able, whereas Jefferson seems more break neck. Not trying to get it easy, just trying to set myself up to succeed. Is Villanova way outside Philadelphia proper? I know the miles, but in terms of integration with the city culture and major medical centers. Jefferson seems more centrally located with clinicals, classes and where you'd live in more convenient proximity. It is hard to get a sense of a city when you're not living in it.

This thread has been a goldmine of information! I'm very interested in Villanova's program, and I appreciate the details people give out here. I should start a folder to copy and paste things. I'm sure I'll be back here to ask questions, as this is a great place for general interest.

Thank you so much! I don't plan to go to CSCC for the nursing program (already have a BA, plan to go to a second degree program for the BSN), but their STNA training must be good if that's what the nursing students get. Thanks for the detailed advice. Much appreciated!

hello! there is wealth of information here, but i have some specific questions i hope you good folks will help a girl out with. i posted something similar in ohio nurses but i think i will get better responses here. i've been doing home health work for about five months now, however, my agency hasn't been able to keep me above twenty hours a week most of the time (when i signed on for full time)--and i'm working 7 days a week! the intimate atmosphere and autonomous work place is great in some respects, but the erratic hours and low over all pay just isn't cutting it. plus, so much of what i'm doing (with some exceptions) is glorified house cleaning. i want patient experience that will help prepare me for nursing school and then working as an rn. i'm in my mid-twenties with a ba in english and am taking pre-recs at a cc so i can enter an accelerated bsn program sometime in the future. thus, moving out of home health would be good for my professional growth in that area as well. plus, i'd like a chance to learn on my feet and "never be bored," so any advice would be appreciated. i have some questions if you good people would be gracious enough to lend me your experience. questions: what is the best way to go about getting a cna job at a nursing home? i'm in columbus, oh if that makes a difference. i know there are lots of companies that offer the training in preparation for the state test and "claim" that they hook you up with jobs at the end. is this true or just marketing? i know i could get the class through the local community college but without the guaranteed job help. are there advantages of going through the community college as opposed to a company? should you approach a ltc facility before or after you start your class? i hear some nursing homes have their own cna classes in house that they want their people to go through. is that true? is it true that a nursing home has to reimburse you for your cna training? _____________________________________________ i'm a hard worker with an education with eight years of mostly uninterrupted work experience with great references and willing to work any shift. i just want to get my career off the ground in the best way possible. nursing school isn't going to hand me a job on a silver platter (neither will a cna class) so i have to be working to get experience and professionalize now if i want to make this happen for me. thank you for your advice, and i'll look out via pm in case someone has something they want to pass on privately. thank you again. you're all so very helpful on here. jf

Hello! I've been doing home health work for about five months now, however, they haven't been able to keep me above twenty hours a week most of the time (when I signed on for full time)--and I'm working 7 days a week! The intimate atmosphere and autonomous work place is great in some respects, but the erratic hours and low over all pay just isn't cutting it. Plus, so much of what I'm doing (with some exceptions) is glorified house cleaning. I want patient experience that will help prepare me for nursing school and then working as an RN. I'm in my mid-twenties with a BA in English and am taking pre-recs at a CC so I can enter an accelerated BSN program sometime in the future. Thus, moving out of home health would be good for my professional growth in that area as well. I have some questions if you good people would be gracious enough to lend me your experience. Questions: What is the best way to go about getting a STNA job at a nursing home in Ohio? I'm in Columbus, if that narrows it down. I know there are lots of companies that offer the training and "claim" that they hook you up with jobs at the end. Is this true or just marketing? I know I could get the class through CSCC but without the guaranteed job help. Are there advantages of going through the community college as opposed to a company? Should you approach a LTC facility before or after you start your class? I hear some nursing programs have their STNA classes in house that they want their people to go through. Is that true? Is it true that a nursing home has to reimburse you for your STNA training? _____________________________________________- I'm a hard worker with an education with eight years of mostly uninterrupted work experience with great references and willing to work any shift. I just want to get my career off the ground in the best way possible. Nursing school isn't going to hand me a job on a silver platter (neither will a STNA class) so I have to be working to get experience and professionalize NOW if I want to make this happen for me. Thank you for your advice, and I'll look out via PM in case someone has something they want to pass on privately. Thank you again. You're all so very helpful on here. JF