dharma

Honestly, I'm grateful to have any job in this area (new grads are having a notoriously hard time around here). I don't really care what my schedule is so long as I get to work. I have to say though, the idea of twelve nights in a row was making me really twitchy.

Ah! See, that makes perfect sense. :) Thank you for your help.

I am about to start a new position in LTC. Charge RN, nights. The HR lady said the shift is 10pm-6am M-F, and every other weekend. So I'm a little lost. Wouldn't that mean I'd be working twelve nights in a row? That can't be right. So I asked her this morning, and I don't think I explained what I was asking right. She said it works out that there are ten shifts per paycheck (ok, but not what I was asking). If I work M-F, that is five shifts. weekend off, then M-F (five in a row again)- work the weekend (now we are up to seven) then M-F again..TWELVE! She said it was because they start counting the night before, so monday's shift starts at 10pm Sunday. I still don't understand. Do any of you have a schedule like this? Could you maybe enlighten a confused girl?

Hello, not in Illinois, but I am a Deaconess student. I understand the drive to find out as much as possible to see if you think it will work out for you, I've been there too. Since you may not find many people on here with specific names of hospitals, I have a suggestion. The clinical liason for DCN is a really nice lady named Julie Huebner. Her phone number is 314-768-3860. She should be able to tell you what hospitals in Illinois have worked with the school, or at least be able to direct you to more information. Hope that helps. Good luck! Heather

Congratulations to all the new DCN students!! I'm starting my fifth semester with DCN online this summer, and I can tell you all it is NOT an easy road. There will be challenges, and it is a lot of self-paced work. You'll have to be resourceful and make your education your own responsibility (and I know you all will!!) That said..it CAN be done, and you will be amazed at how much you learn when you apply yourself. DCN has a really great program. And we've all had our difficulties with it, but a lot has been resolved in the last two years, and things are MUCH better now. This is a good first step, get to know your classmates early and don't be afraid to ask them for help when you don't get something. My classmates and I are really close now, and I know that going through this together - some of us have become lifelong friends. I love going back for validations and seeing all my friends again - and we hug and laugh (and even cry) every time. You are all welcome to contact me if you need anything. I know how much it helped me to have people further along in the program to ease my fears and answer questions I had. DCN girls are a great bunch. :) So, congratulations again..and good luck!! You have help if you need it. Heather

Not to get cranky about this, I just don't want any rumors getting out of hand..... Deaconess is in no danger of losing their accreditation, the accrediting bodies have no issues with the program at all. It is the MO BON that is considering pulling their approval of the online program - and it has to do with NCLEX pass rates from the first two years of the program, before a LOT of changes were implemented in the online program. Approval and accreditation are two very different things. A final decision will be made in April, but the school administration and the students (myself included) are very confident that the school has a really good case here.

If you want to know because you are interested in the program, I suggest you call DCN personally. They can give you any further information you need.

DCN is on an admissions hold pending the outcome of a hearing with the MO BON regarding the online program. They have the hearing scheduled the end of April 2006. Good Luck.

Congratulations!! I don't post much here, but I do lurk plenty. I'm a third semester DCN girl, and seeing someone else get through this gives me so much hope. You, Mona, Opal, and Cheri are all an inspiration to me. Thank you for sharing your experience with all of us..and I'M SO PROUD OF YOU!! YAY!!

Too much sodium always does it to me. I have to be careful with soft drinks. I'm a caffeine junkie that doesn't like coffee. Usually when my hands get swollen like that, drinking more water tones it down. Just a thought...

CONGRATULATIONS! :balloons: *does snoopy dance for Tweety* Great job, be proud of yourself!! _/\_ gassho, Heather

Yes, it has been a nasty flu season here in Germany. For a while there (about three months) we couldn't get rid of it here. We are military stationed in the south of Germany - not too far from Italy, actually. Because of the vaccine shortage, nobody in our household except my husband even qualified to receive a flu shot, and he didn't even get it because they ran out too fast. He got it first, and then the kids, I was the last (and that's how it usually goes in this house). We were miserable for a couple of weeks, and then he finally started getting better, the kids started getting better..and WHAM..another round. It went on like that for three solid months. There was some rumor about closing the schools for a week or so to try to get some of the kids better (grr..don't get me to ranting about parents who take their kids to school sick!) Problem here is we live in a really closed little community. All the kids go to the same schools, we live in the same neighborhoods, everyone works in the same buildings, we even shop at the same two stores. You can't leave your house without running into the same people again and again. So, once a contagious disease gets it foot in, you are guaranteed to be exposed to it somehow. While we were all sick, so was everyone else we knew. It was terrible. We all seem to be past it now, though.

i had some concerns when told about the buyout as well, so i wrote a letter voicing them to the dcn president. just to clarify for all of you here, this is part of her reply. "i appreciate your concerns. devry has a good reputation with the accrediting bodies and the department of education, but although it has graduate, medical, and veterinary schools it is best recognized in some areas of the country in its original context as a technical school. we will be starting a new division for devry and will not be made to fit into its models for schools in it and business. they acquired deaconess because they liked what we offered and would like to duplicate it in other parts of the country. we went through extensive preliminary meetings and feel very comfortable that deaconess will continue to offer quality nursing programs. you should not notice any changes in your curriculum as long as you maintain an active status. this would have been true in any case as the faculty are always evaluating the curriculum to ensure that we are offering the best nursing education that we can. what you may see are improved student services as we will have resources available to us now that we are part of an education company rather than a health care company. we get the best of both worlds as we will continue our close relationship with forest park hospital. although the change in ownership may not affect the experience of our current students in any appreciable way, we tell you because it is your school. the faculty, staff, alumni association, and board of directors are all excited about the future for the school under this ownership." through this and subsequent emails, my mind is at ease about this buyout now. also, it is unclear what this will mean to deaconess students, if anything at all, but devry offers reduced tuition to military and their dependants in their other programs. i'm waiting to find out if they will now be extending that to us (and crossing my fingers..wouldn't that be nice?) there is always concern with change, but now that i have given it some thought and talked to the school more, this could actually be a really positive move. it is still a wait and see issue, of course, but i am not all that concerned anymore.

Well, hello there classmate! I'm Heather, nice to meet you! Pm me anytime, I'm starting with Deaconess this month, too. My situation is a little different, since I am living in Germany. What sections are you in?? *snoopy dance* I am so excited to know a classmate on the boards! Here's to a great year!!

Way to go Cheri! I was just accepted into DCN. I start in January. I'll be taking NR 160, 163, COM 103 and Psych. It is SO nice to hear you did well. I've been scared to death. Would you mind if I PMd you with questions from time to time? Nice knowing there is someone out there who has just been there, you know? Terrific job on your exam! You are on your way now!! Heather