ladylysis

I like the idea of keeping some variety there, as well as a potential option for the future. Besides - it gives you joy, yes? What a nice respite and change of perspective to have after those inevitable nightmare shifts at the hospital. ( You know the ones...) You make a sound argument about the retirement bennies and all, but unkess you are desperate for that money it's not the most important thing in life. Yes, you are lucky to have this problem. Keep it. :)

Also, if you find some that are close - like New Balance, but they have grey stitching around the logo, for instance - use white shoe polish to rectify that problem. This expands your options quite a bit. Good luck!

Have you looked at Zappos? I've been able to find 4e shoes for my husband there. They have several pairs available that should work for you, and return shipping is free if they don't work out. I'm curious as to why you can't wear the Dansko ones with the closed back; they meet all the OSHA criteria.

You should be working on getting your prerequisites out of the way. What classes have to be done before applying to the program? If you haven't picked a program yet, start scouting them: it's the only way you'll know which classes you need. Make another counselling appt. Come prepared with information about the programs you want; don't expect them to do all your work for you. See if the program(s) you're interested in have someone specific you can talk to. There are many opinions regarding whether it is better to do an ADN first or to go directly to a four year program. I think it depends largely on job market where you live, but most agree that any RN is more employable than an LPN. In my area (Ohio), ADN is sufficient to break into the job market. Many then use their employers' tuition reimbursement benefits to complete an online BSN bridge program.

I already have a stethoscope, so that's not an issue for me. As a respiratory therapist, I love my Littman Cardiology III. A Littman Select is good, though, and will not run more than ~40 bucks.

Ordered my required texts for 114 on Amazon. Would have been around $225 at the bookstore for new books; I spent $135 not including the syllabus for new or like new. 115 looks rough; around 450.

Seeing everyone's costs, I'm suddenly less unhappy about having to do the program part-time: I get to space that out a bit! Since I'm not doing clinicals this semester, I'll hold off on iTouch/iPad considerations - though I would consider an ipad if all of our books were available in that format. Much easier on the back and neck!

Move to Ohio.

Book lists are up. Has anyone priced things out? For 114 (my only class) it looks like about $200.

I see my schedule posted! Since I'm part time, I'm enrolled just in NURS 114. Lecture and lab both on Monday evening.

If anything, I am *under*whelmed. I will have to pursue the part-time option and was really hoping I could manage it full time. The students at the end did a great job of scaring the crap out of me, though!

It was at a different school (CCC).

I am strong in math, but learned my lesson when I tried Applied Algebra online. It was awful! I got a great prof for my classroom-based Stats class, and that made all the difference. Unless you are a math goddess, I recommend taking it on campus.

As observed by so many others, group projects kinda suck. Not just for the inevitable person who doesn't want to do anything - we should anticipate that and just pick up their slack. Also, a contribution-oriented citations list goes a long way toward cluing in your prof as to who did the work and who just went to Wikipedia. No, the reason I don't like group projects is that they mean more work for me. I am not a Type A personality per se, but I am an idealist. I know how to write and how to spell, and I am mortified when the local paper/online news source makes a grammatical mistake for the world to see. This means my standards are usually the highest in the group when it comes to quality, and that therefore I have to put myself in a position where I can influence the final output. Usually, that means that I have to take lead - and that's cool, but more work. Mostly because I am very sarcastic, which doesn't read well in such circumstances, so I have to work to be really, really tactful. So I'm very much looking forward to nursing school. Hoping, though still will be at a local community college, that I will be surrounded by if not all like-minded people, then at least a higher percentage than usual.

Exactly, snickers! I'm not competitive with other students, per se, but I'm not happy unless I get an A - because I know that I'm capable of it. Type A, though? Hardly. Just a geek.

In most program you can request certain clinical sites, but there are no guarantees that you will get a spot at that site. It's also not possible - or desirable, really - to do all clinicals at a single location. That said, LCCC's clinical sites are mostly west side. UH and CCF are included, and really - when you get to your ICU rotation, don't you want a really good one? Your smaller, local hospitals are not going to have complex cases to follow; most of them get shipped out to the University and the Clinic.

Tri-C's nursing program is also well-respected. I chose LCCC for a number of reasons - I'm a west-sider, and their clinical sites are more convenient for me. They were also much nicer to me about the application process; I don't know what was wrong with my 3.81 gpa or life experience (I am presently a respiratory therapist with 6 years' experience), but when I called for information about the Tri-C program application they were almost rude. (This is in the nursing program office specifically.) Plenty of nurses that I know attended Tri-C and report that it is fine, and I probably would have gotten over that negative first impression - but it was negative all the same. I also would have had to repeat BioChem and A&P I due to "expiration dates" for Tri-C. I aced them both the first time, but I was in no hurry to begin the program and would rather have used that time to complete support classes and classes for my eventual BSN. LCCC's grads are also highly respected and well-employed. Both programs are good choices, and Tri-C's recent expansion plus extremely convenient relocation to Avon has resulted in the much-envied No Waiting Period. It can't hurt you to look into Tri-C (er, Cuyahoga Community College) if waiting a year-and-a-half to start is a bother for you. Seems as if there should be an accelerated program somewhere; have you looked at Firelands, maybe? Regardless - good luck!

snickers21: I know what you mean! I already have my BLS but want to get my books, ID, etc already. :) Since I'm already in a patient care environment, all my shots are up to date. Even two - no, make it three - TB tests in the last year. Hopefully I won't have to deal with any needles, but hey - it's one day of getting poked. No big deal; just think of it as a drop in the bucket compared to what our patients will be going through!

Yes, it is. Look under Cuyahoga Community College.

I applied in Jan 2011. I had all my non-RN classes done by May '11.

Look at positions for PCNA (patient care nursing asst).

There are MANY advantages to doing the PCA route! I work in the medical ICU of a very large hospital, and can tell you first-hand that PCAs get priority hiring consideration over almost any other candidates; after all, the managers have had two years to evaluate the work ethic, intelligence, timeliness, professionalism, and skills of people who've worked as PCAs during nursing school. The "critical care nursing" experience requirement is waived for those folks, too; they would otherwise never be able to get into Critical Care as new grads. Added bonus: working as a PCA and then getting hired into the unit gives you seniority over other new grads, which may come in handy when it comes to things like shift assignment and vacation scheduling. Ours make about $12 an hour - floors and ICUs alike, but your mileage may vary. Final plug: Every nurse I know who's done it swears that it was extremely helpful with their education.

Anyone else out there starting LCCC's RN program this fall? My orientation is May 7th, and I'm starting to get a little nervous!

I'll be starting this fall, too. Getting kind of nervous about juggling work and such. Yikes!