jwheeler7791

Hey All: I just spent some time looking over "our thread" and everything we went through with the acceptance process, letters, orientation, and all that. With the perspective of our first semester almost over, it's kinda fun to see where we all are! The evil part is that I know "620veee, Juleby, P90X3_Pro, jragghianti, Bethany726, rthompsonsp2014, and many others" personally now! Muhaha! :) Love ya'll! Here's to NP II!

Hi KimWe: I've heard from a few friends that most people have recieved thier letters of acceptance or alternate status at this point. For those that have congratulations! Our cohort (Spring 2014) is wrapping up our first semester and we have many battle stories to tell. I wish all of you entering into the program good luck -- and a suggestion -- get "connected" on campus the best you can in the very beginning. SNA @HCC is a great start towards this end! As a small antidote... your cohort will become your family. We started even almost a year before beginning classes on Allnurses socializing. We've become a great big family, and your cohort will be the same to you. Use them and help them to your very best ability. They truly are the key to success.

BTW - Gradius: If you are the same individual, I remember reading your posts last summer and spring in a prior thread. I wanted to say good luck this time around. Your experiences marked me and still stick out in my mind. All the best.

I've got a little one as well; it definitely adds another dimension to school doesn't it? I love the program. While orientation was a little chaotic (as was all the preparation beforehand), the actual nitty-gritty seems thoughtfully laid out and for the most part well executed. I'm glad I stuck with my guns to go to HCC rather than USF -- the program is very much more conducive to learning with 28 people opposed to 75+. I wouldn't say the material is hard, but the absolute sheer vast amount of information is almost at times overwhelming! It has literally been non-stop since we started the program in January for the most part. We're on our fourth test, and I can't think of any of my classmates that haven't been stressed out. I've personally already had one (what I would term) nervous breakdown and not all that fun. Our first and second test were a week apart (the first being clinical calculations). The material consisted of 10+ chapters and around 300-350 pages of text. This isn't your normal textbook either; it is very technical and you can't skim most of it. Additionally, there are skills at the back of most chapters detailing how to provide a certain aspect of care to the patient. With all that being said, I could not have progressed as far as I have without the support of my nursing cohort. All of my classmates (both at DM and other campuses) have been nothing but supportive and helpful. When people tell you that these people become "family", it really isn't too far of an exaggeration! Don't be surprised if your family and friends think you’re odd for 'talking nurse' -- only your fellow classmates and other nurses will get the unique humor and intricacies. It's odd As of this last week we have all provided direct care to patients by this point. Your first four weeks or so are spent in the classroom practicing on simulation dummies while you master basic tasks (i.e. transport, assessment, bathing, injections, etc.). Your first actual day in the hospital after orientation at your particular facility will basically be shadowing a PCT/CNA and doing task such as bathing, blood glucose monitoring, telemetry pad placement, making beds and the like. But even with that, you will most likely be performing your first assessment on a patient as well as obtaining a health history. Point of advice: start learning your clinical calculations now. Either get the "Medical Calculations for Dummies" book or the one recommended by HCC. Practice in your spare time or at least learn imperial to metric conversions and medical abbreviations. You'll be glad you did later on! To be able to pass meds and to continue in the program past the first few weeks, you'll need to pass your Clinical Calculations test with an 80% or above. Hope this helps... if you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to PM me via the site. When my cohort was at this stage, we had a few people give us advice and it was invaluable. I'm paying it forward (and still totally learning)!

Hi Guys/Gals: I'm a current NP1 student at Dale Mabry, and just wanted to offer a word of encouragement to all of you to keep up the good fight. I know its not an easy road to go on, but hang in there. Word of advice: keep your thread going and get to know your fellow cohort. The waiting period after dropping off your application messes with your mind, and having people to bounce concerns off of is indispensable. Take care and good luck!

Hi All: I hope everyone is rocking their NP1 classes so far this semester! I wanted to let all my AN buddies know that a student in my class started a Facebook page for all HCC DM Nursing students and there is already had some good information posted. The name of the group is "HCC DM Nursing '15" and the group is private to avoid any consternation with HCC. If you are unable to find the group on Facebook, send me a private message via AN and I will help you to get started. Of course, this invitation is also available to other campuses that might be interested in the information and camaraderie. Just be advised that some of the details may not apply to your specific campus. Good luck in your classes, and thanks again to everyone for the mental and emotional support over the summer during the long and crazy waiting period.

I get discouraged reading AN on occasion (I'm an ADN student) for the same and other reasons when it comes to my new career. However; I keep telling myself that each situation is unique as is every geographical location when it comes to this sort of thing. I choose to believe that lots of things can change in two, three, even four years time and this current "lull" might not even be an issue when it is time for me to take the NCLEX. Again, this is how I choose to view the situation rather than how it actually might be when the time comes. Perhaps it is my naiveté and 'sunshine, rainbows, and skittles' outlook... Other than that I enjoy AN for the amazing insight and information that I can glean from nurses that have came before me and have "been there". There really is no other site like it..

With the usual disclaimers about your 'mileage' may vary etc... HCC and USF have an articulation agreement between them. This means that most college classes that are taken within the two schools for credit and recognized by the Florida University System are transferable. I personally have not had any issues transferring credits (or having them recognized) by both schools. With that being said however, I have heard of instances in which either school will not take a class for whatever reason. These classes are usually either 'survey' classes or ones that pertain to physicial education. Core classes that are required for a program are generally accepted as long as the curriculum is similar to the one required at the school being transferred to. I have also heard of instances in which USF/HCC will not take (for whatever odd reason) a upper-division class in place of one that is required for a program. I have absolutely no idea why that would be the case however and it seems counter intuitive. Again, with all the usual disclaimers about your situation being unique -- pop into an HCC Acedemic Advising office for an 'informal' transcript review. They are generally happy to do it and don't seem bothered when students ask tons of questions. I think you might be pleasantly surprised at how much does transfer. I hope this helps somewhat. I apologize for it being somewhat wishy-washy, but when your talking about this kind of thing it really depends on certain things being satisfied.

Yup; we had lab and from what I understand all campuses are free from wearing scrubs to lecture.

Have fun in class today those of you going. I just got back and (while overwhelming) feel that I actually can do this. I think I made it out worse than it was -- it was actually quite enjoyable. PS. jragghianti: I was the guy sitting next to you at our clinical instructor introduction (when we broke into small groups) this AM, and the guy standing in line at registration. I forgot to say "Hello" when I recognized your name on the sheet Karen passed around. I'll correct that mistake tomorrow and say howdy.

The Dale Mabry Nursing Lab is in DTEC on the DM campus in Room 362. However, I am assuming this is the lab she wants us to meet in since it was not specified. This is for the DM AM/PM classes; I am not aware of other campuses. Hope this helps.. See everyone in AM/PM DM tomorrow. I'll be the dude looking like the 'Stay Puft' marshmellow man in his scrubs. PS: I just got confirmation that it is indeed Rm.362 on the 3rd floor.

While only a student nurse (but have worked professionally in other fields for twenty years), I can say wholeheartedly that I would have no problem working with you as long as you knew your stuff. Your personal choice to enrich your happiness bears no weight on my working relationship with you. While nothing even remotely similar, I've received the "look" when I tell people I'm becoming a nurse as a guy. I always found it puzzling what actually gender played in a professional experience (male, female, or any transition thereof). There are competent people of both sexes... As for the other girls on your unit -- there are always going to be haters and people that just want to fit other people into their little "box". I say shrug 'em off and don't let them get you down!

Merry XMas all! Just got back in the States about two days ago and playing mad catch-up. Hopefully everyone had a great Holidays and is starting to get mentally and emotionally prepared for the fun ahead. Have a great New Years and see everyone soon.

I completely understand. After our final in the class, a few of us went out to a local bar by Dale Mabry (no.. not those bars) and tossed back a couple in celebration of finally being done. I understand that we'll need it for our Nursing Research classes in BSN-land, but it was never what I considered my favorite class. Somewhat close to how I feel about CHM-1032.. but I digress . Here's to a new semester and completely new (nursing) adventures outside of pre-requisites and core classes for admission! P.S. - Best of luck and nothing but success to you all; you guys have been my 'go-to' with all of this for close to a year now. I'm leaving the country in less than 10 days, but will be back for the spring semester and all its fun. Thank you for the support, encouragement, and camaraderie that has been provided since applications were due. Have an awesomesauce Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years! Seeya all with your scrubs on next semester! Those of you in Dale Mabry afternoons, I look forward to meeting ya'll.

It was definitely a very rough semester. I don't know how people take it with other classes such as A&P or Micro -- that would be just too much for me; yet I've known a few people do it successfully. Rosaly/PX90 and I have a gal in our CHM-1032 class that is taking statistics, microbio, and chemistry together this semester. My heart goes out to the girl since my head would most likely explode!