ShadowPlanet

Someone posted the schedules for GCC in https://allnurses.com/arizona-nursing/maricopa-nursing-program-968815.html

If your school offers tutoring, use it. Also, it might help if you post the title of the class.. BIO141 means nothing.. at my school, there's no such thing. Is it general biology? Anatomy? Microbiology?

The current application packet (found at nursing.maricopa.edu) estimates $8,541 for everything including tuition, though YMMV. PV has donated scrubs for $5/set instead of like $20 each piece. They're from previous students and the money goes to the student nurse organization, check to see if Gateway offers them too. I got a Littmann Lightweight II SE stethoscope on Amazon for $35 when they were on sale and had coupons. They're still on sale but I don't think there are any coupons now. If you need more vaccinations, go to Costco- they're the cheapest if you don't have insurance. Flu was $15 and Hep B has been $65/each. Everywhere else I priced wanted around $130 for each HepB shot. I went to Banner for my phyiscal and that + titers for HepB & Varicella was $165. Community Wellness has a bunch of locations Livescan Fingerprinting from $10,TB Test $25, Hearing & Vision Screening, CPR Classes, Id Photos, Flu Shots Arizona Phoenix Scottsdale Peoria Mesa Tempe Gilbert Glendale - Community Wellness & Safety of Arizona and they have $20 TB testing. I did my CPR with a guy that PV recommended and it was $45.

I start traditional block 1 (NUR151) at PVCC next week. Looks like my schedule will be 0800 - 1400 on Tuesdays. On Wednesdays & Thursdays it's 0800 - 1630 until clinicals start in March and then one of the days will be off-site from 0630 - 1900 and if I'm reading it correctly, the other day will be at school in skills labs from 0800 - 1630. Orientation is Thursday so if I'm mistaken, I'll be corrected then. :)

I waited almost exactly 2 years. You should look into one of the CEP options, there's no wait list for those.

Thanks!! My orientation is January 15th but I found out they don't care what color stethoscope we have at PVCC. They have used scrubs for sale but I need to check back in when winter break is over to see if they have any in my size. I will look for a manual BP cuff because I have no experience with that! Thanks for the tip. And bandage scissors. Are dansko's the most comfortable/highest quality? Where's a good store in the Phoenix metro area that sells good quality shoes? Thank you so much! I'm pretty excited.

Dumb question, but I can't find a list of supplies on the Maricopa nursing site (or anywhere). Do we need our own stethoscope? Can it be any color? Amazon is having a pretty awesome deal on Littman's right now AND has a coupon for $5 off of that and the burgandy one is the cheapest by far at $34.95 after the coupon. I thought that was a decent price for off-brand scopes, but Amazon has some for $6 also..

If you don't want to be on a waiting list, private schools are your only option.. unless you qualify for one of the concurrent enrollment programs out there.. but I'm not sure those won't have wait lists. I personally would never go to a private school. The tuition is too high, credits don't generally transfer and the nurses I know (including a nurse recruiter at one of the biggest hospitals in Arizona) have strongly advised against it.

I haven't taken that class, but I have taken others at rio. I think some quizzes and exams are timed and you typically only get one attempt. For the math and science courses I've taken through rio, the midterms and final exams were in person at either a rio test site or through a proctor. The book packagestore are required if you need to use software or some thing else that requires an access code. If you don't need the access code you could rent or buy the book used. To be sure though, email your professor.

Your best bet is through the community college system, unless you like wasting a ton of money on private school tuition. The downside is that there is a a 2+ year waiting list for the community colleges and that is AFTER you have completed the prerequisites and passed the HESI entrance exam. For more information, check out nursing.maricopa.edu

Has anyone received information on starting Spring 2015? Specifically, at SCC? I submitted my confirmation of intent on the 11th (due the 14th) and have not received anything. I can't log into the Application Status page anymore either.

I just got my placement notification!!! For Spring 2015 at SCC. I can't seem to find my time stamp on my application status page but I applied in December 2012. I'm so excited and nervous and just feel.. surreal! I thought I'd be tapped for Spring 2015 but I wasn't really counting on it. :) Now I guess I really gotta light the fire under my butt and get all my immunizations and everything in order. Good luck everyone!!

Oh, sorry for the confusion. School A (my current school) has a 2 year waitlist, that can be shortened if you volunteer at Hospital A. School B has a 4 year wait list, that can be shortened by volunteering at the hospital I currently volunteer at. I think I'm just going to volunteer at Hospital A though. I used to be a pharmacy technician (even went to private school for it, which is another reason I don't want to go that route again) so I'm pretty good with dosage calculations, but I do need to refresh. Thank you for all of your advice and book recommendations!

I finished A&P1 this semester, completing my pre-requisites! Today, my application to nursing school got submitted! There's a long wait list (roughly 2 years, that can be reduced if I volunteer at a different hospital that partners with my school, or 4 years with a semester or two reduction if I go through the school that partners with the one I'm at currently) through the community colleges here, and I've got a pseudo-mentor that is a nurse recruiter at the hospital I volunteer at/want to work for who advised me to stay away from the private schools here. I've got co-requisites for the ADN and BSN programs to take while waiting. What else should I be doing to prepare? I'm planning on taking a CNA course next semester to get some exposure in the meantime. What books would you recommend? Is it too early to buy supplies (stethoscope mainly)? Thank you!

Get the anatomy book for your class and start studying.

I went to a trade school to become a pharmacy technician. I did not have the greatest experience, the classes were a crock, in my opinion. I still have ~$4000 in student loans that I'm paying off. It wasn't the worst thing I've ever done (I did learn a little bit) but I do not recommend them at all. The main takeaway is that none of the credits I earned there transfer anywhere. Which really sucked when I decided to go back to school.

If your schedule will allow it, and you can handle it, why not? I'm planning on taking the CNA course (roughly 6 weeks) in the Spring as well. It runs from roughly 6:00a to 4:00p (different days have different start/end times) Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday & Saturday. I'm assuming the time slots will work with Anatomy & Physiology 2 which is Tuesday and Thursday from 5:50p to 7:05p with lab from 7:15p to 9:55p (I signed up for Tuesday's lab but we can go to both labs (or were allowed to this semester anyway; same instructor)) I'll probably take an elective (Philosophy or Intro to Cinema since I failed those when I was younger and need to replace them to boost my GPA and they'll work toward the BSN program I'm interested in) online also.

The only ADN programs that aren't at private schools all have waiting lists around here. It's not a lottery system, but a first come/first served kind of deal. I am not going the private school route because a) it's too expensive b) I've had bad luck getting hired in a different field after attending a private/for profit school and c) the nurse recruiter I do work study under advised me not to go there, rather the long way (CNA -> work for a while -> LPN -> RN -> BSN) to get more funds for school. If I follow her guidelines, I won't have to sit on a wait list and will have help paying for school. Prior to talking to her, I was going to do an accelerated BSN here through NAU since they've got a local campus now that works with the community colleges.. my GPA is better than their requirements (if only slightly), but I can't think of a better way to actually get a job after I graduate than to follow the nurse recruiter's instructions.

I don't know if you were commenting towards me, but the schools I'm considering all have wait lists.. from 2 to 4 YEARS. And that's after applying, which I can't even do until the end of this semester.

Getting in. But seriously, failing freaks me out.. I don't want to cause any injuries.

I do work study (pretty much paid volunteering) at the VA since I receive GI Bill funds. I'll switch over to volunteer as soon as my contract is over/I'm out of GI Bill. I work in the nursing education office, and get a lot of great advice from nurses there. The recruiter recommended that I get my CNA and volunteer there for a year or so and then go into the LPN program and then RN --> BSN since the wait list at the community colleges is insane (anywhere from 2-4 YEARS depending on the school) and I could go for my LPN without much of a wait. Through the work study, I did flu shot registration and escort services as well. I'm hoping to make a great impression so my superiors will give me good reviews and possibly let me use them as references on my resume. I'm not working, so school is my #1 priority, and I average about 24 hours a week at my work study. Doing this stuff gives me hope. Hope that I can do the nursing program and succeed at my goals.

Hip hop! Think Kevin G from Mean Girls. I, for one, would be impressed to see a rap about pharmacology.

Where I live, the hospitals put volunteer information on the Jobs page. It might be similar for your state. If not, you could always go to the hospital/clinic/what have you and seek out the information in person. Some even have volunteer offices.

Memorize the NAMES. Forget about what they look like at first. Memorize the names, and in the order they appear. Especially all of the holes in the cranium. I took my first practical last week. It covered anatomical terms, epithelium, connective tissue, integumentary system, axial skeleton and appendicular skeleton. Unfortunately, I only got a 39/50 on it and the class average was 36. Our practical was mostly bones and then slides, with a few questions about anatomical terms (like what's the back of the knee called? a: popliteal) and skin. We had 1 minute 30 seconds per station, each station consisted of 2 questions, and then at the end we got 15 minutes to go back to any station we needed help on. I'll know this Tuesday what questions I got wrong. Though I know a few I got wrong: I called the Iliac crest the Ischiac crest and I spaced on Pacinian corpuscle and just wrote "Pac corpuscle." The professor said he'd mark everything wrong unless you had it correct (spelling counts!) so I'm sure he marked me wrong on that one. To prepare, I tried to memorize EVERY.single.name. And I like hands on experience, so I'd touch where the bone was located on my person while learning them. I also was fortunate enough to get extra time with a skeleton, and spent hours just staring at it going through my word lists. Good luck!

Are you receiving any education benefits (GI Bill)? If so, contact your local VA hospital about getting in to their work study program.