yuca799

Hello all, I will be starting out in NICU in about a week and was wondering what advice any of you have for a brand new nurse who passed boards a month ago? This will be my very first job in nursing and I am very excited but at the same time nervous because there is so much to learn. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!

Hello, new RN here and I'm having the worst time finding a job in Miami. It's where we live and we can't move anytime soon, so we're stuck here. Been applying to all area hospitals even up in Broward county and have had no luck whatsoever. Mostly all job postings require "one year experience".....but without giving us new grads a job, how will we ever get that one year???? Makes no sense. Anyone have any recommendations besides going into the HR offices in person and attending Open Houses?? I keep hearing about this nursing shortage, but where is it? It's as if these South Florida hospitals don't need nurses?? I highly doubt that since I saw RN's overworked liked cattle when I did my rotations during school. But then why aren't these hospitals willing to take a chance on new RN's??

Thank you TheCommuter, that's what I thought also, but this "person" keeps insisting that all RN's will "HAVE" to have a Masters. Thanks again!

Hello, An "acquaintance" of mine mentioned that RN's will HAVE to hold Master's degrees in order to practice in a couple of years. Is this true? I live in Florida and I've been having trouble looking this up on the web. I'm a graduate nurse and I haven't heard of this before. I will get my master's eventually, but for now I need to pass my NCLEX, get a job, pay off my many bills since I took a year off and went to school fulltime, and then later on work on my masters. Any advice as to where I can look this up in black and white so I can sleep at night? Many thanks,

Hi there, Yeah, I'm surviving the AO program here at MDC. We started out with about 40 students are we are now at about 30. We're wrapping up Med-Surge now. Our final exam is on June 1st and then we're off to OB and PEDS for June and July. It has been the most difficult, stressful experience of our lives. It goes so fast that you feel like your being left behind sometimes. If I had gotten into the generic program (my GPA was only a 3.3) I think I would have done better. It's much slower and you can actually have a life. My BS is in Accounting. I know that sounds crazy, but it's true. Most of my classmates come from the financial, insurance, airline industries. Only 4 people in our class have actual medical backgrounds. It's amazing the variety of people that you'll see here. Most of us are changing our careers. It's intense, but doable. Nothing in this life is impossible. BUT, I do suggest that anyone entering the AO program NOT work. You can't really work (unless you have a mindless job that allows you to study while you work) and be successful in this particular program. It is really hard, but like I said, doable. If I'm still here (and I had no background in the medical field), anyone can do it. if you have any other questions, feel free to email me at [email protected] Have a great day! Yuca

Hello out there, I am so happy to announce that I just got my acceptance letter for Miami Dade College's Accelerated Program that starts this January of 2007. I've been applying for over a year and never had luck till now!!! I got into Barry and was ready to attend (had loans approved and all), but I just turned them down!! MDC here I come!! Orientation is Dec 5th. Anyone else out there accepted?? Email me as I don't know a single soul!!! Bye!!

Hello there, Yeah, I can definetly see your dilema. Why don't you seek out help from a financial planner or someone who can guide you through some planning and ideas on better handling your finances? I would do that before you make a decision. I know it's hard. I'm not getting ANY type of financial aid or scholarships either, just loans. I always say to follow your dreams, so if this is a dream of yours, i would do just about anything and pursue it. (But then again, it depends on your financial situation). I also applied to MDC, and my GPA is EXACTLY as yours...3.3....and it wasn't enough (applied for the past 3 semesters). It's too much competition at MDC, so Barry and other big universities aren't so hard on admissions (plus the amount of people applying is much less than at MDC). It seems like the entire planet is applying there. So, all in all, it depends up to you my dear. See what you can do with your finances and then try out different options. GOod luck!:wink2:

Hello there, I also moved down to Miami from NYC (in 2001). I got accepted to Barry University's Accelerated Program that starts Jan of 2007. I'm super excited yet a little nervous. It is MUCH more expensive the Miami Dade College. I tried applying a couple of times to Miami Dade, but got rejected each time. My GPA is only a 3.34. My suggestion to you is to apply to Miami Dade, Barry University and University of Miami also has an acclerated nursing program that starts every May. I'm pretty sure you'd have a good chance of getting into the bigger schools rather than MDC. Almost everyone on the planet is applying to MDC, so they are much pickier than the other schools. Plus, those schools don't just look at GPA's. With your background, you'd be perfect. So, go online and check out each school. Best of luck to you! And, if you need anything else, feel free to email me.

Hello, Yep, I agree with the above post. I went to http://www.salliemae.com and I got the loan ($29,000...YIKES!) and this barely covers 2 semesters at my school (Barry University in Miami,FL). I didn't need a cosigner and it was painless. I also filled out a FASFA and I got about $10,000 in unsubsidized loans for two semesters. Anything helps at this point. There are other private loans out there like http://www.educationone.com. Just do a websearch for "Private student loans" and you'll find many, many options. Best of luck to you. Never give up on a dream....especially when money is the obstacle. Find a way to do it and you will be rewarded in the end! Good luck future nurse!

Hello Ludy, I'm so sorry to hear things did not go well. I'm hoping you can inform me as to what you did (if anything) and didn't like. Were the faculty helpful? The student handbook states that Barry is $12K per semester, but what other fees did you encounter (basically how much did you dish out, if it's not to personal to ask). What hours did you go to class? How many hours daily in rotations? Any help would be greatly appreciated as I don't know anyone personally in that accelerated program. Thanks!

Hello! I got into Barry University's Accelerated Program for january of '07. Has anyone out there been accepted to? I feel so all alone! Please post or email me if you've gotten in and are super excited!

Hi Nathalie, I'm trying to get a feel for what the AO program is really like. In other words, what is your school schedule like? HOw is the clinical part of it setp? I live in the Kendall part of Miami and I'm afraid that I'll get stuck having to do my clinicals up in Broward county. Can we pick from a list of clinical sites? Any help would be greatly appreciated! ANd I already met with Christie Steffey. She was really nice and insightful. Hope to hear from you soon!

Hello, I was just recently accepted into Barry's Accelerated Nursing Program for Jan. of 2007. Is anyone else out there too? If anyone has taken this program, do you have any advice for a new student to-be? What are your classroom and clinical schedules like? What hospitals can you pick from (or is it chosen for you) for clinicals? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks!

WOW!!! That was a great explanation. Thank you so much for clearing everything up. I will definetly take a look at the site you suggested. Thanks again! Yuca

Hello everyone, I'm a "pre-nursing student"...(I'm still taking my pre-req's at a community college and have already applied to two Nursing programs for January '06 admittance.) I would love to get into OR Nursing once I graduate. Please excuse my ignorance, but what is a Scrub Nurse and what does she/he do exactly? What will I be "scrubbing" ? And how do you become an OR Nurse...do you have to start out as a Scrub Nurse? Any help would be greatly appreciated! I'm new at this!

Hello Whomeanurse! Thanks again for everything. I do have an advisor at the Med campus, but he didn't want to go into details as to immunizations, etc. He said once I get accepted, then the "welcome to MDCC nursing program" package would detail everything. nice, right? all i wanna do is get these things out of the way now! as for insurance, i'm over 30 also and my husband just lost his job last week...so who knows how i'll ever get insurance. when you find a way (that doesn't cost an arm and a leg), could you let me know? and is it basic health insurance or do they specify what the policy must cover? sorry for all the questions, but dade wasn't to informative as to what i could get done now as opposed to "crunch time". And thanks for the "make copies of everything" advice..i will be sure to do that! Thanks a million and good luck in nursing school. maybe we'll meet one day! Patty :)

Hey there! Thanks so much for your valuable input. Did they require insurance from you? Also, what other immunizations besides HepB and MMR do they require? And can I go to a regular doctor for that or does MDCC provide a place where I can go and pay for them? Reason I ask is cause I won't have health insurance after March 31st. Thank you again! :rotfl:

Thank you so much for replying! I've been hoping to meet or email someone that's actually in these nursing programs! I just had a couple of more questions to ask: 1.) What are your hours like (classroom and rotations..for example, are you in class from 7am to 3pm on mondays, and then on rotation from 6am to 2pm on wednesdays??) 2.) was it difficult to get into the scholar's program? 3.) if you had to do it over again, would you do the scholar's at baptist program or go to the medical campus and do rotations at jackson? any advice would be greatly appreciated!! :)

Hello! Are there any MDCC nursing students out there?? I'm currently wrapping up my pre-req's at MDCC and will be applying to MDCC for their Accelerated ADN program for January of 2006. Is anyone currently enrolled in that program? Was it difficult to get in? What is your schedule like..(between class hours and rotations). And can you pick which hospital to do the rotations at? Any help would be greatly appreciated!!! Patty

Hey Christina, thanks so much for all the info. But of course, I have a couple of other questions for you (i'm sorry, i know you must be swamped with everything, so i'll try to keep it short): 1.) When can you sit for the NET exam? Was it difficult? 2.) Should I get CPR cerificiation now, or wait until I'm in? Reason I ask is because another girl that attends FIU posted that she had to retake a CPR class once she started the FIU nursing program?? I hope this makes sense.... 3.) I already have my immunization records from my old grade school since I volunteer at Doctor's hospital and had to supply them with that. But what on earth are "titiers"??? ANd where did you get the extra immunizations done? And which ones were they if you remember? 4.) How do I go about getting insurance? 5.) As for GPA's....so far I only have the minimum too..a 3.0 and I've been doing well with my science pre-requisites at MDCC, so we'll see! 6.) Can you give me a ballpark figure as to how much this is going to cost? And you're absolutely right, why buy the uniform if you don't know you're in yet??? Very bizarre! 7.) Lastly, how do you find the classwork...very difficult? What about the rotations...were you able to pick the hospital you wanted ? And are rotations really hard? Thank you so much for all your input. It means the world to me!! Patty

Hello! I was just at FIU yesterday inquiring about the nursing program. any advice for me? what year are you in? and what is your schedule like (between class hours and rotations)? any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks! Patty

I'm debating whether I should try the Accelerated Nursing (BSN) program at UM (I'd be done in 1 year) or stick to FIU's 2 year program. Any suggestions or advice would be tremendously welcomed!