2Sugars

I order mine from Uniformcountry.com or I buy them off ebay. :)

SipesMD, The cell phone policy varies among instructors. Some will allow you to have it in your bag (but not physically on you) during clinicals and some absolutely forbid it. In the classroom, you can't take anything in the room with you when you have a test. Bags, books, phone, everything stays outside the room or in your car. If you have keys, they go in the cubby in the classroom. Most instructors don't look kindly on cell phones during class. You can have it, but definitely, definitely have it on silent or on vibrate at the very most. Hope that helps. Best of luck to you!

Hi all...a little background. I graduated with my RN and passed the boards two months ago. I accepted a job as an office RN at peds practice and started a little over a month ago. This is my first nursing job and so far, I'm loving it. I've learned a lot and I'm continuing to learn every day. My issue is the nurse I'm orienting with. She's been a nurse (LPN--not that that matters, just fyi) for about 20 years and we have different methods of doing things. She flies through an assessment. She's in and out of the room in under two minutes. I'm quick too--I don't have to retake vitals, I get a good history and I ask and answer any questions efficiently. I know I was slow(er) in the beginning, but I've gotten a LOT quicker. I'm in and out in three minutes usually. The problem is, she tells me I'm slow. ALL. THE. TIME. I had a patient recently whose mom asked a lot of questions. I was done with vitals, history, giving out immunization info and she was asking me questions--I was NOT going to run out on her. Her questions were concise and related to the care of her child--not like, "what's the weather going to be like today"? When I came out of the room to chart, I was immediately met with, "You're too slow. You really care too much about your patients. Don't talk to them so much. Or at all". I was floored. I've been that parent who was rushed out on and made to feel like a number when I was at the doctor with my child and I had questions. Obviously, if the questions had been long and drawn-out, I would have had to direct her to the physician and excuse myself. Point is, they weren't. She was a new mom, she had concerns. I wasn't going to run out on her. This nurse is also rushing when drawing up immunizations and administering them--to the point where she nearly injected the wrong child with four shots a few weeks ago--then kind of laughed it off. But I'M the one who needs to rush. Anyway, I just need a way to look at this, handle it, and come out of it alive. And honestly, please don't eat me up. I've had enough of that at work. I just need encouragement. Thanks!! One other thing: the physician isn't exactly beating down the door to kick me out of the room. In fact, he's usually two rooms behind me when I'm taking a history and doing vitals. He's completely relaxed and easy-going.

Hey...so orientation is Monday!! I just wanted to let yall know, if it's anything like my orientation was, the people who speak might try every possible method to scare the poop out of yall. Do NOT be intimidated by these folks. Honestly, the person who led mine was a disaster. I won't even get into it, but it was because of her that I spent the first six months of the program absolutely petrified. I hope, hope, hope yall have a speaker(s) who is encouraging and helpful and not the opposite. If you have any questions or need anything cleared up after Monday, I'm more than happy to truth-tell or dispel any rumors. Just keep in mind when you're there sitting in that room that I sat there two years ago. I was terrified, intimidated, and kept thinking, "there is no WAY I can do this program". I passed NCLEX on June 18th and I start my job on Monday!! Yall are going to great. I have no doubt!! :)

I agree with Meriwhen. Give yourself the best opportunity to boost your gpa as that will increase your chances of being accepted. :)

Hi Mandiiieee, Yep. Meriwhen is right. You definitely go during the summer. Classes start around the middle of May and go for eight weeks, ending around the second week of July. After that, you have a break until the Fall semester starts. So, let's say you are in Cohort 1 beginning in August 2014. You'll graduate in May 2016. If you start in Cohort 2 in October 2014, you finish the program during the summer and you graduate in December 2016, and so on. And don't worry--when it comes to getting everything straight, there really are no "obvious" questions!! There's a lot of confusion out there, so any question is a good question!! Hope this helps! :)

I agree with Meriwhen. Just know it is TOUGH to do a class, especially one with a lab at the same time you're in this program. Clinicals aren't held on the same days throughout the program...so if you had clinical on Tuesdays and Thursdays during the day in one class, you could end up having clinicals on Tuesdays or Thursdays in the evenings or on Saturdays. NOT trying to scare you in any way--I just know from experience it's best to have information going in, rather than to get that information when you're in the program. I had a classmate who planned on taking 142 while in the nursing program (she was accepted with 2/3 sciences). Due to the rigor of the program schedule, she wasn't able to do that. She was told the week before pinning that she would not pin with us and wouldn't have that opportunity until December. At which point she isn't eligible to take the state boards until January at the earliest. (It is always, always better to take the boards asap after graduation...that way you don't lose too much information in the gap). I can only tell you what I would do, but honestly, if you can, get the sciences out of the way before going into the program. I know it means longer that you aren't actually in nursing school, but the benefits FAR outweigh the risks. If it helps, most of us in my cohort studied somewhere around 3-4 hours a day minimum for any class we were in, in addition to doing papers, projects, and reading for the next class. If you can manage that and take a science on top of it, then you're in good shape and I say go for it. Best of luck to you. I know you'll be great!!

Each of the start dates is equally competitive. If I'm reading correctly, you need Bio 142...are you planning on taking that before you start the nursing program? If so, that would probably help out your gpa and allow you to commit more time to the program...

Hi evyvis91! I can't tell you for certain, but I believe you'd need to wait to know if you were accepted into the Spring start before applying for the Fall program. You can call the nursing department to find out for sure. Hope that helps!

Hi! So I just wrote a reply and it disappeared. If it shows up twice, please look over it! :) Spicersweeney, here you go! You can definitely have all white sneakers. That's what required, so you're set! I have a Littman II that I love, but know that you don't need something that pricey right away. A good $25 one will do just fine. Just make sure it have both the bell and the diaphragm so you can pick up all those good heart sounds you have to identify. You can absolutely buy your books at another location or website. I didn't buy one book from school. I used online retailers and had no problem. I just made sure I had the correct ISBN number and that worked fine. The uniforms consist of white scrub pants and blue polo shirts. You order both through the bookstore at orientation. You also have the option of purchasing the matching white vest or lab coat for clinical. Some people loved theirs and wore them all the time...I never wore mine. On chilly days I just wore a long sleeved solid t shirt under my shirt and that worked well. On class days you can just wear whatever you like. :) You'll definitely need all the books for 108 that are recommended. You won't use all of them as much as others, but you'll absolutely use them all. You also use them in your other classes so that helps...no using them one class and then feeling like you didn't get your money's worth...you will use them! Hope that helps!!

nursenthemakin, I just sent you a pm. Can you let me know if you got it? If not, I'll just put it here...no worries.

Regina, Hi! Ok, in 108 class is held from 8-2 Monday through Thursday. The "lab" section is the part of the class where you learn nursing fundamentals...dressing changes, wound irrigation, ng tube insertion, and such. It's held in the labs right next door to the classroom (they connect with sliding glass doors). You'll get 1/2 and hour for lunch each day. You can expect some instruction everyday including the "lab" days. The last three weeks of class, you'll start your clinicals at a facility in Hampton Roads and usually in 108 they're six hour clinicals on Tuesday and/or Thursday. Hope that helps!

Hi Nursenthemakin...can you let me know if you got my message? I sent one but it said it was "undeliverable" because apparently I can't send a message yet. Gah. If you didn't get it, I'll definitely retype it! Thanks!

Looks like I don't have enough activity on here to have an inbox yet (hmph) but feel free to put your questions here! :)

absolutely :). Happy to help!