AlliD

If it weren't for unions there would be no weekends, paid time off, the 8 hour work day, etc. Not to mention fair wages. But hey, who needs'em.

Nursing is not medicine, because it is nursing. :)

Thank you, it means a lot!

Hi again everyone, I just wanted to ask for some prayers or good thoughts for this upcoming Fall semester as I am going to have a pretty challenging course load and I am worried my GPA will suffer, which would not be ideal in my current situation. I have been aiming to boost my 3.2 GPA this semester because it is the last chance I have to do it before applying to my ADN program. I'm retaking a Psychology class that I earned a C in previously, taking my core math class, A&P I, and just today decided to add a dosage calculations class which is only 2 credit hours and is taught by my nursing adviser, whom is a very nice person and good teacher. I'm also trying to study for the NLN-PAX that I'll be taking in the Spring. It doesn't help that my CC is sort of vague in what they look for in their applicants for the ADN program. There aren't any admission requirements; you don't have to have a certain GPA to apply. They only require a list of documents to complete your application file, which is comprised of: 1.)Application for admission to the college 2.)Application for admission to the nursing program 3.)High School transcript 4.)College transcript 5.)ACT scores 6.)Results of NLN-PAX A couple years ago the ADN program had a weighted point-system where you got points for GPA, points for ACT score, points for active status on the nurse aide registry, and points for classes you've already taken that were applicable to the nursing curriculum. Also there used to be a memo on the ADN program info page that said if your cumulative GPA was 3.0 and you had at least a 24 composite on the ACT, you MAY be informed of automatic acceptance. But none of this is on the website anymore or on the information brochures so I am not sure where I stand at all. I would think I could possibly have a decent chance considering my ACT composite is 26 and my GPA is above a 3.0, plus I will have completed all but 2 non-nursing courses after this fall and I'm also active on the nurse aide registry in my state. But who knows. My adviser and the program coordinator tell me they don't have the information about the consideration of applicants I'm asking about. That said, I'm applying to a few more ADN programs but they all require either 1 hour + each way traveling or moving. This program I'm aiming for is right close to home and would be ideal for me but of course I have a plan B in case I don't make it. I decided to work on my associate in science and then try for a BSN program. I'm keeping all of you nursing school/nursing school hopefuls in my thoughts and prayers as well and I would appreciate the same! Good luck everyone!

I totally understand.. It usually gets under my skin when someone points out how quiet I am being, and everyone's attention immediately goes to me, waiting for me to explain myself. But now I just shake it off and ignore them even more. Lol.

I can't even begin to explain how many times I have had to say this to people! It is extremely annoying when you're treated as if something is wrong with you because you're not speaking your every waking thought out loud.

Have not read all of the previous posts so I apologize in advance if someone else already pointed this out. There is a huge difference in being introverted and being shy. Someone can of course be both simultaneously, but not all introverts are shy and not all shy people are introverts. I don't see introversion posing much of a problem in nursing but you will need to overcome part of the shyness, otherwise you won't be able to ask questions, ask for help, or do your job efficiently IMO.

First of all, report this abuse without a doubt - second of all, since when does an aide have any say whatsoever in how another aide performs/works? You learn day one in CNA class who to report to and listen to and it is never another aide. We are obviously supposed to collaborate and work together but in no way do you answer to another aide or let him/her tell you how to do your job. More importantly, this abuse needs to be reported immediately.

Thanks everyone! I figure it's never too early to start getting as ready as you can.

@Lori, I think I will buy an older edition, cheaper review book to mess around with until I find out which one I will need when I start my program! Can't hurt, anyway - to at least practice with the format and get a sneak peek of the content as well. @swanson, I'm buying both of the books I listed above soon as well and I'll update on this thread with what I think about them! Although I can't truthfully judge how useful they will prove to be until I actually begin the program, I'm tooooooo anxious and excited to get as prepared as I can. And I love buying books

From what I've heard from other students and seen here on AN, I think it would be a good idea to go ahead and buy an NCLEX book! Saunder's comp. review is one of the recommended texts in the syllabus for the first Fundamentals class at the beginning of the program I'm applying to.

A community college near me offers a short "preparation" course prior to starting their nursing program. I looked up the required text and supplies on the college's bookstore for the class and among them were these: 1.)http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/test-success-patricia-nugent/1100646987?ean=9780803628182&itm=1&usri=9780803628182 2.)http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/saunders-student-nurse-planner-2012-2013-susan-c-dewit/1110928932?ean=9781455742479&itm=1&usri=9781455742479 I was just wondering if anyone has used these books before. Do they seem relevant/helpful in helping you understand the format of nursing school exams and developing your critical thinking skills? I considered purchasing one or both of these. I see all kinds of ads for $100-$500 courses on the internet to teach you the "right methods" of studying for nursing school. There are so many people who try to sell you the "best" or the "right" way to study but I can't find many who will just tell you their personal preference/what helped them. I know there is much more to it than general study or test-taking tips, and I'm just a little confused. Any input is appreciated! :)

Exactly, I really do not want to add to the course load! At the rate I'm going I will have Micro finished in the summer before the fall NSG classes begin. I have to talk to my advisor first about this because she says Micro may be required to be taken simultaneously with the Fundamentals course but she wasn't sure. Hopefully that isn't the case!

Wow! I had never thought about the letter of recommendation and cover letter before. That sounds like a great idea. And if I'm not accepted I do plan to take the remaining 2 co-reqs before applying the next year. The only problem with taking classes toward my BSN is that my college only allows you a certain number of credit hours on your transcript toward your declared program if you aren't accepted yet; if you exceed the # of hours you are on academic probation. I scoured our student handbook on finding this out and my advisor was right. Which sucks because I am all about going the extra mile and getting as many classes out of the way as I can. I'm also applying to 2 more of the community colleges which are further away, and one university. I have all my pre-reqs finished for them and the 2 com. colleges have the same co-reqs as the ones I will be completing this Spring and Summer so hopefully one of them accepts me. But at this point I feel as if the PAX is what will make or break me as far as being accepted to the com. college I'm most wanting to get into (it's also the only one that requires you to take it). They only started administering it in 2012. They haven't released any info at all about it or what scores/percentile is perferable/required for their program. Good luck to you too! And thanks :)

This Fall I have A&P I, Applied Mathematics, and then Intro to Psychology which I am retaking to bring my C up to an A to improve my GPA (every little bit helps haha). After this Fall my pre-reqs are finished but I am enrolling in A&P II in the Spring which is a co-req for the program. If I don't get accepted into this Fall's nursing class then it's going to suck because I have no classes left to take to pass the time (besides Micro) until I apply for the NEXT Fall! I'm applying to my closest community college which is the most competitive to be accepted into among the community college system in my state so I'm on the fence about my chances, I feel as if it could go either way at this point - My GPA isn't amazing (3.33), my ACT composite is 26; the only thing missing from my admission file is my results from the NLN-PAX that I take in the Spring prior to applying and that is a whole different ball game I am too nervous to even think about! I'm mainly hoping I'm accepted into this program because I really, really do not want to move away from home to go to school. How about you?

@acedit, I'm so excited for you! Good luck! @illusion, I agree. Even though there will be a lot of people who will give us a hard time we just have to be fearless and persevere through it! @mandy, I'm glad you got everything straightened out, I know how hard that can be! I hope you get to prove your old advisor wrong, lol! Thanks so much everyone! I really do wish all of you the best. I do plan to chronicle my experience here on allnurses for all of you to see and discuss with me! I want to hear about everyone else's too - so excited!

Thank you for your kind words! And yes it was very difficult for me to shake off her words. She was a nurse for over 20 years and I naturally looked up to her. I wish you the best in your endeavors!

(This may be long) Hello everyone..Let me begin by saying I have browsed this website nearly every day ever since I found it about 2 years ago while I was a senior in high school. As of now I am working extremely hard in my second year of college to finish up my pre-reqs so I can (hopefully) begin my journey through nursing school in Fall of 2014. The first time I was interested in nursing was in the 10th grade. I was taking a health science class which was taught by an RN. The class started off the first few weeks with learning about all different kinds of health occupations, mainly focused on those in nursing (we studied the history of nursing a little bit and she had many of her own experiences to share with us as a nurse). At that point I still didn't really "know" exactly what a nurse does or what the difference between an RN, LPN, MA, etc is. I just had a general idea of a Nurse as being a doctor's assistant or some such (forgive me!). She also taught a nurse assisting class through which you could take the competency evaluation upon completion, which I intended on doing as well after taking her health science class. However, any interest that was sparked in me by Nursing was shut down and squashed by this woman almost every day in class. I was fascinated with everything we were being introduced to and would even borrow some of her nurse assisting books and health occupations books from her shelf to take home with me to read. However, when it came to class work and assignments, she was a pain to say the least. She would have us practice random skills like taking vital signs or putting on gloves, etc. We were also required to turn in a 3 page essay every friday on a disease or condition found in our health books. I tried very, very hard in this class. But this teacher would berate and belittle me every chance she got, in front of everyone. She would constantly tell me I would never be a nurse or that she had no idea why I was even taking the class, and that she hoped I was not planning on taking her nurse assistant class. Which I didn't understand at all because I made sure my assignments were always good, I always put forth an incredible amount of effort in everything I done because I was desperate to prove her wrong. I held back a lot of anger and resentment toward her and always behaved respectfully. I averaged a C in her class every quarter but was just glad she didn't fail me. I know I'm ranting here a little bit but I'm almost done I promise! Anyway, whenever I would answer questions CORRECTLY in class she would totally dismiss me as just GUESSING, and then she would single me out to lecture me on how difficult it is to be a nurse and how impossible nursing school would be for "someone like me". It was hard for me to comprehend all that because I had never told her I even wanted to be a nurse in the first place, plus I was very shy and I rarely had the confidence to speak up in class, and when I mustered enough to raise my hand to ask a question or answer one, I got completely humiliated. To sum it all up she was the reason I didn't want to be a nurse anymore and I ended up not taking her nurse assistant class. Mind you I am not the only student she made feel this way, but there weren't too many of us. Fast forward to my senior year and I start planning for college and all that. I can't really explain the process but I became interested in nursing again - not that I had totally lost all interest since my experience with my health teacher, but I hadn't thought seriously about it since then. Anyway, I enrolled in a nurse assistant course through my community college and that is when I truly knew that Nursing is what I wanted to dedicate my life to. Everything in the class was fascinating to me, I loved reading in my text book and completing the workbook. I loved practicing and checking off on the skills even more. When Clinical came around I was ecstatic. I don't like poo and wiping urine off of my shoes but I do love taking care of those people who otherwise couldn't care for themselves. I felt as if my instructor really helped me better understand what role Nursing plays in healthcare. We don't work for the doctor, we are there for the patient! I found that nursing and medicine are two whole different professions altogether and I finally "got it". The class was a total eye opener and I had such a positive experience. I am not saying this will determine my future experiences with instructors in nursing school, but it felt good to see that it is in fact possible for a teacher to encourage her student instead of telling them they aren't good enough. I know it won't always be that way but this one class has given me enough confidence to know that if I try hard enough I can succeed. My pre-reqs are almost finished and I have several schools I'm hoping I get accepted into! I also passed my competency evaluation and happily informed my old health teacher of my status on the nurse aide registry (couldn't resist!). As for Allnurses.com, browsing these forums answered A LOT of questions and reassured me when I had a lot of doubts. It is so comforting to know that if I need help or I just need to vent, I (hopefully) have the support of many students and nurses who are willing to listen. It feels wrong not to give this site credit after the integral part it has played in my life so far. I've jumped through so many hoops for my school of choice it is ridiculous, but hopefully I will be accepted. I will know the first week of April. In the meantime I am finishing up my last pre-reqs and happily working as a CNA! Thanks to all of you kind souls who took the time to read this, and the ones who have shared all the info I've read through on here over the years!