B.H

Hi, I have a question that I hope can be answered for me. I'm in a BSN program at the moment and have completed my first year. I want to take the LPN exam but was told at the beginning of my BSN program that I couldn't because the program wasn't set up like this. The school said that I had to be in a one and one program in order to first take the LPN exam, then later the RN exam. My question is, are there ways around this rule? Can I challenge the exam anyway since I completed the first year of nursing and have had med-surg and other clinical classes? I have tried to contact the CO state nursing board but couldn't get through. I left a message and am awaiting a reply from them. Mean while, being the impatient type.......I was hoping one of my nursing colleagues out there, having pondered, confronted, frustrated over, or hopefully solved this problem and has some good or bad news for me pertaining to my dilemma. Thanks ahead of time for any info regarding this topic. B.H

Hi everyone, Thank you all very much for your opinions and advice on this topic. I just finished with my adult one class and am feeling a little ansy to get the BSN portion done and be one step closer to my ultimate goal. It seems like, from what everyone is saying, the precepting hospital has a big impact on a new grads ability to make it in an ICU unit. Also, alot will depend on my readiness to take on the responsibilities unique to an ICU setting. All your inputs have helped to clarify the situation for me. Thanks again for all your insites on this topic both for and against starting out in med-surge before moving to the ICU. B.H

Hi everyone, I'm in my seinor year of nursing school and have a question I would like to pose to everyone. I have been getting conflicting advise from different floor nurses, CRNA's, and instructors about whether I should do a year in me-surg before going into the ICU. The CRNA's I have met have downplayed the importance of med-surg experience and say that I should just try to get into the ICU right away. My instructors and other nurses advise me to do a year on the med-surge unit because the experience will make me a stronger nurse in the long run (better assessment skills). So my question is, what would be the wisest deciscion to make? Thanks, B.H

Hi, I'm a senior in the Regis choice program right now. You can make it into the program without a medical background but your chances of getting in are less than someone with one. Besides the medical background, your GPA and essay is going to be big factors in deciding whether you will get in or not. The choice program is almost like a self paced program in some ways and you really need good academic skills to make it, and I think the school selects students on that basis. Regis is a great school with a wonderful faculty (from the top down) and I can't think of anything bad to say about the program (besides the cost:wink2:). Good luck, B.H

Hey Doug85, I just finished off all of my science pre-reqs this past semester and didn't go by the order recommended for any of the classes. I took A&P I and II, and Micro. before taking Bio, and Chem. From my experience, if you don't have a strong science background I would recommend that you take general biology and chem. before taking the A&P, and Micro. General biology(if you get a good instructor) will set a good foundation for your other science classes and make many of the concepts you will learn in the upper division classes easier to grasp. I did it backwards because I wanted to test myself to see if I could handle the harder classes (no sense in fooling myself if I couldn't and waste my time). Here is my experience with the science pre-reqs for nursing (Keep in mind that the requirments might differ depending on the program). Biology- many of the things you will learn in this class will have little relevance to the medical field but concepts like cellular respiration, DNA synthesis and RNA replication, and genetics will help you later. I thought general biology was pretty easy with really the only areas which required a little studying time were the three areas I mentioned. If you need an extra science elective, I would recommend this class because the topics covered will help you later and it's not that hard to get an A in the class. Chemistry- The pace of this class can get pretty hectic(especially towards the end)if you haven't had prior chemistry experience in the past. Chemistry is really fascinating because it explains how many of the concepts you will learn in other science classes work. Concepts are not hard and the math required isn't difficult. Don't fall behind and practice your problems consistantly and you should be fine. Microbiology- I took this class without having any chemistry experience at all and I don't really think that it is essential that a person has to have chem. before taking this class. Micro. isn't that hard if you are a disciplined student and study on a consistant basis. This is not the class that you want to cram for. Concepts are not hard but the volumn will make it more difficult. A&P I and II- mostly memorization. Don't try to study everything in this class but rather focus in on what your instructor is keying on get a good feel for that. Use the first few quizzes to get a feel for your instructor's testing tendencies and that will help you in knowing what to focus on when you study. I did not use coloring books or other study aids for this class but I did make some notecards for some of the more complex concepts. Honestly I don't feel that any of the science requirments were really that difficult. I'm not the most disciplined student and often made things harder for myself then they needed to be. I think that if a person sets a consistant study routine and don't fall behind then none of these classes should be very difficult. If you want to make things easier for your self, don't take more then one science class together if you can. Take a science class with 2 or 3 other elective or non-timeconsumming class per sermester and you will do better in your science classes. If your going to take 2 science classes together, then I wouldn't recommend taking any other classes at the same time, good luck.

I took micro. and thought that it was very interesting. The concepts and information from the class is not hard to learn but the volumn of info. can make the class hard. Be consistant and methodical in your study habits and you should be fine.

Any type of ICU for a year or two, then hopefully get into a CRNA program somewhere.

Congratulations, I found out I got accepted to Regis University for their fall BSN program as well. Good luck to you. B.H