SuperMurse

Don't be sorry lol. I'm happy to help. The job market is pretty tough right now, especially in So cal. I'd say about 15-20 of us had landed jobs prior to/right after graduation. Pretty competitive but you'll be equipped with the skills and knowledge to nail it in your interviews (hardest part imo was just getting the interview). There are plenty of preceptorship opportunities available. Since you start in the fall, you may have the opportunity to do a preceptorship 4th semester, over summer, and 5th semester, which would do amazing things for your resume and experience.

Sorry for the late response! -Clinical placements that I've been to or can remember others going to are: VA, UCSD Hillcrest (I don't think anyone went to UCSD Thorton), Sharp (Grossmont, Memorial, CV), Scripps La Jolla, CV, (not sure about Mercy or Green), and Radys. May have missed a couple -Most people that I know of in my cohort didn't work a part time job in the first semester unless they absolutely had to. I know sometimes theres no getting around having to pay the bills, but I wouldn't personally recommend working in the first semester. Depending on how new you are to nursing and healthcare, it will take some time to get used to all of the new information that hits you suddenly, medical terminology, etc. You'll probably spend a good amount of your free time studying. If I remember correctly, that first semester you are on campus or in clinical/lab 4-5x a week, so working a day or two plus a ton of studying on top of that might be difficult to do while still performing well in school. Some made it work though, so it's not impossible. A lot of people started to get jobs in the 2nd and 3rd semester once they got used to the workload a bit. After you finish a semester of nursing school you are also qualified to work as a CNA, so this is what a lot of people started to do (good way to get your foot in a door too) -Honestly for the most part the faculty was great...As far as lecture professors go, there was only one in my opinion that really stood out as a "not-so-great" professor. They want you to succeed, they are available, and willing to help. Every clinical professor that I had was amazing...I couldn't say a bad thing about them even if I tried. -I did participate in the international experience. I took a class called HHS350 which fulfills the international requirement and a few others in my 4th semester of nursing. It was pricey and initially I was pretty irritated that we were required to do it, but it was actually a great opportunity. I traveled somewhere that I would have probably otherwise never travelled and got to do and see a lot of cool things. The trip was over spring break and we were gone for about 11 days. If you want to know anything more specific about the trip, cost, etc let me know Good luck...I remember I heard back around this time so it's getting pretty close. You will graduate and start working before you know.

Congrats Pinky! You passed! Aren't you glad you didn't completely rely on Kaplan scores? Haha!

Good luck pinky! Good to hear you decided to go through with your original test date. Like lgagliano said, you know this stuff. Try to stay calm, cool, and collected. Take a few deep breaths before you start the test and realize how far you've come over the past few years. You're almost there - now just prove to them that you're going to be a nurse. You got this. Be sure to let us know how you did. I'm sending good vibes your way and I know you're gonna kill it!

CONGRATS!!

Definitely frustrating…and you aren't alone. Several people I know have had their job offers withdrawn because they didn't get their ATT and weren't able to test in time to start the program. Hang in there

Let me be the first to congratulate you. I know from experience that you won't feel completely at ease until you see those official results, but you passed. Good job!

You passed! I took my NCLEX last week in CA, got the good pop-up, and passed. Everyone in my class that also took the test and got the good pop up passed as well. CONGRATULATIONS!

In first semester you will have one class (client assessment) where you are on campus once a week in lab where you will learn to assess a patient from head to toe. You will be tested several times throughout the semester based on how you perform these assessments, which can be pretty in depth. As long as you practice though, you don't need to worry…and you will be given plenty of time during this clinical to do so. Your other clinical will be fundamentals. We spent the first 6 weeks? (don't quote me on that) on campus in the lab working on basic skills including injections, setting up IVs, bed making, foley insertion, NG tube insertion, etc. Then you were sent to your assigned hospital on that day for the remainder of the semester. So to answer your question, 2 days of clinical, but only 1 day a week at the hospital for about half the semester. As far as preparation goes, there are a TON of things I can suggest so I really don't know where to start without typing a book. One thing I will suggest is early in the first semester you are required to take a drug calculations test and pass with 100%. You will also be required to do this prior to starting clinical in future semesters, so might as well master it now (or closer to starting). Learning conversions (ex. lbs to kg, oz to ml) will also be help reduce stress levels early on. How familiar with medical terminology are you? Any past experience working with patients or in any medical field? Good luck on your application!

Good luck and walk into that testing center confident in yourself and all of the knowledge that you've attained! Keep us posted on how it goes

I took the NCLEX a few days ago and it's really hard to say or give you a definite answer. Because NCLEX draws from such a large question bank, you may have 100% of questions that Kaplan focused on, you may have none. In my case, I had about 5/75 questions max that Kaplan really helped me answer. I actually left the testing center thinking that all of the time that I had spent on Kaplan was useless as far as content preparation went. It did prepare me for the style of questions and really felt as if I was just taking another question bank though. In contrast, I have had several classmates tell me how Kaplan worked wonders for them and that ALL they had to do to prepare and succeed were the qbanks/qts. It's all the luck of the draw I suppose. My advice is to remember a couple things: It's ok to be nervous. You will probably be stressing out the night before and scanning through your head all of the things you DON'T remember or know. If this happens to you, stop and take a second to think about everything that you DO know..you know SO MUCH. Also keep in mind that you aren't going to know everything going into the test, so try and relax and be confident in yourself and your knowledge. You were able to successfully complete nursing school. You know this stuff. Now all you have to do is go and prove it to them. Let me know if you have any other questions or concerns. Good luck and try the Pearson Vue trick afterwards - it works

The biggest question is how do YOU feel about your preparedness and knowledge over the content? Kaplan's recommendations are just that - their recommendation. If you feel like you are ready to tackle the beast, go through with your test date. If you have no time constraints (IE you need your license by 'x' date for a job), then just reschedule it if you really don't feel ready. Now I know this may not be the same in your scenario because NCLEX pulls from such a large question bank, but I just took the test and passed in 75 questions. Kaplan helped me prepare for the style of questions, but what I learned through the banks & content, review videos helped me on probably 5 questions MAX. Everything other question required me to think back to what I had reviewed in other places or learned throughout nursing school. Are Kaplan's test scores an accurate way to gauge your success on the NCLEX? I don't personally believe so. In my opinion, it certainly isn't the end all be all as far as you success goes. And remember, you are NEVER going to feel completely ready and it is impossible to know EVERYTHING prior to going into the test.

Good luck to you all. Seems like you all have very competitive GPA/TEAS test scores. SDSU is a great program. I graduated from there recently and if you have any questions about the program or nursing in general, i'm happy to answer them

How else are you studying? Are you going over the exams after you take them and reviewing the rationales for each question (regardless of whether or not you got it right)?

Hey everyone. First post here. Took the NCLEX yesterday. Finished 75 questions in a little over an hour and got the good pop-up using the PVT as I was walking to my car. I'm hoping it's as accurate as I have been reading. This whole situation with the BRN has me pretty stressed out. I have a job opportunity that requires me to have my license by next week or I lose my job, and things don't look too good right now based on the turn around you that guys have been reporting I'll update with my result and time period to obtain licensure.