Mr. Beef

I would say you should start applying as soon as you are available and have completed the pre-req's for the school(s) you want to attend. Depending on the program you could take all your Pre-Req's at once at the Dallas County Community Colleges [DCCCD] and have them done in one semester if you want to attend an ADN Program in the DCCCD. That's not vary realistic though because you could burn yourself out way to fast. I would advise taking them 2-4 at a time depending on where you plan to go, and then adjust up or down in hours depending on how you did the previous semester. For me, someone who has not been to college in a really long time, I'm going to take my Pre-Req's 2-4 at a time depending on how many hours I feel I can take a semester. If I need to take something like Anatomy then I might take one other "easy" class [Like speech or english] so I can focus all my study time on two classes instead of four. Don't take a major science class in a short semester like summer. You may get it done a lot faster, but you will know a lot less. At least that's how it was for me, and it hurt my GPA. Hope this helps, Mr. Beef

If I could, I would take my Pre-req's one class at a time, but with only 4 of them for most of the ADN schools around me, I figure I can handle 2 at a time and get them done in two semesters and take the summer off, and apply then rather than having to wait a whole 2 years before applying. Summer is just insane to take something as major as Anatomy & Physiology that really needs a bunch of weeks to get all the stuff you need instead of 5 weeks. I admire your dedication to the cause. I'm young and single with no dependants and still have to do them two at a time. Mr. Beef

It never crossed my mind to go to TWU. I guess that something to look into. Thanks, Mr. Beef.

Sounds like generic writing. I can do that in my sleep. I scored a 5 (out of a possible 5) on the TASP writing portion and I know that was not my best work. In twenty minutes I could write on just about anything, and edit it. I did not take any AP classes in High School and I have not taken Micro at all so I don't have to worry about either of those. Thanks momto2beauties, Mr. Beef

I know about the whole hospitals paying for your education thing because I have a friend in Houston who did that same thing many years ago. I'm expecting to either go into debt for a BSN or minimize my debt with an ADN. With the ADN I can go RN to BSN in the future once I have a few years under my belt, but with the BSN I can do anything I want, and right now I'm thinking of going into the Air Force, Navy or Army Nurse Corps. Thanks, Mr. Beef

Congradualtions on your passing the NCLEX, and doing something that I can only dream about. Geez, if I'm competing with at least 799 other people I guess I really need to make myself stand out. I know a 3.14 GPA is not the best in the world, but that's about the best I'm going to do without taking most of my classes over again. I have to look at the Mapquest to get to UT Arlington. I'm thinking it's I-30, and as long as I don't get too caught up in rush hour traffic then I should be okay. Also If they don't close I-30 between Dallas and Arlington for too long than I should be good. Looks like I'm not going to avoid the HESI A2 so I might as well take it and see what I get on it. I'm going to need to take the Math and Anatomy or Chemistry and Anatomy (depending where I go) and then go from there. The Anatomy thing is kind of daunting because I took Anatomy in High School and made mostly C's in it, except the 'A' I made in the Circulatory System. Thanks Heather, R.N. for the info. Have some cake or cookies and coffee. We have decaf and regular on the coffee. Mr. Beef

As long as I don't have to get up at some really early time of day just to take it, then I can probably make a decent score on it. For the The SAT and TASP I had to get up really early (7:00am) and I was out before noon, and on the SAT I made a 1010, and passed all the parts of the TASP with flying colors except the Math part that I had to take devlopmental classes. I have a slight math test anxiety, but all the others I kick backside in. I have to take all the classes over again so I would not be taking the HESI A2 for a while yet. Thanks for the help. Mr. Beef

What kind of writing sample, creative or technical? If it's Creative, then I shouuld have no trouble because I took Creative Writing in the Spring of this year and got an A in it. If it's Technical, then I really don't know how to handle that sort of thing. I can probably take a Technical Writing class in the spring just to see how things are in the Technical Writing field. As for interviews, Brookhaven does interviews of the top 60 canidates and invites the top 40 back to be in the program based on those interviews. Thanks momto2beauties, Mr. Beef

"Point earner" what does that mean? Is it like the way Brookhaven does it by assigning points based on standardized tests and GPA. Some It seems like most places go by Pre-Req's rather than anything else. Looks like I need to get off my big backside and register for Spring 07 classes as soon as possible. Congradulations on your acceptance into the UT Arlington Nursing program. Have a big slice of cake and a giant cup of coffee. You deserve it. Good luck to you on the road ahead. You're a lot closer than I am. Thanks, Mr. Beef

Here's a link to one of the Colleges in my area that has a Surgical Technican degree program: http:// http://www.elcentrocollege.edu/Programs/HealthLegalstudies/SurgTech/stdescribe.htm It should answer most of the questions that you have. Granted it's what you can do in Texas as Surgical Tech and in your state might be different. Med/Surg is more taking care of the patient pre-op and post-op so you don't get to actually work in the OR. A Surgical Nurse is something you might be intrested in if you want to work in the OR. They help with all aspects of the surgery and do all the scheduling of surgeries and doctors and all the stuff that Surgical Techs can't do. There's only a so-so job demand for Surgical Techs (at least around here), and what jobs there are fill rather quickly. You might get a job in Central Supply in a hospital instead of working in an OR with a Surgical Tech degree. The whole 10 Month thing is if you go to a Technical School. If you do go to a Technical School then what you earn there in the way of credits will not transfer to any other College or University anywhere else. If you have your heart on being a Nurse than stick with the LPN program. Work as an LPN for a while and then go into a LPN to RN Bridge program in one of the colleges in your area. With an RN you will get more responsibility and will get to work the OR like you want to, or you can go ahead and quit the LPN program and go directly into an RN program, but that might be a bit sticky considering that you are only 17 since most RN programs are college level. Nursing gives you all sorts of flexibility in the medical field rather than just being in the OR all day. I know for me I need to see the sun every now and then, and not just when I go to work and go home. Hope this helps, Mr. Beef

Hi Everybody, I was just wondering something, and that is, how do schools handle OB/GYN rotations for Nursing students that are male? OB/GYN is something that makes me rather uncomfortable. I don't want to go into OB/GYN in the future, but something like Endocrine, Med/Surg, or anything besides OB/GYN is something I'd be willing to look into. Thanks for filling me in, Mr. Beef

Considering that Denton is a 35-40 minute drive up I-35E another 30 minutes is a lot further than I want to go. Thanks for the help. Have a chocolate chip cookie, and coffee. Thanks, Mr. Beef

I've got it down to either El Centro or Brookhaven. El Centro has the lead because it's a lot easier to get into (pre-req wise) than Brookhaven, but Brookhaven is closer, and the college credits I have so far are from there. The point system is a lot better than just GPA on Pre-Req's like they used to do. You still need to pass all the classes with at least a 2.75 GPA for them to even consider you though. The HESI exam kinda scares me. I don't do well on standardized tests, and the HESI is one of those. I went to the web site yesterday, and looked up all the pertenant information, and I'm planning to go to the information session next week so maybe we'll meet there. It's going to be packed out so I plan to get there early. Thank you lex, the only luck I need is the kind you get to get into the program. There's a little bit of cake left as well as some yummy chocolate chip cookies for you to have with the coffee. Thanks, Mr. Beef

I'm mostly sticking with Dallas County because I can get affordable In-County tuition at the Community Colleges, and it's not a commute like some of the others in the tri-county area. Ellis County is just a bit far out of the way since I live in North Dallas than South or East Dallas (my brain does not want to do geography right now.). Collin County might be a lot closer than UT Arlington, but there's the whole sticky thing about tuition. What's TCC; Tarrant County College? If it is, that's about as far as I want to go. Actually scratch that I just did the Mapquest thing; an 80 mile round trip just for class is a bit much. If I can get closer than I'll take it otherwise I'll take it as a last resort. Everybody here seems to sing El Centro's praises. I did a little bit of research and it looks like a good program, and it's a lot easier to get into than Brookhaven's. I'm going to have to take all the classes over again just to improve my GPA. I figure I can take two in the Spring and two in the Fall, and be ready for Spring admissions. Looks like someone needs a caffine boost. I just brewed up a fresh pot, and have some chocolate chip cookies while you're at it. Thank You, Mr. Beef

I don't have any links to support my theory, but I must agree with you and I would have said Aleve as well. Half of the answers were not NSAID's, and I thnk Motrin is not an NSAID or is one of the older ones. It could not be something easy like Advil could it. Just my opinion, Mr. Beef

Mountain View is clear on the other side of town from me, but might be worth the bus ride from my house. If I'm in one of the new classes in 2007 or 2008, then it might be one of the best kept secrets in Dallas County. If I had to put them in any kind of order: Brookhaven (Farmers Branch, Closest to me, and an easy bus ride to and from there), El Centro (Downtown Dallas, about an hour DART bus ride from my house still an easy place to get to), North Lake (Irving, I'd have to learn a new campus, plus parking is a nightmare out there), and Mountain View (Does not start until Fall 2007, but might be worth the bus ride) I knew about the Pre-Req's thing a long time ago because my younger brother was looking into going into the Nursing Program at Brookhaven, but he made a 'C' in the first half of A&P. He then decided to go a different route through college and eventually got a degree in computers. He's now helping take care of my ailing Grandmother and doing nothing with his degree. Thanks for your help. My sister made a yummy strawberry & kiwi tart if you are not in the mood for choclate cake. We're out of regular coffee, but have plenty of Decaf, because I'm the only one that drinks it. Thanks, Mr. Beef

I took Speech in a Summer semester way back in 1996 or 1997, and on one hand I was really scared of having to take the class, but on the other I'm glad I took it. The scared part came from the fact that you had to go up in front of a class and actually speak on something. I was terrified of giving a speech to one person let alone a class of 30 people. When my turn came up (the professor randomly chose our slots) I just went up there with my speech in hand that I had practiced and gave it to the class. I made eye contact with the attractive females in the class and kept track of the time by keeping an eye on the clock on the wall opposite where I was standing. Something to help you get over your fears is the while practice your speech in front of a mirror. You can practice eye contact and your speech at the same time. Also just practicing your speech helps you to better know it so you don't have to look down at your paper every few seconds and risk losing points for eye contact. The glad I took it pasrt comes from the whole thing of taking the class and getting over the fear of public speaking. That is a pretty common phobia that most of us have and is probably the most easily overcome by taking a class. There's an organization called Toastmasters that offers public speaking seminars for people that want to improve their public speaking skills. I don't think it costs anything to join and it's another way to help get over this fear of speaking in public. Just Google Toastmasters and the first hit you get is the Toastmasters main web site. Just dive in feet first like I did and I know you will have a good time in Speech class. I know I did. Thanks for reading. Mr. Beef

That's one of the things that I don't like, competition. I'm just not a competitive person by nature, and sometimes I wonder if it is worth it going into something as competitive as Nursing School. I'm planning to apply to the 3 ADN and one BSN School around me and will hopefully get into one of those. I dropped Baylor off the list because of the whole religious aspect of the school, and I'm not that religious. Here's your slice of chocolate cake, and coffee. I hope you like your coffee black. Thanks, Mr. Beef

That's something they did not mention on the web site. Thank you for sharing that little tidbit of information. My GPA for future reference is about 3.14. It's been a while since I looked at it, but that is the latest one I can remember. That was one of my main concerns being a transfer student to UT Arlington. Do they give priority to students already in the college or at least have some time at the school. I would have to take some prerequisites first and I would more than likely take them at UT Arlington so that would give me some time at the college first. Would I like being put on a waiting list, probably not, but I guess much like Medical School you just don't put all your eggs in one basket. As I said in my first post, that's why I'm looking at schools that are close to me so I can put out a shotgun application to all the schools and see which ones bite. The 100% passs rate on the NCLEX is a nice thing to hear about a school because that's one of those intangable factors you look at when you look for a school. Here's your chocolate cake and coffee. Everything you need for the coffee is on the table or in the mini-fridge. Thanks. Mr. Beef

I'm expecting a challenge where ever I go. The employment thing is also a nice thing to know as well. I'm not looking at moving outside the state for employment because Dallas has been my home for 28 years 9 months [i spent a summer in Naperville, IL with family when I was young and was so glad to be back when I came home] and I don't expect to go anywhere any time soon. I must have missed that on the El Centro Web Site, or I had El Centro and Brookhaven mixed up. The only thing that bugs me about those two or three schools, if you include North Lake, is that you pretty much need a 4.0 GPA on the prerequisites just to have them look at your application. The classes I have taken I have a 3.14 with only 1 or 2 pre-req's already taken and those I made B's in. Brookhaven has the worst Professors teaching their A&P and I tried signing up at El Centro in the summer for A&P I and II, but had to drop before the summer started because I had personal issues. The bus thing is something I put into the equation because of the constantly shifting gas prices and parking at Community Colleges is at a premium unless you get there early in the morning or late in the afternoon. I'm already into debt (not that much debt, but still) from another career choice that I have only worked for 2 years making comission before deciding to go back to college. Thank you for your opinion Jamie. It has helped me get closer to a decision. Here's your slice of cake and cup of coffee. Now is that one lump or two? Milk or Half and Half? Thank you, Mr. Beef

Hi everybody, I just want some feedback about the various Nursing Schools in North Texas, like UT Arlington, Baylor (Downtown Dallas), Brookhaven and El Centro. I've done some research into the four of them and the main differences I can find are: * Brookhaven and El Centro are Associates of Nursing; while UT Arlington and Baylor are BSN minimum. I don't want to start a whole ADN vs BSN flame war, but I'm leaning twards the BSN. * Brookhaven, Baylor and El Centro are an easy DART Ride from my house while UT Arlington is at least a 30-45 minute commute depending on the time of day. * It seems like the ADN schools take fewer students than the bigger schools. I know UT Arlington takes 100 students each Spring and Fall Semester while Brookhaven and EL Centro take between 30 & 50 students once a year [Generally the Fall of the year]. * Some of the Colleges, like Brookhaven and El Centro, prerequisite classes fill up so fast during enrollment that the person who has to go down to the college and enroll in person end up not getting in the classes at all. I guess that's one of the advantages of going to a larger school. You get in the classes you need instead of having to take some class like Art instead of A&P. * I'm wondering how schools like Baylor and UT Arlington handle transfer students like myself. I've got 60 transfer hours from a Community College (Brookhaven College) and would like to transfer to a school that allow me the best chance to get in a Nursing program. THose of you on the boards who have any sort of experience with any of the four schools that I mentioned above give me some feedback. I'm willing to listen to both the good and the bad and will give you a slice of Chocolate cake with Chocolate frosting just for giving feedback. I figure you might enjoy that with Coffee. Thank you, Mr. Beef

I've made some pretty bad decisions in the past and I am wondering if I am making the right one right now. My main concern is the whole admissions thing. I was thinking of maybe doing an LVN course since they are slightly less competitive than an ADN and then going for a LVN to RN somewhere down the line. Not to many schools offer LVN to RN around me so I'm probably better off going straight RN. I have no idea why they would want to steer prospective students away considering the shortage. I guess they mean well. I'm not afraid of hard work. I'm just afraid of screwing up. Thanks for the help Mr. Beef

The mental illness is a factor because they say that you have to be of sound mind and body to do the job according to the Texas BNE. I have been symptom free for about six months now and am trying to get counciling on a normal schedule again since I am between Spring and Fall semesters right now. As for the whole caring about what people think because first impressions are key. I had issues in other jobs in the past because I had tremors from the medication I was taking for my Mental Illness. I'd hate for the patients to think I'm nervous taking care of them for some reason. Thanks for the help I think I'm on the right track now. Mr. Beef

Hi Everyone! I have been lurking and occasionally posting over the past few months and have found this web site to be one of the better ones for someone intrested in the medical field to come to. Anyway here's my situation I have a really good friend, lets call her Ms. X, who lives in Houston and is a nurse. I came to her about a year ago with my plans to become a Nurse since I only have a few of the prerequisites left to complete before applying for admission to an ADN program. She not only tried to get me to go to another part of the medical field altogether (Radiology Tech) she said the ADN is not a good way to go. She says it's to stressful to be a Nurse and that I need to consider another line of work. Well, unless she wants to pay for the gas and oil changes of the commute to Arlington and back four days a week I think the ADN at the local Community College is a good way to go. That way after I have a few years under my belt I can go to a RN to BSN program, and then move on to a MSN a few years after that. It does not help matters any that I was diagnosed three years ago as Schitzoeffective Depressive type and the whole hassle I'm going to have to go through just to get into Nursing school with my mental illness and the Texas BNE just makes me wonder if it is worth all the trouble. I've known for a long time that I've wanted to do something in the medical field, and with the hassle that you have to go through becoming a Doctor (MD/DO/DPM) instantly ruled that out. I need to be in contact with people to make me feel better about myself and not buried away from everyone with the X-Ray machine and the Radiologist if I were a Radiology Tech. How would you broach the subject of becoming a Nurse with a good friend, or parent, who is trying to steer you clear of becoming a Nurse? I've tried arguing with them and that has got me nowhere except getting my blood pressure up. They generally play the mental health card, and I fold faster than The Flash on laundry day. I would like them to list 10 reasons why I should not be a Nurse and then I would like to list my 10 reasons why I should be a Nurse. Mr. Beef

Mary, I know things might be quite scary right now. The accuplacer can be quite daunting, but just work at things you know and try to work on things you don't know. The Math thing should be no big deal because I too had a hard time at math and struggled to get a C in College Algebra, and I know Math is a tough subject for a lot of people to crack. I took two years off to attend another school and after looking at the job prospects in that career field after I graduated that school I decided to go back to college. Things are daunting after having been gone two years, but if you take a lite load for the first two semesters (I would say 6-7 credit hours spread out over 4 days a week) you should do fine. Then after you have done some of the more basic classes (Intro to Psych and English) you can probably go for the more advanced classes (Biology, Chemistry, College Level Math). Twenty-three Years after graduating High School you are going back? Is what some friends might ask you, but you are doing it for a noble cause and I feel you are doing it for the right reasons. Keep it up and don't let things get you down.