NOLANURSERN

As a graduate of this past semester- May, I must add my 2 cents as well. I don't know where this information has been obtained from, but it is certainly not my experience, nor the experience off my co-students and friends. First, don't listen to the negative comments, because there will always been someone trying to "bring you down". You will hear this negativity from many people. I always asked myself, What is the motives behind this person actions? You will find that they are the ones that are doing poorly on tests and skills. As the previous poster indicated, you can find all the info you need at the LSB of nursing website. And Charity did have one of the highest pass rates in the nation prior to Katrina. As a matter of fact, Charity school of nursing was ranked 8th in the NATION. Having gone thru Katrina, and being in nursing school at the same time, I clearly understand why the % dropped from above 90% to 85%. People were trying to rebuild their lives, trying to finish school, and living in a trailer with your entire family...... and working at the same time......Many had to relocate or drop- Charity just had the largest graduating class in it's history this past semester. Parking. I never had a problem- and what is this about football games? Your not at school when they have football games? There are 2 very large lots one block away with parking 4, and 5 dollars respectively. You can also park in St Joes 2 lots for 3 dollars. You can also put you name in the parking space lottery at the beginning of the school year in hope to gain a spot in the building or at LSU parking lot. When clinical starts, your not at school that much anyway. Books- I never bought my books until I spoke with a student in the next level and got some feedback about what they really used. What was nice to have vs need to have. If a book was not used but once or twice, I saved my money and checked it out of the library and photo copied the few pages that were needed. And I agree, I kept all of my books as well. Can't tell you how many times I found myself going back to a past book to refresh my memory on something. AS far as lectures and looking info up- the only time I had to write a ONE page sheet was in labor and delivery- and everyone had to do that. They give you a topic like uterine involution or jaundice. They do this because the time is so short in that semester. And doing it, really does help you with test questions. It not graded per say, but you have to know the info anyway right? IN your 4th semester, you (with the other people in you clinical) have to put a very short outline together on a topic and present it to the rest of your class- my individual part was only 4-5 lines and took me less than 3 minutes. No sweat. Lectures are always coordinated with the objectives. If you could answer those objectives in the front of each lecture- you were set for the test. We never had 9 people teaching the same topic- however there is crossover of material. In regards to test questions and learning info with lab values and needing to know that one teacher might say that potassium is 3.5-5 and another states its 3.2-5 , you need not to split hairs. When you are given a lab value question, if the lab value is out of wack, you should pick it up because the value is so far out of whack @ Jane Doe come to the ER and has a glucose of 80 and a potassium of 7.2, which would you give immediate attention? Everyone seems to make a big deal of this...but look at the big picture. Test questions -you are able to dispute- within reason. And I believe for the most part they were always fair wit throwing them out when need be. If something was said in lecture and it was stressed-and you did not attend lecture-you could not expect them to throw it out. Otherwise, I believe you get out of it what you put into it. You are going to be dealing with peoples lives. I also felt a responsibility to remember this. That there would be no short cuts. When you get out of school- you are the nurse- you are empowered, and its a little scary- you are responsible. I have been working in orientation since I have been out of school. I am thankful that I have not had any patients die but I have seen my coworkers (and some of them fairly new nurses In regards to being male. I am a female. I had many friends that were male. I am not aware of any horror stories. I would just say, don't believe eveything you hear. Nursing school is hard work. The people before you made it and so can you. Don't fill your time with worrying about all that. Stay focused, and do what you need to do. Sometimes its a little overwhelming-and you have to take it day by day. Someone once said, the best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. You will soon realize that the time goes by so quickly. Good luck to all of you.

What happened was that the majority of graduates (may) secured their jobs/positions at least a month ago- or earlier. Many of us teched at the location where we wanted to work- thereby securing our spots... I don't understand how a city that is experiencing a nursing shortage has no day shifts left--- I just don't understand....last I heard: EJ had day shifts open in ortho, and oschner had day open in oncology and med surg.... everything else has been filled. good luck

I think that it is a combo of having to do clinicals, much more paperwork and caremaps. The big part for me was the A&P. By the end of the course you realize that you have gone through all of the body systems. NAC 2 builds on this- and you go further into detail. Nac 1 is all about the ASSESSMENT of the ADULT client. So focus on that. Retain what you learn because you will be building on it later. Another issue is that is is somewhat difficult to learn all of this- and then to go into peds (ASSESSMENT of the CHILD-BABY CLIENT- yes your learning everything all over again for he child-baby in 1/2 of the time)/mental and not utlize much of what you just learned- it's like being out for 6 months. There has been talk of them changing this to nac 1 - nac 2 back to back- but that remains to be seen. Everyone I know seems to share the same feelings. The Saunders NCLEX book helps greatly. Read every single night- if just for an hour. Read something.-anything -to keep up with the pace. Repeat reading will help you retain the material. To get ahead during the summer- find someone who has the lectures on their ipod and ask them if they would download them to your ipod - listen to them over and over. If you cant get them- go the computer guy on the 3rd floor and ask him to down load them to a CD for you- or bring your ipod so he can down load them. But you must do it before the end of school-before they erase the lectures. I always printed out my material ahead of time- but I also took the risk that I would have to re-print it later becasue of updates. But thats just me- I like to be a few steps ahead. Another suggestion would be to get a Fluid and Electrolytes Made Incredibly Easy book and start reading that. There is no getting around this topic - and its a great book. In addition, the other MAde incredibly easy books are great too- especially maternal and peds, as well as critical care nursing for nac 2. I alwasy ordered these books off Ebay during the end of the semester and got them really cheap- like 3- 5 dollars each. Everyone is always buying before the semester and rarely at the end. Anyhow... hope some ot this helps you... good luck... get some rest...because your in for the long haul now..... lol -...

Hi, My suggestion would be to come down for a small amount of time (if possible) and make make pre- arrangements to piggyback/shadow in the department of what ever hospitals that you are interested in. Almost all of them would allow this. You must contact human resources first of course, I have done this at a few places. East Jefferson Hospital is good about shadowing to see if you might be interested. Meet some people and and get some real answers to your questions from the people on the front line so to say.. good luck..

F.Y.I. Most schools have gone to a higher standard on math/pharm skills. Charity has a math test for each level and you must make a 90 on all of them. A little scary at first... but it sets a higher standard and forces everyone to study harder.

Hello, Looking for help... I'm swamped and tired....and pleading for help... On top of care maps and tests, I have yet another assignment with a short due-by date. It's on the scope and standard of nursing practice. Under this theme, I have been assigned the history of the Assoc Degree of Nursing....(ADN history vs BSN history) and make a presentation. I have scanned some of the boards here and have found the topic...but not in the context that I am looking for.... Can anyone offer direction or articles or websites that would be helpful? I need to have 5 references. I thank you in advance for any help/direction you can lead me to...

I thnk that if you just call them back and explain your situation and your time frame they will understand and help you. This is something that you don't need to see the doc for. The nurse can do it- but remember that you have to return within 24 hrs for them to "read" your arm for a reaction. good luck

I have a palm smartphone. There are alot of students who have them-teachers as well. I have had it for a year and have not purchased any materials (nursing software) to put on the phone. When you are being questioned about a patient, you are expected to know the patho, drugs, etc... on the spot-they don't let us look it up. I guess this is why I never put the software on the phone yet. Its cool that I can go on the internet thru my phone. I can look up anything I need- all at my fingertips. While you are doing clinicals, you are not allowed to pull out your phone-even if it is turned off. There may also be a privacy policy at the location that you are at (some places don't allow you to have a phone that has a camera on it). Phones are a huge no no on the telemetry floors too. Most of us keep our phones in our pockets and use them while on break- or sneak to use them in the bathroom.(ha..ha...) I love my phone. Good luck!

FYI, Its crunch time at Charity- finals week. You may not get a response until things calm down.

Childrens hospital has CP classes all of the time- call the regular phone and ask to be transfered to the educational dept. Even though you don't work there, they will make an exception. It's not very expensive.

Well, You may want to consider to get your Assoc.'s from Charity. Then get a year or such under your belt working somewhere- let them pick up the tab on your further education. I understand that LSU's RN to MSN program is great. If you fill out the form on their website, they will mail you a packet with info. I know a lot of people who have done this. I would otherwise suggest that you consider which school that you want to attend and get the correct info from a counselor on what courses are transferable and what remaining courses you would need to take. Not all schools are the same (which is frustrating) as ex. if you transfer from Charity to LSU, you would need a microbiology lab class. -whereas to get into Charity as a pre-req you do not need that micro lab class..... So I think the more thought that goes into your decision making will benefit you in the long run... Also, don't forget that in order to be considered at Charity- that you must have everything completed @ the Teas test, application is..etc... If you call Charity, they will mail you a small packet in the mail with all of the info in detail (more than what is on the website) Hope this helps somewhat... good luck

Most schools in this area often do require you to complete pre-reqs before nursing courses- or acceptance to program (Charity). Some, you must already have a BSN to get in. Some you need to interview for. The waiting list for Charity is 1 year fronm the time that you turn in your application. LSU- you must apply in advance as well. Pre-reqs are the mandatory basic classes such as English 101, 102, and arts elective, humanities elective, 2 upper level math classes, biology and lab, anatomy 1 and 2 and both labs, microbiology....etc.... You would need tot check with the school that you have interest in to get clarification of their program. Not all schools do things the same way- and not all require the same courses...You will find that there are waiting lists to get into these programs -so you need to start now, and find out what you need for entrance.. I have always found them to be very helpful. You can go on the schools website and or call them and request a packet...

A lot of people that I know go out of state. The pay and benefits are not very competitive in La (when you compare them to other states/areas/and cost of living)- top pay here for a new nurse is 23/hr at Children's vs someplace like Texas where start pay is 36/hr. Also ,many find that they can advance further/faster out of state @ for ex. there were tons of nurse pract. that could not get a job here prior to Katrina... now you can...... timing is another issue, some people can't wait around for things to happen- they have to make things happen for themselves. (look at what it costs to insure your home and your car here..there are many still trying to repair their homes.the crime rate???..to each their own, I believe that all of us here have felt the blow by Katrina in one way or the other... I am sure that a lot of nurses may also have been married to people who had to be transfered after the hurricanne in order to maintain their employment (this happened to a lot of oil/gas companies that were relocated to Texas) and I guess that it is easier for a nurse to transfer to another hospital as opposed to their significant other losing their income contribution. I am sure that the reasons are numerous....and for various reasons... take care..

Wow that is something... doesn't sound like there is much you can do until people get so frustrated that they go to the dean with a bunch of the students and request some suggestions on what to do. Charity was always known for their high success rate.. having only 20 people possibly pass is not a good thing... yeah, they got their money from the students already... but as a student in a lower level, I am not aspiring or looking forward to Nac 2..after hearing about all of this.. Where and or /what does the dean/provost have to say about this? What do they intend to do.. Let everyone fail and then give a final exam that is easy.... where is the middle ground here?... If the majority of the class is failing, they need to look at the tests, or the instructors- there is more than a common theme going on here.. What is even more disappointing is hearing it from all of the other non NAc 2 teachers..... that speaks volumes... and when I went in one day to see the retention lady- she assumed that I was a Nac 2 student- she said hello, and how bad did you bomb the test?- that was all telling as well...... I know that students don't want to cause an uproar- they just want things to be fair- but it is clear that this is a time bomb that is about to go off- if these issues are not addressed by someone-things are gonna get way out of hand- and they sound as though they already have... I wish you luck.... just keep hanging in there.......

There were 6-7 SAC members who bombed (I think it was test 2- the one on vents)- with scores into the 50's... You know that something is not right when the honor society members- and some people who were straight A's (there were 1-2 of them-I dont know how they do it?) start bombing (not failing- but bombing) tests like that...-What have been the test averages for the class? Rumor has it that it stems from a fiasco last semester for NAC 2. I don't know if this is true or what? But it's sad that others have got to suffer from someone else's deed.... One of my friends tells me that the class average is a 76 (now this was 2 weeks ago). I have not spoken to him since... Rumor also was being passed that the NAC 2 students were going to hold some sort of protest... I don't know if it happened or if it is still something that is being considered- like I said, I just heard the rumor. I have never heard of the NAC 2 students having this much trouble during my time at Charity........if the other level teachers are discussing it (and I even heard them discuss it) -then you know its a problem...Has someone gone to the dean? It sounds like you have done what you needed to do by taking the HURST...and since you never had any problems before... It sounds like the entire class is on the verge of failing...and maybe those tests need to be re-looked at by the staff....I have never heard of tutors for NAC2- I would go see the lady in charge of SAC- (she is very , very nice) located on the 3rd floor- )- she will tell who if she knows about any tutors... Also across from the library (when you are facing the desk to check out-) look to your left, there is an office there(right outside the library doors) - this lady can help you as well... I forgot her name, but she too is very nice, I believe that she is a retention educator (?)- she has been helping the NAC 2 students... I hope this helps...