HappyMurse

I don't know the process of moving to the US with nursing licenses and all, but I wanted to inquire for a second...why Louisiana specifically??? Family? Friends? Because there is nothing here but a bad climate, giant mosquitos, corrupt politicians, poverty, and TONS of bigotry and ignorance. I was born and raised here, and I can't wait to get away.

Well, best of luck to you!

If your enrolling in those classes for the fall, you would be applying to get in the spring. I think they start accepting apps around the beginning of the semester, but I'm not too sure. But before you start that chemistry class, make sure your other chemistry classes won't work. Sometimes they can substitute one class for another if the classes are comparable. Like chem for science majors (I think at SELU it's chem 121 & 122 plus each lab) may sub for 107 since 107 is really just a chem review. Oh, and my advice would be to accept whatever school makes you an offer first. You don't want to miss a chance...they're all good schools.

Hey Keylimesqueez. From what I understand it's a cumulative degree GPA. This means that only nursing degree classes are counted, but every grade is counted rather than just your last grade. It used to be that if for example, you took algebra and got a 'C' and later retook algebra and got a 'B', only the B was calculated into your GPA for acceptance...but now they would count BOTH grades. So it's still a degree GPA, but it's a cumulative degree GPA. If you get in, the program is hard, but it is SO worth all the work. Good luck!

Drive to a nearby hotel or state landmark, and look for those kiosks that have all the brochures for travelers visiting. There are always a TON of things in your local area that you probably didn't even know about, and they're usually pretty cheap...also visiting places you would expect an elementary school to go on a field trip to...e.g. the zoo, or state capital or other govt landmarks. Govt places are generally free admission, and it can be a fun day trip, and places a school would field trip to are generally cheap (a school wouldn't bring 60+ kids someplace where admission is $40 bucks a head). This is what my wife and I did all through nursing school, and still do today just for cheap fun:)

Wrote my last post in another thread before you posted the new thread...so to your questions. 1. The GPA cutoff in the past for traditional had been around 3.3 - 3.4, but that was degree GPA, not cumulative. Call the nursing office, ask the secretary...she's very nice. 2. The course load is tough at first, but gets better as you go along. Plus, it's a family oriented atmosphere, as in the nursing students are like family, so there's a GREAT support system. 3. I graduated with someone from NOLA. They ended up getting an apartment in BR. BUT, I also graduated with a bunch from Covington who regularly made the drive to BR, which is close to the same drive as from NOLA. Your first semester is almost daily, but it is gradually reduced as you progress through the program. My last semester, I had 1 day on campus, and 2 days in the hospital. Oh, and they use hospitals in BR, Hammond, and the North Shore areas, so you can get a clinical closer to home. Hope this helps, and good luck!

@keylimesqueez hey, I just graduated the traditional track at SELU. I just wanted to warn you, the program is split between 2 campuses. Your first 2 semesters are in Hammond, and your last 3 are in Baton Rouge. Also, the accelerated track is a BEAST! Many of my closest friends went through it, and many switched to the traditional track after their first semester. Also, SELU now only looks at your cumulative for acceptance. They used to look at only the classes that counted toward your degree, but they changed that last semester. BUT, it's an amazing nursing program, so it's worth all the trouble!

T-Bird78, I had a nursing instructor that told me that he never let other nurses know he was an RN, much less an instructor, when he was in the hospital for himself or family. He said it put too much pressure on the nurse to not screw up, and they would end up screwing up anyway. Since hearing this story, I've had a patient who was an instructor (they literally came through the ER for something stupid right after one of their classes dressed in their school's scrubs and everything) and I now completely understand.

If you only failed clinical, but passed your other classes, then you may be able to do your last semester only having to complete clinical! Trust me, I know lots of students that would kill to have only clinical their final semester. It won't be as bad as you think.

Your last post made it sound like you're very interested in running. So, you're going to need to make a decision...do you want to run, or get through nursing school with your degree. Once you get in a nursing program (after a couple years of pre-reqs), it's going to be difficult to keep up with the rigors of nursing school studies and team sports. Unless you have plans to be a gold medal Olympian, I would recommend making running a later priority and start worrying about your degree first. The scholarship sounds nice, but you have to consider what I said about the time you'll have for team sports. Next, if you want to do the travel nurse thing, you should do your own research, but most of the agencies I've looked into required at least a year of experience. I would focus in the degree 1st, then figure out where you want to specialize and what you want to do with your degree. Oh, and minors help, but aren't always required.

I'm not to sure about your public health questions, but here's some info and advice. First off, I don't know what type of degrees are offered for public health, but most schools offer an accelerated track for students to get their BSN if they already have a bachelors in ANYTHING. I started school with a friend who had a degree in accounting. Next, if your main foul is to get a BSN, you should focus on that. Even if that means doing pre-reqs at a community college to save money and then transferring. Here's why you need to just focus on your main goal. If you just go for your ASN, and make plans to go back later, you'll probably end up getting a job somewhere, and it will either take years before you feel like going back, or you just won't go back. Then you'll wish you would've just gotten your BSN IN 4yrs and be done. I thought about going for my ASN as a quick way to get into the field and make some money, and just go back later. I am SO glad I changed my mind. Nursing school is hard, and wouldn't want to be finishing up one nursing school just to know that I still need to get my BSN to accomplish my goal. Just get it done the first time around, and then look to whatever certifications you want to get or where you want to specialize.

Better to start now and be ahead of the game.

Definitely the older adults for me. I somehow always get stuck with all my older patients having 10+ meds that they want to take one at a time and talk in between...always slows down my morning. Not to mention I feel bad when I rush them because I enjoy talking to my patients.

Frankly, I don't understand deminsional analysis...I use different methods, but it works for 99% of my classmates.

Math & Dosage Calculations for healthcare professionals 4th ed. By Booth, Whaley, Sienkiewicz, & Palmunen. Buy this book. It will help you with dosage. It's a silver book with pictures of pills on the front. It can teach you dimensional analysis, one of the more commonly used methods for dosage calculations. I think it costs around $50, but you can probably find it cheaper on amazon. This is the text my school uses.