echinacea

Hi everyone, I hope someone will enlighten me about this. When I volunteered in a hospital there were a couple very very sick patients who grunted and slurred really loud and couldn't speak. They were wide-eyed, intense, like they were trying to yell. It was extremely disturbing. One woman was only about 40 yrs old, skin and bones, nearly bald, diapered, moaning/crying/slurred completly un-understandable. When they brought her food tray (I wondered could she have even been able to feed herself?) she pushed it off the table, angry. Another patient was the same. The nurse's aid saw a fly land on his sheet, she took a towel and snapped it to kill it, hitting him right over his legs. He was clearly upset and everytime she went towards him he let out angry sounds. It was so hectic on that unit I never asked what causes this. Neither looked like they had brain trauma injury, I assume this is a disease process. Then yesterday I was lunged at by a homeless man on the street who was similarly trying to speak but all that came was yelled "ungufadabla...etc..." He was looking me right in the eye and, in empathy/pity/feeling helpless/whatever, I gave him a $5 dollar bill - I don't know why I did that, because what could he do with money in that state? He tried to hug me - or fall on me really- and yelled the same giberish over and over waving and swinging his arms. It must be an incredibly frustrating painful existence, there is a concious person there under all of that. What causes this? I can't imagine having to live in that state.

Hi everyone, I hope someone will enlighten me about this. When I volunteered in a hospital there were a couple very very sick patients who grunted and slurred really loud and couldn't speak. They were wide-eyed, intense, like they were trying to yell. It was extremely disturbing. One woman was only about 40 yrs old, skin and bones, nearly bald, diapered, moaning/crying/slurred completley un-understandable. When they brought her food tray (I wondered could she have even been able to feed herself?) she pushed it off the table, angry. Another patient was the same. The nurse's aid saw a fly land on his sheet, she took a towel and snapped it to kill it, hitting him right over his legs. He was clearly upset and everytime she went towards him he let out angry sounds. It was so hectic on that unit I never asked what causes this. Neither looked like they had brain trauma injury, I assume this is a disease process. Then yesterday I was lunged at by a homeless man on the street who was similarly trying to speak but all that came was yelled "ungufadabla...etc..." He was looking me right in the eye and, in empathy/pity/feeling helpless/whatever, I gave him a $5 dollar bill - I don't know why I did that, because what could he do with money in that state? He tried to hug me - or fall on me really- and yelled the same giberish over and over waving and swinging his arms. It must be an incredibly frustrating painful existence, there is a concious person there under all of that. What causes this? I can't imagine having to live in that state.

Hi - thanks for this thread. I am looking into A&P I online because the only section available here is at an inconvienent time. However the online courses I have found are only 3 credits, and I need 4. Does anyone know of a 4 credit online A&P I course? Thanks!

Thanks for the quick replies. Very informative.

A friend of mine went in for a check-up. She had complaints about calf pain, and the doc asked her to take off her pants so he could examine her legs. (she was wearing a gown, with a camisole and jeans under) He stayed in the room, not looking at her undress - he was writing in the chart - but there was no privacy screen or anything. There was no one else in the room when he examined her legs. He also had her lie down, and he checked the area around her hip joint. (she has stiffness and pain in her hip too.) After, he asked her to put her pants back on, and again he stayed in the room. Are there any rules about the doctor asking the patient to undress and dress without providing privacy? Also I was wondering if a male dr. can examine a female without another female in the room. I volunteered at a hospital, one of the things I was asked to do was to stand nearby while a male dr. examined a female patient, so I thought that was standard procedure. Honestly, my friend didn't mind, she feels comfortable with this doc. I was just wondering.

Hi Rosey, Thanks for posting, I have been wondering if NYU grads regret the loans. I consolidated my earlier student loans and pay a low monthly amount -- for 25 years to come. I hope more loan repayment benefits start cropping up to recruit BSN nurses, but I don't count on it. To others in the same boat (Drizzle, et al) As far as I know Hunter is the only convenient and relatively cheap BSN for many students, but they make you enroll for a semester before they will even consider your application. And from what I hear, forget about getting into the science pre-req's there because the classes are completely filled up with science majors before they even allow you to register. (Hunter students correct me if I'm wrong.) Also, there's that 2nd semester of Chem they require, sigh... To Drizzle, That's great that you applied to so many programs. You really have it together. I'm trying to get this done before the semester begins. This may be a stupid question, sorry ... but when you applied to all those different programs did you ask your professors/supervisors to send out multiple letters of recommendation (one to each school)? (I assume the answer is "yes, duh") And did they provide copies of the same letter addressed to each school, or did they fill out those forms provided by the admissions office? It makes sense that NYU's nursing enrollment is soaring. There is a real shortage of reasonable options.

I don't think anyone said Hunter was bad (?) I have only heard good things about it, and would go there if I have the option. The difference between Hunter and some others is you have to be enrolled there for a semester before you can apply to the nursing program, and you have to take Chem I and II along with the other standard pre-reqs. Also there is no program for college grads, but I'm sure they take transfer credits. Best of luck!

Hi wanna-be-nurse, Thanks for answering. Are your clinicals at the VA hospital in Manhattan or The Bronx? Best of luck to you, and congrats on being accepted!

Hi Eli, Can you find out where you stand in terms of the pool of applicants for SUNY? Do you have a sense of how your GPA and other criteria compares to other accepted students in previous semesters? I can relate to your problem. I'm really frustrated by the lack of affordable BSN programs here. I've even considered going the associate’s degree route because the expense of the BSN is so high. (Assuming I don't get into SUNY) But I don't want to have to go back to school in the future. So even though I have considerable student loans from my first degree, I will probably go to NYU and take on more debt. For me it comes down to convenience and quality. I have 2 kids and my husband works long hours, so I would hate to be stuck on the subway for hours going to and from school when I could be with them. And another advantage of NYU is it seems like a supportive environment, and free of the hassles of SUNY/CUNY bureaucracy. When you pay that much money you should expect higher quality facilities too. Also I have talked to RN's working in good jobs, and I get from them that the BSN is worth it and NYU is a good school. Of course whether it is worth the debt to you is a totally different question than whether it is worth the debt to me. NYU would not be my first choice if there was a cheaper BSN program close to me. But, back to your problem. How about deferring your start date at NYU until September? If you feel you have a good chance of getting into Downstate, you absolutely have to keep your options open. Hav you applied to the various scholarships NYU offers? Best of luck! (And it would be great to hear from current NYU accelerated students who have taken out loans to pay for it. I went to an info session and several students spoke, and all were very positive about their experiences. But no one asked how they felt about the expense. I mean, $30k a year is pretty outrageous, even for a private school.)

Thanks for the info! To clarify, I was wondering if the nursing classes were a more serious environment. (I should have said that instead of commenting on study habits.) I want a high quality education, and quality of the students is a factor in that. (Along with many other things like instructor quality, and the quality of services, advisement, and the rest.) you wrote: "I've seen some of the English papers that BMCC students in both ENG 101 and 201 write that would be considered a C at a 4 year school, and surprisingly they've received an A in the class. It's pretty sad!!!" Yes, I agree. And that says more about the school's academic standards than it does about the student. Thanks again for the helpful info. Best of luck to you!

Hi mimine, I'm taking prerequisites at BMCC with the goal of getting into an accelerated BSN program at another school. But I am considering BMCC's program, mostly because it is so inexpensive. My question is whether there are many students who already have bachelor's degrees, and also what you think of the general quality of the students. I don't mean to insult anyone, but honestly, in my chem and dev psy classes the majority of the students must not study much. Or they don't have the academic experience that would prepare them for challenging coursework. But most of them hope to go on to BMCC's nursing program, and some have told me they have A's and B's in other classes and they expect to be accepted. I think teaching quality at BMCC is very uneven and some instructors are more likely to grade students higher than others. But generally, I feel the expectations are low, which may account for many students having trouble in the nursing program when the work becomes challenging. So they only look at those 4 classes? I have psy and english from my previous BA, I wonder if they would accept these? I have heard about the ENG 101 class and it sounds very rudimentary. Again, people who don't seem like excellent students claim to have A's in it (?) I know I would prefer a school like NYU, but I have to consider expense vs. quality of program and BSN vs. ADN. Thanks for the information! echinacea

Hi, You are eligible for the accelerated BSN programs no matter what your BA or BS is in -- after you have completed the science prerequisites. The accelerated programs give you credit for all those liberal arts and social science classes that make up the bulk of ther difference between the ADN and the BSN. BMCC's ADN program has some of the same pre-req's as the accelerated programs do (chem & a&p). There's a lot to consider, I am in the same position as you, but I'm leaning toward an accelerated BSN. I think you can get into a MSN program with an ADN and a BA in another area, but I don't plan to pursue an MSN, so I want to get my BSN and be done. The ADN is cheaper but harder to get into. I think the accelerated BSN actually takes less time than the ADN. Differences in pay and job opportunities may be marginal, but from what I understand, BSN will become the minimum standard in NY in the future. Best of luck!

Hi, Anyone know anything about Lehman's generic BSN nursing program? interested in any info like reputation and quality of program, where are clinicals held, how competitive is admission? Any info at all would help. Thanks!

Thanks for the reply! Yea, I have been hearing how competitive these programs are, best of luck to you! I am still wondering if the BSN pays off salary-wise or if the two-year degree is just as lucrative. If I went to NYU for a BSN I would have to borrow a lot of money (I already have a BA and loan debt), but in roughly 2 years at NYU or another private school I would have a BSN. As far as I know there is no 2nd degree BSN at CUNY, BSN programs are for RN's only, not me. So that means spending the same amount of time - but much less money - on an AAS. The prerequisites for both are about the same. I keep turing this over in my head. It would help to know whether the BSN has any great payoff. I know you can usually go back to school for the BSN and the hospital will pay, but I just want to spent the next few years in school and be done. Thanks, echinacea

Hi, I've been lurking here for awhile - and these boards are great! I know there have been some threads about schools in New York City but I would like more info: 1) Does anyone know about New York City Technical College? (CUNY school in brooklyn) 2) I know CUNY and SUNY programs are generally very competitive (BMCC for example). By comparison, how competitive is admission to the much more expensive BSN programs at NYU and Pace? 3) Is the expense of the private college BSN worth it? (Do AAS degree students make the same amount of money in NYC?) Thanks, echinacea