liquidblue

I start on Monday. I'm just taking A&P and then an algebra class. I started working on my degree awhile back, then dropped, now trying to get in again. I tried to pick an A&P professor that had good (and numerous) reviews. Have had an experience or two with some truly awful professors, and I believe that the professor can definitely make or break the class. Good luck to all!

It's the same way around here, everything is closed/waitlisted. I've read good reviews about the Netter's flash cards, but there are others out there. I think someone mentioned Barron's (http://www.amazon.com/Barrons-Anatomy-Flash-Cards-Albertine/dp/0764178326.)

Yeah, I am going to get mine from Amazon. It says there is also an access provided for some online site that you can access all of the flashcards on if you don't have them with with you. Here is the link I went to: http://www.amazon.com/Netters-Anatomy-Flash-Cards-STUDENT/dp/1416039740 For future reference... Very early on, I would suggest calling up the department head (of whatever department your class is under) and inquiring about the instructor schedule. I know that at my school, the instructor names are often not posted until a week or two before class begins (even though the department head has the info...) It is just awful. I have learned the hard way to NOT just randomly register and "hope" to get a good instructor. So, now I inquire, after getting recommendations from people who have gone before me, if a particular instructor that I am interested in will be teaching the class that I need. I firmly believe that having a great instructor, for a class that is challenging like A&P, can make all the difference.

I'm with you! I am dreading it, lol, but have to get it over with. I am getting ready to order the Netter's Anatomy Flashcards. I actually am re-taking this class (withdrew last time due to some circumstances that came up...)

Yeah, I've kind of been where you are. I got SO close, and then a bunch of things happened, and I really lost my motivation. I am finally getting back on track. It has been HARD, but you can do it! Keep your eyes on the end result - graduating, and being able to move on to your career. =) Good luck!!

The hardest part for me was the bones. I would have been fine if I had thought to start memorizing ahead of time! My recommendation is start studying the bones (and muscles, if you have lots of spare time) ahead of time. Make flash cards, write out the words, whatever it is that helps the information stick in your head.

Yes, I wear my seatbelt. I usually automatically reach for it after entering the car. =)

I don't know how soon your exam is, but if you have time, TALK to your instructor. A good instructor will be willing to meet with you and provide study information to prepare for a final exam. My instructors used to pass out the old tests, and we would all study from those. Some of my instructors would even run through the exam, and let us know the "important" things that we should absolutely look over. I've had some instructors who would put material on the exam which we did not discuss in class. It's very unfortunate, but there is not a whole lot you can do in that case. Prepare the best you can. Break down all of the material you need to study, and take a section of it each day. Review the material on a regular basis, until you are familiar with it. Make index cards with small pieces of information on them and carry them with you everywhere!! Good luck.

I would say it is definitely possible to take the non-science prerequisites online. I took the majority of my english, psychology, and history classes online via a community college. The sciences (chemistry, anatomy & physiology, and microbiology), at my local community college, are NOT fully offered online. The closest thing available is a sort of hybrid class. The lectures, tests, and notes are online, but you must travel to school approximately once a week for a lab session. Without the lab session, you cannot get full credit for the course. Like everyone else is saying, check with the nursing program that you wish to enter first. They will be able to best advise you as to their specific requirements.

Have you taken any of the science prerequisites for the nursing program? If you already have, and scored lower than you like, I would encourage you to re-take some those. If not, I would say just plan on doing very well when you do take the sciences (biology, anatomy and physiology, microbiology, and chemistry.) Personally, I would not repeat classes such as english, history, or psychology. Does the program you want to enter focus solely on GPA, or is there a "points" system in place?

Sand_Dollar did a pretty good job of listing what is covered in each class. I will say that general biology was A LOT easier for me compared to anatomy and physiology. I think it was the combination of all the new material, plus the many terms, that made A&P more challenging for me. If you have the time, or need some extra credits, I encourage you to take general biology. It certainly will not hurt to take it, and you may use/refer back to some of what you learn when it comes time to take A&P.

The nursing program that I hope to get operates on a "points" system for admission. We get more points for higher grades, and less points for lower grades. If your program operates the same way, and you can get additional points for bringing up those C grades, then I would definitely consider re-taking the algebra and chemistry. If not, then you will need to decide if you simply want to re-take those courses as a refresher, or just try to get high grades on the rest of the prerequisites. Also, like someone else mentioned, check and see how long the chemistry you took is good for. My school has a limit of 5 years on the sciences...

The only reason we would have any labs drawn at the pre-employment screening is if the immunization records are not present or complete. There is a choice of either taking the required immunizations, or having titers checked. However, my records were all intact, so I did not need any blood work. I cannot think of a good reason why an employer would need to be performing routine labs (cholesterol, BMP, CBC) with all pre-employment screenings.

Wow, I'm surprised you had to fill out such a lengthy history form. I think mine was maybe two pages. Our pre-employment health screening was basically a meeting with the employee health nurse to determine that we were fit to do the job for which we were hired. They checked my immunization records, vital signs, did a urine drug screen, and reviewed my health history form. It was pretty simple, really. All of my info and immunization records were as they should be, so I did not even have to get poked!

Yeah, in working as a phlebotomist I did get stuck by a dirty needle, once. The patient (out of the blue) decided to start moving her arm, and I just happened to be using my index finger to palpate/figure out where to redirect the needle. So, of course the needle came out of her arm and went into my index finger. :) Everything has turned out fine so far, though.

Yes!! That is such a good idea. Ratemyprofessor.com is a pretty good site with quite a lot of ratings. I've found that most of the reviews (that I've based my choice of professors on) turn out to be accurate.

Thank you!! I have had the same experience a couple of times. There are some folks out there who just do not need to be teaching. I don't see anything wrong with some "Ws" on a transcript. As long as you meet the GPA (or other) requirements for entry into whatever nursing program it is you're choosing, then I (personally) think it's all good. I guess it's frowned upon some places, though, so give the school a call just to be safe.

Well, I found this thread a little late, but better late than never. I'm taking anatomy/physiology I this semester and hoping to come out with the "A" that I need to be admitted to the ADN program next year. I'm not going to lie, this class is kickin' my butt. I have never studied more in my life! Some days I feel as if all I do is either sit in class, study, or go to work. The only way I'm getting through it is by looking ahead to the end, and the fact that I'll be able to move on with my life. Lab exams are the most difficult for me (considering both lab/lecture), I suppose. My instructor is fairly good with lecture, but not so great when it comes to lab. We had a test recently which had on it a lot of material that wasn't mentioned during the lab sessions. But, I am confident that I can do this, and I'm sure that all of you can as well. Good luck to all, and thanks for the great info in this thread.

The BSN program that I'm going through has several additional "general ed" pre-requisites that must be completed (foreign culture, language, literature, higher level chemistry class etc.) I am not sure about the differences in the actual nursing classes as I haven't really looked into what's involved with the ADN program. RE the math. The only additional math that we take beyond the ADN program is a higher level algebra. The ADN people have to take a lower algebra and statistics, but not the higher algebra.

Oh yes. I've seen this in action before. It did make perfect sense, when I stopped and thought about it. If I were the employee wishing to transfer, I would want to get first try at the position before outside applications were considered. But, it's still irritating... What can we do, though? There was a certain job I attempted to get for literally years (this was non-nursing.) EVERY time a position came open someone would do an internal transfer, and of course no outside applicants would even be interviewed. It hurt, after awhile, that I couldn't have the chance to try for the job. But, I guess that's just the way it goes. The best advice I can give is to keep trying, maybe get in with the hospital under a different position, and then you can be the one to transfer. Good luck!

While in nursing school, I'm working as a phlebotomist. It is a fairly often occurrence for folks to come in and have blood/serum samples just as the original poster described. When spun, the serum is milky (lipemic) and once in awhile, the analyzer can't even get a reading on the cholesterol levels - they are that high! Scary, isn't it.

I'm in nursing school, and have worked as a phlebotomist as well as medical assisting (non certified) in a large physician's practice. Get to know your doctor(s) well! By this I mean learn their preferences. Learn how they like for things/tasks to be done. Each doctor is going to have a different style in how they want things set up, paperwork done, etc. Hopefully you will be paired up with ONE doctor, and that way you can settle into some sort of a routine.

I know exactly how you feel. I had a needlestick last year (only mine was from a Vacutainer, not insulin, needle) and I seriously thought about quitting my job in the medical field. Thankfully, I did decide to keep with what I was doing, and I'm glad now that I made that particular decision. The waiting [for tests] is NOT fun, I know, and you'll be in my thoughts and prayers!

I used to work in a hospital that had a teen program available. There were a lot of good teens that did come through the program, and were helpful. There were also a lot of teens who believed that their time at the hospital was supposed to be "social hour" with the other teen volunteers. I personally believe that part of the problem was lack of supervision, but what does it matter now. To answer your question... I noticed that the teen volunteers mainly did clerical and administrative type duties. The offices (front, reception, admin) really liked having the volunteers for errands, making copies, sending faxes, etc. The teens could also take items back and forth from department to department and deliver lab specimens. The volunteers also staffed the gift shop, and made sure that the patients had reading materials and snacks. I can't think of anything else, off the top of my head.

out of all the science classes that i've taken so far, microbiology has definitely been the easiest. the main part of the class i tried to focus on was the lab (hands on) time. i found that a lot of the experiments, cultures, and issues discussed pertained to my future career of nursing. many of our lab sessions touched on topics such as infection control, effective disinfectants, drug resistence, and of course (since it was pathogenic microbiology) the bacteria which frequently cause infection in the in-patient setting. the most exciting moment in lab, for me, was identifying an unknown organism. we all were given unlabeled samples of various types of bacteria. using many chemical tests (techniques that we learned earlier in the semester) we used the process of elimination to specifically decide what particular bacteria the sample was comprised of. my teacher, although not at all organized, did teach us what we needed to know. lectures were the most monotonous aspect of the class. tests weren't exactly easy (lots of material which wasn't covered directly in lecture), but i made an "a" and was pleased with what i took away from the teaching, in the end. here are some links to good books (lots of informative photos) that might help: http://www.shop.com/op/~color_atlas_of_medical_bacteriology-prod-25572123-33904161?sourceid=298 http://www.alibris.com/search/detail.cfm?s=r&bid=9049921531&cm_mmc=shopcompare-_-base-_-isbn-_-na and here's a link to a website that has a nice amount of information about pathogenic microbiology: http://www.life.umd.edu/classroom/bsci424/index.html if you have further questions, please ask!