drizz35

Cool thank you, that's really good info to know. So it sounds like that could boil down to about 2 hrs per wk for extra lab time, give or take, spread over a 16 week term. What are the lab hours (of operation) like?

Could you elaborate on the amount of time generally required to be spent in the skills lab OUTSIDE of Tues 8a-4p and Thurs 8a-4p (or Thurs 9a-5p)? I'm not 100% clear on that. Thanks!

Hi all - this is a little off topic but I am moving to Winter Haven/Lakeland in January for PSC Nursing and was wondering if anyone who is currently in healthcare has any suggestions on where is good (or not so good) to look into for a CNA job? Would prefer a hospital of course but skilled nursing would be okay too. Thanks!

I got in! My letter came waaaay late but it made it finally. Now I'm just waiting to hear back from Eastern Florida -I think their letters are going out this week. Then it's decision time. :)

Is there anyone out there who still hasn't received a response letter yet, like me? Mail just came and still nada...

I took my sciences up at the Melbourne campus but I've heard really great things about Janice Burger at Palm Bay for A+P. Not sure about any Microbio profs down at that campus though. I would highly recommend you check out ratemyprofessor.com if you haven't already. Great site, very helpful and pretty accurate all around. It hasn't steered me wrong yet! You should also make sure you take the Nursing Success Skills class so you can get those 5 points for your nursing app. They should offer the class again early in 2015 and sign ups for that is probably in the next 2-4 weeks. You can call the nursing office to find out for sure. FYI- Limited slots for those classes and they fill up SUPER fast. When do you think you'll be ready to apply to the nursing prog? Good luck in AP1!!

Reading these comments this wknd, y'all have made me thoroughly jealous! I'm a couple hours away from PSC so hopefully my letter is just taking an extra day or two to get here. I think I'm going to park myself in a lawn chair next to my mailbox this morning. :) Anyway congrats to all the acceptee's so far!

VA aside, I think by and large you can still cross state lines without much issue. I've talked to a couple state BON's already (places where I might be interested to move in the future). Neither one indicated there would be any problem over this whatsoever. Really, the central challenges will be a) finding a BSN school willing to take a non-ACEN program graduate and b) being a brand new grad trying to get hired in a hospital, outside Brevard, with only an ADN....and an ADN without ACEN accreditation. Strike one and strike two basically. None of this makes for an impossible situation though. Maybe a tougher road at times, but nothing insurmountable. Just takes some additional grit and determination. And research!

Haha re: above, I have no idea why so many words are lacking a space between them and all mushed together like that...? Something glitchey.

That's right, the program is not accredited withACEN (Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing). I really can'timagine why, when the overwhelming majority of state colleges / communitycolleges in Florida (and nationwide) have this accreditation. You’d think the one major college servingthe entire Space Coast would have this? The EFSC nursing program is reputable, highly regarded and has been around forever so it's really beyond me why they'd lack this accreditation. ACEN is a nationally recognizedgold standard in nursing education and graduating from an ACEN program is oftenpart of the criteria that employers, BSN/MSN schools, etc, are looking for inapplicants. From what I can gather, being an ACEN program grad also makes iteasier and more seamless when you're trying to cross state lines, obtain out ofstate licensure and/or get into travel nursing. All that said, this is a verygray area with conflicting information and opinions and no concrete answers. Fromthose I have talked to, it sounds like you still have lots of options andopportunities after graduating from a non-ACEN program. Certainly insideBrevard County I don’t think this whole ACEN thing matters at all and that it’seasy enough to get snatched up by a local hospital here. Likewise I’m prettysure UCF takes EFSC grads into their BSN program. Other schools will take youas well, but the fact is that there are many schools that won’t. The mainissue (for me) has always been what happens outside Brevard County or even centralFlorida, when applying to schools and hospitals in a more major metropolitan area or inanother state, or what happens when I approach a travel nursing agency?Unfortunately it’s a bit of a gamble but in this case I think where there’s awill there’s a way. Coming from a non ACEN program, some doors might be closed as far as employment andfurthering of education and it could be a more difficult road that requires more research and hoop-jumping, but absolutely I believe there is still every chance to succeedand grow after EFSC. I also do believe that EFSC is producing really great, high-quality nursing grads.

It's probably going to be a few more weeks. Last year's applicants started receiving letters by about 10/9-10/10. I would assume more or less the same for us this year....Are you feeling pretty good about your chances?

@Juliab330 - in answer to your q's from the other thread...I ended up with 33 pts. Should've been 38 but I had a conflict and unfortunatey had to give up my Nursing Success Skills slot this summer . I do have a little healthcare experience under my belt; once I decided to change careers and pursue nursing I got my CNA license and have been working in a skill nursing facility since the beginning of the year. Also have a prior bachelors degree and am prior military. Definitely could go either way at 33 pts, but I like to think I'm a strong 33 haha. I have a high TEAS score which hopefully will help a bit. How about you?

Congrats. Yeah the waiting game will be tough but what a milestone to be at a point where we've turned in these apps and have done all we can. It's a real achievement especially when I read through all the posts from applicants of prior years. I've been so envious of all those people over the last year or two going through this pre-nursing process, and it's so great to finally BE the waiting applicant....

@Juliab330 - I just applied for Jan 2015! I started another thread yesterday called "Eastern Florida State College Jan 2015 (Palm Bay prog) applicants​?" so we can start networking and commiserating a little between now and Oct.

Hi there - this is just a general call out to anyone who applied for EFSC's Spring 2015 nursing program in Palm Bay. I turned in my app this week and now the waiting begins...but at least while we're all on pins and needles we can be meeting each other and comparing notes? I didn't see any other forums on this so I thought I'd kick one off. :)