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Thank you for sharing your thoughts! Yes, deodorant is key! Especially in the required white scrub tops. It definitely seems like it would be wise to review meds in these various categories, even if I plan on looking them up on the floor it cannot hurt to be fresh on what they're treating and adverse reactions, etc. Part of the residency includes a basic ICU RN course and training on all the ICU floors. I was considering purchasing the CCRN test study books and just working through some questions to help get me in the correct mindset for this type of work, since I have no ICU experience besides a single day of clinical. Is this something that anyone would recommend? If so, what book would be a good one to acquire? Thanks! As for the interview, it was horrible. I felt like I failed completely and utterly! It was just a non-stop barrage of questioning/interrogation. To prepare for it, I went online and looked up a lot of questions for ICU job interviews and really put some effort into how I responded to them. Even though almost none of the questions during the interview were what I'd prepared with, having put such thought into my responses gave me the material to use for the other various topics. It really was just fast-paced, demanding, and stressful, basically how I expect the actual work to be! (but not the horrible part)

Hello! I graduated with my BSN this fall and accepted a position as an ICU nurse! I'll have a residency period where I figure I will learn how the facility wants things done and learn a lot. But, I have a month until I start and was wondering what people recommend doing to prepare for their first days as an ICU nurse (or what you wish you had done)! Any other advice you recommend to be successful in this field?? Thank you so much!

Hello! I was just hired as a new grad into a critical care residency that rotates through all of this hospital's ICUs, with an ONC ICU being one of the 7. Did you pursue work in this type of ICU? What was it like? Thanks!

Thank you for the comments! Honestly, that sounds like there is basically access to everything someone could want outdoors! That's pretty awesome. The nursing staff used to have union representation, right? What kinds of changes happened surrounding that, or do you know where I could find out about that? Did it alter the compensation or benefits for the nursing staff? I know it can be a difficult thing to talk about, but does the nursing staff feel supported by the rest of the staff/administration? You mentioned patient to nurse ratios being different, so I was just wondering about that. Thanks!

In the process of applying for jobs, I found Deaconess Hospital in Spokane. I was hoping that the community could tell me about their experiences of working at that site. Staffing, management, union related stuff. Looking at other threads, I saw that there had been changes in management as well as changes in union representation. But I'm wondering what the work environment is like, how competitive the pay and benefits are, etc... I'm also interested in what it is like to live there, what recreation is around the area, or anything else useful. Basically anything you'd care to share! If it is something that you don't want to post in such a public forum, please feel free to message me. Thanks in advance!

So what happened?! Did you all pass with those scores? Are those the percentages, or the number correct out of 125? They want us to be getting 84/125, which is 67%. That's a big difference between the two values I just took my first one to see where I should direct my studying energy and got a 61%, or 76/125. im feeling like I could probably schedule my test for pretty soon. What do you all think, now that you've experienced it?? Best of luck!

Hello to all of the up-and-coming ABSNers! I want to congratulate you all on getting into the program, and for those of you who are waitlisted, don't give up hope just yet! I am a student in the ABSN program that is going on right now. If you have any questions, I can try to answer them but it is also a very busy quarter! I have a few recommendations: -Get all of your paperwork ready/completed as early as possible. Some parts, like immunizations, require time and can surprise people when they get tests back. Dates come up fast! But I'm sure you all already know that since you got accepted into this program! -Immunizations and trainings, etc. edit: -The post-bacc application does need to be completed, but I'll tell you what I found out from asking so many questions. The school created these spots for you. UW requires applying to their main school though. The school of nursing has put you in these spots and they are basically yours, so long as you do submit your post-bacc application and meet the check boxes it requires of you. I rewrote my personal statement from the ABSN application and submitted it for that. You won't hear back from the school until just before the program starts, but that's ok! Don't let it stress you out!! Just make sure you're able to meet those requirements and submit it. If you've been accepted to the ABSN program, you will be accepted by the school. -If you haven't yet, make a Facebook page for everyone who is in your cohort. If your cohort is anything like mine, your classmates are going to be awesome, and can become an amazing team on which you can count for consolation, help, anything in-between! It's nice to have a private space that is your cohort's own where you can plan, coordinate, and seek advice. -Many people found it difficult to coordinate housing before arriving in Seattle. Some people commute from afar, and although I cannot speak for them, I wouldn't want to do so (traffic can be pretty exhausting, especially around the commuting hours). The public transit is comprehensive and a bus pass is part of tuition; parking on campus can be challenging and expensive. Area's that are close to campus include the U-District, Ravenna, the next three all have the Burke Gilman Trail running along the water front which allows for easy bike-commuting: Wallingford, Fremont, Ballard. Capitol Hill, especially just north of that area is quite close since it's just over the bridges. Housing can be quite spendy and competitive - call in favors from family, friends, and anyone you know in the area who might have advice or a connection. -A fair number of students do work, and the hours they put in vary a lot. Many who continued to work reduced their hours a lot. I couldn't imagine trying to work and do this program at the same time. Also, if you come to a clinical exhausted from working a night shift beforehand, the school's policy allows the instructor to send you home! So be careful about biting off more than you can chew. It's a fast and intense program, why risk missing out on your expensive education for half the pay you'll get as a BSN? Again, just my opinion on working. Basically, work and relax while you can, because the summer quarter is a whirlwind! You will get through and you will succeed though! After the summer, we had a five week break before the fall term began - you are one the same schedule as the standard undergraduate school calendar. Feel free to message me if you have a specific question, I can't promise that I will be able to get back to you quickly, though I'll try to!

I'm rather confused right now. There seems to be a huge disconnect between the program and the school! There are a couple current students who received this, and each year, a few people seem to always be awarded this at my school, yet the people I speak with in the school have either never heard about it or don't know what is needed, or are asking me for things that my HRSA helper person says that they already should have. What are people turning in to the school? To whom are you turning these things too? Are there deadlines around this? Has anybody gotten to have a say in what their ORC, books, or anything is? If yes, please tell me where I can find it! I am having trouble navigating the portal page these days. Like I can only access the barest of info from the main page, but then I can't access other pages without links (like the one in the welcome message on portal)! Thanks everyone! I've been on vacation for this nice five week break between the first quarter and the coming year of learning excellence with lots of fishing and smoking salmon, harvesting peaches and pears, etc... Finding it hard to believe that I am about to be tossed back into reality any day now...

I am with you on this! I was almost certain that I wasn't going to get this scholarship, but I knew that I would be upset with myself if I didn't try! When I first started the application, I didn't think my EFC was competitive at $1165, but I decided to write essays that would make up for it. I do not have much in the way of volunteer work, I had only worked as a CNA for about a year at that point, and I felt like I didn't have any direction. I saved this as the last scholarship, and was sick of applying for them. In fact, I never heard back from any of the others. But, I worked really hard on my essays and spent about two months perfecting them (mixed in with procrastination), trying to really convey my desire to be a nurse and my journey to this point. Basically, even if any future applicants are looking through this, make sure you give it a try and give it everything you can, you might just be pleasantly surprised with it! Everyone is awesome, it is just a matter of conveying that clearly to the person evaluating your application! Congratulations to everyone who has been awarded so far! I'll be sending my best wishes for those of you who are still waiting. And, best of luck to anyone applying in the future! If anyone has questions about applying that cannot be found anywhere else including the forums and their help line, send me a message and I'll see if I can help you!

Got the update of my portal all count being converted to a participant account! I'm a nurse corps scholar! Congrats to everyone!

mocapoca, Did you ever get a definitive answer regarding this topic? That is my plan as well. My ABSN program is only 15 months, then I'd like to be applying for DNP schools after I take my test which means that I'd want to roll straight through basically. I feel like they should be able to. I wonder if you can just extend your award. I'm only using one year of award, basically. Perhaps I can utilize all four years by having it cover DNP training!

If it was in your application and your school certifies that you were in classes, you will get it. If you didn't put it in the application, I would guess that they won't give it to you. But, I am speculating on this. You can review your application online as te link is directly below your status on their page. Also, give them a call, they are incredibly helpful if you word your questions in a way that isn't giving a definitive answer guarantee nor them telling you exactly what you must do; they're full of accurate "advice" though!

They will backpay you for any covered costs, even if it is on a loan, back to July 1st (prorated for the summer term if it started before July 1st). I was told that once it is switched from "In Final Review" to "Participant," it will be 60 days until they disburse the funds. So, I'm planning on continuing on with the loans as they pay back the covered costs, but NOT the interest that has accrued. Also, for everyone worrying about the credit check, I was offered the finalist spot and I have yet to be credit checked. Makes me a little nervous, but perhaps they use credit as a final determination? I don't know, totally speculating there as I did not inquire over the phone. It looks like if you are offered the finalist spot, and then all of your paperwork is submitted in the timeframe, and it all checks out after they look back through everything (that you crossed all your t's and dotted all your i's), the secretary will sign it by the end of September and then funds are disbursed 60 days later. I was "advised" by HRSA that once finalists submit their documents, it usually takes between 1 and 3 weeks for it to be reviewed, signed, and our status to change on the website! At that time, count down your 60 day's for all your monies, including back payments for stipends, tuition, ORC, books, fees, etc. Also, when looking through the previous years posts on all nurses, people were being offered scholarships up to the end of September AND BEYOND sometimes. They just keep moving down the list one name at a time as money is available. Schools certify specific amounts for what we will receive, which then can free up the allocated funds for additional scholarships! DON'T become despondent! Don't give up! Don't drop out! You might have to deal with loans for this first two months of school, but you might still get funded! Plus, then you'll already be on your way to becoming a nurse!! Imagine how devastated you would be if you got offered the money a day after the school processed your drop papers! Feel free to message me if you want specific details too! Best of luck.

Hopeful30: I called using the number shown on the application page, or on their website. I spoke to them for about an hour about reimbursements because my program started this summer. Since it's only five quarters, I was bracing myself to miss out on 20% of the funding. BUT, they assured me that I would be paid for everything from July 1 2015 until the end of my program, even though my classes started on June 20th. My concern came from the fact that I had to take out student loans, which had to be disbursed before July 1 to pay for summer. They were very reassuring as I pried every detail about that. The reimbursement will be "prorated" for the summer, meaning I miss out on 9 class days value of funding, or almost 2 weeks out of the 9 that this summer term is. This means that I will get about 80% of what the school says the summer term costs. All of the amounts that go into that amount are determined by the way they certify your scholarship, and what HRSA has set as "Other Reasonable Costs" which doesn't include housing, food, insurance, etc. They expect the $1321/month stipend to cover all of those. This just means that I will be left with a good student loan still, even by using the back-paid stipends that will be disbursed 60 days after being confirmed as a participant. But, that is just fine with me! A small amount of student debt is WAY better than the alternative, and I am so thankful to have any amount of help here!

Whoa! Somehow I had recently found a different topic on this same topic, but it was only a couple pages long! Was pretty surprised that it wasn't something more like this! I submitted my final documents on August 14 and am waiting now in "Under Final Review." Does anyone know about how long it takes to get the final stamp of approval??? Last year's forum looked like it was ~3 weeks. Has anyone received the participant confirmation? Good luck everyone! edit: Anyone else here at the University of Washington?

Wow, good timing! Just got an email today saying that I am a "finalist!" From what I can find about previous years, as long as you get that email, you get the scholarship as long as you submit the requested additional documentation within their time frame. My program started this summer because it is an ABSN. Does anyone know how they back-pay the student loans that were utilized to pay for this first term? Does anyone have any other information about the process at this point? anie10, I hope that you're able to pursue your degree! It sounds like they finalize everything by late September, but you should find out sooner than that. There is also the chance that you're like the next person on their list and chances are, someone's response time frame would run out and you'd get a call the morning after dropping the program! I hope you get to stick with it, even if it requires some loans at first! There are MANY other scholarships available, and even more become available once you have completed one term of nursing school! Best of luck!!!

Hello! I too have applied for the HRSA Nurse Corps scholarship. This is the one for entering/current undergraduate students seeking a BSN through regular or accelerated programs. From my understanding, the scholarship pays books, fees, tuition, other reasonable expenses, and provides a $1321/month stipend, or so. It says they show preference for accelerated programs over regular BSN programs, but maybe someone can confirm or deny that. The applications have been in review from the date the application period closed and will likely remain in that state until the decision announcement date, which is the very last day of Septemeber, 2015. The info booklet says that they will be 100% unable to provide any updates on the status before the decision date, and I would count on that being the case! To anyone who is/has received this exact loan, how did the process go? How were you notified and when? What was paid for under other reasonable expenses? What has it been like when looking for a job with this commitment? Are employers excited to hear about this or do you not tell them? Are you working in a rural or urban setting, and what fields are you all working in? Thank you you so much for your advice and guidance!

Thanks for the replies! I assume that a low income would be most beneficial, but I wonder if a moderate parental income would hurt me more. Not sure. I suppose I should just wait to complete this until the beginning of the week when I can talk to someone here. Thanks! If anyone has any other input about this, it'd be great!

Hello, I am filling out the FAFSA and was perplexed by the questions about parents portion. I am an independent as I am 28. On the application, there is the option to answer questions about my parents, totally optional. The form says that medical professionals (nursing students included) couldbenefit from answering these. I saw somewhere on the internets that it is for a special, lower interest rate loan. That sounds great, but if they make too much, could it also potentially disqualify me for other types of aid, such as scholarships and school funding? Or, would not answering reduce my chances of getting assistance from the school, University of Washington? One parent is retired, and the other will be retiring this year. I plan on contacting the school of nursing's financial advisor to obtain custom tailored guidance, but I am still wondering what your experiences are with this process. Thank you for any help!

Yes, I totally agree. Here it is! https://www.facebook.com/groups/uwabsn2015/ Just go ahead and join that. I'll close down the page. I didn't realize there was a difference. Never made either of these before :)

Ok cohort/soon to be classmates! Here's a Facebook page. Go ahead and like it, join it, whatever it is that people do with it. Message suggestions on how it needs to be changed! I just whipped it together real quick, so it undoubtedly needs much love. I look forward to meeting everyone! Basically, I just took this forum thread name and made that the Facebook web address/account name to search for, just in case links are blocked through the forum: UW 2015 Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing - ABSN | Facebook

Hey! I submitted the postbacc application the first day that it was available. I also submitted all the payments as early as possible. I received the invitation for the netID from UW Admissions department, neither of the two that were mentioned... I'll look into creating the facebook account! I'd probably just make it pretty simple and then people could add to it as desired. I forgot to mention about housing. There's a lot of rentals in the Wallingford and Fremont areas (98105, 98103). They are both nice areas and 1-2 miles from campus. I'll as my property manager if they have any recommendations about where to seek housing and post if I find anything interesting.

Hey! I just received an email with the invitation to create the student netID, which I then did. It gave me access to myUW, but nothing else. I suppose that they will continue to expand the items which we will have access to as time goes on. For the folks coming from out of state, basically, the admissions for UW said that if you are accepted to the nursing program, you will be admitted. So I think it would be safe to plan accordingly. I chose to not go to a different school because I am planning on going to the UW program. Regarding a Facebook group, that would be cool! Has anyone yet? I looked before and didn't see anything for UW nursing besides their main group page. None of the cohorts have any that I have seen. It would be pretty easy to start one if no one else has! Let me know.

Hello PLU admissions! Thank you for the clarification on this. I can set my phone down to rest now. Thank you to all of you over there for your time and help throughout the application process. It is rare to find somewhere that responds as quickly and thoroughly to inquires, and it was greatly appreciated.

Ahh! Congratulations to everyone who has been accepted so far!! Any mouse, for me, this is dragging on! I too feel like I'm holding hope even though it is one pm now! I figure that if I was going to receive a call, I would have by now! I suppose that whatever happens is how it will be, it would just be amazing to obtain a MSN instead, and at such a quick pace. Perhaps I will try to stop checking emails and my phone for the rest of the day. heres to hoping!