TeeZee

Hi! Okay, so I just finished my first semester at Keiser! I LOVE it. To answer your question, you do NOT need to purchase your books through Keiser. They don't 'care'. My adviser even told me I can get them half off at Amazon and ebay. The ONLY difference IS you can use your scholarships/financial aid in the bookstore and not elsewhere. SO if you are paying cash like me, go elsewhere. They WILL give you the list for the package ($700! OUCH)..... One of our girls sold her entire set for $400 to a new student. I bought my 2nd semester books CHEAP (and in PERFECT condition, you hardly use them) for $50 & $60 instead of $120 & $200. good luck!

I wish you the best of luck with your choice. I am not in your situation exactly, but my husband is close! 'I' am the nursing student, and 'he' is the one in renal failure. He is PD though, which is SO much easier on him than hemo. Which do you do? He still works 50 hours a week. It practically kills him sometimes, but at this time there is no choice. He is up for a double transplant (P/K) and the wait is much shorter (he is near the top of the list now!). I could honestly say he 'might' be able to do it, IF he didn't HAVE to work. ONLY if he didn't have to work. Do you have to work? What is your school's max % of missed time allowed? (my school is ONE day per semester! or 3 tardies) The classes are mentally exhausting, but that is doable. My current clinical is the typical 'on your feet running around all day' type thing, are you able to do that now? Each semester is more and more too. It's NON-STOP mental brain-drain, then some physical. THen the mental makes you physically exhausted...lol.. 'A's in pre-req's are NOTHING like 'a's in core. I had a 4.0 in all pre-reqs but now have A's & B's. I push hard too. Considering your transplant could be awhile (1-3 years?) if you can't find your own, do you mind waiting? Would you be willing to lose 2 sememsters when you get the transplant? (one for the minute you have to quit for the transplant, the next (possibly) for the one you need to recover). From everybody in my husband's support group, they say over 90% over people are back to 100% REAL FAST after surgery, but you can't really drive for a month/ do work for longer. Nobody can decide but you, but too give 100% you have to be 100%, and I can only imagine how you must be feeling. Can you knock out ALL pre-req's first? Tracy

Instead of quitting, why don't you at least have a 3-way with the dean AND the advisor? It should raise a red flag to the dean if she refuses. If she doesn't, be strong and not accusatory. You might 'earn' her respect. Have a back up and be able to follow through. Meet her alone and wear a hidden recorder. If it gets THAT bad, you can bring it to the dean. It rattles my nerves when I see an innocent person targeted on so many different occasions here. Best of luck!

Hello! For the first time in my LIFE, something is holding a higher priority in my life than my family. However, I LOVE my family more than nursing school, and always will. It's not really the kids & husband so much being priority #2, it's our families way of LIFE. Meals are not 2 or 3 course dinners anymore, sometimes they are rushed, boxed, or (blech) take-out, dishes have to get done by THEM if they are going to get done. Laundry piles up for a week at least. The floors and counters don't get daily attention anymore, the bathroom has to be done by the kids now, etc....that is no longer my 1st priority. During ALL that time I can study. Maybe you need to break down what can fall to the wayside. School is 2 jobs (school/clinical, then studying) When are you letting your kids come before school? is there any wiggle room? Is it for sports, school events, weekend fun? Those SHOULD be 2nd priority. It IS possible to have really good quality time with them. You might have to pencil it in your calendar, but you CAN go to the park, the movies, dinner. pencil in a date with your husband every other week. Sometimes quality time is better than rushed got-to-get-studying done time. Do you have to work during nursing school? If not, there might be a little more room for family time. You might just have to pencil in your 'nursing time' and stick to it. It might come down to how badly do you want this? I will always LOVE my family more than ANYTHING in the WORLD....but my husband and 3 kids KNOW how important this is. Priority and love are two different things here for me. Best of luck.

Hi! I was recently accepted in the RN program at the FLL campus! I have a co-workers girlfriend that graduated there 2 years ago, and he is finishing up his RT program there, both were happy with their experience. Are you still planning on attending?

Well, besides the ATI workbook (BIBLE)....I bought the TEAS pocket prep, it was 12 $ or so. I had it sitting in my account for a year (the $) so I went ahead and got it. I liked it, just a lot of questions/quizzes over and over. good for on the go.

Keshwani Prep was great on you tube! He broke down the ATI TEAS V book math sections. The formulas will stay the same, but the numbers will change. you just need the 'concepts' down. Go through a few segments a day. Do you have the ATI book?

I don't get a Spring Break have fun..... (however I AM in S. Florida, so it's mid 80's everyday!)

I start my core in May. What do you know now that you wish you had known before/when you started? I'm in an accelerated ADN course. thank you!!!!!!

Thanks Sunny, that is what I'm looking for, advice like that! SO, how is everybody doing after 2 months?

from Tim McGraw's 'Back When' Back when a hoe was a hoe Coke was a coke And crack's what you were doing When you were cracking jokes Back when a screw was a screw The wind was all that blew And when you said I'm down with that Well it meant you had the flu I miss back when I miss back when I miss back when

WOW sounds like me! I am going accelerated starting in May, and was HIGHLY recommended to NOT work. I really don't have a CHOICE, we need some extra income (3 kids). I am able to pull back to one or two nights a week, and I can even pull back more if need be. My work is VERY flexible to (waitress) and I should make as much on 2 night shifts as I do on my normal 4 days. I'm very nervous about finances, but school is my #1 priority, so I guess it will be a lot of Ramen noodles and Kraft macaroni...lol... I've heard it's possible, but not easy.

Quick update, I was accepted! Whew! Big sigh of relief and lesson learned!

Hi! I've been accepted into Keiser Ft. Lauderdale and start in May! Workshops start in April (11 of them). yay!

Thanks. It just 'came up'....I feel I was led that way, since they can't 'ask'....but it its what it is now...and I would hate to be judged on it. Funny thing is, my husband was offered a job and the salary increase will cover almost all my income loss :) fingers crossed! There is a 'yes' a 'no' and 'another interview'....so if I get another interview I can explain it more, though I feel I already did in the first interview.

Hi! I had my interview with the Director of Nursing today, and I felt great going in. I passed my TEAS, I have a 4.0 gpa, etc. etc. I answered all her questions genuinely and confidently. THEN, she found out I planned to still work p/t while in nursing school, and I swear all the air left the room. I understand they don't recommend working while in nursing school, but I also understand it IS doable (if you have the drive/desire to still succeed). I made it clear that school is my #1 priority, even over my family and job. It actually is. It is the first time EVER anything has come above my family. I am giving this everything I have and then some to make it work. It WILL work, it has too. BUT I don't want this to keep me from getting in! They take 24 students. The 'other' thing is that it came out my husband is on dialysis (home PD) and can't take the kids (only one of them needs transportation) to school, so that is why I took so many online classes. I let her know I have made plans for my neighbor to drive her the rest of the year (because I drove HER kid the 1st half of the year already) He is ALSO on a transplant list in the next month and will 'hopefully' have a transplant within the next year or so. I didn't want her to think I would miss anything (she had earlier made it clear we can miss NO days) because of this 'life changing' event. My husband is actually okay with me NOT being there (I had hoped to be there when he was in surgery, but who knows WHEN that would be day/night/weekend...but again, willing to sacrifice). SO, these two things I have going against me, are they too much? She also said they ONLY accept people they know will graduate, because their reputation as a successful program is on the line if they don't do it that way. It shook my confidence a little. I should know within 2 weeks.

Hi! I just took (and passed!) my TEAS this last Wednesday! The science WAS hard (it's the only one I had to repeat). Conversions were all there (for me). I had a few chemical reaction questions, but I knew those were coming so I practiced a lot. The ATI book REALLY did help me. I used it the 2nd time, not the 1st. Best of luck to you!

Hi! I'm sorry about your scores I just retook my TEAS today and PASSED! BIG difference this time around. When can you take it again? You'll see it OVER AND OVER AND OVER again here, majority rules (and I agree) the ATI TEAS study guide is the bomb. I read it, did ALL the practice question, ALL the practice tests, and REDID all the ones I got wrong until I knew them. I only had to retake the science, and man it was STILL hard! I also did a LOT of youtube and downloaded the pocket guide ($15, yikes) but I liked it to study on the go. It was just reiteration of everything. I did not take the online version of the ATI test though, no time. Just study and be comfortable with the material. OH I LOVE LOVE quizlet teas (google that). there are some great flashcards on there. I haven't seen that mentioned. Good luck next time!!

Ok, I bit the bullet on this....I had $26 sitting in my iTunes account for well over a year, figured might as well...lol....so far I really like it, I've only been doing the Science part, but I like the format.

So do WE (nurses) (pre) diagnose a lot of this stuff or bring it up to the Dr.?

I have a newbie question. I have read threads on here saying 'know all this from A&P etc etc.' I want to know the real world application for a few things (anything actually). I know what it is, I want to know how it's used. Ok, maybe 'real world' is not what I'm ready for, so how about clinicals/med/surge.etc. A&P 'stuff' like blood flow of the heart? How will that help me as a nurse/student? How will I actually use this knowledge? Sodium/potassium pump? endocrine system? any of the billion things I've learned...... I'm not trying to ask a dumb question, I really (sincerely) want to know how these (and other) concepts are used when I will be a nursing student. So many experienced people here I thought I'd throw it out there, since I want to know...before I get there...Thanks!

I guess it's how you 'read' the question.....I take it as just a vent.....not a 'let's dwell on the bad stuff' type post. I must say, I am only entering nursing core in MAY (fingers still crossed) and I opened the thread to see what NOT to do!!!!!!!!!! At my current job, we have a small lock box, and put in petty little b***hy comments (some legit) and discuss them. That way there are not accusations flying and ppl taking it personally. The petty ones don't even get commented on. There is no blame game, it is " I dislike when rooms are left a mess for ME to clean up' etc.....

My mother-on-law gave me sage advice when we had a mountain of medical bills.....she said "Pay them ANYTHING....and they will leave you alone and you will be in 'good-standing'. Well, they get $10 auto-paid every month, and it's been about 4 years now. NEVER have I gotten a phone call or letter, and it's NOT on my credit. You used the service, do the right thing and pay it. You can also wait a until you have a few paychecks under your belt and/or money saved, and call and ask them for a 'deal'. Several times I have had them take 20% off the bill to pay it in a lump sum (not a payment plan). I don't believe it is considered settled for 7 years of unpayment...somewhere around there.....and it will now normally appear on your credit report, lowering your score. Congrats on the job btw!

You just said it yourself....you did not study enough. You should have known the rule for the school you are in whether or not you are even allowed a second attempt. Every program is different. Make that call today to find out. MY school, you can take it once, if you fail, you can take it again after 7 days, then not again for 4 months. (that would put me out of the program until late Summer). Congrats on the science part btw! That is the only part I failed (by 6% ugh) and I 'thought' I studied enough..lol... So go through these forums, find the great links to the youtube videos (Keshwani Prep for math) and study, study, study. You can do it! Good luck!

I have the ATI book at home, and my adviser suggested downloading the ATI pocketguide to study on the go. I may this week ($15! ouch). I have taken to recording my studying on my phone, and I plug that into my truck and listen to it though the stereo on my drive to/from work. It reiterates what I have already studied/learned.