ERKatie

Elizabeth- Thanks! I took a job at Beaumont. They pay pretty good- 22.45 an hour to start, plus shift differential (2.50). Most places start about 20-22 an hour (in hospitals that is). Nervous about the boards, as anyone would be but anxious to get it out of the way! I bet you'll do fine in any program. You've got the first ingredient, which is the desire to be IN the program and to be a nurse, and hopefully the admissions people will see your motivation and you'll do well :) Katie

They went through a lot of trouble changing the program to May-May. I was told that we were the last to grad in August, but you can confirm through the school... I know it was no fun overlapping this summer. All the instructors were super busy and not very accessable. :) Katie

Out of our original 54 or so students, I'd say 43 graduated. A couple dropped for medical reasons, but we lost about 4 each semester who couldn't keep up and failed. I know a couple in particular who I have no sympathy for, had not cracked a book the whole semester and were surprised when they failed It does take some effort. Not a total breeze. Typically you're in class from 8-5 (with breaks) 2-3 days a week. The other days are clinicals, usually 7-3 (some are nights, like 2-10). Studying i'd do when I could. Depended on the day, how tired I was. I focused on one day at a time (what is MOST urgent to get done for tomorrow, then for this week). Looking too far ahead will get you in trouble unless its for a paper or something. Small steps is ideal- and KEEP UP! I would say I study about 2 hours a night. But that is an average...some nights I'd be at school from 8 am to 9 pm, in study groups, other days I said F-it and went home to sleep LOL I will tell you that all the students who studied, and tried, and put some effort in, DID pass the program. If this kind of thing (medicine) interest you, you'll have no problem at all. Katie

It was not easy, I won't lie. When we went to our orientation, they laid out a schedule for us that ended up showing that after accounting for sleep and study time + classes and clinicals, that left 18 hours a week of "free time." I also went to MSU for my first undergrad- Class of 01! My degree was human biology- that background helped me out, along with my experience as an EMT. I know a lot of students in the program were married, with children, and with jobs. The timeline breakdown freaked us all out, I think everyone was shaking that first day. But we stick together. Not all of the classes are so hard. One is a research class, you write papers and take quizzes. No exams. Another is a nursing management class, all the exams are online. The hardest class (our NUR 252/352/452) is the one that knocked a lot of people out. In the second semester the average on the first exam was 55% (have to have 75 to pass). I was the only one who passed, with a 78! You will get that level of difficulty, no matter which SDO program you go to. Keep that in mind. What kept us sane was knowing it would be over that much sooner. I did have a life outside the program. After I adjusted and started managing my time pretty well, I held down 2 (part time) jobs, worked 2 days a week, as well as family life: a husband and 2 kids (well, 3 kids in that case). My family was helpful and supportive too, which was great. I know of several people who were pregnant through the program and did fine, one even had a 40-50 hr a week job and did well (I don't know how she did THAT). I always did well on the hard, science classes and did fine in this program (3.9) so perhaps that is a good predictor of how YOU will do? Like I said, be realistic but don't let that scare you. I was the last class to do the aug-aug program, their current class started in may (we overlapped). They found out that graduating in august puts us at a disadvantage because others grad in May and get the jobs! Good luck, let me know if you have any questions.

I just graduated from the second degree program (SDO) at University of Detroit Mercy. Website is http://healthprofessions.udmercy.edu/nursing/2nddegree.php I had applied to the U of M SDO program but was not accepted (I was #1 in my class but they had "too many applicants" that year). Just to warn you, it will cost a LOT being out of state. They tried to claim I was an out of state student since the HS I graduated from was out of state (even though I was born here and had lived here for 6 years before applying!) and I had to fight them for months... Overall, it was a great experience, a highly respected program(one of top 25 in the country according to US News...), and U of M and WSU are pretty good too but I've heard they're trying to work out some wrinkles with the program at WSU, and WSU also is a longer program, 20 months I think? I think U of D is a bit easier to get into. It is 12 months, 58 credits so it's pretty intense, but I managed to do it with a couple kids and a job too so I figure its not TOO hard. You have to be good at time management. One of the best things is the SDO program is filled with people who come in without having a clue what they're doing...engineers, art majors, teachers, etc. So you're not alone in learning new stuff. They tend to be "non-traditional" people, who have kids and jobs and life outside of school. You get this feeling of not being alone, even when you're not sure why you're there or "what the He!! am I getting myself into." The tuition is steep- I think the one year cost 36K (because it's a private school) but I also had a lot of scholarships, loans, grants, etc that made it manageable. One hint: get some medical experience before hand, if you can...around here, if you enroll in nursing school (or become an EMT- I did that in a 4 month program) you can work as an extern, or a technician, and that made the coursework so much easier, seeing things in real life and having a basis for learning. Reading something in a book is so different from remembering what you saw in your patient the day before...You get clinical experience in school but no matter where you go it won't really prepare you the way real-life experience can. Graduates in this area earn 20-22 an hour (With shift differential I'll earn $28 an hour to start!), and depending on where you live you can find affordable housing, especially if you commute. Detroit isn't the best area, but you can find some affordable rentals in the suburbs, Farmington/Farmington Hills is nice, about 45 min from Ann Arbor (I think?) and 1/2 hr from Detroit. I had an apartment there when I got married, for 1K a month that was 2 bedroom, 2 bath, basement W/D, townhouse with front and back porches, etc. You should be able to find something 1 bedroom for about $500-700 a month easily. There are really well-respected hospitals in this area...Beaumont is one of the top in the country, U of M hospital is so big they have their own hotel, and is cutting edge with research and new technology. You've also got Henry Ford hospital (very student friendly) and all the DMC hospitals downtown affiliated with Wayne State. They're all within about an hour of each other, so you've got a great (if not hard!) choice to make. The weather sucks. No getting around that. It can change in a minute, which is the hardest part. My gas bill last winter to heat our tiny 3 bedroom ranch was $230 a month! Not cheap. And this winter will be even worse, considering the prices now... Best wishes! Either way, you've chosen a great path. I can work anywhere I want, and change my specialty at the drop of a hat- I love the flexibility. And I can do what I do best, caring for people, teaching, helping.