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@ambitious_shan yes same thing happened to me!

@Aggio Yes thats it, the communication center!

@Aggio if it helps, my canelink still says application incomplete and I got accepted last month lol. I wouldn't worry about that. You should check in the inbox on canelink for any letters though. Hopefully you will find out soon!!

Interesting, I wasn't aware of that in regards to the board. Good to know though! I am seeing my cardiologist this week to get clearance and get an accomodation letter for school. I am fairly active so I shouldn't have any problems with clearance. Thanks!

Thanks, that's a great line to redirect the conversation, it should be fairly effective for insisting patients! I hadn't thought of that, thank you!

I have my GED and I am 22, I have a BA degree in business and am about to start a program for a second degree (ABSN) in nursing. As someone who didn't finish the 11th grade, I went on to college and finished my bachelor's degree a year before my high school class did. So, my decision was the right decision for me. However, in high school I had a 3.3 and was in a lot of extracurriculars. Then, as soon as I got my GED, I started community classes a week later. It was the right decision for me to get my GED, but it is not something I would recommend to others. I was able to be successful because of my motivation to succeed, but if you're struggling with high school now, I would not recommend getting your GED. Because what's after that? Will you start college immediately (or next upcoming semester) like I did? Because if you do, school will not be easier. You will have less support from teachers, and you need to shine and do well in college in order to get into nursing. Stick in there, I know it can be hard at times, but you have options after high school even if your grades are average. You can always start at community college like I did, many people are able to get their associates, or even transfer before then. Give yourself more time to learn and get familiar with your learning style so you can do better! My brother didn't do well in high school (Ds and failed a class), he went to community college, but then he went on to transfer to a very prestigious school and now is about to complete his masters at an even better school.. Moral of the story: Don't let your predicament now dictate the rest of your life, you can always turn it around. Good luck to you!

Thanks! I will definetly keep all this in mind going forward. I am going to try to set up an appointment with the disability services on campus before the term starts and before I see my cardiologist next so everyone knows going forward. I will also make sure to get a specific outline of questions for my cardiologist to address. Thanks for al the advice!

@Lev Yes I suppose that's an option! Personally though, I prefer not covering my scar. I would do it if I had to obviously to follow hospital protocol. But in general, I just don't like covering it on a day-to-day, it's like hiding apart of who I am. I will have to figure out how to deal with people who ask, I suppose. Thanks for the advice though!

@KatieMI thanks for your input! Thankfully, I have less restrictions it seems than your classmate did. I am able to lift and do plenty of activities, so I think it will be less of a problem and be able to do bedside nursing. But definitely no MRI machines, haha! I will definitely talk to my cardiologist before starting school, as I'm unsure if I would have restrictions with compression and codes. I don't think I would though for the most part, as I've had no issues with learning CPR, but doing it on an actual patient might be different... I am definitely interested in bed side nursing, but maybe I will talk to my cardiologist about departments to avoid (like ER if it gets crazy since I can get out breath easily). I will deal with the attitudes, I'm used to it! Thanks :)

That's close but I meant Adult Congenital Heart Disease!

Hello, I am soon to be starting an ABSN program in May! I am excited, but I am also curious about any nurses who have pacemakers or nurses who are adults with congenital heart disease (ACHD)? I'm just turned 22 and have a huge cardiac history.. 9 surgeries and counting. I am really inspired by my own experiences as being the patient to become a nurse though but I have questions! I have a 12 inch keloid scar down my chest from multiple open heart surgeries, and sometimes it gets a lot questions. It is visible in a scrub top, which doesn't bother me. I wear bikinis to the beach, despite the massive amounts of scars. However, I'm more conscientious in professional settings though as to handling the questions. Does anyone have experiences with having a disability and being questioned about it specifically by patients? How do you deal with this? I am usually very friendly and open to people's questions about my scar, but it seems a little different on the job. Also, how is your energy level for any of those with any heart problems? I'm in okay shape, and have not too many restrictions, but don't expect me to run a marathon.. I find myself more like finding my limits than being told I have them. I do know I have MRI restrictions, but does anyone else know of any other pacemaker restrictions? Do you wear a medic alert bracelet on shift (or always)? Thanks for any answers, sorry for so many questions!!

@ambryce Wow those hours don't sound too bad at all! Thanks for the info! I had a question about the parking pass.. Does the ABSN have a special parking pass for the summer semester? I saw the parking site said they don't require a parking pass for the summer but your car has to have an old UM sticker at least, but parking passes don't go on sale until like July for commuters?? Do you know about otherwise? Thanks for the info and taking time to answer people's questions on here :)

@Mandaaleiigh My bad, I was thinking sheesh clinicals alone 7am-7pm six days a week? That'd be crazy. I was thinking that because I did see some of the class times listed in canelink for the current semester and I think one of the clinical classes was 7:30am-3:30pm so that's why my brain was not computing that the 7am-7pm would be classes included. Either way, at the end of it, it's only a year long so even if it six days it'll go by fast :)

Orientation on the 15th is mandatory, it said that in the first admission letter I got, so reserve the date! I don't think clinicals would be 6 days a week, when would we have class?? lol. It says on the website the most clinical hours we have per semester are like 336 hours, I think the first semester will only be the 140 hours it mentions under the FAQs.

@ Krysty0214 WAHOO CONGRATS! Glad the wait is over for you! See you in May! And yeah.. definitely need a car in Miami!

@Krysty0214 My letter was dated 8 days before it arrived! But I live in Florida, so that might affect when yours arrives by a day or two depending where you live.

@Krysty0214 I didn't get any update or e-mail from Canelink until four days after I got my snail mail acceptance. Even then, it may have been because I called the IT support when it didn't update after two days. Good luck!! I know waiting is hard

@Lunarious_Nuit Wahoo! Was able to join! :) Thanks for creating the group! Also my Canelink didn't update until after I got my snail mail O.O

@kirilova Well traffic can be bad at times.. But there's a lot of side streets and different routes to take depending on where you live (as long as there aren't too many lights lol). U.S 1 (South Dixie Hwy) is the main road right by UM and can be pretty bad though at the wrong time of day. But if you're used to living in a city with traffic, it shouldn't be that big of a deal.

Tried creating a FB group but wasn't sure who to add to create a group?? Lol. Anyone else wanna give it a shot?

@kirilova Yay awesome! I think some of the apartments can be $1,000+ per month. Pricey to me! I already live in a house in Miami with my boyfriend, I don't live in Coral Gables though, but I live close to it. @Aggio Those are great stats, I got in with not as good stats. (3.47 cumulative, 3.62 pre-req, and also had to repeat a pre-req since I had a C-). I think AC is a person some people have talked to. I don't know who I talked to honestly, I just asked to talk to someone for the accelerated BSN program and she was helpful and I also just called the general nursing number. And yes apparently they can see your app before it is verified but I think only if it's complete and just awaiting transcripts and verification. Good luck!!

@kirilova First off, congratulations! Now breathe! If it helps you feel better my Canelink still doesn't let me pay online either.. It just updated saying I was admitted today when according to my letter I was admitted on the 13th. I ended up paying both my fees via snail mail. You can gain access to Canelink like the way I did though since I was never actually sent an e-mail to login initially. Go to the website for Canelink and try to create an account using your SSN, and it should tell you your username is already established and what it is. If you then go back to the sign in page and click "forgot password" they should give you a phone number to call. The IT support desk will be able to reset your password, and you're in! Now aside from the Canelink, I would call the nursing school. You should be fine, but just let them know you intentions and the issue. I'm sure other students have had similar problems and they will be understanding! I don't have too much advice on housing since I already live in Miami, so sorry about that! UM is surrounded by a safe neighborhood, but it's pricey. I know there's at least one hospital pretty much right next to the nursing school on the main campus. Not sure how many clinicals we will do there or if we will be mainly at the hospital downtown, or other sites. Good luck and hope this all helps!! Congratulations again!!

@Mandaaleiigh Congratulations! How exciting for you to make the move!! Yup, Canelink still not working for me either, the helpdesk sent me an e-mail that they're still working on it today. I didn't want to chance it though, so I just called admissions for an address yesterday to mail the $300 check today. I didn't know that there's perhaps more time to do so, I would've preferred doing it online. See you in May!

@canesdan Did your Canelink update? Mine still hasn't even though I got my letter on Saturday. I called the help desk, they said it hopefully will be resolved by tomorrow. I can't pay my admissions fee because of it, were you able to (or have you tried yet?). I didn't get an e-mail from the nursing school. Congrats to you!!

@ Mandaaleiigh Neither the website you sign up for them at, nor the letter mentions if you've had one previously done. All they say is they require you sign up to do one within two weeks of the date the letter was sent out. You can google the website umbackcheck though. (Would give link but think it's against forum rules.) Hope that helps some.