Saddleback students - a few questions about your program...

U.S.A. California

Published

Hi everyone,

I have applied to several nursing programs in Orange County, among them Saddleback College's, and I'm wondering how students who are currently enrolled there like the program.

I have a few questions, and I'd really appreciate if you could take the time and let me know what you think of the program.

Please feel free to write as much as you can think of. I'm really interested in anything that comes to your mind. Just skip any question that you don't feel like answering.

1. What semester are you in?

2. What do you like about the program?

3. What do you dislike about the program? / What do you think should be changed?

4. When comparing Saddleback to what you've heard of other programs, are there things that you believe Saddleback does better than other programs? (aside from producing high NCLEX pass rates)

5. To the A-hunters among you who entered the program with A's in all classes: Do you think you'll manage to graduate with A's in all your nursing classes as well?

6. Do you work? How much?

7. Is there anything you wish you had known before you entered the program?

Many thanks to all of you in advance!

Jessie

Specializes in Critical Care.

I'm planning on working about 15-16 hours/week, maybe more, maybe less. I'm an office manager & my job isn't really that stressful. I can study at work if I need to, but it's not ideal, because I do get a lot of interruptions.

Next summer, depending on the economy, I'm planning on trying to get a second job or at least volunteer at one of the local hospitals, just to get extra experience (and to start networking.)

Soon2Be: What hospitals were you at for your first semester? I'll be at Western Med & College (for my mental health rotation.)

I'm really excited about starting the program, but at the same time, I have massive anxiety about it!

Specializes in M/S, Tele, Sub (stepdown), Hospice.

i was at orange coast & college for 1st semester. i know people that were at western med & had good experiences. college hospital is fun :clown:. i loved mental health.

Just curious, what are the typical clinical hours and what hospitals do you go guys go to? Saddleback is my top choice but I'm still in the prereq stage. :D

Specializes in M/S, Tele, Sub (stepdown), Hospice.

hmmm....well things have changed a bit. i don't think we go to uci anymore and i think kaiser is now on the list. there's orange coast, western med, hoag, saddleback, mission, choc, millers, fountain valley, kaiser....maybe more. you can go to the class schedules on the school website & they should be there (under nursing).

clinical hours vary depending on the semester. we always start about 0630. 1st semester clinicals end at 1500 or 1600 i believe but they have 2 clinical days. 2nd semester is there until 1900 & only have one clinical day. 3rd semester (peds) clinical ends at 1915 & i don't know about l&d or 4th semester but i imagine it's probably the same.....12 hour days.

hope that helps :wink2:

AAnderson, thanks for the info! I know it's impossible not to be nervous about starting, but from what you've shared about your background I bet you'll have a bit of a head start compared to many people in your class. I'm sure you will do great!

Yikes, 12 hour clincials must be exhausting...

@ 2lroberts

All I have left are the two lifecycles classes but I just found out that you can't take them anywhere but Saddleback.

Where did you hear that? You might have been misinformed.

I know that they are not likely to acknowledge a pharmacology course that was taken somewhere else, but I do know of people who waived the lifecycle requirements with other courses, and I'm hoping to do the same.

I've used Saddleback's online counseling and also asked their health division office to verify that the course I'm currently enrolled in will waive lifecycle 1 & 2. Both of them told me that my current course will waive that requirement. The course I am taking is a 3 unit developmental psychology course, covering conception to death.

I would find a course like that and e-mail the catalog description to their online counseling, asking if the course will waive lifecycle 1 & 2. That's what I did. Hopefully it will work for you.

Jessie88- I emailed the counseling dept and they referred me to to the counselor for the nursing program. I spoke to her on the phone and she told me that the woman who teaches the lifecycle courses, Someone else, has the final say on what can transfer. They said she is very strict and in the past has only accepted courses taken either at Saddleback or one of the two other neighboring ccs (can't remember the names, sorry). I was signed up for a 3 unit dev. psych course but dropped it yesterday based on what I was told. Do you remember which counselor you talked to? Thanks for the heads up- I hope I can re-enroll and get it taken care of in advance!

2lroberts:

i don't have the name of the counselor who answered my e-mail. i used saddleback's e-advice service (online counseling) and was told that my course would meet the requirement of lifecycle 1 & 2.

now, i'm confused. i would really like to talk to the nursing counselor you called to make sure that i'm not wasting my time with a course that won't be accepted. would you mind giving me her number or her full name, so i can ask for her?

thanks in advance!

Hi Jessie88,

I tried emailing her but never heard back so I think calling her directly is your best bet. Good luck, let me know what happens!

Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

just a quick reminder not to post contact names and telephone numbers from nursing school as per terms of service.i have removed a couple of names from this thread. please use the pm system (once you have 15 or more posts)

no potentially libelous information about specific schools, instructors, or health care facilities/entities should be posted in these forums. while it is important to be able to network, everyone should be mindful of the following:

1. it is a small world - when we narrow it down to a state and throw in some personal info, there is actually a pretty good chance someone may recognize you if you are not careful. your privacy is paramount to us.

2. while allnurses.com is a wonderful place to vent (without excess personally identifiable details) it is not the place to express why ("x" specific person, place or program) is terrible. gripe away, but since we cannot permit allegations to be made about named entities, your care in not naming them is very much appreciated.

3. please do not give out personal information about others. do not name names where anyone could identify the person in any facility including your nursing programs.

Sorry about that. Jessie88, I sent you a message with the contact info.

Thanks a lot. I'll look into it and let you know.

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