Salisbury Accelerated BSN Applicants for 2014

U.S.A. Maryland

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So I have applied for SU's aBSN for fall entry of 2014. I have been checking out threads on this site from applicants from years past and was just looking for insight from other applicants during this waiting process! I have turned everything in but just curious if anyone has received any confirmation that the college has received all of their application materials. I know that they don't really start notifying applicants until February/March but I just wanted to hear from other applicants to help me through this process!

Anyone else applied for Salisbury's accelerated 2nd degree program for the fall of 2014?

@pink what sort of position did you apply for?

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Hi everyone!! I applied to the program this past fall and received my acceptance letter on February 18th. I am so excited to start this Fall! Looking forward to working with all of you. @cdg07101114 any advice for the first semester??

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Hey everyone! Sorry I has taken me so long to respond back…I’ve been extremely busy with school since they were trying to cram everything in from the snow days that we had earlier this month. It is finally spring break so now I actually have time to give you all some info. Since bmoregirl14 asked, I am going to tell you all some things that I wish I had done/known before the first semester started.

In preparation for your first semester, you may want to:

  • Start memorizing lab values (e.g. normal blood glucose, BUN, creatinine, serum potassium, sodium, calcium, hemoglobin, hematocrit, etc.)—just have a general idea of normal range & you should be fine…I still forget some of them but they tend to reappear on exams
  • Know vital signs & their normal range (temperature, pulse aka heart rate, respirations, BP, pain…yes, pain is the “5th vital sign”—just remember that pain is always what the patient says it is & that it is usually rated on a scale of 0 – 10 with 10 being the worst pain you have ever felt)
  • Know what types of foods are high in certain electrolytes (Potassium is a big one…we all know that bananas are high in potassium, but what other foods are?)
  • Would highly recommend looking up tips on how to answer NCLEX style questions…your exams in NURS 310 (Adult I) will be NCLEX style questions
  • If you don’t know what the ABC’s are you need to learn them (airway, breathing, circulation…if you have your CPR certification you should probably already know this)
  • Start memorizing abbreviations…such as:
    • ac = before meals
    • ad lib = as desired
    • BID, bid = two times a day/twice daily
    • pc = after meals
    • prn = as needed
    • q2h = every 2 hours
    • q4h = every 4 hours
    • q6h = every 6 hours
    • qid = 4 times a day
    • tid = 3 times a day
    • STAT = immediately

*These are just some of the abbreviations that you will need to know…some of these will probably be on the dosage calculation quiz (see next bullet point)

  • Conversions—you will have a dosage calculation quiz that you must pass with 90% or higher or you fail the class (you will have three attempts at the quiz…1st score is recorded, but must get 90% by 3rd attempt). I haven’t heard of anyone failing this. I got an 80% on my 1st attempt and 100% on my 2nd attempt—trust me, they want you to pass this (they make you meet one-on-one to review if you have to re-take it to make sure you know what you got wrong & why). Anyway, by conversions, I mean things such as:
    • Weight
      • 1kg = 1000g
      • 1g = 1000mg
      • 1mg = 1000mcg
      • 1 lb = 16 oz

      [*]Volume

      • 1L = 1000ml
      • 1 fl oz = 1 oz

      [*]Household

      • 1cup = 8 oz
      • 2tbsp = 1 oz
      • 3tsp = 1tbsp
      • 1tsp = 60gtt (drop)

      [*]Others

      • 1kg = 2.2 lb
      • 30ml = 1 oz
      • 1tbsp = 15ml
      • 1tsp = 5ml
      • 1gr (grain) = 60mg (not used much)

* These conversions are straight from my notes last semester so they will probably be on your dosage calculation quiz…also, the formula for calculating dosages is:

Dose Desired (D)/Dose on Hand (H) X Vehicle or Quantity = Dose

  • Knowledge of medical terminology could be beneficial…especially when you are taking a test & have no idea what a word means—being able to break down the word is sometimes helpful (I haven’t had to do this much, but just figured I’d throw it out there)
  • Review anatomy & physiology/pathophysiology—not as important in my opinion because it is sometimes beneficial to review as you go
  • If you don’t know anything about Maslow’s hierarchy of needs you should check it out…just type it in on google & look for a picture to get an idea of what it is…you’ll learn about it in class

These are just some of the tips that I can think of to give you to prepare for your first semester. Don’t feel like you have to do all of them & don’t get stressed out before school starts. I did not know any of this (except for the ABC’s) before my first semester & I did ok…these are just some things that may make it easier for you going into your first semester as you will be able to focus more on the other material presented in class.

*I don’t really have any tips on medications because I there are so many of them & I still struggle with knowing everything about them so you all will just have to figure out what works best for you on this.

As for the nursing program itself:

  • Seems disorganized & chaotic sometimes…not sure if that is just SU’s program or just because it is nursing in general
  • If you are expecting to use the simulation (SIM) center a lot you probably won’t be (I was & still am disappointed about this)
  • Textbook bundle is really expensive (I think it was around $600+ just for the bundle…not including other textbooks that were required), BUT you do actually use the books in your 2nd semester so I feel like it was worth the money

Overall, my advice to you would be to have fun this summer while you can & rest up. First semester isn’t too bad, but seems like a whirlwind & is very overwhelming for the first week or so (definitely buy a planner…you will need it—I think I’d have a panic attack if I didn’t have or lost mine lol). Also, if you all are on facebook and haven’t done so already you may want to start a group for SU Second Degree BS Nursing Fall 2014…you need to discuss amongst yourselves to determine who will be the administrator who starts the page. Someone in my class started a facebook page like this while we were using this website (allnurses) and then we all switched over to that…you will rely on each other a lot during these three semesters so facebook is a good way to help each other out. Lastly, if you do review any of the information I suggested, do not do it too close to before school starts (maybe stop 2 weeks before to just have fun & rest) because you will probably get burnt out really quickly if you do not take time for yourself (trust me, I did this & regretted it).

Anyway, this has gotten really long & I hope I haven’t stressed you all out too much with all of this info, but just wanted to tell you some things I wish I had known before my first semester. If you have any specific questions for me, I will try to answer them to the best of my ability…we go back to school on Monday, 3/24 so after that date I probably won’t answer until after final exams are over which is in May.

Congrats to everyone who has been accepted by the way! :)

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This was perfect! Thanks! I was actually considering giving up my spot at SU this fall, and now I'm pretty sure I will. Your comments about the lack of sim lab time and the chaos were super helpful. Also your study tips; I'm sure most programs cover similar material in the first couple classes, so I will be referencing your post as I prepare for this fall.

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I enjoyed reading this thread. I've been looking at SU for some time and have been working on my pre-reqs. I thought I would have a good chance because I've always had good grades but now I'm not so sure. I had all ready planned on volunteering at the local hospital after the semester ended until next year but I might have to take a Summer CNA course and do that PT instead as someone suggested. Anyhow, thanks to cdg07101114 for posting about your experience. Sharing is caring!!! lol.

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So what happens now? It's been a month since I received my wait-list letter. Should I call? I'm curious what the chances are of getting a spot and if there are a lot of people on the waiting list???

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Well, you could call to find out where you are on the list, but my guess is that they really won't have an accurate count on how many wait listed students they can accept until the end of April, for 2 reasons. The deposit to salisbury isn't due till may 1st, so realistically, even those who have stated intent to attend SU can still back out without penalty until then. Also, people who are applying to multiple programs likely won't have all their choices in front of them until the end of April. I have no idea why SU has the approach of scheduling their application cycle in the 'early decision' time frame, even though their deposit isn't due until May...it's sort of pointless, imo.

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I know someone in the current second degree nursing program now who was on the wait list and was notified that she was able to get a spot 4 months later in July. And for the first degree, the students can get a spot as late as a day befores before the semester actually starts (I had a friend who was told this by the nursing department) so I think the chances are still pretty good for you!

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For those of you who are waitlisted and hoping for good news, I just turned down my acceptance here, so I imagine at least one of you will be getting a call soon! Good luck to all of you, and I hope you have a wonderful experience at Salisbury. :)

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Hello Everyone!

I was wondering if anyone has created a group on facebook for accepted students attending the accelerated bsn program this fall?

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Hi cdg07101114, Thank you so much for all the info!! This will definitely help me prepare this summer. Thank you. I have another question... I am in need of a new laptop and was wondering if there are any programs we need to access for classes online?...I am trying to figure out which computer would be best for me to buy because I have heard that some people have problems with accessing certain programs with apple computers, but I really want to buy a Mac Book… has this been an issue for anyone you know? I was also wondering if you bring your textbooks to class with you?… I am trying to figure out how big of a book bag I am going to need. Thank you again for all of your help.

Hello, Slp6, I was wondering the same thing…and Congrats on being accepted. Let me know if you want to start one…I don’t think anyone has yet.

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bmoregirl14, I think that you will be ok to buy an apple laptop. I do not have an apple laptop so I can't say this with 100% certainty, but I know that the majority of students who bring their laptop to class to take notes have a Mac Book. I think that there may have been some issues during our first semester with one of the programs that they use for us to watch videos (my nursing lab), but I believe that they found a way to fix that/get around the issue. Other than that, I do not think that there should be any issues with an apple laptop since the main programs we use are MS word/powerpoint, maybe adobe sometimes, but for the most part there aren't any special programs (other than my nursing lab). My nursing lab is an online thing though so I'm not really sure what the issue with that was. Ultimately, I haven't heard any recent complaints/issues regarding students with apple laptops having an issue so I think it would be fine if you got a Mac Book. As for textbooks, I usually do not take them with me to class since most of them are huge lol. However, if you buy your textbook bundle from the college bookstore, there should be a pageburst code in there that will give you free access to all of the textbooks included in the bundle online/for download onto a tablet (if you have one) or your laptop...I think you only get two downloads though so I just have them on my ipad and can also access them on my laptop as long as I have internet connection. There are a few other books for the first semester that are not included in the bundle and unfortunately one of them is probably going to be your skills book which you may want to take to the skills lab with you for reference (they have a few copies available there, but not enough for everyone). Basically, I'd say just get whatever size book bag you want. I have an L.L. Bean one that I've had since high school...a lot of students have JanSport ones and some just use a big tote bag (like Vera Bradley).

Glad that I can be of help/provide you all with some info before you just get thrown into everything like I did...the first degree students have a better idea of what they are getting into prior while 2nd degree students just show up on the first day and have to figure it out so if you have any more questions feel free to ask and I'll help you as best as I can. :)

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