Samuel Merritt ABSN Fall 2019

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Hi everyone! Just wanted to get the conversation started for those who applied for the ABSN Fall 2019 cohort. I applied for the Sacramento location but would love to connect with all who applied in general! Good luck everyone!

Congrats on getting into San Mateo. That is the campus that I am at. Let me know if you have any questions!!

14 hours ago, OZETA82 said:

I’ve been a “silent reader” of all your post for some time now and they’ve been very encouraging to me. I finally got in and I’m so excited!! I got accepted into the San Mateo cohort beginning Sp. 2020 (I just found out this morning)!! I know how hard it is to be patient and persistent while trying to get into SMU (as this is was my 3rd application this year and my 5th total...I applied twice before going to grad school). So best wishes to everyone who has applied and are currently waiting. Can’t wait to meet some of you in January.

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On 8/25/2019 at 4:04 PM, Hopingandhoping said:

What is everyone doing while waiting for the program to start? Just wondering if I should be doing something to keep myself busy or just relax before the chaos begins ?

Don't do anything! Seriously. Relax and enjoy the hobbies you love. Your first classes are nursing history and fundamentals. They start getting everyone on the same page. Also, do not buy any equipment or scrubs. The school provides you with a stethoscope and they want everyone using all of the same equipment. Let me know if you have any questions. victoriaromero321@gmail.

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Hey y’all! Just made a new board to talk about the spring cohort!

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On 10/11/2019 at 9:46 AM, vlr22w said:

Congrats on getting into San Mateo. That is the campus that I am at. Let me know if you have any questions!!

I do have a question...what was your first week like? What are they expecting us to know first hand? Lastly, where were most of your clinicals held? I’m nervous because of the unknown (and of course all that you hear about Nursing school), but I’m excited as well!!

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8 hours ago, OZETA82 said:

I do have a question...what was your first week like? What are they expecting us to know first hand? Lastly, where were most of your clinicals held? I’m nervous because of the unknown (and of course all that you hear about Nursing school), but I’m excited as well!!

When I started the program, I barely remembered anything if I'm being honest with you. I always forget things I've learned pretty quickly so even anatomy and physiology were stuff I didn't remember! I didn't even review anything before the program started. Just relax and hang out with your friends and family! You'll likely feel very overwhelmed during the first week, but you'll soon realize that your schedule for every week is almost always the same. The same things due every single week (discussion boards, hesi pt review/case studies/adaptive quizzing). Some clinical sites that we've had were Good Sam, CPMC, UCSF, SCVMC, SMMC, etc

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Congratulations to all of you! When do you guys first start classes? ?

Relax for now and hang out with friends and family! I really don't think it's necessary to do any reviewing before the program begins. Even for medications, I'm just learning as we go (they usually tell us what medications will be on the exam). Though during clinicals, you'll have to know your medications before you're allowed to pass meds (the first time you pass meds, you'll likely have to tell your clinical instructor what the med is for, why your pt is taking it, the MOA, s/e, etc).

You'll feel overwhelmed when the program begins because there's so many assignments and readings thrown at you. What I would do is that I printed a monthly calendar and would write the dates of assignments and exams down so I knew would I would have going on that week. Then I cross them out as I've completed assignments (gives a good sense of satisfaction as well when you cross out those assignments!).

Whether you'll have any free time or not would really depend on you and how you study. Some people do well simply from reviewing their powerpoints and notes whereas some people have to read the textbook as well to study! So if you read the textbook, it would of course take up more time. So far though, studying powerpoints and my own notes were enough for me. I have a lot of free time to watch TV shows or relax everyday. I study for about 2 days, but definitely not the entire day. I take many breaks! I do know some people who study everyday and are at the library all the time as well.

For taking notes, I recommend downloading OneNote or Notability (I believe this one is only for Apple and costs $) to take notes. This way, you'd be able to record the lecture and take notes at the same time. When you click your notes, it can even play the audio that was recording as you were typing that note (which makes it extremely useful).

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On 10/11/2019 at 9:51 AM, vlr22w said:

Don't do anything! Seriously. Relax and enjoy the hobbies you love. Your first classes are nursing history and fundamentals. They start getting everyone on the same page. Also, do not buy any equipment or scrubs. The school provides you with a stethoscope and they want everyone using all of the same equipment. Let me know if you have any questions. victoriaromero321@gmail.

9 hours ago, wanida said:

When I started the program, I barely remembered anything if I'm being honest with you. I always forget things I've learned pretty quickly so even anatomy and physiology were stuff I didn't remember! I didn't even review anything before the program started. Just relax and hang out with your friends and family! You'll likely feel very overwhelmed during the first week, but you'll soon realize that your schedule for every week is almost always the same. The same things due every single week (discussion boards, hesi pt review/case studies/adaptive quizzing). Some clinical sites that we've had were Good Sam, CPMC, UCSF, SCVMC, SMMC, etc

Thank you so much! This was very helpful.

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8 hours ago, wanida said:

Congratulations to all of you! When do you guys first start classes? ?

Relax for now and hang out with friends and family! I really don't think it's necessary to do any reviewing before the program begins. Even for medications, I'm just learning as we go (they usually tell us what medications will be on the exam). Though during clinicals, you'll have to know your medications before you're allowed to pass meds (the first time you pass meds, you'll likely have to tell your clinical instructor what the med is for, why your pt is taking it, the MOA, s/e, etc).

You'll feel overwhelmed when the program begins because there's so many assignments and readings thrown at you. What I would do is that I printed a monthly calendar and would write the dates of assignments and exams down so I knew would I would have going on that week. Then I cross them out as I've completed assignments (gives a good sense of satisfaction as well when you cross out those assignments!).

Whether you'll have any free time or not would really depend on you and how you study. Some people do well simply from reviewing their powerpoints and notes whereas some people have to read the textbook as well to study! So if you read the textbook, it would of course take up more time. So far though, studying powerpoints and my own notes were enough for me. I have a lot of free time to watch TV shows or relax everyday. I study for about 2 days, but definitely not the entire day. I take many breaks! I do know some people who study everyday and are at the library all the time as well.

For taking notes, I recommend downloading OneNote or Notability (I believe this one is only for Apple and costs $) to take notes. This way, you'd be able to record the lecture and take notes at the same time. When you click your notes, it can even play the audio that was recording as you were typing that note (which makes it extremely useful).

Thank you!! This was great information. That’s actually how I construct my class schedule (with a calendar; and like you said, it definitely is satisfying when you see your due items crossed off). And I will be downloading One Note...that sounds like a great tool!!
Thanks again as this was very good information!
OB

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10 hours ago, wanida said:

Congratulations to all of you! When do you guys first start classes? ?

Relax for now and hang out with friends and family! I really don't think it's necessary to do any reviewing before the program begins. Even for medications, I'm just learning as we go (they usually tell us what medications will be on the exam). Though during clinicals, you'll have to know your medications before you're allowed to pass meds (the first time you pass meds, you'll likely have to tell your clinical instructor what the med is for, why your pt is taking it, the MOA, s/e, etc).

You'll feel overwhelmed when the program begins because there's so many assignments and readings thrown at you. What I would do is that I printed a monthly calendar and would write the dates of assignments and exams down so I knew would I would have going on that week. Then I cross them out as I've completed assignments (gives a good sense of satisfaction as well when you cross out those assignments!).

Whether you'll have any free time or not would really depend on you and how you study. Some people do well simply from reviewing their powerpoints and notes whereas some people have to read the textbook as well to study! So if you read the textbook, it would of course take up more time. So far though, studying powerpoints and my own notes were enough for me. I have a lot of free time to watch TV shows or relax everyday. I study for about 2 days, but definitely not the entire day. I take many breaks! I do know some people who study everyday and are at the library all the time as well.

For taking notes, I recommend downloading OneNote or Notability (I believe this one is only for Apple and costs $) to take notes. This way, you'd be able to record the lecture and take notes at the same time. When you click your notes, it can even play the audio that was recording as you were typing that note (which makes it extremely useful).

Thank you for all the great information!

For scrubs pants, Where (brand) did you purchase them from? I’ve seen other brands and was wondering if those were ok. Dickies, greys anatomy etc

where and what brand white shoes did you get?

During orientation, they had a slide about clinical supplies, such as bandage scissors etc. where did you buy those supplies from?

Are there any other supplies I need?

thank you again!

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7 hours ago, OZETA82 said:

Thank you!! This was great information. That’s actually how I construct my class schedule (with a calendar; and like you said, it definitely is satisfying when you see your due items crossed off). And I will be downloading One Note...that sounds like a great tool!!
Thanks again as this was very good information!
OB

Yes! And if you place it on your binder, it's easy to see as well. I bought a planner and never ended up using it because I only check the calendar i placed on the front of my binder ?

Let me know if you have any other questions that I may be able to answer! ?

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6 hours ago, Hopingandhoping said:

Thank you for all the great information!

For scrubs pants, Where (brand) did you purchase them from? I’ve seen other brands and was wondering if those were ok. Dickies, greys anatomy etc

where and what brand white shoes did you get?

During orientation, they had a slide about clinical supplies, such as bandage scissors etc. where did you buy those supplies from?

Are there any other supplies I need?

thank you again!

For scrub pants, I just purchased it from a scrub store in Serramonte by a brand called Beyond. There are some people who purchased the Cherokee, WonderWink, Healing Hands, etc. I think a lot of people in my cohort purchased Figs as well.

For shoes, I just purchased some Skechers off amazon for $30 and they're not cute, but they're comfortable. I had classmates who purchased Reeboks & Nikes who said they were uncomfortable. Some classmates purchased NurseMates and Danskos (I saw nurses wear Danskos at my clinicals).

I purchased bandage scissors from the scrub store in Serramonte as well.

For pen lights, I purchased these (they're super bright!) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XCDP6F9/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

They give a pen light in your bag, but it's not that bright.

Nursing clipboard, I purchased the WhiteCoat one off Amazon. It's an expensive clipboard that I don't think is completely necessary? I never referred to the info listed on it during clinicals, but it was great because I could fold it into my pocket and it was great to write down information when your primary nurse is getting report.

Get a multi colored pen!

A previous comment here said don't buy any equipment or scrubs because the school wants you to wear the same thing. Scrub tops, yes because it has the school logo on it. Scrub pants though, everyone has pants from different brands, just navy blue! Though they give a stethoscope, plenty of people in my cohort use Littmann's if you were planning on using one.

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Hello All, Thank you for this forum. It is very helpful. I applied to SMU for the 2nd time and got waitlisted again. I am very disappointed but just trying to focus on my next application and how I can make it better. Any suggestions?

Also, has anyone asked about the waitlist movement for the January cohort? I was going to email the school today but wondered if anyone was in touch. I am number 11 this time around.

Thanks,

Missy

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