Sinclair RN Graduates - Advice PLEASE!

beccah0206 · Feb 26, 2009

It looks like the other posters have mentioned what I would have mentioned. I'm currently in the SCC nursing program. It is a tough program. Thankfully, I've not had to work full time, barely part time really.

I too am an older student. In fact, many of my classmates are the ages of my children. As for Becker, I see we have more Becker fans here. I liked him as well. Like the others said, if you go to class prepared, you'll be fine. You will learn a lot from this man despide is sometimes snide attitude. It is a very difficult class but will help you in the nursing classes. You have to be able to regurgitate a lot of information about your medications that you are preparing to pass in clinicals.

So far, I've been to Atrium, Southview, Miami Valley and Good Sam. I've been at Atrium 3 times because it's close to home so I tried to get into it. You just pick your schedule based on the several that they offer.

Oh, and the "Process Tools" we all call care plan...... AISCH!!!!! I hate those things!

Good luck! I'm sorry to hear about your job experience with SUT. I thought about doing both programs because I love surgery but couldn't have done it concurrently with NSG. As it is, I will continue on for my BSN then MS in Nsg. Education eventually.

Loadbetty · Feb 26, 2009

Thanks SO MUCH! Being in the program, you know how important it is for graduates/current students to "steer" you toward the good prof's/classes, etc. I think I'll be OK with Becker - I only have a hard time with unnecesssary "attitude" when it is accompanied with no teaching!! If he teaches, I can almost always overlook or laugh at the nastiness......almost!

Patient care cards.....can't wait!!! .........NOT!!! Got any for sale???? LOL

How do you like Atrium? Hope they don't have the big bad "Valley" attitude yet...I loved Good Sam until they took over - felt really sorry for all the long time GSH employees that now had to endure the MVH "attitude." Hopefully I can stay within the KMC network - but as you know, it sometimes doesn't work that way - I'll take whatever they give me that works with my work schedule...

Got any advise on NSG prof's?? I only know one, Marsha Wamsley - her and I worked at Emery for a thousand years....she's great to work with - never had her as a prof though...any/all advise you can give (especially saving money on books, supplies, etc) is GREATLY appreicated!!

Thanks again for your reply - looking forward to the next!

lrn99999 · Sep 8, 2009

Thanks again - I'm sure you know that this type of info is VERY helpful! I really appreciate the time you are taking to advise me....
I'm a "non-traditional" i.e. "older" student, so I'm the "nerd" that always shows up to class ontime and as prepared as I can be - trouble is working nights, it's great for early classes, but if you have a rough night at work and can't review before you go to class - sometimes the "preparedness" lacks a little - I'm not worried about the work, studying or going to class - but advise on professors, classes/alternatives is invaluable...
Taking Pharm online isn't my first choice - aside from a very few (ALH 102/103) I think you miss A LOT if you're not in class....I had to take medical terminology on-line (schedule wouldn't work) - wow - that was a challenge to say the least - I got an A, but worked harder on that than I did any of my other classes....on-line classes certainly aren't for the half-there student - as you said, if you don't have the discipline and dedication you'll flunk quicker than had you taken the class and didn't go.....I agree with you totally - because they are only offering BIO 211 at one time 10-11:40 and the lab isn't until 1:00 - yick! I don't have many options next quarter - the only choice there is is if you take it M-W or T-Th - the times are the same....I really like A&P, but it's been a couple of years - I already bought the books and am trying to brush up - wow - I've forgotten A LOT - so this class is going to be challenging as all the BIO's are/were....but I REALLY like the BIO dept as a whole - the prof's are great - Heckendorn and Currier were not easy by any stretch, but they were REALLY good and VERY helpful - glad to read what you said about Becker.....I did hear one student say he wasn't all that bad, but the majority say the class is a nightmare - scaring me actually because I'm going to have to take it in the summer - summer classes with the shortened schedule are always extra challenging....the nurses aide classes now don't sound as daunting as they look - hopefully I can work a schedule that will work for me - some of the classes are once a week, but they're 8 hrs - that's too long after working all night - this quarter they offered a 5-9 PM class twice a week - that may work out better for me if the clinicals are at the same time - but I feel a lot better about it now that you described it for me....thanks! And no, I've never worked in health care - only the 2.5 yrs I did in clincials with the surg tech thing....
A couple of questions about the job market and the clinicals for NSG if you don't mind...do you get ANY choice of hospitals when you're in clinicals? What are the hours like? Are you at your hospital 8 hrs a day 3 days a week? That's the way they work it in the SUT program...just wondering if the clinicals were flexible at all - I did clinicals a little differently with the SUT program in that I did clincials at almost all the area hospitals to get a feel of the work environment - surprizingly they were VERY different from each other....a lot of the other students stuck with one place....as far as nursing is concerned, is it wise to get a taste so to speak of all the hospitals or is it best to stick with one place?
Last question (for this posting!) - is/was the pay as you expected? The SUT program quoted an average pay rate MUCH higher than was it actually was....they were quoting around $20-23 per hr when in actuality the highest paying hospital in the city for surg techs was $17 - the lowest believe it or not (Children's) is $11.00 an hr! Then you also pay $300 PER MONTH in health care benefits which brings down your hourly rate to about $9-10 an hour - you really can't support youself on that espeically these days! I was considering that because I was a new graduate, but after really thinking about all the job (surg tech) entails, the responsibility plus the liability - one would be crazy not to get some type of malpractice insurance just to protect yourself - well adding all that in ends up being a couple of dollars above minimum wage....even if there were jobs around for surg techs (which there aren't) - it's just not financially smart to take it with all that considered if you have to support yourself.
Talking with a few friends/fellow students in the nursing field, the AVERAGE around Dayton seems to be $21-25 per hr for ADN's...is that correct? I hope once I get through the program to go on for a BSN just to widen the range of opportunity...I'm not really interested in management - I've been in management most of my life, and I'm not a kid, so a "title" doesn't interest me at all - just thought having the BSN provides more flexibility as far as selection of jobs - but I could be way wrong about that - what are your thoughts/experiences?
Hope I'm not being too personal - just don't want to kill myself again working full time and keeping up with a very agressive full time program to end up with either no job, or one that I can't take without having a second job to live....I'm not expecting to be a millionaire nor get something for nothing - and it's not ALL about the money, but you have to support yourself - at least I do, so my asking about money is strictly for weighing the options thats all....
Enough for now - once again, THANK YOU!! I REALLY appreicate your advise and time.

Hi I was wondering how long it took you to get into the nursing program once you applied for nursing. I just recently moved back to ohio and took most of my prereqs from another college (they told me they will transfer). they told me the wait is 1-2 years from the time of applying for nursing depending on grades. Is this accurate? Thanks for your time.

Loadbetty · Sep 8, 2009

Wellllllllllll, that's a subjective thing - when I started in 2004, I dual majored - surgical tech and nursing - supposedly the nursing clock started ticking then - but it didn't and doesn't. I finished the surg tech and took NSG prereq's filling in the "holes" while in the surg tech program - bascially I was done with EVERYTHING except the actual NSG classes....I graduated 2007, (surg tech) took the PAX test in 2005 (that counts for nothing and is required by no one) and the nursing program never heard of me.....it's typical and I know there are A LOT worse stories out there - I finally sent an e-mail to the administator, the dean of ALH AND the pres of the college asking "since I've been waiting since 2005, it's now 2009, is it ever going to be my turn?" They gave me some BS answer that my name was dropped in 2007 because I hadn't started the program - well you can't start the program without THEM sending you the letter with a start date...I recvd an e-mail asking if I wanted to start Fall 09 (this was spring 09) although I had finished the BIO series, they said I had to take BIO211 AND nurses aide training before I could start - I did - then the back peddling started again....as you read, I'm not 18 yrs old, so time is my biggest obstacle - so I again went to the dean, administrator and couselor....I "magically" got a letter with my "official" start date of Fall 09 - I start tomorrow! So for me, it was 5 yrs....but I didn't stand on their desk everyday until 2008/2009....you HAVE to be proactive - i.e. literally stand on their desk EVERYDAY - you cannot count on them to "send you a letter" when it's "your turn" - it absolutely won't happen.

My advice is MAKE SURE you get EVERYTHING the administrator tells you IN WRITING - believe me, if you don't, they will say it they didn't say it - even when you show the written statements, they will try to get out of that - the answers to your questions are ALWAYS "maybe" or "you have to take this or that first" or "I didn't say that" GET IT IN WRITING....send e-mails and print out the responses. If you're an LPN, you have to take BIO211 and MAT109 BEFORE you start the program - you DO NOT have to take ANYTHING that's not on the program requirements no matter how many classes they tell you to take - the biggie for being a transfer is to get your englishes, maths, and bio's to transfer - go see Patricia Willis - she's a GREAT counselor, and I believe they made her the RN program's counselor - she's great and won't BS you - she's also the only one that can "wave the magic wand" and transfer your classes - the key is to get the requirements out of the way and literally stand on the desk of the RN programs administrators desk EVERYDAY - if you don't do that unfortunately, you don't exist - she can be abrasive, but if you e-mail her and ask her specific questions and get specific answers, you then have it in writing to show what they have told you, therefore taking the "you're going to wait another year" answer away from them.

The thing to remember, particularly in Dayton is EVERY college/tech school, etc have MORE then enough students - they don't need you and show it. I went through all that with Wright State - so unfortunately they will and do say anything to get you to just go away - while telling you to take class after class (costing $$$) that aren't required for the program - you have to be persistent, have your ducks in a row and grades high - and by standing on their desks everyday to make them realize that you're not going away and won't be satisfied with BS answers, delay tactics and/or excuses, they'll get the hint.....

So in answer to your direct question, "how long" - with Sinclair it's totally subjective - there is no "method." Seriously, they do not go by GPA, they do not go by time waiting, they do not go by alphabetical order, and they absolutely do not go by scores on the PAX test - that is total crap - no national, state or local agency requires the PAX test or uses it - Sinclair uses it for nothing - I would have rather just handed them $60 - there are 3 parts, when (and I'm not implying your are a sub-par student) you flunk one or two parts of it, you have to go to the counselor and find out what your "remediation" classes will be - turns out, that whatever part(s) of it you flunked, let's say science - the "remediation" course you'll have to take is whatever is next in line that you have to take anyway - let's say you are in BIO 142 and you flunked the science part - your "remediation" course will be BIO 143 - so as I said, the PAX test is just another BS part that delays - they only give the test 2 or 3 times a year - more waiting......so I would encourage you to take the PAX test FIRST THING - at least your waiting time will be less wasted because you will be taking classes that you have to take anyway to get in the subjective line....I'm truly not being negative, this is reality - at Wright State, the waiting list is based totally on GPA - so if you have good grades, you may want to consider WSU - at least you know where you stand there - the wait might not be as long, and you don't have to stand on anyone's desk everyday and spend time proving what they told you the day before......I'm not sure where you stand class/grade wise - but those are the facts from personal experience.....I'm in now finally - now I just hope I can keep up!

Good luck!

CrufflerJJ, BSN, RN, EMT-P · Sep 9, 2009

The thing to remember, particularly in Dayton is EVERY college/tech school, etc have MORE then enough students - they don't need you and show it. I went through all that with Wright State - so unfortunately they will and do say anything to get you to just go away - while telling you to take class after class (costing $$$) that aren't required for the program - you have to be persistent, have your ducks in a row and grades high - and by standing on their desks everyday to make them realize that you're not going away and won't be satisfied with BS answers, delay tactics and/or excuses, they'll get the hint.....Good luck!

Hmmm...interesting to hear that problem about WSU. I had my own little experience with Sinclair's nursing department that drove me away. Despite having taken paramedic & foreign language coursework at Sinclair over a ~15 year period & being very satisfied, I was MUCH less than pleased with their nursing department management.

Prior to resigning from my job as an engineer, I emailed the chair of SCC's nursing department (I won't post her name, but her initials are GG - PhD, RN) asking if I would be abe to bypass any of the standard nursing courses as a result of my prior degree, paramedic certification, and years of experience as a medic. I waited 2 weeks - no reply. I waited 2 more weeks, then sent a letter to her, figuring that the email might have gotten lost.

Still no reply.

I found this highly insulting, and went elsewhere for my nursing degree.

SCC's nursing program itself is well regarded, but I was much less than pleased with my good friend GG. :down:

Loadbetty · Sep 9, 2009

Sorry to hear that - I don't have any experiences (yet) with the Chair - who is a new one I think - I know they didn't have a Chair for the NSG dept for the last year or so - not sure....just the people that "decide" if you're on the list in the first place are the ones that I am speaking of....I also have years of "life" experience in another industry, plus as I said, I completed the SUT program (but never found a job) - I took classes that weren't required for the SUT program that were required for the NSG program to be "ready" when "my turn" came - as I also said, because I didn't start standing on their desks everyday until this last year - they had a million and one excuses of why they didn't know me despite showing them letters THEY had sent, etc.....when I did get serious about not waiting anymore and had a folder full of statements from THEM, I guess they decided that I wasn't going to go away, can and did take it to another level, then like magic I was/am in...I'm not professing to be a genius, but really - how hard is it to set up a list based on GPA and prereq completion??? Just about every school on the planet does it that way....guess they'd prefer to suck as much money as they can from you taking non-required classes until you get frustrated enough to leave.....it's sad - it really is, especially because the reputation of SCC's NSG program really is good in the industry.....it's just that one person lives to have the "power" that's all - if you check out Mont. Co court system, you can find a couple of cases against them for just that - lying, extorting unnecessary monies, etc....hopefully now that I'm FINALLY in, all that will go away....it hard enough to keep up with the classes themselves without ALSO having to keep endless files on things they promised/required, etc too! :banghead:

As far as WSU - I gave them the $30 registration fee TWICE and still cannot get ANYONE to answer an e-mail, return a phone call - nada...3 years later.....still nothing - not even an offer of return of money since they did NOTHING for me - not even an e-mail! Unless you're an international medical student who will live on campus, (highest tuition they can charge) they could care less. Even had one of the MANY people supposedly in the NSG dept tell me that she would be SURE that someone called me as long as I gave them ANOTHER $30 - only THEN would she allow my name to be on a waiting list to speak to a nursing school counselor! She didn't have an answer as to what the previous $60 went for.....

All schools are getting slimier and slimier because of the economy - higher education isn't any different than the banks and oil companies - you are nothing other than "free" money to them. SCC's "waitlists" and WSU's charging to just talk to a counselor, etc is why there are RETS, OIP&T and Miami Jacobs getting $20,000 and up for no degree and a license/certification that isn't required for the job (surgical tech) and even more for LPN's and RN's - Miami Jacobs put a years worth of LPN students through their overpriced program without certification! Have a niece that was caught up in that - paid $25K + and went to the boards to find out her education/certification to take the boards was no good....of course that is still in the courts and probably will be for a LONG time....in the meantime, the students that got loans are being forced to repay them of course because Miami Jacobs is declaring them as "graduated." They refuse to repay the duped students loans, the last offer was they could retake the entire program after they got their non-certification straightened out! Hard to believe any business is allowed to stay in business with that blatant of a Ponsy scheme against them! It's stuff like that that allows the less than honest behaviors from the state schools...so you really can't win - just try and make the best deal you can with the least amount of BS.

It's a racket - but if you really want it, you may try SCC again, as I said, this Chair of the NSG dept is new I'm fairly certain - and while I can't remember her name, her initial's aren't GG I don't think....

Good luck in your search/pursuits!