Something that may help me get through nursing school with my sanity!

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Specializes in PCA.

I've been asking around these thread for advice on how and what to study before nursing school begins.

Here's my situation; I work 40 hours mon-thurs, plus I am a mother of a 6yo boy. I'm currently an MA and decided to go back to school to become an RN. My dream job is to become a CRNA, so I started with my pre-reqs. It's been about 9 years since I've been in school, which made me nervous to go back to school. Not to mention I am 29 and felt like everyone in my classes were fresh out of high school to mid twenties. I worked out a schedule with my work so I could attend classes and still work. I'm only 15 mins away from the school, the drive wasn't far. Some days I would get to work at 7am, have classes from 11-2:40, and head right back to work until 7pm. I barely got to spend time with my son and his father. I was stressed and angry, but I pushed through it because I knew that eventually it would pay off. I applied to the ADN program, and was unfortunately not accepted. I was 34 out of the 80? who applied, and they took 28. I was heartbroken. I felt like I had wasted that time.

I heard about a different campus location having the pre-licensure BSN program. I had to pass chemistry and intro to nursing by the end of fall semester and submit my application. I passed those classes and now is the waiting game. The only thing, they take 40 students, but only 30 something applied. As long as I meet the requirements, I'm in! I'll start the program in April. I'm still waiting for the official word though.

Now, I said that I've been asking around about how to study and what to study. Some have been really helpful and others tell me to take a break and relax while I'm not in school. Well, I grabbed the Saunders n-clex review and I started reading it. I'm not in a rush, which means I don't HAVE to study this stuff. I can take my own time going over the physiology and over the anatomy of the body. Today I read half a chapter and while I was downstairs earlier, I started talk out loud all of the stuff I learned today. I found that I actually retained a lot of information. I love studying when I'm not rushed because I can be repetitive with the material without having a deadline. I could try to relax and do nothing on my time off, but I feel that I'm preparing myself in a way that doesn't exhaust me. I think in the end, this is going to help me. I won't have to try to be relearning a&p, but instead I can focus on learning the material being taught.

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Specializes in Pediatrics/Developmental Pediatrics/Research/psych.

I don't want to scare you away, but do you now why there were so few applicants? T me, that would be a red-flag. Please check the accreditation, NCLEX pass rates...

Sometimes, if it sounds too good to be true, it is. Believe me, I've seen my share of things...

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I'm similar to you in that I like to read things ahead of time too, haha. I figure if you had a lot of free time before class officially starts why not read a but you know? :bookworm:

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Specializes in PCA.

Update: I found this..

Does this mean that it is accredited?

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Specializes in PCA.
I'm similar to you in that I like to read things ahead of time too, haha. I figure if you had a lot of free time before class officially starts why not read a but you know? :bookworm:

Exactly! I have so much free time, and I love to read so why not? If I get exhausted, all I have to do is put the book down. I don't feel rushed and I feel more comfortable learning this way.

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Specializes in Hospice.

I think it's ACEN? The national accreditation..... Or maybe there is more than one.

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Yes, it is accredited, from looking up the information it is the ACEN, address on the paper from Baker matches to that which is provided on their website.

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Specializes in PCA.

So based off of what that says, it is accredited? I don't know much about accreditation, so it's all new to me!

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Accreditation will allow you to attend another accredited school if you decided to further your education after completing the program. For Baker that would mean you would receive your BSN upon completion and if you decided to continue on in a Masters program at another school you would be able to do so. If someone was attending a school where they got their Associates in Nursing, accreditation would allow them to go to another school to allow them to finish their BSN ;)

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Specializes in PCA.

Okay, that makes sense! Thank you=)

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Is this a For-Profit School and if so, what is their total tuition for the various Nursing Program. It is not clear to me that this college has the appropriate accreditation. The information you posted simply highlight the RN-BSN Program. What program are you applying to? ADN, RN-BSN, etc.? If I were in your position, I would call up the school and ask specific questions about their accreditation for your specific program.

I agree that it is a big red flag when ANY nursing program gets less applicants than spaces available.

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Specializes in PCA.

Baker is a not-for-profit college and when I search under my program (pre-licensure BSN program), this is what they have under the accreditation tab;

[h=3]Approval / Accreditation[/h]The baccalaureate program at Baker College is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, One Dupont Circle, NW, Suite 530, Washington, DC 20036; phone (202) 887-6791, fax (202) 887-8476; Web address: www.aacn.nche.edu

Accredited by The Higher Learning Commission / 230 South LaSalle St., Suite 7-500, Chicago, IL 60604-1411 / 800-621-7440 / www.ncahlc.org

I will email the head of the nursing department and find out more information, since everyone is on me about this program being a red flag.

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