Southwest Tennessee Community College

Last year they graduated a total of 51 students (out of 120) with a NCLEX pass rate of 100%. I am in the 3rd semester and we have about 35 in classes (only 13 from my original group). I already know of at least 5 that will not go thru to ADH2. ADH2 should claim several more so about 25 graduating a semester sounds about right.

I think the biggest complaint that you will hear is the fact that they are not consistent or organized. Things change at the last minute. Our clinical day got changed at the last minute. (When you are in a nights and weekends program, that can be a serious dealbreaker!!) We have 3 exams in 4 days. Things are on tests that aren't covered in class or on the syllabus. I have never been told to wear white only shoes to clinical. When you complain, no one cares. I think these type of situations defeat people and breed negativity.

I work full time and have never been at risk for not passing. I do study and nursing school has consumed every drop of free time I get. So, it is possible.

Last year they graduated a total of 51 students (out of 120) with a NCLEX pass rate of 100%. I am in the 3rd semester and we have about 35 in classes (only 13 from my original group). I already know of at least 5 that will not go thru to ADH2. ADH2 should claim several more so about 25 graduating a semester sounds about right.

I think the biggest complaint that you will hear is the fact that they are not consistent or organized. Things change at the last minute. Our clinical day got changed at the last minute. (When you are in a nights and weekends program, that can be a serious dealbreaker!!) We have 3 exams in 4 days. Things are on tests that aren't covered in class or on the syllabus. I have never been told to wear white only shoes to clinical. When you complain, no one cares. I think these type of situations defeat people and breed negativity.

I work full time and have never been at risk for not passing. I do study and nursing school has consumed every drop of free time I get. So, it is possible.

Thank you for sharing. Those of us trying to get in have no idea what to expect except to go by the words of those who have made it through. The information is much appreciated!

Btwm my hat is off to you... going through nursing school and working seems like an extremely difficult situation to be in, and you deserve some applause!

Thank you for all of the info, SA6847. Wow, I am impressed....working full time, going to nursing school AND PASSING!! I"ll bet you are exhausted and mentally drained.

SA6847, you are my hope! Currently I work full time and would like to apply to Southwest's evening and weekend nursing program. Reading your posts give me hope that it is possible. When I lived in Illinois, I was enrolled in nursing school there. I completed one semester of clinicals and then I got married and moved to Memphis. I ended up working and couldn't find a school that would allow me to work and attend school. So, 9 years later after receiving my BBA, I am interested in pursuing and finishing my nursing degree. Actually I have a great job, but I still desire to be a nurse. I loved talking with my patients and taking care of them. So, I know nursing school is hard. But now I have a 2 year old daughter, so it will be that much harder to complete with a child. However, I am determined to finish! What do I need to study to pass the NLN?

hi everyone. i was just thinking...i got so carried away with the ins and outs of the actual nursing program; i forget this process is one step at a time.

i realized i should be focused on the nln first. even though i am sure that is a distant memory for most of you already in the program however, do you remember what guides you used to study for the nln?

i want to start preparing for that exam now because i think you can never be too prepared. any information or suggestions are greatly appreciated. thanks!!

I'm done with first semester! WooHoo!!

Any 2nd semester students with tips on what I should study over the summer? I have a syllabus from about 5 years ago from a friend. I'm sure a lot of it has changed.

hi everyone. i was just thinking...i got so carried away with the ins and outs of the actual nursing program; i forget this process is one step at a time.

i realized i should be focused on the nln first. even though i am sure that is a distant memory for most of you already in the program however, do you remember what guides you used to study for the nln?

i want to start preparing for that exam now because i think you can never be too prepared. any information or suggestions are greatly appreciated. thanks!!

the nln is three sections if iirc. language comprehension - vocabulary words and some reading comprehension. math - lots of it, no calculators. science - lots of physics. i would just get an nln study guide and go through all the questions. i found the nln very basic and the hardest part was that it was timed. i felt rushed. i did make a 159 and that's the highest grade i've heard of from my class.

@scifihippie. Thanks for the info. I did purchase the Review Guide for RN Pre-Entrance Exam By: National League for Nursing. Hopefully that works for me.

On another note...I am so happy to be finished with my 1st semester!!!!! I would like to know how everyone did this semester as far as grades are concerned, espically those of you in the actual nursing program.

Good Luck and best wishes!!!

I'm done with first semester! WooHoo!!

Any 2nd semester students with tips on what I should study over the summer? I have a syllabus from about 5 years ago from a friend. I'm sure a lot of it has changed.

Hi again scifihippie. Will you tell us what classes/clinicals you had this Spring semester?? And CONGRATS on completing your 1st semester.

In the Spring I had Foundations of Nursing and the Clinical that goes with it. I also had Dosages and Solutions. Those are the three nursing classes for first semester students.

Hi Scifihippie,

Were the courses hard? How was the clinicals?

Hi Scifihippie,

Were the courses hard? How was the clinicals?

A&P and Micro were a cakewalk compared to Foundations. Stay on top of your reading and do the objectives for each chapter (a list of 30 questions she'll give you). It's a lot of material and it goes really fast. I studied about 40 hours each week. I had one study partner and that worked great. Studying in big groups I found to be a waste of time b/c some people come to study group and expect you to "teach" them the material. That's not what I was there for. I was there to review and get validation on what I knew ahead of time from studying. I would limit a group to 3 people.

Dosages was easy for me. I've had college calculus III, so math is not hard for me. I breezed throught it, but I know some people who had a hard time. You need a solid algebra foundation and if you have that, you'll be fine. If you don't pass Dosages, you can't continue to the next semester even if you pass Foundations.

Clinical was fun. I liked it. Preparing for it is very time consuming. You have to go to the hospital the day before and look up all the information on your assigned patient. Then, type up a big database of that info - labs, history, meds. The meds and labs take a long time b/c you have to get a lot of info on them from your books. After that you have to write a care plan for your patient. Plan ahead, it will take a lot of your time. I know some people who didn't have much time and spent all night the night before and came to clinical on no sleep. It was hard for them.

Do you start this fall?