Suprise! Nursing School Starts Now

augurey · Aug 15, 2015

First, congratulations!

My best word of advice is to get organized now. Know your deadline, what you have to do and make a plan to get it done.

I was in a similar situation with my program. I was just accepted 4 weeks ago and the semester starts Monday. In that 4 weeks, I still had to pass a math placement exam. Without placing in the proper math course, you wouldn't be able to start your courses and would have to reapply after remedial work was done. Though they did this a little differently with the late admits as they wouldn't have the chance to do the remedial work, so anyone who didn't place during the placement exam was reviewed on a case by case basis.

In that time we had to have a physical, titers done, any required vaccinations started (if titer was negative), TB test done, finger printing/background check, and a drug test. Obviously with some of this you have to have time to get an appointment to get them done. If something was rejected, you had to have time to fix whatever needed fix and have it reviewed again for acceptance or rejection. The late admits were given an extension from those that were accepted a long time ago.

Once I was given the okay to move forward with the program, I had 2 weeks (though I started gathering everything the week prior to be safe and I just got it all done in time) to get all of the health records, background check, and drug testing done.

It was stressful, absolutely, but it really helped putting a plan in place. I wrote down everything I needed to do, started planning on how and when I could get it done, and checked everything off as I went. If found the stress becoming less and less as I was able to get things done and checked off.

I know it can be overwhelming to have other plans and then suddenly finding out you're starting your program so quickly and then having so much to do in such a short period of time. Just take a deep breath and it'll work out as long as you organize. Organizing will be your best friend right now and will get you in the practice of doing so for school.

Good luck!

Purple_roses · Aug 15, 2015

Congratulations! Augurey offered great advice. What do you have left to do?

TheWalkingRN · Aug 15, 2015

Augurey- Thank you so much for your help and support. It makes me feel better that you went through a similar situation. I'm more concerned about being a late admitted student because we have to take 1 more class on top of the standard schedule that everyone else who knew earlier has to take. I know it's hard to tell not knowing our exact curriculum, but is this a good idea to do?

The first three classes consist of Nursing Informatics (1 credit), Fundamentals of Nursing (9 credits), and Pharmacology (3 credits).

TheWalkingRN · Aug 15, 2015

Thank you Purple_roses! Yes Augurey definitely did. She was spot on with the list of things needed to be done before my deadline:

In that time we had to have a physical, titers done, any required
vaccinations started (if titer was negative), TB test done, finger printing/background check, and a drug test.

The only thing that wasn't mentioned was "Acemapp", something on the computer that needs to be done before classes start. I have orientation to go to this coming Monday so I will be definitely asking a lot of questions about everything. The only thing is like I mentioned in my reply to Augurey, is that late admitted students have to take 1 more class on top of the standard schedule that everyone else who knew earlier has to take. I know it's hard to tell not knowing our exact curriculum, but is this a good idea to do?

The first three classes consist of Nursing Informatics (1 credit), Fundamentals of Nursing (9 credits), and Pharmacology (3 credits). I'm not really sure if that is something to be concerned about or not. Is this do-able?

Purple_roses · Aug 15, 2015

Thank you Purple_roses! Yes Augurey definitely did. She was spot on with the list of things needed to be done before my deadline:
The only thing that wasn't mentioned was "Acemapp", something on the computer that needs to be done before classes start. I have orientation to go to this coming Monday so I will be definitely asking a lot of questions about everything. The only thing is like I mentioned in my reply to Augurey, is that late admitted students have to take 1 more class on top of the standard schedule that everyone else who knew earlier has to take. I know it's hard to tell not knowing our exact curriculum, but is this a good idea to do?
The first three classes consist of Nursing Informatics (1 credit), Fundamentals of Nursing (9 credits), and Pharmacology (3 credits). I'm not really sure if that is something to be concerned about or not. Is this do-able?

The first thing you should do is schedule an appointment with your doctor, as you usually can't get in right away. Your physical, TB test, and vaccinations can be done at this time.

Get the titers test done before your doctor appointment so that you know which vaccines you need. (If you need the Hep B vaccine, you will need a doctor's prescription). Ask your school which facility they would recommend having the test done; my school sent us to a hospital that only charged $36.

I think your course schedule will work, because it has to. Stay organized. There are many threads on this site that deal with staying organized with a busy schedule. They could give you some ideas.

Good luck!

TheWalkingRN · Aug 15, 2015

Purple_roses - Thank you so much for helping me. I really appreciate it. One last question for you. My acceptance letter told us to be unemployed during the program if at all possible. The dean also asked me if I was working more than 20 hours. I work in the gift shop at the local hospital nearby and I love working there. I work alternate weekends, a total of 16 hours every weekend I work. It's nice to talk to the nurses and doctors there as I'm able to ask them about anything. I told the dean that I'm only working 16 hours and she told me to just try and juggle, but know what I have to do if things get too hard. What is your take on it?

Purple_roses · Aug 15, 2015

Purple_roses - Thank you so much for helping me. I really appreciate it. One last question for you. My acceptance letter told us to be unemployed during the program if at all possible. The dean also asked me if I was working more than 20 hours. I work in the gift shop at the local hospital nearby and I love working there. I work alternate weekends, a total of 16 hours every weekend I work. It's nice to talk to the nurses and doctors there as I'm able to ask them about anything. I told the dean that I'm only working 16 hours and she told me to just try and juggle, but know what I have to do if things get too hard. What is your take on it?

I'm also working part time. I'll be working between 12-24 hours every weekend for a home care agency while starting my first semester. I want to work so that I can avoid taking out unnecessary loans. If your grades start to suffer because of the time you're spending at work (and if you don't absolutely have to work), then you may want to quit. Play it by ear. On the other hand, if you're only working every other weekend, take that into consideration when you're studying or working on projects. Try to stay ahead of the game and get working on the next week's assignments so your work week doesn't feel as chaotic.

SopranoKris, MSN, RN, NP · Aug 16, 2015

Thank you Purple_roses! Yes Augurey definitely did. She was spot on with the list of things needed to be done before my deadline:
The only thing that wasn't mentioned was "Acemapp", something on the computer that needs to be done before classes start. I have orientation to go to this coming Monday so I will be definitely asking a lot of questions about everything. The only thing is like I mentioned in my reply to Augurey, is that late admitted students have to take 1 more class on top of the standard schedule that everyone else who knew earlier has to take. I know it's hard to tell not knowing our exact curriculum, but is this a good idea to do?
The first three classes consist of Nursing Informatics (1 credit), Fundamentals of Nursing (9 credits), and Pharmacology (3 credits). I'm not really sure if that is something to be concerned about or not. Is this do-able?

Whew! I couldn't imagine taking Pharmacology & Fundamentals at the same time. Of course, I don't know your program, but our Fundamentals was a 9 credit hour class and it was impossible to take another course on top of it. Between Fundamentals lecture, PA lecture, PA lab, Skills lab & clinicals, there was only 1 day open on our calendars and you needed all that free time to study.

Your school may be very different from ours, though. In my school, you couldn't apply to the nursing program unless Pharm was completed.

I would highly suggest getting a detailed planner and schedule everything so you can stay on top of your deadlines, especially with another class added in to the mix. I would have been lost without my planner. I color coded everything so I could stay on track. Had a color for homework, another one for quizzes, another one for exams, papers due, labs, clinicals, etc. In between color-coded deadlines, I scheduled study time. It helped immensely!

Good luck to you!!!! Congrats on getting in to nursing school

TheWalkingRN · Aug 16, 2015

SopranoKris, Thank you for your advice! That's what I wanted to hear about as well- how the classes are. I have the option of waiting until Winter of 2015 to take Fundamentals and Pharm together. The only catch to that is the actual program would not officially start until the Fall of 2016. So technically I would start a year from now. The three classes do not overlap each other anytime during the semester though. At any given time of the semester there's only two classes that will overlap which will are Fundamentals (during finals week), and Pharm (intro week). I'm really nervous as to which path to take. :dead:

SopranoKris, MSN, RN, NP · Aug 16, 2015

As long as you're not taking both at the same time, you should be OK. Forgot to add my previous post, ACEMAPP was used in our program. All it was used for with us was to house our immunization, BLS & clinical schedule data. Our clinical sites were able to view the immunization & BLS data to make sure we met their standards. All you have to do is bring copies of your immunization, TB test & BLS card to your ACEMAPP administrator and they'll upload everything.

I went to our local county health dept to get up to date on everything I needed for nursing school. My insurance covered it 100% and I didn't have to make an appointment. My doctor's office couldn't get me in for vaccination boosters until after my deadline expired for nursing school. So, if you're having a hard time getting in, don't forget to check with your local health dept.

Good luck :up:

missmollie, ADN, BSN, RN · Aug 16, 2015

As long as you're dedicated to succeeding, you'll be okay. The late nights and the studying are going coming like a freight train either now or next year. The only difference is that you'll be finished a year earlier.

Concerning your job: Many people work through nursing school, many don't. It is all about what you can personally handle. My advice is that if you take a test and think to yourself, I could've studied more, then you need to be willing to let that job go. Working in the gift shop is not as important as learning and succeeding in nursing school. I'm confident you'll figure it out as you go.

Congrats on your acceptance! When you're finished with the program, you won't regret starting early!