Tcat Ripley lpn

TennesseeNurseToB · Dec 3, 2015

Geeze, 2 o'clock already? They close at 4:30.

kjones3725 · Dec 3, 2015

I just missed a call from them!! I'm trying to call them back!! Ms.Beth just left me a message to call her and it keeps going to her voice mail!!

kjones3725 · Dec 3, 2015

I got in!! We have another orientation next Friday at 9am!!!

TennesseeNurseToB · Dec 3, 2015

They just called me too! WoOt!! I got accepted too!! Congratulations!!

kjones3725 · Dec 3, 2015

Yes congratulations to you also!! I wonder what the orientation next week is for? I'm so excited!!

TennesseeNurseToB · Dec 3, 2015

Yay!! I'm wondering the same thing. This is the first I've heard of any school doing a 2nd orientation. And I have to take off work again! She said expect to be there 4 hours. That's longer than the first orientation.

kjones3725 · Dec 3, 2015

Yea that's the first I've heard of any school doing two orientation too!!

Meshon711 · Aug 12, 2016

Hello!! I currently live in Jackson! I took the reading test in Murfreesboro a few months ago and scored a 93 and finally passed the math today in Jackson with a 71. I applied for Jackson lpn class do you ladies think that's competitive for this school? Are you 2 still in the program at Ripley? How hard is the program?

TennesseeNurseToB · Aug 13, 2016

Hi Meshon, don't worry! Your scores are just fine. I would sooner be shocked if you didn't get accepted. I don't care what TCAT says about their being "100's" of applicants applying for their LPN program, this is the easiest nursing program to get into.

I'm not sure I believe there's that many applicants because I've never heard of anyone passing the compass & getting denied more than once (& that being because some locations are more competitive than others) but your scores are good so I don't see you having a problem getting in.

The program is extremely difficult & on average 50% of students who enter the program won't make it to graduation. I know if you call the school & ask for their pass rates on the nursing program they will give you a percentage in the 90's, maybe 80's. That figure is complete BS! The percentage they give you is of students who have GRADUATED & passed the NCLEX. What that figure does not include is the number of students who did not make it to graduation. So the percentage is completely misleading. I found this out after I started the program.

I will be completely honest with you, I did not last long. I made the decision to withdraw in the 1st month. I was struggling early on & I couldn't bear the thought of doing all that hard work, giving up most of my work schedule (meaning I was barely paying my bills & not saving) & driving 100 miles a day to & from the school just to find out that I failed a course by a couple of points.

The school told us in orientation that the program was hard & that it was "doom & gloom" until you graduate. What the school did not tell us is "why the program is hard" & what challenges you should expect during nursing school. I could go on & on about things they don't tell you.

And don't get me wrong, I'm not blaming the school that the program is hard or that I didn't complete it. I blame them that I wasn't given more details about the program & what to expect.

There was a girl struggling just as much as I was (our grades were neck & neck) & she's still in the program so I know that I could still be there if I would have stuck it out. But I don't regret withdrawing for a second. Med-surg is supposed to be the "weed out" course in any nursing program & I was struggling in courses that were easier than med-surg so I wasn't willing to assume the risk. And med-surg is one of the last courses you'll take.

The problem is if you get terminated from the program because you didn't maintain an 81 & you're at the end of the program, you don't get credit for all the hard work or courses you completed. YOU HAVE TO START ALL OVER AT THE BEGINING!!

There was a total of 25 students in my class & 1/5th of the class were back for round 2 & two of those ladies made it to the 12th month before getting terminated. One of those ladies not only made it to the last month but she was on the last course & literally missed the 81 by half a point!! And she was doing better in her coursework than I was. Again, after learning all of this, I made the decision to leave. I don't want to be that girl that did all that hard work & walked away with nothing. I was sacrificing alot to go to nursing school so I couldn't stand the thought of only having a 50% chance that I'd graduate. Plus, I'm not really a risk taker.

I mean, I would wake up having nighmares about whether or not I was going to pass this course or that course. I cried when I withdrew & then I cried some more. It was a hard decision but it was the right decision for me. It allowed me to learn alot about myself & it taught me alot. I now know things that I didn't know before hand, I know what questions to ask & I know how to prepare myself & what to do BEFORE I go back to nursing school. If I do.

I'm a good student & make good grades but that doesn't matter when it comes to nursing school. I can tell you the hardest thing about nursing school isn't the courses, its the insane amount of work you have to study in such a short amount of time. You'll be studying 2&3 chapters EVERY night & you'll will be tested on it the very next day. Doing this day in & day out can burn you out quickly. One chaper can have over 40 definitions & that's not including the charts you have to study, parts of the body, where those parts are located & the complexity of various concepts. Then you have homework on top of that & that takes a couple of hours. So it's best to do as much homework as you can while you're at school.

Again, I was ill prepared & had no idea the amount of work you have to study in just one night. There were a few students making A's & B's but I can tell you they were quick learners & most were fresh out of high school. One girl had 2 kids, a full-time job & was doing decently on her studies. So it can be done but I don't know how they were doing it? They have to be fast learners & above average students. Thats the only thing I can tell you. I did try to ask them how they were doing so well but they just told me they studied the textbook. They didn't really give me any pointers. I guess they didn't care about trying to give me advice because they weren't the ones struggling.

I had this huge misconception that because it's a technical school & you're only graduating with a certificate, not a degree, that they narrow everything down & give you what you need to know to be a LPN. Wrong! You have to do the same amount of course work as if you were going to a community college or university but you have 1 or 2 weeks to do it. For example, you have two weeks to study anatomy and physiology and it's 28 chapters long. And you have to study all 28 chapters and you will be tested on all 28 chapters in only 14 days.

I've come to learn by doing alot of research that several people don't even bother with the textbooks the school requires you to have. They use books that narrow down the massive amount of information your textbook contains so you can learn just the information that you need to know to pass the exams & maintain your sanity at the same time. This will help cut your study time down. I just ordered one of those books online & I'm going to review it & see how I like it.

Also, buy a NCLEX-PN book that has hundreds of questions in it. This will also teach you material you need to know, how to apply critical thinking skills to nursing & what the questions will look like on your exams in the LPN program & on the NCLEX exam. It's things like this that I didn't know before I attempted NS.

And if I go back (I'm still deciding), I will not do the 12 month program. I will do the 18 month program in the evening time & I will study & make flash cards, ect. way ahead of time because I won't have time to do it while in the program. I will get a huge head start before I go back & stay ahead of the course syllabus. I've already emailed the teacher & have asked her a few questions. So I know if I decide to go back, I will have 4 weeks to do A&P, not just 2 weeks. Knowing what to expect, how to prepare myself, how to cut my study time down & having more time to complete the courses are the reasons I'm considering going back. I know what I didn't know the 1st time around.

If you have anymore questions feel free to ask. Good luck to you!

Meshon711 · Aug 13, 2016

I was wondering could your or would you email me the syllabus? I have been in nursing for 10+ years so I know what you mean by how hard the course is. Also what book did you order for a and p? I know that's another course that weeds out alot of students. Did you know khan Academy has an online course for a and p?

TennesseeNurseToB · Aug 13, 2016

Sure, I can email it to you. I'm pretty sure I still have it. A&P may be a weed out course in the tcat program (I'm not really sure) but in a community college/university setting its not difficult at all, simply because it's a prerequisite and you have a full semester to do it.

A&P was not a difficult course for me, it was the cramming that I found difficult. Look at it this way, if you signed up for A&P at a community college & you were given a week to study 2 chapters & you tried cramming all that information in the night before your exam instead of studying a couple of hours a day until the exam, that would be considered foolish. Yet, you are expected to do this on a daily basis in nursing school.

Knowing how to cram 2-3 chapters of info in one night isn't what makes a good nurse. Nevertheless, you have the master the art of cramming in order to survive NS. There are several articles online that talk about students who had no problem making good grades on their prerequisite courses but once they got into nursing school, they had to forget about making A's & B's & focus their concern on just passing.

The A&P book tcat had our class use was memmler's structure and function of the human body (10th edition). However, I recommend that you do not buy any books from the school because they charge you an arm and a leg for it. As a matter of fact, the books are nearly 50% of the cost of the program. You can find the books cheaper elsewhere.

There's a LPN book that they required our class to get and it covers every single subject you are going to study in the program. Yet, they had us purchase this book that was $110 & we only used it for 1 subject which was a week long & the book never even arrived until 2 days before the course was over.

It's not necessary to buy all those books on their syllabus when you have a huge book like that & it covers every subject in the entire program. The book is easy to understand & I believe the information is narrowed down (Textbook of Basic Nursing / Edition 10).

I just ordered an A&P rationales book that's supposed to narrow down the massive amount of information we had to know in such a short amount of time & I'm going to compare the 2 books.

And I had no idea Khan Academy had an online course for A&P. I love Khan Academy & I credit the founder for helping me with my math because that's how I got into nursing school in the first place. I will check it out. Thanks for letting me know.

Meshon711 · Aug 13, 2016

Thank you!! My email is [email protected] also the anatomy coloring book is supposed to be extremely helpful as well. Think im going to wait until may and go into the jackson program that gives me time to save for the program and study as well.