Technical College Nursing Program questions

Hi there,

I am in my second year of nursing school at alamance community college and was on the wait list at Durham Tech for over two years. The thing about Durham Tech is that they don't look at grades, they just have a wait list. So the caliber of students may not be as high as students at a place that gives points for grades and accepts based on that. (This may have changed at Durham, but that is how i was 2 years ago).

Wake Tech is supposed to have a great program too. Alamance has its faults, as every school does, but it is very cheap and the clinical experiences are good. The staff, while unorganized, wants the students to do well and many are pursuing their master's in teaching (all community college instructors must have a master's in nursing by 2010).

As far as your BSN, you can get that online from UNC once you have your RN or you can get your RN, work for a year, then enter straight into a master's program (no CRNA program there though). So either way, you can get your BSN easliy. I wanted to get my RN as quickly as possible so I am doing the ADN, then a master's (I have a BS too). I retook all of the prereq's..I started nursing school 1.5 yrs from when i started retaking prereq's and it was totally worth it to get my grades up and prove I was dedicated.

I hope this helps!

Hi,

Thanks so much for your input. I went into the nursing office at DTCC last week, and it looks like I will have a spot for the fall. When I first started doing my pre-reqs this past spring, I did hear in the past that there were long waitlists, but was told they were "making changes", whatever that means : )

Have you ever heard anything about DTCC's nursing program good or bad?

I hear Wake Tech is good but their pre-reqs are a little different. That would put me off from getting started for another year.

How are you enjoying your program? Do you feel like you are getting a really good "hands on technical experience"?

Thanks again for your input. It is very much appreciated.

No problem! Honestly, the only thing i had heard was what i wrote about some of the students. But honestly, I feel like nursing school is what you make it. There is a LOT of self-teaching. They can't possibly teach you everything you need to know so it's on you. I have friends at UNC, Duke, Watts and community colleges and all say their programs are unorganized. So you just accept it and learn as much as you can.

A big part of what makes a program good is how well they prepare you for NCLEX, but again, there are courses online and classes you can attend to help you prepare for that on your own. If your instructors are lazy about finding stuff for you to do in clinical, seek them out and ask for the next catheter, injection or IV (the scariest things in clinical in my opinion).

Instructors can be cranky, nurses on your floor for clinical can especially be cranky, and people can be incompetent so you have to be self-motivated and for your own sanity, don't take things personally and keep a positive attitude and any program can work for you.

;-)

Hi!

I just wanted to respond to your questions. I am a 2nd-year ADN student at DTCC. I have to say that the clinicals are really good- the instructors make sure that we get an opportunity to do a lot of skills and see a lot of procedures in many different areas of the hospital. I do feel like I am receiving a solid education. However, like the poster above, nursing school is definitely what you make of it!

As for the waiting list, they are making changes since I was accepted. Apparently, they require you to have most of your pre-reqs completed and a certain score on the NET test to be accepted into the program.

Feel free to PM me with any specific questions about the program. I'll be happy to answer as best I can.

Hi,

Thanks again for your input. I feel better and better the more I talk to you all. I agree that any program is what you make it. I know that was the case for my CNAI class. I was very proactive in finding patient care situations from which I could learn. That is my personality type so that will be an advantage.

I am a friendly, caring person, yet I know there are some real crankers out there. I had an encounter during my clinicals that educated me on the nasty personalities that exist no matter what you do.

I feel good about my decision and look forward to starting the nursing program at DTCC this fall : )

Thanks again!