Thomas Jefferson FACT Program

U.S.A. Pennsylvania

Published

Hi.

I have been accepted into the TJU FACT program that begins in May but the orientation isn't until a week before classes begin and I would like to get a better idea of the scheduling. I know it's 5 days a week but does anyone have some more specific info? i have to arrange for child care and transportation and a general idea of the class/clinical hours would be helpful.

also...anyone else out there starting the program with me in May?

To chime in a little, I graduated from FACT in May and it is a great program with a great faculty. The PDA is mandatory this year but it wasn't last year and the people that didn't have it wished they did b/c it is the best in clinical. Also the second session has less classes but don't expect it to be any easier because the topics also change as well as the instrutors and each instructor has their own rhythm. As the year goes on, stay on top of your game. Many start to slack and end up stressed when it reflects in their grades. Things appear to get easier but as you enter the senior half (around November) things become different and a lot of people get lost in the mix. My class only had a few that didn't make it, 2 or 3 I think, but a lot of us were stressing around this time. So enjoy this program, try to take some time out for yourself and ask questions whenever you are unsure of something.

Hi Tay,

Thanks for the info :) Do you get any breaks from class during the program other than the few days around Christmas that I'm assuming you get?

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I have a question about student loans and the FACT program. Since FACT is a one-year program that starts in May, are you eligible to apply for one or two rounds of Stafford loans? In other words, can you get $12,500 (the new max per year for subsidized and unsubsidized combined) or $25,000 in Stafford loans. I realize you wouldn't be able to get the money all at once, but I would like to know if you can apply only once or twice for Stafford loans during your FACT education.

Thanks!!

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How nervous were any of you FACTers when you started clinicals? How long did it take you to get comfortable doing vitals and all that?

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I'll try to answer these questions. Not sure about the rest of the program (they give us info at the last minute usually so we have no idea how the next quarters will go), but for the first quarter: we started the last week of May, will have our last clinicals and class this coming week, and then finals the week after. We will then have a two week break and start back right after Labor Day. I believe there is at least a one week break between all quarters, but Tay can answer that better.

Ah money, the bane of my existence at the moment. You can only apply for Stafford for ONE year, so $12,500 for the entire FACT program. This gets split into two payments of $6250 which are applied to your tuition bill in July and then again in January. (Jeff sends you a bill in May when the program starts, and you have to figure out how much money you're expecting in loans, and pay them the balance. They'll wait for July for the loans to be dispersed, but you owe the balance right after class starts.)

Regarding clinicals, I think it depends on if a person had any previous experience in a health care setting. I had worked in hospitals before so the environment wasn't foreign. Those of my classmates who had never stepped foot in the hospital before had a little bit longer of an adjustment period in terms of comfort of being on the floor in general. Regarding comfort with VS/assessments, most of us were in the same boat and had not had much experience. I think I had mentioned before - the first month of the program you are not in clinical. Instead, they have you attend labs where you learn things like taking VS (you have to do them on at least 25 people) and you get exposure to things like giving meds/insulin, inserting foley caths, wound care (all done on mannequins/fake arms). I think most of us were pretty comfortable with VS by the time we got to the floor. For the head-to-toe assessments your clinical instructors walks you through it in the beginning (and you also observe the RNs doing their assessments) and then after a couple of weeks you do them on your own. In my particular clinical group, we also never do procedures or give meds unless our clinical instructor is by our side. (Other instructors let the RNs supervise us doing these.) As a rough estimate, I would guess it took a good 1-2 months for us to feel like we were very comfortable on the floor. Don't stress about clinicals though. The instructors are very supportive and never leave you hanging out there wondering what to do (which is what I was afraid of). Also, there are 8 students per clinical group, so there's always help around if you need it.

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Ah, Bailey, I owe you a root beer or something; you always answer my questions with so much detail! :)

Thanks for reassuring me about clinicals. I'm sure I'll still be scared to death the first time I take a patient's BP!

I assume you pay for the FACT program in 2 installments, or at least that's how it sounds? That stinks that you can only get one $12,500 Stafford Loan. After all, you're cramming 2 years into one year, and Jeff even refers to it as the "junior year" and "senior year" portions of the program. I guess Uncle Sam does not take notice. LOL

Thanks again.

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Yes, you pay the FACT tuition in two installments.

We just received a tentative schedule for the rest of the year. In case anyone is interested in exactly how things are structured, here is the schedule for the current year. The quarters run into one another. There are breaks, but not always between quarters.

1st quarter (summer):

May 22 - Aug 15 (med/surg rotation)

(break last 2 weeks of Aug)

2nd quarter (fall):

Sep 2 - Oct 10 (telemetry rotation)

Oct 13 - Nov 14 (OB rotation)

3rd quarter (winter):

Nov 17 - Dec 23 (peds rotation)

(break for Thanksgiving week)

(break for Christmas week)

Jan 5 - Feb 13 (neuro/psych rotation)

4th quarter (spring):

Feb 16 - Apr 1 (community rotation)

Apr 6 - May 15 (complex care rotation -- ICU, ER, etc)

May 29 Graduation

Hope this helps

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You rock, Bailey!!

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thank you!! :)

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Specializes in Anesthesia.
Yes, you pay the FACT tuition in two installments.

We just received a tentative schedule for the rest of the year. In case anyone is interested in exactly how things are structured, here is the schedule for the current year. The quarters run into one another. There are breaks, but not always between quarters.

1st quarter (summer):

May 22 - Aug 15 (med/surg rotation)

(break last 2 weeks of Aug)

2nd quarter (fall):

Sep 2 - Oct 10 (telemetry rotation)

Oct 13 - Nov 14 (OB rotation)

3rd quarter (winter):

Nov 17 - Dec 23 (peds rotation)

(break for Thanksgiving week)

(break for Christmas week)

Jan 5 - Feb 13 (neuro/psych rotation)

4th quarter (spring):

Feb 16 - Apr 1 (community rotation)

Apr 6 - May 15 (complex care rotation -- ICU, ER, etc)

May 29 Graduation

Hope this helps

This... laid out the way it is... is really helpful!!

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Yes, you pay the FACT tuition in two installments.

We just received a tentative schedule for the rest of the year. In case anyone is interested in exactly how things are structured, here is the schedule for the current year. The quarters run into one another. There are breaks, but not always between quarters.

1st quarter (summer):

May 22 - Aug 15 (med/surg rotation)

(break last 2 weeks of Aug)

2nd quarter (fall):

Sep 2 - Oct 10 (telemetry rotation)

Oct 13 - Nov 14 (OB rotation)

3rd quarter (winter):

Nov 17 - Dec 23 (peds rotation)

(break for Thanksgiving week)

(break for Christmas week)

Jan 5 - Feb 13 (neuro/psych rotation)

4th quarter (spring):

Feb 16 - Apr 1 (community rotation)

Apr 6 - May 15 (complex care rotation -- ICU, ER, etc)

May 29 Graduation

Hope this helps

Hey Bailey...

I had a couple questions about clinicals in the FACT program. I've been reading that a lot of schools will have you go to the hospital the day before your shift to get patient information in order to write up care plans, etc. Does Jeff have you do this? Also, I know the first rotation is done at the main hospital...do you know how rotations are decided from there (i.e who goes to what hospital?)

Thanks!! :)

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Hi Apoptotic,

No, you do not have to go to the hospital the night before to write up care plans. I had heard many programs do this but so far, we have not had to (I assume because our schedule is so full already that would be nearly impossible). (Not sure about the 2-year program, but I don't think they go to the hospital the night before either.)

The first rotation (med/surg) is done completely at Jefferson. Starting with the second rotation, they begin adding in other hospitals (for example, we just chose our telemetry rotations and the choices were for units at Jeff, Bryn Mawr, Riddle, AEMC and Virtua). I've heard the hospitals are different for each rotation from the second rotation on.

The way you choose the rotations is the same for all of them (the first med/surg rotation included). They give you a list of options which includes day/time/instructor/unit/hospital, and you list your first three choices. They try to give you one of your top 3, but it doesn't always work out that way. For med/surg I was given a rotation I hadn't chosen at all, but for telemetry I got my #2 choice.

We have been told we need to do one weekend rotation (either S/S or S/M) during the year. Not sure if they're actually tracking this.

(Note: they don't guarantee anything, but if you have a special circumstance that requires you to have/not have a specific schedule - eg. a wedding so you don't want a weekend rotation - you can note this on the form. It's up to them if they take your circumstance into account, but it seems that they usually do.)

Think I mentioned this before, but rotations are either three 8-hour days per week (M-T-W) or two 12-hour days per week (S/S, S/M, M/T or T/W). Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any more questions.

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No, you do not have to go to the hospital the night before to write up care plans. I had heard many programs do this but so far, we have not had to (I assume because our schedule is so full already that would be nearly impossible). (Not sure about the 2-year program, but I don't think they go to the hospital the night before either.)

This is good news. The ACE students have to go to the hospital the night before, even if the hospital is an hour away from them. Dear Heavens, where are they supposed to find the time for that??

As always, Bailey728, you rock!

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