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Shaunna
42 Posts
Hey Madden,
Good luck!
I have a part-time job, as do several other people. It really depends on what you can handle. The first semester (summer for us) was terrible, I would not recommend a job then. The second semester it is really pretty easy to hold a job. I don't know how it will work out for you guys with the new schedule, but it is certainly possible. In fact when it comes time to apply for jobs, most places LOVE seeing that you have PCA experience. It is definitely possible during parts of the program, especially if you're one of those people like me who manages time better when you have a little more to do.
I can tell you what the class schedule is like, but it will probably be different with the different program structure you guys will have. During summer, it was class from, oh 8 or 9ish to as late as 5, 4 days a week. The fifth day (Wednesday) was clinical in the morning, then class in the afternoon. Class schedule this semester is class two days a week from 9:30-2:45 and 8:30-1, clinical two days a week and one day off (although we have an online class, patient pickup, etc to do on that day). Last semester was about the same (two clinical, two class days).
You do have clinical the first semester, but it's super easy. It's only a few hours. You don't do patient pickup, you don't pass meds, and you wander around the whole time feeling lost and terrified with little to no idea of what's going on. Well, that was my experience. But it gets a lot better!
Like I said, there's usually a day off during the week, but it's difficult to do anything between 8 and 5 most of the time. If you want a job, it's early morning, evenings or weekends.
Clinicals-First two semesters will be a general med-surg rotation, next will be a psych/community rotation and a peds/OB rotation. You'll probably be at the VA or Shands for med-surg (I
Clinical hours depend a lot on the instructor. Usually you'll get there around 7am-ish and stay til 3 or 4pm. The last hour is usually post-conference (meeting with other students and instructor for lecture and/or discussion). There's a huge variability in hours, especially with psych and community.
Getting there: getting there CAN be a pain in the butt, but mostly 'cause it's so damn early. Do you live in town? Shands and the VA are pretty much adjacent to the nursing building. Buses go there (some later than others, which is where the difficulty arises). It's also fairly easy to find an apartment within easy walking or biking range. Plus, you'll probably be pretty tight with your clinical groupmates, so carpooling probably won't be a problem. However, you really don't want to drive anyway-it's a huge pain to park on campus. Like I said, the main clinical sites are right next to school, so if you can get to school, you can get to clinical.
For Peds, they let people request Jacksonville, so they are not going to force you to drive anywhere.
Sorry to everyone else for the long-winded post, but I thought maybe someone else might be interested in the info and give me more excuses to not study! :-)