University of Maryland Traditional BSN Fall Program: Any idea when we will hear back?

jrbakern · Mar 28, 2009

Well as far as all A's go...best of luck. From what we were told in orientation, there are only a couple of people that manage to pull that off and thats from your whole group whose avg til now is about 3.3. There is no curving. The class average on the first rounds of tests were in the high 70s (again remember this is from a group of students with GPAs of 3.3 or higher). The other issue is that there are three things going on. There is the book learning which you are already doing, plus there is critical thinking and performance (validations). Vaildations tend to be harder for those that do well on written tests. Validations are where you have to perform skills on camera - you do one thing wrong, you fail. Not to scare you but we are in the middle of the 2nd round of validations and a lot of folks have already failed at least once. The good news is that you can try again but the bad news is you get less credit for it and its harder. If you fail that validation three times you fail the class. Period. And overall if you fail more than 4 times out of the vaildations (there are 3 in total) you fail the class. Overall with validations, there is no letter grade so even if you don't fail once it won't put you any better off than someone who has failed twice, but the anxiety, nerves, and extra time can take their toll. These skills are not easy and this second validation takes a good 15 minutes without making ANY mistakes. This is why everyone keeps talking about lab time where you can practice, practice, practice with your hands as well your mind.

Critical thinking is hard for everybody. Many of the multiple choice questions have 4 right answers, you have to pick the "best" and unfortunately no matter how much you study, picking the best is much harder than it sounds. I pretty much am at school and study all the time (my only down time is Thurs eve) and no I am not kidding. This is in addition to all the other little stuff that you will have to get done not to mention your life. Right now I am on the A/B border in all my classes and I am doing better than most people I know. And the other thing is that once they cover it - its expected you know it. Its not like A&P where you can learn it and then forget it when you move onto the next system. If you are one of those that cram studying in at the last minute, it will ultimately bite you.

One other thing to keep in mind is that the competition is over. You have already won by getting into nursing school. Once you are in - you are in unless you quit on your own. Now you just have to concentrate on doing your best. Your primary goal should be to learn everything you are taught and pass the NCLEX after graduation. A BSN without passing your NCLEX isnt worth much :-)

For clinicals it is a total of 24 hours in the first semester: 2-12hr shifts or 3-8hr shifts. The 2nd semester will be 2 days of clinical each week.

I could go on and on but I have to get back to studying. Have a good one ~

JR

dorkalicious · Mar 29, 2009

AMEN to what JR said! Read it and live by it for the next 2 years!

jrbakern · Mar 29, 2009

I was looking over some posting for UMANS (University of Maryland Association of Student Nurses) which you will automatically become a member of when you start school. I saw something interesting I thought I would share:

i. Take care of yourself. How are you supposed to take care of other people if you cannot take care of yourself?

ii. Everything in balance & moderation

iii. Do not over study

iv. “Once an A student. Now a nursing student”

v. Help each other out. This is not a competition.

vi. Take one day at a time

vii. It is okay to cry

viii. Do not give up

mwk7m · Mar 30, 2009

Congratuations to everyone who may be my fellow classmates at SG in Fall '09! I was just curious - how many people on here are first-time degree-seekers, and is there anyone who is a tad older, like me (I'm 28) who already have a degree? Are most of the people at SG first-time undergrads, or is it a mix, since it is more of a satellite campus? Just curious how round two of a college degree in nursing stacks up to college generally. I'm sure it's harder, but I'm just trying to get a realistic perspective on what to expect. A lot of the information from current students has been very helpful, so thank you!

Many thanks in advance!

jrbakern · Mar 30, 2009

for our class at SG its a mix. Your class size will be about 50 students if it is like ours. You will get to know all of them as everyone will have the same lecture class for pathopharm, intro to nursing, and health assessment. Labs will be smaller and at varying days/times & informatics will be online broken into two sections of SG students.

I am one of the oldest (47) but there are many who are in the mid to late 20s and early 30s range. I am pretty sure there are at least 5 or 6 people with degrees already (myself included.) I think its harder this go round because there is a lot more subject matter and because you are dealing with real people with real problems and you really can mess up and harm someone if you aren't careful. Hopefully you cultivated great study habits the first go round ... they will help.

JR

mwk7m · Mar 30, 2009

Thank you JFRraker, it is good to know I won't feel totally out of place being older than a typical college student (although it seems like nothing is really "typical" these days)! Is there anything about SG that you think puts it above the other local schools, which all have great programs? I'm super-excited I got into UMd, but have one other program I am very intersted in too, so they both are about equal in my books, for various reasons - I don't know how I will decide! The small classes and knowing everyone is definitely a plus, and it sounds like there are a lot of resources available that will help us succeed so long as we utilize them. How does the student health work going to SG since the main campus is in B'more?

Thank you for all of the help!

loloterp · Mar 31, 2009

Hey guys, just curious if anyone knows if UMB is strict on their final transcript policy...I'm taking two classes that i currently have B's in. Micro is one of them. I am on the B-/C borderline with that one. Do they really decline their offer if you fail to make a least a B in your current classes?

Blueorchid, ASN, RN · Mar 31, 2009

Oooh...Microbiology is a definite credit must...and they want you to get a 3.0 or better on that final transcript so yes- they are rather strict. I would put all my effort into studying for Micro- you also need to hand in your final transcript before classes start- I did mine at orientation.

Good luck!

loloterp · Mar 31, 2009

Does neone have an idea about when orientation might be? I want to know if i have time to take a first session summer class to get the gpa a little higher. Also, they are asking for medical history forms. Were they supposed to provide us with the medical forms to take to our physician or what?

jrbakern · Mar 31, 2009

mwk-Health insurance is Blue Cross Blue Shield which you can use about anywhere. For the optional dental insurance you will have to go to Bmore to use. The details on whats covered is on the UMB SON website. Dig around and you will find it.

I like SG because it is small. You will have to go to bmore for a day to do a project for nursing intro and you will see the difference. Its very big, very noisy, etc. and not to my taste. I too had a choice and they seemed to be about equal but I am glad I ended up at UMB-SG.

lolo-Buckle down on that micro...you really do need to pull a B in that class. If its any help, I remember that toward the end things got a little better but don't rely on that. If I were you, I would talk with your instructor immediately to see if she/he can give you any guidance on how to improve your performance. Be frank and direct, tell them you are going to nursing school and need a B, and you will do whatever it takes to get there :-)

No one is interested in your overall GPA anymore so don't waste your time on that summer class unless its something you are really wanting to learn about. You need to have an A or B in: A&P 1 & 2, Micro, and Chem, and any other required classes that you were lacking prior to admission and those are the ONLY grades you need to worry about right now!

Orientation at SG was a week before classes started and 2 weeks before at Bmore this past spring if that is any help.

And yes you will get your medical form in your package whenever it comes. There is a PDF of that form on the UMB SON website if you want to get a head start on that (you will have to dig around and look for it.)

The other thing you will need is CPR certification for Healthcare Providers or Professional Rescuers from either American Heart Association or Red Cross. This can be a pain to schedule so do it as soon as you can over the summer. And I say summer because if you do it now it will expire before you graduate and you will have to take it again. Mine was good for 2 years but check that as they change all the time and it may be down to 1 year. If you don't have this done by the deadline you will not be allowed to go to clinical and you will fail intro to nursing.

jrbakern · Mar 31, 2009

btw the deadline for your medical form and CPR is about a month AFTER classes start but try and get it done before you get bogged down in school.

taychap1 · Mar 31, 2009

Hello,

I am actually applying to UMB nursing school for next fall. I was wondering if anyone was willing to share what their grades were in the required classes and how much volunteer experience, if any, you had?