Any Commonwealth Nursing Program students here?

U.S.A. Virginia

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I'm beginning the program through John Tyler Community College in January and I'm excited/nervous. I feel like I have so many questions, but we don't have our orientation until 12/17. Just curious if anyone here has gone through the program and if you have any advice.

Thanks!

Can you guys explain this program please? Is it all online? Are you guys working full time? I want to apply but I want to know what the program is like. Thanks.

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Hello, the program is primarily online. You do have to attend clinic and lab during the week. I attend Germanna and my lab days for fundamentals were Wednesday and Thursday 3-9. Once we started clinic our times were from 3-11 and one 7-3 shift in the OR on a Thursday. We also had a 7-7 Saturday shift at the hospital. It really depends on your cohort for what days you will be attending clinic and labs. This summer we will do one week (7-3:30) at Snowden and we won't have any more onsite days during the summer.

The program is very intense, but I believe most nursing programs are. There is no lecture so plan on reading constantly. I do not work outside the home. I

take care of my children during the day and once my husband gets home I study ALL night long:bugeyes:.

I do believe the majority of the students work.

I can say that I enjoy the program. I do have my ups and downs but that is just nursing school.

Good luck and feel free to ask more questions.

Shannon

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Thanks Shannon!

How much reading do you think you do everyday? How much time on assignments? Is this the 3rd year? If I only wanted to take like 1 or 2 classes could I? I have most of my pre-reqs done. So I am going to apply for fall 08.

To make a long story short, I had planned on going full time to a traditional program but I got a really good job offer that I couldnt turn down...so I am going back to work full time. I REALLY do wanna continue to pursue NS, but I need to do it why I work full time (not what I had planned). But I am not in hurry to finish. Thank you...sorry for all the ????'s But I want to be sure I do it right the first time.

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Hi there! I am glad that you are interested in the program! I am starting in Fall 08. The application period for that semester is already closed, but you could apply for Spring 09, applications are accepted between June 1 and July 1, I think.

If you have completed all of your prereqs AND all of your gen ed classes, there are only 1-2 nursing classes each semester (I think with the exception of 4th semester which has a bunch of 5-week rotations). This is what I am doing - I already have a bachelors so I have the gen ed (and did my sciences at John Tyler). I work full time and my hubby is a SAHD. There will definitely be sacrifices for our family but it will be well worth it.

Also - the clinical schedules are different depending on your home campus. At John Tyler, Fundamentals last semester had clinical Th-Fri 5-10 and Saturday 7-3 (I think it was actually every other Saturday). But the schedule can also change from semester to semester. I am still waiting to see what it will be this time around. There are a few day shifts here and there (I will take days off for those).

Joy K

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Hi everyone I'm considering applying to the commonwealth nursing program. I found this thread and thought I would revive it and see if any of you could answer some questions about the program. First any general info and your thoughts/opinions about the program would be welcome. I was also wondering about accecptance to the program and how competitive it is. Currently my GPA 2.982. I should be able to bring it up to at least a 3.0 and best case sanerio a 3.2 by the time I apply. I also already have a bachelor's and will have all of the non-nursing courses completed by the time I start the program. Not sure if that helps. Do you think I have a reasonable chance of being accecpted?

Also, I am currently in a long distance relationship. My bf lives 3hrs away and I go visit him every other weekend and vice versa. So I'm wondering what the clinical/lab schedule is like and if I would still possibly have every other weekend free. *Sigh. I know this is a difficult situation, I'm just hoping there is some way it could work out. I would greatly appreciate any input, thanks in advance. :nuke:

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Hello, I think you have a chance of getting in. I would try to raise your GPA as high as possible and study hard for your pre nursing exam. Students are picked according to their amount of prerequisites finished, GPA and percentile on pre nursing test.

Whatever school you attend will determine when your clinical and labs will be held. I am a Germanna student and my Labs were wed/thur 3-9.Clinics during my first semester were wed/thur 3-11. We had one Thursday 7-3 at the OR. One Saturday from 7-7. During the summer we had 1 week 7-3 shift at a metal health facility.

I have enjoyed the program and have learned so much in one year. The program is very hard and time consuming but rewarding at the same time.

I study for 3 to 4 hours a night during the week and 8-12 hours on a weekend. Some students study more and some less.

Good-luck!!!

Shannon

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Hello,

I just applied for the Online program beginning Fall 2009 and would love to hear of anyone's experience with it so far. If I get accepted, my home school will be JTCC.

Thanks in advance for any information!

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Hi there! Glad to hear you are interested in the program. I just posted a very long response with lots of info on your profile page. Take a look and let me know if you have questions! Short version - I love the program, it is LOT of work (2nd semester is way more intense than 1st), it is doable with a FT job and kids but if you can afford to go PT (I cannot) that might really reduce your stress level. Instructors are awesome, and I love online learning combined with the normal clinicals - it's a great combo!

Best of luck with your application!

Joy

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Joy, Thanks so much for your response. I think you are absolutely amazing to be juggling work, family and Nursing school all at once! :yeah:

I've wanted to do Nursing for years, & just returned to school in 2006. I finished my pre-reqs last summer & immediately applied for the traditional program @ JTCC. I believe I had a good chance at being accepted... unfortunately, in a moment of self-doubt, I called and asked them to withdraw my application! Needless to say, I'm incredibly grateful for the opportunity to apply once more.

I love the idea of taking the coursework online as I did much of my pre-reqs online. Do you feel you're being well prepared for the profession in the online program (getting enough hands-on instruction & experience)? Have you heard anything about the program potentially being closed? Someone mentioned a rumor in my Chem class, & I found online that two of the colleges are no longer going to be participating in the near future. Do you happen to know how many applicants vs how many spaces the program has on average? I know my GPA (3.7) was considered competitive for the traditional program, but have heard it's much more difficult to get into the online program.

Please don't worry about providing too much information! I have a million questions. As a lot of them aren't relevant unless I get accepted, I'll hold off on asking more out of respect for your time.

Thanks again!

Wishing you all the best (and a bit more sleep!),

Jeanna

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As for the program being closed, no, I have not heard anything like that. In fact, the program just received (about a month ago) full approval from the VA BON (we previously had provisional apprval). There are some changes being made, some of the sites will not be participating any more, but the JTCC group is definitely going strong.

I do feel like I am being prepared well. At least as well as you can be prepared for nursing :) The program is definitely rigorous, and am I am really enjoying my clinical experiences. Coming from a non-medical field, there has been a steep learning curve for me, but everyone has been really supportive.

In terms of applicants, I believe that for JTCC, they get about 80 apps per year on average. Historically there have been 10 spots available per semester. It is pretty competitive but you do not have to have a perfect GPA to get it. There is a large age range of students (our class ranges from 27 to 59), and most folks are working full time and have kids. You will become VERY close to your clinical group, and really rely on each other for support and encouragement.

Hope that helps!

Joy

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Are you guys at all concerned that the program is not nationally accredited?

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The program is too new to be eligible for national accreditation. We received full approval (previously had provisional approval) from the VA BON a few months ago. The plan (from what I have heard) is to apply for national accredition in the near future, I am not exactly sure when. So far, students who have graduated from the program have had no problem getting jobs or getting into BSN completion programs. However, this is something you should consider.

I did a lot of research abt this before I started the program. Optimally, I wish that the program did have NLNAC accreditation already, but this is really the only program in the area that fits my need to continue working full time, so I felt that the tradeoff was worth it for me. It may be different for you based on your situation.

Hope this helps a bit!

Joy K.

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