nursing school

[Slate]

  Good luck

  Many a good nurse has prevented mistakes by knowing the patient much more than the doctor who only visits once a day. 

[RotBaron]

Thank you gents.


Completely cart before horse has arrived, but last time I met with an AF recruiter, potential Officers in medical vocations were getting waivers to go to COT as old as 42 (even older actually wink wink). Several years ago, before I turned 35 I was trying to go standard line and not COT, there weren't any positions, i.e. no jobs/review boards cancelled... Anyone know read the AF Times, kept up with where recruiting is these days in medical? I know medical would be my only path at my advanced age of 39 now.  

Just thinking about it...if it happens it happens, so be it. It was such a huge let down 5 yrs ago, I don't get my hopes up for things like that anymore, keeps my keel more even.

Keep more baskets than eggs, keeps me in control.  

 

[RotBaron]

Wow, today I found out a block 4 (last semester student before NCLEX (RN licensing exam)) failed and will therefore have to repeat block 4. This particular guy was hand picked to come talk to us block 1 noobs about how to succeed, do well here and most importantly pass. Yes, everybody has a bad day now and then, but that's not a bad day. He's a bright guy too.

The thing that gets me is all semester long I've seen this guy on campus nearly everyday I'm there; I can only conclude he must also be there quite a bit when I'm not. He seems to always be in the study rooms and working hard.

I get that there will be many that drop out for whatever reason; we started with 80 and are at 75 already. And I can imagine first week in January it might be 60 or less of us. To me that makes sense, this being the beginning and still early. Problem is it seems it won't stop there and I'm not talking about those that have life issues that come up, I'm talking about good students who are smart and work hard.

Atm I just can't wrap my head around what I'm seeing. Are they running a racket here in my county at the CC's? I can't imagine the same thing going on at our Universities, ppl would be up in arms if they spent that kind of money and effort not to succeed.

The other thing is the nursing "shortage" is not exactly the case anymore; when there was 5-8 yrs ago, did they crank out too many and now they are trying to limit the matriculation?

I'm working my tail off here and I can help but feel a little concerned there is something going on here.

Ugggh. 

[RotBaron]

Geezer:

All of the anatomy and physiology, pathophysiology, nutrition, chemistry, microbiology, math, and anything else you can imagine are done as prerequisites here to entering nursing school at the community colleges. Did all that 2-3 yrs ago.

It's all nursing from the beginning: geriatric, med-surg, peds/ob, psych...

[eagl]

Anything worth doing...

For what its worth, in the '90s the USAF Academy washout rate over the 4 years was roughly 30-40%.  My class started with around 1600 cadets and graduated 1000, and we were a "big" graduating class.  The class 2 yrs ahead of me started 1500 and graduated around 800.  The lesson there is that any difficult program actually worth completing (that daddy can't buy your way through to graduation) is going to have a high washout rate.  The lesson I got out of it is that if you REALLY want it, you'll either graduate or you'll be eased out before you hurt someone through an un-recoverable lack of talent.  If you don't make it and have any excuse other than "I wasn't good enough", then you most likely didn't really want it to begin with.

We had some guys spend 6 years at the Academy and still graduate, because they wanted it that bad.  Not many show so much motivation that they're given the extra year, but some guys just won't quit.

IMHO.

[SysError]

... that "20 of us (out of 80) will be lucky to graduate on time". To which I thought, wow, 75% attrition rate, holy moly 

So I did a little, research, per my state's Board of Nursing, collectively for all RN programs in 2011, the amount that graduate on time is 67%. I'm sure there is some portion of students in there that lost the feeling, never wanted to do it in the first place, etc. and up to those who just couldn't cut it. It would be pure speculation, but I'd assume 40something yr olds (39 myself) are more successful and account for less of that attrition rate than the 20something yr olds.

I do not know if this is true for nursing, but I think (not 100% sure) that the number one reason for college drop outs (from Freshman year to Sophomore) is $$$.

I guess, (and it looks as if you do to), that there has to be a range of reasons for the non- on time graduation rates you found.  Finance, change in major, family emergencies,  being the victim of a crime, AND failing grades could all be possibilities.  So, if all you are worried about is your comprehension and retention levels, (and the ability to regurgitate it all at an appointed time), I think that you'll do just fine.

Good Luck!

[Curval]

Wow, today I found out a block 4 (last semester student before NCLEX (RN licensing exam)) failed and will therefore have to repeat block 4. This particular guy was hand picked to come talk to us block 1 noobs about how to succeed, do well here and most importantly pass. Yes, everybody has a bad day now and then, but that's not a bad day. He's a bright guy too.

In September I sat the first exam for the Society of Trust and Estate Practicioners (STEP) designation.  It was the first of 5 exams to get their diploma.  I have a whole bunch of professional development to do each year and these exams will ensure I get 4 years of all my CPD taken care of, and I'll have a few more initials after my last name as a bonus.

I had been sent the material in May.  It sat on my desk and was completely ignored until July.  I had every intention to start studying in August.  Nada.  September came along and we had a week long course to prepare for the exam.  All of the other candidates had binders of study notes, they had highlighted up all their material and seemed to be right on top of everything.  I pulled the plastic covers off the material and put it into my binders the night before the course started.

That week went well but I was really nervous that I might not do as well as I should.  I have acted as a Trustee for many families and individuals for over a decade, but never bothered to get actually qualified.

The day of the exam I was a bit of a nervous wreak and was kicking myself for the lack of preparation detailed above.

We had 15 minutes to read the exam and then three hours to complete 25 multiple choice questions and then choose 3 of 5 case studies to do...like essay questions.

I made a rookie mistake when the exam started...after the 15 minutes of reading.  I got hung up on 3 multiple choice questions.  They were driving me NUTS.  None of the answers made sense.  Eventually after re reading the questions four or five times I did finally "get them" and then suddenly realised I had spent FAR too long on that section of the exam.

I looked at my watch and panic set in.  I was 30 minutes over my budgeted time for the MC questions.  (In reality I had forgotten the 15 minutes we had to read and was only 15 minutes behind).  So I started to write.  I wrote as fast as I could and dumped down as much info as I could on the first question.  Feeling pretty good about that one I started hammering away at question 2, which was comprised of four separate subquestions (a) through (d).  When I got down to part (c) it suddenly dawned on me that I had been writing about the wrong type of trust.  Completely the wrong one.  So, I simply wrote a one liner in the memo to the client "This WOULD have been the case if the desire was to have an asset protection trust.  However, this case is focused on a Trust which has been established to provide income to one benficiary and then the balance to the rest"  I then kicked into overdrive and finished that.

Question 3...I'll be honest.  I have no idea what I wrote.  I was going so fast that the entire question was a blur.

When the person who was overseeing the exam said "Stop" I had litterally finished the last sentence I intended to write.

I walked out of that exam thinking I was screwed.  I thought I had made a huge mistake in even taking it and worried I was going to look really foolish to my clients if they found out.

Six weeks later and on the day the big hurricane hit us (17th Oct) I was reading my email when one popped up headed: Notification of Exam Results

I hesitated for a second but then opened it up.

Grade:  A
Examination result:  DISTINCTION

I only relay this because when I was out on a coffee break I was involved in a conversation with some of the other candidates.  At one point one of them turned to another and said "Do you know that John Smith from XYZ company passed this exam and didn't study at all until the prep course started?" All of the people involved were shaking their heads and sucking their teeth.  Little did they know that I did the same thing.

Just because someone studies alot and works hard and appears very smart doesn't make it so.

[SysError]

So I am reading this:

In September I sat the first exam for the Society of Trust and Estate Practicioners (STEP) designation.  

OK.  What the hell is STEP?

Then I read this:

.... Feeling pretty good about that one I started hammering away at question 2, which was comprised of four separate subquestions (a) through (d).  When I got down to part (c) it suddenly dawned on me that I had been writing about the wrong type of trust.  Completely the wrong one.  So, I simply wrote a one liner in the memo to the client "This WOULD have been the case if the desire was to have an asset protection trust.  However, this case is focused on a Trust which has been established to provide income to one benficiary and then the balance to the rest"  I then kicked into overdrive and finished that....

OK. The guy is a lawyer or an accountant.  Still do not know what STEP is.

Turn on The Google.

And reading reading reading...  "Professional Standards"   reading reading reading.... CODE OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT ...reading reading reading....  CODE OF BEST PRACTICE  reading reading reading.... PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT IN RELATION TO TAXATION,  OK, it is now time to stop.   But wait, just one last link (history of...)  "There was a P for practitioners and we wanted an S for society. PEST and PETS were quickly rejected leaving the only other anagram - STEP."  OK so this George Tasker sounds like a decent guy.  A bit old school, but I'm OK with that.  Seems to have enjoyed "the privilege of attending a lunch at the Palace of Westminster to welcome the then Lord Chancellor, Lord Mackay, and presenting him with his membership certificate."

OK.  Never heard of STEP before.  Sounds interesting.  I guess that I'll pay attention when I see TEP after a name.

Back to forum.  Check again on who made post.  Got it.  Then saw "Some will fall in love with life and drink it from a fountain that is pouring like an avalanche coming down the mountain".

Now that's interesting.  Very memorable.  But I can not place it.  And I'm a little better than most for recalling worthy quotes.  I get them in the ball park - more often than not.  At least I'm OK for a nonprofessional.  Must be someone I steer clear of.  Someone like a Jane Austen, Virginia Woolf or a perhaps the product of a translation of a romantic Russian novel.

Turn on The Google.

Butthole Surfers.

Never heard of them.  Really interesting.  Not all their stuff, but enough sounds really good.  Poets with musical instruments.

I'm glad that you put the quote in your profile and I'm glad that I traced it down.


I do have a suggestion for you though Mr. Curval.

I would like to suggest that you keep separate, distinct and especially secret your association with Aces High from any of your STEP associates and clients.  There is a branding incongruity that you should be aware of and thus manage deftly.



 

[BoilerDown]

Based on my Facebook friends in nursing, the Male / Female ratio is insanely in your favor.

I agree with the person who implied people are being weeded out to protect society against an "un-recoverable lack of talent".  That's what makes a higher failure rate desirable.  That's why I hate it when politicians focus on school graduation rates... a high graduation rate is only desirable when 100% of the graduates deserved to graduate by learning the topics they've been enrolled in.

I also finished school in my 30s.  For me, I learned some topics slower, some faster, than the typical 19-23 year old, mainly depending on how much I could relate to experiences and how much was straightly theoretical from the book.  I had to retake a few classes, and invariably the second time I learned it far better than if I squeaked out a passing grade, or even a perfect grade, the first time.  Financially its not a great thing, but in the long-term, I don't regret it.  So as long as you give the best effort you can while retaining your sanity, I wouldn't worry too much about failure, as that's where the most is learned.

[guncrasher]

I just want to know.  did they issue you a nurse's uniform with a really short skirt?  and if not, did you go and by one?  please post pictures.


semp

[Motherland]

I can't imagine the same thing going on at our Universities, ppl would be up in arms if they spent that kind of money and effort not to succeed.

Weed out classes are way more intense at universities depending on the program
I had a friend going to school for pharmacy and the graduation rate for people who made it to the graduate portion of the degree (2+4 program) was 40% or something, and that was at $60k/year, after you'd already uselessly gotten half of an undergraduate degree.
One of his basic biology teachers got a talking to by the department his freshman year because too many people were passing her exams so she was forced to make then harder
And I know here it seems like half of freshman come in bio-premed and half of them fail bio 1
Calc 2, both ochems, both bios and physics 2 are all really intense here (calc 3, for example, is notably easier than calc 2) to weed out premed/engineering students. Of course I had to take all of them even though I'm not involved with either program.

Medicine is not easy to get into

[danny76]

Best of luck Rotbaron. I am 2 months into a foundation paramedic science degree. Know what you mean about the mount kilimanjaro of books!

[Curval]

I do have a suggestion for you though Mr. Curval.

I would like to suggest that you keep separate, distinct and especially secret your association with Aces High from any of your STEP associates and clients.  There is a branding incongruity that you should be aware of and thus manage deftly.

What is the branding incongruity?

Glad you liked the quote. 

[RotBaron]

Thanks for the input and responses.

SysError: if it were as easy as regurgitating the lecture/lab info provided to us it'd be a walk in the park. It' much more difficult than that. They want critical thinking and application from us.

Exam questions are almost all case study based, i.e. a patient's info is provided a problem is presented and they want us to choose either (A) the best answer out of  several that are correct or (B) they want select all that apply.

It's kind of a game and there are tricks/methods/strategy to getting these questions correct. Knowing the fundamentals behind the questions, is crucial at this point. With each semester these questions will go more toward application of more advanced practice and less fundamentals.

Blindly studying is a waste of time; the best advice I've received so far is to continuously think of any situation in an application sense; i.e. what to do & why would it be done; why is it the best choice.

Google NCLEX questions and you'll quickly find the type of exam questions they are asking us.



"Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose".

Won't lose.

 

[RotBaron]

Semp: skirt scrubs are for muslim or other affiliations that don't allow women to wear pants.

Sounds like you have a deep interest in this; your local scrub store can provide you with some.