Disappointment with a Director of Nursing…

My wife works at a nursing home as a GNAS, and she has quickly made some friends in the nursing field.

I went out with my wife and her LPN friend the other night for a night on the town, a few beers, and hopefully a little fun.  The night started out okay with a few introductions and the decision to move from the local block party to a local restaurant/lounge.

From there on, it quickly went downhill. At first, I was almost discouraged by the Director and my wife’s LPN friend about even entering the nursing field at all. It was an ”unfulfilling” career, and you don’t really make any difference at all, etc. It really bothered me that these people were in the nursing field at all, because, in my opinion, nurses with a positive attitude have made all the difference when anyone in my family has been ill.

The Director was drunk, and when the girls left, he was still there babbling nearly incoherently about how I shouldn’t let me wife tell me to order food, and than a man needs to keep his budget tight, and other absurd “marital” advice… I guess. In response to his extremely intelligent, “Why you let her make you order food,” I replied “Um, <name>, she was hungry.” He was even offended I offered to pick up the tab on the food and drinks. I swear, he had to be one of the most irritating individuals I’ve ever met.

It got even worse than having drinks with two extremely negative individuals. The Director got so drunk he attempted to kiss my wife, and when she got up to tell me, he left our table and went to another area of the restaurant. As visions of a delivering him a spectacular ass-kicking ran through my head after about ten minutes of venting I decided that it wasn’t worth it to lose my future career and my wife’s job. I decided after a few minutes I would go get him and get him loaded up in the car because he was so extremely drunk he was falling, acting stupid, and just being a pest in general. I felt that if I left him there, something would have definitely happened to him. So for my conscience and my wife’s job stability, I decided to be the bigger man and go him.

Where was he? His 50-year old ass is dancing in the middle of a crowded night club, grabbing 20-something girls and acting completely stupid. After I got him loaded in the car, he hopped out to continue having a good time after saying that he didn’t try to kiss and wife and that everyone needed to shut up. Well, you can’t say I didn’t try to get you home safely.

What a disappointment… is this the kind of colleagues I am going to have the privelege of working with? I was really looking forward to this; I was eager to pick a DON’s brain about certain degree programs, universities, specializations, etc. Instead, I got a bunch of incoherent babbling, an attempt to get fresh with my wife, and told to “shut up”. I did, however, get a few good things out of last night. The first good thing is that nursing school can’t be that difficult if a moron like this can get through. The other thing I learned is that I definitely think I can contribute to the nursing field because if idiots like this are in it, then as far as I’m concerned, they need me.

ACT Score is in!

When my stepdaughter woke me up this morning, I realized it was test results day! While still in my underwear, I jumped up, grabbed my PocketPC phone, and quickly used my Opera Mini Web Browser to check the scores. And scores were viewable.

After a slow internet connection that built the suspense and a failsafe in the ACT website to require me to put in some additional information, I finally got in to view my scores and it was displayed on the screen.

Composite score: 29

I was totally satisfied with that. That’s a really good score; I can get into like 90-95% of colleges with that score. Even some really good ones!

I went to the nursing department to officially apply to the nursing program beginning in the Fall. I asked for an average admittance score, and they replied that a 25 score was a fairly safe bet that I would make it in. I asked the likelihood of me getting into the nursing program with a 29, and they told me that they have never denied a student (ever..) that has had that high of a score.

So it’s pretty much a sure thing that I am getting in at this point. A few quick facts about a 29 ACT score:

1. It puts me in the top 5% of students that took the test.
2. If you put me in a room with 20 students doing the ACT test, statistically speaking, I would have the highest score every time.
3. A 29 on the ACT is a good enough score (along with other considerations which I likely would not have) to be admitted into universities such as Duke, Stanford, and John Hopkins. Too bad… I still can’t make it into harvard…

A Few Loose Ends…

Got a few loose ends tied up today… got my high school diploma on file at the college, and verified by financial aid went through for both Summer I and Summer II classes.

It’s amazing what you can get done in five minutes of conversation face-to-face. I’ve been calling all week (to no avail) to get this handled and it was completed within just a few moments of actually talking to them in person. Now, everything is handled. My next semester is paid for and my diploma (a requirement of the nursing program) is in my student file. Only thing is my ACT scores…

Five more days… but hey, who’s counting anyway? (((Getting nervous here!)))

Picking And Choosing Professors

I thought long and hard about who my Anatomy and Physiology teacher was going to be. I’m so particular about this class in particular, I went so far as to ask current nursing students and even RateMyProfessors.com to verify my decision. So far as I can tell, I was lucky enough to get into the AP classes with the best teacher for the subject with the best passing rate. Great thing I got those classes (by waiting next to registration for 2 hours before the college opened) because the class promptly got filled up solid until next spring!

I definitely recommend picking and choosing teachers, especially with the afforementioned website. I did that to my PSY101 class, and it turned out to be not only an easy class, but great fun as well.

Countdown… 7 days until my ACT scores could be released…

If I get a 25 or higher, there’s gonna be a party at my house!! Beer and crabs on the house!

Sadistic Summer!

My summer semester is going to be pretty insane. I’m going to complete Human Anatomy & Physiology I and Human Anatomy & Physiology II. Both are four credit classes, and each class will last a mere 6 1/2 weeks: half of the amount of time it would have taken if I had taken these in the fall or spring. Two for the price of one!

The bad news: There will be two 3 1/2 hour lectures a week followed by a 4 1/2 hour lab every Saturday. Oh well, we all make sacrifices, and this certainly is no exception. This will enable me to have all five “pre-nursing” classes done in August, and enabling me to apply in January for a GPA-based admission (if I bombed my ACT score).

Oh, and they’re actually making me take a pass/fail student development class. I have a 4.0 people! Do I really need to improve my study skills? No remedials: I have a 4.0 on college level courses; two 100 levels and a 200 level psychology! I wrote the Dean of Students to no avail. Have to take the course… the amount of time wasted on this could have easily been applied to other classes I’ll eventually have to take, like sociology or microbiology! Oh well… you win some and you lose some I guess and I may have lost this battle but the war is just beginning!

If you get anything from this post, it should be this: take an aggressive summer schedule to lighten your courseload for fall and spring. Also, write your Dean of Students if someone makes you mad or tells you that you can’t do something!

Getting Things In Order…

I just finished all the preparations for applying to the nursing program based on my ACT score (which, as of now, is still unknown). Had to get my high school to send some official transcripts to my school because I was admitted based my aptitude test (which I passed with flying colors; no remedial classes for me!) and not because I have a diploma. However, nursing requires that you have one; no ifs, ands, or buts. So my transcript will be sent over, and all that remains is for me to wait for my ACT score, fill out a form, and hope for the best. I went to a technical high school so I get a certificate in Environmental Science along with my diploma ! All I had to do was give up art and music that’s offered in other high schools and I get somethings that’s actually usable!

Before I start the program I’ll probably get my CPR certification… no point in waiting until it gets down to the wire.

And again… I wait for ACT to release my score.

Trying to start the Nursing Program…

Ok first post, here goes.

I wanted to chronicle my experience in (or at the present moment trying to get in) the nursing program at  Wor-Wic Community College. At the moment, it is an extremely difficult program to get into because of the highly limited number of spaces. Having looked into the matter, it’s more difficult getting accepted into this ADN program than Salisbury University’s BSN program.

But hey, I’m not a college kid who can afford to chill out for four years while working on a Bachelor’s degree. I have a wife, three stepdaughters, and a son, and not working while this whole college thing is happening is just an option. I’ll get the ADN then go to Salisbury for my BSN, or even work online for it.

So how are the spots dished out and awarded? There are 64 slots each Fall and Spring. Applicants can enter the program in the Fall two ways: their ACT score, or their GPA average from five “pre-Nursing” academic courses. Spring admission is only based on GPA.

1. PSY101 – Introduction to Psychology
2. PSY251 – Human Growth and Development
3. ENG101 – English Fundamentals
4. BIO202 – Human Anatomy & Physiology
5. BIO203 – Human Anatomy & Physiology II

**Also must complete a Pass/Fail class called Student Development.

Now that we know how you get in, here’s where I stand. I have completed classes 1-3 with a 4.0 average. If I can get an A in classes 4 and 5, well it’s pretty much a certainty that I’ve got a spot reserved for me. Each Fall and Spring there is 48 spots for the applicants with the highest GPA. But that won’t be until January because I haven’t completed my two BIO classes. I want to get in sooner.

The ACT admission track is much quicker; if I make it, I will enter the program in September. I took the ACT test on April 12th ( a mere two days ago) and I likely will know my score on April 23, or soon thereafter. Historically, a score of 25 or higher will get you a spot, but there’s only 16 spots every Fall held for ACT-admission students, so I have to be in that top 16. Not to brag, (knock on wood) but I think I nailed down a decent score but won’t know for sure until April 23.

Now I know my grades are great (so far) and I have a good feeling about the ACT test; but only time will tell if it is enough to get me into this program; I wasn’t nervous until I realized that there’s over 300 applicants (most of which are applying for GPA-based admission this Fall & Spring). No score guarantees entry; I just hope my ACT test will get me in. If not, I’m finishing up those BIO classes this summer and will apply for a GPA-based admission into the nursing program in January for the Spring semester.

Keep reading to see if I make it; I should have a pretty good idea of where I stand on April 23rd, although I know ACT will enjoy releasing my score later than that, probably making me as nervous as a nun in a cucumber patch for a few weeks!!