FINALS ARE OVER FOR QUARTER 1; TIME FOR A BREAK!

SOUTH UNIVERSITY: TAMPA BAY QUARTER 1

Well, I finished Quarter 1 with a A in Intro to Nursing, and A in Fundamentals 1 and a B in (Pharm 1 with an 86) and Lab with a "P"…there is no A or B in Lab its just Pass/Fail. But if I had to put my own grade on it I'd say I got an A. I know in Pharm I could have made an A had I studied more throughout the week. If I had to put a rate on a scale of 0-10 of my effort level this quarter I'd say I would rate myself a 7 1/2. Could have given more effort to do better in the Pharm class to get that A but I'm pretty happy nonetheless. I made sure to make time for things other than school… Be sure not to forget that! Also, don't focus so much on the grade, focus on the skills and things you are learning thats the important part, because at the end of the day, where ever you get hired isn't going to look and say what grade did you make..? NO! There going to say….did you pass your NCLEX and are you a RN?

So, all in all, it wasn't too bad, the tests were harder than the material in the Intro and the Fundamentals class (in my opinion)….They are huge on critical thinking and I think often times make the questions harder than really need be…But, I guess thats just the name of the game. Pharm class, with the teacher we had, was awesome and super fair. She gave us great reviews and was very helpful without giving away the test. What I will say is know your stuff for Pharm, know your Adverse Effects and Drug Interactions especially… If you need more help in this area, feel free to message me. I have super great summarized and organized notes. Read you chapters, study the ATI book they supply you, use the Pharm Lab manual (which by the way we don't have to do but it's helpful if you do it cause she pulls test questions from the manual and from the ATI online tests). Study you notes and the power points. She will give an online review and an in class review..go to the in class review and RECORD the review so you can go back to and listen to it, very helpful. (This was about Pharm) ^^^^

Also, I would recommend exchanging numbers and finding a few friends that you get along with so that you can study with and share assignments and so that you can split up reviews for tests.

I am on my 1 break from school, we got 10 days off to enjoy some peace and harmony in our souls…lol… and I not gonna lie, I'm enjoy every minute of not being in class or at my desk at home studying all day… I've made time to workout at least 3-4 days per week , study to make the grades I made and spend time with my friends and family. I don't work or have kids so just keep that in mind for your own time management.


Here's a quick glance at what QUARTER 2 is gonna look like for us:

The Quarter 2 is Monday through Friday. We have 1 class each day and Friday is clinical day. 
Monday: Pharm2 9am-12pm
Tuesday: Fundamentals 2 Lab (times vary depending on the lab time you choose) There are 3. Mine is the 12pm-4pm Lab
Wednesday: Fundamentals 2 Lecture 9am-12pm
Thursday: Lab again/ Same as Tuesday
Friday: Clinical Day (elderly care) 6:30am-12:30pm (we draw names from a hat to pick our location btw; good luck, most of us got the location that we wanted)
Off Saturday and Sunday……To Study! ha! 

So there is it peeps…. Quarter 2 which starts this coming Monday. Our nice little break is almost over!

Oh and I although we only got 10 days for our first break, our next 2 breaks are like 3 and 4 weeks off, One in September and the other is in December for our Christmas and New Year holiday so that should be pretty nice…Unless your one of those kind of people who don't like breaks..LOL!

Anyhow, until next post! TTYL :)

MY FIRST MONTH !

SO here is a quick update….its been 4 weeks and I can say…yea, I've had to really organize my calendar/time/sleep/workout/personal time…..Thats pretty much all I have time for currently…I have class Monday through Thursday for my 1st quarter.
Classes are as follows:
* Mondays: Pharmacology 9am-12pm and Principles of Assessment 1pm-4pm
* Tuesday: Principles of Assessment Lab 12pm-3pm (there are 3 lab times to choose from when we start at the beginning but you have to keep you lab time once you choose it. The other choice's
are: 8am-11am; and 4pm-7pm. Also we have an open lab on Wednesdays from 1pm-5pm to make up any labs misses or to practice for assessments.
* Wednesday: Intro to Nursing 8am-12pm.
* Thursday: Principles of Assessment Lab again 12pm-3pm

Friday/Saturday and Sundays off….and of course we all know that these days aren't actually "OFF" days….they are days you get all of your studying done and anything you didn't have time for throughout the week… etc etc…

I have noticed a few things I don't like this 1st quarter is that it has felt like most of the teachers are just reading off of the power points. But the tests are from everything…book, power points, notes, study guides form lab manuals, and the ATI books we get (they supply these)…. anyhow…I feel like I could just study for the tests from my home, these classes could easily be done ONLINE! I feel like I get most of my learning done when I'm home studying this material vs. in classroom teaching…
They do tend to tell some really interesting stories but for teaching purposes, I think I could do just as good reading off of the power points at home myself… So far the teaching style is much like associate level teaching were you could still learn just as much and BE ABLE to SKIP CLASS…
I would like for us to be able to just stay home and study if we wanted to. I liked when we had teachers say: YOU ARE AN ADULT NOW….YOU CAN CHOOSE TO COME TO CLASS OR NOT…THATS UP TO YOU…BUT YOUR GRADES ARE YOU RESPONSIBILITY!  Man, I WISH that applied here!

Anyways, I think thats about it for now, I've missed out on some nights of sleep, and/or gotten very little a few nights before tests but other than that I think once you get the hang of managing your time then you will have more time to workout and/or do the things you want to do. If you have kids or family, its probably a lot more difficult. So far, I am lucky enough not to have to worry about a job, family or kids to worry about so I think that also helps in my time management and having more flexibility. Although tons of people have jobs, kids and families in my class and they are doing just fine…

Well until next post!

Mandi

New Nursing Student Checklist

SO here is the student checklist for the program..sorry its so messy, I actually used my checklist lol….But this gives everyone an idea of what they ask of you BEFORE the program start date. They typically give you this TO DO LIST about 2 month approximately before the start day of the program to complete.

My previous post had all of the prices and info about this..

Before I started the program the costs for all the tests/health physcials /uniforms/books etc etc etc cost me about $2000. Hope this post has been helpful..

See you guys Monday for FIRST DAY OF CLASSES !

Mandi

Nursing Orientation at South University! Class of 2015!

Soooo….today was orientation. Everything went as expected..probably similar to many other programs I would assume.
Here is pretty much what we did: (not in any particular order)

Introductions (faculty and students), we got out photo ID's, payed for our parking stickers for the year if you didn't already have one, went over handouts such a Lab groups (which we were assigned to) and had first choice preference between the 8-11am lab, 12-3pm lab or the 4-7pm lab. We also went over the ATI website we are going to be using, the nursing central that they are asking us to purchase (which btw comes with access for the entire time you are a student at South University for $171.00). You can find it on other sites for cheaper but you only get 1 year access, then have to pay for the yearly renewal however, other people are by-passing this app and going for the free apps like Medscape etc… so the choice is up to you. (BTW….I went ahead and just purchased it from the school) Save myself the hassles of a yearly renewal fee or any other issues that may come with the free apps….
We went over the Student Handbook/Policies/Dress code (if you have tattoos or piercing they have to be covered and only piercing you can have are earrings and you can only wear studs)…They said no hoops or rings other than a wedding BAND..no big diamond rings etc..We took a group picture at the end, so we had to be in uniform with our lab coats during orientation.

I think I covered everything… be sure to say hi to everyone and get to know people during orientation. We are starting a closed Facebook group so that all of our class can help each other stay up to date on assignments and so that we can all have a connection to each other in case of emergencies, extra help and really just for a good start to the 1st quarter with a good support system.

So thats pretty much all I have for today, I think it went well and I am looking forward to getting started. Feel free to comment below if you have any questions!

Let the "fun" begin! LOL

Mandi

My Very First Post

Today I decide to start a blog about my journey through nursing school and beyond… Lets just say I have been through so many ups and down to get to nursing school it's not even funny… from pre-req's at several community colleges to pre-req's at my new school. Counting on to my second degree...I started this journey in Texas and now I'm in Florida about to start the nursing program at South University in Tampa in less than 2 weeks.

 I had so many questions about nursing and this program that I felt like maybe by starting a blog this would help future student interesting in this program as well as just nursing/nursing school in general…

The Teas V test I studied pretty hard for, probably about 3-4 weeks worth….def wanna get the ATI book because thats pretty much a perfect temple as to how the test will be. The Reading, Math and the English part are pretty much just like the book. The questions weren't the same but how they are asked are, and many of the questions are the exact same EXCEPT they are just not the same (numbers/ or for example paragraphs as the ATI practice book). The science section was a little more broad and you will have to study more than just the ATI book to do well on the science section IMO…..
 I got a 74% on my first try. The MAIN REASON I didn't do better I know for a fact was the TIMING!!! I ran out of time on 2 out of 4 sections. My advise to you is take the Practice Tests they have on the ATI site….This will realllllly help you get an idea of how to keep up with the time as being rushed makes a big difference on your thought process…. If you need any help on the TEAS V test feel free to email me. I have lots of tips on what to study. Also allnurses.com has a bunch of good info on teas test info and how to prepare.

I got accepted into the program for APRIL 2014 so I start in less than 2 weeks. I just got my books in the mail, ordered them from rental and used book sites and saved a lot of money. I would not recommend buying from the school unless absolutely necessary.

They ask that you get a health physical done (cost about $150-200) depending on vaccines/tests needed. The require the PPD test/ MMR series(rubella titer/rubeola titer/varicella titer)/ Tdap-Tetanus/ and the Hepatitis Series (this is however OPTIONAL) and last but not least regarding heath assessments is the INFLUENZA (FLU) VACCINE…which however is MANDATORY!!!

I have a WHOLE other topic to cover regarding MANDATORY VACCINES… so for now I will skip that topic and go into that on another post……..

Other things we need for he program are a valid CPR ($50)/ Certified Background check/fingerprints and drug testing ($160). Uniforms are about $25 each. (I bought 3 for now). Copy of Health Insurance and then they give you quite a few forms to sign..

I'm sure I have more but for now this is all I have, I'll make another post soon.

Thanks!