MCON 10 year anniversary

So the school had its ten year anniversary last night. It was a small little gathering with some of the staff and previous graduates and students. The school has been around MUCH longer than ten years, but I guess that must have been when they actually received accredidation or something.

The staff of the school is all VERY helpfull and excited about the school and the students. I was able to meet and talk with some of the recruiters and admission staff. The first group of second degree BSN students graduates next semester and they are all very excited to see how they do on the NCLEX. I too am excited to see how well the ciriculum is preparing me for the only test that actually matters. I feel like our program is very intense and hopefully they are actually teaching us what we need to know.

They are highly focused on the NCLEX and improving pass rates and we do a lot of reading and "critical thinking", there is also a lot of study material available for us to prepare for the test.

I bet that the Second degree BSN program has a higher pass rate than the college overall. From what I have seen we seem to be more focused and excited about the route we are on. . . . and we seem to complain less!!

How to Study for Nursing School

I'm actually not really sure what the best way to study is. I know that I am putting in at least 8 hours a day of reading, typing, note taking etc. . .


Amazon Book

I did well on the first test. At least I didn't do as bad as I thought I would. Our school has an adjusted rubric, meaning that anything under 93 is a B and anything under 84 is a C. I got a B on the first test. I am hoping to still get an A in Holistic Nursing. This is our hardest course for the semester and if I can get an A or high B it will really boost my confidence in an overall high GPA.

I know this shouldn't matter to me too much, but I have hopes of CRNA school or NP school and I want to land a good job right out of school, so I just think a good GPA will keep more doors open.

Here are a few things that I do that help my studying:

• Read all assigned readings.
• Make notes in the book as I go.
• Turn the powerpoints into questions and answer those questions.
• Repeat step three two or three times.
• Teach a classmate what I have learned.
• Approach the professor at least once per section with questions.
• Take all practice tests from the book, ATI, book website & included CD-ROM

Basically, you have to shut off the other parts of your life that are distractions. Our school does have a gym connected with the hospital that we can use for free. I am sigining up for that now.
Plus I have an awesome wife that is very supportive!!!

First Quiz

Well we had our first quiz on Sunday and our first test is due today. Nursing school really does require you to think a bit differently than other types of tests. These tests are not factual they are much more theory and in depth thinking.

We have our assignments printed out for this upcomming week . . . . It turned out to be a two page excel document!!! Yeah I am pretty busy. Nursing school is really a 7 day a week job.

It is hard to get everything organized and still have time to get everything done. I feel like I could spend the entire week just trying to organize!

Reading, Reading, & more Reading

Well. . . .let me just say that there is a lot of reading in nursing school. We are taking 18 credits this semester spread out over 6 classes. Each class requires A LOT of reading. Many people say that it is very easy to get overwhelmed in nursing school, especially in ABSN programs. I have decided to focus on the more important classes that will make me a better nurse and not spend too much time stressing over the other less important classes.

Dimensions of Holistic Nursing and Health Assessments are perhaps the most important courses this semester and I am pretty sure I could spend all day reading for both courses and still not have read enough.

First Day of Nursing School

Well the first day of our Accelerated BSN program was a bit overwhelming. A lot of information is thrown at you and it is hard to determine how to organize it all. I called my friend who is about to graduate medical school and another who just finished a BSN program to get some advice on how to organize myself and my courses.

I have been told to focus on the important classes and not get caught up with others that might not matter as much. This semester that means that I should focus on my Dimensions of Holistic Nursing course and my Health Assesment class.

So far I am impressed with both my professors and my classmates. Since this is a Second Degree BSN program everyone already has a degree in another field other than nursing. We have like six guys in our cohort out of 20 total students.

I have decided to use a folder system to keep myself organized. I purchased a folder for each course where I will keep the syllabus and any handouts given. I also purchased a planner that has an entire month overview and a weekly view where I can plan out my assignments and tests. . . . Hope it works!

Nursing School Orientation

Well orientation is on Saturday. It is up at the college campus from 8am to 2pm. I think there are only going to be about 15 - 20 people in my class because it is an ABSN. We already have some reading assignments given before we even start in our HUGE nursing text!

The School and SIM Lab

I went up to the Methodist College of Nursing campus yesterday and again today to check out the SIM lab. The staff at both are VERY helpful and open to suggestions from students to make the school better. There are about 550 students that attend the various programs at the school.

The Methodist Hospital (where clinical are held) is pretty huge. There is even a gym with a few lap lanes that students can use. The school is on the opposite side of the highway from the hospital and has a few study rooms and a nice library. The school is actually an old hotel that the hospital bought and converted into a school. In fact, there are bath tubs in all of the faculty’s offices.

Why Nursing

Aside from all the reasons mentioned above I really appreciate the opportunity to work three days a week and be considered a full time employee. This will allow me to spend more time with my family and friends and only work the three full days. Nursing also provides the opportunity to move up a career ladder in a very precise way. There is the ability to become a teacher at a college of nursing. In the end I feel that the overall top reason to be a nurse is that the opportunities are completely endless both career and pay wise.

Male In Nursing

Being a male going into nursing is obviously something that must be addressed. In fact just today my brother in law who is a head vet technician was teaching in a children’s Sunday school class and he introduced himself as a head vet tech, the children of course had no idea what that was and he explained that it was like being a head nurse at that point the children laughed their heads off and called him a girl.

MCON Campus

The school itself is a bit run down but appears to have more than adequate space and facilities to house the near 400 students that attend. There is a small library that is open 24 hours a day with several private study rooms. There is a large computer lab and many small and large classrooms. The bookstore has a handful of MCON apparel all in girly colors of course so I am sure that I will not buy one. The building is about 9 floors and houses the on campus housing as well. It has controlled access that only opens the doors with an ID badge. I will update on the facilities once school begins.

Peoria - The Town

The town of Peoria is an interesting town it is a very small town compared to Houston where I moved from. It only has about 120,000 people. The downtown is pretty ghetto but they are building nice, new homes and retail on the north side of town. It is pretty easy to get around here due to pretty minimal traffic so I would suggest living on the north side near Dunlap and the Shops of Grand Prairie. In reality there are only a few streets that get you around town, War Memorial, Knoxville, the 74 and a few others.

Moving to Peoria

Following the wise advice of the same friend in medical school I called MCON and asked that my acceptance to the school be deferred until the following semester. They were willing to allow for me to be the first application in the stack for the next semester but would not defer.

Within a week of starting my new desk job I was about ready to blow my brains out. It was not for me and I knew that I could not continue in this job. After some deliberation I decided to call MCON and check on my application status. Thankfully I was again accepted to attend the ABSN program starting in January 2011.

Applying to Methodist College of Nursing

Life went on and I had totally convinced myself that nursing was not for me. To make a long story short I enrolled in a program to finish my Bachelors degree in Business and begin thinking again about medicine. I investigated medical school or podiatry school. Both of these routes took too long and in the end I knew that I did not have the scholastic stamina to stick it out. At the same time I continued to look into nursing. I discovered that in reality CRNAs can make an incredible living. Not only that but many nurses in other fields make 70-80k a year and nurse practitioners can make over 100k. A brand new grad RN can make at least $21/hour in most states and up to $27/hour or more in some areas.

Making My Decision 2008 - 2010

The decision to go into nursing was a long one. I suppose that I was initially interested in it about three years ago when my wife and I were living in a small town in Oklahoma. At the time I needed a job and the town did not offer many opportunities other than a two year ADN nursing program at the local community college. I applied and was accepted. A good friend of mine that was in medical school suggested that I investigate CRNA or Nurse Anesthetist.