Discussions

I am soon to be attending ACC for the practical nursing program. I am wondering if anyone could tell me what the program is like, how hard to expect it to be/how much homework is to be expected. Any information you can provide will help.  

Ur social life gone. It is 2 years of day in and out of hard work. I spent all day in school and all evenings at the school studying. It's not an easy course. Get ready to live breathe nursing! Good luck with everything in the end it's so worth all the hard work!

I'm returning to ACC in the fall for a different degree, but I know people who have pursued practical nursing. From what I've been told, lots of dedication, hard work, studying, practicums etc. It's not easy from my understanding. But the pay off will be worth it. Advice I was given for my course was: "stay on top of your work, complete assignments before due date if possible, and don't fall behind because it's hard to catch up once you do. " so, I am going to assume this would apply to any degree you pursue. Do the work and don't waste time and you'll be fine. Good luck!!! :D

I am currently taking the Comprehensive Health Care Aide course there and it is intense as well! I would give anything for a chance to take the LPN course afterwards....

I am an LPN and started my course in 2007and graduated in 2008...it was a very intense 15 month course back then and I didn't have to take microbiology or any of those courses that are now included in the 2 year program but I did find the course very challenging but was also a single mom of a two year old at the time and I still graduated with distinction!! There was a lot of blood, sweat, and tears but it feels so good to be able to say you accomplished it in the end. Best decision I ever made for myself and I adore my career and make awesome money doing it so win win win for me!! My only advice is to go into knowing you are gonna need to buckle down and study hard..lots of projects and essays to do on top of tests and exams so don't procrastinate on getting those done or you will be staying up late for days trying to get things done. My Anatomy and physiology was online and was tough not having a teacher right there and I found it one of my harder courses so you could get your text books early and start thumbing thru the pages to familiarize yourself with the content and just make sure you ask a lot if questions if you don't get something and I found partnering up with fellow classmates and studying or working together helps a lot. Don't get discouraged or give up when things get tough cause not gonna lie things are gonna get tough but just remember a single mom (with a lot of distractions) did it so you can do it too!! Have some faith in yourself and your capabilities and have fun learning!! Good luck and enjoy your wonderful career once you complete your course who knows I might just end up mentoring you or orientating you one day!!

its a very demanding course, from talking to both BN and LPN students i believe LPN is a more demanding course but the benefits are you can get to work quicker and always upgrade after, either online or through BUs new bridging program  
 
be prepared for shift work after and while on practicums and depending on your preceptor make sure you are on your toes for those too. at the end of the course they will throw higher standards at you too (mostly papers), so give your absolute best all the way through or be prepared to retake a semester  
 
you have to get 80% on the majority of courses to pass but dont worry too much about that most graduate with distinction because of the minimum grade requirement and the ability to retake tests  
 
thats all the advice i can think of now, the course is manageable tho if you stay on top of things, oh and no matter what area you excel in, practical or book work, doesn't mean you are a better or worse nurse, everyone has their strengths