Nursing Schools compared
Rohnic
Posts: 82
Hi there fellow nursing students,
thanks to sisforvenus I just discovered this group. And I take the opportunity to ask a few questions and tell you a little bit about nursing school in Switzerland.
After I read a few of your posts I want to know:
1. Where are you guys studying? USA? UK? AUS?
2. Is it hard to get into nursing school in (wherever you study)?
3. How much does it cost, not just the school but everything you need (e.g. books, equipment of any sort)?
4. How long does it take?
5. What’s a TEA and a PAX?
6. What does C = RN mean?
7. A quote from lakelure06 „Ok so we all know nursing school is HELL on earth!“ is it that bad?
8. How much time is spent on the jobsite?
Here in Switzerland there are 4 hurdles to take before you get into nursingschool:
First of all you have to be at least 18 and have to have a highschool diploma or equal education.
1. Aptitude test, (apparently the successrate is 50%) you get 1 second chance. If you fail twice you’re excluded from taking it again for 2 years.
Once you pass the test you have to apply at a registered hospital/retirementhome/ward to get the chance of doing a…
2. 2-day Internship, you basically trot along whoever is showing you the place. After two days they rate you. It’s pretty hard to fail that one.
So if you get your slip that says 2-day Internship passed, you may apply at the school.
3. Application at the school. It’s a pain in the butt to fill each and every single form out that they give you, you have to add three ‚references‘ , an essay about your motivation and reasons to become a nurse ,a 1-page handwritten CV –essay, and of course every recommendation, report card, certificate and proof of qualification you ever got.
If the school accepts your application (if you do it all properly, there’s no reason for them to reject it) they invite you to…
4. An interview, where they ask again about your motivation, reasons, abilities, traits and personality. They also question you about hobbies, former job, possible interferences with the schoollife and so on.. a normal ‚Job‘-interview.
If you get accepted you have to find a hosting hospital/home/ward which is registered tot train nurses. That means another application and jobinterview. Once one accepts you, you get to go to nursing school.
Nursing school takes 3 years here, each semester is 600 SFR (650USD) for books you’ll spent app. Another 600SFR after that there’s really no further expenses (schoolrelated). That makes a total of 4200SFR(4580USD) till you’re done. BUT the hosting hospital, where you do your internship (50% of the school time is spent on the jobsite) pays you according to your grade from 850SFR/930USD to 1250SFR/1360USD per month.
The subject vary from anatomy, histology, lots of pathology over nursingscience, communication, ethics to all the practical classes with bandaging, woundmanagement, conversation, drawing blood, putting iv's, managing equipment and many more.
Tests during school are written, and once or twice a year there’s a practical test at school. In the end of each of your 3 internships you’ll have 3week testing time, during which your are followed, observed and questioned, each year you have to write a app. 20 page paper on a set topic, and of course there’s the last big interview in the end where you are presented a case and you have to come up with the possible way to solve whatever problem.
That’s nursing school in Switzerland. Tell me about your country please!
Nicola
PS: I’m in the third year, will be done in Sept 2012
thanks to sisforvenus I just discovered this group. And I take the opportunity to ask a few questions and tell you a little bit about nursing school in Switzerland.
After I read a few of your posts I want to know:
1. Where are you guys studying? USA? UK? AUS?
2. Is it hard to get into nursing school in (wherever you study)?
3. How much does it cost, not just the school but everything you need (e.g. books, equipment of any sort)?
4. How long does it take?
5. What’s a TEA and a PAX?
6. What does C = RN mean?
7. A quote from lakelure06 „Ok so we all know nursing school is HELL on earth!“ is it that bad?
8. How much time is spent on the jobsite?
Here in Switzerland there are 4 hurdles to take before you get into nursingschool:
First of all you have to be at least 18 and have to have a highschool diploma or equal education.
1. Aptitude test, (apparently the successrate is 50%) you get 1 second chance. If you fail twice you’re excluded from taking it again for 2 years.
Once you pass the test you have to apply at a registered hospital/retirementhome/ward to get the chance of doing a…
2. 2-day Internship, you basically trot along whoever is showing you the place. After two days they rate you. It’s pretty hard to fail that one.
So if you get your slip that says 2-day Internship passed, you may apply at the school.
3. Application at the school. It’s a pain in the butt to fill each and every single form out that they give you, you have to add three ‚references‘ , an essay about your motivation and reasons to become a nurse ,a 1-page handwritten CV –essay, and of course every recommendation, report card, certificate and proof of qualification you ever got.
If the school accepts your application (if you do it all properly, there’s no reason for them to reject it) they invite you to…
4. An interview, where they ask again about your motivation, reasons, abilities, traits and personality. They also question you about hobbies, former job, possible interferences with the schoollife and so on.. a normal ‚Job‘-interview.
If you get accepted you have to find a hosting hospital/home/ward which is registered tot train nurses. That means another application and jobinterview. Once one accepts you, you get to go to nursing school.
Nursing school takes 3 years here, each semester is 600 SFR (650USD) for books you’ll spent app. Another 600SFR after that there’s really no further expenses (schoolrelated). That makes a total of 4200SFR(4580USD) till you’re done. BUT the hosting hospital, where you do your internship (50% of the school time is spent on the jobsite) pays you according to your grade from 850SFR/930USD to 1250SFR/1360USD per month.
The subject vary from anatomy, histology, lots of pathology over nursingscience, communication, ethics to all the practical classes with bandaging, woundmanagement, conversation, drawing blood, putting iv's, managing equipment and many more.
Tests during school are written, and once or twice a year there’s a practical test at school. In the end of each of your 3 internships you’ll have 3week testing time, during which your are followed, observed and questioned, each year you have to write a app. 20 page paper on a set topic, and of course there’s the last big interview in the end where you are presented a case and you have to come up with the possible way to solve whatever problem.
That’s nursing school in Switzerland. Tell me about your country please!
Nicola
PS: I’m in the third year, will be done in Sept 2012
0
Replies
-
Hi there fellow nursing students,
thanks to sisforvenus I just discovered this group. And I take the opportunity to ask a few questions and tell you a little bit about nursing school in Switzerland.
After I read a few of your posts I want to know:
1. Where are you guys studying? USA? UK? AUS?
2. Is it hard to get into nursing school in (wherever you study)?
3. How much does it cost, not just the school but everything you need (e.g. books, equipment of any sort)?
4. How long does it take?
5. What’s a TEA and a PAX?
6. What does C = RN mean?
7. A quote from lakelure06 „Ok so we all know nursing school is HELL on earth!“ is it that bad?
8. How much time is spent on the jobsite?
I am studying in the USA.
I study at Salem State University in Massachusetts, and it's one of the most competitive nursing programs in the country (even better than Harvard's!). It's a toughy.
Tuition is pretty cheap ($450 per semester) but the fees are a few thousand dollars and books are outrageous! I get a $450 stipend each semester for books thanks to financial aid, and I get full financial coverage.
I'm in a Bachelor's program, so it's a 4 year program. I'm due to be done in 2014.
I have no idea what a TEA and PAX are, but I have to take the NCLEX to get my Registered Nurse certification at the end of the program.
C = RN means that you need to get at least a C in your nursing classes and science classes in order to pass the course. Anything lower than that and you risk being kicked out of the program.
As far as it being hell on earth.. it does have its moments. I get super stressed and burned out from my classes, as I'm taking 19 credit hours right now.
I haven't spent any time on the job site yet, but I start in the Spring. I can't remember off the top of my head how many hours are needed for the semester but I think it's 6 hours a week.0 -
1. Im in the US at a community college for my ADN
2. There are certain classes you have to have taken before starting the program (computer skills, basic chemistry, math). You take a test to get in over biology, math, medical terminology, etc. The difficulty of getting accepted just depends on who else is trying to get in. Out of 30 points, 10 comes from your GPA and the other 20 comes from how well you did on the entrance test. I got a score in the high 20's and they told me even with a score that high they couldnt guarantee I would get in (I did get in!)
3. I get grants to pay for my classes and books but they estimate that its about $10,000+ for courses, books, uniform, etc. We do use some books for more than one class so that helps.
4. It takes 2 years to finish the nursing classes but add another year or so for prerequisites.
5. not a clue...
6. My class says C=RN because you have to get a C (80%) to pass a class. If you don't, then you have to repeat it.
7. It is a lot of work. Say goodbye to your social life (usually) and hello to a giant book that will go everywhere with you.
8. We spend about 140 hours a semester at our clinical for the first 3 semesters. 4th semester is about double that.0 -
So what degree do you have, once you're done? Is it comparable with a bachelor?
Here in Switz it isn't. The diploma is one level below a bachelor0 -
I will have my Associates. Its a 2 year degree. Diploma is 3 year but I dont know of anywhere that still does that around here. Bachelors is 4 years.
I plan on getting my Bachelors degree next and then my Masters. I'm not sure yet but I've been thinking of becoming a nurse practitioner.0 -
I am taking a break from studying for a final so I won't post everything (i'll post more later) but I got into University of Texas Health Science Center Houston which is ranked as one of the top 5% of schools in nursing programs. It is hard to get in (I didn't get accepted my first try) and according to the school only 1 out of 16 got accepted for this semester. It's nice to know that I beat out 15 people for my spot
It's a BSN program so I will be getting my second bachelor's degree (my first is a BA in English)0 -
1. Where are you guys studying? USA? UK? AUS?
Finland
2. Is it hard to get into nursing school in (wherever you study)?
Yes, it's quite hard.
3. How much does it cost, not just the school but everything you need (e.g. books, equipment of any sort)?
*books cost me around 200 euros and that's all I've had to pay so far.
4. How long does it take?
*3,5 years
5. What’s a TEA and a PAX?
*I have no idea lol
6. What does C = RN mean?
*look above
7. A quote from lakelure06 „Ok so we all know nursing school is HELL on earth!“ is it that bad?
*not really, I mean we do have some tough classes but it's prety easy to pass them anyway
8. How much time is spent on the jobsite?
*all together 45 weeks0 -
I know what the TEAS test is but not PAX. TEAS is a mandatory test taken in order to apply for the nursing program - I am at a 2 year college pursuing an ADN degree which will allow me to sit for the NCLEX and become an RN. The TEAS test has three sections: English, Math, and Science. Because there are so many applicants trying to get into nursing school (at least at the two year colleges) schools use these tests to "rank" applicants. Points are given for your results as well as for grades in prerequisite courses already taken.0
This discussion has been closed.