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Open House: Tampa Bay Campus
College Open Houses are a big part of your college search experience. You can do all of the research and make all of the phone calls, but you really won’t get a feel for a school until you actually visit the campus. It’s an important step in finding the perfect fit and can build confidence before setting foot for classes in the halls of your future alma mater.
At a Galen Open House, you can also:
- Explore the various programs and learn about your interests in nursing
- Speak face-to-face with faculty, admissions and financial aid teams
- Engage in hands-on nursing lab demonstrations
- Tour sim labs, classrooms, libraries, and student study areas on campus
- Learn about our Online RN to BSN
- Get a feel for what it’s really like to be a nursing student at Galen
If you plan on attending, make sure to let us know we’ll be expecting you. We can’t wait to see you here!
Tuesday, January 23rd | 4:00pm – 6:30pm
11101 Roosevelt Blvd. N, St. Petersburg, FL 33716
Please RSVP on the form that can be found here.
Veterans in Nursing
How Military Veteran Mauricio Alvarez found his ideal civilian career path.
After dedicating nearly nine years to military service, Mauricio Alvarez found support, camaraderie, and a great civilian career path at Galen College of Nursing. He talked with us recently about his journey.
“When I was a young boy in Mexico, I always wanted to join the Army, but my father didn’t let me do it. He preferred for me to go to school, so that is what I did. I earned an accounting technician diploma and went to work in a mine as a payroll clerk. Two years later, I emigrated to the United States. After four years of working odd jobs from dishwasher to roofing and construction, I longed for life as a soldier. So I talked to an Army Recruiter.”
The recruiter told Mauricio to earn his GED and become more proficient in English. So he attended San Antonio College, studying English as a second language and taking GED classes. In November 2007, he earned his GED.
“I found out from the second Army Recruiter I talked with that I didn’t need my GED since I already had my high school equivalent from my home country. But after all the processing, tests and immunizations, on January 7, 2007, I was shipped out for basic training. I served for 8 years, 9 months, 23 days and a few hours as a U.S. Army Soldier.”
Mauricio’s military experience was excellent preparation for a career in nursing.
“My first duty station was at Fort Hood, Texas, as a 92A Automated Logistical Supply Specialist. For the next four years, I trained as a combat lifesaver and was part of QRF [Quick Reaction Force]. I liked being part of the medical personnel taking care of soldiers. When my re-enlistment was up, I was offered a change of MOS [Military Occupational Specialty] and was qualified for 91B Combat Medic. I was stationed at Fort Sam Houston for AIT [Advanced Initial Training]. I graduated as a Combat Medic and Emergency Medical Technician. I spent the last five years as a combat medic.
“After my military service ended, and to fulfill my mother’s wishes for me to become a civilian again, I worked at Brooke Army Medical Hospital in San Antonio. I liked taking care of people and felt the satisfaction of making somebody else’s life better by fulfilling their medical needs. I started in a nursing school in Austin, but when my mother passed away, I returned to Mexico for her burial, and spent about six months there. I lost that chance to become a nurse.”
We asked Mauricio what makes veterans ideal candidates to become nurses.
“My skills and experiences as a soldier and combat medic will impact my nursing career by forging the discipline to follow nursing policies and protocols by the book, and by developing a strong desire to find and/or perfect new ways to provide medical care, leadership and management.”
“The clinical training veterans receive and experiences they acquire while serving as combat medics permit us to perform an extensive range of services. For example, we get experience in primary care by working at the troop clinic, experience in emergency and urgent care by having worked at the ER, troop clinic, and field clinic, plus quarterly disaster relief training while in service and public health. As combat medic veterans, we have gone through rigorous training exercises and work evaluation that follows performance measurement based on competency. Many combat medics earn the Expert Field Medical Badge in time of peace and Combat Medical Badge in time of war.”
Here’s what Mauricio said when asked why he chose Galen over other nursing schools.
“I was advised by my VA counselor that Galen had no waiting list like community colleges and universities did. Galen starts classes four times a year, so you can start just about anytime you’re ready. And if you’re just getting out of the military, there’s a time you can start shortly after your dismissal.”
Mauricio credits Galen College of Nursing with helping him transition from military service to a civilian career track. We have no doubt that he has a rewarding future in nursing.
“Galen College of Nursing has helped me personally to become part of something bigger than myself and to have structure, purpose and the will to achieve my goals to become a Registered Nurse and beyond.”
“While in the service, we veterans were part of something bigger than ourselves. It is understandable that when we get out of the service and into the civilian world, some of us feel lost and don’t know what to do next. Galen College of Nursing has helped me personally to become part of something bigger than myself and to have structure, purpose and the will to achieve my goals to become a Registered Nurse and beyond.
“Galen instructors and staff are very helpful. I felt very welcome in this college. I graduated in October 2016 in Vocational Nursing (VN). I know that I will succeed and earn my Associate Degree in Nursing next year. As a nurse, I plan to work for the Veterans Administration Hospital, Brooke Army Medical Hospital, or other major hospital in the city.”
Galen College of Nursing could be the right choice for you, too.
Futuristic Simulation Labs Help Students Prepare for Real-Life Patient Care
Gaining the skills and confidence a nurse needs to work with patients requires a lot of hands-on experience. But you can’t start out practicing complicated procedures on actual patients in distress. So Galen College of Nursing has made a major investment in advanced technology in their simulation labs. These sim labs provide the most realistic way for students to safely practice the medical procedures they will someday perform on actual patients. The labs are now available to students at the Louisville, San Antonio, and Tampa Bay campuses.
Galen students get a head start.
These sim labs give Galen students a jump on hands-on clinical learning. In fact, depending on the program, some students start simulation training as early as the first quarter. That’s much sooner than in most other institutions. The types of procedures practiced in the lab correlate with the subjects the students are learning in class.
These aren’t your mother’s sim labs.
As Patrick Caufield, Simulation Technician at the Louisville campus explained, “With advances in computers, batteries, and wireless technology, what used to be a static, lifeless mannequin now has vital signs like heart rate and blood pressure. It can breathe, blink, sweat, convulse, give birth, bleed, cry and more. Battery and wireless improvements also allow us to untether the mannequin from the bed and place it in a chair, hallway, a car, or even move it around from location to location during a simulation.”
Who are the patients?
Students get to work with infant, child, and adult male and female mannequins, as well as with the equipment a nurse would typically use for the patients care. Galen even has a female mannequin that gives birth in an extremely realistic fashion.
What kinds of procedures do students get to do?
Galen attempts to simulate in the labs just about anything a nurse would face on the job. Students perform patient assessments; insert feeding tubes, breathing tubes and catheters; read heart rhythms; deliver babies, set up IV lines and more. According to Caufield, a typical simulation day is between four and eight hours depending on the complexity of what is being simulated.
The simulations are incredibly realistic.
“We make every effort to make the simulation seem as real as possible,” said Caufield. “Any procedure students need to perform is done just like it is done on a person. In addition to the high-tech simulators, we also apply special effects makeup and appliances when needed. There is no “pretend there is a bruise or wound there.” If there is supposed to be a bruise or wound, then one is put on our simulator to interact with.”
To make things even more life-like, instructors can speak through the mannequin to describe symptoms or react to the students’ care. The conditions of the mannequins can also improve or deteriorate depending on the care they receive.
What happens in the lab stays in the lab.
When asked to describe a few unexpected or surprising things that happened during simulations and how students handled them, Caufield gave a response that will put future students feel at ease. “To preserve the safe, friendly learning environment of our simulations,” he said, “We don’t discuss what happens in simulation outside of simulation.”
Learning by doing.
In the scenarios, students face in these labs, they have the opportunity to learn in a hands-on way, as well as to react and solve problems in real time. Their work in these labs is an essential complement to the knowledge they gain in the classroom. It’s a great way to prepare future nurses and, equally important, to give them the confidence they need to provide excellent care for patients in the real world.
5 Ways To Beat The Burnout [Infographic]
When nursing is your career, a burnout can most definitely happen. But by following these tips and truly learning what a nursing burnout is, you can alleviate the stress and get back to loving your job.
What is Burnout?
The high stress of nursing can eventually lead to physical, mental and emotional exhaustion, otherwise known as burnout. And it can happen to even the best of nurses. Those who selflessly take care of others sometimes forget they must also take care of themselves!
- Eat Well and Sleep Well
Energize with healthy foods and a good night’s sleep. Your patients will thank you. - Address your Stress
Nurses face difficult health situations, and sometimes even death, on a daily basis. Talk to someone you can confide in. Process your emotions, and then leave the workday at work. - Schedule Me Time
Always putting others first can take a toll. Learn how to say no and balance commitments. It is important to find time in the day to focus on your own wellbeing. Prioritize your mental health and find time to relax. - Give Yourself a Pat on the Back
Sometimes just making it through a long shift is an accomplishment in itself. Reward yourself with a hobby or favorite snack. - Protect Your Passion
Remember why you wanted to be a nurse in the first place. Protect that feeling, and try to incorporate it in daily situation.
Nursing Careers Just Keep Getting Better
Nursing holds top slots in America’s best jobs.
In the old days, when you heard “nursing can take you anywhere,” the phrase usually described a career as a military or traveling nurse.
And yes, you still can go all over the world as a nurse. But more and more of today’s nurses are changing the world without traveling, or without even working from a clinical setting. Nursing roles have expanded far beyond the clinic, the practice, or even hands-on patient care. Nowadays, a nurse can find himself or herself managing data. Teaching other nurses. Researching global disease states. Or developing public-health policy.
Indeed, I can think of very few career fields with so many paths that can lead in so many directions. Today’s nurses have more opportunities, and more ways to influence health, than ever before. Thanks to expansion, and with it, increasing specialization, nursing today offers a mix of clinical and non-clinical specialties.
In fact, Johnson & Johnson lists no fewer than 104 nursing specialties on its “Discover Nursing” website. 104 specialties – that’s amazing! Imagine the possibilities. Read on, and see what nursing can hold for you!
Impressive salaries are part of the package.
Depending on your specialty, your nursing degree can take you to a pretty healthy salary range, too. The median pay for a nurse anesthetist in 2014 was $154,000. Nurse midwives averaged around $97,000 per year, and nurse practitioners earned around $95,000.
And many of these fields will only expand from here. The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects up to 35% growth in the careers mentioned above, as well as a minimum 16% increase in general Licensed Practical/Vocational and RN jobs.
The time is ripe.
It appears that nursing is not only among America’s best careers – it’s also among those for which demand continues to rise. If you’re considering starting, or continuing, your career in nursing, there’s a lot working in your favor.
First Day on the Floor: ICU Clinical
Galen ADN student Sonia Lisee looks back at her clinical experience on an ICU floor, and describes how it helped her build confidence and taught her how to start thinking like an RN.
Working in the ICU was one of the most beneficial experiences I had during clinicals. On my first day, I was assigned to a helpful nurse (we’ll call her Nurse C) who had been in ICU for 27 years. Admittedly, I was a little intimidated at first because telemetry is not my forte! Seeing patients connected to multiple tubes and machines – not to mention all of those beeping sounds – did nothing to ease my nervousness, but I was determined to overcome my fear and gain confidence as a new nurse. Nurse C asked me to tell her a little bit about my background, and we discussed my strengths and weaknesses, and things I would like to work on. She also asked if I would be willing to perform the entire care for one of her patients, under her supervision, of course.
So, the day begins. After we did rounds on all three of her patients, Nurse C assigns me to a patient on a ventilator, in congestive heart failure, on telemetry with a foley and a PEG. I did the head-to-toe assessment as thoroughly as I could since ICU patients require a more in-depth assessment. I asked Nurse C to guide me through it because I was not yet confident enough to do the cranial nerves assessment on my own. She was thankfully more than willing to do so, and explained everything in detail. Medication pass for my patient was due and she quizzed me on the use, side effects and labs to watch out for on each. Things were going pretty smoothly.
But, as most hospital floors tend to do, the pace quickly changed. (Pro tip: Never think to yourself that things around your floor are calm, because they will not stay that way for long. Trust me on this!) Not too long after we evaluated meds, the ventilator alarm starts to go off in my patient’s room. My heart is racing and my body surges with adrenaline. I have a moment of panic and almost freeze, but Nurse C came into the room and sprang into action, spurring me into action with her. As she worked, she explained ventilator settings and allowed me to suction the patient after verifying that I knew how to perform the procedure. A sigh of relief; I’ve totally got this.
Around noon, that patient’s sister came by to visit and was very upset because the patient was still in ICU instead of a step down floor. She was rude and using choice words with Nurse C, but I was amazed at how gracefully the ICU nurse handled the situation. By remaining calm and respectful, she was able to deescalate the situation until the family member calmed down. I learned so much from her just in this interaction, and I will carry that with me throughout my career. Treating each patient and family member with as much dignity as possible will ease a lot of tension and help them communicate more calmly.
ICU clinical was absolutely one of the best learning experiences I’ve had had in my nursing education. In one day I was able to overcome my fear of working on a telemetry floor, accurately read my patient’s telemetry strips, understand from experience what a high pressure ventilator alarm meant, and practice deep suction. I am so grateful that I found the courage to practice skills I had learned in theory, and was in turn able to feel confident practicing what deep down, I already knew I could do.
An added bonus? Through my unique clinical experience, I was able to discover that I really enjoyed OR nursing and anesthesia, and now I have an idea of where I should be applying once I pass my boards!
Overall, the clinical experience really does make it all come together, and all of the things that you learn in theory make more sense in a clinical setting. Theory gives you the knowledge you need to prepare for those real-life situations, and Clinical helps you develop the confidence and technique. I realized that I was using the nursing process, thinking critically, and lab results were beginning to make sense.
I was finally thinking like an RN. I began to understand that I am prepared and that I can do this! And this was just after Day One.
Instructor shout-out: I know that I wouldn’t have had an experience as meaningful as this if not for my wonderful clinical instructor, whom I will never forget – Mrs. Glower-Meyers. She helped me rise to challenges I was unsure of, and helped me conquer hurdles I didn’t think I was ready for. Her experience, knowledge and support were without a doubt a major contributor to my success this quarter.
Best of luck to everyone in clinical this quarter, and remember – You are prepared, and you can do this!
Getting Into Nursing College: Admissions
So – You’ve made the call, spoken to your nursing college of choice and have made an appointment to visit with the Admissions team. Congratulations! The good news? The hard part is over and you’re one step closer to starting your nursing career! The other news is that there’s still a lot of work to do before you’re actually enrolled in nursing courses. The most daunting part of the college admissions process can simply be uncertainty; not knowing what to expect can make you feel overwhelmed by all of the information you’ll begin to receive. We want to help rein in all of the pieces and simplify this process for nursing hopefuls so you can hit the ground running and earn your nursing degree.
Face the PAX: The Entrance Exam
Some people are just naturally great test takers (and yes, us anxious test takers are envious), while for others, just the idea of taking a test causes a cold, clammy panic. Either way, we’ve noticed that many people tend to either greatly over, or greatly underestimate the NLN PAX (National League for Nursing Pre-Admission Examination), which is the standardized entrance exam for nursing program students. But you can pass this test! First, determine the best learning style for you. We like this short quiz at EducationPlanner.org to get you started. Do you respond best to visual aids, audio, graphs, or by doing? What’s the best way for you to study?
More often than not, the test fee is non-refundable, so don’t schedule the test unless you are serious about taking it. (Note: You have up to a year to take it, so don’t worry if you’ve just got cold feet!)
Next up – Remember to breathe. You can do this! Hit the books and begin studying right away; there’s no use in prolonging the inevitable. Create a time line and stick to it, plain and simple. Most importantly, ask for help if you need it, and take advantage of ALL of the study guides and practice tests. It really can make all the difference. We recommend the National League for Nursing’s official self-published study guide, PAX PREP. This study guide is only available through the online NLN Student Store.
Scheduling
This is major. We are all guilty of overestimating how much available “free” time we really have. Think about it and honestly tally up the hours of each day that are not spent working, commuting, taking care of personal and family responsibilities, or sleeping. Until we find a way to add more hours into each day, we’re going to have to work with the 24 we’ve got. Nursing students must be willing to make temporary lifestyle changes in order to earn their degrees and pass boards. There are many hours where you’ll need to be physically and mentally present; in class, clinicals, and study time, in addition to life’s other demands. The key is to be honest with yourself and make sacrifices you can live with for a year or two, knowing that you can reevaluate at the next step. And no matter what, hold on tight to some of that precious “me time” because you’ll need it to recharge and stay healthy (and sane!). Last but not least, make sure you have a support network of reliable friends and family who will be able to step in to help when you’re thrown the occasional curveball. Always have a Plan B, and while you’re in nursing school – might as well have a Plan C and D just to be safe.
Come Prepared
If you have questions about specific transfer credits, you’re not alone. Your best bet to get a quick answer to those questions is to bring your Official (unopened) Transcripts from any previous college coursework to your information session. Also, make sure to bring your photo ID and high school diploma or GED (even if you’ve already completed a college degree). You’ll be taking in a lot of information, so bring a list of questions or concerns you’ve written out beforehand to help you stay on track. Get a head start and researching information on financial aid. Check out different types of loans and repayment plans, and have an idea of how you’ll be paying for school. Get a step ahead and fill out a FAFSA here. If you have questions, just give the Financial Aid department a call and they’ll walk you through it.
Most of all – Believe in yourself! Deciding on a career path is a huge decision and a pivotal moment in life. You should take great pride in joining the elite ranks of Florence Nightingale! We’re happy to help get you in a classroom seat and on your way to becoming the amazing nurse you were always meant to be.
20 Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me About Becoming a Nurse
Let’s face it – no matter what it is, when you’re about to make a huge life change, knowing what to expect can ease the anxiety of the unknown.
Having some inside information from someone who’s been there themselves can make the journey a little less intimidating. With that in mind, we spoke with a couple of top-notch Galen nursing instructors, Dara Lanman, MSN, RN, CNE, and Frances Anderson Ph.D., RN, APRN, CNE, and compiled a list of the top 20 things they wish someone had told them before they got their nursing degree. (And, yes, they’d still do it all over again!)
- Nursing doesn’t just involve patient care. You can be a nurse and work in hospital management or the field of education. You can help to sell medical equipment used by hospitals, and there are also important roles in medical insurance and medical law which require the specialty of a nurse.
- Working as a nurse can bring out the most extreme of emotions. You might go from mourning the loss of a patient that you had grown close to, to singing from the mountain tops as a patient who was not expected to make it is well enough to go home. This is likely to happen on the same day, maybe even the same hour.
- You will make such a difference in so many people’s lives, on a daily basis. Even walking through a grocery store, you might be stopped by someone who remembers you at their bedside giving them hope when they needed it the most.
- Oh, the places you’ll go! You’ll have the opportunity to travel around the world assisting those who need your care, while also getting to experience different countries and cultures.
- Nursing lets you work in all sorts of environments; from caring for newborn infants taking their first breath, to providing comfort to an elderly person taking their last.
- You may end up working in various medical settings – a private practice, a public clinic or school, a business, or even making home visits to the public.
- Make no mistake – nursing school is hard. You will learn that answers do not always come quickly, but when the first patient tells you that you’ve made a difference, it will all be worth it.
- Helping someone who was never supposed to walk again take their first steps, or being there when someone born deaf hears their first sound will cause you to cry – and that’s okay.
- Sometimes, holding a patient’s hand is all that a nurse needs to do.
- Portrayal of the medical field on TV shows such as House, ER and Grey’s Anatomy are not real! (After all, there aren’t even any nurses on House!)
- If you talk about “the patient with anal atresia” at the dinner table, your seven-year-old child will go to school the next day and talk about it at Show & Tell. (True story!)
- When you walk into a crowd of people, you can’t resist diagnosing everyone as they walk by.
- Friends, neighbors and even people that you’ve never met will ask you to diagnose their rash.
- When one of your children has a headache, you are sure that he or she has some rare type of cancer that you just studied.
- You will learn to identify smells that one does not even want to talk about.
- On that note, you will learn that one can get really excited about the color of various bodily emissions.
- Just when you think you have heard it all, you haven’t, because you’re going back to work tomorrow.
- You’ll learn that some people have 48 hours off in a row, and they call it a weekend.
- You will begin to love talking about rare diseases, while your friends and family will stand there with a glazed look on their face, horrified at the story you just told.
- When you go to work every day, you are reminded that there are a lot of people in the world who need to be cared for, and you will be thankful that you have the honor of caring for them.
More about Dr. Anderson:
Dr. Anderson has been at Galen College of Nursing for four years. She teaches the first of the medical-surgical classes in the Bridge program. Dr. Anderson earned her BSN from the University of Kentucky, her MSN from the University of Texas at Austin, and her Ph.D. in Nursing from the University of Washington. She spent 22 years on active duty in the Army Nurse Corps and retired as a Colonel. Following this, she returned to the University of Alabama and earned her family and pediatric nurse practitioner certification. She spent 10 years in full-time practice as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner prior to coming to Galen.
More about Professor Lanman:
Ms. Lanman is the Director of Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment at Galen College of Nursing. She has been with Galen for over 12 years, having worked as Director of the RN Program, Associate Professor and Academic Success Coordinator in addition to her most current role. She received her BSN and MSN from Bellarmine University in 1999 and 2005 and is currently pursuing her Ph.D. of Leadership in Higher Education from Capella University. Ms. Lanman’s nursing specialty area is critical care, but she has experience in many types of ICUs such as Neurological, Medical Surgical and Cardiac. She has also worked in the areas of Bone Marrow Transplant, Stroke and Seizure, and multiple ER units. She is a proud member of Greater Louisville Council of Critical Care Nurses, the Kentucky League for Nursing and Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society.