<p>D was recently admitted to Duquesne. She's very excited and looks forward to visiting. Can anyone provide any insight on Duqs first year nursing curriculum. It seems very different from other nursing schools. No hard sciences ( bio, chem, anatomy & ph ) until the second year, unless I'm missing something. Can any current students or their parents talk about their experience at Duq thus far. They also seem very committed to using community based clinical sites for training but I couldn't figure out which hospitals they are affiliated with. Thanks</p>
<p>Take a look at the RN pass rates for each nursing program in PA. They are posted on the PA. website and can be found with a google search. Duquesneās first time pass rate in the last year was only 70%, while many other programs (including some cheap state universities) in PA were 85 to 95%.</p>
<p>Agree - looking at the pass rates (and possibly numbers of candidates tested, since that can affect results and provide useful information about the size of the program) is an important factor to consider. The pass rates change from year to year. Some of the Community Colleges and hospital RN programs have very impressive pass rates. Some schools like Drexel also have reportedly placed screens in place limiting students who can take the test. Duqās pass rate was 79% the last test. Iād like to see better results. According to an open house we attended, we were told that the test is in the process of being changed and Duq has implemented leading-edge program updates to ensure their students can meet the the new requirements. No details were provided. D asked for NCLEX workbooks for Xmas, which may not be much use if the test is being changed. </p>
<p>D took bio her first semester, and said it was focused on human biology specifically for the nursing students. Some students are taking micro next semester, but the majority are takng it either as sophomores or in summer school. The upper level students say that itās the hardest class. They do take anatomy as sophomores. It appeared that Duq used the first semester to get a lot of prereqs out of the way and to ease the students into college. D has been warned by upperclassmen that the classes get tougher and tougher. </p>
<p>They told us that they have rotations at all of the Pittsburgh hospitals, including the UPMC hospitals in Oakland. At an open house one of the nursing students at our table told us a story about doing a surgical rotation with Pitt and other Duq students at Allegheny Generalās cardiac unit, which is a prized rotation since their cardiac unit is supposedly the best in the region.</p>
<p>as mentioned pass rates can be extremely misleading, as you need to know the # of students taking the test.I have a tough time thinking a small school/CC might be a better program then Pitt or Penn because their pass rate is a tad higher</p>
<p><a href=āhttp://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/.../nclex-performancern_pdf[/url]ā>www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/ā¦/nclex-performancern_pdf</a></p>
<p>As noted above, I made a mistake in posting Duquesneās pass rate. It was 79% for the two most recent tests.</p>
<p>Iām having trouble posting a direct link to the PA test results. Just google āRN exam pass rates Pennsylvaniaā</p>
<p>Iām a first year nursing student at Duquesne. There are 2 reasons why our curriculum is so different. The first is that Duquesne is a 0-4 program. When you are admitted it means that they selected you to stay with them all 4 years. They are investing in you. Other schools tend to look to weed people out with the harder sciences. At Duquesne all the professors want you to do well. The second reason, is that they want to ease you into college life. The 1st year nursing student attends special nursing seminars that are not for credit because they realize this is such a big change. In those seminars they tell you who to talk to if you need anything, study skills, what help is offered to the students, how to schedule, math tutoring for the annual test, etc. At the seminar we were actually told that it was to ease us in.</p>
<p>Also, the biology your first year was quite challenging for some people, so donāt let that fool you. In addition, you take -at times- more difficult classes that lay the ground work for the next 4 years. For instance, there is a class titled Ways of Knowing. You learn how to form care plan and a nursing diagnosis. You learn how to do research and you write from that research about prevention and treatment. So donāt let that fool you - Duquesneās Nursing Program is serious. </p>
<p>The teaching staff at Duquesneās nursing school are constantly trying to make the school better. We get updates and work with the school to make it better. Also Duquesneās Nursing School is in hot demand - there is a large waiting list of people trying to transfer into my nursing class, 2014. </p>
<p>I personally did not have Duquesne in my top 5 schools when I was applying. I got into all the schools I applied, all of which seemed ābetterā. I went to the nursing preview day and that changed my mind. I am so happy here and the nursing school has exceeded my expectations. </p>
<p>If you have any questions about the school or nursing or just college in general feel free to drop me a message. Also, I would be happy to organize a visit with my school - let you come to my classes, etc. if you would like.</p>
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<p>Thank you hard_worker. Your response was very helpful. Also, thank you for offering to provide additional information/support. Iāll pass this information on to my daughter.</p>
<p>after the torture of researching and applying to many schools, waiting and then deciding, Duquesne has been even more than we and our son expected. Great school, great city. </p>
<p>will have to agree with hardworker. son just completed first semester at DU and he enjoyed the classes, professors, staff, city, other students in major and has met tons of great people. the whole experience is what a student makes of it. for my son, the selection of DU was based on many factors. Reputation, clinical hours, access to facilities, reasonable cost, extracurriculars, direct entry. along with the quality program, the college experience was a big factor in choosing duquesne. he has taken full advantage of the city, Pirates games, DU basketball, the South Side, Steelers games, Pitt Panther games, museums,etc. home twice first semester, 4 hour car ride made easy with train transportation. </p>
<p>as for the nclex pass rates, use them as a general guideline.</p>
<p>son did well first semester, bio has to be the hardest class. a few Aās, mostly Bās and a few Cās. seemed to be some quality writing classes. upperclassmen very helpful. he found one or two classes challenging while the others were matter of attending class, be organized do your work and network yourself with other students and put some time in. </p>
<p>Neonzeus is right on with info on clinicals.</p>
<p>neonzeus, any suggestions on getting summer work at our local hospital for first year Nursing student. son met with a Nurse recruiter today.</p>
<p>good luck</p>
<p>DMan: D is going to update her CPR and take next semesterās free CPR class for nursing students before looking at what might be available in hospitals. She has a retail job that gives her lots of hours including on short notice when sheās home on breaks, so sheās tempted to keep that job for at least one more summer. Iām just glad sheās working LOL! Iām really happy with her 1st semester grades, and am hoping she can keep it upā¦</p>