Hi there,

I just started UConn's MEIN program last week at the Stamford campus, and am really concerned by the amount of material and self-study the program demands. It seems like all this material is being thrown at us, without any guidance or distinguishing of what is more important to focus on learning, and what we can gloss over. Are there any recent MEIN grads here? Could you give me some advice on how to successfully complete this year? If you are in the lower Fairfield County area, I would like to buy you a cup of coffee and hear about how you handled the year. Thanks very much.

i graduated from there last year let me know if you still need help.

Hi there,

I just started UConn's MEIN program last week at the Stamford campus, and am really concerned by the amount of material and self-study the program demands. It seems like all this material is being thrown at us, without any guidance or distinguishing of what is more important to focus on learning, and what we can gloss over. Are there any recent MEIN grads here? Could you give me some advice on how to successfully complete this year? If you are in the lower Fairfield County area, I would like to buy you a cup of coffee and hear about how you handled the year. Thanks very much.

I'm considering applying to the program this year. Would you mind sharing how much time you need to spend studying and completing assignments outside of class and clinical hours?

Hi, thanks for responding. So I have about 5 weeks left in my first semester, and this program is not at all what I thought it would be. Clinical is great and I feel like I am learning the most there. But it seems like the academic side is all self-study. There is no real Pharmacology course, and the class day is a powerpoint presentation that just hits a few large points, but doesn't cover in depth the material we are supposed to be reading on our own. I am slightly stressed that I need to actually know everything on the syllabus and at this point, I have read about 2/3 of the material. Should I be worried? I feel like I am missing out on a good nursing education, and that all I am paying $24k a year for, is the clinical experience. Any advice you can give me would be greatly appreciated.

Would you mind sharing more about why you the program isn't really what you thought it would be? Is it just because the academic portion isn't as robust as you expected?

Thank you for the feedback you're sharing it's really helpful to get the perspective of a current student!

There are two components to the program: the classroom instruction (book learning) and clinical experience (skills learning). The clinical experience this semester has been great, due largely to my luck in being assigned to the group of the best clinical director for MedSurg (the first clinical site). 90% of everything I have learned this semester has been in those two days of clinical.

The academic side of the program is what has really concerned me. This first semester we had a big box of books to buy, and were given a syllabus with a few hundred pages of reading to do each week for class (class is one full day each week - about 7 hours). In addition we had to take a Health Assessment online course, and an online Pharmacology course. The substance of both courses were these interactive modules, followed by a quiz.

The classroom instruction is does not go into depth. It consists of primarily a powerpoint presentation hitting a few points, and interspersed with advice and anecdotal info from the instructor (a nurse with 30 years experience; all the teachers do have extensive nursing experience and are very good).

The only Pharmacology mentioned in class is a few drugs relevant to the day's topic (so if we are discussing hypertension, a few antihypertensives will be mentioned). Otherwise you are on your own to learn Pharmacology from the online course and the book.

I did not look at other nursing programs, so I have no comparison. But my advice to you would be to look at other programs, look at the academic demands and clinical hours (some have very few which is bad), ask if they have a Pharmacology course(!!), and only attend the MEIN if you feel it is the best program. There is no point in rushing through a program in a year, if you aren't learning everything you will need to be a nurse.

Thanks for all of this valuable information!! I'm in the process of putting my application together and I still have two pre-reqs to complete. I really like that you can complete the program in one year but with family and financial commitments it's a lot to take on. When I went to the info-session they made it seem like they prepare students well to sit for the NCLEX but if they aren't teaching a lot of pharmacology that makes me wonder?

Hello Meinstudent, how are you doing in the program?

Hi MEINstudent:

How did the program go for you? Where you satisfied with it in the end?

I am also curious, if you think it is possible to work at least one day a week while studying?

Thanks.

Current MEIN applicant.