[Sunshine327]

Is there anybody out there that can answer this question..

I've been doing my research and reading all of the threads about Miami-Dade Comm and the Baptist Scholar Programs.

BUT I'M STILL CONFUSED!!

Do you have to been accepted into to the MDC nurisng program in order to then apply for the Baptist Scholar program? or Can you attend Miami Dade comm as a regular student taking your pre-req and apply to the Baptist Scholar program seprately through their website?????

[ymarti]

You have to be accepted into the Full-Time Generic Nursing Option first. Once you are accepted, MDC will have you attend an information session. During that session they will talk to you about the Scholars program and give you an application packet for it.

[Sunshine327]

Originally Posted by ymarti

You have to be accepted into the Full-Time Generic Nursing Option first. Once you are accepted, MDC will have you attend an information session. During that session they will talk to you about the Scholars program and give you an application packet for it.

Thanks so much for the reply... i was so confused!

[valkyria]

Baptist will pay for your tuition and books while at MDCC. You can take classes at the Baptist campus or at the medical campus. Either way, you will probably do clinicals at Baptist, except for psych since they do not have a "psych unit" per se. Then you owe them a year or is it 2, of work or you have to pay back what they spent on you. In addition, you will be required to enroll in the MAC program, (multispecialty Acute Care) so you can be indoctrinated to do things, "The Baptist Way." Or, if you want to go into ICU or the ER then you have to apply for the LEAP program. Both are a combination of classroom and clinical hours and you are required to pass them or even if you were "promised" a position, you do not get one. Even nurses coming from outside organizations have to take the MAC program, no matter how many years you have been at it. All things can be waived but then you may hear, "If we waive it for you then everyone will want a waiver and it will not be an inforceable rule anymore." Baptist is financially overextended and since they lost their old CEO to Motorola, the new guy has not been doing so good. The thing about Baptist is that they are a large organization, here in South Florida and those that work for Baptist kind of become Stepford people, you buy into the rhetoric and you are one of "the Family." It is a good place to get your basic experience but go in with your eyes open and know what you want. Have a plan for the next five years and plan steps to get there.Yes, they will tell you that you can finish your BSN at FIU or, I hear, at Barry, but finding the time off is not their problem. They pay for FIU and they may give you a stipend, (scholarship) for Barry, I went to UM and I got $7500 for both years, but be careful of what you sign. They will make you feel like they are dealing from a position of strength, there is a waiting list at MDC and therefore at Baptist, and there is another person behind you who will take the offer. Yes, but you make them see how that would be a mistake and how you are going to make a difference to the unit and the hospital. Baptist may be non-profit but they are still very interested in their bottom line. They will tell you that they are a Magnet hospital and that is a prestigious appointment for nursing excellence, yes, they paid alot for their application and it is alot of paperwork to keep up with. Everyone has to be rehearsed and on the same page with them. Mercy is Magnet and Jackson and UM/Sylvester are applying for it. That alone does not make Baptist the place you want to work/start your career. Outside of Miami, people will say, "you worked where? Baptist,...oh, ok." But you say you trained at Jackson Memorial Hospital and Ryder Trauma Center and Everyone knows. If you want oncology, you tell people you trained at UM/Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and people will recognize it. It all depends on what you want. I am passing on knowledge I wish someone would have given me before I learned, the hard way. Good luck and if I can be of any more help, let me know.

[BumblebeeRN]

VAL,
you give awesome information. Thanks for sharing what you know with us!