Work Commitment for Thomas Jefferson FACT Program scholarship

soccer · Aug 10, 2007

Hi,

I am currently in the FACT program and I know people who received the scholarship. They have no choice to where they get assigned. I hope this helped.

bailey728 · Aug 10, 2007

Hi Soccer,

Thanks for your reply. Do you know which types of units they tended to get assigned to? I was thinking med/surg but wasn't sure.

Thanks!

buddhababy2monster · Aug 11, 2007

I just graduated from FACT, but didn't get a scholarship - which I am now grateful about. Methodist is all telemetry,OR or ER. You interview for any available position. It does not have a good reputation, 99% leave after the 2 year commitment. My friends there now are MISERABLE.

At Jeff, you're free to interview for any position as well, except ER. If you like huge, impersonal crowded hospitals this is the place for you.

A few people in my class got out of scholarships by giving them up to others in the class. It's only 2 years, but you take the risk of being very unhappy.

I'm very excited about my new job, an experience I wouldn't have been able to get at either Jeff or Methodist.

bailey728 · Aug 11, 2007

Thanks for the information, that helps a lot! Do you know when they interview for the jobs - before the program (before signing the scholarship contract) or after finishing the program? I was wondering if the people who gave up the scholarships had already interviewed and knew they couldn't get a job in the unit they wanted.

If I was offered a scholarship I wouldn't mind being assigned to Jeff since I want to go on for the masters degree which they pay a large percentage of if you work there. I don't think I'd be happy at Methodist, especially hearing that the areas are so limited. I was told by the program that 2/3 of the people are assigned to Jeff, 1/3 to Methodist.

Out of curiosity, where did you decide to work after the program?

What did you think of the FACT program in general? I've had a hard time finding anyone who went through the program to ask them what they thought of it. Did you find the clinical hours adequate? Were the sites good? How much work was the lecture part of the program?

Thanks again!

soccer · Aug 11, 2007

Well it seems majority of my classmates got Methodist and not a lot got assigned to JEFF. None of them know where they will be assigned yet. I am assuming they get to interview around the time we will be graduating. I think they start the job in July I have heard. We graduate at the end of May.

As far as the FACT program goes, I was preparing myself for no life. I have actually managed to have a pretty normal life. I have been able to workout and even go out from time to time. However, I feel I stay on top of my work. There are some that procrastinate and find that the workload is probably harder. It just depends on your study habits. Cliniclas are 24 hours a week so most are 2 days of 12 hour shifts. Some people go 3 x's a week for 8 hour shifts. In the summer they do the sites at JEFF. Next quarter are at JEFF, Penn Hospital and one in Jersey. So far I like most of our instructors and I have enjoyed the program to this point.

buddhababy2monster · Aug 13, 2007

People started interviewing as early as Jan., everyone knew which units they were working on before graduation. I decided to work in rehab after graduation. I like spending weeks/months with the same patients and seeing them get better. I didn't know what kind of nursing I wanted to do before starting the program.

As for the program, some quarters were easier than others. Peds clinicals were a joke and a complete waste of time. I worked part time throughout with a 3 and 5 year old at home. You can't cram, pacing yourself is the way to go. They do try and stress you out, though!

We were required to take some masters courses and these were the biggest joke of all. They seemed irrelevant and required too many papers and group projects. Overall, the clinicals were great and I feel confident in my new job. So far my class has a 100% NCLEX pass rate - which proves how well they prepared us.

bailey728 · Aug 13, 2007

Thank you both for your opinions on the program! That is exactly the kind of information I had been looking for. Buddha, how many hours did you work part-time during the program? I would like to work as well but wasn't sure how many hours per week would be doable.

Thanks so much!!

buddhababy2monster · Aug 14, 2007

Glad to be of help! I only worked 6 - 8 hrs/wk, but I had 2 little ones at home. I wouldn't recommend working more than 10 -15 hrs/wk. Certain times are busier than others, so having a flexible job is helpful.

Good Luck!

fins · Aug 14, 2007

I graduated from the FACT program, and took the scholarship. The details of it seem to change a little bit from year to year, but basically if you're going to be working at Jeff, then you apply for open positions. If you get one, it's yours. Free tuition for a two year commitment isn't a bad deal, but yeah you do risk getting stuck somewhere that you don't want to be. OTOH, I'm not paying back any student loans.

Like someone else said, there are 24 hours of clinicals per week, and there are four 12 week quarters. My sister went to a traditional ADN program, and she had 16 hours of clinicals a week for four 14 week semesters. So I actually had more clinical time in the one year than she did in a two year program.

There is some prejudice among nurses in the Jeff system about the FACT program - I've dealt with a lot of snide comments, so you might want to take that into consideration. I don't know how it is at Methodist, but at Jeff, you hear a lot of "how can anyone be ready to be a nurse in one year" type of remarks. It tends to tail off after you establish your own reputation, but you'll hear it early on.

They make you take three grad school classes during the program. This is so you'll think "oh, what the heck, I already started" and go back to Jeff to get your MSN. Whoever thought of that idea was a marketing genius. Evil, but a genius. They really push hard to get people to go straight back to grad school, to the point that they completely discount the need for actual working experience. They don't seem to have any problem with GNs enrolling in an NP program. You'll get the "go to grad school" hard sell more than once during the program.

Don't get too thrilled by the hospital's tuition assistance for grad school. It isn't all that great. If you go to Jeff, they'll pay 90% of your tuition, up to a maximum of $7500 per year. At $800 a credit, that works out to one class per term (fall, spring, summer) without going over the max. That means over three years to get your MSN, depending on the program, if you want Jeff to pay 90% of all of it. Otherwise, you'll be paying a significant amount out of pocket. (I just finished my MSN and my last semester cost me almost $4000.) Also, you owe them a year after taking a class, or you have to pay the money back. Not for the entire program, just what they paid for in the year prior to your departure.

If you go to grad school anywhere but Jeff, they only pay 60% of the tuition. Oh, and you can't work full-time during anesthesia school, so if you think they'll pay for that, forget it.

bailey728 · Aug 14, 2007

Hi Fins,

Thanks for all the great information! I really appreciate it! Do you know how many people in your class that received scholarships were assigned to Jeff vs. Methodist?

You mentioned something that I had wanted to ask about and forgot... what established nurses think of the program. I had heard that the one year program isn't thought of too highly by staff nurses. The nurses at Jeff who had negative comments, was that during your clinicals or after you took a job there? I'm thinking you meant the latter. Did you find that because they had problems with the program that the nurses were less inclined to help you as a new graduate when you started working there? What kind of reaction did you receive during clinicals at the non-Jeff sites?

I guess I'm not surprised that some nurses have a negative opinion of the program, but it really does seem to be the same course work (sped up and condensed of course) and more clinical hours than the 4-year BSN program at the university where I work (whose nursing programs are highly regarded). How do you feel about how the program prepared you? Did you feel the coursework and clinicals were adequate? I've heard from a number of people and sources that the NCLEX pass rates for FACT are usually 100% for each class -- they must be doing something right to have scores like that.

Thanks so much for the info on the grad classes. I wasn't aware that they make you work a year past the last class. I did know about the max $ per year that they'll pay for, but I thought the part-time option for the MSN was only one class per semester (until you get to clinicals). Do they let you take as many as you can handle?

If you don't mind me picking your brain about the MSN part of the program, I have some questions about that too and haven't been able to find anyone who went further than the BSN. Did you do one of the NP options? If yes, what did you think of the clinical part of the program? I'm curious as to how this particular program prepares NP students. Were you able to find a job after the BSN part of the program that gave you experience for whatever MSN program you were interested in? I'm worried that I'll wind up not being able to find a job in a unit that is similar/relevant to the NP programs I am interested in.

Sorry for the long post! Thanks again for your help!!

fins · Aug 15, 2007

When I was in, you chose your hospital beforehand - you didn't have to wait and see which hospital you were assigned to.

I don't think I was treated any differently because I came from a one-year program; I just had to put up with snide comments. I thought the program prepared me reasonably well.

The part-time schedule for the MSN is just a suggestion. I took two classes per semester for most of my time, and finished in two years. They'll let you take as many as you can handle, but you'll be paying out of pocket.

I didn't do one of the NP programs, so I can't really help you with any information about clinicals.