Mount St. Joseph in Cincinnati

U.S.A. Ohio

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Does anyone know anything about the direct entry masters program at Mount St. Joseph in Cincinnati? I have been accepted for the class of May 2010 but have not seen any recent threads on here about this school. If anyone knows about it, or has been admitted for the next class, let me know! If anyone is looking for a school to go to next year, this school has rolling admissions and still has spots available for next May. Its for people who already have a bachelors degree and its only 15 months long.

Thanks!!!

dearchicago,

i got my acceptance letter to msj yesterday!!! I start August 2013. I was so happy I cried.

But I'm nervous about doing well on my prereq's.

Did you hear anything yet?

I applied to the MAGELIN program at MSJ and am still not sure of the degree they are offering. They say that it is a Masters program but you will get an RN after you write the NCLEX. So my question is, after the program do you still go on to get a MSN from graduate school or what and what is your place in the nursing community

How I understand it, is that you'll graduate with a entry-level master's degree in nursing and you'll be a registered nurse. If I want to be a nurse practitioner or clinical nurse specialist, then I'll have to taking additional classes. But there are a lot of NP and CNS programs online from schools across the country. I talked to a nurse about that and they said that it's normal to have to get an advanced master's degree to become an NP or CNS.

I think the MSJ program is great for people who have a non-nursing B.A. I'll get my MSN in a shorter period of time than I would a BSN. There are other programs, like UC, where you can become an NP but it takes longer. I need to get into the workforce faster.

Good luck. Let me know how your application process goes.

Congratulation Babyrowe! I am very happy for you.

I actually have an interview scheduled for July 18th. I think I will probably also want to start in August of next year just so I have more time to make as much money as possible before starting the program. So, I have a few other questions for you if you don't mind answering. First of all, do you have any suggestions for the interview? I have been preparing since I got the call last Tuesday, but would love to hear your thoughts on the interview process as well. Also, what prerequisites will you be taking? I will be re-taking anatomy and physiology (it's been over 5 years since I took it before), microbiology, and I am going to try to test out of nutrition. I am not sure if you are from the Cincinnati are or not, but have you decided where you are going to take your prereqs?

Of course this is all contingent on whether or not I get into the program, but I thought I would ask anyway. Thanks for all of your help!

dearchicago,

so sorry i got your message late. how did your interview go? you should hear something soon. I found out 2-3 days after the interview. I bought a suit, learned about the program, and did research on the types of questions they might ask me and I practiced what I'd say. I was so nervous.

Good luck!!

Hey everyone. I just completed the first semester of the MAGELIN program - I started in May of 2012. I can answer any questions you might have. Just to clarify on the degree - they changed this right as we were beginning. You will receive an MSN, however, it is an entry-to-practice MSN, which means that you will, upon passing boards, be an RN who would be what you would associate with a 'floor nurse.' The benefits of receiving the MSN include you are getting a graduate-level degree; in some places this may mean slightly higher pay, but don't plan on it. Additionally, you can advance quicker to becoming a charge nurse or nurse manager (some have become charge nurse in less than a year which is really amazing). And finally, should you decide to go back to get an advanced-practicing MSN, such as an NP, you may get a class or two waived.

As far as the difficulty of the program, it is tough. We had two sections in our group and between about 45 people, I think 7 were dismissed because of grades. You cannot go onto clinical if you do not receive a 75% or higher in all of your classes. If you receive below an 80 in what is called a 'tier 1' class, you are put on academic probation. Another C in the program gets you dismissed. It is really stressful but so far really great. From what I hear, now that I've gotten through the first semester, things will get easier. If you are scheduled to start in May - you will have a rough semester because it is shortened. There will be weeks where you have an exam in almost every class! I am not trying to scare you away because it is absolutely a do-able program. I am just giving you a heads up because I wasn't entirely prepared for the amount and intensity of the work.

If you have any questions, let me know. I can tell you one AWESOME feature is the amount of breaks! We started at the end of May in 2012, got a week break off for July 4th. Took exams the last week of July. Had our first clinical the first two weeks of August. And we just started a two week break before fall semester starts. Then we get a few days off for Thanksgiving, a MONTH for Christmas holiday, a week for spring break, a small break for Easter and I believe a week between spring and summer term. Then we have six weeks of class, six weeks of preceptorship *with the July 4th break in there* and then we are finished in August of 2013!

I'm so glad I found this site! I'm starting the program in just a few weeks. As soon as I saw the amount of required books I started to get nervous. Is it realistic to work while in this program? So far I have committed to working about 13 hours a week, but after reading this I'm thinking I will need to cut back even more.

What class is the hardest the first semester? Is there a lot of paper writing to be done?

So much time and money has been spent to get to this point, failure isn't an option.

Thanks,

Kelly

So do you think the MSN degree that the MAGELIN program is offering is legit? I'm starting in August 2013. They told me that the May class was shortened, that's why I chose to be in the August class. I'm really, really nervous to start. I cannot be dismissed from the program. Failure is not an option for me either. I do plan on becoming an NP. How much more schooling would I need go from MSN to NP?

Would you recommend buying the books a semester in advance to prepare for the program? Do you think they'd let me sit in on a class just to see what they are like?? I've been hesitant to ask them. I don't want to be thrown to the wolves next year.

Congrats on getting accepted and surviving the first semester! Please keep us posted as you progress through the program. Your insight and recommendations are VERY useful!

To kespelage14: I work about 12 hours a week right now and I had no problems doing so. I worked through my entire undergrad so I know that for me, if I wasn't working - I wouldn't know what to do with myself. Several people did either cut back significantly or quit their jobs; you'll know within about three weeks if it is feasible or not.

A lot of people struggled in Pathophysiology or our skills class. I did fine in both, but skills was hard because there are NCLEX style questions - these are very challenging because there are several right answers and you pick the MOST correct one... fun stuff!

There are a few papers to write for research and professional roles, but I think the longest one is 2 or 3 pages.

To babyrowe, of course I think the MSN degree is legit - otherwise I wouldn't be in it :) I did a lot of research and talked to local hospitals and they all really like this degree and are quick to hire (this is local - I can't speak to outside of the greater Cincy region). The May class is shortened and it is does make it more challenging; I just went through it so I know first hand ;-)

You would still need about two years to become an NP - it will only waive MAYBE one or two classes, depending on the school and the type of NP.

I would not say you need to buy the books an entire semester in advance. They will send out a list of pre-assignments and there is a looooot of reading here. You will get plenty of time to complete it. You do not want to overkill it... you will burn out easy because it is intense! You will get in the class and realize quickly which classes you need to do the readings for and which classes you don't. For example, in patho, I realized right away that I was NOT going to do all of the reading (there is a lot). Instead, I looked up the diseases that we went over in class to get the full picture. Saved me a lot of time. In Health Assessment, I did the reading because the lecture was short and she flew through it - plus it is an awesome textbook. You will use this a TON in your first clinical so I would read it for sure.

I would definitely ask the director of the program if you can observe a class. She is a super nice lady and very accomodating. But just FYI: classes are exactly like any other class - we just crunch A LOT more in lecture (and do a LOT more on our own outside of class).

You will be starting when I am finishing. I have only been through my first semester and clinicals and I can already tell it is going to fly by. BUT, look at their NCLEX pass rates on their website and you will see that this is entirely worth it.

Let me know if you have anymore questions!

OhRN2,

Thanks for replying and letting us know all that stuff. I'm glad it's legit. I didn't realize it'd take about 2 yrs to be an NP, I thought it'd be shorter. That's ok though, I'm going to go for it eventually anyway.

You mentioned Patho and skills. What do you mean by skills? I've never looked at a Patho book. I think I'll get a used one and start acclimating myself with the material.

I think I'm going to email the director and ask if I can sit in on a class. I think it'll make me less nervous.

You're right, it's going to FLY by!! I'm happy for you. Good luck!

Thank you so much OhRN2!

I was worried about Pathophysiology, I took it at Cincinnati State when I was originally going for UC's program. It was the hardest class I've taken because of how in-depth it was. I managed to pull a high B though, so hopefully I will be ok.

How were clinicals? What hospitals did you go to? Have you learned to draw blood or give IVs yet? I'm really excited for the clinical aspect.

If you've already taken Pathophysiology you will be at a clear advantage. It's not going to be as scary as it sounds - I promise. Now, pharmacology on the other hand.... we just got our syllabus for that class and it seems a little intimidating :) We'll make it through though!

Clinicals were great! We just started our second set of clinicals for Med-Surg and Mental Health. You go to all of the regional hospitals for your clinical rotations; it will vary from semester to semester and from person to person. So far, all of my placements have been awesome.

You don't learn how to give IVs until your last semester (so for me, I will learn in May) in your Critical Care class. We are going to learn how to administer medications now so we will be doing that this semester in clinical which is going to make things a lot more complicated, but much more exciting!

Let me know if you have any more questions. Good luck to you all!

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