Anyone accepted to UMASS-Worcester's MSN program?

ACNPstudent · Mar 27, 2006

Hello,

I am finishing my first year in the acute care NP program. It is great that you are thinking of taking an elective now. You will have the opportunity to subspecialize in oncology if you want. The program is great. I am thoroughly enjoying it. I am a traditional masters student however our class also consists of second year graduate entry pathway students (GEP) so our class size is about 75 students. The professor are terrific. The workload is heavy but I feel the content has been important. Please let me know any specifics you are interested to know.

christvs, DNP, RN, NP · Mar 27, 2006

Hello,
I am finishing my first year in the acute care NP program. It is great that you are thinking of taking an elective now. You will have the opportunity to subspecialize in oncology if you want. The program is great. I am thoroughly enjoying it. I am a traditional masters student however our class also consists of second year graduate entry pathway students (GEP) so our class size is about 75 students. The professor are terrific. The workload is heavy but I feel the content has been important. Please let me know any specifics you are interested to know.

Hi! Thank you so much for responding. So which classes are you finishing up now? How much time do you devote to reading/howework each day? Do you find it hard to go to school full time and still work? Are you doing a sub-specialty? So you said the clinicals don't start until next year, right? Do you have a lot of papers to write for each class? Robin Klar teaches in the program, right? I had her a few years ago at Fitchburg State College as a sophomore. Anyhow, sorry for my million questions-I'm so excited and can't wait to start. :) By the way, one more question: how long have you been a nurse for? I was just wondering what you thought about years of RN experience & how well you do in the program. I've only been a nurse since last summer. But I feel like I have the role of the RN down pat now, for the most part. Thanks again for responding! :)

-Christine

ACNPstudent · Mar 29, 2006

For starters, congratulations on getting into the program. It is very competitive. As I mentioned the program will mix traditional masters students with graduate entry pathway students (GEP) in their second year. The first year they take classes full time to get their RN. I have five years experience in ICU and maternity. I think that RN experience is important as I mentioned in order to get a placement for clinicals in an ICU you have to have ICU experience as an RN. However as I mentioned there are GEP students in the acute care program. It is feasible to work and go to school full time during the first year. Classes are primarily one day a week from 9 am to 8 pm. There is also a community practicum that is throughout both semesters the first year and is at least 45 hours. There is a heavy empasis on research both qualitative and quantitative. The second semester the classes are one full day plus an additional day that ranges from 3-5 hours. There are a lot of group projects as you do a lot of collaboration in the health care field. It is a little difficult arranging everyones schedules. My class consists of about 75 students. There are about 40 GEP and 35 traditional. There are 17 students in the acute care/critical care track. I think a great part of the program is that there are a lot of excellent guest speakers. I enjoy it thoroughly so far and look forward to clinicals. The second year it is feasible to work part time or per diem. Full time is discouraged as you will have at least 17 hours of clinical per week on top of classes.

christvs, DNP, RN, NP · Apr 4, 2006

For starters, congratulations on getting into the program. It is very competitive. As I mentioned the program will mix traditional masters students with graduate entry pathway students (GEP) in their second year. The first year they take classes full time to get their RN. I have five years experience in ICU and maternity. I think that RN experience is important as I mentioned in order to get a placement for clinicals in an ICU you have to have ICU experience as an RN. However as I mentioned there are GEP students in the acute care program. It is feasible to work and go to school full time during the first year. Classes are primarily one day a week from 9 am to 8 pm. There is also a community practicum that is throughout both semesters the first year and is at least 45 hours. There is a heavy empasis on research both qualitative and quantitative. The second semester the classes are one full day plus an additional day that ranges from 3-5 hours. There are a lot of group projects as you do a lot of collaboration in the health care field. It is a little difficult arranging everyones schedules. My class consists of about 75 students. There are about 40 GEP and 35 traditional. There are 17 students in the acute care/critical care track. I think a great part of the program is that there are a lot of excellent guest speakers. I enjoy it thoroughly so far and look forward to clinicals. The second year it is feasible to work part time or per diem. Full time is discouraged as you will have at least 17 hours of clinical per week on top of classes.

Thank you so much for all your info & advice. I can't wait to get started now. :)

-Christine