UIC GEP 2013

[rchampa3]

Anyone applying to UIC's graduate entry program starting Jan. 2013? I've glanced at the threads from the past couple of year's and thought I'd start one for the next application cycle. I'm finishing up pre-reqs and taking the GRE in a month. Good luck to all who plan on applying!

[asanseri]

I just turned 23 in February, so I'm in your same boat. I was nervous sitting in the interview room because everyone was at least 5 or 6 years older than me.. but it was fine. I used it to my advantage and talked about how the transition would be easy for me since I would just be graduating in a couple months. But there are a couple of people who around my age and a few who are only a year are two older, so don't sweat it.

The interview for me didn't even really feel like an interview. It was more of just a conversation about the importance of family nurse practitioners in the future of primary care. Don't stress about what they're going to ask. You know why you want to be a nurse. If you can just chat about it rather than having a very reheorificed response, it will seem more sincere.

ALSO - the master's program is very community clinic oriented. So don't go in there flashing the hospital card, because they probably won't think it's a well suited program for you. We do our first GEP clinicals in the hospital but the master's work is primarily small community clinics. I talked about the importance of connecting with the community if you really want to make an impact on people's health.

[asanseri]

And I'm talking about the FNP track for the master's work, I don't know the orientation of the other specialties.

[b2094041]

I cannot tell you how helpful and reassuring your response was! Thank you so much!

[asanseri]

No problem. Let me know if you have any other questions before interview day. Feel free to email me at this username @indiana.edu. I won't be on here checking regularly.

[samdaman]

So...any other FNP'ers find out about interview times yet that didn't hear last week? My confidence level is dropping daily.

[NPmyd]

I still have not heard anything. My confidence already dropped to an all time low so it can really only go up from here! They are busy with interviews right now so I would be surprised if they get back to us this week.

I seem to remember you or someone else saying that they got their EMT license. Do you recommend getting the EMT or CNA license? I was looking for jobs online and only saw a few for CNA and none for EMT but I might be looking in the wrong places. I thought it might be worthwhile to get some clinical experience prior to being enrolled and then (if possible) work very limited part time during the program to have more real life experience on my resume once we have completed the program. Has anyone else considered doing this?

[samdaman]

NPmyd, yes, I got my EMT license over the winter. Honestly, I debated what to get between the 2 and went with EMT because I thought that being able to ride in an ambulance and actually see more emergency related stuff would be more interesting than sitting at a nursing home all day and changing people's diapers. I haven't actually started doing anything EMT related since I need to change my driver's license from Florida to California and also because I'm taking an accelerated Physiology class right now...and possibly microbio during the summer so I'm trying to just focus on getting good grades for the moment. I've pretty much forgotten a lot of the stuff I learned in December, but hopefully it should come back to me quickly. I'm also looking into volunteering at the county hospital, but probably can't do it for too long since I need to start making money again instead of burning through my savings.

Anyway, enough rambling. I think EMT is a bit more versatile, but CNA will offer more bedside experience. It all just depends on how much the courses take, availability, and job prospects.

[Medik231]

I've had my paramedic license for the past 5 years, and I had my EMT-Basic for one year before that. I'll tell you this: EMS is a great way to gain experience in the healthcare community. Just don't expect to be running emergencies all day with your EMT-B license (that goes for you too, samdaman). With just an EMT license in any populated area, you'll likely only be able to find a job on a private ambulance company, but the jobs are out there! There's a HUGE turn over rate in the private EMS sector because, unfortunately, the pay isn't that great and the companies could care less about you, so they're usually always hiring....As bad as that sounds, though, experience is experience....

In the Chicagoland area, the private ambulance companies are ATI, Trace, Superior, Vandenberg....just google "Private ambulances" and your zip code and you'll get a whole list of them. Shop around too, because some companies offer bonuses per call you run.

When you're just an EMT-B, you usually handle a lot of transfers between nursing homes, hospitals, dialysis centers etc. I can count on one hand how many emergencies I actually ran in my one year with a private company, but you still will get them.

ALSO...With an EMT license (and usually some experience), you can get a job in a hospital as an ER tech, where you will get plenty of emergency experience.

I can't speak for CNA's, because I don't know anything about that certification, but I do suggest an EMT license if you're looking for healthcare experience and are very serious about getting into healthcare at all. Let me know if you have any questions about EMS and I'll be glad to answer them...I know that having this background and experience will really help me whenever and wherever I am fortunate enough to continue my education in the medical field.

[Holdsteady11]

Most hospitals hire CNA's or will hire CNA's to be Patient Care Technicians. A lot of nurses I know got their feet in the doors of great hospitals that way.

[mroldan]

I received an email yesterday morning that I got an interview for the PMHNP track! Has anyone else with the PMHNP track received an email about an interview or had their interview yet?

[samdaman]

Looks like Julie Kim is out of the office until Sunday so I guess we won't be hearing anything from them the rest of this week...Does anyone think they'll have 2 rounds of interviews for FNP...or maybe someone can ask on Monday when they have their interviews.

[angmardel]

To those people that have been asked for an interview, is the interview on the original dates posted on their website, or is it later since they extended the application deadline? Thanks!