St Joseph's College of Maine FNP program students

TraceyMarino · Sep 26, 2013

Where I live smart phones don't work (rural north michigan). So, I bought an old I touch on ebay for 30 bucks, and put all my apps on it. Epocrates, uptodate, ACIP, medscape, medical spanish, this really cool anatomy app which I show stuff to patients, and other pharma apps and such. Not a big fan of technology, so i went basic! I still use all my apps and my pod, as my husband calls it every day. Have a great peds dose calculator, and drug interaction check that is faster than using a book.

RN-In Maine · Sep 30, 2013

TraceyMarino

Great idea for your "pod" Where did you find some of your great apps? like anatomy and peds dose calc? You just search through them and added? I am low key with tech stuff too love it but I just cannot get that into it. I consider myself a basic as well. Again, Thanks for your advice!

talkingstick · Oct 17, 2013

I am currently enrolled in the FNP program at St Joseph's and taking up NP 602 Advanced Pharma. Although most of my grades are either A or A- in all of my core subjects, my grade for NP 601 Advanced Patho was a B+ and I am having diffculty with my Advanced Pharma class. I am starting to get overwhelmed by the amount of assignments in this course. They are not that difficult, just a lot of busy work. It has gotten to the point where I am seriously thinking about quitting this program and going back to be a regular RN. The only thing holding me back is the realization that I consider myself extremely fortunate to have been chosen for this program, considering that they do get a lot of applicants for their MSN-FNP track.

My question is: does the level of difficulty/workload increase substantially after NP 602 Advanced Pharma? I am talking about Advanced Physical Assessment and the clinicals, which I understand is part clinical and part theory. Does it get easier once I'm done with the NP classes or does it get worse?

Any feedback/comments from members who have graduated from this course or are at the tail end of this course at SJC will be greatly appreciated. It will help me in my decision to either go forward or not.

Thanks in advance.

rprn2009 · Oct 17, 2013

I'm set to graduate from the St. Joseph's Program in December. I'm not gonna beat around the bush - the amount of work assignments will continue to be tedious and won't get any less time consuming. I had to sacrifice a lot of time and effort to get through this program and I can tell you it will be worth it when you make it. Stick with it and good luck to you.

talkingstick · Oct 18, 2013

rprn2009,

Can you give me an idea how the Family Theory courses (NP 612 thru NP 616) are set up? Is it more research or just an explanation of patient diagnoses based on the practicum/clinical component of the course (NP 613, 617, 617)?

Thanks for your reply and good luck to you too.

RN-In Maine · Oct 18, 2013

TalkingStick...I completely understand all or your thoughts, concerns, and feelings. I am also currently taking Advanced Pharm and feel like I have a ton of reading and hardly have time to study the information. I also just plotted out my time and discovered I need to complete Advanced Pharm by early Nov. to sign up for Advanced Assessment for Dec. I never feel like I can get ahead. I actually feel I need more time to study but to keep moving in the program there isn't time for that. Sometimes its nice to hear someone else has the same thoughts as you!

TraceyMarino · Oct 20, 2013

I graduated from St. Joe's FNP last December. Hate to tell you, but once you get into the theory class, it does not get much easier. Between doing clinicals, entering your encounters into Typhon (nightmare), and the written assignments (tons of them) online discussions (every week, and they are much more in depth than the postings from other classes), and clinical presentations (one every 3 weeks or so), it is very overwhelming! And, you HAVE to keep up. You cannot slack because you have to work, then catch up 2 weeks later.....so be prepared, it is very tough. Everyone in my group was totally burned out by the end. However, all FNP programs are tough, and the online versions have much more busywork than brick and mortar programs. This is the price you pay for staying off campus. If you are this far into the program, I suggest you put your head down and finish! It is worth it in the end!

playboyesquiere · Oct 24, 2013

Hi islander,

I just now saw your post. The on campus assessment class is 2 weeks, 8hrs a day. The write ups are how to do review of systems, patient history, physical assessment etc. Lectures are in class and you have chape patients in the afternoon, where you get to apply what you learned earlier in the day. At the end you do a full assessment on your partner takes about an hour. It wasn't too bad I enjoyed the class. Didn't have to write any research papers or anything. I recommend it over taking it online for 15weeks. We were the first students to have the chape patients so that was an experience all in itself.

Hi playboyesquiere,
Could you tell us how NP 601 Physical Assessment is structured if it is taken on campus? Is it all lecture and quizzes or are you still required to submit research papers/reports?
Thanks in advance.

debs17 · Oct 26, 2013

hi morglan I am also taking the same class. can you email me [email protected]

marianasnp · Oct 29, 2013

Hi I'm in the program and currently have finished NP612 and NP613. I would like to ask TraceyMarino or any other graduates when you guys started studying certification exam. When is the best time to start reviewing? When or how early can we apply for the certification exam? Can't we apply unless we graduate and get the dipoma? Or can we apply if finished all the required courses and clinical hours? I hope I can apply as soon as possible. Thank you advance for your answers.

TraceyMarino · Oct 31, 2013

I began studying about 6 months before taking the aanp exam. I used Fitzgerald and Barklay. I went to the 3 day prep class, which was so worth it if you can afford it. The book for the review class is a great resource to have and I refer to it every day on the job. It has all the evidenced based guidelines for AOM, sinusitis, HTN, etc. great great book.

I applied for the aanp exam before I graduated. They will review your transcript and clinical hours, and basically give you permission to test, but you will not get a test date until the college confers your degree and submits the letter to the AANP that you have actually graduated.

This is where things get sticky. St. Joes only confers degrees 2 times per year----December and May. If you don't finish the program by the date set by the college, you won't get conferred until the next conferral date. For example, you must finish everything and get your final grades by December 5th (or something like that) to meet the deadline to be conferred on December 31. If you finish on the 10th of December, you will have to wait until the May date to be conferred. I know this policy screwed up a lot of folks, who finished several days past the deadline and were forced to wait 6 months to be conferred! I hope the college fixed this policy so the students graduated in time, but I don't know. If you are "finishing" the program this December, better find out the official end date, and if it is early enough to be conferred in December, otherwise you will be waiting and not able to take the boards until May. You cannot take any of the boards until the degree is conferred by the college!

marianasnp · Oct 31, 2013

Dear TraceyMarino,

Thanks for your valuable information. So I can apply for the exam before the graduation but the test date is not until the graduation. Good thing is that now St. Joes confers degrees three times per year - Dec 31, May 1, and Sept 1. I think I'll be done my courses after May but before Sept., and I'm planning to apply for the exam during this time. Then I should start studying maybe around March or April which is about 6 months before the test. One more question to you: is there any particular reason for you to choose AANP instead of ANCC?