ABSN Duke Fall 2010

twois · Feb 3, 2010

Hahaha, well, at least it confirms that someone else hasn't seen anything about it.

BLS = basic life support... aka CPR class. The American Heart Association calls it BLS, it's meant for healthcare workers and I've seen a bunch of other schools require it before starting classes. I was just curious. It's a weekend class, you know, nothing I'm particularly concerned about being able to get done, just didn't know if we'd have to do it pre-classes.

And I am feeling better, as of today. :) First day with no sore throat or sniffles... thank goodness! It's a good thing I'm gonna be a nurse, cause I sure make a terrible patient.

sarabear44 · Feb 3, 2010

Yeah, me too! I can't wait to hear. :banghead:

mld1980 · Feb 3, 2010

Has anyone else noticed that time has actually slowed since the interviews? I swear it's happening here. I keep rounding the time left to wait and it's been "about two weeks" for far too long now...

Sooooooooo slow. I don't know what to do with myself.

priston · Feb 3, 2010

Every hour of wait seems to be like one year for every one of us. So for the sake of discussion, if you dont mind could you point a few facts which would give any other nursing school an edge over Duke !!!(Except cost factor)

I guess those who have been to duke days may have a better understanding....

In other words, do you think there is any other school out there which would be better than Duke??????

twois · Feb 4, 2010

I think it all depends on what you're looking for. It seems a lot of the people I spoke to at Duke Days were interested in advanced practice, in research, in sort of the "big picture" beyond 'just floor nursing,' if that makes sense. Which seems to be something Duke's program is strong in.

I suspect there may be programs that give more clinical preparation (likely 4-year programs instead of 16 months!) and programs that allow for more specialization and programs that cost less and programs that have advantages that I haven't even considered because they're not all that important to me. I know Johns Hopkins is very highly regarded, as is Duke; frankly, Duke's nursing school is ranked around #15 on the US News & World Report listings, so even if you just play by the numbers, sure, there are schools that are "better" than Duke. But I don't think there are going to be any others that are a better *fit* for me, personally, with my interests, goals, and life situation.

Hope that helps. It's a tough question. :)

kspills10 · Feb 4, 2010

Yeah Priston, I agree with Twois. No one else can really answer that question except for u, because we all have our own preferences, likes, and dislikes about various programs. What one person may like about a certain program, another person may not. So it's hard to say if any other school is "better" than Duke; it simply depends on what you're looking for. The only person that can decide which school is right for you is you. Good luck with your decision.

priston · Feb 4, 2010

Thankyou very much twois for your insight. I am aware of the number game that you were talking about.But in regards to the teaching staff experience(clinical expertise) and state of art facilities(Including labs) do you think any other university can compete Duke? I have nothing but utmost respect for Duke. Just curious to know a little more about other schools compared with Duke.

priston · Feb 4, 2010

Thankyou very much kspills10. I was looking for first hand info regarding other schools as most of the people who applied to duke might have been to other schools either for "interviews" or for "open days" to know more about a particular school. It would be great if you guys can share your experiences.

twois · Feb 4, 2010

Oh... I don't have any specifics, no, unless you want to know about the University of Florida! Which is a good school, definitely, but not in that realm of large, well-known private schools... but it's the only other school I'm applying to this round, because it's my alma mater and would mean not having to relocate and cheap tuition.

Really, though, I'm sure plenty of other schools can compete with Duke. UNC, for example, just across town from Duke, is said to be equally as excellent a school. Johns Hopkins gets mentioned quite a lot. UC San Francisco and Oregon Health and Science University are both top-notch schools; OHSU is tantalizing to me, but I'd have to do the four-year program there (don't qualify for the ABSN), which puts me off dramatically.

I think you'll find at all top schools the lab facilities are going to be similar and top of the line; after all, the schools don't make the equipment, so there's going to be some standardization there. And at all good schools you'll find a variety of clinical expertise and research focuses; I'm less interested in having an instructor with 50 years of experience as I am with having an instructor who can teach well, who is passionate and takes an interest in my education, and is interested in new advances in nursing and is prepared to teach to the current level of practice. I think a lot of the need for clinical expertise is going to come into play with preceptorship and early graduate nursing experiences, not nursing school itself. I don't even know what the clinical experience of the Duke faculty is, to be honest! But I got a good feeling from the interviews that they're intelligent, passionate instructors. Big thumbs-up there.

Sorry I don't have much information on specific other schools though!

priston · Feb 4, 2010

Thankyou very much twois, that was really informative.

mld1980 · Feb 5, 2010

Best of luck to everyone interviewing tomorrow!

KellyJH · Feb 5, 2010

Man, it is cold out here! I'm finally here from CA and walked around the campus today since the weather is not supposed to be very agreeable tomorrow. Good luck to my fellow interviewees tomorrow- I look forward to meeting everyone!

Priston- Other great school include UCSF (I work there so I may be a LITTLE biased), Penn, and Hopkins. I think Penn has really state of the art teaching labs similar to Duke. Hope that helps!