Alverno DEMSN 2021

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I've recently been conditionally admitted to Alverno's demsn program, slated for Summer unless a spot opens up in Spring. The conditional being that I finish the labs for the prerequisites and two psychology courses as I've only finished the didactic portions in a marathon 9 week section.

Does anyone have any experience with this program, or Alverno in general? Any advice would be much appreciated.

11 minutes ago, londonflo said:

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I strongly agree with your point about NCLEX after the BSN portion. That should be a requirement. I think what’s essentially happened is the first few cohorts had a mix of new program disorganization and Covid related degradation in material delivery. 
 

The program does seem to be going in a good direction. There have been some unpleasant changes such as block scheduling with little to no says so in your schedule, but I think the new Dean has implemented these changes in order to simplify administration and focus efforts on improved content and in person classes. 
 

I wouldn’t mind writing a thesis, but I have a background in research and writing. Unfortunately I see a similar dichotomy developing in nursing as I found in theology. Different tracks for researchers vs those involved in praxis. The ideal would be the marriage of researcher and practitioner. 

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Specializes in oncology.
19 minutes ago, damiorifice said:

I strongly agree with your point about NCLEX after the BSN portion. That should be a requirement. I think what’s essentially happened is the first few cohorts had a mix of new program disorganization and Covid related degradation in material delivery. 

I have taught in 2 colleges that went from a diploma in nursing to a BSN program. Frankly, while there may have been 'new program' disorganization, our students benefitted from our ability to pivot and get on top of problems quickly, regroup and provide the changes their education needed. Yes, I heard often from the students' it is a new program "so bad for me...". No students often feel that they are not getting what they need.....even when they get it. 

Here is one of the college's I work with changing from a diploma to BSN:

https://www.alverno.edu/Program/Accelerated-2-2-CCON

Alverno bought it last year.

After Columbia, in 1985 I moved to another state and developed a diploma to BSN curriculum which is also thriving today. (The school is the oldest continuing Catholic Nursing School is the US at 135 years old.) 

New programs, directions and educational achievements can be attained by a college if the student body is selected for resilience and the ability to tolerate change 

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Specializes in oncology.
22 minutes ago, damiorifice said:

Different tracks for researchers vs those involved in praxis. The ideal would be the marriage of researcher and practitioner. 

We already have this with the advent of the DNP versus  the PhD (or DNS). nothing new. 

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On 1/28/2021 at 10:29 PM, damiorifice said:

Watch their crash course video at least twice. I personally find watching the videos at 2X speed forces you to focus and recall more. 
 

The book isn’t included. It’s a really good book though. I read it cover to cover. Great reference. 
 

It is scored on a 1 shot proctored final. Go in prepared. It mostly mirrors their crash course video, but I was surprised that some of the questions were specific to drug classes and their associated disorders, etc. 

Are the tests  proctored? How many days of clinical?

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On 4/19/2022 at 3:27 PM, Mariam Kanneh said:

Are the tests  proctored? How many days of clinical?

Classes and tests are mostly in person now. Clinical is one day a week semesters 1-3 and bumps up to two days a week starting fourth semester. 
 

The education is EXCELLENT, but it’s not for the feint of heart. It is a rigorous program. 

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Hi All,

I recently found out about Alverno College and am very excited about their DEMSN program. I submitted my application today and will be sending transcripts tomorrow hopefully for the Spring 2023 cohort. I have a few questions for anyone able to answer..

1. Are most of you in the WI campus or the new AZ campus? I personally would like to go to WI even though I was told there are a lot more California transplants like myself. I just think I'd have an overall better experience in WI because the main campus is there and it'd be a new and much needed experience for me.

2. Can anyone provide any info on their experience so far from Fall 2021 to now?

3. Anyone who started after the initial covid cohort that has any feedback on whether the program got better since the outbreak?

4. Can someone name the pros and cons of their location, professors, pace of learning, additional support, things to look out for with the DEMSN program?

5. How many students are in each cohort?

6. Anyone in the new AZ cohort have any feedback so far? (I'm not sure if the Fall 2022 DEMSN program has started in AZ yet though)

I'm really really looking to get into this program and get everything I can out of it. I am nowhere close to the best math and science student but with LOTS of repetition it comes around and once I get it I'm good to go. I look forward to clinicals, skills labs, and any hands on experience I can get. I know this is a fast paced program but I've heard many wonderful things about it and more than believe I can become a quality nurse as long as I go above and beyond to get the most out of my education.

Any help and ANY FEEDBACK is greatly appreciated.

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14 minutes ago, FloraTheExplorer said:,

…

The WI program got better after a rough period of leadership shakeup. The current director of the DEMSN program is a godsend.

You will be expected to essentially teach yourself in this program. Very little hand holding. Lectures become progressively less useful as you get further into the program since as a Master’s level student you’re expected to be a significant self starter. Some people hate that.

They are integrating ATI into the program and it is helping.

The pace of the program is entirely unbearable for someone working or with kids (I have a large family.)

You have no say in your schedule or clinical site placement. If anything is wrong with the program, they always shift the fault to the students. They aggressively trimmed the fat from our cohorts when new leadership came on. Many people I started with are gone. I think maybe back then when Covid was hot they were admitting people they probably shouldn’t have.

You will find your peers now are generally VERY smart. They are recruiting very astute students now. 
 

Overall, how I wish I could have had it be like it is now all the way through, but such was the idiocy of Covid madness and the world losing their collective mind. Everything was just a mess back then.

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Specializes in oncology.

Alverno College

Graduation rate

61%

Acceptance rate

78%

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Specializes in oncology.
7 hours ago, damiorifice said:

You will be expected to essentially teach yourself in this program.

You of course, do not have to answer this, but I see this comment "we teach ourselves" many times here. Does that mean the faculty just give you book chapters, pertinent articles from nursing journals or you are teaching yourself finding the resources on your own (like Medical school) ?

How is this different from Straighter Line or Portage? I sincerely want to know..

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Specializes in oncology.
7 hours ago, damiorifice said:

Master’s level student you’re expected to be a significant self starter. Some people hate that

This is so true...at least it was when I went to Marquette for my MSN.

 

 

1
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2 hours ago, londonflo said:

You of course, do not have to answer this, but I see this comment "we teach ourselves" many times here. Does that mean the faculty just give you book chapters, pertinent articles from nursing journals or you are teaching yourself finding the resources on your own (like Medical school) ?

How is this different from Straighter Line or Portage? I sincerely want to know..

Occasionally we are blessed with a concise PowerPoint or a study guide that lists topics, which may or may not accurately reflect the tests. 
 

I did straighterline (which I found excellent, as I actually did all the reading cover to cover) for my prerequisites. It is distinctly similar and sadly seems to be the direction most universities are going these days. Covid only exacerbated the problem. 
 

I will say we at least had excellent instruction in patho and advanced patho. Aging adults as well. 

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3 hours ago, londonflo said:

Alverno College

Graduation rate

61%

Acceptance rate

78%

That reflects all programs…. no idea what the numbers are for nursing. Overall they are producing competent nurses. My peers that have remained are all sharp and many from my first cohort already passed NCLEX with little trouble. 

I have *heard* this was not the case with the first two cohorts and that their NCLEX pass rates were abysmal, which is why we experienced a change in leadership and massive restructuring of the program. 
 

I see great improvement overall, especially last semester. I wouldn’t attend here twice unless I needed the fastest route to a BSN/MSN. In retrospect I have too large a family to handle the stress of such a compressed self taught program. 
 

‘To answer a now redacted comment, I strongly prefer lectures on zoom or not at all, but I am an odd bird. My peers do not appear to profit from that format the way I do and many bemoan the method of instruction.

I have found the ATI integration and NCLEX prep quite helpful. Before doing any substantial studying the predictor gave me a 90% probability of passing NCLEX. That was a few hundred questions, rationales, and hundreds of pages of reading ago. So the program in general is preparing those who apply themselves. I do not expect to have any trouble passing NCLEX. 

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