Anyone applying to Yale GEPN program for Fall 2009?

jnd1213 · Feb 5, 2009

Lola,

I think it's a combination of things. I think NP schools want to see that you can handle graduate level coursework...so I would say a strong undergrad GPA, average to above average GRE scores, and solid writing skills are key (the essays). Of course, relevant work experience and good recommendations are also just as important, if not more.

megandan · Feb 5, 2009

lauralou2008,

i also was accepted by hopkins and columbia and am having a hard time deciding! plus i'm still waiting to hear back from both yale and emory... i didn't go to the yale visiting day (had a phone interview instead) and can't make it to either of the visiting days for hopkins or columbia, so i'm really clueless. what are you thinking so far? how are you deciding?? congrats though on being accepted to those programs! what is your specialty?

lauralou2008 · Feb 6, 2009

Megandan -- Wow, we applied to exactly the same schools. Congratulations on your acceptances! My "specialty" varies with the school, because none had my dream specialty: Family/Women's Health. The closest is Emory and I applied for their Family Nurse-Midwife track, which allows you to sit for both FNP & NM boards at the end. They really do have the most interesting sounding program and opportunities for what I'm interested in (underserved/international). Plus, Spanish for healthcare professionals! Unfortunately, I haven't been able to get a good feel for the school and haven't been nearly as impressed by their admissions office as I have with all the others. Then there's the 2-yr BSN... What's been your feel so far re Emory? I am all over the map in terms of my preference right now. For sure, JH (applied to BSN-MSN/MPH w/FNP track) over Columbia (Adult/WHNP) -- mostly due to the fact I don't know much about Columbia's international focus (seems minimal), & due to cost of living in NYC. Yale (Adult/WHNP) impressed the hell out of me when I was there, which complicates everything! If they accept me, I will seriously have to consider it, despite the cost. (This is going to be a long msg, sorry!) Then there's the question of when on earth Emory will make their decisions (do you know?)! Finally, MONEY. I've applied for pretty good scholarships at both JH & Emory. If Emory accepted me AND I got the 3-yr full tuition scholarship, I could not refuse it. But, again, when will I know? I am almost hoping no other schools accept me -- though my ego would shrivel & die -- so that my decision will be painless... Okay, that's my story. I wouldn't have gone on & on like that, but you may be the only one struggling with these same questions and I am dying to hear what you're thinking! I am actually considering trying to work in a trip to the JH visiting day cuz like I said I really want to give it a fair shot. In the end, it may involve lists of pros & cons of each school, and prioritizing which pros/cons are most important to me!

suga70 · Feb 6, 2009

suga, i am also a psych person and i was consdering the dual adult care/psych track. i work at a really well known psych hospital and have done a ton of research on this and it seems it is not really worth pursuing in that each specialty gets somewhat diluted by the other. Moreover, I've heard from grads who did dual specialty's at other schools that their job offers consisted of one or the other (ie- adult care OR psych). I guess its amazing to have both and i think its a great thing to do...however, Yale dropped that dual specialty and Yale is my number one...so I am totally biased and believe in their logic for doing so. However, if you are not sure which specialty to do..it def makes sense to go to a program that gives you flexibility....

hmmm, interesting, thanks for this info. One of the reasons i was pushing for the dual psych/primary care specialty is because i am extremely interested in comorbid psychiatric and physical disorders. i thought this concentration may allow me to understand/treat them better. i also want to be able to provide primary care to psychiatric populations. do you know if psychiatric NPs can do physical assessments as well as psychiatric assessments? also, do you know if psych NPs can give primary care to psychiatric populations? what has your experience at the psych hospital told you about the role of the psych NP? your point does make alot of sense though (have one specialty getting more diluted by the other) and i wouldn't like that, but i was just wondering if having the pyschiatric specilization in and of itself is sufficient for what i want to do. haha sorry for all the questions and thanks so much for your input!

Lars23 · Feb 6, 2009

Lauralou and megandan, I'm also deciding between Hopkins, Columbia and Yale (that is, if I get into Yale:) !) I'm definitely having some anxiety about making a choice -- but I would say that Hopkins and Yale are both more appealing to me than Columbia. I think there are pros and cons to both - I like how at Hopkins I could still do the MSN/MPH dual master's, whereas at Yale it's too late to apply for that now. Also, Hopkins seems to offer a lot more flexibility in terms of taking time off, switching specialties, etc. I went to an information session and interviewed in-person at Hopkins and loved it. BUT, I also came away from the interview day at Yale feeling extremely impressed about the quality of professors, other students, and all the individualized attention you seem to get with such a small program size. It seems like a really supportive, unique place (not to say Hopkins wouldn't be too, though!) I'm interested to see what you guys ultimately decide -- good luck!

jnd1213 · Feb 6, 2009

hmmm, interesting, thanks for this info. One of the reasons i was pushing for the dual psych/primary care specialty is because i am extremely interested in comorbid psychiatric and physical disorders. i thought this concentration may allow me to understand/treat them better. i also want to be able to provide primary care to psychiatric populations. do you know if psychiatric NPs can do physical assessments as well as psychiatric assessments? also, do you know if psych NPs can give primary care to psychiatric populations? what has your experience at the psych hospital told you about the role of the psych NP? your point does make alot of sense though (have one specialty getting more diluted by the other) and i wouldn't like that, but i was just wondering if having the pyschiatric specilization in and of itself is sufficient for what i want to do. haha sorry for all the questions and thanks so much for your input!

So psych NP's can give physical assessments. in order to prescribe, you need to take general pharm (and i THINK have some coursework in adult care too, but dont quote me on that). As for treating psych patients for their gen. health problems, i don't think that is possible. I know of psych NP's who work in primary care settings and get referrals from the PCP's and adult care NP's. Psychiatrist don't provide patients with medical AND psych care...so i feel that NP's typically don't either. Though it seems like it would make perfect sense to have a hybrid role...i just think it hasn't ever become that popular. (who knows though, that can change). If i needed psych help i have to admit that id probably want someone who ONLY specializes in psych...again...that's just my opinion! :) As a conclusion id say you can't make a wrong decision and its def worth investigating once you start school

megandan · Feb 7, 2009

wow lauralou2008, i am in pretty much the exact same situation! weird! my app to emory was also the family nurse midwife (i really want to be a midwife, and think being a fnp or whnp would be a great addition), and i also applied for the fuld fellowship. i think that the program there is really my fav, but it's 4 years instead of 3, and the most expensive of all the programs i've applied to. soo, like you said, if i got the scholarship, i would not be able to pass it up, but otherwise i have to think about it. it looks really great though! i also thought that yale sounded excellent, and it's actually the cheapest of the programs i think, but they don't have a combined midwifery/np program so it's straight midwifery, which would be fine, but i think i would have more options post grad if i had both. plus they don't give a BSN along with it like the other schools do. do you know if that matters or not, since we already have bacherlors in another area?? timewise, i have no idea when we will hear from emory, except that i just read in an emory forum i'm in on here that it might not be until like 3/15, which would be horrible! plus i don't know if that would include the scholarship decision or not... do you have facebook? my name is megan danielson and i go to the university of michigan... you should look me up and we can discuss there so we don't take over this forum. :) lars, you too! i'd like to hear more about your decision making process... bah! good luck, and congrats on columbia and hopkins!

kimiij · Feb 7, 2009

So we're about a week away from knowing! I am trying to keep myself busy.... :bugeyes:

kimiij · Feb 7, 2009

Did anyone apply to med school along with this program? I'm interested in seeing if others are making the choice between NP school and Med school.

lauralou2008 · Feb 7, 2009

Thanks, Megan, I am on facebook but not very often. And, I admit, I've never tried to find anyone or even initiate anything on it! :) I only ever respond to others -- I'm kind of a dork about this stuff. I will try, though. By the way, I'm interested in checking out the Emory forum on here -- can you tell me what it's called? One thing I'm thinking, and this may be useful food for thought for others reading this: If I can narrow it down between the schools that accept me now (which will only be an issue if Yale does so), I can confirm and pay the deposit and then if Emory accepts me later AND I get the scholarship, I could eat the $600 deposit for the other school. It would be worth it for the scholarship... Okay, hope to continue this discussion with you and lars on FB! Laura

lauralou2008 · Feb 8, 2009

Re whether or not it matters that we don't get a BSN with the Yale GEPN program: my understanding is that as long as we have an RN license, that is what matters, and we won't necessarily lose opportunities because of it. The drawbacks: We wouldn't be eligible to take the NCLEX until after January of our second year at Yale, when we will have finished the required courses. Students take the NCLEX during Spring qtr sometime (maybe so they have time to study for it, or maybe because that's when it's offered next?). That means we can't work as an RN and make money to offset school costs until the summer after our second year; at Columbia or JH, we could work by the summer following our first year. JH actually recommends taking time off to do just that. The only other potential disadvantage to not getting the BSN: if something happens and you can't finish the program for whatever reason, you've just spent all that money and only have an RN license to show for it.

uclabruin428 · Feb 8, 2009

Hey Suga70--

I've talked to you before on this thread, but hi again! I also applied to the psych track (adult) at Yale. Did you apply to UCSF by any chance? I applied for their dual Adult NP/Psychiatric CNS specialty. Which sounds kind of like what you want to do... but now I'm kind of worried that they don't have enough of a psych emphasis. The other guy that was there at my Yale interview asked them about how they used to have the dual track and why they stopped offering it. And they said it was b/c the students and faculty felt that it was just too much work and like jnd said, it was hard for them to find a role when they graduated that fit both, they usually just ended up focusing on one or the other. Anyway, what was your impression about the Yale psych program? I really loved it there but I'm a cali girl so it will be tough leaving here, but it may be time for a change... That is, if I get in *crosses fingers.*