Nursing Students Post Graduate
Published Aug 17, 2007
velardern
38 Posts
I'm looking for opinions of the coursework, schedules, etc. Any advice would be great before I commit to them. I would also like to know how you went about arranging your clinicals if you are obtaining a distance education degree from them.
Thanks!
Laura
yellow finch, BSN, RN
468 Posts
Hi there! I'm a student of ISU. I'll be happy to answer any questions you have. I'm heading off to bed right now (long weekend of work), but will answer your current questions tomorrow. If you think of anything else, just post it or pm me. :)
oh, one more question....how many hours are you taking and how many hours are you working? thanks so much!
ISU has some incredible instructors/professors with challenging coursework. In lieu of classroom time, we have weekly assignments that are posted and commented on by other students. Some classes have weekly quizzes, others have papers, and there are always full-length exams that are equivalent to the ones taken on campus.
Clinicals are arranged on your own. You find family practice providers, set up a contract (if required), and arrange your own hours. My only advice in this area is to be absolutely certain the preceptors fulfill the school's requirements for clinicals before getting started with your hours. I say this because my first preceptor, while approved by the professors, was not appropriate. He was an internal medicine MD, not a family practice MD. Big difference as I came to learn! Start looking for a preceptor a good semester prior to beginning clinicals. The approval process can be lengthy to say the least.
My first year I was a full-time student taking 3 classes while working a minimum of 36 hours per week, usually more. By the time the second year rolled around I was no longer able to do that, and have made the 2 year program a 3 year one. It's a much better pace allowing me to work f/t while still completing the long clinicals requirements and classwork.
Let me know if you have any other questions!