Be honest! ABSN MCPHS Worcester fall 2015

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Hi everyone!

I was just accepted fall 2015 ABSN class at MCPHS Worcester. I'm really considering the school. It's not far from where I did my undergrad so I'm familiar with the area and such. And the tuition is cheaper than the other schools that I am considering.

I would really like to get honest opinions about the school before I accept. I'm already doing my own research on the school's website, here on all nurses, and I am getting in contact with alum (hopefully) with the help of the school.

What did you think about the school? The professors? The structure of the program? I've heard about front-loading, but I'm still a bit confused. what was the best method to study for exams? Anything that you'll be willing to tell me, I will take it!

Thanks in in advance everyone!

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Congratulations! I am also considering to attend MCP. I feel like it is difficult to get a holistic perspective/insight about MCP's nursing curriculum, since most whom have made postings about the program viewed it pessimistically. Have you received your financial package yet?

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Congrats to you too and thanks! Yeah I've definitely read mixed reviews about the school. I'm still trying to figure out if those reviews pertain to the Worcester campus or the Boston campus. I was on another site and the Boston campus was trashed about its nursing program.

I haven't received my aid yet. I actually just heard about my acceptance this morning!

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Specializes in Neuro/NSGY, critical care, med/stroke/tele.

I'm in the ABSN program at MCPHS' Manchester campus!

The Boston program is traditional 4-year and entirely separate, so I wouldn't worry too much if you've heard bad feedback about it. The ABSN grads are highly regarded because we've shown we can withstand the academic rigor of the program, and we've already had careers for the most part.

Overall, I love it. At least in Manchester, the school is TINY (43 people in my cohort), the faculty know everyone and genuinely go out of their way to help. Everyone that I have experience with is incredibly supportive.

Yes, front loading is intense; it doesn't really kick in until N2... for studying, it really depends on how you learn... visually (concept maps)? repetition (practice questions over and over..!). Expect to sacrifice all day Mon-Fri and they say 4 hours a day outside of class for studying..!

Here's a breakdown of the program!

N1 = first semester (if you can survive this, you can survive anything!)

- Patho/Pharm (6 credits) which is probably the class people find the hardest and struggle with most. because of being accelerated, they pretty much cover a system per week, with the disease processes and meds that go with it.

- Skills and Technologies (4 credits) has the first lab. Woo, wearing scrubs! lots of technical details here, and a big focus on medication administration and safe procedures. no physical assessment yet.

- Essentials (3 credits) lots of overlap with Skills.

- History of Nursing (3 credits) pretty much exactly what it sounds like.

N2 = Second and Third Semesters

- Scholarly Inquiry (3 credits) research, data analysis... if you've done this in undergrad, it's just applying it to nursing research.

- Physical Examination and Health Assessment (4 credits) back in lab! This is the full head-to-toe physical. Same kind of system-per-week model as patho/pharm, and it is intense - big focus on the normal and ABNORMAL findings. Also make sure you're comfortable with your lab partner.

- Provider (of care) I (8 credits) is the FIRST CLINICAL ROTATION! Which you do after PE/HA. Front loaded for 3 weeks, INTENSELY, then you're on clinical rotations 2-3 days (24 hours) a week. This one is basic med/surg. There is a LOT of content, some repetition but now the focus is interventions and putting what we've learned into practice.

That's as far as I've gotten; we start Provider II (pediatrics/maternity) and Informatics on May 11. Provider III is community health. All of the Provider sequence have the same kind of 2-3 weeks full time didactic and then out on placement with class once-ish a week structure.

As an N3 you do Provider IV (psych) and Provider V (advanced med/surg) while working on your capstone project.

Hope that helps, PM me if you want more specific info!

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Specializes in Neuro/NSGY, critical care, med/stroke/tele.

Also I used to work with a grad of the Worcester ABSN and she liked it!!

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CiaMia, the information that you provided is really helpful!

What advice do you have for surviving N1?

Studying wise, if you're a visual learner?

Do people form study group?

How to bear with the stress?

How helpful are the professors and accessible are they?

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Specializes in Neuro/NSGY, critical care, med/stroke/tele.

What advice do you have for surviving N1?

Do the reading, especially for concepts you don't understand - it seems like a lot, but there WILL be overlap. Don't rely on the power-points, because not everything is on there. Make notes in a way that makes sense for you; whether it's doing a page by topic, or alongside the slides, or in a notebook of bullet-points as you read. Do this coming up to each quiz so that when you get to the final, you have your own set of notes to review rather than trying to make a whole semesters' worth at once.

Studying wise, if you're a visual learner?

Concept maps! Draw arrows. Color-code EVERYTHING. For patho/pharm we got I think 1 or 2 extra points per quiz grade if we handed in a concept map (the idea was that we'd make them to study from).

Do people form study group?

Yes! I got friendly with a couple of girls - one of whom was my lab partner for 245 (assessment); we still get together before quizzes and work through material/questions together. I think this is pretty common, people make a couple of friends and then they become the people you work with before and drink with after quizzes/finals, haha!

How to bear with the stress?

Make sure you have outside things to look forward to, and take some time out on the weekends. Make sure you still do things you enjoy, and spend time with friends - even if it's just dinner and a movie night or something. Reward yourself - and plan around big/important things (I had to move right before N1 finals week -- not ideal!) so that you can still participate. ALSO, SLEEP!!

How helpful are the professors and accessible are they?

I can't speak for Worcester, but at least for Manchester, they are really responsive. I've always been able to talk to them whenever I've needed - our associate dean even respond pretty much immediately to a non-academic email and made time to sit down and talk with me about some stuff that was coming up with new faculty and the cohort dynamics that he didn't know was going on. While sometimes there's a gap between the lab faulty and the classroom/didactic faculty, they do know this and do their best. I've even gotten an email after working my butt off for patho/pharm (I'd emailed the professor because I knew I was in the danger zone/right on the borderline) and she emailed right after a quiz I did well in to say how happy she was for me and to keep doing what I was doing. :-)

Hope that helps!

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You are truly amazing! Thank you for your tips and advice! I will be using this to help me to decide if I want to attend. Any other tips/tricks/advice you'd like to provide would be greatly appreciated. Good luck!

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I tried to PM you, but I haven't created enough threads to enable that activity. Lame!

But, what are you study tips that you've been using? I am a visual learner so I will definitely be using the concept maps to my full advantage. What other tips can you give?

Also, I think like all people in nursing school you want to pass and move on, but you're also terrified of being that person that drops out. What are you doing to combat this fear? I'm just so nervous!

How are you staying organized and managing your time? How do you know how much time to spend on one subject vs the others? Lots of questions! But I just want to get myself mentally prepared!

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Specializes in Neuro/NSGY, critical care, med/stroke/tele.

But, what are you study tips that you've been using? I am a visual learner so I will definitely be using the concept maps to my full advantage. What other tips can you give?

Watch the skills videos! They have them to go along with lab skills and assessments. Draw diagrams -- and for me, color coding EVERYTHING. haha. Also, making flashcards helped me.

Also, I think like all people in nursing school you want to pass and move on, but you're also terrified of being that person that drops out. What are you doing to combat this fear? I'm just so nervous!

So, I'll be totally honest here. We lost a couple of people from our cohort after N1. Not an easy thing. Life happens. Nobody thinks any worse of them, and all of them that I can think of are still there, just retaking the one class they needed. It may be a setback, but it will be okay. If it happens, you learn from it, and grow, and move on, and you will be an even stronger nurse because of it. You'll usually have a good sense going through the course though of how you're doing, and if you need help it is definitely there well before the end.

How are you staying organized and managing your time? How do you know how much time to spend on one subject vs the others?

So, in N1, 215 (skills and technologies) and 226 (patho/pharm) are the biggies. Looking at how many credits each class is will help guide your time investment. The nice thing is, after N1 you only have two classes at a time so it gets a bit clearer. For time management, pick a system and stick to it. Whether it's digital/iCal/Outlook or a paper planner. You'll get the syllabi before classes start -- go through ALL of them and put them together, with everything on one page/whatever so you can see when each class needs more attention (before quizzes/assignments etc). I will tell you, there were a couple of double-test days (with a quiz in more than one class).

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CiaMai,

How are the exams formatted? Multiple choice or short answers?

I heard some students do CNA as part-time, while studying, would you advise that? If so, at what point should students do that?

When should nursing student start preparing for the NCLEX? Which book should they use?

How is the "real time" class teaching like? Do people actually learn?

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Specializes in Neuro/NSGY, critical care, med/stroke/tele.

How are the exams formatted? Multiple choice or short answers?

Multiple choice; NCLEX-style questions right from day 1.

I heard some students do CNA as part-time, while studying, would you advise that? If so, at what point should students do that?

If you have REALLY strong time management skills and not a lot of outside obligations (family etc!). I think people find it easier to do after N1.

When should nursing student start preparing for the NCLEX? Which book should they use?

Day 1! They're trying to get us in the mindset for licensure exam questions right from the start. And we use lots of HESI books - I don't think there's any one book that's going to prepare you for NCLEX, lol, but we use review books and question books.

How is the "real time" class teaching like? Do people actually learn?

This really depends on the faculty, the content and the student (how attentive they are, whether they are an auditory learner, or find it useful to take notes etc). Most of the faculty definitely make an effort to keep it engaging even when it's a LONG day, and give breaks/make it interactive etc. We also do clicker questions to make sure people are keeping up.

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