University of Calgary Accelerated Nursing Q&A?

[lathyrus]

Note: I posted this somewhere else in this forum, but I had no idea about this section. If you see my other thread, it's okay if you want to leave a comment. I appreciate all the help I can get. Thank you.

Hi, I'm about to finish my degree soon, and I'm thinking about going into the accelerated nursing program at the University of Calgary. I have some questions I want to ask, and I hope that this thread can help those who are in a similar situation like me?

For anyone who took it, what was it like?

Did the program prepare you into the nursing world?

Did you get hired right away like the nursing counselors told us?

Was the license exam hard?

Were the STAT class and Human Anat and Phy class hard?

How much is the tuition right now?

Do the employers care more if you have a three or four-year degree plus the accelerated degree? Or do they not care at all?

Does having an accelerated degree put you in disadvantage?

That's all I have for now.

Any thoughts, wisdom, and real life experience would be appreciated! Thanks!!

[petethecanuck]

Hi lathyrus. I'm an MN student at the U of C and will be teaching clinical practicums starting this Fall. I'll try to answer some of your queries.

For anyone who took it, what was it like? I started in the old 20 month BNAT program and not the new 24 month one. Not going to sugar coat it, it's a grind. Especially the Spring and Summer semesters. That said, students who are in the accelerated track are highly motivated very dedicated and generally do well.

Did the program prepare you into the nursing world? You won't have as many clinical hours as students who attend MRU or the direct entry stream at the U of C. To offset that deficit, some students (in the accelerated track) will try to undergrad after their first year (3rd yr equivalent). Given the fast pace of the program, under grading is rough, but if you can handle it, highly recommended. Looking back, I wish I had.

Did you get hired right away like the nursing counselors told us? Tricky question to answer. Best option to secure employment once you are eligible as a grad nurse is to 1) undergrad 2) get to know the manager on your final focus unit (assuming it's a unit you like). These days, applying via the AHS website is a pita and a lot of managers hire from their undergrad pool or students who have completed their final focus on the unit (as they are already half way trained).

Was the license exam hard? The CRNE no longer exists as of Oct 2014 and you will be writing the NCLEX but yes it will be challenging.

Were the STAT class and Human Anat and Phy class hard? That depends on your undergrad degree. If your degree is in the arts or music then yes, stats and anatomy & phys will be hard. :)

How much is the tuition right now? Fee chart for the 2013-2014 year http://www.ucalgary.ca/pubs/calendar/current/assets/FEES_CHART.pdf

Do the employers care more if you have a three or four-year degree plus the accelerated degree? Or do they not care at all? In my experience working with students from both schools, I would say MRU students have better clinical skills out of the gate and each person handles the first year "transition shock" differently, but over the course of time (by the 2nd year) things even out.

Does having an accelerated degree put you in disadvantage? Aside from the deficit in clinical hours, not really. We thrive as a profession by have people with vastly different life experiences, cultures and the like.

Good luck! :)

[lathyrus]

Thank you so much for the answer Pete!

I don't know what "undergrading" means though.

To offset that deficit, some students (in the accelerated track) will try to undergrad after their first year (3rd yr equivalent). Given the fast pace of the program, under grading is rough, but if you can handle it, highly recommended. Looking back, I wish I had.

What does this mean?

You're teaching next fall? That's amazing! Good luck with next fall term! :)