Columbia University ETP 2008

cozzy66 · Aug 20, 2008

As a new RN it is very difficult to get a job part-time. I think approx half our class either took the year off and is working full-time (which means they work at their job for 2 years+ before becoming NPs) and the other half is working full-time and doing the masters full-time. I haven't really heard of anyone doing the masters part-time though, because scholarship doesn't get applied in that case. It's always up to the grads to decide whether or not they want to pursue NP work right after finishing the MS or be an RN for one more year and managers should ask what the potential hire's plans are for the next 1 or 2 years. Of course, telling the whole truth might screw the applicant out of a job...

l-styx · Aug 20, 2008

I've heard that in general it's hard to be hired in an ER fresh from any program, generally ER managers want people who know their way around the bedside. All three of the hospitals I've worked in require 2 years of RN experience before they'll consider putting you in the ER. I can understand it, but I'm not happy about it, as that's where I'd most like to work and would probably get the best experience.

cozzy66 · Aug 20, 2008

I got a job straight out of school in the ER in NYC. Many places officially say that they will not hire you to the ER without experience, but if you get to an open house, you can possibly convince them or find someone who doesn't share that sentiment. Also, if you have experience in your final clinical rotation in the ER, you are more marketable to managers, especially if you were handling your own section.

Many nurses say that you start off on med-surg because you need to learn how to organize your time, but if you don't have a problem with that, then you can go straight to the ER.

smit1989 · Aug 23, 2008

I am currently in the ETP program, about to start my second semester in a little over a week. Just to throw in my two cents: during clinicals this summer at NYP-Cornell, I was able to talk to a clinical nurse specialist who gave me some insight on how to land a job as an RN after finishing the ETP year.

1)"VERY difficult to get a part time job as a new grad, but not very difficult to get hired as a full time RN" (his words)

2)His advice on the ER was DO NOT start out working in the ER (if you are even offered a job in one). He told me (and, of course, there are exceptions to this) that the ER is very very stressful, fast paced, and usually is not a place where people are AS willing to take a new grad under their wing and show them the ropes.

3) If you are looking on any hospital's career opportunity page, do not be thrown off by experience requirements for the job...apply anyway and the individual hiring may not follow those requirements. I asked him how hard it would be for me to get a job in an ICU right after I graduate and pass my NCLEX and he told me that with good grades and a good recommendation it would be "no problem at all".

4) He said (and many other people have told me this as well) that many students get offered jobs in their integration sites after the staff witnesses your capabilities in nursing. So, try and get an integration site you would be interested in staying in by emailing those in charge of integration placements.

I hope that helps! Again, everything I said above was mostly from a conversation with one person who, to me, seemed to be very knowledgeable and informed. Good luck!

dg05, RN · Aug 24, 2008

poppete75, you're right about columbia being more focused on training nps (i can't say about the political part); but to be fair that is the school's focus. it's for people who know that they ultimately want to be nps, not nurses, and who want a fast-track way to get there. i can't speak to columbia's clinical experience vs other accelerated programs because i don't know enough but i feel as prepared as any new nurse to go into the field and work. that is, i don't feel like i graduated with a deficient and i actually believe that the integration experience gives us an edge.

dg

wymnwise · Sep 2, 2008

"Sounds like after shelling out so much money, nursing students should be able to have volunteers for this. Interesting issue."

It seems medical schools could pay for models to do this job. Not "voluteers" who turn out to be women under anesthesia who do not know what is going on, or women in a clinic who have not been told the truth about how many students the extent of the exam and how long they will be subjected to the train.

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ICU08 · Sep 14, 2008

Hello all future ETP students:

I am writing as a previous ETP student who graduated this May 2008 from the ETP portion. I was accepted to the anesthesia program and am currently working in an ICU to fulfill my 1 year requirement. I picked Columbia's program because like some of you I did not want the hassle of applying to anesthesia school after applying to BS/MS programs, I wanted a garaunteed acceptance to a program.

I hated the ETP program, the classes were horrible, except the ones taught by Sally abeloa. The clinicals did not even come close to preparing me to be a nurse after school and like many from school finding a job after this program in the NYC area was next to impossible. Nobody from my anesthesia program was offered a position in the ICU where they did integration. Many of us had to leave the city for a year to go to ICUs where they were not familiar with Columbias program. It was hard finding a job, because all of the new grad nurse programs for the ICU start hiring in February and we did not have any ICU experience until April and May, making it very difficult to be accepted into the competitive programs where many of the applicants went to 4 year programs and had spent almost a year in the ICU as a nursing assistant or student nurse.

Anyways I ended up getting a job in NH, now I am faced with having to leave this position in a year to move back to NYC. However most jobs would like you to make at least a 2 year commitment to them because of all the training they have to pay for. It is very expensive to train an ICU nurse.

To cut this story short if I could do it all over again, I still don't know what I would do, I am allready torn between staying here in NH and applying to programs in this area (because I really know I will not enjoy the anesthesia program) or just go back to NYC to get this education thing over with.

Going to columbia is a hard decision, and a very expensive one at that. But I just wanted to post on here to let you all know how hard it is to get a job in NYC after graduation from the ETP portion, and I don't know anyone who got a job at NYPH, the hospital that is affiliated with Columbia. I mean I applied to every hospital in NYC and didn't even get a phone call back. I gave up and started working my way out to CT and beyond. And again, Columbia will not help those in the anesthesia program at all with finding a job, so if you think that is the case you have been mislead, it is all up to you and if you don't get a job, you can't continue in the program because at this point you only are allowed to take one year off to work. So you must have a job in an ICU by Sept 1st after you graduate in order to stay in the program. If this doesn't happen you will have to take more time off, you will not be allowed to return and you would have to re-apply to the program.

I was told coming into this program that nobody had a hard time finding a job in the ICU after the ETP portion and I just wanted to let you all know its tough and this should be a consideration when deciding to come to Columbia.

Good luck to all of you and I just wanted to share my story I hope it helps.

chicamica · Sep 29, 2008

I got a job straight out of school in the ER in NYC. Many places officially say that they will not hire you to the ER without experience, but if you get to an open house, you can possibly convince them or find someone who doesn't share that sentiment. Also, if you have experience in your final clinical rotation in the ER, you are more marketable to managers, especially if you were handling your own section.
Many nurses say that you start off on med-surg because you need to learn how to organize your time, but if you don't have a problem with that, then you can go straight to the ER.

hi cozzy,

i was wondering if you could recommend a good place to request for integration (in manhattan) that would be more likely to hire you after ETP. would a random hospital (non-nyp) like roosevelt be better to try? also, do you know how much time we get off between ETP and the master's portion? i'm considering FNP or PNP. if possible, could you provide a brief outline of what we can expect for our master's portion? (like which courses at which semester/how many semesters different master's specialties take, etc.) i'm aware of this site: http://nursing.columbia.edu/programs/fnp.html but it's not specific in terms of a timeline of courses and other helpful details that someone who has gone through it, such as yourself, could provide!

do you know any recent grads of those programs (or anyone currently in them) who could offer their advice as well? a number of us are really frustrated with the lack of information provided to us about what next year (our master's portion) will be like. we'll take any info we can get & are in serious need of a good mentor! you've had really insightful posts on this thread so far, so i thought you would be a good person to try. -- and thank you for everything you've contributed thus far! :)

i know some of my questions will be difficult to answer (time-wise and specificity-wise) but whatever you have time for would be MUCH appreciated!!! thanks in advance!!

cozzy66 · Sep 29, 2008

sunny is going to give a lecture about integration sometime in october or november, but basically anywhere you do your integration, if they like you, you will get a job there. if you don't want nyp, you request non-nyp hospitals, and you can name where you would like to do it, but it doens't mean you're gonna get it. for example, i requested st. vincents and some other hospitals, but ended up at beth israel, which was a great integration site, but didn't get offered a position and know a few others who also didn't get offered positions there.

regarding courses and timelines of various specialties, i know fnp starts in the summer, peds starts i think in the summer or fall, adult starts in the fall (But you should take classes in the summer, just because you can get them out of the way), acute starts in the summer, midwifery summer, psych summer. there is also a peds slow track that starts in january. you will get a chance to look at all of these schedules before you commit to your specialty in the spring. most programs end in december of the year following your start(1.5 years), acute is 1 year, psych is 2.5 years.

you get 2 weeks off between etp and masters, but you should really use your integration time to study for nclex so you can take it immediately after the white coat ceremony and have 2 weeks or whatever to take a nice vacation if you start masters in june. i didn't do that, but wish i did.

hope that helps, if you have any questions lemme know.

traveler2000 · Oct 5, 2008

Nobody from my anesthesia program was offered a position in the ICU where they did integration. Many of us had to leave the city for a year to go to ICUs where they were not familiar with Columbias program.

sarhag2, thanks for sharing. Can you tell me where the other people from your class who will be doing anesthesia ended up getting ICU jobs?

bibzz · Feb 7, 2009

Can someone please tell me when you could take the NCLEX exam once you finish your prelicensing phase in May?

dg05, RN · Feb 7, 2009

If you're on top of your paperwork -- they give you a little town meeting about this in February or March -- then you can take your exam a little as a week after you graduate. I took mine two weeks after graduation and I know a handful of people who did it earlier. Most waited longer but I really wanted to get it over with. I did questions pretty consistently throughout integration -- maybe 50 questions a week and then sequestered myself for 3 days prior to the test and did several hundred questions a day. Passed with 75.

I suggest Mosby's Illustrated Study Guide and Saunders.

dg