Direct entry and graduate entry programs II

soontobenp · Jun 19, 2005

Hello all,

My apologies if this has been posted already...I am a new member, and haven't had a chance to sift through all 72 pages of the thread yet. I am interested in applying for Master's Entry programs and becoming a Family Nurse Practitioner. I have a number of questions, and any suggestions or thoughts would be much appreciated.

~ I completed my BA in Environmental Studies, but did not have a GPA (we received narrative evaluations) and my undergrad school does not calculate GPAs. Has anyone been in a similar situation?

~ I have found only a few Master's entry programs--UCSF, Columbia, UNH, McGill. Are there others?

~ I work two full-time jobs, so have little time for volunteering. However, one of my jobs is in a mostly low-income medical clinic. Will my lack of volunteerism adversely affect my applications?

~ Does anyone have any experience with international nursing? I would like to go into this (to work with organizations like Doctors Without Borders, or similar) field, and am wondering if Family NP is too general for this type of work.

~ Also, I am thinking of applying to McGill, and am wondering if anyone knows of their program, and whether persons receiving their NP in Canada may practice in the US; and, if not, what might the licensure process be like?

Whew. Thanks for reading all of this! I look forward to any help you may be able to offer. Thanks again.

Peachy720 · Jun 19, 2005

Your essay is very important because you can draw out the intangibles that are not apparent from stats. Why do you want to get into nursing? What are your goals? Why do you feel you are a great candidate for XYZ school? What types of experiences have guided you in this direction? What sort of adversities have you overcome? (working fulltime, raising a family, taking X # of credits in the eveing, etc.). What do you see yourself doing in the next 2 to 3 years after you graduate? In the next 10? They will want to know... The better you can articulate your ideas on your essay, the better you sound during the subsequent interview.
The big thing is match the school's philosophy and programs with your background. Some schools emphasize the volunteer/direct health care experience. Others just want to know if you can do the work by focusing on the academic record. You need to look at the school's website and do some research.
Good luck!
Smile123

Hey Smile!!

Would you say that JHU emphasizes the first (volunteer/health care)? That's the vibe I get. [edit: also, if you don't mind me asking--if you do, please tell me to stop being nosy! --why did you decide to decline U of Wash?]

I finally got to start volunteering in the hospital. I was able to get one of my first choices--the ICU! I was supposed to be just running back and forth to lab, placing orders, and whatever else they gave me, but on my first day, I got to find out how to bodybag someone (after taking out the foley, IV, and electrodes)..but since then, I've gone back to the ho-hum...but I still enjoy it immensely! Once I'm done with summer semester and the horrors of A&P I, lab, and Psych, plus working on weekends, I'd like to volunteer at the local hospice as well.

I've enjoyed reading everything--I wanted to email you the day before your orientation, but things were a bit crazy. Very excited for you and hope all is well.:balloons:

Likewise to Eliza and all the other girlies...:Melody:

Genn, very happy for you!!

Take care,

Tanya

smile123 · Jun 19, 2005

Hello all,
My apologies if this has been posted already...I am a new member, and haven't had a chance to sift through all 72 pages of the thread yet. I am interested in applying for Master's Entry programs and becoming a Family Nurse Practitioner. I have a number of questions, and any suggestions or thoughts would be much appreciated.
~ I completed my BA in Environmental Studies, but did not have a GPA (we received narrative evaluations) and my undergrad school does not calculate GPAs. Has anyone been in a similar situation?
~ I have found only a few Master's entry programs--UCSF, Columbia, UNH, McGill. Are there others?
~ I work two full-time jobs, so have little time for volunteering. However, one of my jobs is in a mostly low-income medical clinic. Will my lack of volunteerism adversely affect my applications?
~ Does anyone have any experience with international nursing? I would like to go into this (to work with organizations like Doctors Without Borders, or similar) field, and am wondering if Family NP is too general for this type of work.
~ Also, I am thinking of applying to McGill, and am wondering if anyone knows of their program, and whether persons receiving their NP in Canada may practice in the US; and, if not, what might the licensure process be like?
Whew. Thanks for reading all of this! I look forward to any help you may be able to offer. Thanks again.

Dear Soontobenp,

There is a search option on the forums. A lot has already been written about the topics you mentioned. You can also just google key phrases and you'll get more info. (I just did this on Google to answer several of the questions you posed.)

1. You do need some sort of GPA so schools can quickly assess your application. I would advise you to talk to your school counselor and see how they could translate your evals into grade equivalents.

2. MEPN programs:

http://career.berkeley.edu/Health/NursApp.stm (has comments about some of the schools)

http://www.allnursingschools.com/faqs/master-degrees-nursing.php (lists more schools than the first list, but it is not an exhaustive list; for example, the U of Washington is not listed, but it started last year.) Go to the school's individual website for more info.

3. You can either volunteer or work in a health care setting. It's good to get some other volunteer experience. You do have a plus working in a low-income medical clinic. Be sure to mention it in your essay.

4. Yes, you can go into Doctors without Borders. They take medical personnel (drs and nurses, etc). See their website:

http://www.doctorswithoutborders-usa.org/volunteer/index.cfm

5. If you get a RN degree in Canada or outside the US, you still need to pass the US RN NCLEX licensure exams. Here's info about Canadian RNs working in the US: http://www.aldatech.com/CanadianNurses.htm

There are some places that do not require the NCLEX (US exam) for Canadian RNs, but you need to check with the special hospital or heath care facility. For example, here's the one for UNC (Chapel Hill, NC):

http://www.med.unc.edu/nursing/mainpages/canadian.connexion.htm#documentation

6. Look at these links under NP to ask specifically about NP licensure:

http://www.advancedpracticejobs.com/links.php#NursePractitioners

I don't know about NP transfers. You could ask McGill about their graduates and whether they practice in the US.

Again, it would be good if you took the time to read some of the posts; use the search tool on the website. Several of us spent quite a bit of time already replying to several of these questions. Good luck!

Smile123

elizabells, BSN, RN · Jun 19, 2005

soontobenp:

did you go to UCSanta Cruz? I did, and got into Columbia but not UCSF or UPenn. I did not have a GPA.

Mission · Jun 19, 2005

~ I work two full-time jobs, so have little time for volunteering. However, one of my jobs is in a mostly low-income medical clinic. Will my lack of volunteerism adversely affect my applications?
~ Does anyone have any experience with international nursing? I would like to go into this (to work with organizations like Doctors Without Borders, or similar) field, and am wondering if Family NP is too general for this type of work.

Hi,

I'm currently a student at Columbia. I did not have any volunteer information on my application since I've been working at clinical and/or managed care organizations for the last 5 years. I don't think it will matter if you have relevant work experience.

You can get some information on international nursing from the "Volunteer and Disaster Relief Nursing" forum. I'm also interested in doing international nursing and doing FNP. Most organizations are desparate enough they rarely specify a specialty (check idealist.org for examples). I think it mostly depends what you want to do, Doctors without Borders, from my understanding, does not really focus on recruiting primary care providers since their focus is on emergency aid. However, there are many organizations whose emphasis is on offering primary care-in which case an FNP is ideal. I think you can find positions in international nursing in any specialty.

Good luck!

Gennaver, MSN · Jun 19, 2005

Hey Smile!!
Would you say that JHU emphasizes the first (volunteer/health care)? That's the vibe I get. [edit: also, if you don't mind me asking--if you do, please tell me to stop being nosy! --why did you decide to decline U of Wash?]
I finally got to start volunteering in the hospital. I was able to get one of my first choices--the ICU! I was supposed to be just running back and forth to lab, placing orders, and whatever else they gave me, but on my first day, I got to find out how to bodybag someone (after taking out the foley, IV, and electrodes)..but since then, I've gone back to the ho-hum...but I still enjoy it immensely! Once I'm done with summer semester and the horrors of A&P I, lab, and Psych, plus working on weekends, I'd like to volunteer at the local hospice as well.
I've enjoyed reading everything--I wanted to email you the day before your orientation, but things were a bit crazy. Very excited for you and hope all is well.:balloons:
Likewise to Eliza and all the other girlies...:Melody:
Genn, very happy for you!!
Take care,
Tanya

Hi,

Thank you!! Very nice to read you Peachy/Tanya. :)

Good luck with the summer full of A&P and Psych too.

Gen

Gennaver, MSN · Jun 19, 2005

Hello all,
~ I completed my BA in Environmental Studies, but did not have a GPA (we received narrative evaluations) and my undergrad school does not calculate GPAs. Has anyone been in a similar situation?

I have only heard of this and do not know how grad school consider this. Might be a very good idea to call them and see.

~ I have found only a few Master's entry programs--UCSF, Columbia, UNH, McGill. Are there others?

Oh yes, there are more, will see if this has been answered already too, (because I don't know right offhand where to find them!)

~ I work two full-time jobs, so have little time for volunteering. However, one of my jobs is in a mostly low-income medical clinic. Will my lack of volunteerism adversely affect my applications?

I would think that your job experience would cancel out the volunteerism need

~ Does anyone have any experience with international nursing? I would like to go into this (to work with organizations like Doctors Without Borders, or similar) field, and am wondering if Family NP is too general for this type of work.
Thanks again.

Wow, this is cool. I wonder if community health nursing may be more appropriate but, am not seriously sure! I think that there may be similarities between FNP and community NP but, double check. Heck, you could always give a try to the most local WHO office to ask for any advice! Good luck!

Gen

bruinlaura · Jun 20, 2005

~ Does anyone have any experience with international nursing? I would like to go into this (to work with organizations like Doctors Without Borders, or similar) field, and am wondering if Family NP is too general for this type of work.
QUOTE]
at columbia's welcome bbq a friend of mine asked a prof about this. they encouraged her to stick with fnp because of the broad base of knowledge provided. they also noted that in an acute care program you would be using a lot of fancy technology not available in the remote areas that most int'l orgs go to. i don't know about any community health or if there is an np program for that but it sounds like something to investigate as well. allnursingschools.com was a great resource for me when I was starting to investigate these programs. and there are more and more cropping up every year. good luck with your search.:)

breebunny · Jun 20, 2005

Hi Bree,
Sorry for the delay! These accelerated classes at Hopkins have us going to class from 7:30 am or 8am to 5:30pm at night M - Th. Then we have to studying and do homework for the next day. On Fridays we have clinical and visit our patient (we are assigned to one to work with for the next 6 weeks). It's definitely accelerated! But I like it,
UCSF is the most competitive in my opinion. I have known 2 people that have gotten in (both of them applied a 2nd time to get in) and one person who got in after being on the waitlist for her specific focus area in the MEPN program.
I don't know about the others you listed.
I applied to UCSF(MEPN), U of Washington (MEPN) , U of San Diego (MEPN), Seattle U (MEPN), and Hopkins (MEPN). I also applied to San Franicsco State U (accelerated 2 year BSN), DeAnza (CC for 2 yr ADN), as backup plans. (I didin't want to wait a year and not be in a nursing school!). I would encourage you to apply for BSN and ADN programs too! You just want to get that RN degree. You can always go back to school and work fulltime; some hospitals will pay for part or all of your tuition for further education once you have your RN.
I applied to Hopkins as a last minute thing; I really wanted to stay on the West Coast, preferably in the SF Bay Area, so I wouldn't have to move. But Hopkins had an accelerated BSN program (13.5 months) and they were extremely flexible; you could apply to direct entry, defer for a year before going on for the masters, work full time or part time after the BSN, take full time or a part time load, etc. Plus, they don't require chemistry, so you could apply there too!
I got into all of them except UCSF (700 people for 75 slots, of which there are only 5 or 6 slots for the specific focus area - I was going for FNP which is one of the most popular!), Seattle U (likes people who have worked with the homeless and underserved populations) and DeAnza CC (lottery only - trhey had 180 people for 24 slots). Who knows why you get into one school and not another?
Stats: GRE: 760/800 Quant, 600/800 Verbal, 5/6 essay
I spent 10 days studying for it, using a couple of books and CDs from the library, and the GRE CD you get in the mail once you sign up for the course.
GPA: 3.3 U/G in Chemistry, masters in business admin (some schools give you more points with higher level degrees) What is your pre-req GPA? That will be very important; hopefully it's at least a 3.5 to be competitive. They usually do 2 types of GPA's: your U/G and your pre-req GPA.
Volunteer: Lots! Children's hospital, Ronald McDonald house, Emergency Dept., Planned Parenthood Any volunteer experience in a health care setting is a plus. Even if you can only shadow someone, do a one time volunteer gig, or work on a project. I would definitely get some experience! It puts you in a better compeitive light for most schools. Then you can talk about your experiences in your essay.
Your essay is very important because you can draw out the intangibles that are not apparent from stats. Why do you want to get into nursing? What are your goals? Why do you feel you are a great candidate for XYZ school? What types of experiences have guided you in this direction? What sort of adversities have you overcome? (working fulltime, raising a family, taking X # of credits in the eveing, etc.). What do you see yourself doing in the next 2 to 3 years after you graduate? In the next 10? They will want to know... The better you can articulate your ideas on your essay, the better you sound during the subsequent interview.
The big thing is match the school's philosophy and programs with your background. Some schools emphasize the volunteer/direct health care experience. Others just want to know if you can do the work by focusing on the academic record. You need to look at the school's website and do some research.
Good luck!
Smile123

Thanks Smile123! My husband and I had a long talk this weekend and I decided that at least this year I'm only going to apply to Seattle U and PLU because we really want to be in Seattle long-term as our families are here and my husband doesn't want to move jobs twice in three years (moving to where I'd be in school and then moving back). Seattle U also has a second-degree BSN which is not accelerated so I may apply for that too. Otherwise, if I don't get in I will just volunteer more and take some chemistry so that when I re-apply next year I can apply for UW too. Thanks for all of your input. If any one else has applied to Seattle or PLU I'd love to hear your input. From what I heard at the Info session they only take about 2% of applicants-- so unless I do amazingly on the GRE and find a really cool volunteer opportunity soon (options are limited when you are only available on the weekends) I think my chances this year are kind of slim so we'll just have to see...

Bree

smile123 · Jun 20, 2005

Thanks Smile123! My husband and I had a long talk this weekend and I decided that at least this year I'm only going to apply to Seattle U and PLU because we really want to be in Seattle long-term as our families are here and my husband doesn't want to move jobs twice in three years (moving to where I'd be in school and then moving back). Seattle U also has a second-degree BSN which is not accelerated so I may apply for that too. Otherwise, if I don't get in I will just volunteer more and take some chemistry so that when I re-apply next year I can apply for UW too. Thanks for all of your input. If any one else has applied to Seattle or PLU I'd love to hear your input. From what I heard at the Info session they only take about 2% of applicants-- so unless I do amazingly on the GRE and find a really cool volunteer opportunity soon (options are limited when you are only available on the weekends) I think my chances this year are kind of slim so we'll just have to see...
Bree

I'm not sure if you have any kids, but you may also want to think about being apart for the 13 months to get the BSN RN. I know a couple of people at Hopkins who are doing that now (the spouse doesn't want to move again). So think about it. Good luck!

Smile123

breebunny · Jun 21, 2005

I'm not sure if you have any kids, but you may also want to think about being apart for the 13 months to get the BSN RN. I know a couple of people at Hopkins who are doing that now (the spouse doesn't want to move again). So think about it. Good luck!
Smile123

Smile123-

I have considered that very thing-- I do not have children, so it is feasible. I have mixed feelings about it but I haven't ruled it out. My husband and I haven't been apart more than a month in 8 years being together-- it would be really hard, but not out of the question. I will think about it. How do you like the program at Hopkins now that you're a ways into it?

Gennaver, MSN · Jun 21, 2005

Hello,

More news again about waiting to start the MEP.

I called DePaul today to double check if they received my final transcripts to lock in my winter start. It turns out that they have never been evaluated and are 'location unknown' so to say. I was told that they would keep looking and call me tomorrow.

I remembered that one of my junior colleges was on a quarter system and phoned and spoke with the org chem prof. Basically I can take the class starting July 11th.

I phoned DePaul and asked if a Fall start was in any way possible, they said it depends on my transcript evaluation. I told the lady that I have the opportunity to take my final pre-req this summer rather than fall but, would do that only if I was good for a fall start, (rather than pushing it to the winter). The lady said that they would keep looking and would call me tomorrow.

Good grief!!

The roller coaster. Of course I am very glad that this may work out like this. I would much rather finish six months sooner than push it off but, it really pushes up the tension on the whole thing.

I guess I had better become one with the anxiety, (since February!)

Thanks,

Gen

p.s. also means that the financial situation hits crunch-time too but, that is bound to happen no matter what when it comes to this, right?