2009 Direct Entry MSN at MGHIHP

goberun83 · Mar 4, 2009

jnd1213, what specialty did you apply for? I don't know a whole lot about the NEU program, but we have loads of co-op students from various programs working in my department at Children's Hospital and the Docs always seem to like them.

MGH has a pretty extensive list of their top clinical sites... not to mention doing some rotations at MGH, which is pretty amazing. All contact I've had with anyone at MGH has been great... they are quick to return calls and emails, and seem to be easily accessible, which I like.

But really either of those two Boston schools will allow you the opportunity to work in some of the best hospitals in the country. The Longwood Medical Area is a really great place to work... and NEU is just down the street. New Haven has a lot of benefits too and obviously Yale is a fantastic school (congrats)!

Where are you living now? I'm pretty partial to Boston, plus if NEU gave you money, that could make a big difference. Good luck with your decision!

jnd1213 · Mar 4, 2009

jnd1213, what specialty did you apply for? I don't know a whole lot about the NEU program, but we have loads of co-op students from various programs working in my department at Children's Hospital and the Docs always seem to like them.
MGH has a pretty extensive list of their top clinical sites... not to mention doing some rotations at MGH, which is pretty amazing. All contact I've had with anyone at MGH has been great... they are quick to return calls and emails, and seem to be easily accessible, which I like.
But really either of those two Boston schools will allow you the opportunity to work in some of the best hospitals in the country. The Longwood Medical Area is a really great place to work... and NEU is just down the street. New Haven has a lot of benefits too and obviously Yale is a fantastic school (congrats)!
Where are you living now? I'm pretty partial to Boston, plus if NEU gave you money, that could make a big difference. Good luck with your decision!

I'm currently living in Boston and would love to stay here. I applied for adult psych specialty (but am very open to acute care). From what I've heard, MGH does not actually have anymore of a connection to the Boston hospitals as NEU (maybe for the RN clinicals they do, but beyond that it's a level playing field). Yale sounds fancy, but I did a lot of research and have concluded that the Ivy name is not very important in the nursing field (as it is for an MBA or JD). I'll see, i think if all things are equal, I should go the school that will leave me with the least amount of debt as possible...

Samm13 · Mar 8, 2009

Any thoughts on the accepted students info session yesterday?

jalin_2009 · Mar 8, 2009

Samm-

At the event yesterday, we had a chance to ask questions about the program, meet the faculty and learn more about financial aid. In the beginning of the session, everyone went around and introduce themselves. I was impressed by the groups of accepted students. Let me know if you have specific questions.

Most of the people I spoke to yesterday had not made up their minds about MGH yet. Many had several acceptances to choose from. Which is good for you on the waiting list. We have until the 20th to send in our deposits. Classes begin September 1st so you may still be admitted between the 20th and September.

They did mention that they received over 400 applications for 80 slots.

Redsox17 · Mar 8, 2009

Did anyone receive a scholarship to MGH? I heard they give some merit scholarships, but I was wondering how many (I know they went out with the acceptance letters). I got accepted to MGH early, so I thought this would put me a good position for a scholarship, but I didn't get one.

applying2nursing-de · Mar 9, 2009

I am on wait list at MGH-Ughhh!! Your acceptance e-mails make me want to cry but I am staying positive! It is my absolute dream to go to MGHIHP. Anyways, I just filled out my needs based financial aid form. It was due today at MGHIHP. For those of you who may not have filled out FAFSA yet, you should do so ASAP. They said after filling out a needs based form, you should hear back within a few weeks (from the financial office, even if you are not accepted yet to the program). The FAFSA is free and you can enter all schools you are applying to. I did not realize how important it is to do this NOW as opposed to when (if) I am aceepted. Hope that helps but I am not sure about scholarships...

I think those go out with the acceptance letters.

applying2nursing-de · Mar 10, 2009

I just heard MGHIHP does not offer clinical rotations in different settings as most other schools do. For example, Simmons offers rotations in diff floors to get a variety of clinicals. My friend in Nursing school told me this but I am not sure if she is right. She said at most schools you switch around to see lots of diff types of nursing to help you confirm where you want to work. But she said MGHIHP only allows you to do the same clinical rotation at the same place on the same floor, for example. Does anyone know if this is true??

juliewoo · Mar 10, 2009

I just heard MGHIHP does not offer clinical rotations in different settings as most other schools do. For example, Simmons offers rotations in diff floors to get a variety of clinicals. My friend in Nursing school told me this but I am not sure if she is right. She said at most schools you switch around to see lots of diff types of nursing to help you confirm where you want to work. But she said MGHIHP only allows you to do the same clinical rotation at the same place on the same floor, for example. Does anyone know if this is true??

That's not the impression I got from the info session on Saturday. MGH wouldn't offer clinicals in only one setting - that wouldn't prepare you very well for the generalist portion of the program or the NCLEX. During the Q&A, the faculty members specifically mentioned hospitals that are currently used as clinical sites for the different specialities (i.e. OB/Peds at NSMC, med-surg at MGH, psychiatric at McLean).

Perhaps your friend was referring to the clinical preceptorship that happens in the 3rd year of the program? During that period, you spend a considerable amount of time working 1 on 1 with a physician, PA, or NP in the clinical setting related to your specialty.

goberun83 · Mar 10, 2009

I thought that the open house on Saturday was very helpful, but I'm concerned about science summer. As of right now, I only have to take nutrition... but they said if you have to take any classes "quit your job". That can't be right for only one class, can it? I'm also concerned that they will make me retake organic chemistry because when I applied it was within 5 years, but by the time I was accepted, it was 5 years and 1 month since I completed the course. Guess I'll just have to wait and see.

Overall, the open house went really well. There were some extraordinary people sitting in that room, but the current students mentioned that once you start your classes there is very little competition between students. I also really enjoyed seeing the relationships between the professors. It seems like they are all very close and work together well. Some of the other schools I considered did not have a great communication network between professors, so that was probably one of my favorite things about MGH.

Samm13 · Mar 10, 2009

To address a couple of things mentioned:

I had heard a rumor that people in specialty tracks like ANP don't get to do a peds rotation. I asked a faculty member (the coordinator of ANP) at the Open House if during the first half of the program students' specialty tracks affect their clinical rotations, and she said no - everybody does everything. I wouldn't worry about not getting enough varied clinical experiences... I think that is misinformation, at least from the info I got at the Open House.

As for Science Summer, if you only have to take nutrition, for goodness sakes keep your job! That is an on-line course. You'll be able to do the whole thing at night or on the weekends. What they said was not if you have to take one class, quit your job. They said if you have to take ALL that classes, quit your job.

I agree that the faculty seemed very impressive. I mean, a lot of faculty at other schools have impressive resumes, but no other faculty that I've encountered has been as approachable and down-to-earth, and also seemed to work so well together, as at MGH. A lot of schools say that you will get lots of personal attention and mentoring, but at MGH I actually buy that.

applying2nursing-de · Mar 10, 2009

Does anyone know if the science summer prereqs at MGHIHP are transferable to other programs? None have labs and a few are pass/fail....I was planning on taking them this summer but now that I am on the wait list, I am nervous bc if I take them and then cannot transfer and am not accepted next year, that would be horrible!!!

applying2nursing-de · Mar 29, 2009

Samm 13, Did you decide on MGHIHP over Colombia and why?