Direct Entry MSN's 2010

health13 · Mar 6, 2010

Did anyone get rejected from MGH DE program but accepted into Simmons or NE?

mas123 · Mar 6, 2010

I know people who were origanly waitlisted and then got into mgh, one person even late in the summer! The deposit deadline is April 1st so Im guessing after that they will go to the waitlist. I also know that MGH doesn't accept many more ppl than they have room for since it's usually a top choice but that means that there are more spots that open up! It may be worth shooting an email to mention you are still interested but Im not sure how the whole process works.

jlnp7 · Mar 6, 2010

Many students work as nursing assistants over the summer (that is...if they can get a job. most of my classmates are trying for CNA jobs right now and they're hard to come by). It's a good way to maintain your skills during the 4 months we have off for summers (May-August).
Some people also choose to take classes over the summer (most of which are online) to help lighten the load in the fall and spring semesters.

Do you have to get certified - I know there are CNA programs - or is the first-year curriculum enough to prepare you for that position? I don't know too much about the CNA role/responsibilities.

On a different subject, I was wondering how people view the Simmons vs. MGH programs. I've applied to both, and I've heard good things. Any additional thoughts, experiences, perspectives would be really helpful (although I haven't heard from Simmons yet, so maybe it's a moot point!).

juliewoo · Mar 6, 2010

The role of the CNA is pretty much identical to the role you'll have as a first year student in clinical so most hospitals will not require you to go through a separate CNA training program. The unit I just finished my rotation on this semester only hires nursing students as their CNAs (or PCAs as they're called around here) so it shouldn't be an issue for you when you're looking to find a job.

PsychRN28 · Mar 6, 2010

Juliewoo - I posted something a while back about my concern for the lack of jobs for new RN's in the Boston area. Are the job prospects as grim as they seem? Any insight you/anyone has on this would be awesome!

juliewoo · Mar 6, 2010

Juliewoo - I posted something a while back about my concern for the lack of jobs for new RN's in the Boston area. Are the job prospects as grim as they seem? Any insight you/anyone has on this would be awesome!

PsychRN28 - I still have about 10 months to go before I take the NCLEX, so I'm not currently looking for RN jobs. That being said, my clinical group did have a discussion about this issue with our instructor the other day and it's true that there is no "nursing shortage" in the Boston area. Our instructor admitted to us that we will likely have a harder time trying to get a job as an RN once we pass the boards simply due to high supply and low demand. The impression I have thus far is that jobs at the big Boston hospitals are a lot harder to come by, but that there are still some opportunities floating around at hospitals outside of the city.

I'm in the Master's program, and I've heard the job outlook for NPs is a lot more promising. Hoping that's the case

laurg0223 · Mar 10, 2010

juliewoo---

could u post a little bit about the schedule for the first year at MGH? i just got accepted and I would love to know what to expect more. m-f what was ur schedule like for classes and clinicals? any tips and info for us also? thanks for all ur help!

juliewoo · Mar 10, 2010

juliewoo---
could u post a little bit about the schedule for the first year at MGH? i just got accepted and I would love to know what to expect more. m-f what was ur schedule like for classes and clinicals? any tips and info for us also? thanks for all ur help!

Hi laurg0223,

The schedule for first semester is really packed in the first couple of weeks and then it settles down once clinicals start. The classes for the fall are History of Nursing Ideas, Pathophysiology, Process & Skills ("Fundamentals"), and Biobehavioral (Psych). For the first month, you'll have class 4 days a week (M, W, Th, F) and Psych clinical on Tuesdays. During this time you're in Process & Skills on both Wednesdays AND Thursdays (all day, 8a-4p) and then Fridays are "skills days" where they teach you the basics (vital signs, bed baths, patient transfers, etc) before you start clinical. Med-Surg clinical at MGH starts at the beginning of October. Most students have clinical on Fridays. So even though you technically have Thursdays "off," you still need to go into the hospital to get your patient info and do care plans for the next day. Only 24 students had the option to have clinical on Thursdays and had Fridays off. The instructors for the course will only place you in Thursday clinical if you really have a NEED to be in that section (i.e. child care, job). This is what my schedule looked like first semester (*Pathophysiology was an online course):

Monday

History of Nursing Ideas (9a-11:50a)

Biobehavioral (1p-3:50p)

Tuesday

Psych Clinical (3p-9p)

Wednesday

Process & Skills (8:30a-11:30a)

Thursday

No class; Patient prep @ hospital

Friday

Med-Surg Clinical (7a-3p)

In the Spring, the schedule is a little more complicated since there are so many variations. Let's see if I can explain this without making your head spin . There are 3 possible configurations: (1) clinical @ MGH on Thurs AND Fri for 1st 5 weeks of the semester, then Health Assessment every Fri for the second half of the Semester; (2) clinical @ MGH on Thurs AND Fri for 2nd 5 weeks of the semester, then Health Asssessment every Fri for the first half of the semester; (3) clinical @ MGH every Fri for the whole semester, and Health Assessment on Wed afternoons during either the first or second 5 weeks of the semester. See? Complicated. I had option number 1, so right now I'm done with clinical and have just started Health Assessment. I like it because now I get Thursdays off :)

Here's what my schedule looks like this semester:

Monday

Community Health (9a-11:50a)

Pharmacology (1p-3:50p)

Tuesday

Community Health Clinical (8a-2p)

Wednesday

Common Problems in Adult Health (9a-12p)

Thursdays

[Clinical @ MGH, first 5 weeks]

No Class

Fridays

[Clinical @ MGH, first 5 weeks]

Health Assessment (8a-11:50a)

Whew! I think that covers it. "Tips" will have to be a separate post since I don't want to take up an entire page here!!

Stephieee · Mar 12, 2010

Does anyone know when we are supposed to hear from Simmons and Northeastern?? Did anyone get accepted anywhere that's still waiting on other schools before making their decision?

I know some people interviewed at Northeastern, does not getting an interview mean you are not going to get in? IDK how many applicants they interview, all of them or just some of them?

Can anyone share their experience interviewing with Regis? I have mine coming up ~!

katie w. · Mar 13, 2010

Does anyone know when we are supposed to hear from Simmons and Northeastern?? Did anyone get accepted anywhere that's still waiting on other schools before making their decision? ~!

I asked simmons via e-mail when we should hear by.. they are hoping for the end of March, but do not have a definite date. They did not start reviewing applications until March 1st and the receptionist told me that there are only 2 people reviewing everything. They said they had accumulated around 150 apps, so it would take a while.. SO annoying especially because I was accepted to Umass last month, and they gave me 3 weeks to make a decision. Umass was my first choice, so I already sent in the deposit, but it would have been terrible if I was undecided. I heard that some people have been accepted to Northeastern but I am not sure if all the candidates have been notified.

katie w. · Mar 13, 2010

Katie W.
I was just accepted to Umass Med and saw your were going. Im from VA and don't know very much about the area. Just wanted to know if you wanted to chat about the program. Thanks!

Sorry it took so long for me to see this and get back to you! I am from Boston but I have spent a lot of time in the Worcester area over the past year. I absolutely LOVE the campus and the faculty so far, very helpful and seem to care a lot about success of their students. I've also talked to a few current students and they love the GEP program. I guess the GEP students are pretty close knit from what I hear- especially those who end up in clinical w/ each other. When I heard that I was like *whew*. What program did you apply for? Not sure if you've ever been to MA, but Let me know if you have any questions about Worcester. To be honest, I don't like it as much as Boston, but the cost of living is slightly cheaper. I should warn you, make sure you will have access to a car-- public transportation is extremely minimal! Hope this helps at all.

look forward to hearing from you!

Stephieee · Mar 13, 2010

Waiting for these schools to review applications must be the hardest thing I have ever had to do! ~lol~

I am hoping Simmons does get us an answer by the end of March, it is quite inconvenient when you have to respond to one school by a certain deadline without knowing where else you may be accepted ....

I didn't apply to UMass, I'm kind of regretting it now, all the applications fee's get so expensive though! Congrats and Good Luck at Umass if you decide to stick with that decision...:-)