Duquesne Second Degree Nursing Class of 2016

Mandaaleiigh · Mar 5, 2015

What's the price?

I really am just looking for an offer... I can work with price and come up with what will be best for both of us. The only thing you will need to purchase for your uniform is a name tag.

I also forgot that I have 2 of the white embroidered polo shirts - Size Small (you will need these for the 2nd semester). I have never worn them. :)

So everything I have:

2 sets of scrubs (tops and bottoms): Size X-Small

2 embroidered polo shirts: Size Small

1 embroidered lab coat: Size Small

Shadow93 · Mar 7, 2015

How long did you guys waited to receive notification?

IMAFoodi · Mar 13, 2015

For those that got accepted to Duquesne, when did you apply and how long was the waiting time until you heard back? I am in the process of waiting for my decision and I think it is taking a bit too long... Also, does anyone know how much students they accept annually?

livialisa · Mar 13, 2015

I applied last year ! Couple months ...I applied last October and receive my acceptance letter in February!! I think the class size doubled ...over a 100 and they split u two groups

IMAFoodi · Mar 13, 2015

I assume that you are still finishing up the program and so I would like to know how you feel about the program. The program seem reputable on the web, but from the responses of former/current students that I read, the program does not seem worthwhile. Students are not satisfied with the teaching style and the curriculum. What are your insights?

livialisa · Mar 13, 2015

I wish!! I will be joining the CLASS OF 2016!!! I have been doing my research

IMAFoodi · Mar 13, 2015

Sweet! Well congtrz. Hopefully I'll hear back soon. I applied late February, and so I am assuming early April.

CareerChange63 · Mar 16, 2015

OK....so I'm "sort of" a 2nd Degree 2015 student.....here are my thoughts. I'm a 51 year old guy, not a young person, so take what I say with a grain of salt. I was doing ok in the program, but decided to put the brakes on when we were talking about "concept mapping" at 7:30 am in one of the classes. The program is intense. Part of the issue is that I actually LIKE to learn, I like to read. Reading 100% of the material is just not possible, and yes, folks, I read a lot (and like it). As an example, our pathophysiology reading was over 400 pages just for the first test. So I think this goes to what ALW1119 was saying--a LOT of the material presented in the lectures didn't really apply to the tests and well, you can read for the tests....just don't plan on sleeping much.

Another poster noted that for 80 slots normally, 160 people accepted. This precipitated the need to split the class into 2 parts for lectures and labs. We had one professor who liked to assign additional reading/homework for the labs. Well, my last name falls within the initial letters of the alphabet.....meaning that the readings/homework for the labs had to be completed within 2 days AND failure to complete the readings/homeworks meant that you couldn't "attend" the labs. We're not talking basic reading, we are talking about 4 chapters and finishing 2 chapters of the study guide for the course. I come from a military background and being assigned this stuff two days before the lab did not sit well. That said, if your name fell toward the end of the alphabet, you had approximately a week to do all the reading/homework.

I can't speak for what's been said about the program, but I can tell you this. I completed all of my prerequisites for the program with a 3.95, at local community colleges (hey, it was cheap and I learned a lot). What I learned was fine BUT what I can tell you is that Duquesne is a HEAVILY intensive computer-based/web-based program. Duquesne uses something called ATI, which is an online system for teaching procedures associated with nursing. Well, my account (those classes and blocks of ATI used for the course) was sometimes there, and sometimes not, I don't know why. Again, not normally a huge problem, but the ATI call center was closed for the weekend, further complicating the material that was supposed to be done for lab. Heh, in fact, ATI was closed until AFTER my class met. And I can tell you, my computer and tablet were both "state of the art", so it wasn't an old technology thing.

Another thing, and I seriously hope it was just my 2014 class.....I found very few....and I mean VERY FEW of the students were friendly. In fact, some of them....downright hostile. I found it odd that other students were SO competitive, even though Duquesne is not a "mean" school. By "mean" school, grades are given by calculating a mean (pegged at a B-) and each standard of deviation is an increase/decrease of a grade. By contrast, Duquesne offers straight grading.....if everyone scores a 93, everyone gets an A. So, I didn't get the competition aspect. Maybe it's an age thing...but probably not. One student in clinicals was pissed that I knew how to do things, such as move patients (safely), take pulses, etc.----I was a patient care assistant prior to nursing school. Not "can you show me how to do it", but pissed that I knew something she did not.

With the technology issues and the attitudes of some students in my class, I had had it. I withdrew from classes and mulled my options. After a LONG period, I decided to do it again--a nice option that Duquesne offers. If you pull out of classes, Duquesne still considers you a student. Rather than wait for the "official" start in September, 2015, I decided to space out some of the classwork prior to the official start of my program. That said, I will finish this program on my own. If I happen to meet some good people along the way, great. If not, also great.

Well, there you go, I hope this rant has been helpful and hopefully shed some light on what is going on with the Duquesne program. Good luck in your decisions.

Mandaaleiigh · Mar 16, 2015

OK....so I'm "sort of" a 2nd Degree 2015 student.....here are my thoughts. I'm a 51 year old guy, not a young person, so take what I say with a grain of salt. I was doing ok in the program, but decided to put the brakes on when we were talking about "concept mapping" at 7:30 am in one of the classes. The program is intense. Part of the issue is that I actually LIKE to learn, I like to read. Reading 100% of the material is just not possible, and yes, folks, I read a lot (and like it). As an example, our pathophysiology reading was over 400 pages just for the first test. So I think this goes to what ALW1119 was saying--a LOT of the material presented in the lectures didn't really apply to the tests and well, you can read for the tests....just don't plan on sleeping much.
Another poster noted that for 80 slots normally, 160 people accepted. This precipitated the need to split the class into 2 parts for lectures and labs. We had one professor who liked to assign additional reading/homework for the labs. Well, my last name falls within the initial letters of the alphabet.....meaning that the readings/homework for the labs had to be completed within 2 days AND failure to complete the readings/homeworks meant that you couldn't "attend" the labs. We're not talking basic reading, we are talking about 4 chapters and finishing 2 chapters of the study guide for the course. I come from a military background and being assigned this stuff two days before the lab did not sit well. That said, if your name fell toward the end of the alphabet, you had approximately a week to do all the reading/homework.
I can't speak for what's been said about the program, but I can tell you this. I completed all of my prerequisites for the program with a 3.95, at local community colleges (hey, it was cheap and I learned a lot). What I learned was fine BUT what I can tell you is that Duquesne is a HEAVILY intensive computer-based/web-based program. Duquesne uses something called ATI, which is an online system for teaching procedures associated with nursing. Well, my account (those classes and blocks of ATI used for the course) was sometimes there, and sometimes not, I don't know why. Again, not normally a huge problem, but the ATI call center was closed for the weekend, further complicating the material that was supposed to be done for lab. Heh, in fact, ATI was closed until AFTER my class met. And I can tell you, my computer and tablet were both "state of the art", so it wasn't an old technology thing.
Another thing, and I seriously hope it was just my 2014 class.....I found very few....and I mean VERY FEW of the students were friendly. In fact, some of them....downright hostile. I found it odd that other students were SO competitive, even though Duquesne is not a "mean" school. By "mean" school, grades are given by calculating a mean (pegged at a B-) and each standard of deviation is an increase/decrease of a grade. By contrast, Duquesne offers straight grading.....if everyone scores a 93, everyone gets an A. So, I didn't get the competition aspect. Maybe it's an age thing...but probably not. One student in clinicals was pissed that I knew how to do things, such as move patients (safely), take pulses, etc.----I was a patient care assistant prior to nursing school. Not "can you show me how to do it", but pissed that I knew something she did not.
With the technology issues and the attitudes of some students in my class, I had had it. I withdrew from classes and mulled my options. After a LONG period, I decided to do it again--a nice option that Duquesne offers. If you pull out of classes, Duquesne still considers you a student. Rather than wait for the "official" start in September, 2015, I decided to space out some of the classwork prior to the official start of my program. That said, I will finish this program on my own. If I happen to meet some good people along the way, great. If not, also great.
Well, there you go, I hope this rant has been helpful and hopefully shed some light on what is going on with the Duquesne program. Good luck in your decisions.

I will second pretty much every single statement that this student shed light about. I am also a prior student of the second degree program at Duquesne University. I, too, withdrew from the program, and will be attending the same program at another university.

One other thing I would personally like to point out, and I am not sure if the other student would agree, but this program is EXTREMELY independent. I guess that sorta feeds off of the statement that it is very web-based. The professors (aside from one in particular) are not very helpful. If you go to them and ask for assistance they direct you to the book or to the online practice tests or online modules. They rarely take time out of their "busy schedules" to help students succeed. They will tell you to go to get a tutor, but the tutoring center rarely has any students tutoring the nursing courses. The professors often say "form study groups," but everyone learns differently and they arent always very effective when you are trying to LEARN the material versus STUDY it and REVIEW it for a test (there is absolutely a difference and there is a place and time for study groups... and that is not when you are trying to initially learn a concept). It is extremely frustrating that you have to fight to get help.

Likewise, I will say that tests almost always seem irrelevant to the material in class. There were so many times that I asked myself why I even went to class. You will go to class 3x a week for 3.5-4 hours per class. The professors will literally read straight from the slides. To me, I could have used that 3-4 hours to watch videos or something on youtube or Kahn academy and I probably would have learned more. The program is so unorganized, but I hear that they are making changes to make it better. Who knows.

Duquesne is NOT a bad school and I don't want any of you to think that. Duquesne has a wonderful name and a great reputation in the city. But, prepare to be overwhelmed, frustrated, and annoyed. The program itself has doubled in size literally from one year to the next, and I think that hurt the students a little bit because the professors are teaching more courses which allows them less time with students. Likewise, students seem to not ask as many questions because everyone gets mad when the same person asks a million questions for clarification. And about the whole competition thing: its true, people were always jealous of one another and trying to be better than the next. You're all in the program together, no ones grades affect each others. You get what you scored and thats it.

Unfortuantely, I wish I would have seen/read student reviews before I decided to attend, but I did not. I never even looked for red flags. All I can say is.... do what you think is best for your life and your career. This is not a decision that should be taken lightly.

CareerChange63 · Mar 16, 2015

....and I'd have to agree, Duquesne IS NOT a bad school. In fact, at least, in my experience, I've had a pretty GOOD experience. My instructors (almost all have a doctorate in nursing) have been friendly and approachable, and have gone BEYOND what I consider a "good" instructor. I'm thinking that the instructors you had issues with last year.....are gone. In reading my response above, my issues don't even involve the school! I dunno, maybe it's an age thing. At any rate, I hope wherever you are going is going well for you!

mfk1001 · Mar 23, 2015

I actually had to wait about a month to hear anything back after finishing the application process; good luck!!

mfk1001 · Mar 23, 2015

I completely agree! It would be nice to get to know each other seeing as we'll be working together fairly soon!