Fast-Track/Accelerated/Compressed Nursing Program Reviews

Yingtsay, BSN, RN · Apr 15, 2017

I'm currently finishing up my BScN After degree in U of A so take this with a grain of salt:

- when you enrolled in the program: September 2014 (I had to take a year off due to medical reasons)

- workload (heaviness and difficulty): Depending on the individual, if you have your learning approach down you can work 12-20 hours a week and still have decent grades. I would say fast track programs are a bit tougher than regular stream but not impossible.

- learning style (independent/ group work, teaching style, structure, quality and guidance, etc): UofA is the home of CBL aka Collaborative-Based Learning aka you teach each others with your instructor facilitate student teaching. As far as I know the school is moving away from it (I'm in the last cohort)

- placement reviews ( distance and experience): My program has a 'rural' focus so bussing wasn't an option from the beginning. The placement overall were great. My psych placement was the farest at 100km away but it was renowned as one of the best in North America. My community health was less to be desired due to some questionable placement choices but overall it was good.

- did you feel ready when you entered the profession: N/A, I'm doing preceptorship starting in June

- anything insightful: I feel the majority of fast-track programs are under a state of organized-chaos in ideal circumstances. Be ready to adapt and change

cw3421 · Apr 15, 2017

Completed Trent Compressed BScN program

- when enrolled: Sept 2013

- workload: Overall, pretty easy. Most fast-track students managed a part time job throughout at least the first 12 months; beyond that depended on the individual. Heaviest semesters were semester 4 (pharmacology requires a LOT of study time, depending on your background) and 5 (depending on whether you enter with the correct transfer credit)

- learning style: Semesters 1-5 are all lecture-based with tutorials alongside clinical placements. Many courses will utilize a group presentation/project in tutorials for part of the course grade. All tutorials are run by professors/course instructors. Earlier semesters, you'll take courses along with the first year collaborative students but later on, you'll be in courses with upper year students and/or just the compressed track students. Honestly found the program to be pretty easy, except for pharm and acute care nursing. Some courses are total jokes and some are so poorly run, even the professors don't know what's going on.

- placements: Most placements are in the Peterborough region. Hospital placements usually at Peterborough Regional Health Centre; other options include the hospitals in Lindsay and Cobourg. You get two 300-hr consolidation placements where you get to request where you want and be as general or specific as you want (e.g. I requested and got a specific unit at a specific hospital for consolidation). Critical care placements (ED, ICU) requires taking advanced pharm & patho in third year, which requires passing patho and pharm with ~75-80%.

- entering the profession: Nursing theory is basically garbage, never gets used in the real working world. Some of the courses are total garbage. I didn't once review any course material for the NCLEX (program was in the middle of the CRNE->NCLEX transition when I was there) nor when preparing for interviews (used NCLEX review stuff instead). Labs teach skills, skills are practiced in clinical placements. Some knowledge/information is more useful than others, depending on what area you're placed in for clinicals, consolidation, and where you interview/end up working. Overall, the program didn't really prepare me, but you make do with what you get and fill in the gaps along the way via self-learning

- anything insightful: Trent is super easy to get high marks for grad school. Profs are mostly nice and helpful, some are more hippy/"out there"/weird, some I downright wonder how they got a job teaching. Peterborough is pretty boring. Campus is nice looking, lots of greenery, river running through campus.

PM me if you want more information.

Tosglo · Apr 15, 2017

Completed Trent uuCompressed BScN program
- when enrolled: Sept 2013
- workload: Overall, pretty easy. Most fast-track students managed a part time job throughout at least the first 12 months; beyond that depended on the individual. Heaviest semesters were semester 4 (pharmacology requires a LOT of study time, depending on your background) and 5 (depending on whether you enter with the correct transfer credit)
- learning style: Semesters 1-5 are all lecture-based with tutorials alongside clinical placements. Many courses will utilize a group presentation/project in tutorials for part of the course grade. All tutorials are run by professors/course instructors. Earlier semesters, you'll take courses along with the first year collaborative students but later on, you'll be in courses with upper year students and/or just the compressed track students. Honestly found the program to be pretty easy, except for pharm and acute care nursing. Some courses are total jokes and some are so poorly run, even the professors don't know what's going on.
- placements: Most placements are in the Peterborough region. Hospital placements usually at Peterborough Regional Health Centre; other options include the hospitals in Lindsay and Cobourg. You get two 300-hr consolidation placements where you get to request where you want and be as general or specific as you want (e.g. I requested and got a specific unit at a specific hospital for consolidation). Critical care placements (ED, ICU) requires taking advanced pharm & patho in third year, which requires passing patho and pharm with ~75-80%.
- entering the profession: Nursing theory is basically garbage, never gets used in the real working world. Some of the courses are total garbage. I didn't once review any course material for the NCLEX (program was in the middle of the CRNE->NCLEX transition when I was there) nor when preparing for interviews (used NCLEX review stuff instead). Labs teach skills, skills are practiced in clinical placements. Some knowledge/information is more useful than others, depending on what area you're placed in for clinicals, consolidation, and where you interview/end up working. Overall, the program didn't really prepare me, but you make do with what you get and fill in the gaps along the way via self-learning
- anything insightful: Trent is super easy to get high marks for grad school. Profs are mostly nice and helpful, some are more hippy/"out there"/weird, some I downright wonder how they got a job teaching. Peterborough is pretty boring. Campus is nice looking, lots of greenery, river running through campus.
PM me if you want more information.

Thank you thar for starting the thread

Thank you for sharing@ cw3421. Can credits for Patho, Pharmacology and Anat and Physio be transferred as well as some other nursing courses? What is the transfer limit?

thesix · Apr 19, 2017

Hi,

Is there anyone who goes to Humber 2nd entry nursing program? I'll be going there in September and would love someones opinion on it!

Thanks!