Good online NP Program

[desertrose501, BSN]

I got accepted into Maryville university AGACNP program to start in July. I am concerned about some of the reviews that I have been seeing. Is this school worth going to? Should I decline acceptance and go to a different school. What is a good school to attend? Any an all help would be welcome.

[armyrn79, MSN, RN, APRN, NP]

I knew a nurse who went through this program a couple of years ago and didn’t have any negatives things to say about it. I looked into Maryville as well, but found them pretty expensive. I recently applied to Purdue Global University for their post MSN/FNP certificate to start in September. I know a fellow nurse who is going through the program now and has nothing, but good things to say about it. I also like the fact that starting in 2020 in order for them to get recertified with CCNE they will have to start finding clinical placements for their NP students. Which honestly is my biggest worry with any online program.

[Dodongo, APRN, NP]

I think it's a terrible idea, especially for an AGACNP, to attend any program that is 100% online. You need to be trained to do procedures; hands on training. Programs like this give NPs a bad reputation.

[CozyCatRN]

46 minutes ago, Dodongo said:

I think it's a terrible idea, especially for an AGACNP, to attend any program that is 100% online. You need to be trained to do procedures; hands on training. Programs like this give NPs a bad reputation.

Wouldn’t they get that training in clinical?

[desertrose501, BSN]

There will be 750 hours of clinical training required.

[Dodongo, APRN, NP]

First of all, it makes NPs look poorly trained to MD/DO and PAs. Which is a big deal considering, for the most part, physicians are highly involved in the hiring process for most groups.

Second of all, my job as a preceptor is to reinforce ideas and help to coalesce what has already been presented to you. Your school should be where you are learning the basics. I don't get paid to teach you. But these 100% online schools expect preceptors to teach you everything. I am supposed to teach you physical exam (which, yes, is different at the provider level), how to write a note, formulate a differential, do procedures, all in a few hundred hours. No. The school is taking advantage of you. What are you paying for exactly?

[Dodongo, APRN, NP]

You should be looking for a school that does not have a 100% acceptance rate, has live lectures (or at least recorded... bare minimum), multiple on campus visits to assess your abilities and teach you hands on, *proctored* exams (would you proudly tell patients and other providers your exams were open book?), etc.

This isn't a game.

[CozyCatRN]

2 hours ago, Dodongo said:

You should be looking for a school that does not have a 100% acceptance rate, has live lectures (or at least recorded... bare minimum), multiple on campus visits to assess your abilities and teach you hands on, *proctored* exams (would you proudly tell patients and other providers your exams were open book?), etc.

This isn't a game.

Ah, this makes sense.

[desertrose501, BSN]

Wow, I didn't realize that I was treating this like a game. I mean doing research on schools, questioning every decision, plus 11 years of nursing experience including 4 in a ICU surely isn't enough when it comes to a NP program. Glad I have you, DoDongo, to set me straight. What would I have done with out you pointing out that this decision, the one that is going to effect my life and career, I have been treating so lightly. I should have known better.

[SopranoKris, MSN, RN, NP]

To the OP: I would caution against Maryville because they do not provide any hands-on skills training prior to starting clinicals. This is especially important in the ACNP role. The on-campus skills sessions allow you to get experience suturing, doing intubations, inserting art lines/central lines, chest tubes, etc., before you do it in the clinical setting. In my program, I will have 2 separate campus visits before the ACNP portion of my clinical rotation. I will also have 1,080 clinical hours (1,120 if I opt to do the additional radiology & anesthesia rotation).

I will also say this: Maryville has a LOT of group work for their assignments in core courses. Because they accept nearly every applicant, you may be stuck with a few slackers in your groups, which can affect your grades. I know of students who left that program because of the heavy amount of group work involved. It's hard enough to do group projects face-to-face. Even more difficult to accomplish when everyone is online.

Considering how expensive the tuition is at Maryville, you might be better off going to a different program that has on-campus skills and more affordable tuition.

[Dodongo, APRN, NP]

3 hours ago, Adrienne Hathaway said:

Wow, I didn't realize that I was treating this like a game. I mean doing research on schools, questioning every decision, plus 11 years of nursing experience including 4 in a ICU surely isn't enough when it comes to a NP program. Glad I have you, DoDongo, to set me straight. What would I have done with out you pointing out that this decision, the one that is going to effect my life and career, I have been treating so lightly. I should have known better.

I'm glad you now know better.

[CozyCatRN]

1 hour ago, SopranoKris said:

To the OP: I would caution against Maryville because they do not provide any hands-on skills training prior to starting clinicals. This is especially important in the ACNP role. The on-campus skills sessions allow you to get experience suturing, doing intubations, inserting art lines/central lines, chest tubes, etc., before you do it in the clinical setting. In my program, I will have 2 separate campus visits before the ACNP portion of my clinical rotation. I will also have 1,080 clinical hours (1,120 if I opt to do the additional radiology & anesthesia rotation).

I will also say this: Maryville has a LOT of group work for their assignments in core courses. Because they accept nearly every applicant, you may be stuck with a few slackers in your groups, which can affect your grades. I know of students who left that program because of the heavy amount of group work involved. It's hard enough to do group projects face-to-face. Even more difficult to accomplish when everyone is online.

Considering how expensive the tuition is at Maryville, you might be better off going to a different program that has on-campus skills and more affordable tuition.

Just curious, is your program online with the addition of those campus visits (and of course clinical)? Did you feel pretty prepared by the campus visits? I ask because my program will be very similar to this.