HELP! York/Georgian Collab Program!!!

madricka, BSN, RN · Apr 27, 2017

Lots of areas in Toronto could be considered "sketchy" (if you were downtown at Ryerson, you could argue it's sketchy also). The campus is safe but I'm assuming you're going to travel around the city and explore (I hope so! lots of great stuff here!). I think that a lot can be said for common sense when it comes to safety -- no wandering around by yourself at 2 am through areas you don't know, be aware of your surroundings, don't walk around looking like you're scared someone is going to grab you (makes you look like a target), don't flash your valuables, lock your door, etc. Some "sketchy" areas are a lot of hype as well. Certain areas with a higher crime rate (violence, for example) are considered dangerous but if you look closely at those particular crimes, they happen between friends/family members/known associates, not random people walking down the street. It's not as simple as saying -- higher crime area=dangerous for you. Hundreds of thousands of York students have lived/studied at that campus and never had any problems whatsoever. No need to go to school and run home scared. If it really was that dangerous, no one would go there (or live, work, eat, play there!).

As for having a car and attending clinical placements -- the TTC is super fast (faster than your car would be during rush hours!), cheap (cheaper than Toronto parking!), and 95% reliable (sometimes slow, sometimes train or bus problems). Again, hundreds of thousands of students (& working nurses and teachers) rely on TTC and manage just fine. In fact, having a car in Toronto can often be a pain in the butt.

Your second issue is theory vs clinical -- all university nursing programs are required to have a solid balance of clinical hours (and lab simulation) AND theory. The NCLEX exam is not hands-on so you do need the theory, it backs up all your actions in clinical. You have to understand WHY you are doing the things you do in clinical (the rationale)! The York website states you will receive about 1400 hours of clinical experience, this is about the same I had at Ryerson and is comparable to other schools. That is a LOT of time! You will be fine. But please do not think of theory as less important than clinical, you will learn a LOT from your theory classes -- some more than others but a lot of the theory classes strongly support your clinical practice.

Rely less on "what you heard" and more on facts! And take some deep breaths, your program is going to be fun and exciting! You'll meet a lot of great people and learn some amazing things.

Cdnbscn · Apr 30, 2017

The area was never an issue. Campus is safe and I never felt "unsafe" (although I did commute and didn't live on site).

Theory is a huge part of the BScN. We had clinical like every other school, every semester. What you get out of it is 50/50. 50% what's available skill wise on site at your placement and 50% what you make yourself available for. If you're a wallflower then you're not likely to get the same opportunities as a student who makes themselves available and known to staff for whatever available opportunity.

I questioned our skills/lab/clinical time once and had an instructor tell me "you can teach a monkey a skill". In essence, you need to be able to have the knowledge, skill and judgement to make sound nursing decisions. If you can't critically think and you don't know the disease process or the rationale behind something then inserting a catheter isn't going to make a damn difference.

Did I like York? Not particularly. Do I have another nursing program to compare it to? Not at all. Your education is what you make of it. I survived York and am doing just fine in the real world.

weshallcwhatibecome · Apr 30, 2017

york isn't too bad. like madricka mentioned it's usually gangbanger going after another gangbanger. Worked last year just block down south from there. Had to call cop few times because there were strangers (we work with kids so we are little more cautious) and people setting off fire crackers outside the building. Also shooting another block west from us but these things don't occur often. Worked at many "dangerous areas" in the city including Regent park, Flemingdon/leaside, christie pits and still haven't run into major issues yet.

Toronto is relatively safe compared to many other major cities. And if police know that it's a hot area they have frequent patrols. While waiting for bus last year in about 10 mins we'd see cruiser go by 2-3 times.

Just go straight from campus to bus and you'll be fine. Many eyeballs watching you there.

Are you going to barrie campus or owen sound? I have admission at owen sound and considering it.

autumnpowers · Apr 30, 2017

Barrie Campus